"My mum and I have just come back from 10 nights at this hotel. We did a package holiday with jet2, and on their website the hotel was listed as a 4 star plus (although I’m aware some places say 5 stars) We stayed in a standard twin room on the adults only side of the resort.
I would like to make a disclaimer that this review is really concentrated on the adults only side of the resort, my mum and I were looking for a relaxing holiday and we weren’t bothered about the daytime entertainment so we stuck to the adults only side.
One of the biggest assets to this hotel is their staff. Every single interaction we had with staff was positive.
When we arrived late in the evening we’d book a standard double/twin room, check in was easy and didn’t take too long, we were escorted in a golf buggy to the room, which was a lovely touch after a long travel day and meant we didn’t have to lug our suitcases. Unfortunately when we entered the room we’d been given a double, we went to speak to reception and they assured us they’d have a look in the morning to see if we could swap, and low and behold the next morning we were able to swap rooms, and a staff member came with us to move our suitcases, despite the new room only being a few doors down.
The staff at the adults only restaurant were fabulous, they were attentive and kind, they even made an effort to try remember drinks orders which was a lovely touch. The bar staff at the adults only bar were also brilliant, my only improvement there would be increasing the staff number in the evening. For most of our stay there were only two staff in the bar meaning queues could be quite long however for our last three days there were three staff on the bar instead of two and this meant it was a lot quicker getting drinks.
My praise of the staff doesn’t end there, my mum unfortunately fell over a step and injured her ankle, one of the bar staff was actually a nurse and helped my mum, wrapping it, spraying it, getting some ice. We then had 2 managers come and check on my mum that evening. For the next 3 days when walking past us while we were by the pool managers would ask how she was doing and if she needed anything. This kind of staff experience is 10/10 and not everywhere would be this attentive.
The room itself was nice, it was as advertised, spacious, decent amount of storage. It was nice to have a mini fridge, as we booked a standard room this wasn’t stocked but it was good for us to store water or snacks. I do think the bathroom could have done with a bit of a re-vamp as it was a bit dated, but everything was working and clean and that was most important for us. The cleaning staff also get a massive shoutout, the resort wouldn’t be without them!
The food was amazing, some previous reviews have said the adults only restaurant is very limited selection wise, however my mum and I didn’t find this. Everyday lunch and dinner differed, there was usually 2/3 different meats (or even 4 if one was prepared 2 different ways), there was often 1/2 different fishes, a couple of different pastas, fresh pizza, fresh Greek food, fruit, a salad bar, desserts, soup of the day. For dinner there was also Chinese and Japanese. We genuinely didn’t have a problem finding food and never wanted to go to the main restaurant because of lack of choice. If you’re an incredibly picky eater maybe the main restaurant is for you as it’s much bigger, however the choice was still vast in the adults only restaurant.
We enjoyed the adults only pools, it was nice that they were freshwater pools, and had a limited amount of chlorine in them. Although be warned they are not heated, we found this refreshing in the weather but it is a bit of a shock. One of the pools had a massive shaded area, so for someone like me who is very pale and avoids sitting in the sun it was really nice to be able to sit under there instead of using an umbrella and having to keep moving to get myself in the shade. I do have a couple of improvements for the pool, one being the ladder to the pool had one side of it coming out the floor so just needed screwing back in. The other was the sun loungers, we kept getting black residue from them on us, and they weren’t always the most comfortable things, so some new loungers would definitely upgrade the experience. The only other suggestion I have for the pool area is maybe having some re-usable branded akti beach plastic cups or bottles you can buy for the pool, as I felt I used too many paper cups, and they were prone to flying in the wind if they didn’t have much liquid available - this would have just been a nice added touch.
The shuttle bus into Kardamena was so useful and free, so when we wanted to go out it wasn’t an issue. They were regular, and the timetable is in reception, it’s a very short journey. We also used the bus that goes to Kos from outside the hotel and this was very simple and useful to have.
It was really nice to have some adults only entertainment, this meant we could really separate ourselves from the family entertainment and enjoy the performers. It is on a weekly rotation so just pre warning if you’re staying for more than a week you may see the same acts again! We enjoyed the variety of the entertainment, from singers to DJs to dancers. The entertainment was generally 9:30-11pm, and what’s on that night is posted at the adults only bar during the day.
My mum and I went to the mermaid restaurant and this was probably one of the only parts I was slightly disappointed in. It’s labelled as an à la carte restaurant, however it’s not, and it’s more like a tasting menu shared between the people on the table. This would have been fine but it wasn’t how it was advertised, we went expecting a seafood menu to pick from. This definitely needs a change of advertisement and to be made clear what to expect. I think what was also frustrating was the lack of knowing what the seafood was, my mum and I have had a lot of seafood so we knew what we were eating bar a couple of items, even a list would have been helpful of what we could expect to try. I hadn’t eaten that much, expecting a big meal, and ended up feeling a bit peckish after eating at the mermaid restaurant so I ended up going to grab a bit extra at the adults only restaurant. I would say if you’re really into your fish and happy to try lots it’s worth a visit, as the fish was cooked excellently, but don’t expect an actual à la carte.
I would like to say, for people in other reviews complaining this is not a 4/5 star hotel, please be realistic. This is not a 4/5 star hotel in Dubai, or Vegas or the Maldives or the Bahamas, this is a 4/5 star hotel in Greece. If you want one of those experiences, go there. People need to have realistic expectations about where they are staying, this hotel is not deceiving, it’s as advertised. For anyone complaining about the location of the hotel and things not being close by, you should have looked up the location of the hotel before booking.
We overall had an excellent time, I would 100% recommend this hotel to any adults looking for a relaxing holiday in Kos."
