Sophia Beach Aparthotel

Having booked my holiday at Sophia Beach and subsequently reading reviews i was horrified and really nervous about visiting Kos however when our group actually got there (there were 10 of us) we were very pleasantly surprised. Michael was on the desk and the is the sweetest funniest man. Young sophia was also very nice and made an effort to speak to us as we came into the hotel and when we left throughout the day. If key is left at reception bedding and towels ARE changed regularly as are the bins emptied and floors cleaned.
Over all we had a great time which was felt by all and we would definetly book this hotel again.

- I really enjoyed it, it was so relaxing and quiet.
-The apartments were lovely but basic. My partner and I went in october. I was very quiet this time of year, which was great because It was a small complex with small pool area. The weather was lovely, sunny but without the hot heat. October is their winter, but we loved the weather and got great tan.
-The bar food was really nice and cheap.
-We thought the people there were really nice. The greek couple that own it come across rude, but they're not if you are polite to them, they're fine, its just they don't speak english well. They were really nice to us.
-The town is about 20 minute walk. The beach is a 2 second walk. Beach was too windy in october. There are a couple of restraunts just down the road.
-There are a couple of clubs on the beach near the hotel but they were shut the time we went anyway.
- we booked it only about a month before we went, we got it really cheap and after looking at reviews i was really worried. But it was fine for us! :)

my friend and I stayed at the Sophia Beach Hotel at the end of May beginning June 2009.
Having read Reviews we were worried about what we would find. What a relief to be greeted by Michael on reception who was welcoming and helpful. The hotel immaculate.
Towels and bedding changed regularly and unusually for Greece we had kittle, microwave etc/ Rooms were amazingly spacious as was the balcony. Michael proved to be an inexhaustable source of information and nothing was too much trouble for him. We were very impressed. The sea being so close as was the habour was a bonus. We thoroughly enjoyed whole two weeks. Thanks to Michael and Sophia who worked very hard.

1 reader found this review helpful

We booked a holiday with Thomas cook just this summer past. Afterwards I read a few reviews on the Sophia Beach (oh how I wish I knew!) and thought, well, i'll give it a chance, it can't be THAT bad can it?
If you are considering going there - it CAN be that bad.
The "Bad" George is pretty rude and made several inappropriate advances towards women and children when I was there. Lone women and children I hasten to add. I dare say he would still be picking his teeth up if he had behaved like that in front of a husband or father.
Rude from start to finish. On the one occasion we did have a drink there he served flat coke out a 2l bottle and charged several euros each for the priviledge.
George in reception is a decent fellow, but I fear he is fighting a losing battle. He deserves so much better. This nightmare makes Basil Fawlty's predicament look like a breeze.
We went to the barbecue and endured an hour at least of dreadful "entertainment" before being served some food. I was half way through my pork when I realised it was red in the middle. And yes, I was poisoned, and spent two days incapacitated. You may not wish to know this but the bathrooms have no ventilation or windows and ours broke so there was no flush. It took 3 days for it to be repaired. Toilet paper had to be put in bins and that was collected every two or three days. I'll leave the hygeine to your imagination.
The main grudge with the rooms was the air conditioning, or lack of it. It is situated high up and you have to put your hand centimetres from it to feel the faintest breeze. It's not air conditioning by any stretch of the imagination.
At night the most incredible insects rove the rooms. Trust me, I spent long nights in the bathroom watching them march to and fro. I wish I was joking here but this is true.
We were the lucky ones, having a room facing the back of the hotel. I pitied the people with rooms at the front. Yards away is a gypsie camp. They have taken over a large derelict factory and day and night there is screaming and fighting, drunkenness, screaming children and howling dogs. Another nice little attraction not mentioned in the brochures is the strip joint within a stone's throw.
One of the few respites was the Alice Springs hotel just down the road. They welcome non-residents, and specialise in those seeking respite and recover from Sophia Beach.
Kos is a nice place, this hotel isn't. I'd implore anyone not to make the same mistake we did, or a similar fate awaits. Reading these reviews, they have been like this for years and obviously have no intention of changing. They don't give a monkeys about you or your holiday.

1 reader found this review helpful

We have just come back from our holiday staying at the Sophia Beach Hotel. We only ended up here as we lost our first holiday to Kefalos (through the XL saga) and had to re-book something quite quick.
The apartments are spacious but attrocious for cleanliness. Parts of the apartment were filthy and covered in mould.
Owners very unfriendly - Sophia and George. Apparently Sophia is notorious across the island for her attitude, unhelpfulness and rudeness. Even a local we spoke to knew about her and her reputation...
As soon as we arrived she barked out the orders to us on what we could and couldn't do on the complex.
After that that every time she saw us she kept asking us why we hadn't bought tickets for their bbq and karaoke night.....and she was really rude to my friend about it. She then was rude to us every time we saw her until in the end she gave up as she knew she wasn't getting anywhere with us.
We only spent time at the complex to sleep as we went up the road to the Aegean Houses complex (where my friend had stayed previously) and they very kindly allowed us to use their facilities.
We preferred to put our money into somewhere that was clean and had friendly staff.
If we hadn't have done that we would have gone to the beach every day rather than spend time at the Sophia Beach complex.
The only saving grace at this place was George (the night porter)...he was lovely and so helpful...
Anyway, wouldn't advise anyone to stay at Sophia Beach...

just come back from sophia beach kos had read reports so had an inkling of what to expect agree george on reception at night and sophie on reception during day were wonderful but had to agree about george at pool bar we always go self catering so we can go out and try different eateries and also like to travel around on local buses see a bit of the island had breakfast on first day but was cold and very little of it ie 1 mushroom chopped up ? as i said all the rest was fine [close to beach , kos town ] on last night we had an early moirning departure bu george in bar was very rude

1 reader found this review helpful

We arrived at Sophia Beach at 3.30 am and were met by a very friendly receptionist named George. The room was quite roomy and clean but the shower was just a drain in the tiled floor and three of the windows did not have any curtains (we were on a ground floor). The next day after a sleepless night we asked if we could be moved as we didn't feel comfortable thinking that people could see us as we slept but the day receiptionist came and put some white plastic bin liners over the windows so people couldn't see in, then we headed off to the pool.
The barman and owner, George who looked a scruffy urchin was very unfriendly, arrogant, rude and never once tried to make conversation with us. The pool was fairly clean and there was usually plenty of sunbeds. There was never anybody or atmosphere in the bar of an evening so you never got the opportunity to meet with other people staying in the hotel, the bar is not as shown in the brochure it is all enclosed and there are plastic tables and chairs. There was never any entertainment apart from the greek night once a week which was very poorly attended.
The location was very good as Kos Town was about 20 minutes walk with plenty of bars and restaurants to call in on the way, Kos Town was beautiful with a Harbour which was all lit up at night and there is a lot of history to visit. The beach was a very short walk away and there were very comfortable sunbeds to hire at only 3 euros a day. The only downside to the location was that a load of gypsies had been housed in a disused factory right next door to the apartment and they would play loud music during the day and shout at each other and the children and there dogs were always barking.
Alice Springs next door made our holiday as the poeple who ran that were the nicest people you could meet and we spent our entire holiday there.

family and freinds from carlisle
my review is the same as linda and terry who by the way we met here thanks girls for the way you played with reece in the pool all day. me and my family had a great time here.you have to come to see for yourself sophia and george were great with us i have 3 kids and they made them feel very welcome playing and joking around with them.george is a **** cat hes just your typical greek fella very loud and waves his arms about but hey thats what their like in greece.when we were sitting by the pool he would bring us fresh fruit out to eat and often drinks and coffee all on the house of course.the rooms are very clean and yeah basic for storage but hey your on ya hols who wants to spend all thier time in thier room lol.we met some fantastic folk on holiday and my son reece had a great time hes 3 and he made more freinds than the rest of the 9 of us.its the second time ive stayed here and yes i will be back next july for my third see you thier folks jac lucie jessica and reece

We have just come back from 2 weeks holiday at Sophia Beach with our 2 girls, Laura 17 years and Emily 14. It was one of our best holidays ever. We saw the reports about George in the pool bar, but after 2 weeks i can assure you that if you are friendly with him he is very friendly back, he's a great guy. Also George on reception was very friendly and what he doesn't know about Greek history isn't worth knowing. We had a 1 bedroom apartment and the rooms were very big with 2 balconies, the maids came very regular with clean linen and towels. The pool was excellent with plenty of sunbeds. The beach is only a 2 minute walk away. Kos town is only a 20 minute walk and is very lively at night. The weather was scorching hot, which what we went for. This definatley a family resort and for the first time ever we will be going back to the same place twice. Roll on July 2009, can't wait. And George if you see these reports thankyou for a wonderful holiday. See you next year.

Having read the other comments before I went with partner I was a bit concerned about all the negative comments. However, the apartment was clean and there was plenty of clean towels and bed changes throughout the week. the kitchen area is a bit of a let down if you are eating in as it looks generally tired but I never cook on holiday ever! The pool is not bad,a decent size by Greek standards. The location is excellent for the beach however it is a shingle beach and painful to walk on, plus it gets deep very quickly, not good for little ones. The Pheonix on the corner is a fab place to eat, the staff were lovely without being full on. The other thing is that the derelict tomato factory that people have mentioned is now full of what appears to be home to gypsys and they get very noisy and so do their dogs (well into the night)!
The poolside bar is not up to much, its like a canteen, food their is pretty average. George!, well I have read loads about him and had to laugh, he certainly dosnt conform to the sterotype that all Greek people are lovely and he is a bit of a maverick and can be loud. However he certainly didnt ruin my holiday, but I do think he should maybe enrol on a customer care course!!
Overall, it was no better or worse than many other hotels Ive been to in other Greek islands.