Ella Elissa (Aldemar Paradise Village)

Ella Elissa (Aldemar Paradise Village) Review 2026: Rhodes’ Stylish Adults-Only All-Inclusive

If you have been searching for Aldemar Paradise Village reviews and ended up confused, you are not alone. This property in Kallithea, northeast Rhodes, has been through more name changes than a pop star: Aldemar Paradise Village, then Paradise Village, then Elissa Lifestyle Beach Resort, and now Ella Elissa under the Ella Resorts umbrella (owned by US investment firm HIG Capital). The branding is chaotic. The resort, thankfully, is not. Following a complete 2022-2023 renovation, Ella Elissa has emerged as one of the most compelling adults-only all-inclusive resorts in Greece — a 242-room property where Michelin-starred chefs design the menus, 11 to 15 freshwater pools are scattered across Mediterranean gardens, and the pace of life slows to match the Aegean tides lapping the private beach below.

This is not a mega-resort. It is not trying to out-buffet the Mitsis properties or compete with the Ikos ultra all-inclusive machine. Ella Elissa occupies a quieter niche: the design-conscious, food-obsessed couple who wants a serene Greek escape without children cannonballing into the pool beside them. If that sounds like you, keep reading.

Quick Verdict

Ella Elissa is the best adults-only all-inclusive on Rhodes for couples and honeymooners who prioritize food quality and a calm, sophisticated atmosphere over sheer resort size or an exhaustive activities list. The Michelin-connected dining is genuinely excellent — Kavos and Fournoi serve dishes that would impress in a standalone restaurant. The eco-chic renovation is beautiful. The pools-scattered-through-gardens concept works brilliantly. Just go in with eyes open: rooms are compact by 5-star standards, the all-inclusive drink program has caps, and spa access costs extra. For what it does well, though, it does very well.

Rating: 8.4 / 10

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Michelin-starred Alex Tsiotinis curates menus at Kavos and Fournoi	Standard rooms just 22-25 sqm — tight for a 5-star
Adults-only (18+) guarantees a serene, grown-up atmosphere	Drink caps: cocktails limited to EUR 15, wine EUR 50/bottle
11-15 pools dispersed across the grounds — never feels crowded	Spa is entirely pay-extra with no included hydrotherapy
Full 2022-2023 renovation with elegant eco-chic design	Beach is sandy but mixed with pebbles — not powder sand
Masari sushi by chef Thanos Stasinos is a genuine standout	Seasonal: closed November to early May
Wine cellar Kelari with 150+ labels	A la carte reservations competitive in July-August
Rhodes Old Town (UNESCO) just 6 km away	Main pool area near Istrio bar can get loud

The Resort at a Glance

Detail	Info
Location	Kallithea, northeast Rhodes, Greece
Airport	Rhodes International (RHO) — 20 km, 25-30 min transfer
Nearest town	Rhodes Old Town — 6 km, 10-15 min drive
Rooms	242 rooms and suites
Adults-only	Yes, 18+
Restaurants	5 (including wine cellar)
Bars	3
Pools	11-15 freshwater pools
Beach	Private sandy/pebble beach, Kallithea bay
Season	May to October
Price from	~$223/night (shoulder season, Deluxe Room)

Rooms and Suites at Ella Elissa

Standard Rooms: Deluxe and Deluxe Sea View

The entry-level Deluxe Room is where Ella Elissa shows its one real weakness. At 22 square meters (237 sq ft), these are compact — noticeably smaller than what you would expect from a property billing itself as a luxury 5-star. A king bed, Nespresso machine, rainfall shower, and a balcony or terrace are included, and the renovation has outfitted them with warm earthy tones, quality linens, and a clean Mediterranean aesthetic that photographs well. But you will feel the lack of space if you are living out of suitcases for a week.

The Deluxe Sea View adds about 3 square meters and, critically, a balcony facing the Aegean. At roughly $270 per night in shoulder season versus $223 for the garden view, this is worth the upgrade. Waking up to the blue of Kallithea bay rather than the resort’s (admittedly lovely) landscaping makes a material difference to the holiday feel. If budget allows, do not settle for the garden room.

Junior Suites

The Junior Suite bumps you to 36 square meters (388 sq ft) with a separate living area, sofa bed, and rain shower. This is the sweet spot for most couples on a week-long stay — enough space to spread out, without paying the premium for the top-tier suites. Available in both garden/pool view (from ~$320) and sea view (from ~$370). The sea view Junior Suite is the single best value room in the resort.

Open Plan Suites and Signature Suites

For a splurge, the Open Plan Suite Sea View delivers 55 square meters of panoramic space with a king bed, living and dining area, and a wide balcony overlooking the Aegean. Starting around $480 per night. The variant with a private sauna ($550+) is a fun upgrade for couples who want spa-style pampering without paying for the Ella Wellness add-on treatments. At the top of the range, Signature Suites come with private plunge pools and premium furnishings. Expect $650 and above — limited availability, so book early for peak season.

Our Pick

The Junior Suite Sea View at around $370 per night is the room to book. It gives you the space the Deluxe rooms lack, the Aegean view that makes Rhodes mornings magical, and it leaves budget for a couple of spa treatments and premium wine upgrades. The Open Plan Suite is beautiful but the price jump is steep unless you are celebrating something.

Food and Dining at Ella Elissa

This is where Ella Elissa earns its reputation and separates itself from every other all-inclusive on the island. The resort has five dining venues and the headline partnership with Michelin-starred chef Alexandros (Alex) Tsiotinis, one of the most respected chefs in Greece.

Fanes — The Main Buffet

Fanes is the included-without-reservation restaurant serving buffet breakfast and dinner with beachfront views. Breakfast is a solid spread — Greek yogurt with Rhodian thyme honey, fresh pastries, eggs to order, cold cuts, local cheeses. It is good, not extraordinary. Dinner at Fanes is more interesting, with Mediterranean-accented dishes that rotate nightly and live cooking stations. But honestly, the buffet is the fallback option here. You are staying at Ella Elissa for the a la carte restaurants, and if you eat at Fanes every night, you are missing the point.

Kavos — Greek Seafood by Alex Tsiotinis

Kavos is the restaurant that justifies the resort’s price tag. Menus co-designed by Michelin-starred Alex Tsiotinis, specializing in fresh fish and Greek-accented seafood. This is not a buffet with a fish station — it is a proper sit-down restaurant serving dishes that would hold their own in an Athens fine-dining room. The catch-of-the-day preparations, the grilled octopus, the delicate use of Aegean herbs — Kavos delivers food that most all-inclusive resorts could not dream of. Reservations required and genuinely necessary: book at check-in or through the hotel app immediately upon arrival.

Fournoi — The Grill

Fournoi is the second Tsiotinis-curated restaurant, focusing on grilled meats and seafood. Think charcoal-grilled lamb chops with rosemary, thick-cut steaks, and whole grilled fish with lemon and olive oil. The execution is consistently excellent and guest reviews from the Ella era (2023 onward) single out Fournoi as a highlight. If you are staying five nights, eat here at least twice. Dinner only, reservations required.

Masari — Asian and Sushi

The surprise hit. Masari is helmed by chef Thanos Stasinos and serves sophisticated sushi and Pan-Asian cuisine in an elegant dining room. High-quality Asian food is rare in all-inclusive resorts generally, and virtually nonexistent in Rhodes specifically. The sushi is fresh, the presentation is refined, and the flavors are genuinely complex. Masari alone would be worth visiting — combined with Kavos and Fournoi, it gives Ella Elissa a dining roster that most standalone restaurant towns would envy. Lunch and dinner service, reservations required.

Kelari — The Wine Cellar

Not a restaurant in the traditional sense, but a wine cellar and tasting room stocking over 150 labels. Wine tasting events are offered periodically. If you are an oenophile, this is heaven — and a rare feature for any all-inclusive property. Note that the all-inclusive package covers wines up to EUR 50 per bottle, which gets you into solid Greek and European territory. Anything above that is extra, but you will not run out of interesting options within the cap.

Bars

Three bars serve the property: Rodini Pool Bar and Istrio Main Pool Bar (both 10am-6pm, poolside cocktails and snacks) and Siana Lobby Bar (10am-1am, the late-night option with a full cocktail menu). The all-inclusive covers cocktails up to EUR 15 in value and includes premium brands, though the cap means the most expensive spirits and craft cocktails may cost a supplement. For most guests, the included selection is more than sufficient.

Food Quality Verdict

Ella Elissa has the best dining program of any adults-only all-inclusive on Rhodes, and arguably anywhere in the Greek islands outside the Ikos portfolio. Kavos and Fournoi serve genuinely excellent food thanks to the Tsiotinis partnership. Masari is a bonus. Kelari adds depth for wine lovers. The buffet at Fanes is the weak link, but you can easily avoid it for dinner. 9 out of 10 for food quality — docked only because the Fanes buffet is average and the a la carte reservations can be hard to secure in peak season.

Beach and Pools

The Beach

Ella Elissa sits on a private beach in Kallithea bay on the northeast coast of Rhodes. The bay is sheltered, which means calm, swimmable water without the chop you get on the exposed west coast. The Aegean blue is vivid and the water is clean. Sunbeds and umbrellas are included for all guests.

The catch: the sand is mixed with small pebbles. This is typical for northeastern Rhodes — you are not getting the powder-white sand of the Caribbean or even the fine golden sand of some Cretan south coast beaches. Water shoes are not strictly necessary but comfortable for wading in. The beach is pleasant and well-maintained, but it is not a “wow, look at this beach” situation. If a pristine beach is your top priority, Rhodes may not be your island.

One advantage of the northeast-facing position: mornings are gorgeous with direct sun on the beach, and the water warms up nicely by late morning. You do miss the dramatic west coast sunsets, but the resort compensates with sunset yoga sessions on the grounds.

Pools

This is one of Ella Elissa’s strongest features. Rather than building one enormous pool complex, the resort scatters between 11 and 15 freshwater pools across its landscaped grounds (the exact count varies by source — we will call it “a lot”). The effect is that you can always find a quiet pool with empty sunbeds, even in peak season. It creates a boutique, almost private villa feel that is unusual for a property of this size.

The Main Pool (Istrio Pool) is the social hub, with the Istrio Pool Bar adjacent serving drinks and light snacks. This is where the energy concentrates — and where the music can get louder than you might want if you are seeking pure tranquility. If that is not your vibe, simply walk two minutes to one of the quieter relaxation pools tucked into the gardens. Signature Suite guests get private plunge pools, which is the ultimate option for those who want to swim without seeing another soul.

Activities and Entertainment

Daytime

Ella Elissa is not an activities-heavy resort. There is no water park, no climbing wall, no jet ski station. What it offers instead is lifestyle-oriented: sunset yoga sessions on the grounds, fitness center access (the gym is functional but described as “small” by some guests), and non-motorized watersports from the beach (subject to seasonal availability). The resort also runs wine tasting events through the Kelari cellar and occasional cooking demonstrations.

For most guests, the day is about the beach, the pools, a good book, and deciding which restaurant to eat at tonight. This is intentional — the Ella Resorts brand positions itself as “eco-chic” and lifestyle-focused rather than entertainment-packed. If you want nonstop activities, look at a Mitsis or Ikos property instead.

Evening

Evenings at Ella Elissa center on the twilight cinema — outdoor film screenings under the stars — and the a la carte dining experience. The Siana Lobby Bar stays open until 1am for nightcaps. There is no loud nightclub, no neon-lit entertainment complex. The vibe is candlelit terraces, wine on the balcony, and the sound of cicadas. For couples and honeymooners, this is exactly right. For anyone looking for party energy, this is absolutely the wrong resort.

Spa and Wellness

The Ella Wellness & Spa is a mid-sized facility with a hammam, ice room, sauna, fitness center, hairdressing salon, and nail bar. The fitness center is included in the all-inclusive rate. Everything else — treatments, the hammam-and-ice-room circuit, and salon services — costs extra.

This is a legitimate criticism. At a 5-star luxury all-inclusive charging $300-700 per night, most travelers would expect at least basic access to the wet facilities (sauna, hammam) to be included. Properties like Ikos Dassia on Corfu include an indoor spa pool and gym in the rate. Ella Elissa charges for the lot. Budget an additional $80-150 per person if you want a massage or facial during your stay.

The sunset yoga sessions, however, are a free and genuinely lovely alternative — stretching on the lawn as the Aegean light turns golden is a spa experience in itself.

What’s Included vs. What Costs Extra

Included in All-Inclusive	Costs Extra
All meals at all 5 restaurants (reservations required for a la carte)	Spa treatments at Ella Wellness & Spa
Buffet breakfast and dinner at Fanes (no reservation needed)	Drinks above AI cap (cocktails >EUR 15, wine >EUR 50/bottle)
All drinks at bars — cocktails up to EUR 15, wines up to EUR 50/bottle	Motorized watersports
Snacks between meals	Excursions (Rhodes Old Town, Lindos, day trips)
Sunbeds and umbrellas at pool and beach	Some premium menu items (confirm at booking)
Wi-Fi throughout the resort
Fitness center access
Sunset yoga and twilight cinema
Wine tasting events (selected)

Pricing and How to Book

Price Ranges by Season

Season	Period	Deluxe Room	Junior Suite SV	Open Plan Suite SV
Opening / Closing	May, late October	$223-270	$370-400	$480-530
Shoulder	June, September	$290-370	$400-480	$530-600
Peak	July-August	$400-550	$520-650	$620-720

Prices are per room per night, all-inclusive basis, based on double occupancy. Expect the upper end of each range during the first two weeks of August when Greek school holidays overlap with European peak travel.

Best Time to Book

Book 3-4 months ahead for July and August. For the best early-bird rates, book in January or February — Ella Resorts and OTAs like Booking.com often run early booking discounts of 15-25% for stays booked before March. September is the best value month overall: warm seas, emptier pools, lower prices, and easier a la carte reservations.

Where to Book

Check Booking.com for the widest availability and frequent flash sales. Expedia often matches. UK travelers should check Olympic Holidays, which packages flights and transfers. The resort’s own site at ellaresorts.com occasionally offers direct booking perks like room upgrades or spa credits — worth comparing before you finalize.

Check latest prices on Booking.com →

Insider Tip

Reserve Kavos, Fournoi, and Masari at check-in or through the hotel app immediately upon arrival. In July and August, these restaurants fill within the first day of each booking window. If you wait until day three to try booking, you may find yourself eating at the Fanes buffet more often than you planned.

Compared to Nearby All-Inclusive Resorts

Ella Elissa vs. Mitsis Alila Resort & Spa (Rhodes): Mitsis Alila is a larger, flashier property on the same northeast coast. It offers more pool space, a bigger beach, and a more conventional luxury all-inclusive experience with a broader activities program. Ella Elissa wins decisively on food quality (the Tsiotinis partnership is unmatched on the island) and adults-only tranquility. Mitsis Alila welcomes families. If food and calm matter most, choose Ella Elissa. If you want a bigger resort with more to do, go Mitsis.

Ella Elissa vs. Ikos Dassia or Ikos Odisia (Corfu): The Ikos properties are a tier above in terms of inclusions — the Dine Out program, complimentary MINI car hire, golf, and 100+ curated wines make them the most comprehensive all-inclusive packages in Greece. But they are also significantly more expensive (from ~$366 at Ikos Dassia) and they are on Corfu, not Rhodes. If you specifically want Rhodes and adults-only, Ella Elissa is the clear choice. If you are island-flexible and budget allows, the Ikos product is objectively more complete.

Ella Elissa vs. Mitsis Blue Domes (Kos): Mitsis Blue Domes is a family-oriented mega-resort on Kos with water slides, kids clubs, and a vast pool complex. It is a completely different experience — bigger, louder, and far more suited to families. Ella Elissa is the antidote to Blue Domes: smaller, quieter, adults-only, food-focused. Choose based on who you are traveling with.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Ella Elissa the same as Aldemar Paradise Village?

Yes. The property was originally Aldemar Paradise Village, operated by the Aldemar Hotels chain. It was acquired by HIG Capital, rebranded under the Ella Resorts group, and given a complete renovation in 2022-2023. The current name is Ella Elissa. You will still find reviews on TripAdvisor and Booking.com under the old names — filter for reviews from 2023 onward for the most accurate picture of the current product.

Is Ella Elissa truly adults-only?

Yes, strictly 18+. No exceptions. The sister property Ella Helea on Rhodes welcomes families — if you are traveling with children, book Helea instead. Between the two properties, Ella Resorts operates approximately 835 rooms on Rhodes.

Is the all-inclusive package really all-inclusive?

Mostly. All meals at all five restaurants are included, as are drinks at the bars up to the stated caps (cocktails to EUR 15, wine to EUR 50 per bottle). The main exclusions are spa treatments, drinks above the cap, motorized watersports, and off-site excursions. It is not as comprehensive as an Ikos ultra all-inclusive, but for a European luxury AI, the inclusions are solid.

How is the beach at Ella Elissa?

The private beach on Kallithea bay is pleasant — calm Aegean water, dedicated sunbeds, and a sheltered position that makes it good for swimming. The sand is mixed with small pebbles, which is typical for northeast Rhodes. It is not a Caribbean-style powder beach, but for the Greek islands, it is perfectly fine. The sheltered bay means the water is calmer than the windier west coast.

Can I visit Rhodes Old Town from the resort?

Absolutely. Rhodes medieval Old Town (UNESCO World Heritage Site) is just 6 km away, roughly a 10-15 minute taxi ride. It is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe, with the Palace of the Grand Master, cobblestone streets, and excellent independent restaurants. Budget a full day for exploration. The resort can arrange transfers.

When is the best time to visit?

September is the sweet spot — warm Aegean seas (still around 25 degrees Celsius), fewer crowds, easier restaurant reservations, and prices 20-30% lower than July-August. June is also excellent. May and October are viable but the water is cooler. The resort is closed from November through early May.

Final Verdict: 8.4 / 10

Ella Elissa is a resort with a clear identity: adults-only, design-forward, and food-obsessed. It does not try to be everything to everyone, and that focus is its greatest strength. The Michelin-starred chef partnership with Alex Tsiotinis makes the dining genuinely exceptional for an all-inclusive — Kavos and Fournoi are restaurants you would be happy to eat at even if they were not included in your room rate. The scattered-pool concept creates pockets of privacy across the grounds. The eco-chic renovation is tasteful and elegant.

Where it falls short: the entry-level rooms are too small for a property charging $300+ per night in season, the all-inclusive drink caps are less generous than competitors like Ikos, and the spa being entirely extra-cost feels stingy at this price point. These are not dealbreakers, but they prevent Ella Elissa from reaching the 9+ territory occupied by the top Ikos properties.

Who should book: Couples and honeymooners who care deeply about food quality and want a serene, adults-only Greek island escape. Wine enthusiasts will love Kelari. Design-conscious travelers will appreciate the renovation.

Who should skip: Families (it is 18+ only), budget travelers (rates start at $223 but the rooms worth booking are $370+), and anyone who wants a packed activities schedule or unlimited premium spirits.

For what it does well, Ella Elissa is one of the best adults-only all-inclusive resorts in Greece, and the clear standout on Rhodes. The food alone is worth the trip.

Check latest prices on Booking.com →