The Ixian Grand and All Suites Rhodes review: an all-inclusive 'Brits abroad' hotel, but done to perfection

The Ixian Grand and All Suites is a 5-star adults-only hotel located in Rhodes in Greece. A combination of handsomely appointed, modern hotel rooms and lavish suites, it has several swimming pools, a spa and a variety of dining options. It offers half-board, full-board and all-inclusive stays.

All-inclusive resorts are anathema for some, taking the spirit of adventuring out of a holiday, and, indeed, consumption. For others, though - especially during this (dread to say it) cost of living crisis (sorry, sorry), they offer a blissful opportunity to know precisely what overheads you have to meet before you step foot on a plane. No stress about spiralling holiday budgets: a bed, a hot meal, and endless wine will always be to hand. And it is in this spirit we review The Ixian Grand and All Suites, to see precisely how relaxing a holiday can be when the most you have to manage in a day is the walk from your bed to the pool to the buffet. Spoiler: it's pretty damn relaxing.

Located on Rhodes’ west coast, right on the beach in Ixia - and we mean on the beach: there’s no road between the hotel and water, and sun loungers and palapas are strewn across the pebbles, ideal for stretching out with the latest holiday read. A 20 minutes drive from Rhodes International Airport, and a ten minute taxi to Rhodes Old Town, it’s a handy locale from a practical viewpoint, too.

An adult-only hotel, the clientele nevertheless spanned the generations, from early 20s to couples in their 80s- most of them hailing from the UK or Germany. The suites in particular are set for romance, with their spacious interiors, jacuzzi spas, rain showers, king-sized beds … the beachfront suites boast a shared swim-up infinity pool and balcony area. Hotel rooms are less lavishly appointed but still lovely, set at a far more accessible price point, too. It’s worth booking a sea-view: pulling the curtains to the sight of the azure sea is an absolute tonic. 

If you’re not in a suite, you’ll likely be spending most of your day sat beside one of the hotel’s two pools - a large, seafront, bustling one, with bars a few steps away, and a smaller, secluded pool, in a designated ‘quiet area’ for those who prefer to sun bake in peace. All areas of the complex are extremely well maintained, and it’s rare to find a hotel with such plush, comfortable sun loungers.

The hotel gym is perfunctory but functional - a few pieces of cardio equipment and some free weights - but the on-site spa is quite spectacular. Therapists are quiet, professional and incredibly dextrous - a 90-minute couples massage will leave you and your other half utterly revivified. There’s also the options for facials, manicures, pedicures, and a heated indoor pool - it’s idyllic. 

Dining Options At The Ixian Grand

Any one who has stayed at an all-inclusive hotel knows that dining options run the gamut, from the perfunctory (and disappointingly British) - usually a stale buffet - to the impressive. Ixian’s food options are respectable, if not precisely memorable. With four restaurants, two bars and a snack bar, they haven’t scrimped on selection.

Vis a Vis is the main restaurant, breakfast, lunch, and dinner come in buffet form. It’s the restaurant most boarders have access to (the three a la carte restaurants come at an extra cost, unless you are staying in the suites) and, lamentably, the least impressive - as with so many buffet options, how good your meal will be depends on when the dish came out, or if it has had time to congeal. The standout is Muza Htista, a Peruvian Japanese fusion restaurant with excellent sushi, while Greek taverna Milonges is fairly pro forma and Alazonia is ambitious if a little unsuccessful as a ‘high dining experience.’ To be frank, though, the best dish on the island is a salty, lip-smacking chicken gyros from the snack bar, which you can eat on the beachfront with a takeaway beer - a heavenly repast. 

The all-inclusive bar is pleasing, especially if you’re hoping to remain softly sozzled all holiday long - cocktails that lean judiciously soft on the alcohol, beers, wine. And at night there’s usually some fine entertainment in the courtyard surrounding the pool: a performance of South African opera singers singing Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra and Bocelli proved simultaneously cheesily entertaining and genuinely moving, especially as more cocktails were sunk. 

With Rhodes Old Town a thirteen euro taxi away, and spots around the island for wine-tasting, scuba diving, hiking, and shopping, there is plenty to do on this idyllic island if you are so inclined. But if all you want is to soak up the rays, drift in and out of sleep, eat and drink, the Ixian offers an ideal spot to do it. It may be 'Brits Abroad' but it's awfully lovely with it.