Ikos Odisia

What a fabulous boat trip with the best staff! 3hour Deluxe Boat trip…with the most fun hosts! Lots of laughter and wonderful memories made. Food and drinks galore!

The 3-hour afternoon cruise was undoubtedly the highlight of our holiday! The crew were absolutely phenomenal and made the experience truly unforgettable. Honestly, I would return to Ikos just to do the cruise all over again! It was absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. A truly unforgettable experience!

We recently returned from a week-long stay at Ikos Odisia and, overall, had a very enjoyable holiday. The resort itself is beautiful, the grounds are immaculately maintained, the WhatsApp concierge service is excellent, and there are some truly exceptional members of staff who made our stay memorable. However, there were also several inconsistencies that prevented this from being the luxury experience we were expecting from a premium all-inclusive brand.

The restaurants were a mixed bag. Our favourite was Ouzo, where both the food and service were outstanding. Anastasia (with the snake tattoo) was, without question, the best server we encountered throughout our stay. She was warm, attentive and genuinely seemed invested in ensuring guests had a wonderful experience. The food was consistently excellent, and we found ourselves looking forward to every visit.

Azul was another highlight. The food was fantastic, service was polished and attentive, and it had the best ambience and décor of any restaurant on the resort. We also enjoyed the adjacent bar, where we discovered an excellent Pisco Sour. However, with only six seats available, it can be difficult to find space, particularly during peak times.

Anaya also impressed us. Service was exceptional throughout, and our server Elena surprised us with a complimentary bottle of Taittinger champagne, which was an incredibly thoughtful and unexpected gesture. The salmon main course was one of the best dishes we ate all week and remains a standout memory from our stay.

Fresco offered consistently good service, but we found the food quality somewhat inconsistent between visits. We also enjoyed lunch at Elia, although unfortunately we were never able to secure a dinner reservation there during our stay.

Our biggest disappointment was Oliva. Given that it is positioned as an exclusive dinner-only restaurant, our expectations were high. Unfortunately, the service felt unwelcoming and rushed. On one evening, the lights were being turned down around 9:40pm while guests were still dining, and we were surrounded by tables that had either been left uncleared or were being prepared as though breakfast service was about to begin, despite the restaurant not serving breakfast. We were also unexpectedly assigned a new server midway through the meal without explanation, yet continued to receive disapproving looks from our original server for the remainder of the evening. While the menu sounded promising on paper, the execution of several dishes fell short of expectations. The wine tasting experience associated with Oliva was equally disappointing and did not represent good value.

We also enjoyed Sea Grill, although it required some persistence. The lunchtime queues can be significant, and on several occasions the wait made it impractical to dine there. We would strongly recommend arriving when the restaurant opens if lunch there is a priority during your stay. When we did eventually manage to dine there, the food was exceptional and among the best we had all week. We happened to be there during an enormous thunderstorm, and the staff were outstanding in the way they looked after guests and worked to keep everyone as protected from the heavy rain as possible. We unfortunately lost an evening reservation due to the weather, but our lunchtime experience more than justified Sea Grill's popularity.

The bars throughout the resort were another area where consistency was lacking. The main bar in particular often felt chaotic, with drinks varying significantly depending on who made them. Orders were not always prepared as requested, presentation was inconsistent, and even something as simple as ordering multiple glasses of the same champagne could result in different glassware being used within the same order. There often seemed to be a focus on speed and volume over quality and attention to detail. We also noticed a lack of cohesion amongst some of the staff, which occasionally affected the atmosphere.

A point worth mentioning for couples is that the resort is extremely family-focused. We fully appreciate that Ikos welcomes families, but prospective guests should be aware that children, particularly very young children and babies, are everywhere throughout the resort. At one breakfast, I counted 18 high chairs in my immediate sightline alone. If you're seeking a quieter, more adult-oriented luxury experience, this is something worth considering before booking.

Other positives included the gym, which was well-equipped and well maintained, and the excellent WhatsApp concierge team who were consistently responsive, friendly and helpful throughout our stay. Flavours deserves a special mention for breakfast, which was excellent each morning. We found the lunch offering less impressive, and we did not dine there for dinner.

One aspect of the experience that left us slightly uncomfortable was the way feedback was handled. On our penultimate day, we received a call from the resort asking for feedback on our stay, which we actually appreciated as it demonstrated a willingness to listen and address concerns while guests were still on property. However, at checkout we were effectively asked to answer the first questions in the satisfaction survey with scores of 9 or 10. Given that the purpose of guest feedback is to provide an honest reflection of the experience, this felt unnecessary and somewhat off-putting. The resort has many genuine strengths, and we would have preferred to complete the survey entirely on our own terms without feeling steered towards particular responses.

Overall, we had a lovely holiday and there are plenty of things Ikos Odisia does exceptionally well. The resort is beautiful, several restaurants are genuinely excellent, and there are some truly exceptional members of staff who deliver the kind of service you expect from a luxury brand.

That said, greater consistency is needed across some restaurants and bars, particularly when it comes to service standards and drink quality. Most importantly, we believe the resort would benefit enormously from introducing dedicated adults-only evening bars and lounges. Given how family-oriented the resort is throughout the day, there is currently no meaningful space where couples and adult guests can retreat in the evening to enjoy premium cocktails, conversation and a more sophisticated atmosphere. One or two adults-only venues after dark would significantly elevate the guest experience and provide a better balance between families and couples.

Similarly, the resort should have confidence in the experience it delivers and allow guest feedback to speak for itself rather than encouraging particular survey scores. Honest feedback is ultimately the best way to maintain and improve standards.

Ikos Odisia gets a lot right, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. With a few improvements, particularly around consistency, feedback culture and the provision of adult-only evening spaces, it could genuinely deliver the exceptional luxury experience it aspires to offer.