Rhodes hotels remain intact as British tourists flee wildfires

A state of emergency has been declared for the entire island of Rhodes, where 10,000 British holidaymakers had to flee the flames

There’s a mistaken belief among many British holidaymakers forced to flee the wildfires on Rhodes that their hotels were destroyed by the fires.

We have been in the affected zone since Sunday and have yet to find a single hotel destroyed by the blazes.

There are several where the flames were clearly licking at the door, but got no further.

The assumption among the tourists we’ve spoken to is that since they - rightly - felt compelled to run away they were justified in doing so because their hotel ended up being burned to the ground. Not so.

The newspapers have published ‘before and after’ images and stories about several resorts and while they may be empty since the events of last Saturday none is actually a charred remnant.

Yes, there are posh establishments where blackened sun loungers lie beside sad looking pools that have lost their turquoise lustre.

But closer investigation reveals the body of the hotel is untouched.

The reason is that hoteliers knew what might be coming and got their staff to drench the environs and gardens of their properties before the wildfires arrived.

The same is true for home-owners whose houses stand tall and intact in the midst of a charred landscape.

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