Positioned close to Rhodes’ UNESCO-listed Medieval City, SLH's Rodos Park hotel is a family run hideout ideal for combining history with downtime. Jack Southan reports

Founded in 1960, Rodos Park is a five-star family-run hotel and member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, sitting just outside the walls of Rhodes’ UNESCO-listed Medieval City. The hotel combines the feel of a Mediterranean resort, with a large pool, gardens and spa, with one of the best locations in Rhodes Town.

I stayed for three nights in June, arriving after an easy 30-minute taxi ride from Rhodes Airport, 16km away, much of which follows the coast towards Rhodes Town.

The colossal stone walls of Rhodes’ Medieval City dominate the centre of the island’s capital, wrapping around a labyrinth of cobbled streets, ancient buildings and narrow alleyways that have been occupied for centuries. They are magnificent in scale, rising abruptly from the deep moat that surrounds the Old Town and separating it almost completely from the modern city beyond.

Sitting just outside them, surrounded by bougainvillea and gardens on a quiet road, is Rodos Park.

LOCATION

The location is exceptional. The walls are visible from the hotel and one of the main entrances to the Old Town is around five minutes away on foot. It gives Rodos Park the unusual advantage of feeling like an authentic Greek holiday hotel, while having the island’s most impressive historical attraction on the doorstep.

The Palace of the Grand Master and Archaeological Museum are also within walking distance, while Mandraki Harbour and Rhodes Town Beach are around 1km away. Within around five minutes of leaving the hotel you can cross the moat, pass beneath the enormous fortifications and disappear into a completely different world – something that we at Globetrender call "culture snacking".

Rhodes’ Medieval City is spectacular. Great stone buildings rise over narrow cobbled streets, small alleys disappear between houses and restaurants spill out into squares and courtyards. The scale of the walls alone is worth seeing, and the best way to explore is simply to walk without too much concern about where you are going.

The Old Town is also unashamedly touristy. Many of the busiest streets are lined with souvenir shops selling variations of the same things and there are endless restaurants and tavernas competing for passing visitors. For somewhere with such an extraordinary history, parts of it can feel surprisingly thin on a deeper cultural level.

But that doesn’t make it any less fun. It is a stunning place to wander around, particularly later in the day when the heat begins to disappear, and there are countless places to stop for a glass of wine or dinner beneath the old stone buildings.

This is where Rodos Park’s location really comes into its own. There is no need to organise transport or decide whether to commit the whole day to sightseeing. I could walk into the Old Town in the morning, return to the hotel when the June heat became too much, spend the afternoon beside the pool and then walk back through the walls again for dinner in the evening.

ETHOS

Rodos Park is family run and places the Greek idea of philoxenia – hospitality – at the centre of the hotel. Despite being unmistakably five-star, it does not feel stiff or overly formal. There is a warmth to the hotel and its staff which makes it feel more personal than a large international resort.

GUEST PERSONAS

Rodos Park works particularly well for couples wanting a luxury hotel without being isolated in a resort, and for travellers who want to explore Rhodes Town on foot.

The Executive Park Suites can also accommodate small families, while the location will appeal to anyone more interested in history, restaurants and exploring than spending an entire holiday inside a resort.

INTERIOR DESIGN

Rodos Park is grand and luxurious, but its setting gives it a distinctly Mediterranean character. Pale rendered walls, arches and tiled terraces are surrounded by palms, mature plants and great splashes of purple bougainvillea, which grows around much of the outside of the building.

Inside, the decor becomes more opulent, with classical furniture, patterned fabrics and dark wood – there’s even a lounge room that is straight out of the colonial-era Far East – while the high ceilings throughout give the hotel a real sense of space. Outside, the gardens and open terraces keep it feeling relaxed.

ROOMS

My first-floor Executive Park Suite (typically 43 sqm to 50 sqm) was very large and divided into several distinct spaces. Immediately inside the entrance was a small kitchen-style area housing the minibar, Nespresso machine, kettle and tea and coffee facilities. This opened into a large living room with a sofa and armchair, as well as a table and separate desk with enough room to work properly.

Large sliding doors separated the living room from the bedroom, where a massive king-sized bed sat beneath the high ceiling. The styling was traditional and elegant, with the same rich fabrics and dark furniture found throughout much of the hotel, and the living area opened onto a very big private balcony overlooking the pool area.

The bathroom was spacious and beautifully finished, although it contained the only real design issue I encountered in the suite. In my room, the shower was positioned over the bath and the base curved quite steeply towards the middle, leaving very little flat space to stand. For larger guests in particular, showering is more awkward than it needs to be.

It was a minor irritation in what was otherwise a gorgeous suite, and one with enough space that spending time in the room felt like part of the stay rather than simply somewhere to sleep.

MINIBAR AND IN-ROOM DINING

The suite had a well-stocked minibar. Room service is available from 7am until 11pm. I did not use it during my stay, so cannot comment on the food itself.

RESTAURANTS: WHAT TO EAT

I stayed on a half-board basis, which included breakfast and either lunch or dinner each day.

Breakfast is served at La Brasserie beside the gardens and pool. There is a large buffet with fresh fruit, pastries, breads, local specialities and the usual cooked options, alongside eggs prepared to order. Cava is included too, which is always welcome on holiday.

Lunch and dinner follow a mixture of Mediterranean, Greek and international cooking, with local ingredients and flavours appearing throughout the menus.

The food was consistently good and beautifully presented, although I should caveat that by saying I worked as a chef for 11 years, ran my own restaurant and have written about food professionally for years, so my bar is probably unnecessarily high.

It wasn’t pushing any boundaries, but everything I ate was enjoyable and the standard remained high throughout the stay.

It is fairly expensive if eating and drinking à la carte, so half-board is worth considering if you intend to spend a decent amount of time at the hotel.

From mid-June to mid-October, the rooftop also hosts a six-course candlelit dinner.

BARS: WHAT TO DRINK

The drinks were excellent. Cocktails were well made, the Greek wines I tried were very good and the beer was served icy cold, which becomes increasingly important in the Rhodes heat.

Rodos Park also has the Galaxy Roof Lounge Bar, which operates from mid-June and looks directly towards the Palace of the Grand Master. I didn’t visit during my stay, but the setting looks beautiful and its rooftop position makes it particularly well placed for sunset drinks.

WELLNESS FACILITIES

The pool became where I spent much of my time at the hotel.

It sits in the gardens surrounded by palms, flowers and bougainvillea, with rows of comfortable loungers and umbrellas around the water and a bar running alongside. Food and drinks are served throughout the day and the whole area feels remarkably peaceful considering the centre of Rhodes Town is immediately beyond the hotel.

There is nothing particularly complicated about it; it is simply a beautiful pool area with excellent staff and a relaxed atmosphere, and in June it was difficult to find much reason to leave. The hotel also has a spa and gym, although I didn’t use either during my three-night stay.

SERVICE

Service was excellent throughout my stay. The staff were consistently lovely, conscientious and eager to help, without the formality ever becoming overbearing.

This extended to the pool, where the lifeguard Maria was particularly brilliant and seemed perpetually cheerful and helpful.

VERDICT

Rodos Park is a classic five-star hotel in an exceptional location. The rooms are luxurious and spacious, the gardens and pool are beautiful and the staff were excellent throughout.

The food is good, the drinks are excellent and you could very happily lose an entire day relaxing.

But it is the proximity to the Medieval City that makes the hotel stand out. Rhodes has plenty of luxury resorts, but few can offer this combination of a peaceful poolside hotel and one of Europe’s most spectacular walled cities just a few minutes away on foot.

Being able to spend an afternoon beneath the bougainvillea with a cold beer and, shortly afterwards, be wandering through medieval streets looking for somewhere to have dinner is a wonderful way to experience Rhodes.

PRICE

Rooms at Rodos Park start from around £253 per night for two adults, including taxes and fees, with breakfast included.