Boutique 5 Hotel & Spa, Rhodes

Where it is

The hotel sits about 40 metres above Kiotari Beach, a long Blue Flag stretch of sand and pebble on the south-east coast. Lindos, with its clifftop acropolis, is about 15 minutes' drive north, and Rhodes airport is roughly an hour away. Kiotari itself is low-key, with a handful of tavernas, so this is a place to settle in rather than go out every night.

For the medieval Old Town, Symi and the rest of the island, see our Rhodes guide.

Rooms and suites

All 44 rooms and suites have sea views, and 26 have private pools. The look is calm and contemporary: white walls, soft greys and terracotta accents, good beds and soundproofed windows, all recently refreshed. Superior Deluxe Rooms suit a short stay. For a longer one, book a Junior Suite with Private Pool or an Executive Suite, which adds a living room, walk-in wardrobe and a deep bath.

Food, spa and the rest

Impressions, the main restaurant, serves Greek and Mediterranean cooking with a good list of Greek and international wines and big windows over the bay. There is a smart-casual dress code at dinner. Sketch Bar does cocktails by the pool until late. The Bliss Spa has a heated indoor pool, a hot tub and a menu of massages and treatments, and there is a gym, a tennis court and bikes to borrow. Stays are bed and breakfast or half board.

The moment

A floating breakfast in your own pool, the sea spread out below and the beach still empty, followed by a slow morning with nowhere to be.

Why we chose it

Boutique 5 offers what many travellers want from a Greek island hotel: real quiet, no children, a pool of your own and the sea on the doorstep, at a price well below the island's top resorts. It is small enough for the staff to learn your name and calm enough to read a whole book.

For another adults-only retreat in the mountains, see Hotel Barosse in the Spanish Pyrenees; for a wellness break, Santani in Sri Lanka. Its larger sister, Mayia Exclusive Resort & Spa, is nearby at Kiotari if you prefer premium all-inclusive.

When to go

The hotel is seasonal, typically open from spring to late autumn; check dates before booking. May, June and September to mid-October are ideal: the sea is warm, the days are long and Lindos is easier to enjoy. July and August are hot and busy across Rhodes, and prices peak with the European school holidays.

The longer stay

Give it a week. Spend mornings by your pool or on Kiotari Beach, then explore: Lindos early in the day, the hilltop castle at Asklipio, the wine villages of the west coast and a boat to Symi. Combine it with two or three nights inside the walls of Rhodes Old Town at the start or end of the trip.