Golden days

The hotel was average, but I enjoyed my stay. It was over 38 degrees during the day while I was there, which was too hot for me. I’d visit in May next time, rather than July or August. I was surprised that air-conditioning in the room cost extra. There’s a bar, eating out locally is cheap, the staff were very friendly, and guests can use the swimming pool, though I never did. Checkout was handled very poorly. Staff told me checkout was at 11am, but my airport transport wasn’t until 17.30, so I spent 6.6hrs in reception on a very hot day with no air-conditioning. If I didn’t check out on time, I would have had to pay extra for room use.

We’ve just wrapped up our vacation after seven days at the hotel, and honestly, we didn’t expect a 2-star place to be this good. The room was clean, with daily cleaning and fresh towels. There was YouTube, the owners and staff were friendly, and the cats on the property were just pure love. The hotel is in a quiet area, with a supermarket and lots of cafés nearby. It’s an 8-12 minute walk to the sea, which was no problem, and it’s easy to reach Lindos and Rhodes by bus. We’re really happy with our stay.

The pool sits beside a main road, leaving you exposed to people passing by, and we felt watched whenever we swam. Inside, privacy was just as poor: the bathroom door is see-through and faces both the bedroom and the entrance. The bathroom floor flooded whenever we showered because the drain is in the middle of the room, far from the shower, and the tiles were slippery enough to feel unsafe. Our room hadn't been cleaned before we arrived, and it wasn't maintained during the stay. The kitchenette we asked for amounted to a kettle and one spoon. The fridge, tucked inside a cupboard, was so warm it was useless. We also had ants, a broken mosquito-net door, and were bitten badly at night. The beds were broken and uncomfortable. We were charged twice for air conditioning, which felt like a scam on top of an already overpriced stay. Some staff were rude and unhelpful, while others came into our room without knocking. Golden Days Hotel was a huge letdown. For the price, it didn't deliver, and I wouldn't recommend staying here.

The quiet pool and handy location were the best parts. The hotel is near bars, restaurants, and the main road to nearby cities, so it works as a base for getting around. Still, those positives didn't make up for the problems we had. The €40 air-conditioning charge felt hidden, and the unit barely worked. It seemed even hotter with it running. Our fridge also didn't work properly. The beds were passable, but the bathroom was a bigger letdown: guests are told not to flush toilet paper, which was inconvenient and unhygienic, and there wasn't even a towel to step out onto after the average shower. Breakfast costs extra, but we found better, cheaper choices at local places in town. The staff weren't openly unpleasant, though it seemed more important to them to get every euro from guests than to make the stay comfortable.