Ikos Aria

We visited the Ikos Aria for our 30th Wedding Anniversary and couldn’t have picked a better hotel! Everything about it from start to finish was wonderful, the room, the views, the staff, the food, the beach, there was nothing we didn’t like. We felt special throughout the whole stay and extra special on our special day! We enjoyed using the Tesla for the day to visit Kos town. We haven’t stopped telling all our family and friends about the hotel since we got back and cannot wait until we can visit again. The staff were the most attentive of anywhere we have stayed and there are too many wonderful staff to mention them all but very special thanks to Christina Doumpi, Dimitrios Tsaklas and Ioannis Buzi. Also Dimitris and Panagiotis at the Beach Bar, and Mujeeb in the Flavors buffet restaurant for all being exceptional. The contact with Dimitrios, the General Manager, since returning home has been extremely nice.

Arguably my favourite of the 5 different Ikos resorts I have stayed in. Set against a beautiful, picturesque backdrop, Ikos Aria lived up to its very high expectations. Led by a highly energetic, passionate General Manager (Dimitrios), he and his incredible team served us extremely well, consistently delivering the highest levels of service imaginable. We were made to feel extremely welcome by all the staff who would get to know us on a personal level. They just could not do enough for us!! The food , drink and activities were sensational as you would find at other Ikos resorts. Special thanks to Zuzi (Seasons Delux), Ioanna (Delux Pool), Dimitris (Lobby Mgr), George/Muhammed (Delux Pool), Athena (Ouzo Restaurant Mgr) for going above and beyond to make our stay ever so special. Thanks Dimitrios! We will be returning again next year !

We returned last week from another fabulous Ikos holiday although we did think that we would maybe have to drop to 4 stars this time mainly because of the changes made to the evening entertainment but in the end the perfection in all other areas made us stick with 5 stars. Without a doubt the thing that makes this holiday so good is the staff. It starts with the line-up on arrival and continues right through until you leave, every single member of staff are just so pleasant, helpful and efficient and we were amazed at how many staff genuinely remembered us from last year. This was our 14th Ikos holiday and this was the best staff team we have encountered. We could name many, many individuals but shall stick to a select few. Firstly the fabulous Karina Kallinik who dealt with our requests before arrival and who constantly checked us out during our stay. She is closely followed by Diego, a recently recruited member of the Ikos team but extremely pleasant and efficient. Mitsos, who kept reminding us how many days we had been there and then the full team at the Lobby Bar and the Lagoon Bar led by Lua and her brother Umit. Finally the lovely Athanasia and her small team in Kos restaurant and Vangelis and his hardworking team in Ouzo restaurant. We ate in all of the restaurants our favourites being Ouzo, Kos & Provence. Most were very relaxed but a couple seemed as if they wanted you in and out as quickly as possible with staff crowding you with menus, water options and appetisers all within the first minute of sitting down. All of the food we had was very nice - starters, mains and deserts and we had a good selection of wines including desert wines. We had breakfast each morning in Kos and BBQ lunch each day in Ouzo. The rooms were very comfortable and spotlessly clean - anything needed could be requested via the WhatsApp service and requests were dealt with very quickly. Service round the pool and on the beach was perfect with again very friendly staff. The let down this year for us was the evening entertainment - gone are the lively west end type song and dance shows in the theatre replaced by some very mediocre shows, not the quality expected for the price paid. Also in the Lobby Bar and Lagoon Bar some depressing pianist performances and we would only give 3 stars for the evening entertainment this year. Consideration needs to be given to a more lively offering especially in the Lobby Bar. The White Party however on the beach was excellent and very lively - better on the second week with more guests due to school half term As we have said the good has definitely outweighed the not so good and any new guests will still be “wowed” but returning guests we feel may be a little disappointed.

10/10 - we have actually had the best holiday here. The staff here don’t ask for names to be added on reviews like other hotels to get a little bonus, but I want it known that the lady Anastasia made our families holiday. She is a waitress at the main pool and is the nicest lady and we would go the main pool purely because we all built a lovely rapport. She’s just so friendly. Like all the other staff, she just treats people very well and courteous. We’re actually going to miss her when we go today. ALL the staff were lovely and were attentive and couldn’t fault them. They make your holiday. They don’t ask for tips and are a little uncomfortable when we give tips as they are humble but it would be nice for people to tip the staff (only my opinion) The cleaners are lovely, and keep the rooms lovely and clean, the whole complex is clean and beautiful. The grounds are stunning. The food is gorgeous in every restaurant. Even the buffet is brilliant! If people actually complain on this holiday, they would be clearly unbearable as there is just nothing to complain about. I’m really going to miss here and going to book another holiday for next year here.

We were a big group of 11 for a family birthday celebration, aged from nearly 3 to 70, and we all had a wonderful time. It is a delightful resort, right on the beach, with comfortable accommodation set in beautiful gardens, and had something for everyone. There were so many good things about Ikos Aria that made our holiday special, but most of all the genuine warmth and kindness of so many staff. Special mentions to our room cleaners who were lovely, Vangelis, Eleni, Doleta and Athena at Ouzo, and the smiling, friendly ladies at the security point on the road to the public beach, but there are so many other delightful people whose names have not stuck in our memory, in the lobby bar, at Seasons and Kos, and the persuasive beach barmen in particular. Dimitrios, the general manager, seemed to be everywhere at once, smiling and engaging with staff and guests alike. The children loved the ice cream at the gelateria and the adults loved the constant flow of champagne, a perk of having Deluxe rooms. Any request we had was met at lightning speed with the minimum of fuss, one example being an extra bed so our grandchildren could take turns at having sleepovers! Some evenings when it grew chilly in the wind the lobby bar and restaurant staff offered blankets all round. I could go on and on but must end with special thanks to Julia, the deluxe manager for her charming correspondence from the day we booked to the day we got home, her skill and diligence in managing our big party's complicated restaurant booking requests, and her constant concern to ensure that everything would be perfect for our holiday. Our 8 year old grandson spoke for all of us when he said he wanted to stay forever.