Ikos Hotels?

happyandcontented

I have been looking at Ikos hotels and from all the reviews they seem to be fantastic (not a poor one amongst them)

Has anyone stayed in an IKos hotel/resort? If so, are they as good as the reviews say they are?

theonlywayisup

We stayed in the one in Kos without realising (booked for us by a friend who lives there) we don't normally stay in Europe but I can't fault the hotel at all. A perfectly fine stay in a beautiful place.

happyandcontented

We are looking at Ikos Dassia on Corfu. I have honestly never read reviews as universally good for anywhere else.

This will be our first AI holiday ever as we are more travellers than typical tourists. but we just want a real chill out week so this seems to fit the bill.

BillTrac

We stayed at the Ikos Aria in Kos the week after it opened in May. Fabulous stay. Nothing is ever too much trouble. We usually hire a car and explore wherever we are, not really beach people. Part of the deal is to use one of their Minis for a day. So we did and spend a long day out in Kos and the surrounding areas. Except for the dine-out evening we never left the grounds again until the end of the holiday. Room service on the beach is great, if not enough sunbeams/parasols they get more. Staff are amazing. All drinks are branded, even in the mini bar in your room. Plenty of food choice, mostly a-la-carte in the evenings at seven of the eight restaurants). We're going back next May [grin]

We also stayed at the Oceania in August, not as large a site but still you can see why they are Number One.

happyandcontented

BillTrac wrote: »

We stayed at the Ikos Aria in Kos the week after it opened in May. Fabulous stay. Nothing is ever too much trouble. We usually hire a car and explore wherever we are, not really beach people. Part of the deal is to use one of their Minis for a day. So we did and spend a long day out in Kos and the surrounding areas. Except for the dine-out evening we never left the grounds again until the end of the holiday. Room service on the beach is great, if not enough sunbeams/parasols they get more. Staff are amazing. All drinks are branded, even in the mini bar in your room. Plenty of food choice, mostly a-la-carte in the evenings at seven of the eight restaurants). We're going back next May [grin]

We also stayed at the Oceania in August, not as large a site but still you can see why they are Number One.

This is us exactly!

I have just booked.

We will have a hire car as we are going in early April and the transfers cost more than the car does for a week. We aren't booking direct as we have found a travel company who undercut the direct prices by £300 for the week, and Ikos would not price match.

BillTrac

Which one? Aria? We planned on booking a car while we there but in the end we didn't bother as very happy to stay on-site (40+ acres). There are pedalos and boats as well.

This was so easy to get to as only 20 mins from the airport. The car park is at the top of the entry road by the gatehouse. You can drive down to drop off and collect from the main entrance.

You really should pre-book meals at the a-la-carte restaurants as they can get busy as they are popular. There is an Ikos App where you can pre-book up to three before you travel and arrange more when you arrive. They do a dine-out as part of the deal as well. You can dine out at a local restaurant and they drop you off and pick you up. We did find the menu choice a bit limited.

There is even an upgrade to the AI package. This covers a separate area (with a Gin trolley that circulates) to the main site but I found the 'standard' AI exceptional. It's AI Ultra.

happyandcontented

Ikos Dassia in Corfu is the one we have booked. Thanks for the tip re the app. I will download it. How early can you pre book the restaurants?

BillTrac

Hi, I'm not exactly sure but if you download the app and follow the instructions you'll soon know if you have to wait a bit longer. There are six restaurants you'll need to pre-book for evenings. You can book any/all of the other restaurants you can fit in on arrival. I'd also book the dine out option as soon as you arrive as its can get booked up. Flavors is the buffet so booking not required. Most of the restaurants do breakfast and lunch. You can also message the Hotel before arrival if there is anything you require. I message the Oceania before we arrived to ask if I could have a certain type of wine in the mini bar.

happyandcontented

BillTrac wrote: »

Hi, I'm not exactly sure but if you download the app and follow the instructions you'll soon know if you have to wait a bit longer. There are six restaurants you'll need to pre-book for evenings. You can book any/all of the other restaurants you can fit in on arrival. I'd also book the dine out option as soon as you arrive as its can get booked up. Flavors is the buffet so booking not required. Most of the restaurants do breakfast and lunch. You can also message the Hotel before arrival if there is anything you require. I message the Oceania before we arrived to ask if I could have a certain type of wine in the mini bar.

Really? That is great service.

I have downloaded the app and we can't pre book restaurants until they open in April which is when we are going!!

travellerboy

We stayed at Ikos Oceania in September 2018. Overall I would give it 3 stars, the food was just OK. The best restaurant was the Italian, the others not so good. The main problem we experienced was it's a smoker's paradise

We were able to book 10 nights in the restaurants before we arrived. We booked with one email address and later changed address and were able to have further reservations. Wasn't intentional but it worked...!

Smauskin

happyandcontented wrote: »

This is us exactly!

I have just booked.

We will have a hire car as we are going in early April and the transfers cost more than the car does for a week. We aren't booking direct as we have found a travel company who undercut the direct prices by £300 for the week, and Ikos would not price match.

Can you please share the travel company? currently trying to get the best Ikos deal I can. Many thanks.