Astron Hotel Reviews

Arriving at 3am after a 4-hour flight to find the air-con in your room doesn't work isn't the best way to form an opinion of a hotel, but we needn't have worried as the Astron turned out to be a very nice, friendly little hotel.

We were given a 3rd floor room at the front of the building, overlooking the narrow tree-lined street of bars, rent-a-cars, hotels and apartments, with the sea visible to the left above the roof of the Governor's House. Great for people watching, but not as good as a beach view. South facing though, which kept the heat of the sun out of the room.

Not the largest room, but comfortable beds, adequate storage space, and a TV - but only CNN in English. The cleaners kept the room spotless, and the sheets were changed regularly. The bathroom was a bit small, and the shower was tiny - but plenty of hot water.
The safe (8 Euros for 1 week, 12 Euros for 2 weeks) was in reception, so there was always someone keeping an eye on it. Air-con is 8 Euros per night, but if you want to save money by sleeping with the balcony door open, bring earplugs as the local bars are open until 2 or 3am. No noise with the door shut though.
Thomson wanted £30 for a room extension on our last day, but the hotel charged us just 15 Euros..........

Breakfast was ";continental"; - croissants, jam, boiled eggs, meat, cheese, yoghurt etc., and was exactly the same every day..... Nice enough, but some bacon and eggs would have been welcome every now and again!

The staff were great, but the stars of the show were Demetrius, who worked the reception afternoon shift, and the barman Stavros.
Demetrius owned the hotel for 30 years before passing it on to his nephew, and he is a really friendly, genuine guy. Always greeted us with a smile and a big ";Hello Mr Nick, hello Miss Selina!";. He soon got our air-con mended as well.

No swimming pool, but they have an arrangement with the Hotel Constantine across the road for guests to use their pool.

The hotel is in the middle of the New Town, about 5 mins walk from Mandraki Harbour, 5 mins from Elli beach, and 10-15 mins from the windy beach and Bar Street. No shortage of food and drink in the nearby streets.
Turn right out of the hotel, left onto Politehniou and you'll find the Antique restaurant. We went there 3 times, and the food and welcome were always top class. Great chicken souvlaki. Next right onto the pedestrianised Mandilara finds several decent eateries. Scalinis has some good value set menus, and La Casa (I think) roof garden is a pleasant place to eat.

The best place to go for great value food, however, was the New Market near the old town. In the courtyard there are a group of rival grill houses and take-aways, with the meat revolving on spits to tempt you....... Our favourites were the Butterflies restaurant (huuuuuge mixed grills for 9.5 Euros), and Angelo's / Aggelos take-away (gyros pita for 1.5 Euros and Mythos beer for 2 Euros). George's Special is nice as well.

The restaurants (and shops) in the Old Town are most notable for aggressive selling rather than anything else, it seems. A ";greeter"; outside each place shouting at everyone they see. ";You, family!! Over here! How many? 2? Here, now!!"; No chance, matey.
We found 2 places that let us survey the menu in peace, so we ate there. Philipo's on Appelou, and the tree-shaded Romeo's on Sofokleous were both excellent.
By the way, don't order a ";big beer"; in the Old Town - you'll end up with a 3 litre boot-shaped glass of the worst beer they have.

Didn't bother with Bar Street...... Too many people trying to drag us into places - we're capable of deciding for ourselves, so leave us alone!
As a couple of beer-lovers we were happy to find Mythos on sale everywhere, but we also found some nice bars with other good beers. Near the Antique restaurant is the welcoming Johnny's Pub. As well as some great German wheat-beers they have a charming and pretty waitress / greeter......... I wanted to bring her home with me, but I guess I'd have gone over my luggage allowance, plus SWMBO would have objected, haha!
More good beer and cocktails at the 2004 bar on Nik. Mandilara. We also liked the Neo Kyma bar opposite the hotel - good for a peaceful last beer of the night. As for the Caramela Music Cafe............... A nice looking bar, but some awful, relentless, cheesy Euro-pop ";music";......... ";Hooray, hooray, it's a holi-holiday"; played 3 times in half an hour....!! Another reason to take ear-plugs.

We didn't go on any Thomson trips - mainly because we never saw the rep..... ";Sorry you missed the welcome meeting"; What welcome meeting??
Went to Symi Island on the Sea Star catamaran from Mandraki (22 Euros), just 45 mins each way, and spent an enjoyable day in Marmaris with Sea Dreams (57 Euros) booked at Mandraki but sailing from the Commercial Harbour. Didn't bother with the coach to Marmaris bazaar, took a taxi to the town centre instead and looked round the castle and old town.

Hired a car for 5 days from EuroStars (Demitrius's son's company) for 125 Euros and saw just about every corner of the island. The beaches in Rhodes Town are nothing special, but the ones at Lindos and Glystra (5 miles past Lindos) are great! Visit Lindos village and Acropolis in the late afternoon when the coach trips have left, you'll see much more.

Butterfly Valley was a disappointment, too crowded, but the ruins at Ancient Kameiros, and the castles at Monolithos and Kritinia are worth a visit. Try to see the interior of the island - the road from Appolona to Laerma has some stunning mountain scenery.

A good holiday - Rhodes Old Town is beautiful, though getting over-commercialised (leave the main streets and discover the maze of hidden lanes and alleyways), the Island is stunning and the people are so friendly. Wouldn't return for a while though - there are too many other places out there to try.