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Where to Stay in Rhodes: Neighborhoods and Classic Hotels

Rhodes, GreeceApril 8, 20262 min read
By MASA Editors
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A narrow cobbled lane between honey-coloured stone buildings and a vaulted arch in the medieval Old Town of Rhodes, Greece01
A narrow cobbled lane between honey-coloured stone buildings and a vaulted arch in the medieval Old Town of Rhodes, GreecePhoto: Paulina Bargielska / Unsplash

Medieval Old Town inn or Lindos captain's house? A neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide to basing yourself on Rhodes — including the island's storied classic hotels.

Rhodes is really several islands in one: a UNESCO-listed medieval city, a breezy Italian-era new town, a windsurfing west coast, a party strip, and — an hour south — the impossibly photogenic village of Lindos. Where you sleep shapes the whole trip, so choose your base first and your hotel second.

Key facts

  • Best months: most hotels run roughly April–October; July–August books out far ahead
  • Best all-round months: May–June and September–October
  • Logistics: Old Town lanes are pedestrian and cobbled — pack luggage you can carry

Rhodes Old Town: sleep inside the walls

The medieval city of the Knights of St. John is the most atmospheric address in the Aegean: lamplit lanes, Gothic gates and the Street of the Knights leading to the Palace of the Grand Master. Dozens of historic stone houses have become small boutique inns and suites — romantic, characterful, and best for travelers who prioritize atmosphere over pools and parking. Nights are lively near the taverna squares; ask for a courtyard-facing room.

A cobbled lane in Rhodes Old Town running under a stone arch between medieval walls
A cobbled lane in Rhodes Old Town running under a stone arch between medieval wallsPhoto: Andrew Vvedenskij / Unsplash

Mandraki and the New Town: grand history, urban ease

Just outside the walls, the New Town spreads around Mandraki Harbour with its windmills and deer statues. This is where you'll find the island's most storied address: the Grande Albergo delle Rose, opened in the 1920s during the Italian era, a Moorish-Venetian landmark that hosted the glamorous set of its day — today it is best known as the home of Casino Rodos, and worth admiring even if you sleep elsewhere. The surrounding blocks mix modern city hotels with long-established seafront resorts, including the Rodos Palace toward Ixia, a fixture of the island's hotel scene for decades.

Ixia and Ialysos: the breezy resort strip

The west-coast strip minutes from town catches steady summer winds — which is why windsurfers and kiteboarders love it. Expect large full-service resorts, easy airport transfers and mostly pebbly beaches; choose it for facilities and value rather than postcard swimming.

A sunlit medieval street inside Rhodes Old Town, with tourists walking past stone arches and a shade tree.
A sunlit medieval street inside Rhodes Old Town, with tourists walking past stone arches and a shade tree.Photo: Bradley Pritchard Jones / Unsplash

Faliraki: sand and nightlife

The island's classic package-holiday hub has the long sandy beach the west coast lacks, water parks for families, and a famous bar scene. Families stick to the quieter ends; night owls know where to go.

Lindos: the romantic south

Beneath its ancient acropolis, Lindos is a maze of whitewashed lanes where centuries-old captains' houses have been converted into intimate boutique hotels — the best-known, Melenos Lindos, is a handcrafted Dodecanese-style hideaway that ranks among Greece's most distinctive small hotels. Cars stay outside the village, and luggage travels the lanes by hand. Base here for beauty and beach coves, not for exploring the whole island.

Rhodes Old Town, Rhodes
Rhodes Old Town, RhodesPhoto: Andrew Vvedenskij / Unsplash

The quieter southeast: Kiotari and Gennadi

For low-key beach days, the southeast coast offers newer resorts and long, uncrowded shores — a fine choice with a rental car, less so without one.

Tip: Book Old Town and Lindos boutique rooms months ahead for May–September — both areas are small, protected and cannot add capacity, so the characterful places sell out first.

In pictures
Pink oleander flowers frame a distant view of Lindos's hilltop town and acropolis above a turquoise bay.Photo: id23 / Unsplash
Tall ancient stone columns of the Acropolis of Lindos rise against a clear blue sky.Photo: Marlies ten Have / Unsplash
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