Aqua Blu Kos Review (Greek Islands)
I had booked the Aqua Blu Kos hotel when it ran an amazing sale in early December 2014. The 5 star Boutique Hotel had rates as low as $30 for many dates. I paid a bit more but still paid much less than the $250 it charged when checking a few days before my arrival.
The Aqua Blu Kos is located on the Northern tip of the island - separated just by the calm road from the beach. From the hotel the town of Karabag in Turkey is clearly visible.
Check-in was very friendly and in fluent English (and German). My room wasn't ready so we would have to wait for the room for about 3 hours but the staff escorted us to the spa area to change and enjoy the pool and beach facilities while we had to wait.
The architects have done a remarkable job to hide the road and traffic noise from the hotel. It is barely visible nor audible and the view from the outdoor patio seems like it goes directly at the ocean. The pool looks fantastic and the service is equally excellent. I liked that drink prices were very reasonable and much lower than expected in such a beautiful resort.
The room wasn't the biggest or best (but hey I paid just a fraction of everyone else) but it was appointed very well. The bathroom had a large rain shower and the AC was very powerful - cooling down the room in minutes. The room was also very quiet - I never heard the outside or other guests during my stay.
The only thing that never worked was the Internet - it consistently kept going up and down. Ranging from fast to zero throughput. Most of the times it just did not work. I urged the management to fix it and indeed come Monday it was a bit better but still it did not allow me to work properly.
The hotel provides free sunbeds and and towels at the beach and it is just a short walk across the street to reach it. The beach is one of the better beaches on the island - it's just a few pebbles and good water (though not as clear as in other spots).
The included breakfast was AMAZING. Lots of high quality items in the breakfast spread and a made to order menu of hot items (almost exclusively eggs). The breakfast also featured excellent champagne and 'rose' sparkling wine. The cheese selection and marmalade options were fantastic and felt like a small brother of the breakfast at the Grand Hyatt Berlin (which still ranks as my favorite place to have breakfast in a hotel).
In summary the Aqua Blu Kos is a fantastic boutique hotel - it is small but allows you to have a perfect vacation for a couple of days. Given the enormous rates Greek hotels call for (Santorini hotels rarely sell under $500 during high season) the Aqua Blu is a steal. Yes the view isn't as pretty as the Caldera view but the hotel hardware and software is as good as it gets.
The management needs to work on the Internet connection and make it work as it it supposed to be in a 5 star hotel. The hotel would also do well to have a frequent shuttle to town (which is just a bit outside walking distance).
Besides that keep an eye out for the Aqua Blu Kos!
You can book the Aqua Blu Kos here.