Ikos Aria

Went to Ikos Halkidiki 2017 and would rate that 5 out of 5. 2018 went to Ikos Dassia 2018 and would rate that 4 out of 5. June 2019 went for the first time to Ikos Aria for 7 days. Fantastic and booked again for September this year. arrived late at night to a wonderful reception from Margaret. It was great to see the staff again who made our holiday so good in June. First day we were late getting to the pool so no beds available. Just asked Laurence if he could get get 4 sunbeds when they became free - which he did and after that we made sure that we got there earlier. Must mention Paris who ran the pool area. Made us a couple of his special cocktails. Cant fault the food in any way. Every meal was like going out for that special sought after restaurant where you know you will be having the best cooked food. The hotel provides a free Mini Car for a day. The hotel has a deluxe area. Basically if you have a black room card you can eat lunch at seasons. The hotel guide you get with your room card is not clear about this. You can sit on the sunbeds in the adult pool just outside seasons but you cant eat lunch there unless you have a black card. We met Asterios the hotel food and beverage director at 11pm whilst having a drink saw him many times at various times of the day in different locations. Same for Effie the hotel manager. IKos sets a very high bar that is hard to beat. We have booked for May 2020 and September 2020. Not cheap but worth every penny!

I will start with saying this is the 1st review i have ever left on tripadvisor but i felt compelled to do so as the trip was so enjoyable. This was our (wife and 2 active boys 5 and 7 years old) second trip to a IKOS resort and we were not disappointed at all. We went Deluxe which offered a better range of food and drinks but i'm not sure this was noticeable as other friends stayed with the normal package and also had a fantastic time. The staff, facilities and restaurants were all excellent and the standard of food, especially the a la carte was exceptional. The gym staff were also very passionate, knowledgeable and classes were excellent as i actually went to 4 sessions in the week, far more than when at home. From the receptionists to the bar staff all were obviously exceptionally trained in customer service to the point that they could not do enough and you did not feel that this was a fake approach. It also helped that we were upgraded as an extra perk which just added to the personal touch and great feelings around the holiday. The resort was immaculate and facilities including the gym and sporting facilities were 1st class. The evening entertainment was also of a very high standard and the boys loved the shows (although the little one did drop off once exhausted from the days events). The only negative was actually at the beach with the water sports staff. I think this is outsourced and not only was the price of hiring anything outside of the included package i.e. a boat very high, more worryingly the staff were the only unfriendly encounter we had (refused to let us take a pedalo out at 17.01 even though others were still out on our last day and were very abrupt / rude) but i will not hold this against the holiday as the approach was so strikingly different from the hotel staff. Luckily we are a pool family and the boys had such fun at the pools which catered for all ages. Overall this was one of our best family holidays (if not the best) ever that was summed up when our boys got home and still weeks on continue to ask when we can come back again. Thanks to all the staff for making it such a wonderful experience and we would highly recommend to all and are planning to visit one of the other IKOS resorts next year.