Author: Dalia Meshulam

Kosher Travelers, Elysium Hotel, Rhodes – GREECE I am grateful to this facebook group for last year’s feedback which in turn ended up in us booking this programme and therefore I would like to give a comprehensive review. - We were a party of 20 people with a mix of ages, religious levels and priorities - We are not connected to the organisers and are full payers - This is a fully independent review Firstly, it is important to state that we have been on a spectrum of programmes before; Dubai, USA, Europe and this was, for many reasons, the best ‘all round’ and value for money one so far. Organisers: The organisers, David & Chana Walles, were present at every meal and were incredibly accommodating. They were very fair and super easy to deal with. They greeted every table at most meals There were 650 guests in total and the resort was very spacious. There are multiple buildings on the resort too and therefore no single area felt overcrowded. Almost all of the guests were Anglos (95%) and there was a very lovely atmosphere across the resort. There were multiple minyanim including hashkama, Ashkenazi & Sephardi. Hotel: The hotel is located 20 minutes from the airport and a taxi was 33 euros. It is a beachfront property and all rooms had a gorgeous sea view. Rhodes is very accessible from England as there are multiple flights a day. Our interconnecting rooms accommodated our family of 6 generously and there was plenty of storage. The hotel staff were incredibly attentive and the general areas were always left spotless. Entertainment: The itinerary was jam packed for all ages. I have 4 kids under 10 and there was always an activity for them; bouncy castles, indoor pool, Zumba, bingo, movie nights, treasure hunts. They were constantly entertained and the organisers had brought madrichim from Israel who were absolutely delightful. The evenings comprised of: The Solomon Brothers & Ohad Moskowitz concerts, Shai Barak (DJ nights), Meni Hollender (Mentallist), Greek dancers, Aleeza Ben Shalom (NETFLIX). There were multiple interesting talk options every day on contemporary issues for all religious levels. For teens, they had a young adults chill zone on the beach in the evenings. There was a daily happy hour for adults with delicious cocktails at 5pm. Food: The food was definitely the best we have had on a programme before. It was perfect for an Anglo diet too. There was kids supper every evening at 6-7pm and on Yom Tov there were grand gala kiddushim too. They were very accommodating if certain fussy kids wanted certain foods and we were very grateful for that. The tea room was always stocked and wines were available at every meal. There were also dairy buffet desserts served at 11pm on certain evenings and the Seder food was excellent. Cost: The organisers published their pricing – I always appreciate the transparency! The pricing was 6000 euros per couple for a deluxe room. Weather: Weather was sunny and hot but can get chilly in the evenings. There are water sports in front of the hotel and my kids enjoyed these. There is an indoor heated pool & a beautiful outdoor pool (which isn’t heated) Overall: We had a really excellent experience and would definitely return. The crowd was very chilled and it was certainly a happy environment to be in. Many people had remarked that it was the best programme they had been on. The organisers were so attentive and there was something to do at every moment in the day.