Ikos Olivia

For more than a decade, returning to Ikos Olivia has meant far more to us than simply going on holiday — it feels like coming back to a place that has truly become part of our lives. Ikos Olivia is not just a resort, but a refined experience shaped by elegance, attention to detail, and, above all, by truly exceptional people. Each time we arrive, we are welcomed with a warm and genuine “Welcome home,” a phrase that perfectly captures the spirit of this special place. Our recent Easter stay was, once again, nothing short of wonderful — a seamless blend of impeccable service, understated luxury, and heartfelt hospitality. We would especially like to express our sincere appreciation to my friend George Perashvili, Athina Kilina, the cook Artiom, Manos(Fresco) and the entire team, whose professionalism, warmth, and dedication consistently make every stay so memorable. We are already looking forward to returning this summer, confident that we will once again find the same exceptional atmosphere that keeps drawing us back year after year. Thank you for your constant pursuit of excellence and for turning each visit into a truly cherished experience.

We have chosen to return on Ikos holidays time and time again, as each time we have been blown away by the service. Our fifth Ikos holiday was our first visit to Olivia. We had a very good holiday with some brilliant individual experiences; however, overall it was lacking the ‘wow’ factor we have left with each prior Ikos holiday. Highlights: Prior to our arrival, the concierge team were extremely accommodating of our requests for dinner bookings, given we were a large family. We felt very fortunate to experience all restaurants during our stay, and that was all possible thanks to the assistance and behind the scenes organisation prior to our stay. Rooms were well appointed and well serviced every day of our stay. We received excellent service from the bar staff at the main pool, notably from Carlos, who always managed to please everyone despite the main pool area being very busy at times. Likewise, we thoroughly enjoyed the wine tasting hosted by Vicky, the resident sommelier, who was fantastic at interacting with guests and their families alike. The service from the team in Ouzo during our last night was excellent. The food in Anaya was very tasty, with lots of choice on the menu. We enjoyed the Mini Countryman experience, and felt this was a vast improvement on the prior Tesla offering, in terms of comfort, range and ease of use. The resident swimming instructor, Effi, is a true asset to the Ikos brand and it is no surprise she is retained by Ikos Oceania and Olivia each year. Room for improvement: Unfortunately some of our advance room requests were not in the rooms on arrival, and due to high occupancy, a cot was not available until evening. The service did not feel up to usual standards in every restaurant we experienced. In Flavours, it felt understaffed at times and we would often clear our own plates to make room for main courses, or find new cutlery from another table. In some of the restaurants there appeared to be a shortage of menus and we would share. Providence and Ouzo were the only restaurants where drinks were regularly offered and topped up. During the week we did experience some staff getting mixed up with restaurant orders, and during one evening someone else’s room service order was put in our room. Unfortunately there were some cold and wet nights during our stay, of course beyond the control of the resort, but it seemed there were not enough heaters to go around for the outdoor areas. Cycle hire was a huge frustration. We only once managed to hire a toddler balance bike, as guests would take them into their rooms and hoard them for their stay, rather than returning at the end of each day to ensure a fair distribution for all guests. We tried three times to hire adult bikes with baby seats, but they were never available despite arriving at 9am for opening. The sports centre staff did sympathise, but told us there was nothing they could do to stop guests from keeping the bikes at their accommodation. Surely a fine system could be introduced, or an incentive offered for timely return, to ensure all guests can experience the cycles that are clearly most in demand. There appears to be a lack of under cover seating for evenings. Potami has only a handful of under cover tables for couples or small families, Teatro has no under cover tables, and the seating in the lobby bar was often full by 8pm, leaving nowhere else for guests to go if it is wet or cold. Hence, unfortunately we often returned to our rooms earlier than we would have liked. It would be a huge improvement if Teatro could have an under cover area with heaters, although we accept that April holidays are a risk for cold weather. As a family, I am sure this will not be our last Ikos holiday and we had a very good overall experience; however, on balance, it was not the usual Ikos excellence and we have not rushed to re-book this time around. As we heard similar feedback from two other families during our stay, hopefully the management can act on guest feedback and improvements can be made.

We had an amazing week at Ikos Olivia. Fantastic service from everyone we encountered. Every member of staff can’t do enough for you and treat you like royalty. Huge thank you to all for making our trip so great. Every restaurant serves beautiful food and wine, we especially enjoyed the garden restaurant. The room was beautiful, always spotless, room service was great (breakfast in bed!) and reminisced bar service was spot on.

We had heard good things about the IKOS brand so finally decided to give it a try. We are a family of five with three kids aged between 6-10. From the moment we arrived, every single interaction was 5star! The resort itself is stunning. We opted for the Deluxe package and it was well worth it, while still exceedingly good value. Highlights for us included kayaking, cycling, basketball, paddle boarding and the ice cream parlour (all included). Our eldest loved playing football too and did two of the football coaching sessions. Room was spectacular, pools were heated and not over crowded, the restaurants were all wonderful but our favourite was Flavors, the buffet restaurant (extremely high standard buffet). 24 hour room service did not disappoint and neither did our frequently replenished mini bar. There is simply nowhere like IKOS. We will definitely be back and would highly recommend. Special shoutout to the staff who are so professional, dedicated and kind. Wish we could remember more names but Thanos was brilliant and so was Kostas who always filled our mini bar with our favourite tipples.

From the contact upfront, the welcome at the airport, the smell at the lobby, the personnel, room attention….it feels all like coming home! Although each Ikos location has its own vibe and feeling, you still know what to expect and the level of quality from the food, drinks, people and total experience. First time at Ikos Olivia and loving each day so far. The season has just started and you see that they are trying to give it all at the bars, restaurants, pools and gardens to have the full Ikos experience. We are with 2 families with older children and having a great time relaxing as a group, but also separated with the kids, families moms or dads. The adults only options feel welcome as parents as well as the combined (sports) activities. Still happy to be here and as always choosing for Ikos, and have a couple of days left to enjoy this place which feels like a second home!