For this year's summer holidays I opted for the Mercure Rhodes Alexia hotel which was opened in June 2021 after renovations. There were some works still going on when I was there in August, but only on the facade (they were putting Mercure logos onto the building).

As you can see from the pictures, the immediate surroundings look a bit sketchy, but it's not dangerous by any means. There are some strip clubs down the road, but the area is fine. There are also quite a few derelict buildings around, which ruin the fun somewhat, but it's not the hotel's fault. This street does look a little run down, but all the other streets are completely normal, so it's not really a problem.

Check In

So, prior to my arrival, I contacted the guest relations manager with my one request. I had booked a Privilege Sea View room and I specifically asked NOT to be upgraded to a Junior Suite (more on that later), but to have a Privilege room on the top floor, at the end of the hallway, away from the elevator and the noise inside the hotel. I'm happy to report that this was all granted and I was very happy with the room.

I took a taxi from the airport and was at the hotel in about 20 minutes. Check-in was quick and good. What I really liked is that this hotel does care about the guests' requests and elite members. The receptionist had a list of the arriving guests on her desk and I could see "Accor Live Limitless Gold" next to my name and "Late check-out" (even though I hadn't requested it) and next to other people's names were things like "honeymoon" and " Mrs X's birthday on X August" etc. This immediately left a very good impression.

The lobby is very nice and the AC is on full blast there.

By the way, this hotel has the nicest staff, especially at the front desk! Amazing people, friendly and polite. I can't praise them enough.

Room

The room is not huge, but large enough. The bed was comfortable and all the amenities were there. There is a smart TV so you can connect your smartphone to it and watch YouTube or Netflix on the TV (because the channels are not that great, to be honest).

Minibar is free in the Privilege room (or rather, included in the price). The items were not replaced every day for some inexplicable reason, but every other day. Maybe they simply forgot. It wasn't a big deal, it was only soft drinks anyway.

The safe is opened by a key (I haven't seen that in ages). 

There is a balcony from which you have a nice view of the sea and the ugly buildings in front of it. :) The sunsets are really beautiful from up there.

Now for the reason that I didn't want to be upgraded to a Junior suite. It comes with a private plunge pool, which sounds good, but people complained on TripAdvisor that people threw cigarette butts and other things from their balconies into the plunge pools and that nobody cleaned them. This, coupled with the fact that Junior suites are on the ground floor and have no view whatsoever, made me decide against the upgrade.

I did take a photo of the plunge pools. The suites have their individual names, which is a nice touch.

Bathroom

Bathroom is not huge, but it has everything you need. The toiletries are by Nuxe Paris and not the usual crap you find in Mercure hotels. :) Water pressure is fantastic! And there is no fear of flooding the bathroom when taking a shower.

Pool

There is also an outdoor pool, not huge, but good enough to cool down on a hot day (and they were all very hot!). There is a lobby bar which functions as a pool bar too. 

Spa

There is no spa as such, I think, but you can have some treatments. I took a couple of photos just to give you an idea. The list is much longer. And I think there is a gym, but I didn't use it, so I can't help you there, sorry!

Loyalty treatment

I must say I was impressed by the welcome amenity. It was a box of local delicacies and quite generous (much better than what I receive in Sofitels, I'm sad to say). Everything was delicious.

Welcome drink voucher was funny because it was printed on an A4 paper. However, it was good for EVERYTHING on the drinks menu (impressive!) so we had some alcoholic cocktails.

Dining

I didn't take any pictures of the breakfast, but it was a large selection with some unexpected items like Croque Monsieur. There was also an egg station where you could order omelettes, fried eggs etc. Lots of sweet stuff as well. No complaints whatsoever.

I'm not sure if you can have any other meals in the hotel restaurant, but there are hundreds of restaurants around the hotel so there is absolutely no need to eat in.

Location

Location is great. Simple as that. Next to a beach, but this beach has huge waves, so it's not for everyone. However, there is another beach on the other side of the island ( it's just a 7 minute walk as the hotel is basically on the northern tip of the island), which is excellent.

There are hundreds of little shops and restaurants around the hotel. 

It's only a 10 minute walk to the harbour and 15 minutes max to the old town. It's also very easy to get to from the airport.

However, now we come to the only negative aspect of the hotel: the noise. The hotel is in a very noisy street. First of all, there is the noise of the waves (and not the gentle kind that lulls you to sleep). Then the noise from the bars around the hotel. But the worst is the traffic: motorbikes, scooters, cars, garbage trucks. They are so loud that there is no way you can sleep with the balcony door open. But if you close it, it gets impossibly hot in the room. So you need to have the AC on. It wasn't a problem for me, though, the AC is great and it has a sort of quiet mode so it doesn't disturb you when you sleep, but still does the job. Or maybe earplugs could help.

This wasn't a huge problem for me, even though I don't really like sleeping with the AC on, but I wanted to mention it because it might be a dealbreaker for some.

Overall

Overall I was very happy at this hotel and the price was great: just 92 EUR a night. The room was cosy and the staff incredible. If I went to Rhodes again, I wouldn't think twice about going back to this hotel. Recommended!