Atlantica Imperial Resort - Adults Only

“An Island Retreat”

Whilst I don’t normally choose large hotels, the layout and size of the estate never gave the impression of a 390 room hotel. Our sea view room with balcony was everything we hoped for both in decor and amenities you would expect from a 5* hotel. Our all inclusive package was exactly that with the … more

Whilst I don’t normally choose large hotels, the layout and size of the estate never gave the impression of a 390 room hotel. Our sea view room with balcony was everything we hoped for both in decor and amenities you would expect from a 5* hotel. Our all inclusive package was exactly that with the usual exceptions for premium brand spirits and wine which was acceptable as the mealtime house wines were perfectly drinkable. The restaurant was staffed by well trained and friendly faces who were very efficient and in sufficient numbers to cater for the numbers. The food on the whole was excellent and varied with a number of speciality nights during our stay. The evening entertainment was a little sparse but that could have been due to it being October. The mostly sandy beach was kept very clean with helpful boardwalks strategically placed, however future guests should be aware that water shoes are advisable to cover the last stretch into the crystal clear water. If I have any small negative observation to make, it would that the hotel don’t appear to be over conscientious in protecting their claim to be “adult only” status as I witnessed families with young children occupying cabanas on the beach on numerous occasions which I understand they rent out if not busy. Otherwise a truly enjoyable holiday.

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“Very nice hotel but somewhat boreing”

This is my first ever review Reception. This was a lovely experience being greeted with warmth and genuine friendship cool face towels and a glass of champagne quickly booked in I emailed the hotel asking for a specific room but sadly it was occupied so was put next door Bags taken off by porter… more

This is my first ever review Reception. This was a lovely experience being greeted with warmth and genuine friendship cool face towels and a glass of champagne quickly booked in I emailed the hotel asking for a specific room but sadly it was occupied so was put next door Bags taken off by porter with us following excellent service Room our room was a premium sea view room number 1230 it was spotless as expected with the Atlantica chain quite large and well appointed lovely view over the pool and nice sea view we emailed hotel prior to leaving asking for a mattress topper for the bed and extra coat hangers this was done the bed is large and comfortable if a little firm for me hence the topper. Our first morning we left our room to go for breakfast we mer the cleaner she was so pleasant and seemed genuinely happy to greet us she cleaned our room every day leaving it spotless I tipped her on our last day and she was so happy almost in tears giving me a huge hug always smiling always saying kalimara ( good morning) Staff ..the staff were brilliant always happy and smiling and nothing was too much trouble. A couple of times a Staff member was a little detached but this was only one particular guy who was a non Greek he seemed a little miserable The pool bat Staff were fantastic apart from the guy just mentioned Tsampika was so very nice always happy and funny always remembered our drinks didn't really have any queuing odd time or two had to wait a couple or minutes I asked the hotel week's before coming if the bar staff could make Harvey Wallbanger cocktails they said no they don't have the galiano liqueur then they emailed back saying they will get some in for me absolutely fantastic service well done Food and dining. The food was very very good huge choice anyone moaning about the food here must be very fussy we were met at the entrance by thanks is the mantra d a big fellow with a big personality we were passed to girl who showed us to a table subsequent night we asked to seat our selves as we want to choose our table no problem the buffet does get very busy and it gets congested it's not really well set out lots of queuing also takes a little time to get served your drinks but your in Greece waiting is expected the dinning area is spotless with table cleaned quickly we got down gor meals early otherwise you would have to wait on guest I spoke to waited 35 minutes to be seated not great Pool area Large free form pool very clean and warm lots of grass area with lots of loungers never any issues getting one staff occasionally came round taking drink orders but not really often enough they played some awful king of trance music all day I think they thought is was relaxing but it got on your nerves after an hour or two several guests I spoke to felt the same something different would have been nice Entertainment Sadly this really let's the hotel down for a 5 star hotel the entertainment was very very poor. cheap acts and very amateurish we were excited one evening a FIRE SHOW advertised. Thinking it was fire eaters ect we hung round waiting with excitement we were absolutely shocked to find it was about 12 /15 firework rockets. pathetic ...this is a 5 star hotel for heavens sake I am in contact frequently with a long time returning guest who feels since covid the hotel has definitely gone down aparently used to have a weekly pool party with prawns. Lunchtime BBQs. they used to bring ice creams round the sunlougers wedges of mellon wine tasting fun and games all gone now since they kicked TUI out and began organising their own entertainment This is the one reason we won't return it just so boring Beach The beach is pebbles you will need beach shoes this is not a private beach (non in Greece ) so gets busy with kids. sunloungers are free to use the beach drops off quite quickly after entering the water so you are out or your depth very quickly so be aware of that Hope I haven't bored you all

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“Relaxing Stay, Great Value for Money”

We’ve just returned from a fantastic week at Imperial Atlantica and overall, it was a wonderful experience, made even better by the perfect October weather. We stayed in a swim-up junior suite (Room 212) on an all-inclusive package, which we found to be excellent value for money. The room itself wa… more

We’ve just returned from a fantastic week at Imperial Atlantica and overall, it was a wonderful experience, made even better by the perfect October weather. We stayed in a swim-up junior suite (Room 212) on an all-inclusive package, which we found to be excellent value for money. The room itself was stunning and we made the most of the terrace, enjoying the sun from 08:30 to 15:00, even at this time of year. Arrival: The transfer from the airport was smooth and not too long. We were greeted with a welcome drink on arrival, although check-in took a little while due to limited staff in the early hours. Once checked in, a buggy took us to our room, where we found sandwiches and a well-stocked minibar waiting for us. This was replenished daily on the A/I package. Pools & Sunbeds: The pools were on the cooler side, but we still enjoyed our time lounging by the water. After mornings on our terrace, we usually headed to the main pool, where we never had any issues finding sunbeds. It would be good to have pool towels in the room if checking in late especially if have a swim-up room. You collect these from the spa between 10:00 a 17:00. Food & Drink: The food was varied and tasty, with some standout nights like the Italian night and gala dinner. Special mention to the friendly staff, including Minas and Orsy, who made our experience even better. On the downside, the grab-and-go food between 12:00 - 17:00 was disappointing, with low-quality chicken nuggets posing as burgers, overcooked pizza and cold fries on the gyros. There was a wide variety of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, with the pomegranate and mint mocktail being my favorite and they also had 0% Tanqueray gin. The menu was slightly confusing regarding soft drinks, but we found out that they are included at the pool bar. The staff were also happy to accommodate off-menu requests like my husband’s Long Island Iced Tea. That said, service in the evenings could be slow and we occasionally waited up to 25 minutes for drinks - staff did apologise. Dining: There was usually a small, orderly queue to enter the main restaurant each evening, but it moved quickly. We skipped the a la carte restaurants, preferring the flexibility of dining whenever we liked rather than being tied to a reservation. The restaurants looked amazing from the outside but we heard mixed reviews from other guests. Sky Bar: We visited the Sky Bar twice on the residents' side of the resort but found it empty and it lacked atmosphere, so we didn’t stay. I'm glad we chose to stay on the main side closer to the main pool, beach and evening meal/entertainment. This could be because we came towards the end of the season as other friends who recommended the resort loved Sky Bar. Entertainment: The evening entertainment was hit or miss, with some great acts and others not as good. However, the poolside quiz was a fun daily activity that we enjoyed from the comfort of our sunbeds. There was also other light activities on most days including aqua aerobics. Beach & Surroundings: The beach was clean and had plenty of sunbeds, but it’s very pebbly, so water shoes are essential. A short walk takes you to a lovely little harbour with stunning views and a few shops and restaurants, a perfect spot to explore after dinner. Day Trips: While there were plenty of options for day trips to Lindos or Rhodes Old Town, either by bus or car rental, we opted to fully relax at the resort this time around. Late Check-Out: On the day of departure, we explored the late check-out options, which ranged from €60 to €180 depending on the time extension (15:00 was €80 which we made use of). There's also the option to book a free shower room for 30 minutes to freshen up, which must be arranged a few days in advance. This was an actual room with use of iron etc too in our case. Overall: I would definitely recommend Imperial Atlantica for a relaxing holiday. The setting is beautiful, the service is friendly, and the food and drink options are plentiful. However, a few improvements—such as faster evening drink service and better grab-and-go food—could elevate the experience. This is a laid-back resort, perfect for those looking for a quiet and relaxing holiday, and we met many returning couples, which speaks volumes about the experience. Would give this 4.5/5 if we could. Thank you ☺️.

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“Relaxing stay”

We recently returned from Rhodes, having spent 25 Sep – 2 Oct at the Atlantica Imperial resort. Many aspects of our stay were very good, just some small niggles. We are a couple in our late 50’s, and the main objective of this trip was just to chill out and enjoy the sun. We had booked with Tui, a… more

We recently returned from Rhodes, having spent 25 Sep – 2 Oct at the Atlantica Imperial resort. Many aspects of our stay were very good, just some small niggles. We are a couple in our late 50’s, and the main objective of this trip was just to chill out and enjoy the sun. We had booked with Tui, all inclusive. Arrival: we arrived a little past 11 am and were greeted with a cold towel and a glass of bubbly (there’s also iced tea as a non-alcoholic choice). Our room was not ready yet, which we perfectly understood, so we left our luggage, got our wristbands and headed out to explore the hotel. I’m somewhat OCD when it comes to planning our holidays, so I had thoroughly researched all available information on the hotel as well as loaded the Atlantica app, so I was fairly knowledgeable where everything was situated. I recommend getting the Atlantica app, as you can familiarize yourself with the menus, entertainment etc. before your trip. I also used the app to book the shuttle bus to Rhodes town; very convenient. We were told that our room would be ready around 1 pm, at which time we and our luggage were taken to our room with a golf cart. While waiting, we had a drink at the lobby bar and some lunch. Room: we had booked a premium double room with sea view. Prior to our arrival I contacted the hotel by email and asked for a quiet room, as we like to rise early and thus also tend to go to sleep early as well, and hubby is a bit sensitive to noise. We stayed in room #132, which was as far from the bar and entertainment area as possible. The room was quiet, and although we could hear the noise from the entertainment area on our balcony, no noise could be heard in the room after shutting the glass doors to the balcony. We were happy with the location. While I understand why the rooms in this location/building are classified as sea view rooms, be aware that by no means is there an unobstructed sea view from your balcony. Instead, there are bushy trees between the building and the sea, and what you see is in fact the beach, a couple of meters of water and the bushy trees. Due to the location of our room (towards the end of the block), we had a small slice of unobstructed sea view towards the right side. Rooms #129-131 have a bit wider unobstructed sea view than what we had. If you prefer a “true” sea view where you can see the horizon, I would probably ask to be allocated a room higher up in the main building or the building next to it. The room itself was of a good size, with a king-size bed and a sofa. More than enough wardrobe and drawer space. Two chairs and a table on the balcony. Plenty of toiletries (Olivia Thinks – brand, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotion). Bathrobe and slippers. TV, although we never opened it so can’t comment on channels. Large water bottle, replenished daily. Soft drinks and beer also replenished daily, as well as a bottle of white wine on arrival. Also potato chips/crisps and nuts, replenished daily. In my email to the hotel I had mentioned that we were celebrating our 35th anniversary. The hotel kindly provided us with a bottle of bubbly, some fruit and sweets in our room on arrival; thank you for that, it was a nice gesture and very much appreciated! I’m not fond of the trend of designing hotel rooms with a partly open bathroom. The layout of our bathroom was such that there was an open area with the sink (no door between this area and the main room), and from this sink area there were two separate cubicles, one for the toilet and the other for the shower. The cubicles had frosted glass doors that were open below and above the door. This can get a bit awkward if you’re not too intimate with your travel companion, since all noise from the toilet can be clearly heard in the room. Also, if you need to use the toilet during the night, both the light and the noise of flushing the toilet may disturb the other person. I wish there had been a way to communicate to the cleaning staff (we don’t speak Greek) that we didn’t need our bath towels changed every day. The usual way of hanging up the towels to indicate that no change is needed didn’t work, they were changed every day. The hotel states that it’s dedicated to minimizing the environmental impact and water conservation, so this is something that could easily be done to help with those aims. Staff & service: in general, most of the staff were courteous and helpful. I understand that the season has come towards the end and the staff must be pretty tired; despite this, we were usually greeted with a smile. From the staff I would like to specifically mention Tsampika at the pool bar; she has an astonishing memory when it comes to remembering people’s room number. Minas and Orsy at the lobby bar were also the best and nicest servers. Our room was always cleaned quickly and thoroughly. The reception staff were not overly friendly, but what little contact we had with them was handled okay. Sometimes we wished it would have been possible to have self-service also at the lobby bar, since occasionally there was somewhat of a wait to get our drinks. Pool: a large pool where the daily aqua fitness took place, as well as a smaller quiet pool. We stayed near the main pool, and never experienced it to be too crowded. Although the hotel seemed to be quite fully booked especially during our first days, there were always at least a coupe of sun beds free no matter what time of the day. There are more luxurious sun loungers/cabanas to hire for extra price, we didn’t want one, as we felt their location wasn’t very good. The pool water was okay temperature-wise, definitely not too warm imho. We didn’t try the quiet pool so can’t comment on that. We felt the music by the large pool was played with quite loud a volume, so we always tried to find sun beds as far away from the loudspeakers as possible. We preferred the garden area under the trees, with just a perfect blend of sun and shade, and the sun beds there aren’t as close together as those by the pool. Not too far to walk and get a drink from the pool bar. Pool towels: you get them at the spa, which is accessible either from the pool area or by using an elevator to the right side of the reception (something I wished the girl at the reception would have told me clearly before I had marched up and down the stairs on our first day…). The beach towels are large and fluffy enough. Water dispensers in the pool area to fill up your own water bottle. Beach: sand and small round pebbles nearer to the water. We managed to walk to the water without water shoes, but they would have made it easier. A bit less pebbles towards the left side of the beach compared to the right side. The beach is accessible to everybody, so there are also children. There were always free beach loungers. Clear water, nice to swim in. Bars: three bars: pool bar, lounge bar in the main building and Sky bar in the Residence area. We mostly used the pool bar during the day and the lounge bar for a pre-dinner drink. We went up to the Sky bar twice, it was very quiet. The drinks weren’t very strong, but enjoyable enough (we’re not big drinkers). I liked the frozen drinks from the pool bar. Restaurants: we didn’t think the offerings at the a la carte restaurants were interesting enough, at least the options included in the AI, so we chose to dine in the buffet restaurant every evening. The food was very good, definitely one of the best if not the best we’ve experienced in AI hotels. There are different theme nights. The gala night on Tuesday evening didn’t differ in any way from the other nights during our stay, maybe with the exception of a better main course (very nice beef). The choices each day and evening were multiple and changed each day, although of course there were certain items that stayed the same, like Greek salad, tsatsiki, some pasta sauces… I especially liked the “local corner”, with yummy Greek food. Sumptuous dessert offerings. Several wines to choose from included in the AI. We tried all four red wines included, didn’t find a great difference between them, all were drinkable, but not especially great. We also tried one of the rosés, it was okay as well. We usually went to dinner promptly at 6.30 pm when the buffet opened. There were occasionally long queues around 7.30-8 pm, when you had to wait to be seated. For lunch we either went to the buffet restaurant or had a smaller snack lunch at the Streat Food snack bar; the latter had very nice gyros. Breakfast was also very comprehensive. Tea and coffee are served to your table. You can get special coffees like cappuccino, although I didn’t try them, so can’t comment. Entertainment: as mentioned, we like to turn in fairly early, so we didn’t see much of the evening entertainment. One evening we listened to the Passengers duo at the lobby bar, they were quite nice. Once we made the effort to stay up until 9.15 pm to sample the “main” entertainment show, I think it was the Legends show. Unfortunately, we thought it was quite bad, and the volume – although we sat nearer to the pool bar and not especially near the stage – was really loud, so we left very soon. One evening while we were at the Sky bar there was a DJ who started playing music; again, the volume was so high that we had to leave. Miscellaneous - we’ve stayed in several all inclusive hotels, albeit not in any of the Atlantica hotels, but this was the first time we had to state our room number and sign a receipt every time we ordered a drink. We got used to it, but it was a tiny nuisance. - the shuttle bus to Rhodes town was convenient. 12 € per person return, in the morning at 9.15 am and return leaves from Rhodes town at 3 pm. It picks up people from other hotels in Kolymbia as well, but then drives straight to Rhodes town, the stop is at the harbor. On return we were the first to be dropped off. There is also an evening shuttle to Lindos a couple of times during the week, didn’t use it. There is a bus stop for the local bus in front of the hotel, if you prefer that. - there is not much to see in Kolymbia, mostly hotels, minimarkets/tourist shops and some restaurants and bars. We had a nice walk to the Greek flag on the nearby peninsula. There were boat trips available as well, we didn’t try them. To round this up, we were pleased with Atlantica Imperial and would not hesitate to recommend it.

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