Kouros Village Hotel

We were lucky enough to upgrade to a Deluxe Room with private balcony and hot tub which gave us some privacy , this and the wonderful staff at Kouros Village provided us with all we could ask for. Ideally situated for beach bars and restaurants. But the stars of this hotel are unquestionably the staff.

Comfort - 10/10 Value for money - 9/10 Food - 9/10 Expectations met - Yes

Upon arrival, we were greeted by genuinely nice staff, who offered to take our luggage and escorted us to Reception. They offered us a complimentary welcome drink (which was delicious) and then proceeded to give a very (very) comprehensive brief of the hotel, local area and key locations across Santorini. They have gave a very useful map of the island and circled the best places of interest. You should note that that there is a 10€ tourist charge, per day per room. Therefore if you’re a couple, it’s more acceptable but as a solo travel (like myself) this was a bit unbalanced.

We were then escorted to our rooms and once again, offered to carry our luggage. At the rooms, the staff again, gave us an in-depth brief of the rooms, showed all the controls and informed us of the toilet and water situation.

If you’ve never travelled to Santorini before, PLEASE NOTE - no where on the island can you flush paper down the toilets or drink the tap water! Therefore, you’ll have to get accustomed to using the bins provided in all bathrooms for tissue disposal.

The hotel is simply, picturesque, with beautifully white painted buildings and a gorgeous pool and sunbathing area. The bar is well stocked (hotel prices) and honestly, quite faultless. They are strict with people who leave towels on beds longer than 25 minutes (although, there was a lady who left her bag under a towel and they left it… for over 3 hours). So they enforce, within reason.

The hotel breakfast on a morning, I would argue, is brilliant. There is a really good balance between healthy food and the usual hot choices such as eggs, bacon etc. The coffee is good and plentiful, too.

Unfortunately, this time I did not use the spa facilities but, the prices seemed very reasonable to what I’ve paid at previous hotels in Europe.

In terms of location, the hotel is perfectly situated on a quiet street, which had on the one end (5/6 minutes walk), the main drop-off point for airport transfers, excursions and the local bus stop. At the other end, was the beach (2/3 minutes walk).

What would make the stay better?

1. Given that you are unable to drink water from the taps or therefore, fill up your kettle, I would recommend they provide daily bottles of water in your rooms, rather than the one you are given upon check-in. Having water is a basic commodity and essential in the heat, so, this is an easy fix, I believe.
2. Also, you should note that after midnight, there is no awake staff member / reception is closed, therefore you have two numbers to call if an emergency occurred. My parents got locked out of their room, along with their mobiles, therefore if I had not been staying with them, they could have seriously ended up sleeping on the Sun-loungers until reception opened the following morning. Therefore, an external landline phone should be available in cases of emergency.
3. Finally, they have a good ethical policy regarding the environment, and this does impact your ability to charge devices whilst your key card is not in the room. Therefore, bring a portable charger with you as the heat will cause your batteries to drain quicker, and if you’re by the pool, you can’t charge your phone in your room. This needs rectifying, I believe.

Would I stay at this hotel again? Yes!!

I cannot stress enough how incredibly positive, helpful and genuinely good the staff are. The hotel was beautiful, the facilities great and the staff fantastic. I would highly recommend anyone, solo traveller or couple, to stay at this hotel.