Basically it is located next to the biggest luxury hotels of that part of the island and the best hotels in all of the island as I understand. So It is on the same rode with Hilton Rhodes, Rhodes Palace, Capsis Rhodes... I paid almost nothing 30 Euros with dinner and breakfast which was really bad. But still I got a front room with top view and very cheap. I was attending the International Rhodes Tourism Forum 24-25 Oct. 2009. The hotels closes on the 29th of October so we were the last customers. And very good but expansive transport in all of the island.

Very good hotel. At the tıme of my visit (Nov.08), it cost 20 euro per night for small double room with ensuite. I noticed on the door however that the rack rate for the room was 50 euro. It was very comfortable and very clean. Excellent locatıon. Free wireless Internet access wıth a terminal in the common area.

My recent visit to the Telhinis hotel in Faliraki on the Island of Rhodes will be remembered as my most pleasant stay ever. I have visited 32 of the United States and 18 countries, and resided in some of the world's best hotels. Yet the rooms and balconies in the Telhinis were larger and more comfortable than many 5 star establishments. It is definitely the best as far as value per dollar is concerned. The shift managers, Michalas, Emmanuel, and Christian will make you feel like visiting family members, and share first prize for public relations. I will surely return to the beautiful Island of Rhodes, and will make my reservations at the Telhinis far in advance!

My visit to the island of Rhodes was supposed to be a 5 day trip, but once there I didn't want to leave. So I stayed for a full two weeks and plan to visit again as soon as possible.

If you travel by boat from Athens, it's a long journey at a minimum of 14 hours. You stop by several islands on the way, such as Syros, Leros, Kos.. Once you approach the port, you forget about how tired you may be and are compensated by a wonderful view of the town, modern and old.

This was my third visit to the island, and in the tradition of my previous visits, first thing to do upon greeting my friends was have breakfast at a Swedish bakery. You can find several Swedish cafes / bakeries in Rhodes town, pick your own bread and make any sandwich that will provide enough energy for the start of your adventure.

Although food is not hard to get at any time, it's everywhere, and you can get anything from Greek to Mexican, French, Chinese, Arabic cuisine and more.

People are friendly and welcoming, and surprisingly drivers will halt their cars if they see pedestrians about to cross the street. Something you hardly see anywhere else in Greece.

The Old Town of Rhodes, home to Knights Hospitaller of St. John from 1309 to 1522, is the crown jewel of the island. The impressive architecture, with everything very well preserved as the town is still inhabited. Socratous street is where you'll find most of the shops in the Old Town, but get a map and wonder around the narrow streets. You'll be surprised at what you'll discover in every other step you make. Do try to avoid noon in the summer, as it tends to get too hot for walking. Early morning or past 5pm is a good time to walk the Old Town.

Faliraki with it's famous "bar street" is probably the crown jewel of Rhodes for the majority of low budget British tourists who tend to get drunk by noon and stay like that for the remaining of their visit. Not really worth a visit when there's so much more to see and do on the island.

Make sure you visit Lindos. Founded in the 10th century BC, the view from the Acropolis is stunning, and if you're into archaeological visits this is where you need to be. And then there's a beach right below to provide the necessary cooling effect after playing Indiana Jones.

If you have access to a car or bike, try to venture a bit off the island's capital of Rhodes, since there's many better places to go swimming than right under the hotel you may be staying which are worth it. These include Koskinou, Afantou, and on the Southern most tip of the island Prassonissi. A popular surfer's destination. If you're into kitesurfing, you need to check out Kremasti beach on the western coast of the island.

Rhodes is capital of the Dodecanese islands and unlike the Cyclades (Mykonos, Santorini, etc), it is not a dry island. There's lots of water, and lots of green. Explore the island's inner parts with a visit to Petaloudes, and Epta Piges.

There's few parts of the island I haven't been to yet, but I sure plan to visit next time I'm there. I had a brilliant vacation, and would definitely recommend Rhodes to anyone thinking about it.

So while all of you were sleeping, this beach babe decided to try out her bikini. I made sure I had my sunscreen well applied. The only thing is, I am not a seasoned sun worshipper. And therefore, I didn't know that you had to make sure that you keep reapplying screen each time you turn over. I guess you rub it off on the lounge chair. Didn't know that. Now I do....

Was bound and determined that I was going to soak up the sun all day so after 3 hours I decided to go in for a swim. The waves were wild but I thought it was just this part of the beach. I didn't know it was extra rough. While out there I got hit several times with some mighty hard waves. Lost my bathing suit three times. Once the top and the bottoms twice. Bikinis are not made for waves. Thinking this might not be such a good idea, I exited the water to notice there was some blood on my foot. It wouldn't stop bleeding so headed back to my room.

Now, you all know I think everything happens for a reason. there was a reason for me to get hurt while swimming. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I was absolutely scarlet. My middle of my back is so red and so is the complete outline of the bikini. Front and back.  I'm not laughing. This is the first time this trip that I am not laughing at myself. I will have to stay out of the sun for many days. Right when I am heading to my all time favourite spot. But what I am so happy about is my  chewed up foot got me out of the sun. If I had stayed there until I wanted to come out, I know I would have been in the hospital. Those of you who know me understand when I say I am burned. This is the worst my back has been and it is only 4 o'clock in the afternoon. I can't imagine it tonight. But who cares... I am off to Santarini!

While feeling sorry for myself I went window shopping. Guess what store I found? Are you surprised?

Can you believe that I had another adventure? Not quite as funny as the others but definitely more life threatening. I go to the airport two hours before my flight (I always like to be early) and found out the earliest you can get there is one hour before your flight. So went and did some telephoning home. The announcements on the intercom were so loud I had to cut the calls short. Then I hear some horrific yelling. Everyone is gathering around a man and a ticket agent. I couldn’t understand a word they were saying but he was so angry, he started hitting the counter. He had a child of about nine with him with an unaccompanied adult sign. I can’t figure out what was going on but he finally had to be restrained.

Then my time comes to check in. Guess what? I am well over the allotted weight and they charge me 30 Euros to take my bag. I was going to take out whatever I could and ship back home but it didn’t make much sense to send home my water bottle and a sweater. The rest I need. My electric toothbrush needs its charger. I need my hair straightner. I honestly tried to find something that could go. Couldn’t think of anything. I have worn all my shoes. Used all my hair products. What could I do without? So I threw out my hair dryer (brand new) and my water bottle. Needless to say, I reluctantly paid the fee (they lowered it to 20 euros because they felt sorry for me. So I was set. I am now taking ferries from island to island.

Then I go to get on the plane. They have to be kidding! It had propellers! It is no wonder I had to pay extra for my luggage, it weighed more than the plane. I knew I was in trouble when several of the men passengers did the sign of the cross. When in Rome do as the Romans do! I prayed. Took the video of the safety instructions because I was truly interested in where the life jackets were. I never pay attention before in airplanes on how the seat becomes a life preserver but this time I NEEDED to know as we were flying over water. Yikes! I couldn’t hear or understand a word she was saying. So much for trying to listen. It was so noisy I wouldn’t even be able to hear the pilot say to take the safety position due to some problems  Great! I’m going down. Canada wouldn’t even hear about a twelve seater going down in the Mediterranean Sea. Gone Forever! (Video of flight attendant to follow when I get a hotel with internet)

Now I wonder what kind of meal they are going to serve? I waited and waited. Nothing. Go figure! Actually the flight attendant is trying to get by a passenger and she kept hitting her head. I have to say it was a very pleasant flight after all but I do prefer my pod in first class.

Now for my hotel in Rhodes! That is where the real life and death experience happens. I am staying in a very inexpensive hotel. So is every 20 year old in Rhodes. The halls are full of drunken, screaming meemies. The front desk said they have lots of trouble and please don’t hesitate to call at 2 or 5 am to complain. Oh goody! I get to be the hag from room 621. As you can see the room is nothing at all. I don’t mind it but I think I may look for another place tomorrow.

I hope to go on some tours while I am here. Since it is late now all the booking places are closed so I will just sit here and drink my red wine and eat my peanuts in a bar that offers free Internet. So here I am. Having a wonderful time typing away while all these shirtless people drink their faces off.

Some of the drinks on the menu here are:

Volcanic Orgasm

Between the Sheets

Sex on the Beach

Trojan Horse                                                                   

I wonder which one I should try?  Hhhmmm!

A little later... Just got back from booking a full day trip to Turkey tomorrow. I leave at 7:25 and return in the evening. On Saturday I am going on a bus tour of the ruins of the island. It is in French. Should be interesting. I wonder how much I will catch. The English one didn't have enough people going so they cancelled it. I thought... what the heck, I speak French. On Sunday I leave for five days to Santorini. That is the highlight of this trip for me. I wanted to save it for last but because of its situation in the islands it didn't make sense. From there I am off to Mykonos. That is where the movie "Shirley Valentine" took place. I won't be staying there long as it is known as the 24 hour party island. Not really what I am into. But I think I need to see what it is like. I am sure I am going to get a feel for the 24 hour party from the place I am staying right now. Everyone is appalled that I am staying at a hotel in "Bar Alley". Who knew? I didn't. I kind of figured it out this afternoon when all I saw was hundreds of drunk kids stumbling all over the place and  yelling at the top of their lungs. I will see how tonight goes and get the heck out on my tour tomorrow. I am sure the Turks are better behaved.

Life is good here in Greece! Wish you were all here with me!

Bed and shower were pretty on par with the smallness of Europe... keeping in mind we're spoiled Americans. Otherwise, FANTASTIC booking once again by our great random travel agent in Athens (Adrianos Travel.. will review them too). This place is a large and VERY nice hotel pretty much across from the beach. Awesome pool (that we didn't go to b/c of the beach), great bar with live bands everynight, fab patio, etc, etc. The room was normal, but the private balcony was off the charts. No complaints and highly recommended. That said, I think it would be super cool to stay within the walls of Old Town. Unfortunately we didn't, so i can't recommend anything! It is an easy 10 min walk to Old Town though. The whole area is extremely walkable and pedestrian friendly, and we loved being on the beach.

It is pretty typical for the "host" outside all the restaurants to harass you to come in. The master of this was Diamond, the host at Fainos. He was hilarious, got us to sit down, and we made so many new friends because of it! Truly, the food was fantastic and the service impeccable. The owner, Stavros, is always lingering in the background, but meet him if you can - so great! They are all about fun, friends and food, and we were homesick for Fainos when we left!

Seriously, this place is incredible...  Rhodes is awesome. 

The weather is spectacular and our super nice hotel is right across the street from the beach.  The lounge has a perfect view of the sunset (which Danielle is quickly realizing I'm obsessed with photographing...) and many of the restaurants have a front row view of the ocean.  All in all, this is just what we signed up for - lazy days at the beach, lots of much-needed sleep, new friends, good wine and tons of sunshine! 

Wednesday night we wandered through the "Old Town", which happens to be the oldest medieval city in Europe.  It is truly like hanging out in a huge castle that was built 2500 years or so ago... unreal.  We were just casually strolling around looking for a place to eat when one of the restaurant recruiters (not sure what they are really called, but these guys stand out in the street and try their hardest to coax you in) successfully got us to sit and eat at his place.  His name is Diamond (yep, for real) and he is an absolute trip.  Long story short, we had a fabulous meal, a few complementary cocktails (complete with sparklers), and met the owner of the place.  Diamond and the owner, Stavros, insisted that we go out with them after the restaurant closed.  Not ones to turn down an offer from locals, we were in.  They took us to this super great bar WAY up on the cliffs just outside the main city - sooo much like South Beach!  Apparently Stavros is kind of a big deal, as we were waited on hand and foot and it was a fun and unexpected night! 

In addition - and this is the best part - Diamond INSISTED that Stavros take us out on his boat the next day!  Needless to say, we LOVE boating and this was just too good to pass up.  Sooo, yesterday we show up at the restaurant as planned at 11AM and the staff drives us over to the marina and off we go! 

Stavros is a very quiet and shy Greek guy who was born and raised in the Old Town.  He owns 3 restaurants and seems to want little to do with his patrons - until we show up and make friends. (Apparently, we're "very sweet") We had a totally unbelievable day boating down the eastern coast of the island, stopping by many of the beaches, checking out the incredible cliffs, having a spectacular lunch right on the water at one of his buddy's restaurants and enjoying the sunshine!  (For the record... there are NO clouds here, only sunshine.  He says it only rains in the winter.)  The crowning jewel was Lindos, a fabulous little beach town with an ancient acropolis at the top.  Unbelievable! 

(See Mom, we made it back alive.)

Such a beautiful and cultural place, again highly recommended! Would not recommend going in hight of summer because its extremely busy and v v hot. october would be best time to go. There are lots of lush places to eat and museums, attractions to visit etc. v cheap & gorgeous souvenirs to buy too!

One of my all time favourite places in the world is Greece, more specifically the Greek Islands. I have been there twice and hope to be there many more times. My first stop was the country’s largest island – Crete. It was the center of Europe’s most ancient civilization, the Minoan. I visited the famous Minoan archaeological site of Knossos. It is extremely fascinating. It dates back to approximately 1900 BC. I learned that they had three separate liquid management systems, one for drainage of waster water, one for supply, one for drainage of runoff. Water was distributed at the palace by gravity fed through terra cotta pipes to spigots and fountains. The pipes were tapered at one end to create pressure. The Queen’s Megaron contained an example of the first flushing system toilet. This is incredible when one thinks about how long ago this actually was.

I spent a considerable amount of time on the island’s beaches. Because the island has such a varied landscape, you will find all sorts of beaches. Some of them are sandy, some of them are rocky and near majestic cliffs – but all of them are great.

The next stop for me was Rhodes. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands and it is situated in the eastern Aegean Sea, near Turkey. It is an absolutely beautiful and interesting place to visit. One of the Seven Wonders of the World stood here – the Colossus of Rhodes. The Medieval Old Town of the city has been declared a World Heritage Site. It was on this island where the Knights Hospitaller established their European medieval ideal city in the beginning of the 14^th century.  Many of the city’s famous monuments, including the Palace of the Grand Master were built during this period. The City of Rhodes also has great areas to eat, shop, people watch and just parooze the Medieval Town’s atmospheric cobblestone streets.

From here it was off to Mykonos, the party island. If you love clubs, parties, shopping, and music this is the place to be. It has world-renowned DJs spinning throughout the night till the sun comes up and right on into the day. You can party 24 hours a day here (at least in the summertime). The main town (Hora) is very picturesque. It has the typical cycladic architectural style of white and blue buildings. The many flowers add further colour to the streets. The restaurants and the shopping is great. The island also has many beautiful beaches - some are more isolated than others and not frequented by many people but beautiful nonetheless to ones where there is techno music blaring all day and night. You will also find beaches that are somewhere in the middle.

After spending a couple of days on the beach and nights partying I decided it was time to go visit Santorini. The island claims that the fabled city of Atlantis use to be part of the island before a gigantic volcanic eruption caused 2/3^rds of the island to sink to the ocean floor. Today that volcano is visited by throngs of tourists. If you decided to climb it make sure that you bring lots of water, a hat and suntan lotion as it can get EXTREMELY hot in the summer thanks to the Greek sun and the black soil that absorbs the heat and ergo makes you feel like you are in an oven. The ground is so hot that if you bury an egg in the soil it will boil in a couple of minutes.

The island is very scenic and the town of Oia is perhaps one of the best places in the world to watch the sun set. Make sure you bring your camera or you will truly regret it.

I loved Greek island hopping as you have everything you could possibly want in a vacation. Stunning scenery, excellent food, friendly people, ancient and fascinating history, beautiful beaches, great nightlife.

Because everything went so well, I would recommend anybody to plan their trip to Greece through www.greecetraveltours.net.

Great hotel, wonderfull staff. The food is good and it's on a wonderful location (almost at the very tip of the island) All in all it's a great place to stay for a holiday.

After our disastrous experience on arrival day, we hardly dared to open the curtains of our hotel room today. But when we did, we found a clear blue sky with a powerful sun shining bright. Instantly we forgot all about yesterday. Things were looking up. In hindsight I can tell you, the weather stayed nice and bright al week. Temperatures on average reached around 27 °C.

Our hotel room was a decent sized room with a parking lot view. As we are relaxed, open-minded people with realistic expectations, we didn't mind the view at all. Besides, I didn't pay for a room with sea view, if you know what I mean. Money is best spent on sharing food and drinks with other people instead of on accommodation. A roof over your head and a place to bathe or shower often is more than enough.

The breakfast buffet in the hotel did not disappoint us. There was an abundant choice of fruit, fiber, meats and sweets. After breakfast, first on our list was to rent a car. We hardly ever go on a guided tour and this trip was no exception. As soon as we left the hotel grounds, we were confronted by the after-effect of the rainfall. Large sections of the road were flushed away. The last of the water from the mountain, still trickled over the concrete slabs. Suddenly, my wife wasn't sure we should rent a car. I am not hindered by any sense of danger. Better yet, I love a challenge and the adventure. Therefore, I said we would get a car anyway.

We found a nice and little, purple Renault Twingo. The emphasis lies on little. I am a 6 foot 5 inches tall kind of fellow. You'll understand it was a just teeny bit cramped. Of course, none of this mattered; we had a car and could now plan our own excursions. And we sure did. We saw the most beautiful scenery, very interesting archeological findings, breathtaking panoramas and lazy beaches. And of course, we met the locals, strolled though their little white and blue villages, experienced a bit of their life.

In the Netherlands, when it comes to the number of vacation days we are a lucky bunch. On average, an employee gets between 20 en 40 days vacation, depending on the branch he or she works in. In my job, I get 38 days. We are a lot less lucky with our weather though. Summer lasts at best 2 months. In spring and fall, we might have a few days of nice weather but the other 9.5 months, it is cold, grey and rainy.

To advance and prolong our summer, my wife and I take our vacation in spring and in the fall. We always take a short trip (7 to 10 days) 'nearby' and a two to three week vacation further away from home. With nearby I mean anything up to 2500km, which is about 1500 miles. Further away is everything else, although there is a difference between further away and far away. We love both cultural and relaxing vacations but never mix the two. Therefore, on alternate trips we go for culture (= explore and learn about ancient and present day cultures) or for relaxation (= lying on the beach with our lazy asses).

This time it was to be a short trip with cultural aspiration. Short meaning nearby, we opted for a Greek island and decided on Rhodes. We chose eight days in the fall, from October 23 to October 30. On departure, the weather in the Netherlands was fine. The flight was uneventful; it left and arrived on time. However, near Rhodes we were in for a surprise. The captain announced the weather on the island wasn't really good at the moment but forecasts predicted a change for the better. The captain, who obviously went through intensive customer satisfaction training, had made the understatement of the year (1997).

At Rhodes 'not good' meant it was raining cats, dog and a whole bunch of other domesticated animals. It truly came pouring down. Cars drove through water up to their fenders. People walked knee-deep in muddy streams gushing down the mountain. Thank heavens, the transfer from the airport to the hotel was by coach. That way, at least we kept our feet dry. Nevertheless, it did make us a little anxious. If this was going to be the situation for the entire week, we wouldn't learn anything about the ancient culture, but all about the present day people. It would be interesting to know how they would deal with this. Then again, who knows what tomorrow brings? We'll see.

I woke up at like 8am, took a shower and headed to breakfast. After breakfast I disembarked on the island of Rhodes, Greece. I got borderline lost, but found my way back to the main strip after a few narrow alleys. I went back to the ship where I saw Carolina and Jeff getting off the ship. Back on the ship I went for a light swim and then sat in the jucuzzi. After I felt nice and loose, I headed up to the roof of the ship to catch a few rays. I went down to my cabin after a hour long nap and took a shower and headed to lunch. I met Katy and Courtney for lunch at the buffet. After lunch we went back to the roof for a hour or so and then headed back on the island.  We did some more shopping, where I picked up two new pairs of sunglasses. We got back on the ship in plenty of time for the ship to leave for our overnight excursion to Kusadasi, Turkey. We had a late dinner that night and it took the restraunt two hours to serve our table of eight. After dinner I went and freshened up and went dancing at the discoteca. I stayed at the club until 2:00am and I had a blast. I got to bed around 2:30am.