Best Boutique Hotels on Rhodes

Nov 22, 2014

RhodesBoutiques_FEATURE — The view from the terrace of Filoxenia Cozy’s Dovecote suite. // © 2014 Filoxenia Cozy

Boutique hotels are a growing trend in the hospitality industry. On the Greek island of Rhodes, where many large hotels cater to package tourists and families, boutique hotels are a welcome alternative for couples who want more intimate accommodations that reflect the island’s local and historical flavor. Following are our top three boutique hotel picks from our recent trip to Rhodes.

Amathus Elite Suites Rhodes
A short taxi ride from the Old Town, Amathus Elite Suites Rhodes offers 37 seaview suites, most with private plunge pools overlooking Ixia Bay. This adults-only boutique hotel was added on to the full-service, 317-room Amathus Rhodes hotel in 2010. Decor is crisp and contemporary — think wood floors, white walls and gauzy curtains. The hotel's pebble beach is accessed via a tunnel underneath a coastal road, separating the hotel from the beach.

Filoxenia Cozy
Lindos is a medieval village with white-washed houses, car-free cobblestone lanes and donkeys that carry visitors to its Acropolis. With eight individually-decorated rooms and suites, Filoxenia Cozy is a hotel snuggled within the pretty town and is just a short walk away from Lindos’ golden beaches (which happen to be some of the best beaches on Rhodes).

Our Lindian Grand suite had bleached white plank floors, a king-size bed covered with lace-bordered linens, a beamed ceiling and European-style windows with muslin curtains. The bathroom features a pebble floor and a head-height window in the shower that reveals a view of the Acropolis. In the separate kitchen-cum-living room, we discovered a CD player, a wine rack stacked with bottles of Greek wine and a Nespresso machine. It would be easy to bed down here for a two-week seaside holiday.

We also really liked the Dovecote — a self-contained suite with a traditional elevated Lindian bed, a tiny kitchenette and a magical rooftop terrace (we just had to climb a narrow circular metal staircase to reach it).

All rooms are airy, sunny and very clean. They also offer fast and free Wi-Fi access and a delightful breakfast in a mosaic-paved courtyard. Cheeses, olives, Greek yogurt and honey, fresh-baked bougatsa (pastry with lemon cream filling) and croissants with homemade preserves kicked off our mornings. Another nice, personal touch: Either the owner herself or her manager greets all guests at breakfast, offering them tips for their day and on where to eat.

S. Nikolis Hotel & Apartments
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Knights of St. John built the impressive Palace of the Grand Masters and Street of Knights in the Old Town of Rhodes. For many, these sights are the main reason for visiting the island.

To soak up the medieval atmosphere, nothing beats staying in a centuries-old building right in the UNESCO-listed Old Town. S. Nikolis Hotel & Apartments, built within stone walls dating back more than 800 years, is such a place. It offers 20 eclectic rooms and suites, some with stained-glass windows, Byzantine-style arched mirrors and mosaic-tiled bathrooms. Most rooms feature high ceilings but are on the small side and a little dark (in keeping with the inn’s historical origins). Our recommended room picks are numbers 12 and 14 — the most spacious rooms in a cool section of the hotel, each with a large bed, a small sitting area and a wooden balcony shaded by trees.