Ikos Aria

Our second visit to Ikos Aria, our third with Ikos after traveling to Odisia last year. We first experienced Ikos Aria in 2022 and from the moment we were greeted, knew we had stumbled upon something special. We travelled this time as a family of four - our 5 year old daughter and 3 month old baby. We chose to return to Ikos Aria following the exceptionally good experience we had as a couple in 2022. I'm so pleased to say that it absolutely did not disappoint and we had the most amazing holiday!

We did not do deluxe this time around, despite having done it as a couple the first time we visited. It was mainly down to cost, and the fact we were not entirely sure we would make full use of the facilities travelling with such a young family. Upon arrival, we did enquire as to whether there were any last minute deals to be had for an upgrade but they were fully booked. Thomas, the hotel manager came to find us and went out of his way to ensure we were still happy with our room and everything so far. He checked back in with us on the final night of our stay and that went a very long way and showed the level of care and service. Not choosing to do deluxe this time worked for our family. Our room was beautiful - 4109, sea view with a small garden. It was perfect. Yes the deluxe pool is more scenic, but both the beach pool and the main pool were fantastic and had good views of the ocean. The main pool was also a tad warmer for our daughter so she enjoyed spending most of the time there anyway.

You never tire of the level of service and the unexpected little details that come with choosing Ikos. We paid extra for a private transfer from the airport and right away, we were greeted by a member of staff from Ikos, ready to pass us bottles of water and assist us with putting our luggage on the van. Upon arrival, as always, a very personal and warm greeting - no queuing at the desk to 'check in', your luggage is taken from you the moment you arrive and transported to your room without any worry. You are seated and offered a warm towel and glass of champagne on arrival. Even a little soft drink for our daughter. The smell of Ikos, as I called it, a fragrance from Anne Semonine hits you the moment you walk into the foyer and you suddenly feel at home. It is such a special place.

We were relived to see that the grounds have been really well maintained since our last visit in 2022. The groundsmen work tirelessly, replanting, pruning and generally making everything look stunning. I did spot that some of the cushions and some areas - particularly the spa and foyer were starting to look like they needed just a little 'touch up' but then it was the end of the season and I have no doubt they do a blitz during the colder months. The hotel is really stunning and the view - you never tire of it.

Probably the thing that stood out the most to us, particularly following our visit to Ikos Odisia last year was the level of service from the staff. It's 10/10 - faultless. They do not stop and do so with a smile. Each member goes above and beyond to be attentive. We did not have a single occasion were we had to wait for a drink, or to be served, everything was seamless. A few special mentions to those who really shone - Jurgen at Ouzo, super knowledgeable, attentive and friendly. Spiros and Mark at Ouzo also fantastic. Fabio and 'Guilie' apologies if I have mispelled that at Kos, also fantastic. We loved that Fabio could give us recommendations and was super attentive. Anastasia at the main pool really looked after us constantly checking we were topped up and made our daughter a few special drinks. A special thank you to our housekeeper too. You work tirelessly to keep everything so clean and beautifully presented. Thank you!

Our favourite restaurant for dinner was Kos. Great lamb and lovely red from the Ikos private cellar. We also loved breakfast and lunch at Ouzo - the view is incredible. Many a rose enjoyed here along with really delicious bbq food. We loved how varied it was every day with different meats and fish available to keep it fresh and exciting.

We really enjoyed the boat trip which was free and only a short 8 min drive to the boat from the hotel. They provided a coach to get us there. The staff on board the boat were great fun and kept topping up our glass. They even let our 5 year old 'drive' the boat for a few mins. Great fun!

Our daughter LOVED the Kpop theatre show. We said the same last time but a little something more in the evenings wouldn't go a miss. The lobby has live music every night but it's a very chilled vibe which doesn't really pair well with the families of young children. I felt a little sorry for the couples without kids as the lobby does get taken over by the little ones zooming around. I feel like the large outdoor space that leads on from the foyer is not particularly made good use of. It is such a vast and beautiful space, perhaps it could be put to use more in the evenings? The white party on our first night was fun but the location needs to be revisited. It's on a part of the beach which is quite steep and you couldn't really 'dance' without falling over. Otherwise good fun and a good effort with the live singing and music.

Everything else absolutely faultless. Loved my spa massage. It has been interesting to see the evolution of Ikos hotels over the years. Aria being slightly older than Odisia and the more recent ones like Kissamos. Odisia has an extremely impressive spa and gym area which I do feel lets Aria down a little bit. Perhaps some investment into these areas would help it to compete. The spa feels a little claustrophobic and the gym is very small. Perhaps pilates and yoga classes could be offered outside, up on the top floor (just off from the lobby?).

Travelling with 3 month old baby was made easier by the offer of a monitor, baby bottle steriliser, travel cot, baby bath and (we didn't use) stroller. All available upon request ahead of time. There is a toddler and child menu at all al la carte restaurants and plenty of food at buffet for fussier eaters! During our stay, we had a minor incident with our baby and needed the on site doctor to take a look at her. It was really convenient and we were seen within the hour and we felt her checks were thorough and gave us peace of mind. It was really nice knowing there was an onsite doctor to see especially traveling with such a young baby.

All just intended as constructive feedback! Otherwise genuinely the most incredible holiday. Great swimming in the sea - lots of little fish and daughter enjoyed the pedlo which was free of charge. Climbing up to the church is a must do if you are mobile and agile enough!

Thanks again for a wonderful week away. We felt so looked after. Can't wait to come back again.

Just back a holiday here as a family of 3. After trying our first Ikos at Olivia last year, we wanted to try Aria this year as had heard this was a better resort and you are more guaranteed better weather in September, October.

Overall, we had a great stay and would highlight recommend here, but with a few areas for improvement:

Room

We stayed in a junior suite with garden, which we felt was enough room for the 3 of us. Our pre-requested drinks were in the room on arrival and room was cleaned and minibar stocked every day, except for 1 day, but after texting concierge, this was quickly rectified. We ordered room service a couple of times and was always delivered promptly and as requested.

Pool

We spent time at both of the main pools, as well as the children’s pool which was great. We didn’t find the pools as heated as Olivia, but thankfully the weather was much nicer. Service round the pool was generally good, but at times could be slow but there were QR codes you could just order to your sunbed. Food and drinks always great but did have a couple of occasions where the wrong drink was given, or was given to the wrong sunbed and I felt they also didn’t read any of the notes if you ordered via the QR code. These was generally rectified quickly, but it would be good for you to be able to put in your own notes and them to be actioned, especially on occasions where there are no servers around and the drink you’re looking for isn’t specifically on the menu, for example, a mimosa.

We went to the adults pool one morning when my daughter was in the creche and found it very relaxing and would have spent all my time here if I wasn’t travelling with kids. They were a lot more attentive and brought out things like salmon bellinis round the pool.

Kids

My daughter enjoyed the pools and ice cream shack and went to the creche twice. One time allowed us to try the wine tasting, which I would highly recommend, and the other time allowed us to have an adults only breakfast and spend time at the adults only pool. The staff at the kid’s club were so friendly and great with my daughter. They remembered her name and gave us WhatsApp updates as to how she was settling in, which was appreciated (and not something we got at Olivia). Most of all, I was pleased that there was a kids show on most nights at the theatre which changed each night (Olivia last year had the same show that repeated alternative nights which we fed back was not great). My daughter LOVED the Kpop show and said it was the highlight of her holiday. I would still like them to do some of the more ‘traditional’ mini disco songs as part of some of their other shows though at the dancefloor was typically empty until the bubbles came out. They have a trampoline everyday at 12pm for an hour which my daughter loved. The woman who worked there (I didn’t get her name) was so nice and even helped my daughter do ‘big jumps’.

Food

Food as usual, was great. We tried Provence, Kos, Anaya and Oliva, as well as Fresco and Ouzo for lunch and Kos and Fresco for breakfast. All food was great and service was amazing and very attentive – your glass would never get empty. However, we did find the food at Olivia slightly better, especially the buffet. While we were happy with eating at the buffet last year at Olivia, we felt it wasn’t great at Aria and sought out another a-la carte (since we could only pre-book 3 being non-deluxe). Our personal favourite meal was the beef at Oliva – so delicious!

Entertainment

We enjoyed having a choice between a show on at the theatre and live music in the lobby bar at night (at least most nights), which again was a step up from Olivia. There isn’t much daytime entertainment outwith more fitness related classes. I would love some daytime music, saxophonist or something to give you a bit more variety. Likewise, for kids unless they go to the kids club or the park. It would be great for some kind of indoor soft play/play area that parents could take their kids to to give them a rest from the sun (or if it’s raining!)

Misc

I tied the yogalates and reformer Pilates which was great and something I’ve always wanted to try. The instructors were patient, kind and welcoming. Overall, we found all the staff lovely and a real credit to the hotel. Everyone greeted you with a smile and hello and nothing was too much trouble.

At Olivia last year, we had some of their customer service/concierge approach us to check in on how we were finding the hotel and to ask for feedback. We never had this at all at Aria except for a phonecall on our second last night which was very short and seemed like scripted questions that didn't really delve into anything (for example, have you had housekeeping and your mini bar filled). At Olivia, we also had someone help find sunbeds, put your towels down and clean your sunglasses which wasn't really seen at Aria. A very minor point, but did feel Olivia was slightly better at some of the more finer details (perhaps being a smaller resort?)

Areas for improvement

Despite us really enjoying our stay, there are a couple of things I think would improve future stays, outwith what I’ve already mentioned above:

1. The hotel offered wine tasting, cocktail making, sunset boat tours and we also seen an advert for a pizza masterclass (and who knows what else!). Unless you are members of the facebook group, there is no way you would have known about these before going and some of them aren’t even advertised in the hotel itself. I think they should have information on all of the offerings on the app, along with being able to book it there too as it was quite a hassle to try and marry up childcare with the adult-only offerings, especially as concierge had to liaise with the food and drink department to book you into some of these, so unfortunately, we missed out on the cocktail masterclass.

2. I believe they originally only allowed you to book 1 reformer Pilates class, before upping that to 2. Based on my experience, I would suggest this is reduced again to 1. Despite booking on my first day (as you're unable to pre book), I was only able to book the very last spot on my last day, with many other people unable to book any due to it being full. Perhaps people who have already been to 1 can be put on a waiting list and not given a space till a day before if it isn’t fully booked as I feel people who were lucky enough to get more than 1 spot (for example, those there for >7days) automatically booked their allocated 2 because they could.

3. I would love the bar menus to reflect everything they have on offer. For example, no menus had bottled corona beer despite it being something I regularly seen guests drinking. Similarly, not all the wine lists had the different versions of sparkling wine: cava, prosecco, champagne you could order which was frustrating. I imagine this is a conscious decision for a reason, but did mean you were left thinking ‘could I order this or is it deluxe only’ or ‘would it cause any hassle if I was to ask for prosecco rather than cava as it's not on the menu’. Similarly, when using the QR codes, I couldn’t order my preferred prosecco on it as it was cava only. Minor points, I know, but something that would make a difference.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay and would say generally it is probably on par with Olivia, if Olivia had guaranteed better weather (many of our gripes with Olivia was due to things that happened as a result of the rainier weather, which is in our review for there from last year). However, the wider variety of nighttime entertainment at Aria probably tops it. So much so, we have already booked to go to Kissamos next year, which we are very excited about trying

Just got back from a week at Aria, and can't wait to go back. My wife and I have been to many all-inclusive resorts, however, this is the best by far. There are a lot of other resorts that offer more exciting amenities/adventures, such as water skiing, Cenote diving, golf, and others, but they don't even come close to the level of service and quality of staff and facilities. First, the food is fine dining quality. Secondly, the level of service at every step is impeccable. And finally, the sincerity of every employee to make your vacation the best is undeniable. Aria defines what service used to be in the states; You dont have to ask for things because its already been done for you.