This hotel is ideal for anyone who wants to avoid the crowds of gobby English tourists that you usually end up stuck with whenever you venture to a European beach resort. My first visit was with family in August 2004, which I booked with Thomson. We were allocated the roof room, which meant we had the entire roof patio area to ourselves with sensational views of the mountains in the distance.
When I wanted to return with my partner in 2006, I found that the major holiday firms no longer offered the hotel, so we booked direct with them and travelled on a very reasonably priced (if a little uncomfortable) flight with Thomson. For us, this made the hotel experience even better as the other guests were a much more international crowd.
The hotel is a classic small, family-run Greek bed and breakfast affair, within a very short walk to the shingle beach and all the bars, restaurants and shops of the very pleasant Kos Town resort: there really is something for everybody, from cocktail bars and late-night clubs to family restaurants and ice-cream parlours. Everyone in town seems to be having a good time, without any of the lairiness you'd expect from the big clubbing resorts.
Anyway, back to the hotel itself: breakfast, a modest continental affair, is served in a special room adjacent to the bar in the lobby. Although simple, it is a decent start to the day, although I wouldn't recommend it if you're used to the vast spreads laid on by bigger hotels. The service is second to none, with everything prepared and served by the fantasticly welcoming family that run the hotel.
Another issue that people used to bigger hotels might have is with the pool, which is very small and quite an odd shape. However, we found that the proximity of the hotel to the beach meant that most guests went there during the day (as did we). When we arrived back from the beach each day we took a dip in the pool, which we had entierly to ourselves almost every day. How often have you experienced that in peak season? It felt extremely luxurious and was great fun. Our room on this occassion overlooked the pool and it was very relaxing to look out over from the balcony last thing at night.
Rooms, again, are pretty basic but met all of our needs for a beach holiday: they had air conditioning, patio doors, comfortable beds, the furniture was in excellent condition and above all everything was immaculately clean. I've lost count of the number of times I've booked so-called 'four star' hotels with very spacious and tastefully furnished but ultimately dirty rooms.
As I said earlier, the biggest draw for us was the lack of loud, inescapable English voices chattering away all day and night as a soundtrack to your holiday, but I must also commend the hotel for the excellent service. Everyone was friendly, but not in an obtrusive way, and when it was time to leave the owner not only sorted out a taxi to get us the airport but also offered us complementary drinks from the bar whilst we waited.
Having stayed in many, many hotels of all different star ratings, I'd have to say that this is one of my favourites. Kos Town is also a great, relaxing yet fun resort: in fact, it's the only place I've ever been to twice. Unpretentious yet not gaudy, simple yet with plenty of atmosphere, it really is an ideal basic Greek beach holiday destination. Enjoy!
