STAY Rhodes HoStel & Bar
Old Town hostel with the bar and the 55 m2 kitchen — the social pick inside the walls
STAY sits on Lochagou Fanouraki, a quiet stone alley two minutes' walk from the Old Town Gates and the Grand Master's Palace. The 8.7 rating reflects its actual social setup: an in-house bar, a 55 m2 shared kitchen, a games room and a home cinema — the rare Rhodes hostel that runs a real evening programme inside the medieval walls.
STAY is in the Collachium — the northern third of the Old Town that the Knights of St. John built in the 14th century, the same stretch as the Grand Master's Palace and the Archaeological Museum. Almost no nightclubs operate inside the medieval walls (city ordinance), so the in-house bar you'll find here is the rare social anchor: it's where solo travelers, Erasmus exchange kids and the long-distance ferry crowd from Symi or Karpathos overlap from 7 PM onwards. Daily happy hour runs the bar at locals' prices, not tourist-strip prices. The 55 square-metre shared kitchen is the largest in any Old Town hostel and the staff actively organize shared dinners — pasta nights, occasional Greek-cooking sessions — three or four evenings a week in season.
Dorms are 6-bed mixed and 6-bed female, modernly decorated in earthy tones with reading lamps, lockers and individual outlets. Air conditioning runs in summer, central heating in winter, and the building stays open year-round (rare for Greek island hostels). Private rooms with shared bathroom are available for couples or anyone who wants to spend less than the New Town hotel rates. The on-site games room (foosball, board games, table tennis) and a small home cinema act as backup social spaces when the bar is quiet. A modest gym is on the basement level for guests staying longer.
Location-wise, you're inside the walls but not on the Sokratous tourist drag — Lochagou Fanouraki is a quiet residential alley used by locals. Old Town Gates (Eleftherias) are 200 metres north; the Grand Master's Palace is 500 metres west; the Archaeological Museum is six minutes' walk. Mandraki harbour with the ferry terminals to Symi, Kos and Karpathos is twelve minutes' walk through the Liberty Gate. Elli Beach is fifteen minutes' walk via the seafront.
What to expect: the building is original Knights-period stone, recently retrofitted, with thick walls keeping rooms cool in August heat and quiet against street noise. The 1865-review average of 8.7 is mostly solo travelers and couples — families do better at Backpackers Boutique. STAY is the call if you want medieval atmosphere by day and an actual hostel social scene by night, without leaving the walls.
- 01The in-house bar is the only proper hostel social anchor inside the medieval walls — almost no nightclubs allowed within the Old Town by ordinance.
- 0255 m2 shared kitchen with shared dinners three or four nights a week. Pasta nights are real, not a brochure promise.
- 03Two minutes from Old Town Gates means you're inside the walls but you can leave for a midnight gyros run or the Mandraki seafront in five minutes.
- 04Year-round operation — most Greek island hostels close November to March, STAY doesn't.
- 0555 m2 shared kitchen + free Old Town location keeps the per-night cost honest. €24 dorms in the height of summer is well-priced for inside-the-walls.
- Stylish in-house bar with daily happy hour
- 55 m2 shared kitchen — biggest in the Old Town
- Games room, gym and home cinema on site
- Two minutes from Old Town Gates and Grand Master's Palace
“STAY completely exceeded my expectations. This was my first solo trip and I was apprehensive — the staff and the social setup made it. Met travelers at the bar on night one and ended up doing a Symi day-trip with them on day three.”
“Ten minutes' walk from the ferry port, inside the medieval town, near every bus stop — made my no-car trip easy. Staff is friendly, beds comfortable, place clean. Solid choice for the Old Town.”
“Very good price-quality relation. Clean, comfortable, friendly staff. Well-located inside the walls. The bar serves food from morning, useful when you don't want to cook.”
- Old Town Gates (Eleftherias)2 min walk
- Grand Master's Palace5 min walk
- Street of the Knights4 min walk
- Mandraki harbour (ferries to Symi, Kos)12 min walk
- Elli Beach15 min walk
- Archaeological Museum6 min walk
