We recently stayed at one of Ikos Resorts 5-star family-friendly hotels that are widely regarded as the crème de la crème of all-inclusive resorts in Europe. But Ikos Resorts levels of ‘unrivalled luxury’ are very expensive so all everyone wants to know is was it worth the money?
It’s a hard question to answer in a few sentences, and of course totally subjective, but I thought it might be helpful to highlight what exactly you get for that hefty price tag and why we have no regrets about paying it.
Ikos Resorts are all-inclusive hotels that don’t feel like all-inclusives
In my opinion Ikos Resorts are the all-inclusive resorts for people who don’t like all-inclusives. (Aka me!)
What I mean by that is:
The restaurants and a la carte menus are so good they feel like places we’d usually eat on holiday.
You don’t have to see a buffet all week if you don’t have to. The restaurants at Ikos Odisia are also very cleverly designed to make the most of the landscape; so you feel connected to the surroundings. As a huge fan of holidays in Greece (I think this was my 18th!) I wanted to make sure I felt like I was in Greece and Ikos Odisia definitely achieved that.
You don’t feel like you’re a guest of a huge resort.
The clever division of Ikos Odisia into 4 villages means you do not feel like you are staying at a massive hotel. (Although there is no doubt of that when you walk from one end of it to the other!)
Even travelling during school holidays, the resort never felt crowded. The sun loungers (which were always available, even if we did have to have a little hunt) are nicely spaced around the pool areas and on the beach so you don’t feel on top of other guests.
I was actually amazed at how well guests disperse themselves around the different parts of the resort. We often had the kids pool at the Sea Village all to ourselves and I’d be wondering where is everybody. (In a good way!)
I also liked that the restaurants weren’t huge – they felt intimate and exclusive even though they cater to a lot of people every night. It’s clever really.
Booking things via the app cuts down on wait time and logistics.
Ikos Resorts have their own app that you can use to book restaurants, kids club and certain activities in advance with. At first I was resistant to booking so many things before I’d even got to the resort but I can see now why it’s important for the smooth running of things. We never had to wait long to be seated at a restaurant as guests prebook all evening meals (except the Flavors buffet) so they knew when we were coming.
You’re encouraged to leave the resort.
My pet hate about all-inclusive hotels is that there often is very little incentive to actually leave the resort and see the destination but Ikos proactively encourage guests to explore the local area.
All guests are offered complimentary use of a Tesla for a day. There is also a Dine Out programme that means you can visit local restaurants as part of your all-inclusive package.
Ikos Odisia also run daily free shuttle buses to Corfu Town where you can use free passes to local museums and attractions. There’s also a complimentary sunset cruise that we took to explore north Corfu from the water.
Everything really is included.
My pet hate is ‘all-inclusive’ resorts who charge you more for certain restaurants and experiences. At Ikos we had incredible meals and the best wine every night and there was no surprise bill at the end of the holiday.
Is Ikos good value for money?
In all honesty, we have been to better 5-star hotels that delivered a higher level of service. But those hotels were not all-inclusive and neither were they so well set up for families. What Ikos does so well is straddle that fine line between being a luxury resort the adults can enjoy while making sure everything is taken care of for the little ones. That’s a big part of what makes Ikos Resorts worth the money for families.
We personally didn’t get good value from the Kids Club and entertainment as we didn’t use it. This isn’t Ikos’ fault, this is just personal choice. But even without making use of a lot of the activities we still see the value in paying for this type of resort, as do lots of couples who choose Ikos for their holidays.
Would we go to Ikos again?
We would. Our stay at Ikos Odisia was the most relaxing holiday we’ve ever had as a family so if we’re looking for that kind of fly-and-flop/think-about-nothing kind of holiday we’d definitely consider Ikos again.
I personally wouldn’t book an Ikos holiday every year as I feel like it would get a bit samey and we like to explore different places. But I can definitely see the appeal of going all-inclusive with Ikos now when before I was dubious.
I know booking a luxury family holiday is a big investment and no one wants to have regrets about what they spent their money on. I feel confident recommending Ikos based on our experience and hope this post and my previous one give you a little more insight into why people rave about it so much!
Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments or check out my reels with more info over on Instagram.
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