Come on people! If you had checked the reviews and hotel website prior to travelling, you will have noticed that The Ixian Grand was opening its' doors as the newly refurbished 5 star, member of The Great Hotels of the World group for the first time in April. Common sense told me that there were bound to be snags - Lord knows that I have been to many other luxury establishments that have been running for years with many items of unfinished business! We travelled late May with our 6 year old daughter and knew from the moment we booked independently that we had chosen wisely. The hotel arranged for a full sized brochure to be couriered to my doorstep from Rhodes - this is not standard procedure when booking a hotel abroad, but a fantastic touch! The hotel lobby area is impressive with a quiet and relaxing check-in procedure. We opted for a Grand Suite which although is described to have a shared pool, upon arrival to our room, we found the shared pool was the one pictured where it is divided up, giving the feel of a private pool and decking area! The decor in the room was exactly as shown on the website. So minimal and classy, but with so much storage! Such a shame to unpack and ruin the appearance with our holiday items... The only downside to these rooms is not having a sea view, but with the beautifully kept gardens and ambient lighting surrounding the pool, it was actually just as nice! This room was excellent for our little girl - the choice of being in the water or watching a DVD out of the sun was perfect. The main pool has a calm, simple layout which adds to the chilled out vibe that The Ixian Grand exudes. There is a sectioned off shallow pool for little ones, plenty of sunbeds, but I was dissappointed that nobody used the raised decked area! I am sure this will be well used in the weeks to come. The pool restaurant / bar served delicious food which was all freshly prepared and cooked in the open kitchen area and we felt was really good value for money. The decked bar area looked like the perfect place to chill out with a cocktail after dinner. Staff will also come round and serve you from your sunbeds - an absolute must for this level of hotel. Being in a suite, we got to eat in the A La Zonia restaurant for breakfast, though we tried the standard buffet restaurant as our little girl actually preferred it. The decor in the suites' restaurant was great - all white with touches of black, nothing like you normally find in this industry of bland neutral tones... We ate in the Degu7 and fully appreciated the decor and restaurant formality behind it all - think fine dining in London, but contemporay and not frumpy at all. Delicious food and a different glass of wine to compliment each dish. A stunning taster menu, where I found myself eating or trying everything despite not being a lover of meat or fish! Although being a little more formal, being in low seaon, the hotel allowed us to take our daughter in as a once off (over 12's normally which is justifiable for such a fine dining experience) and brought her exactly what she wanted from the standard buffet restaurant making her feel like a true princess! Don't be put off coming here - if you love your food, then go! - A restaurant is only as quiet and stuffy as its' guests... The reception staff for both the suites and the main building were extremely helpful and when we had a problem (our pool needed a little clean) they were there in an instant! The maids/cleaners were lovely, going out of their way to get our room clean despite we are probably the world's latest risers when on holiday. We had our daily fresh fruit and Greek sweets, and the toiletries were in abundance - and a very well known luxury named set too. The pool towels were nice and fluffy and they seemed to have no qualms in leaving you with fresh ones if you were using the current ones - this is not standard in all hotels. Beware the mosquitoes - nowhere near as bad as in Halkidiki, but found if you covered yourself in the Autan stick, they bounced off you rather than stopped for a bite! Our daughter did not notice that there was no kids club, though there weren't many children, she made a few good friends. The staff love the children and couldn't do enough for our one - not having tacky entertainment and a kids club does not make a hotel un-child friendly! I am sure if you had a baby, they would have warmed the milk. There were high chairs and child-pleasing foods so I don't honestly know what families are looking for. You may come across some surprised couples who don't appreciate your child running riot in the lobby bar area, but most smiled, appreciating the show... We ate out in Rhodes Town most nights, and I would like to reccommend Red in the new town area. After you have eaten all the Greek specialities that you can stomach, this is a refreshing change of fresh tasting dishes, some with a twist and a nice hit of chilli if required. The restaurant is nothing like the usual "pretend" tavernas that are strewn over the island, but a very modern and fresh look - it would not look out of place in a well-to-do part of London. Not pricey, but not cheap - in fact that goes for the whole island, we found. You get exactly what you pay for. Don't be scared to try the smaller, older looking establishments because you are usually surprised at the abundance of good food that gets served up. Places in the old town obviously get dearer the better the location. Taxis for 5 euros and sometimes up to 15 - there didn't seem to be a set price for the taxis we got, though this could have been down to them knowing where we were staying.... Overall, a stunning hotel , offering peace and tranquility but near enough to sample the buzz of Rhodes Town. We are glad we chose The Ixian, and we intend to return. Give the place a chance - after all there is a reason it was awared the 5 stars and a place with other Great Hotels of the World. Just a note to say that I didn't attach any photos because it looked EXACTLY as depicted on the website (our only grievance was the lack of apples on the bed...he he he!).

We are a family of 3 and visited the hotel mid of April. Just got back from our spring vacation. I was a little bit afraid of what I would find at the hote because of all the bad comments I've read about at Trip Advisor. I have to be completely honest: we were all amazed from what we received during our stay at Ixian Grand. Friendly check in, quiet surroundings, well decorated and cleaned room at the main building and although we initially expected a few from the buffet - breakfast & dinner- we were still surprised to experience the good quality food and nice service. We had a nice suite at the building overlooking the sea and I tell you, it was totally breathtaking, although the weather was not always very nice and was quite cold. Comfy bed, ample area, jacuzzi, fluffy robes and towels and most important: A FREE SAFE BOX!!! The surrounding areas (lobby, pools, gardens) were very well taken care of and the view is magnificent from the design lounge area of the hotel. We had breakfast & dinner every day and still every day we had variety and lots of options for dining. I take back my second thoughs about the hotel and to be honest both me and my husband (who initially didn't want to book this hotel) are very dissapointed to know that because of some comments we could have lost this very nice and beautiful opportunity to have the most relaxing vacation so far. I suppose these people have corrected a lot of things from 2007 and to tell you guys the truth, although it's the first time I visited the hotel, it is a really 5 star property. I don't care about the past, but I know for sure that a second chance deserves to everyone. Happy journeys to all!!

just come back from the ixian grand wow what a fantastic hotel room was lovely weather lovely and hot ok the food wasnt spectacular but it wasnt as bad as some people makeout the hotel has lots of different cultures of people especially germans but they didnt bother us there were 5 of us and 3 of those were 1 teenager and 2 in there 20s but they also enjoyed it entertainment wasnt very good but we went out for walks at night and found plenty of bars but had to walk a bit but got taxis back at 5 euros went into rhodes which cost 10 euros by taxi all in all this hotel is one of the best we have been in and we would go back again what a fantastic holiday