| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
adrian from teesside travelled to Roda Beach Village with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2008 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location |  | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Food was v.good plenty of choice in the hotel main dinning room if you don't fancy that then you have a choice of three other restaurants Greek, Italian and Chinese. staff were friendly and helpful.The room we were given was spacious and well laid out. the mitsis hotel animation team were excellent.They made you feel welcome and involved in there games and activities.The tour operators reps were not v good on the night entertainment I felt the animation team put a lot more effort into there shows. The hotel is well situated just a 5/10 Minuits from Roda. Here you will find bars cafes and shops of all tastes.I will be going back to this resort.
Click here for more information on this hotel, resort and region
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ej from roda beach village travelled to Roda Beach Village with
thomas cook
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2008 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff |  | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just arrived back from 10 nights at the roda beach village, at first sight we thought it was the wrong hotel for us but by the evening we had a complete different view! Everyone was so welcoming! There was a selection of food in the main restaurant and also a greek, chinese and italian restaurant! The hotel looked as if it was in the middle of no where but a 10minute walk down the beach and your in roda where there is a few shops, other restaurants and bars for those who like lively nights as the entertainment in the hotel finishs at 12! Both thomas cook and the hotels animation team were really nice and welcoming, they ran activities all day and did good entertainment in the evening which was a laugh!! We recommend this hotel and are looking forward to going back very shortly!!
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Mrs Hopkins from Barnsley travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2008 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: After reading the reviews on this hotel we was very aprehensive about going, but we had a brilliant time.
Ok when we first arrived the room that we was allocated did just look like a prison cell (these rooms are to be refurbished next), but we went to the reservations manager who was very nice and helpful, he gave us the option of 2 rooms to view and choose which we wanted, we chose one of the rooms which was lovely and just what you expect from a 4/5 star hotel, we moved straight away with no extra charge.
After that the holiday was great, the food was lovely some thing for everyone, the chocolate cake was to die for the best i've ever tasted.
The pools where lovely my 3 year old daughter was in the pool every day and had a great time, (not once was any of our family sick from going in the pool, it was also cleaned every morning).
The entertainment staff were fantastic the best I have ever come accross they where so friendly came and talked to you around the pool every day and where great with the kids in the beach bar at night time.
The location was ok too, just a 10/15 minute walk across the beach into Roda. Roda is lovely but small with some lovely shops. Just like to mention "Crusoes" bar it was very friendly and great food.
The beach/sea was lovely and very clean.
Not once did we smell any sewarge smells!
We made friends with some lovely people who had stayed at this hotel previous and this was their 3rd visit.
It was a mixture of French, Russian and English, very few German, but everyone was friendly enough.
The drinks where great always cold, the bar man in the beach bar was friendly.
Just one downside was the 2 hour trip from the airport, the roads are very narrow, so it was a long and bumpy journay.
All in all this hotel is great and I would definitely go back again, please do not be put off by any of the previous reviews.
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Sophie Tredgett from york travelled to Roda Beach Village with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2008 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location |  | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Shocking!!!!!
The staff were so rude. I have been to corfu before and the saff were all so nice god knows were they got these people from!
My childs bed was covered stains god knows what they were. Asked if they would change it got told they would but that never happend. I have photos and i am going to complain!
Our rep was rubbish. We talked to some local people all they had to say was he liked his drink!
Never again and would have to really think about booking with thomas cook again.
Food was really rubbish my child had a beef burger that was raw in the middle!
If you do go good luck!! You will need it.
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Liz Cowan from Annan travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2008 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Please ignore all the bad reviews on this hotel! Maybe last year was a bad year but we have just returned after 2 weeks family holiday for 12 of us and we all found it very good!
We did upgrade 3 out of 5 of our rooms, but we didn't need to as all 5 were excellent. We had some rooms round the 2nd pool and could walk from the balcony straight into the pool. We have been to at least 18 different resorts from 3 to 5 star and these were by far the best rooms we've had!
There was an excellent choice of food, something for everyone, including 3 a la carte restaurants. The main restaurant had freshly cooked food, kebab meat, pancakes, pasta bar, the only let down was the fruit selection, and the bacon ( only 3 times in 2 weeks )
The drinks were generous, spirits and liquers very good, wine poor.
Entertainment in English beach bar was average, but the multi lingual in main building was good. Thomas Cook reps were very enthuisiastic and pleasant!
Guests were majority French but friendly enough in our experience.
We mainly stayed by "our" pool or the beach, but the main pool is really nice with slides and kids sections and play areas.
The beach is dark sand and the water was lovely and clear when we were there and we saw lots of fish some of them really big!
We had a trip to the water park which we all enjoyed.
The walk to Roda along the beach is nice, but only a small resort so not much there. We had an evening there which was good.
On the whole this was an excellent family holiday, thoroughly enjoyed by us all!!
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TYLER from BRACKNELL/BERKS travelled to Roda Beach Village with
THOMAS COOK
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2008 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: Well Well, what can I say, I booked up to stay here for 10 nights (under the impression it was a 4/5 star hotel) no way, when I got to my room I thought it was a stable. I have stayed in 4/5 star hotels before, but believe me the accommodation can only be 1 star.
For the first 7 nights thee was no hot water, I was told to have a shower in hotel lobby, the second time I did this I got covered in urine (not from the drains but in fact from the corner of the shower its self), I ran out conditioner still in my hair, went to reception, explained to them what had happened and believe it or not they asked what I wanted them to do (well you can imagine, firstly I asked them to take my towels off me which were covered in urine and flung them at her).
The Thomas Cook rep was not interested at all until I asked for a complaint from, and he demanded to know who told me about the forms, he was terrible. One morning my daughter (13) was screaming in her room, I went in to find an army of ants almost carrying her clothes out of the room.
The smell of sewerage was terrible and the bar staff (unless you are young blonde and have big boobs shout at you. The food, well my god, it was the same every day, never changed. I once went in the pool, the water got on my face that was it, it stung like acid.
Anyway day seven we got moved to another room, the kind of room I expected from the beginning. But the laugh was, I was informed by a member of staff Thomas Cook are the only tour operator to still be using the horrible smelly cold water running rooms, and another surprise they are all being demolished in October to be upgraded like all the other rooms, well by god about time they got their fingers out.
I came back on June 16th, so far no-one at Thomas Cook will speak to me about all the problems. Apart from this, after paying for an all inclusive, we spent a fortune going to Roda to eat and drink (oh did I mention the drinks taste terrible but you cannot get drunk on them).
Roda itself is lovely, but never ever again would I stay at this hotel or in fact any of its chain hotels, cos if their Manners are all the same well there is no hope, rude rude rude.
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Simon from Newmarket travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Hotels4U
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 5 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2008 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I am completely confused by the extremely negative reviews on here! We have just come back from 2 weeks and we have all had a fantastic time and would certainly go back.
Rooms: We were given the renovated Superior rooms around the new pool with a separate bedroom for the children and found them to be excellent
Food: How could anyone complain about the food? The choice is excellent as is the quality I found myself eating far too much because it was so tasty
Beach: It was and although quite dark dirty sand but the beach was very quiet and the sea was warm and very shallow for the kids with plenty of fish to look at
Water Sports: The was only 1 pedelo and 2 canoes but we found them to be genrally unused and only ever a max 20 minute wait so wasn't a problem
Pools: We stayed around the near our rooms and it was always very quiet and peaceful. No problems with the main pool and slides and I have no idea why people are saying they got "burned" by the pool it was treated salted water but I saw a man test the water every single day and never saw anyone with any issues with it.
Sports: The footie pitch is a really good qulaity astroturf and in very good condition likewise the tennis courts
The only complaints that I managed to come up with were the fruit selection wasn't great (the cakes and pancakes defintely made up for it) and the entertainment wasn't great
I was very tempted to not post a review to keep people away from this hotel and I find it extremely good value for money and would certainly go back
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bill panton from essex travelled to Roda Beach Village with
other
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2008 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This is the worst place ever for a rip off holiday. The Hotel rooms are not fit for my dog. The swimming pool made us so ill, we had to stay in the room for a day being sick etc.
We learned the Greek for please and thank you before we went, but didn't need to as the bar staff serve people like they are an inconvenience.
The drinks are locally brewed rubbish. Don't expect to get merry on them and they taste awful. One night we escaped and went to eat out at Roda town.
What a lovely time we had being treated like human beings for once. If you are daft enough to book this holiday, don't try and get a refund. You won't.
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Julie from Hampshire England travelled to Roda Beach Village with
onthebeachholidays.com
on a friends holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2007 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Having read the reviews for this hotel we thought that it could'nt be that bad!!!! How wrong we were. when we arrived first impressions were wow this is great, then we were shown to our rooms, I would not have allowed my dog to sleep in the room let alone shower in one. So we upgraded at a cost of 504 euros for 3 rooms, these rooms were acceptable but not superior. So we thought ok we will accept the upgrade.(no bathrobes etc )Next morning ready for some pampering headed to the Spa, No spa it was shut for the whole week, as was the Gym, as was the Pool bar, as was the greek restaurant, as was the pool bar by our superior rooms as was the hairdressers. They took down the umbrellas they took down curtains, then they closed the top bar. The food was cold and very repetative. The only good thing about this hotel was the entertainment in the evening you could have a good laugh.This is definately not a 5 star hotel we paid top price and only got a quarter of the facilities offered.Do not go you have been warned.
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Tony & Karen Fulton from Wigan, Lancs travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Thomas Cook
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2007 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Booked this hotel despite the reviews thinking the standard rooms couldn't be as bad as expected after viewing the lovely pictures on the web-site. Well, they were worse than we expected - horrible! We are not snobs but like to have decent rooms and would advise that you MUST upgrade. The "superior rooms would be "standard" in any other 5-star hotel but are very nice nonetheless - ask for a sea-view as well.
All-in-all we had a good week but, on return, I sent the following e-mail to Mitsis Head Office and it just about sumes it up - lovely environment, good food (greek, chineses and italian restaurants excellent - we booked a different one each night and used the main restaurant just for breakfast and lunch), good weather, nice village, beach only OK, annoying animation team:-
"Dear Sirs, I have just retruned from a holiday at the Roda Beach, Corfu. My wife and I had an enjoyable holiday looked after by friendly staff in a lovely environment.
However, I have to complain severely about the treatment of new residents and the very low quality of "standard" rooms that guests who don't pay an extra fee are allocated. We paid for a standard room in a 5-star hotel and were allocated something similar to a prison cell. This room was the worst I have ever seen in 30 years of travelling around the world. It was basic in the extreme and very very unpleasant. It was NOT anything like a standard 5-star room - it was not worthy of any star rating whatsoever.
I then had to pay E24 per night to "upgrade" to a room which at least resembled a standard 5-star room but NOT a superior 5-star room. This is a disgusting way to treat guests in a so-called, 5-star hotel.
The treatment of guests in this way at the start of their holiday is disgraceful. Through the week we watched people arrive, tired after long journeys, collecting their keys and within 10 minutes returning to reception to demand to be moved. Needless to say, the charge was E12 per person per night - a money-making scam! A terrible start to a holiday and stressful for the people working the reception desk having to continually deal with irrate customers.
The rest of the hotel is very nice but, if you advertise yourselves as a 5-star hotel, you should provide 5-star accomodation and treatment. This would NOT be a 5-star hotel anywhere else in the world but Greece!
Your web-site shows a beautiful room but does not show this as a "superior" room or say you will have to pay extra for it - guests arrive expecting this type of accomodation and not to be put in the horrible rooms we were allocated.
The only other complaint I have relates to the animation team. People are trying to have a relaxing holiday around a nice swimming pool but the team run around shouting and disturbing people and playing loud music to guests who, in the main, don't want it. All the people I spoke to wanted to relax and were fed up with noise and disturbances. I know they are only doing their jobs but it was just too much.
I did enjoy the week - the food was excellent, the people friendly and the main hotel was very nice. However, there need to be major improvements before I will return or recommend a Mitsis hotel to my friends."
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Linda SELL from Essex travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Thomas Cook
on a couples holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We arrived at the hotel and were told our rooms would be ready in half an hour. We were upgraded to superior rooms free of charge. The rooms were very nice and very clean but what a disaster it was to try and have a shower ! We were not told about the showers only being hand held until we were on the coach transferring from the airport. Unless you had a shower before 6 o'clock at night, then forget it. The showers had no power and started to run cold (if you were lucky to get water out of them) We did report this several times to the rep. who said they had been fixed, but they were no different throughout our holiday. The rooms were kept very clean and fresh towels were put in the rooms every day. If we had paid extra for the superior rooms, then we would have been asking for a refund because of the showers.
The swimming pool was all one depth (nearly 6 foot) so unless you were very tall, it was impossible to stand up in the water. The water was also very salty and we all felt very itchy when we got out of the pool.
The food was the same every day. No variety at all. Although we were all inclusive we ate out several times because we were fed up with the same thing day in, day out. When we have been all inclusive before at other resorts and hotels, there have been drinks and snacks available 24 hours a day. Once the bar closed at night, there was nowhere to get a soft drink, water or coffee etc. until breakfast the next morning.
To get into Roda village it was a 15 minute walk across the beach or a very long walk (approx. 40 minutes)along the roadway which was very steep. Although we were told by the reps. that you could get a cab into Roda, it was almost impossible as they didn't turn up when you ordered them at the reception.
The animation team at the hotel were very friendly and got lots of people involved with the day to day activities and worked very hard.
I was very diasappointed in this holiday and would never consider going to this hotel again.
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SirBob6 from Bristol travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2007 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just returned. Excellent location, but Operator's description totally mis-represented rooms. 3 out of 4 families spoke to had to pay upgrade of 15 euro PER PERSON per night - in our case 390 euro - to get the room they thought they were going to get in a 4 * accomodation.
On arrivals, most people seemed to be double-booked, and get put in a poor "holding room", and things are sorted next day. You are then allocated poor accomodation - you complain, and are told the only solution is to upgrade to superior!!
Even worse, what ruined the holiday totally was a major problem happenned with the pool, resulting in problems for people. Choosing my words carefully - a chemical imbalance appears to have resulted in injuries. The hotel & UK operator acted in denial, and kept pool open. After intensive complaining, UK operator issued letter telling us NOT to go in pool if we had suffered injury, but they kept it open for subsequent new arrivals to then suffer the same problems.
They said tests came back clear - but pool was virtually empty for our 2nd week, and they stopped the in-house watersports because Entertainment Team wouldn't go in water (apart from once, to prove to guests it was safe! They then stopped it again for next 2 days - draw your own conclusion!).
CAUTION: If allowing your children to enter pool, please ensure they shower after visit - and encourage them to avoid getting contact with their eyes (difficult I know).
To close - if you are lucky enough to get the superior rooms at no cost, and they sort the pool out - this hotel would be ideal for families.
Unfortunately, the management of these two elements (by UK operator and hotel) have resulted in my family declaring it our worst experience ever.
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Hannah from Durham travelled to Roda Beach Village with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2007 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: When we arrived the staff were quick to get us to our rooms.
When arriving at rooms, they stunk of sewerage, and the rooms were not clean at all.
Good point was that we were right next to the pool and the beach though.
The location was perfect, right next to the beach and just a 5minute walk into roda.
Staff were very friendly at the bars and restraunts. However in the chinease restraunt, it took the waiter 25minutes to bring us a glass of water.
Entertainment team were great. The french entertainers were a bit annoying shouting and balling all the time and they only alowed the french to join in with their activities. Unlike thomas cook they alowed everyone and so did the hotels animation team.
Pool was a huge let down.
They had put some chemicals in the water which wasnt ment to be there, and about 60 childern got burnt from them. One young girl had it all over her face.
This problem was not solved during our stay so we could not use the pool.
The hotel manager didnt deal with the problem he just said there is nothing wrong with the water, but the next day another 10 childern were burnt.
Manager also got this dutch man arrested 'cause he was just trying to warn people about the dangers of the pool.
> > > > >this problem is not fixed by the way < < < <
If you are about to go to this hotel. I would ask about the pool!!!
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john , Anne from Devon travelled to Roda Beach Village with
hotels 4u
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2007 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Were taken to rooms quickly after we arrived. In the main block just off of reception. Rooms were clean and tidy however a bit on the basic side.
Staff were wonderful.
Hotel very clean.
Food was very good with a good selection. Chinese had no problem booking.
Pool the best.
Entertainment great had my husband joining in together with the children all day children ages 17 to 9. Evening entertainment great laughter in the beach bar with the reps from Thomas Cook.
Going back again in September.
Was building work at front of hotel however never interfered with hotel in any way
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Martyn and Deb Clark from Dorset England travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Hotels4you
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2007 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: When we arrived and was allocated our room, you could describe it as a boiler block. This was not the room that was advertised on the web as the room you get. We asked to be moved. We were moved after a while to another room which, after spending a night in and found it was opposite a fire door (that banged all through the night) we asked to be moved again. The only other option was to pay for the upgrade which was the rooms that were advertised on the web! Never on any occassion was the manager avaialble to speak to or for assistance. He kept himself hidden behind his reception staff in his locked office as their were quite a few complaints. We then discovered that behind our block was another block under construction which went on from 7.30am until 8.00pm 7 days a week.
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Leanne from Glasgow travelled to Roda Beach Village with
My Travel
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2006 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: I stayed at the Roda Beach Village Hotel for one week in Oct 06.
As soon as we arrived (around 12.30am), we had to wait a long time for our room, we were given nothing to eat.
Once in the room it was disgusting and extremely smelly. We asked to get moved rooms straight away and were told we'd have to speak to the accommodation manager the next day. We tried to speak to him but were constantly told that he was showing other people round their accommodation - the biggest lie ever as all he did was sit in his office and drink coffee all day.
After 2 days I DEMANDED to speak to him. Told him that we wanted moved room. I was told by him that woman should not speak to men in the manner that I did. That sent me over the edge and I asked him who the hell he thought he was speaking to - he constantly called me 'little girl' and 'honey' - I'm 27 years old!! He told us if their accommodation wasn't up to scratch then we should get out of his hotel - he was literally going to chuck us out for dare complaining that his hotel rooms were disgusting. He said nobody else complained - lies again as every time I walked past reception there were lots of people complaining about their disgusting rooms. It took for me to refuse to move from his office for him to move me room. I wanted to punch his face in as never in my life have I ever been treated so badly and had to pay for the experience - Greek men, especially those of a certain age like this accommodation manager do not like woman speaking back to them. I feel v sorry for his wife!
The rest of the staff are helpful - apart from the reception who claim not to speak English if there is a problem!
There is a seriously hot bar man!
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smith from maidstone travelled to Roda Beach Village with
hotels 4 u
on a family holiday.
There were 1 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2006 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: From the time I arrived it was hell to put it bluntly. I travelled with my three kids youngest being 1 year.
We just wanted to get to our room and get changed. No room ready, waited 1 hour, offered first room, no cot, dirty very small, up 3 flights of stairs, no lift in building, refused.
Waited 1 hour just took second room could not be bothered to explain to staff that I couldn't carry pram up stairs not much better paid for 4 star this was not.
Hotel only 3 star and then I'm being generous.
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Lynette and Brian from Caerphilly travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Sunstar Leisure
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2006 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We would say that this was the most unfriendly Hotel as far as staff were concerned that we have ever stayed in! We found the bar staff were particularly rude and drinks were as good as thrown at you.
The cocktails were served into a disposable cup and came from a large plastic bottle that had previously been mixed, no ice or any of the normal extras you would expect in a cocktail.
They serve only local drinks and even if you wish to pay, nothing else was available.
We thought the food was fine a good choice overall but little changed each day. The hotel was very clean. but there is obviously a problem somewhere as it is also very smelly at certain times throughout both the day and night. This could be a really nice Hotel,the setting, pool etc is very good, but what makes a Hotel good for us is the friendliness of the people, who we feel should make your holiday as enjoyable as possible, ie the staff.
We will say that there were a few, such as the cleaners who were Greek, and very friendly but most were not. We have been told that the Hotel was sold late last yearand maybe this explains a lot.
At the beach bar we tried to get an iced coffee and were told they did not do them(In Greece!!) but the next day when we went there the barman was drinking one. We would not comment on the entertainment as that would not bother us.
We prefer to entertain ourselves.
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laura from hornchurch travelled to Roda Beach Village with
sunstar leisure
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Board Basis: All Inclusive
Date of Holiday: Aug 2006
Tour Operator: Sunstar Leisure
Submitted By: Mrs L Beaumont
Overall Rating: 1/10
Comments: Having looked at previous reviews on this website, I was dubious about booking, but having seen some positive comments about refurbishments in 2006 and not having a lot of other options as regards dates etc, decided to book. Please be aware that when we booked our holiday as a 5 star holiday, we were actually hoping for a 3 star British equivalent.
Trip from Corfu Airport - if you travel by cab to the Hotel it will take you about 45 mins (a white knuckle ride admittedly) and if you travel by coach, it's more or less double that. Be prepared for some pretty scary hairpin bends up and down mountains!
Arrival at Hotel - when you enter the Hotel, you could think you had actually booked a 5 star hotel. It's spacious and we didn't have to wait very long before being shown to our room.
Room - I wouldn't have let either of my dogs stay in this room! We booked a family quad room and the description of the rooms on the website was something like "bright & spacious accommodation". Well, the room stank, it had a carpet that I refused to tread on, the hairdryer was broken, most of the electrics didn't work, the curtains were hanging off and we overlooked a brick building.
There were 4 single beds, 2 of which were camp beds and there was no space between them. At the foot of the bed, there was about 18 inches to get to the balcony. I called reception and was told "No problem, I'll get back to you". 20 mins later, I went to reception and was told that an electrician was on his way to the room as we spoke!
After a very lengthy, heated conversation I was given the keys of another room to look at. We accepted this room as it had a double bed, a bunk bed, a tiled floor, it overlooked a garden and it was clean. However, it still smelt and was most definitely not 5 star!
Restaurant(s) - the main Restaurant has a wide variety of food, including some Greek dishes and food for children. If anyone complained about the food in this Restaurant, I would be very surprised. The main problem with this restaurant however, is that fact that the staff appear disorganised and are sometimes downright rude. Whether this is because there are too few staff or the staff are unhappy, I have no idea, either way, the service definitely isn’t 5 star!
There are 3 restaurants on the beach which have to be booked at 8:00 am the previous morning, i.e. 8:00 am on Tuesday; you can book for Wednesday afternoon/night. We ate in all 3 restaurants and again, I definitely would not complain about the food and the service was much better.
Having spoken to one of the waiters in one of these restaurants, we were told that as there is a large French contingent (I would guess 60% with possibly 20% German and 20% Other), the waiting staff tend to give them priority, as they can be very arrogant if they don't get what they want. These are my words not his, but this would explain why all the other English people that we spoke to had the same experience as us.
Bars/Drinks - we experienced exactly the same problems with the bars as with the main restaurant. Mostly unfriendly staff with very little time for you. By the way, if you're expecting to get tipsy on this holiday forget it - I tried desperately and didn't manage it.
The white wine is undrinkable, the red not much better and the rose just about drinkable. The beer and just about all the other drinks seem to be watered down. Be aware that the bars close at 12:00 sharp.
Entertainment - Don't expect much, unless you're French.
Pools - all 3 family members who used the pool were violently sick within a few days. In 2 cases, this was followed by ear and/or throat infections. This obviously means that if you have children and they have used the pools, you are confined to your not 5 star room. Almost every person we spoke to had exactly the same problem.
This review may seem to be a bit of an essay by a sad old mare, but I'm trying to express the good and bad points of this holiday. If you are expecting a 5 star holiday of any description, forget it. We actually went into the local village and looked at almost identical rooms to the one we had and they were classed as 2 star!
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Sarah from tyne and wear travelled to Roda Beach Village with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I loved the all inclusive part of the hotel as everything was already paid for.
The hotel staff were all really nice to our family, the food was ok but spaghetti was put on every night.
The entertainment team; Wesley, Hanna and Johnny were all really nice to us and made everyone join in with everything.
The entertainment was brilliant and our family would definitely go back and visit the hotel again.
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daz from wakefield travelled to Roda Beach Village with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Lots of steps around the hotel, pool areas and to the dining room. Our room was situated in a block away from reception and we had around 40 steps to contend with, and a pushchair, oh and the lift didn’t work. Had to change rooms due to the first one being dirty and in need of serious redecoration. The air con didn’t work in this block for a week out of our holiday so it was quite unbearable at times in the rooms.
The English entertainment wasn’t up to much, and is held in a glass building with no air con near the beach. it was like an oven.
If you can visit the restaurants on the beach because the food is better there than the main room, but they do get booked up quick.
Pool areas very clean and the staff did try their best to sort out the problems for you. You just have to be persistent.
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Kelly from glasgow travelled to Roda Beach Village with
DIY
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2005 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We went to the Roda Beach Village in the October School week and I have to say it was rather disappointing.
The hotel itself has excellent facilities however we found that as the week went on most of them were closed for the season.
The rooms are very basic and small especially if you have kids with you although very clean.
The food was repetitive, spaghetti every day. There wasn't a lot of choice and we choose to eat out as much as we could. Our son wouldn't eat at all!!!!
The staff were very unhelpful but I found that there wasn't much need to speak to them anyway.
One thing I will say about this hotel is the entertainment was excellent. One of the best I've seen.
Again allegedly because of the time of year they ran out of beer a few times and there was no diet coke for the whole holiday!!!!!
If I was to go back to this hotel it would have to be in the summer however I wouldn't go on an all inclusive basis.
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Alison from Caerphilly travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and more than 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The Hotel was as expected, nothing more, nothing less. The rooms were fine but for a family of four more space for clothes is needed, just take plenty of hangers although some people do leave some behind. The rooms were cleaned daily and the maid is friendly and cheerful if you are to her.
Coming from a catering background, I felt like I was in a regiment canteen. The Maitre'd did not smile or make you feel welcome when showing you to tables that he chose, dare you want another table of your own choice, Just choose one when he's not looking. The waiters were similar and I think those who wanted to smile and have a conversation with customers who sat on his tables dare not as the Maitre'd would pounce. This for me spoilt meal time along with the extremely bad organisation, lack of communication, bad management and a feeling of just eat and get out of here.
The location of the hotel was ok, but if you expect a taxi it is luck of the draw, you can wait from 10 mins to 1 + hour. You can walk into town along the beach, prepare to have a bit of a laugh on the way back though if you forget a torch.
The hotel staff were fine if you don't expect much. Again it is luck of the draw if you find them on a good day or not.
The entertainment team were great. They are talented, Welshy, Yvonne, Lauren and Drew are great entertainers in their own right, and obviously love their jobs but one thing I found is that they could do with extra help. The kids team again work very hard and I can find no fault with any of the Thomas Cook staff. Well Done!!
Would I visit this hotel again? If they changed the restaurant set up, improved the menu, and sent the Maitre'd on a 'how to be friendly to your paying customers course' then yes I would.
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Fran from Caerphilly travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Paul Morgan Travel
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and more than 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The rooms were very clean although lacked ample storage for a family. We requested a child friendly room as our children are 2yrs and 4yrs, we were given a cot and a single bed, so our request was honoured. We were on the 1st floor,but balcony rail is too high for kids to climb unless aided. The rooms were cleaned daily and the maids were nice enough. There is a fridge, air conditioning and a television, which came in very handy, especially with kids.
The restaurant is buffet style, but felt more like a canteen with no organisation. Everyone is walking around with their plates trying to dodge everyone else. Food was nice enough but could be repetitive. Childrens menu was hopeless unless you want your child to eat chips, spaghetti bolognese or pasta, every day. The service provided by the Maitre'd and staff could have been better and more organised.
At the end of week one, I was dreading going up those stairs to the chaos!
Location is fine, even with 2 very young children. Easy enough to walk along the beach (with 2 buggys) but remember to take a torch for the walk back in the dark! If you don't like horses, not a good place to walk as you have to walk through the riding school which is based on a bit of scrubland - all horses are tethered away from the main path though, so no threat. The beach is not brilliant, but our children thought it was good enough for some sandcastles and a paddle, it depends what you want in a beach I suppose. Roda village is nice, plenty of lovely restaurants. We would recommend the Roda Parc Restaurant in the main alley. Fantastic service and lovely staff.
Hotel staff are okay. Main pool bar is dominated by the french and germans - not as bad as sounds though. We were not limited to how many ice creams the kids had, or how many drinks - no-one seemed to count. Yes the pool bar loudspeaker annoucements are loud, but none of my family (all 15 of us) were bothered.
Entertainment was great. I agree that the Thomas Cook staff, Drew, Welshy, Lauren and Yvonne, seem stretched but they obviously love their jobs and work hard to keep us happy. The shows in the evenings were well thought out and very good. The interactive games were not brash and you were not dragged up to take part. Do wish the entertainment went on a little bit more for the kids though as it was hard keeping them occupied whilst you did the quiz or bingo etc. The main entertainment team were strictly for over 16yrs and unless your children were in the kids club (which does cost you) they cannot participate if adult numbers were at their highest. If your child is under 5yrs old, there was no entertainment provided.
Yes I would definitely visit this hotel again, but I would probably want to see some improvement in the restaurant and the way it was run. Had a fab holiday though and the kids loved the pools, the park, games room and beach. Not like Butlins at all.
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mrs payne from paisley travelled to Roda Beach Village with
thomas cook
on a friends holiday.
There were 4 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel was of a good standard, but could do with a lick of paint. Staff were all pleasant and friendly.
Entertainment was excellent at night but could improve poolside family entertainment for younger children.
Very noisy in the morning and late at night when people were returning to there rooms.
Food was very good for adults but limited for the children.
Reps Stacey and Karl were very helpful and entertainment staff welshy, drew, yvonne and lauren laid on entertainment of a very good standard.
Waiters and bar staff were all very pleasant. Family room was very small and basic but had fridge and air conditioning.
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mrs martin from paisley travelled to Roda Beach Village with
thomas cook
on a friends holiday.
There were 4 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel was clean but could do with a paint. All hotel staff very friendly. Enterainment staff were of a very high standard.
Food was good but poor for children.
Location fine only 10min waik to Roda.
Would go back again.
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Janice Miller from Middlesbrough travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel location is ok, there is nothing in the immediate area but you can take a short beach walk into Roda (10 mins) if you go after dark take a torch, I wish we had.
Your accommodation will vary according to where you are placed, the best rooms are reserved for the French although if you complain you may get moved into one of these very spacious, new rooms.
There are some self catering apartments half way down the drive to the hotel, these rooms were good but it’s a hike up a hill once you leave the complex, our room was located near to the pools and beach bar and was ok, have had better. Little room at the end of the bed and desperate lack of electrical sockets, but the air con and fridge were very welcome and the maid service excellent, fresh towels every day and clean linen every 3 days.
Food was poor, nothing else to say really unless you are easily pleased, pork bolognaise, chips, spaghetti featured every day and the menu bears no resemblance to the provision. The snack bar at the beach serves the same food every lunchtime, pizza, chips, sandwiches, more pork, more bolognaise. The most disappointing thing is the lack of provision after 9pm, cold sandwiches only.
The bars are ok and most of the bar staff good but again the provision is basic. Note – we arrived after 10.30pm and had to ask for food, we were given cold sandwiches. The French arrived at 11pm and they opened the restaurant for them.
The daytime entertainment is good and Drew, Welshy, Yvonne and Lauren work very hard to keep all the Brits entertained around the pool with water polo, you bet challenge, beach volley ball, killer pool and darts and other games but they were stretched and had to provide all the evening entertainment too (apart from the Greek night).
The usual format was 8pm – kids disco followed by a quiz, bingo, audience participation game/or the entertainers sang and by 11pm it all ran out of steam and loud disco music played until 1am. These guys really need more support/bigger budget from Thomas Cook.
Pools – there was one large under used salt pool and a smaller chlorinated activity pool as well as a good sized children’s pool the first 2 were both very cloudy but clean.
Internet – do not use the hotel facitlity, it is so slow and very expensive at 8 euros an hour, go into Roda and you will pay 5 euros and it is much quicker. Do not use the hotel telephones, you talk first and pay later, it is a total rip off at 1.5 euros a minute it is cheaper to use your mobile or go into Roda.
The games room is good for the kids, nice play area for small children. Useful shop on site as well as a good beach supermarket, we found the duty free in the airport departure lounge the cheapest for booze.
If you want to hire a car don't book with Thomas Cook, get a price from Budget or the Neckerman rep they are much cheaper, you will find them in the hotel lobby.
We booked for the (well pushed) Greek night and found out from another guest it was dreadful and we managed to get our money back, most people enjoyed the Aqualandia trip but were indifferent about the rest.
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Lisa from Surrey travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel is great. The restaurant bit is really nice and it was good to be escorted to our seats. It is really clean and there were english speaking staff so they could help us.
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julie from north wales travelled to Roda Beach Village with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This was our first all inclusive holiday and we were pleasantly surprised.
We all enjoyed the food and tried the local food not just the chips!
Our 6 year old son had the time of his life and is still singing "we love the Roda Beach and all the entertainers ....”
There are a vast amount of other nationalities at the hotel.
Many people were disappointed by the service of the staff at the restaurant and the bars - however, we found few people said "Please" or "Thank you", we did, and we had no problems with the staff.
The rooms were exceptionally clean - clean linen and rooms each day.
The kids club was second to none and I doubt we will ever find a better one! We took our son on our last morning and there were only 2 children there, I assumed we would be told there was not sufficient numbers, yet the three club reps took them both to the park and for ice-cream, Selina, Dave and Lilo Leigh were fantastic with the kids and all the entertainers were too.
I want to return to the Roda Beach again as I was not disappointed. If you are on a family holiday and want all day entertainment of the cheesy variety to have a laugh to, and want to drink and eat whilst your children play and laugh all day, I would recommend the Roda Beach to anyone!
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lisa stairmand from middlesbrough travelled to Roda Beach Village with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I visited Roda Beach in August 2004 with my husband and two children aged 9 and 4.
This is the best holiday we have ever had.
The hotel was very clean fresh towels every day and maids did a great job.
We were so impressed we are booked to go back this year for two weeks on the 29th July can’t wait.
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Liam Spofforth from Liverpool travelled to Roda Beach Village with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I went to Roda with my mum and dad in August 2004.
The hotel itself was clean and staff were friendly.
The food was what I expected, basic.
The reps were brilliant- Sonny, Charlie, Jo and Julie were great fun throughout the fortnight. As I am a teenager I could have got bored quite easily but there was so much for me to do, including the Brazilian soccer every day exept for Sunday. It was run by Colin who worked hard. I have a good memory of after one session I stayed behind with Colin and a few of the other kids dads come to play some of the Italians in a football match. There was also some German team who played. The game went into penalties with the Italians and I scored the winning penalty. I was chuffed but my mum went off on one because I was late for dinner!
The entertainment was superb every night the girls would perform a good quality show. They shouldn't have been reps really they should have been on stage!
I met a great bunch of friends including some Italian girls which all of us English lads, never wasted our time introducing ourselves to! it was great for all ages, my mum and dad also had a great time!
It was the best holiday I have ever been on, and I would certainly recommend it.
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Tara Panice from Bexhill, East Sussex travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel and restaurant were clean.
The beach that the hotel is on was not that claen.
Loads of seaweed and a bit of rubbish.
Food was typical of an all-inclusive of its price range.
If you want better pay more!
Staff are friendly and helpful.
For me and my husband it was a bit of a Butlins in the sun, but my 3 children aged 14, 14 and 5 had a brilliant holiday. I was able to give themall lots of freedom. I felt the hotel was safe for them to wander round. They met loads of friends and the Thomas Cook team were absolutely brilliant.
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Rob from Cleethorpes travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Roda beach Hotel was clean enough.
The food on offer in the buffet-style, was well prepared and varied, you didn't have to live on chips if you chose to be a little adventurous. If you tried a little of everything you would have a real plate-full (as my waistline will testify!)
Most of the staff seemed friendly, if a little surly at times, particularly the pool-bar staff, who, I don't think managed a smile at all.
Ice-creams were limited to 1 per child at any 1 time, and we were told not to fill our water-bottles from the water chillers, which we found both odd and extremely annoying as we thought this holiday was all-inclusive! We ignored this instruction anyway.
The entertainment was not for us. The poolside announcments were blasted out at ear-splitting volume, loud enough, even,to wake us from our frequent drink-induced `power-naps. Most people seemed indifferent to the daytime entertainment,makes you wonder why Thomas Cook bother with it.
As for the evening/night-time entertainment, I am a little biased, but if you like Butlins, you will love this. At least you can retire to the main bar area and avoid all the bingo/talent shows/everybody-on-the-dancefloor,migraine-inducing tat.
A special mention for the main-bar staff,who were spot-on and enjoyed a good crack, wish we'd found out sooner, wouldn't have wasted our time at the beach bar.
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annedavid from durham travelled to Roda Beach Village with
?
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We went back here last year to see how much it had changed(we were there twenty years back)the only changes were that its larger, modernised and all inclusive.
I would recomend this holiday for familys and couples, its worth going just for the beach location. One word of warning, we had a pervert taking photos of young boys by the pool! We told managment, they warned him, but after he took no notice two days later he and his parents were told to leave the hotel.
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lisa,martin,jack and dan from wolverhampton travelled to Roda Beach Village with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: the trip from the airport was breath taking, you have to go up through the mountains and the views are suberb, was looking forward to seeing what the hotel was like.
we weren't disappointed, we were greeted by a man that takes you cases to your room, was grateful as there were a lot of steps( and the lift in our block has apparently never worked!)
don't be distubed by your room number they are all close to the pools and bars, they did need to be for you to get your sunbed, you had to get your towels on quite early, though we never not got one.
the hotel is very clean, and there's a little shop for the bits you forgot, our to buy biscuits for the kids!!
the food was very nice, but there wasn't much choice for the kids, although they could get snacks throughout the day from the beach bar, pizza, chips, bread, kebabs, and rolls.
the weather was very hot, we had some great storms at night, we sat on our balcony till 3am one morning just watching the lightening, it was like a fire work display, don't think it stays like it the days were gorgeous
the kids clubs were great, the kids enjoyed them once they were there, slumber party was well woth the 10 euro's for an evening of peace!
roda is a small town, but there was enough there to wander around, big ben pub on the seafront was the best place we found
the nightly entertainment was great, all the british entertainment was at the beach bar, so you got entertainment just for all of us, and the germans were in the main bar!!
the entertainment was never repeated, a different show every night so we found it worthwhile going to watch, and the entertainers really do work hard to make sure everyone is having a good time, both during the day and the night.
all in all we had a great time, and would recommend it to anyone with children
also if you get chance have a go on costa's horse riding round the orange groves, we really enjoyed it
aqualand is well worth a visit as well, the bbq boat trip was good to
other people got a taxi to sidari, it was only 10 euro and well worth spending a night there for a change
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Derek from Woking travelled to Roda Beach Village with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Roda Beach Village as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Roda Beach Village.
Found this hotel to be of a good quality with very good facilities and good food.
Its location on the beach is superb with only a 15/20 minute walk along the beach to Roda ( essential to take a torch as it is unlit).
OK,so it a buffet style restaurant system but the food and the variety on offer was plentiful and the only minor irritation was that a long queue formed at the bar for drinks during Dinner time. Trick is to get a drink first, table second and food third.Can't really comment about the entertainment as this is not our thing and so didn't attend.Rooms are of a good size with efficient air conditioning which is controllable.
One of the best holidays I have had.
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