Ikos Olivia

We stayed as a family of 4 in a one bed suite. It is the smallest of the ikos resorts and we felt that is best suited to those with younger children. Food was amazing and it was always easy to get a table in the restaurants. We stayed over May half term.

There’s no doubt Ikos is a lovely holiday, but they haven’t appreciated with the constant price increases, our expectations are also rising. We’ve been to Ikos 4 times over the past 6 years and the price is 40% higher now than it was. But equally the size of portions and drinks have decreased. Whilst that’s ‘not a problem’, the attention from staff is not the same either. Bar staff walk past you with their eyes down, hoping not to get flagged. As a family of three we spend $10k on a 10-14 day holiday. Unfortunately now, it’s just not as good as it used to be.

We visited Ikos for the 5th and sadly final time. Let me start with the positives. Upon arriving we were surprised by how nice the hotel is since the refurb, which was a huge plus. Our room (superior double) was surprisingly spacious, bigger than the same room type at Dassia and Andalusia, with adequate hanging space and plenty of room to move around. The view however was awful, our view was an abandoned arcade and some run down shops, not exactly luxury. The food was mostly good, but the buffet was really limited for people with allergies. The splash pad is a highlight, it’s super easy arm and safe for little ones. Not so good. The entertainment was pretty awful/ not existent, which meant there wasn’t much to do post dinner, not great with a toddler. We have never had a problem getting à la carte bookings previously, however this time it was a nightmare and we had to fight to get 4 restaurants booked. One of the biggest disappointments of the holiday was the garden restaurant. We had a booking and arrived an hour early as we were passing by just to see if they had received any cancellations (a question not a demand), the staff were so rude and dismissive and it left a terrible taste, anyway, we headed back at our scheduled time to be told that there wasn’t a table for us as it had been raining and we basically couldn’t dine there. It was 8.30pm and we had our 3 year old, I was fuming! The staff were rude, dismissive and just so unprofessionally, eventually a manager ran after me as we headed to the buffet as our toddler was really hungry. The managers were good, but it was too little too late and quite frankly it just wasn’t good enough. The main pools were freezing and nothing like what we have experienced in other Ikos hotels, very disappointing and not useable in October. The spa is grubby, old and needs a refurb. It’s also chaos when it rains as they open it up to families and there just isn’t enough space. Sadly Ikos is now overpriced, understaffed, has made serious cutbacks and lacks the luxury feel it once had, it’s sad to think a hotel chain that was once industry leading had fallen so short of the mark.

Beautiful resort. This is perfect for families, it’s small and feels very safe. Lovely splash pad with a beautiful play area right next to it. Restaurants were all of high standard, our favourite was The Garden. We did the wine tasting which was brilliant and the sommelier was fantastic. Buffet was extensive, brilliant salads. Was slightly tricky to get hold of the wine we wanted but we got there in the end. We loved ouzo for lunch, lovely location right on the beach. We used the bikes to get around which felt really safe. Our kids did a couple of kids club sessions which they enjoyed. We did the football academy and Kosta was brilliant with the kids. Would definitely go back. Ideal for families but probably wouldn’t go if I didn’t have kids.

Another fantastic holiday at a IKOS resort. Standards exceptionally high as usual. Staff are very pleasant , facilities and rooms very clean. Restaurants beautiful providing a great and plentiful selection of food. We booked a yacht trip through the resort and our experience was excellent, transportation included, food and drinks provided etc. Our son turned 21 while we were there and we booked a meal on the beach to celebrate, when we checked out we were informed that we did not have to pay for this it was a gift from them! This was very much appreciated.