Reviews of Kalimera Kos Hotel, Kardamena, Kos

Hi,

Firstly just...

Overall Rating:

5/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2008

Tour Operator:

Olympic Holidays

Submitted By:

R Goldspink

Comments:

Hi,



Firstly just to tell you i am male, 23 and came away to kos with four of my mates from my rugby team so you can guess what sort of lads we are. I am posting on here to tell anybody that is 21 or over to seriously consider not going to kos on holiday, if you do go to kos, i would not advise kardemena. I am not slagging the hotel off, just the place.



i consider me and my boys to be a good laugh, like to be a little cheeky but never cross the line. i have never been any where where there is so many young skallies with no respect for anyone or anything, sometimes it was embarrasing to be english. around our pool was full of young lads, chain smoking with some sort of london garage music on the pa system. now there was little kids and elderly people around our pool and the last thing they wanted to hear is that crap. also with big groups of lads (some upto 15), they totally dominate the pool and little kids were avoiding going in the pool due to it being dominated by the lads chucking the ball at each other. Now i am no spoil sport, course i wanted music around the pool and games but not at everybodies elses expense.



now we even moved around to the (family pool as it were) just so we could have a nice chilled out day as the nights were pretty mad. This pool was very good with better music and a much better atmosphere.



The hotel itself was ok, the rooms were cleaned regulary even if you were in bed when they called in the morning they would pop round in the afternoon to check again. The staff were friendly although at the kalimera kos they had an elderly receptionist who was a nightmare. he was rude, unhelpful and just looked like he hated working there. the bar at the hotel had one barman and you could be up to 15mins waiting for a drink and seen as the cups were the little small ones you spent half your night queuing.



Now the all inclusive was really good for food, although again queing was an issue but thats ok. The drinks however werent very good, everything watered down, not great taste and was the reason we think 4 out of our 5 were ill throughout the holiday. Food however was good, good choice, enough of it but i would advise to have a couple of meals out of the town just so it splits the repeated courses.



kalimera kos and the akti beach club should be for families. our travel agent told us there would be no young skalies there as we had asked for somewhere quiet in the day. they told ius false information. so i am advising 21-25 year ols who are up for a good laugh but hate young annoying scallies to not go to kos, or try kos town which is more international but looked like a good night. or stay clear all together and pay the extra for ibiza, more older crowd.



kalimera kos and akti beach club good standard hotel



kardemena nightare

My first holiday abroad and to...

Overall Rating:

5/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2007

Tour Operator:

First Choice

Submitted By:

Miss E Norris

Comments:

My first holiday abroad and to be honest i really wouldn't go there again unless i was desperate for the weather (which was the best thing about the holiday).

The hotel itself waas tidy and the rooms were extremely basic, the cleanliness was good though, have no complaints there.

My complaints are about the "all inclusive" label that was put on the holiday, breakfast fine, even though they served chips!! Lunch ok but not alot of choice, but between then you had to wait til 4pm to have the "all inclusive" foods, ie ice cream and toasties which by the way were rank! I thought it was ridiculous not being able to have ice creams or lollies until 4pm considering ther weather (49 degrees!) and the fact we had a 4 year old with us who was sweltering the poor sod, discusting.

The pools were always clean but as for entertainment for this hotel.....CRAP! Even the sister hotel (which made the kalimera an apparent 4 star hotel) only had a kids disco in the evening, to be fair they did have a kids club but i didn't feel comfortable leaving a 4 yaer old for hours in a separate hotel from us!!

Overall not impressed!!

Originally (like many others) we...

Overall Rating:

2/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2007

Tour Operator:

Med Hotels

Submitted By:

Mr T O''Connor

Comments:

Originally (like many others) we were booked to go to the Kos Aqua Club Hotel, as they were overbooked we were downgraded to the Kalimera Kos, and yes it certainly was a downgrade.

When we arrived at the hotel we were given two separate rooms (instead of one family room), as there was my wife, myself and three kids this was not a good start.



After many complaints to Med Hotels we were given a family room after two days. The food was diabolical, in our first week it was at its worse, under cooked chicken etc. We were told that the chef was sacked, inspiration in itself we thought.



Saying that the pool was very warm, clean & our kids made many friends as us adults did. This was due to the majority of people being British. At either bar there was only one member of staff which meant a lot of time queuing. (The staff were ok.).



The animation team worked hard although evening entertainment had a lot to be desired, this was in the sister Hotel, Kalimera Mare.



Forget the snack bar unless you like cheese & ham toasties as that was it, except for the odd biscuits now & then, although the list did have more items on it, we never saw them.



It seemed that this hotel was a "dumping ground" for people whose flights were delayed for more than 4 hours, wrist bands were given to them and on one occasion when three coaches arrived one night, by 9am there was hardly any breakfast left.



I would not recommend this hotel as it was of a very poor standard.

For the price you pay this hotel...

Overall Rating:

7/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2007

Tour Operator:

Olympic Holidays

Submitted By:

Ms S Todd

Comments:

For the price you pay this hotel is fab. The food is good especially as I am a vegetarian and was worried they might be a lack of choice.



The pool was lovely and the staff where very happy to help. The only downside of this holiday was the bar man in the evening he was very slow at serving people and you could often be left waiting 5 - 10 mins to be serves.

My friends and I booked this...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2007

Tour Operator:

Hotels4U.com

Submitted By:

Miss C J Lambert

Comments:

My friends and I booked this holiday, having read some negative reviews but deciding that the bad reviews were from miserable so and so's who didn't appreciate the place for what it was (A cheap, low budget yet extremely good value for money hotel!) We were right! The hotel was lovely and clean, bedding and towels were changed regularly and staff were very friendly and helpful. Air Con was a must, especially at night as it was 47 degrees pretty much the whole time we were there. Air Con was easy to obtain for a small deposit from reception.



The pool area was a god send, as the beach was rocky and due to the temperature, the sand burnt your feet if you stepped on it! The pool was large, warm and the perfect place to cool off at 5 minute intervals! There was no fighting for sun beds and the 'Animation' staff who wanted us to take part in energetic activities, got the message that we didn't want to after the first day!



The food was great, there was lots of variety, providing you are willing to try different things. If you don't like salad and vegetables, then it's probably not the place for you, although chips are served at every meal, even breakfast!



Overall, this was the perfect place to relax and chill out. Kardamena, with its busy nightlife is only 10 mins away by the free hotel bus or 7 euros in a taxi. The hotel offers no entertainment, although the sister hotel next door does. Not sure what this entails, as we didn't bother. Even so, I would definitely recommend this hotel if a laid back holiday is what you're after, or if you want a good nightlife without having to try to sleep in the middle of it!!

First off, the 'all inclusive'...

Overall Rating:

5/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2007

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Anon

Comments:

First off, the 'all inclusive' is not really all inclusive..... The only drinks you can have are warm beer and disgusting house wine, and some lemonade which tastes like washing up liquid. Also, if you want snacks throughout the day, you have to pay until 4pm which means you either eat a hot lunch or nothing. Also the free drinks stop at 11pm which are a bit of a rip off.



Coming with a massive group of teenagers, we didn’t really expect much of a hotel as it was only a base to sleep and eat and swim, but I have to say we were let down by the staff. Although we were a group of 18 year olds, we were always polite to the staff and never caused much trouble, aside from the fact that we sometimes forgot our room keys when we came in at night. This was due to the fact we only received one key for a room of five people, which means we either all had to come in together at night or be locked out.



Also on our room key, we had a magnet which was attached to the key which had to be placed in the door if we wanted electricity. This was ridiculous as every night we came in the room it was baking hot because the air con turned off and the fridge turned off too so all our water and food went warm. We decided to take our magnet off the key to keep the room cold and mosquitoes away, yet one day the manager let himself into our room and confiscated the magnet, saying that if we did not re-attach the magnet to the key he would turn off our air con for the entire time we were there. I felt like we were at school and he had no right to turn off our aircon. One of the managers always went out of his way to be horrible to us and was so rude to our group; it was as if they were doing us a favour by letting us stay instead of the fact we'd just paid them a lot of money by giving them 16 people's worth of custom.



He worked down at the beach in the day and made doing water sports awkward. We spent a lot of money on jet skis and every time he tried to con us by telling us a higher price, even though we had paid 40 euros the previous days. Even though we were always polite, they were continuously rude, un-helpful and often very mean, and they did make our stay worse as they were so horrible. Although there were some exceptions, like the bar man Romeo, who at first was wary of us but soon became friendly with the group as we treated him respectfully compared to some of the customers. The waiters in the restaurant were always helpful and friendly as well. The woman at the pool bar during the day didn’t seem to understand anything we were saying, and every time we asked for a drink or a snack she seemed to begrudge doing it. The women at reception were always rude without fail; one time refusing to order us taxis unless all 16 of us stood outside the front of the hotel, so that we couldn’t get free drinks at the bar. One night my friend and I returned home from a club earlier than our room mate who had the key. The manager was at reception and refused to let us into our room, saying that it was our problem. What a joke! We refused to leave reception saying that we’d have to sleep there and he finally let us in.



However the maids were faultless and continued to return to the room again and again even though we were in bed, whereas most maids would not bother. Our room in particular was an absolute state but we returned everyday to clean towels, clean floors and our beds made, and they had tidied up, which was nice.



The room was fine however on arrival the staff were not helpful, simply giving us our key but forgetting to give us our remote for the aircon or the TV, they didn’t even tell us where our room was, we had to walk around for ages to find it ourselves. They also didn’t explain how to work anything or how to open the patio doors, which was like a mission impossible task. The bathroom was rubbish as the shower didn’t have a floor, the water just ran all over the floor into a plug hole in the middle of the room which was disgusting and made the room muddy, dirty and slippery, so we often showered in our friend's room who had a proper shower. The toilet broke everyday for which they blamed us, which we obviously couldn’t have done seeing as it was broken when we got there.



The pool was lovely, and we girls really enjoyed the food, but the boys in my group hated it since they are only interested in burgers and chips. There was always a great selection and we ended up filling our plates.



All in all the hotel was clean and nice, and we had a brilliant holiday. Kos is wicked and Kardamena is a great place for nightlife, I had an amazing time. However the staff were so rude and were so horrible to us for our entire trip. I would not stay at the hotel again purely because of the way we were treated, but the hotel itself was really nice. I'd definatley return to Kos again though and we had a brilliant time.

The hotel was nice and clean and...

Overall Rating:

3/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2007

Tour Operator:

Olympic Holidays

Submitted By:

Ms J Langley

Comments:

The hotel was nice and clean and the staff were very helpful. The rooms were dirty when we arrived and were not cleaned properly. We stayed there for a week and the sheets were not changed once. The floor of the rooms were never cleaned. The food was horrible and was the same everyday. Make sure you bring enough money to eat out.



There was no entertainment at all and you have to pay for the bar after midnight. The food available during the day at the pool bar is toast(Not cooked) with a slice of ham and cheese....not very nice.



In a cab to go to town its 7.50euros but they do offer a free bus to town. You will not be able to walk there.



Overall the look of the hotel was nice and the pool is good as well as there is an adult and children's pool. The rooms and food let the hotel down. Would go back to Kos but never to that hotel.

I was apprehensive after reading...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2007

Tour Operator:

Lastminute

Submitted By:

Ms J Hall

Comments:

I was apprehensive after reading comments on web site, could not fault, staff friendly and very accommodating, room basic and clean, fresh towels every day a must have is the air con not only for the heat but keeps mossies away, we were not bitten at all but there were people with 70 plus bites but they did not opt for air con.



The pool area was really pretty and no fights for sun beds no need to turn sun bed round just move to another, food was a bit boring but edible, overall we had a great time.

I don’t really know how people...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2006

Tour Operator:

MyTravel

Submitted By:

Miss M Hillary

Comments:

I don’t really know how people thought this holiday was really that bad! The only bad point about the hotel is there is more children’s entertainment than adults.



I went with my mum and we had a really good time. Yeah the beach is a 5 minute walk but no big deal! It is a pleasant walk down a little lane, and just past the sister hotel (Kalimera Mare).



The staff were brilliant and always asking people at meal times if there is anything extra they would wish for. Even the cleaners were very pleasant.



The town was only a 10 minute drive away in the hotels bus. And a taxi was only 5euros to the town centre.



The rooms are very clean even though small but who goes on holiday to stay in the room?



The pool and pool area are clean and tidy.



For me the holiday was brilliant and I would go back there in the future.

We have just returned from the...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2006

Tour Operator:

Libra Holidays

Submitted By:

Miss L Winter

Comments:

We have just returned from the Kalimera Kos hotel and we loved every minute of it. The bad comments on here are not true we were a bit worried about going after reading these but they were not true. The hotel was good there was two pools and children’s pool and a bigger one both were very clean and safe.



The bar was good the drinks were cold and they also did ham and cheese toasties chips popcorn and a number of biscuits and cakes. The food in the restaurant was amazing they did a different kind of meat everyday with omlettes fried fish chips and different pastas, they also did a salad soup and bread rolls. Breakfast they had fried eggs beans so you can have a fry up and two different kinds of cereal.



The people who worked there were very friendly, always in a good mood. Entertainment was good even though there was none in the evening at our hotel we had to walk down to the next hotel to see that but that was no problem it was only 5 minutes away. The room we stayed in was quite small but we didn’t mind because we only slept in it. If you’re the type of person that likes running around there is a tennis court in this hotel and a football bit in the other hotel. The weather was brilliant really hot everyday waited a week before we saw a cloud and when we did it was the same temperature.



There were a number of activities you could take part in during the day there was water polo, archery, darts, football, basketball and volleyball down on the beach. The beach was good not white sand but if you want that you could go on a bus. There’s a shop there that sells almost everything but quite expensive. In the evening there is a mini disco for the kids then bingo and then the animation team entertain you with either sketch shows or other entertainment shows.



There is no problem with getting sun beds in the morning didn’t need to get up till 8 o’ clock which wasn’t bad really and there was still some left over in the afternoon. Overall the hotel was very good and I would love to go there again.

The good bits;
The hotel...

Overall Rating:

6/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2006

Tour Operator:

Kosmar

Submitted By:

J Williams

Comments:

The good bits;

The hotel was fine, quite small, with air conditioned reception, a small shop and nicely laid out gardens around the pool. The sun beds disappeared quickly though but the pool at the Kalimera Mere, the sister hotel never seemed so full. The rooms were small but very clean with TV, fridge, shower, hairdryer, air conditioning. Maximum of three could stay in the room, 2 twin beds and a very small sofa bed. So be warned if you have two children, there didn't seem to be any bigger rooms.



We thought the four of us were to be together but we had to have two bedrooms next door. This was fine for us with teenagers but could spoil your holiday if a family has to split. All the rooms had either a terrace or balcony which looked out over the mountains or had a view of the gardens and pool. The sea is a short walk away, as is the sister hotel where you can use the facilities. The beach is shingle, but the sea is beautiful, very clear and hardly any waves. And very quiet never more than around 10 people on the beach. Water sports available on the beach were excellent value. All non motorized ie pedalos, canoes were free others quite reasonable including water skiing, scuba, ringos etc.



Food is plentiful, buffet style and so there is a microwave to warm up if not hot enough. There is a wide selection of food, including a good veggie choice, the food is mainly Greek style but with fries served at every sitting even breakfast! The drinks local beer, wine, ouzo and local brands of spirits feely available. Watch out for the rum/vodka/brandy measures they are about quadruple what you normally get! (Very nice!) During the day there were sports like water polo aqua gym, basketball volleyball archery for 30 minutes at a time once a day organised by the animation team.



Kardamena is around about 45 minutes walk away along the coast, and the hotel have a free courtesy bus.



Bad bits;

However the evening entertainment was dire. When booking we believed we were to share the entertainment with Hotel Akti a large complex next door. However there had been some argument and so guests at Kalimera could not go to the Akti, some people even got thrown out because they didn't know they weren't allowed. The entertainment that was put on by the animation team was poor to say the least. It took place at the amphitheatre at the sister hotel Kalimera Mere.



They had a children’s disco for 30 minutes, 9- 9.30 pm which was fair but should have started earlier and been longer, then a bingo which should have lasted 10 minutes as it was only a line and a full house, but went on for ages because of the language translations and the dithering by the team. The prizes were only suitable for kids.



Then the highlight (LOL) one night a sketch show which consisted of two of the team dressing like babies and having a food fight, a lady pretending to be on a train and bothered by a flasher, and two men pretending to be musical instruments! The next night there was to be a surprise show, it was cancelled because there weren’t enough spectators but they didn't tell anyone! For 3 nights in a row they had a 'Mr. Kalimera Kos' down as the entertainment but nothing ever happened. A really poor showing at night.



If you want a quite peaceful hotel with good daytime amenities then the hotel is fine, but in the evenings it is quite boring if you stay at the hotel. However Kardamena is buzzing at night, a lot of the young people stayed at the hotel until 11.00-11.30 pm when the free bar finished and then went into Kardamena to enjoy the nightlife there. The taxis were around 7 euros each way.



The island is lovely with only one main road, and so car hire, buggies / scooters were very popular and we managed to see everywhere in two days driving around.



We stayed 2 weeks but 1 would have been enough. We were bored at night after the first week as the night life in Kardamena was not really our scene and our teenagers too young to go on their own.

It was the first time that I...

Overall Rating:

5/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2006

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Miss D Rutherford

Comments:

It was the first time that I have been to a Greek island, and I am never going to go back there again, and even if I did I wouldn't go nowhere near the Kalimera Kos Hotel.



In the whole place there is 3 hotels, in the Kalimera Kos Hotel there was NO entertainment whatsoever, and the entertainment in the Akti hotel wasn't that good either!



The room was plain not very safe, and the beach is about a 5-10 minute walk away and it was practically all rocks and my daughter slipped on one and hurt her leg.



There is no shops near and when you want to go into the village you have to go on a hot stuffy bus along a bumpy road and the driver on one of the buses we went on was drinking some sort of alcohol and smoking, I couldn't believe it, it was the worst holiday I have ever been to, I think it was supposed to be 3 star but it was probably 1 star.



Also the snack bar says it serves a variety of different foods all it sells is cheese and ham toasties and ice cream and Chips!



The only good thing about the place is most of the staff are really kind and most of the m like children, the lady at the bar in the Kalimera Kos hotel, and the lady called Michelle in the shop.

Room was very basic but good...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Oct 2005

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Miss CJ Reardon

Comments:

Room was very basic but good facilities in the Akti Hotel (very good water sports!) Food was not great, but a drinking Holiday does not really require a lot of food!!! Lots of great bars and a few nightclubs. Short bus ride away to bars but taxi is only 5 euros!



A good active holiday as quad bikes and dune buggies are easily accessible from the Akti Hotel which is only a 2minute walk. Lovely location, great shopping in Kos Town, lots of cheap designer goodies!!!

Diabolical! Saved up for 3 yrs...

Overall Rating:

2/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2005

Tour Operator:

Med Hotels

Submitted By:

Ms T J Freeman

Comments:

Diabolical! Saved up for 3 yrs to take myself and my 2 kids on a dream holiday abroad... booked the Atki for entertainment and things for the kids, but ended up in the Kalimera Kos.



No entertainment whatsoever and yes the Atki was only a short walk (through the equivalent of an average size field - with a footpath) but not at all pleasant in the dark!



First time to a Greek island for me... and it put me off that much it will be my last... nightmare holiday!

This hotel had no order to it!...

Overall Rating:

2/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2005

Tour Operator:

First Choice

Submitted By:

Mr LT Hainsworth

Comments:

This hotel had no order to it! Food was always the same, and very limited. It often came cold, and the queues where terrible!! This hotel is not worth staying in, staff get paid once they worked there for 3 years so they are often very aggressive, and not happy to help! The local beach is lovely, and I would recommend people go and see it, however there are much better hotels on the island, such as the one just down the road! The entertainment in this hotel is NOT suitable for kids, and consists of men in boxers running out on stage, and men flicking there willies as a musical instrument.. On one occasion the hotel entertainers did a couples night and made them pretend they were having sex on stage, so see who could get the most amount of bangs in a minute! I really wouldn’t go to the hotel, and would consider else where!! Families bigger than 3 people also have to have 2 separate rooms, as each room can only house 3 ppl max!! BEWARE!