We’re just back from a stylish and stress-free stay at Grecotel LUXME Kos – a family-friendly all-inclusive in Greece with incredible pools and plush sun-loungers.
Following a recent transformation, Grecotel LUXME Kos wowed us from the minute we stepped into the lobby and went on to spoil us with flawless service throughout our stay.
The huge pools are great for kids like mine who just want to be in the water all day while us parents enjoy the comfy sun-loungers and drinks service. (Free Greek frappes on demand is my idea of heaven!)
Conveniently located 15 mins from Kos Town and 45 mins from the airport, this hotel is brilliant for fly and flop holiday with kids where everything is included – even multiple cups of Carte D’or ice cream!
With 4 outdoor pools, 5 restaurants and a private beach there’s enough to keep you busy without overwhelm setting in, and we thought the food was of a really high standard for the price point.
If you’re considering a stay at Grecotel LUXME Kos, here’s everything you need to know about it.
*Disclosure: We were hosted by Grecotel LUXME Kos for 3 nights and paid for a further 2. All opinions are my own.
LUXME All Inclusive Dining
With the LUXME all-inclusive package everything is included from a la carte dinners to premium drinks, kids club, ice cream, crepes and visits to the Patisserie-Chocolaterie in the evening.
Restaurants
There are 4 a la carte restaurants on site and you can book each of them once during a 7-night stay.
- Tavernaki – a Greek beachfront restaurant with relaxed vibes and tasty grilled meats
- Finica – an elevated Italian restaurant overlooking the resort
- Asiana – an Asian a la carte restaurant found near the main pool serving popular dishes like katsu curry and crispy duck
- 1930s Bar Restaurant – the resort’s signature restaurant serving a fine dining degustation menu
Tip: Download the Grecotel App prior to your stay to prebook a la carte restaurants
During our 5-night stay we tried Tavernaki and 1930s Bar Restaurant and had a lovely evening at both of them.
At Tavernaki we loved that you could dine with your toes in the sand while enjoying a platter of taverna classics including souvlaki, lamb chops, Greek sausage, tzatziki and Greek salad. You are served a set menu of mezze starters, a share plate for mains (with meat or vegetarian option) and loukoumades for dessert. (These were delicious.)
They also have a separate kid’s menu with classics like spaghetti bolognese and chicken nuggets. Miles ordered the mini chicken souvlaki and loved it so much he had 2 skewers!
At 1930s Bar Restaurant we were welcomed with a glass of bubbles and treated to 4 beautifully presented courses including a chef’s seafood amuse bouche, beef fillet and a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate souffle. The setting for this restaurant is also really beautiful right near the ambient Lobby Bar where you can watch the sky turn pink at sunset.
One evening we made use of the brilliant Dine Out Experience where you can eat for free at a local taverna called Petra. The taverna is just a 5-minute drive from the hotel and reception can arrange transfers for you. (The transfers are not included but are only 10 Euros each way.)
We thought they were really generous with the amount of food included and it was all delicious. For starters they filled the table with garlic bread, Greek salad, dolmadakia, fried zucchini, tzatziki and tomato fritters and then for mains you could choose from a number of main courses including souvlaki, gyros, lamb chops and pork brisket. We didn’t have room for dessert but I did enjoy a nice cold Mythos to wash it all down with.
The Dine Out Programme is only available in the summer but I think it’s 100% worth doing for a change of scenery and authentic taverna experience.
The rest of our evening meals we ate the Lagoon Mediterranean buffet restaurant and we were really impressed with the food, service and atmosphere. I am a reluctant buffet goer but I really enjoyed all the meals we had here. The design of both the buffet and seating areas is fresh and modern. There was always plenty of seating, both indoors in the air con or outside near the water features, and we didn’t experience any queues or wait times, which was excellent considering we visited during peak summer holidays.
Compared to the likes of Hillside Beach Resort – home to the biggest buffets we’ve ever seen – there wasn’t a huge amount of variety, with only 1 or 2 live cooking stations and similar starters/appetizers making an appearance every day. But everything we ate was fresh and tasty and for me personally having less choices made it less overwhelming. I also liked that it was mostly Mediterranean cuisine and some of my stand out meals featured Italian and Greek classics, like caprese salad, arancini and one of the yummiest moussakas I’ve ever eaten.
For kids you could order what you needed upon request but out fussy eater was more than happy with all the fresh fruit, salads, grilled chicken fillet and the pastas that appeared regularly.
In addition to the wide selection of desserts on offer at the buffet – I had a lemon tart one evening that was pure perfection – the resort also has a Patisserie-Chocolaterie open from 19.30 – 21.30 where you can grab delicious morsels of truffles, tarts, cheesecakes and macarons. I never had room to try anything but if you have a sweet tooth it’s a lovely spot to end your meal.
Lunch
Mostly because of our fussy eater we also had a couple of lunches at the buffet, which tended to be really quiet during the day, but my preferred pick for lunch was the light bites including gyros pitta that you could grab from the poolside food court.
Open between 11.00 – 18.00 this is where you could grab snacks including salads, sandwiches, wraps, pizza, hotdogs, burgers, cake and fruit throughout the day. Again, it was a relatively small but good quality selection of food and because we were only there for 5 days we didn’t get bored of it.
While the food was all self-service there was table service for drinks and the staff here (like everywhere around the resort) were fast and friendly.
A couple of times they came around the pool or beach area with a tray of burgers and gyros so you didn’t need to leave your sunlounger, which was fab.
The food court also has a creperie and gelateria where you could order as many freshly made crepes and scoops of Carte D’or ice cream as you desired.
It’s also worth noting that if your little ones are truly fussy eaters there is a mini-market on site where you can grab crackers, crisps and snacks to tide them over. (IYKYK)
Breakfast
Breakfast was also really good and had everything our family needed. I loved the fresh fruit and Greek yoghurt, my husband enjoyed the made to order omelettes and Miles filled up on peanut butter toast & hot pancakes every morning.
The coffee (served to the table) was delicious and staff were great at bringing as much as you wanted. I also loved the Greek pastries – think warm bougatsa and cheese pie. From a continental buffet perspective we could not fault it.
Our room
Our room was a Beachfront Bungalow that had beautiful views (especially at sunrise!) and an ideal location close to both the beach and main pools. It was a good size for the 3 of us and felt private because we weren’t overlooked by anyone. (Although we could peer down into the private pool villas below us!)
The 4-poster bed was very comfortable and we appreciated the coffee machine, kettle and free mini bar with beers and soft drinks that were regularly replenished.
The only thing to note is that some of the furniture felt quite tired and dated. The room was immaculately clean but there were scratches and chips on the bedside tables and coffee table etc so it felt like a few things needed a refresh.
If you want a more modern interior, I have read that the Luxury Family Suites, Dream Villas and Deluxe Villas have been renovated so these would be the room types I’d recommend.
Facilities for families
Swimming pools
With 6 pools including a huge lagoon pool with lazy river and waterfalls, for us this was very much a pool holiday and Miles had a blast swimming for hours on end.
The 4 main outdoor pools are huge but well maintained. I don’t think they are heated but they were a comfortable temperature for swimming in August. Some of our favourite spots were Papaya Island, a lush sandy islet adorned with hammocks and sofas, and the freshly renovated Garden Pool, which is the smallest of the 3 main pool areas and had more of a chilled atmosphere.
There aren’t any splash pads or waterslides, which was a positive for me as I don’t find them very relaxing, but there is a shallow children’s pools for younger babies and toddlers.
Some things to note is that there are plenty of inflatables to go around! Guests were donating them to the resort/ other families as they left so I would suggest not bothering to buy your own.
We also found that there were enough sun loungers for all the guests but those in what you might consider prime spots were reserved early. This might have just been during our stay as there were a few family groups who wanted sunbeds together but most days the beds near the main pool and pool bar were taken almost at sunrise. (I only know this as I got up to photograph the resort at what I thought would be before the other guests woke but saw towels out already!)
As we preferred the beach or garden pool this didn’t impact our stay but I wanted to be transparent about our experience as it did surprise me how early people were getting up to claim sunbeds.
We also noticed that the lazy river doesn’t have any jets to push you around. It’s still fun but you have to propel yourself/push your child on a lilo as opposed to float around it like you would in a waterpark.
Beach
The resort’s private beach has a unique set up as its naturally stony but the hotel have created a sandy section with sunbeds set just back from the water. If your little ones like playing in the sand then this is ideal but don’t forget to bring water shoes to get in/out of the ocean.
It actually surprised me how few families used the beach during our stay but that could be because the sea was a little choppy on windier days. We loved using the sunbeds as a base here and then walking to the pools when we fancied a dip because it was a lot quieter than sitting by the pools and they still had sunlounger service to bring my daily frappes.
Kids Club
The Grecoland kids club offers free supervised activities for ages 4+. It’s open daily from 10am to 6pm with no need to prebook and you can view the schedule for each day on the Grecotel app.
As our son was so enamoured with the pools we only used Kids Club once during our stay but he came back all smiles after doing a pirate themed treasure hunt around the resort.
Based on what we saw on the schedule I would say it was probably better suited to younger children aged 4 to 7 who would appreciate the crafts, colouring, bowling tournaments etc more than children aged 8+. But I think that depends on whether the children make friends as we saw older groups of children going in together.
Outside the kids club is a sandy play area with playground equipment where you can stay and play with younger children. Private babysitting can be arranged through the resort staff with advance notice.
Parents can also request essential baby gear (like cots, buggies, and bottle sterilizers) ahead of time through the GrecoBaby programme.
Activities
The hotel has a good variety of exercise glasses and activities taking place each day, most of which are included in your stay.
We didn’t have enough time to try any ourselves unfortunately but some of the things that caught my eye were:
Yoga
Tennis
Bike hire
Boccia
Horseriding
Aqua move
Pilates
Meditation
Sound bath
There’s also an onsite spa with adults only pools and peaceful treatment rooms.
One thing my husband and son did try was the watersports run by an external company on the beach. They couldn’t resist a ride on the ‘crazy sofa’ and I enjoyed my slightly less adrenalin-filled ride on the speedboat watching them.
Evening Entertainment
Every evening there was a Mini Disco in the conference room close to the main buffet restaurant. Despite the unexpected corporate setting, the kids were absolutely loving having a dance with the entertainment team while the adults get to have a seat and enjoy the wine served from a temporary bar at the back of the room. (Juice and squash is also on hand for the sweaty young dancers.)
One evening we also watched an entertaining acrobatic show in this room straight after that Miles said was like Britain’s Got Talent come to life.
Much more up my street was the live music at the pool bar. There was a different act every night ranging from pop divas to an Il Divo tribute and they all had amazing voices. I loved watching these singers with a Hugo Spritz at the end of the evening.
Things to do in the local area
With only 5 nights at the resort and a lot of ground to cover for this review we didn’t end up doing any of excursions that I had bookmarked. If you’re staying for 7 nights or longer there is so much to do in and around Kos so you won’t be short of options.
One thing we did do is explore Kos Town one morning. The hotel is conveniently located about 15 mins drive from Kos Town so if you fancy some sightseeing or an evening meal in the Old Town it’s very easy to prebook a taxi with reception. (We paid 17 euros to prebook a taxi there and 12 Euros on the metre to come back.)
Kos Town has a number of interesting sights including ancient ruins, souvenir shops and picturesque tavernas and is also the starting point for a number of boat tours to neighbouring islands.
Some of the excursions we heard great things about are:
- 3 island boat tour to Kalymnos, Pserimos and Plati
- Day trip to Nsyiros to see an active volcano
- Bodrum day trip by ferry
- Zia sunset tour
- Lido waterpark
If we had hired a car (there is a car hire rental desk at the hotel) we would have loved to visit the mountain village of Zia. A sunset dinner at Oromedon was on my wishlist.
Getting there
Grecotel LUXME Kos is approximately 45 min drive from Kos Airport on nice flat roads.
We had a private transfer arranged via the hotel but also highly recommend the booking.com taxi service, which we used to get from the port to the airport at the end of our trip and were excellent.
Final thoughts
Grecotel LUXME Kos is an elegant all-inclusive resort that really does make family holidays feel easy.
While this is a bigger and busier resort than we are used to, we genuinely were impressed with how smoothly everything worked and I could not fault the service. The shared spaces have been beautifully renovated and the restaurants offer delicious food and relaxed environments for families.
If you’re looking for a stylish all-inclusive resort in Greece that’s more affordable than the likes of Ikos you can’t go wrong with Grecotel LUXME Kos.
You can see more from our stay on my Instagram highlights but do not hesitate to ask any questions in the comments.
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