Argo Hotel

I really liked Rhodes, Faliraki, and the rest of the holiday, but this hotel was the exception. I'm not fussy about where I stay. Give me a shower, a bed, and Wi-Fi and I'm happy, but this place was a shock from the start. Air-conditioning costs an extra 8 euros per day, which I've never seen anywhere. They advise you to put valuables in their safe because they can't be responsible if anything goes missing. What? Are people climbing the balconies to steal things? NO, it's the personnel! My friends had some small things stolen. At least there was a small fridge, and the location was good, close to the beach and taverns. But if they're charging 8 quid for AC, they could at least put up meshing to keep mosquitoes out. I got bitten all over.

The pool was nice and clean, with sunbeds, and the location was convenient for walking to the beach, restaurants, and bars. The staff were mostly nice, though they didn't help us much, and there was a grumpy man around in the evenings. The room was deteriorated and the bathroom dirty. The bathroom towel had bleach spots, and insects came out of a hole in there. We could hear the guests above us in the bathroom. The so-called double bed was really two uncomfortable single metal beds pushed together, which was very frustrating if you wanted to cuddle with your partner. You can't sleep without the air-conditioning, but it costs an extra 8 euro / night. Leaving the balcony door open wasn't an option because insects would get in. The location had its downside too: music from a karaoke bar went on all night, and in August the cicadas made noise all day long. If you're a light sleeper, that could be a turnoff. I wouldn't recommend the place.

I think the hotel's payment process was highly unprofessional. We booked on Monday and supplied valid VISA credit card details. Their system apparently couldn't process digital payments using modern cards that require two-factor authentication, mandatory in the EU. Even so, the confirmation email said the card would be charged automatically. No charge came through. The email also mentioned an offline payment by bank transfer, but since it said the card would be charged, we had no reason to send a transfer ourselves. On Sunday morning, just one day before we were due to arrive, the hotel checked whether payment had arrived. Since no transfer was visible, they cancelled the booking without warning. I replied by email as soon as I received the cancellation and tried to send the €87 deposit by instant bank transfer. The recipient bank rejected it automatically within minutes and returned the money straight away, with the note “Cancellation of booking amount EUR 87.00 from 15.09.2025.” That makes it clear the rejection happened automatically at bank level, not through a manual decision. The central problem is that the hotel only checked for payment one day before arrival, on a Sunday, instead of checking earlier and letting us know in time. If they had contacted us a few days ahead, it could have been sorted out easily. Instead, our reservation was cancelled at the last minute and we were left without accommodation shortly before the trip.

I've stayed here two years in a row. The location is very good, and in the first year the staff were nicer, which helped me forget the bad bits: ants in my room, flea-infested cats on the terrace, and a huge cockroach in the bathroom. That first year had a good atmosphere, daily breakfast and dinner, and rooms cleaned with fresh towels every day. Things were different the second year. The British barman and the nice lady who cooked were both gone, so there were no more dinners. The hotel seemed in worse shape, the yard may be unkept, there was nothing to serve after 7 pm, and fresh towels came every 3 days. It felt like they were cutting corners by reducing staff. The quality dipped and I had a less nice experience. It felt like the manager, Stavros, was following inexperienced advice from an Italian employee. I managed to put the bad things aside and have some good memories too, but if you're expecting an irreproachable stay, this won't be it. Thank you for the memories, good and bad.