Where to Stay in Rhodes: Best Areas & Hotels

How to Choose the Right Area in Rhodes

Rhodes is a large island, roughly 1,400 km² in total area, and the distance from Rhodes city in the north to Lindos on the southeast coast is about 50 km. That sounds manageable until you factor in summer traffic on the coastal road, which can turn a 55-minute drive into 90 minutes on a peak August afternoon. Where you base yourself genuinely determines what kind of holiday you have.

The island divides broadly into four zones: the city of Rhodes (Old and New Town combined), the east coast resorts stretching south toward Lindos, the west coast resorts around Ixia and Ialyssos, and the quiet southern villages. Each suits a different traveler. There is no single best answer, but there are several wrong answers depending on your priorities.

Rhodes Old Town and New Town

The UNESCO-listed Medieval City of Rhodes is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe. Staying inside or immediately adjacent to the walls puts you within walking distance of the Street of the Knights, the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes, and dozens of Byzantine churches and Ottoman mosques. Evenings inside the walls, once the day-trippers leave around 6pm, have a genuinely different atmosphere: quieter cobblestone alleys, candlelit restaurants, and a real sense of the city's layered history.

Hotels inside Old Town tend to be boutique properties converted from medieval buildings. Kókkini Porta Rossa is the most consistently praised: a 15th-century building with individually designed suites, organic breakfasts served on stone terraces, and rates starting around €250 per night in high season. It is not budget accommodation, but you are paying for something genuinely irreplaceable. Rooms can be small by modern resort standards, air conditioning is sometimes an afterthought, and noise from the streets can be an issue in summer.

New Town, immediately north of the walls, was developed during the Italian occupation period and has a strikingly different character: wider avenues, Art Deco architecture, and a more functional modern city feel. Elli Beach runs along the northeastern tip and is the main city beach, popular with locals as well as tourists. New Town hotels cover a wider price range and tend to have more standard amenities. For travelers who want the Old Town experience by day but a proper hotel room at night, New Town is a sensible compromise.

• Best for History lovers, couples, solo travelers, those on shorter stays who want cultural depth over beach time
• Not ideal for Families with young children (cobblestones, no pool, no beach on doorstep), anyone who needs to drive daily (parking inside Old Town is prohibited)
• Price range Budget guesthouses from €60-80/night; mid-range €100-180; boutique from €200-400 in July-August
• Nearest beach Elli Beach, 15-20 min walk from Old Town gates; good for a swim but not a resort beach experience

Lindos: Beautiful, But Know What You're Getting Into

Lindos sits about 55 km south of Rhodes city on the east coast. The village is built on and around a dramatic headland topped by the Acropolis of Lindos, with whitewashed cubic houses, donkey-narrow paths, and a working harbor below. The main beach, Lindos Beach, curves in a protected bay with clear, calm water. On paper it is perfect. In practice, Lindos in July-August is wall-to-wall tourists, and the village's physical limitations mean it cannot absorb the numbers gracefully.

Cars are banned from the village center. You park at the designated lot (a 10-15 minute walk from the main square, with a shuttle option) and carry your luggage in on foot, or hire a donkey if your hotel requires it. Accommodation inside the village tends to be small converted captain's houses, often without lifts and with steep internal stairs. Lindos Blu and similar resort hotels are actually located just outside the village proper, on the coastal road, and offer a more conventional luxury experience. Noema Lindos, centrally located with Acropolis views, suits travelers who want genuine village immersion.

Ixia and Ialyssos: The Best Value on the West Coast

The west coast strip running south from Rhodes city through Ixia into Ialyssos is the island's main large-resort corridor. Ixia and Ialyssos are effectively one continuous development, about 4-10 km from the city center. The beaches here face west, which means afternoon sun rather than morning, and a near-constant breeze off the Aegean. That wind makes this the island's prime windsurfing territory, and several dedicated schools operate along the coast.

For most package holiday travelers, this strip delivers exactly what a Greek resort should: large hotels with pools and restaurants, reliable beach access, easy transfers from Rhodes International Airport (roughly 10 km south of Ixia), and bus connections into the city center every 30-40 minutes. The beaches are pebbly and windier than the east coast equivalents, which is a genuine drawback for families with small children who want calm, sandy swimming. However, for adults who plan to combine beach days with city exploration, the location is hard to beat.

Faliraki, Kallithea, Pefkos, and the East Coast Resorts

The east coast runs southeast from Rhodes city through a succession of distinct resort towns. Faliraki, about 15 km from the city, is the island's most famous (or infamous) party resort. Long sandy beaches, the Faliraki Water Park, an active bar strip, and a distinctly young crowd define the area. It has improved its reputation considerably since its early-2000s peak for disorder, but it remains the island's highest-energy nightlife zone. If that matches your travel style, the beach itself is genuinely good and hotels offer strong value.

About 5 km south of Faliraki, Kallithea has a different character entirely: the restored Art Deco Kallithea Springs complex sits here, with sheltered coves ideal for snorkeling. Several upmarket hotels occupy the low hills above the coast, including Elysium Resort and Spa, a beachfront property with consistently strong reviews for service and facilities.

Further south, Pefkos and Lardos offer the quietest east coast experience north of Lindos. Pefkos Beach is a small, sheltered bay lined with pine trees that give the village its name. Accommodation here skews toward smaller family-run hotels, self-catering apartments, and a handful of mid-range resorts. This is the correct choice for travelers who want a calm, low-key base with easy day-trip access to Lindos (about 5 km north).

• Faliraki: Best beach on the east coast, active nightlife, water park; not suited to travelers seeking quiet
• Kallithea: Upscale, good snorkeling, Art Deco spa complex; fewer dining options than Faliraki or Lindos
• Pefkos: Quiet, pine-shaded, family-oriented; limited nightlife and evening entertainment
• Kolymbia: Grid-plan resort village with eucalyptus-lined avenue; popular with Northern European package groups, easy access to Seven Springs

Practical Tips for Booking and Budgeting

Rhodes has two genuine seasons: high season running from late June through August, and shoulder season covering May, June, September, and October. The best time to visit Rhodes for accommodation value is September, when temperatures remain above 25°C, the sea is at its warmest, and prices drop by 20-35% compared to July-August peaks. Most hotels and resorts remain open through October, though some smaller properties close by mid-October.

Getting around the island significantly affects which base makes sense. Renting a car in Rhodes costs around €35-65 per day in high season for a small vehicle, and is genuinely useful if you plan to explore the interior, visit the Valley of the Butterflies, or drive the west coast to Kritinia. However, if your plan is beach and city, a car is an expensive inconvenience in Old Town (no parking) and largely unnecessary in Ixia or Faliraki (buses serve both).

For travelers building a longer itinerary, consider splitting your stay: two or three nights in Rhodes Old Town for the history and atmosphere, then relocating to a resort base for the beach portion. The 7-day Rhodes itinerary covers exactly this split-base approach in detail, including how to time day trips to Lindos and the island's southern villages without the car-dependent logistics becoming exhausting.