Having become somewhat disillusioned with the summer weather so far, we decided that, as we a had a week available without any appointments etc. we’d try to find a late booking somewhere the weather was a bit more predictable. We visited a local Travel Agent and, after perusing what was available, we booked a week-long break to Rhodes. It was a relatively cheap and cheerful trip so we weren’t expecting too much from it.
7th June 2024 – Home to Brittania Hotel, Leeds/Bradford Airport
As I had a hospital appointment scheduled for this morning (for an infusion for the osteoporosis) and we were packed and ready to leave we made tracks directly after my appointment. We stopped en-route for food and arrived at the hotel late afternoon after some delays due to accidents.
The hotel proved to be very tatty and the parking (we’d booked this hotel as we could leave the car here for a week), was awful. The parking spaces were all very narrow, the vast majority were already full and there were vehicles abandoned everywhere, on grass verges etc. etc.
We booked a taxi via the hotel for 04:15 tomorrow morning and called it a night.
8th June 2024 – Leeds/Bradford to Rhodes
We were up at 02:30 this morning and were ready and waiting at 04:15 but, unfortunately, the taxi wasn’t, after chasing it twice it finally turned up half an hour late!
For once we can honestly say we were impressed by the assistance service at the airport, it was all very organized and painless. Fortunately for us we were whisked straight through check-in, security etc. and straight to the gate which was just as well as the queues for security were horrendous, (we got a text warning us of the queues but not until we’d arrived in Rhodes!!).
For the first time ever, we had booked via Jet2. It is definitely a “no frills” kind of thing but the flights weren’t too uncomfortable and were blissfully uneventful. The assistance service in Rhodes was also very good and we were on our way to the resort pretty quickly.
We arrived just outside Pefkos at around 16:00 to discover that it was extremely hot and that, if we wanted to use it, we had to pay extra for air conditioning but having tried out the room it was a bit of a no brainer so we paid the extra 70 euros. I’m not sure what it is about us and Greece either but we’ve arrived just as they confirmed an official heatwave with today having reached 39 degrees.
When we booked this trip we were offered the opportunity to upgrade from B&B to half board at an extra £19 per head for the week so, not surprisingly, we’d signed up for that on the basis that even if we only ate there once we’d still be quids in. We tested out the in-house restaurant and it was okay but not brilliant and the half board menu is pretty limited for choice so I don’t think we’ll be using it that much.
The hotel itself is okay, nothing special but okay (the staff are all very good though). The accommodation blocks are on one side of the road alongside their supermarket and the restaurant, bar and swimming pool are on the other which is a bit of a nuisance but okay.
As we’d had a very early start, we were back in our room by around 21:00 ready for a new day tomorrow.
9th June 2024 – Pefkos, Rhodes
We both slept pretty well and were up fairly early. We had breakfast and then settled ourselves on two sunbeds in a shaded area close to the swimming pool where we spent the day just relaxing and reading. Lunch consisted of some fruit bought from the supermarket which we ate in situ so it really was a lazy day.
We ate in the hotel restaurant again this evening and, once again, the food was okay but not great so we’ll definitely be trying somewhere else tomorrow. Once we’d had our main course, we decided to take a bit of a break before returning a little later for dessert and a drink. We didn’t stay too long though as they had a Boney M tribute band playing from 22:00 and it really wasn’t our sort of thing.
N.B. It was very hot and sunny again today so I made use of the pool from time to time.
10th June 2024 – Pefkos, Rhodes
We woke after another good night’s sleep and spent another day lazing by the pool, reading and taking the odd dip in the pool. Despite having purposefully chosen sun beds that were in permanent shade we both discovered that we were getting a bit fried from reflected sunshine off the pool, so Graham ditched the shorts he’d been wearing and kept his (already rather red) leg covered.
Later this afternoon we took a taxi in to Pefkos proper (the hotel is a 15/20-minute walk away) only to discover that most of the restaurants and shops were closed until around 18:00. I took a short walk towards the beach area but as it was on quite a slope and it was also very, very hot, Graham waited for me on the main street before we dived inside a café for a drink before dinner. We had been recommended a restaurant (Artemis) by Richard and Linda who had also been camped out on nearby sun beds, so we decided to give that a try and we were really glad we did as both the food and the service were very good.
Once we’d eaten, we took a taxi back to base and went in to the bar for a drink but, once again, we didn’t stay long as “The Superstars” started their performance at 22:00 and it really wasn’t our cup of tea (we’d rather have been at a hotel without entertainment).
N.B. It was very, very hot and sunny again today.
11th June 2024 – Pefkos, Rhodes.
The earlier part of today was mostly a repeat of yesterday in that we spent the majority of it beside the pool with me utilizing the pool to cool off from time to time.
As we wanted to avoid the ‘Greek Night’ at the hotel we went next door to Corelli’s for tea which proved to be a good move, the food was very good and not too expensive either.
N.B. Another very, very hot sunny day.
12th June 2040 – Pefkos, Rhodes
Another Groundhog Day today i.e. breakfast, sitting by the pool reading, fruit for lunch etc. Once again it was very, very hot and we even had a short-lived earth quake this evening (we’re told it was around a 5,0 on the Richter scale).
We decided to take a trip to the next town along the coast (Lardos) this evening so caught a local bus just outside the hotel. With hindsight we’ve both said that we would have been better off staying in Lardos as it has a much more traditional feel about it. There is a small square and quite a lot of restaurants, cafes and supermarkets, it definitely felt much less of a tourist trap. Unfortunately, we ended up having to leave rather earlier than we’d planned as, although he really enjoyed the lamb he had, Graham’s meal caused him a major bout of hiccups so we took a taxi back to the hotel. It probably didn’t help that today was incredibly hot with the temperature at 21:00 still showing as 32 degrees.
13th June 2024 – Pefkos, Rhodes
Well, we thought yesterday was hot but today the temperature reached 40 degrees in no time and there was very little in the way of a breeze either. It was definitely too hot to want to do much so we, predictably spent the day by the pool and temperatures finally reached 43 degrees. We ate next door at Corelli’s again this evening, the food was very good but it was uncomfortably hot despite their ceiling fans with temperatures still sitting at 40 degrees at 22:00.
14th June 2024 – Pefkos, Rhodes
Another hot, lazy day spent reading before I started the packing for our homeward journey. Despite the temperature reaching 40 degrees again it felt a little cooler as there was a very slight breeze and even a little bit of cloud.
As this was our last evening, we decided we’d go back to Artemis in Pefkos town and we weren’t disappointed, the food was equally good and we left feeling pretty full. I left Graham sitting on a bench on the main street whilst I went for a short walk (it was too hot to walk very far) before getting a taxi back.
We stayed in the bar at our hotel long enough to have a cold drink but, once again, the entertainment started (rather too loudly) at 22:00 so we called it a night.
15th June 2024 – Pefkos, Rhodes to Home.
We had a little more for breakfast this morning as we weren’t sure when we’d be able to get more food. Our transfer to the airport arrived at around 10:15 and we then made our way via a very circuitous route collecting other passengers, back to the airport.
Once again, the assistance service proved very good, we were collected quite quickly and taken straight through immigration, security etc. and dropped at our gate. The only slight delay we had was whilst waiting for the Ambilift to take us to the aircraft (there were a few people who needed this service and it took a while to get to us). Once on board we had another uneventful if slightly uncomfortable flight back. Once back at Leeds/Bradford we had another slight delay in waiting for the Ambilift so we didn’t get away until rather later than expected.
We had an uneventful if very wet drive home, collected a takeaway en-route and arrived home at around 21:00.
Summary:
We had planned this as a week to rest and we certainly managed to do that. We had also said that we couldn’t expect too much from this cheap(ish) holiday and we were about right in our thinking. As previously mentioned, the hotel was okay but no more, having the pool etc. the other side of a sometimes-noisy road wasn’t ideal and we hadn’t realized at the time of booking that there would be noisy entertainment of an evening and football on various large screens around the area too. It may also sound very snobbish but the one thing we really hadn’t expected was the sheer number of chain smoking heavily tattooed “Brits Abroad” who would be staying there. I think it’s fair to say we’re both glad we went but it’s not something we would wish to repeat.