Travel

Rest, relaxation and all-inclusive luxury on the island of Rhodes

WHEN I think about Rhodes it always makes me smile.

I’ve only visited on a few occasions, but they were memorable ones.

My first was for the wedding of one of my very best friends. She has no real connection to the Greek island, apart from it being one of her favourite holiday destinations.

She and her husband-to-be were so enamoured with its culture, its beaches and its relaxed way of life, that they wanted Rhodes to be the place where they took their first steps in married life together.

And so, the rest of us - namely a large party of friends and family who journeyed to the island en masse to witness their nuptials and partake in the celebrations which followed - got a chance to sample its delights for ourselves too.

The wedding ceremony took place in a gorgeous church in the island’s medieval Old Town, which, in 1988, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Church of Our Lady of Victory, known simply as ‘Santa Maria’ to locals, is the town’s main Catholic church and it is connected to a Franciscan monastery.

Nestled in a quiet courtyard, flanked by pristine white walls, and with a cobblestone mosaic pavement, it is a stunning example of the Gothic architecture found throughout the town which helped it gain its UNESCO-listed status.

Rhodes' charming Old Town is UNESCO-listed

The memory of that day, the tenderness of their ceremony and the serenity of that church has always stayed with me.

So too has the fabulously traditional night of eating, drinking and plate-smashing that followed at a prettily-lit and well-stocked taverna which we reached via boat.

As weddings go it was pretty magical and it’s safe to say that experience influenced my return to the island.

Since then, I have been back to Rhodes on two occasions. Both were fun in the sun holidays celebrating milestone birthdays with family members, with a healthy dose of sightseeing and culture packed in there too.

Each visit brought more laughter, smiles and fabulous memories which only reinforced my fondness for this island.

What I hadn’t experienced in Rhodes - at least not until recently - was the high-end all-inclusive offering available which allows you to enjoy all the beauty and tradition of the island without even having to leave your resort.

But that is exactly what I got when I made my way back there earlier this summer.

We headed out to the island on one of the many flights available from Luton Airport, where we sampled another first by checking into an airport lounge.

We were after a little extra comfort while waiting for our flight and our decision to visit the airport's No 1 Lounges offering proved a particularly good one.

We enjoyed delicious food and a very refreshing range of drinks from the comfort of our lounge seats - without having to battle through any airport queues - right up until it was time to board our flight.

It was so enjoyable, and such a change to our usual, shall i say 'frantic' airport experience, that we promised ourselves we would do it again. But first it was back to the matter of Rhodes.

This trip brought us to the impressive Amada Colossos resort, located in a quite beautiful coastal area on the east of the island called Kallithea, which is only 10kms from the Old Town and 15km from Rhodes Airport.

Kallithea means ‘beautiful view’ and that is one of the most attractive qualities about this five-star offering.

The Amada Colossos resort is located in picture-perfect Kallithea

The Amada occupies a vast seafront location with breathtaking views of Kallithea Bay and also the mighty Aegean Sea, whose glistening waves and deep swirls of blue provide a remarkable backdrop for the entire resort.

Now I am a fan of a hotel with a sea view - who isn’t - but the Amada takes this to an entirely new level.

We arrived too late to enjoy that view on our first night but looking out of the window from our ample sea-facing room that evening you could nearly sense the treat that was in store.

When we awoke and drew back the curtains - well, it was spine-tingling stuff.

The panoramic view of the Aegean that greeted us was mesmerising. But that was only the start of it.

As the day went on, we found the Amada to be a resort full of hidden gems and luxury surprises.

Its ethos is to provide guests with a mix of “relaxation and free-flowing fun” and it has put plenty of thought into doing just that.

With views of the Aegean for as far as the eye can see, the resort is located on a lengthy beachfront with inviting golden sands, cool waters, oh, and fabulously obliging staff at a well-positioned beach bar.

There are free beds and umbrellas for guests who wish to lounge but also access to beach watersports for those who are more energetically inclined in their holiday ideals.

The resort lies lies along a lengthy beachfront stretch

Prefer a pool? You are well covered here too.

The Amada boasts a huge main pool, which offers those spectacular sea views and the welcome breeze but without all the sandy bits.

It also has a family area and an adults area, with ample space for everyone within both.

For those after a more serene scene while relaxing in the sun, there is adults only poolside space and an adults only pool bar, but you don’t see many children at the main pool for long anyway, as there is a far more enticing offer in store for them.

Find your perfect spot and enjoy drinks with a seaview

The main daytime attraction for most families at the Amada is a huge waterpark located within the resort which is just a short walk from the beachfront and pool areas.

Now this is a gamechanger for anyone with children, or who simply loves a waterpark.

It has everything you could want from a day at an aquapark without actually having to leave the resort.

There are huge slides, a toddler area, a lazy river and pool games, as well as lounger areas, a bar and café and even face-painting and on-site kids’ club staff to help entertain the kids.

A huge on-site waterpark is a hit with families

A day spent at this side of the resort feels like an entirely different holiday – high-tempo, active and just absolute fun.

It also means when you get back to the main pool you are very deserving of that drink at the swim-up bar.

What makes holidaying at the Amada particularly relaxing is that, as an all-inclusive resort, there are refreshments on offer at every turn and at all times of the day.

So, you are not bound by the restrictive breakfast timings that you find with regular hotels.

If you choose to skip breakfast, you can grab yourself a spot of brunch at the beach bar, or a smoothie from the health bar or skip the lot and start the day with an ice cream.

Why not? You’re on holiday!

Wall to wall views from the resort's many sea-facing rooms

There are food and drink options dotted around the resort, so you don’t have to go very far to find one, and the food is of a very high standard too.

At any time of the day there is always an impressive mix of traditional local and international cuisine available – although I must give special mention to the midday gyros and Greek salads on offer at the beach bar, which I would happily eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

For your evening meal there is a main restaurant serving a vast selection of dishes buffet style.

This is really good quality food, and the selection is so varied that even if you ate here every night you can indulge something different and get a real sense of Greece’s famed traditional cuisine.

You can enjoy traditional Greek cuisine throughout the day

But there are also four themed restaurants to choose from too.

There is an Asian restaurant, an Italian restaurant, a Greek Taverna and the Enalia Seaside Restaurant.

If you are there long enough you would certainly want to try them all.

As we were on a short break, we opted to go traditional and enjoyed a night at the Greek Taverna and a night at the Enalia and found they both offered some seriously good Greek eating.

A traditional night awaits at the hotel's Greek Taverna restaurant

The taverna, which is sea-facing and benefits from a welcome evening breeze, offers a delicious meze style starter followed by some of the most flavoursome souvlaki and seafood I have ever tasted.

The meal was washed down with a shot of Ouzo, of course, the Greek aperitif which it would simply be rude to refuse.

We enjoyed that experience so much that we didn’t think it could be bettered.

Yet when we sat down for dinner at the Enalia the following evening, we realised we were wrong.

This restaurant is located right on the resort’s beach, which transforms into a stunning spot for an evening meal as the sun is going down.

Traditional delicacies are slow-cooked at the Enalia Seaside Restaurant

The food served up here has been slow-cooked in the resort’s beach-based wood ovens for hours before the restaurant even opens and that care and attention to detail is only too evident once you have a mouthful.

The buffet-style set up means you can have as much or as little as you like of everything and the food under those tempting silver domes are all traditional dishes enjoyed in homes across the island.

There are skewers of all sorts of meats, hot pots and oven-baked dishes including the delicious antikristo lamb.

At one point a waiter sidled up beside our table and made an eggplant dip, while we watched. He combined the flesh of the freshly roasted vegetable with garlic, onion, chili, herbs and mustard and then placed the finished dish on our (already overflowing) table for us to devour.

The fabulous Amada Colossos by night

It was delicious and this is exactly what I love about Greek food. Meats, dips, breads, feta, salads. It’s picky, its sharing, it’s flavoursome and there is plenty of it.

It seems this all-inclusive lifestyle that was relatively new to me, was right up my street after all. At least the version on offer at the Amada is.

This was a holiday that promoted rest, relaxation and fun. There was plenty of activities, entertainment and experiences to be had too, but if you just wanted to take a break and enjoy that for what that is, well the Amada Colossos is the perfect spot.

We left with a clutch of great memories, huge smiles on our faces and a new reason to return to the island again very soon.

Where to book:

For information and bookings at the Amada Collosos in Rhodes click here.

For No. 1 Lounge bookings click here.

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See More: Amada Colossos, Greece, Greek Island, Rhodes, Travel