Cook’s Club is a thrumming adults-only hotel brand for the young at heart. Its Rhodes property caters to a Zillennial crowd by offering chic, photo-ready accommodation at an accessible price point. Robbie Hodges reports 

Rhodes might be steeped in history; Cook’s Club Kolymbia is all about the now. This particular outpost been open a couple of years, first welcoming guests with pool parties and rippling beats back in 2023 – capitalising on the post-pandemic urge to mingle. Thankfully, that impulse has only accelerated since, meaning the hotel’s proposition feels as fresh as the day it opened, notwithstanding Greece’s fiery high-summer heat.

It's a hotel that has taken the well-known formula for nightlife travel – music, drinks and endless opportunities for flirtation – but adapted it for the present, in a way that appeals to the health-conscious and aesthetic sensibilities of young people today.  

Globetrender pitched up as the season opened in March. Staff uniforms were freshly pressed, scantily clad Brits lay prostrate under a reticent sun and the air vibrated with the low buzz of early summer promise. 

LOCATION

The hotel itself is situated amid a scattering of typical whitewashed resorts – their curved stucco and glinting balconies cutting through cobalt skies – with small suncream shops and tavernas peppered in between. Right next door is Casa Cook Rhodes, the hotel’s more grown-up sibling property, where a slightly older crowd lol about their low-slung villas. 

Behind the hotel, a scorched hillside climbs into view, knotted with gnarly olive trees and, for those paying close enough attention, the odd mountain goat. Out front, a waterpark peeks above the hotel’s sleek greige façade, offering a sun-soaked vantage point over the quivering sea. 

Rhodes is one of Greece’s most south-easternly outcrops meaning it’s licked by the warmer Aegean seas on its north-eastern flank and the brisk eastern Mediterranean seas to the south-west, where Cook’s Club is situated. Cooling off couldn’t be easier. It’s a short three-minute walk to the nearest beach; a short rugged sweep of blu-ish pebbles flanked by a family-friendly resort.

ETHOS

Whether it’s the Oreo protein bar or sober raves, a defining trend among younger millennials is the pursuit of healthful hedonism. Cook’s Club is paying close attention. “The holiday has changed,” the brand says. And they’re perfectly positioned to cash in, with a recipe for Zillennial catnip that sees musical programming, thoughtfully selected food and organic moments of social connection all basted in a honey glaze of FYP-ready aesthetics. 

But if we were to sum it up in a word, the ethos is ‘waft’: through spacious rooms, into tables of fresh small plates, past macramé hammocks, onto a rubber lilo and out to sea.

GUEST PERSONAS

Good times are rolling, respectfully so. Israelis make up a large swathe of guests. “They love to party!” a staff member said with a wry grin, and Tel Aviv is just an hour and a half away by plane. Fun-seeking Brits follow close behind. Breakfast (a prime opportunity for sociological auditing) revealed a mix of sporty young couples in lycra, older family groups and seasoned Gen X leisure-seekers. That said, we suspect the audience skews younger once university students escape for the summer. 

Expect to meet party people, both lower- and upper-case P. Notches of fun have been actively built into the property’s design: one pool offers ambient beats courtesy of local tastemakers, while the livelier ‘Cantina’ pool ramps things up a notch.

It’s here guests find a stand-alone stage where acclaimed, international DJs like Jaguar (46k IG followers) and Melon Bomb (23k) headline what’s fast becoming a signature event: Cook’s Club Sessions. Held across the brand’s resorts, these day-to-night affairs combine yoga or breathwork, indulgent food and pulsing pool parties, culminating in a euphoric musical finale – splash optional, metaphorical or otherwise.

INTERIOR DESIGN

Much has been said of hospitality’s “beige-ification”, with some decrying a “sea of sameness” as hotels suppress their individuality for maximum market appeal. But there’s a reason beige design delivers on ROI; it offers low-stimulation for dopamine-drained minds. And Cook’s Club is very much in this playbook – a masterclass in what we might call beige-ophilia. 

It’s a refreshingly meagre feast for the eyes that has been curated just so, with canopies of spiky palms and planted lawns pooling around islands of terracotta and greige. Vast planks of cool stone slate and scratchy-looking hessians beckon you to run your hands up, through and all over. Everywhere demands to be touched, experienced. Photographed, too.

ROOMS

In a previous life, this was a hotel squealing with kids and their beleaguered parents. And you can see this in the Deluxe Suites. Gone are the cribs and changing units, and in their place? Well, not much more than a sofa, a TV, long stretches of decadent lounging space and secluded balconies that float against screensaver mountain views. We repeat: “waft”. 

Otherwise guests are in Deluxe Double Rooms – smaller but still aspirational, outfitted in that signature Cook’s Club style. Bathrooms have double sinks and waterfall showers spacious enough for two, plus a generous glass of muscat. Toiletries are an own-brand blend of herbaceous perfumes, though those who appreciate a slick of body lotion after a day in the sun will need to bring their own. 

WHAT TO EAT  

Let’s start with breakfast, and a lot of it. Not just the full English, eggs on request and so on, but bowl upon bowl of premium health food – a boon for those counting macros. Tiered arrangements of mango wood bowls that glisten with raw peanut butter and tahini, spill into an array of bird food: nuts, seeds, pollen. It’s a Goopiness that feels luxurious and of the moment, though of course there’s all manner of baklava, halva, pastries and pancakes for those with deeper reserves of self-love. 

Given the majestic spread, there’s likely little need to again break fast until the bloated sun hangs heavy in the sky, save for a couple of pool snacks perhaps. And when the time calls, three restaurants await. 

Dim sum, skewers and satisfying bowls of dry-fried spicy noodles can be eaten poolside at Street Food Asia. Chefs fling freshly stretched dough into wood-fired ovens at Cook’s Italian. And there’s Cantina, where the morning’s breakfast buffet is replaced with a smush of cooling Greek dips, meats and salads. Each can be enjoyed on a terrace, communing with the sun as dishes float in and out.

BARS

In daylight hours, take a perch at Captain Cook’s Bar – a circular bar between both pools with rocking chairs where you can while away the hours. When evening falls, stretch out under the pergola at the Social Bar. Local wines and, of course, ouzo filter through menus that also make room for a considered splash of non-alcoholic options.

WELLNESS FACILITIES

Outdoor gyms are having a moment. Calisthenics apparatus, in particular, have surged as people look inwards to grow physical strength; pushing back against the industrialisation of personal fitness, and leaning into workouts that stand the test of time (unlike, say, a hypey studio class). Cook’s Club has leapt on this shift and expanded it by placing weight racks, benches, treadmills and stationery bikes under a cabana. 

Those who prefer a blast of AC can, upon request at the front desk, hit the gym at neighbouring Casa Cook where a serene yoga deck also plays host to daily open-air classes for all. 

SERVICE

Warm and affable, sparking conversation even with a language barrier and after having been soft-baked all day in the Mediterranean sun. 

VERDICT

Cook’s Club Rhodes delivers sun-drenched escapism with a knowing wink – equal parts laid-back luxury, dopamine-friendly design and Zillennial magnetism. With its emphasis on effortless cool, social connection and self-aware indulgence, it has captured the post-pandemic vibe shift. It's nightlife travel for the next generation. 

PRICE

Rooms from €150 per night.