When I planned our trip to Greece, Kelley said she wanted to go some place historic. Every place in Greece is historic. I chose the island of Rhodes as it was a familiar name as the site of one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Ancient World’ and there were two hotel choices where I had sufficient points to book room nights. Rodos Park Suites & Spa is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) and a World of Hyatt partner hotel. Rodos Park was a Hyatt category 5 reward when I booked the hotel in January 2023 for an April stay at 17,000 points per night off-peak rate. I only had 35,000 points and a free night certificate in my Hyatt account. While the annual free Chase Hyatt credit card certificate can be used at a Category 4 hotel for 18,000 points in peak season, you cannot redeem the standard certifcate for an off-peak Category 5 hotel at 17,000 points.Â
Rhodes is a sizeable island, ninth largest in the Mediterranean, with beach resorts scattered around the coast. We were looking for a couple days in The Medieval Old Town of the City of Rhodes, one of the best preserved medieval fortresses in Europe and not a beach vacation. Many of the beach resorts on Rhodes and other Greek Islands are seasonal hotels anyway that do not even open until May.
We were staying in Rhodes three nights, so I booked Best Western Plus Hotel Plaza Rhodes for our first night at 16,000 points. The property is centrally located in the city of Rhodes and about ten minutes walk to a swimming beach. Rates for May 22 start at 28,000 points and June dates rise to 32,000 – 36,000 points.
As our luck would have it, Hyatt dropped Rodos Park to category 4 in late-March 2023 and I had earned several thousand more Hyatt points from credit card spend. I was able to rebook three off-peak nights at Rodos Park for 36,000 points. Best Western Plaza Hotel is more centrally located in the town of Rhodes near markets, bars and restaurants. Rodos Park Hotel is ideal for an easy stroll into the Medieval Old Town of Rhodes where there are also plenty of restaurants, bars and shopping. The fortress walls completed around 1465 enclose a large area of about 104 acres.
Transportation To Rodos Park Hotel
There is no Uber or common ride share app services in Rhodes. A taxi is about 30 EUR, likely more at night. I had read the bus was 2.50 EUR and I opted for public bus service.Â
The bus stop is outside the Rhodes Airport terminal doors to the left, 50 to 100 meters depending on where you exit.
The bus was behind schedule and more and more passengers arrived. Fortunately we found ourselves near the front of the line. I think the mostly young crowd gave us some deference as some of the few older people riding the bus. Ticket price was actually 3.50 EUR.
The drive along the waterfront road revealed numerous hotels, including the Sheraton Rhodes Resort, several large supermarkets, some smaller markets and numerous car rental agencies. When we arrived in Rhodes city about 25 minutes later I used Google Maps to get off one stop before the Central Bus Station. Seeing numerous taxis near the Thermai bus stop seemed like a good sign. We paid 6 EUR for the taxi to take us and our bags about 400 meters slightly uphill to the Rodos Park Hotel. It would have been walkable, but the final stretch to the hotel does not have good sidewalks and probably not advisable for rolling luggage in the dark of night on the street.Â
Rodos Park Hotel lobby
The bar and dining room are left of reception and a large seating room and library are right of the central lobby. The hotel pool is outside of the dining room.
Rodos Park Hotel Deluxe Double Room
We were provided an upgrade to a Double Deluxe Pool view room on Floor 2 of the four floor hotel. There were not many guests in the 59-room hotel based on breakfast attendance. At check-in we were offered two glasses of lemonade.
The bed pillows were delightfully soft. There were no USB ports bedside. We always travel with two European plug adaptors that each have two USB ports, so it was not an issue having our phones and tablets charge during the night.
Glass of lemonade provided at check-in sits on shelf. The minibar is in cabinet below. I emptied all the items out of the refrigerator for food and beer purchased at the market nd restaurant meal leftovers during our stay. The closet had plush robes, which Kelley lounged in for much of the day. I am not a robe person.
Of note were the luxurious bath towels at Rodos Park Hotel.
Kelley swam in the pool and said the water was breathtakingly chilly.
Rooms on the backside of Rodos Park Hotel overlook an inactive archeaolgical site.
Many of TripAdvisor reviews on Rodos Park rave about the views from the rooftop bar. Unfortunately the rooftop was not open during our stay. I was told it generally opens around mid-May.
Complimentary Breakfast at Rodos Park Hotel
Breakfast at Rodos Park Hotel made this property a 5-star experience for Kelley. Open bottles of champagne were a morning treat. There was a large spread of food.
There were also made to order choices including fried eggs and omelettes on the breakfast menu and I had both during our stay.
This is a nice hotel for a stay in Rhodes if your primary objective is visiting the medieval fortress of Rhodes and not a beach resort.Â
A consistent comment for Rodos Park Hotel on Tripadvisor is the high level of service. We concur with that from our experience. Rodos Park Hotel ranked #15 of 122 hotels in Rhodes Town at time of writing.
Rodos Park Suites & Spa – Hyatt website
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