Dimitra Beach Hotel & Suites — Hotel in Municipality of Kos

This hotel is not 5, especially if you have experience of 5hotels. I genuinely don't understand how Tui (who we booked via) are able to rate it so highly or charge so much. Hotel - it is generally clean but there are a number of areas where the attention to detail simply isn't there. The toilets have cheap bolt locks which are stiff - some don't even have locks. There are gaps in the toilet doors by the pool meaning they don't feel very private. Low lighting is common in the toilets. Most of the toilet seats are twisted and sit at angles. The white netting in the 'white lounge' is all torn and hangs down overhead. There are a lot of large hard shell insects about, which whilst native just make it feel unpleasant. There are no, non smoking areas which mean you are often passive smoking vapes or cigarette smoke. It is a vast hotel, which is built into a cliff so there are a lot of steps between the levels. Food - was okay was never piping hot and repetitive but is designed to satisfy a diverse range of nationalities. The man on the grill was very accommodating and happy to cook chicken without sauce for my daughter. Staff - George the restaurant manager is amazing at welcoming people and engaging with the guests especially making younger guests feel welcome and special. Jimi served us each morning he was quietly efficient with a high level of attention to detail meaning he provided an attentive service. Jiada who did the 'water gym' in the pool was lively and engaging. Adina who served us in the evening is a true credit to the hotel, she has a four seasons hotel background and it shines through in her manner and desire to get things right. A high number of the staff are indifferent and don't offer the 5* energy or attention to detail/ anticipate guests needs which impacts on the general feeling and standard of the hotel. Room - We booked a bungalow with a sea view, what we got was an apartment with a room above us. When I read the room spec it did meet the criteria except for the fact it wasnt one of the bungalows - which are closer to the sea and have the terraces rather than a patio. This was raised with staff who advised we had a correct room type but were welcome to check back daily to see if an alternative became avaliable. Personally I prefer things done correctly the first time and to get what I have been sold which will be raised with Tui. The Tui rep was spoken to but wasn't engaging or interested. The room was mainly clean, we had to chase for a clean on one day as it just wasnt done. There was a dead bug in a drawer on our arrival and it stayed in the drawer all week - I never use the drawers on holiday. The bathroom which was a toilet and a shower were in a glass area - there's no mistaking any bodily functions as it echos a lot. The toilet seat was wonky and there was a panel which was peeling away. The shower was nice and hot in the afternoon but not in the morning. The sinks were located behind the bed so when you used the toilet - putting tissue in the bin you then had to touch the door to get out to go and wash your hands and it just didn't feel very hygienic. On our arrival the safe didn't work but maintenance arrived quickly to fix it. There is a fridge in the room. There was 3 of us in the room and our teenage daughter reported that the sofa was very firm. The was little space to relax in the room and it felt crowded. Pools - area is kept clean and the staff work hard to keep it clean. Some days there was waited service to the sunbeds but not everyday. There are 4 pools in the hotel and people do get up early to reserve sunbeds. The towels are not removed despite some not actually even being used until after lunch time which can be frustrating. Sea - beach is stoney but on a calm day beautifully clear with a lot fish to observe if you like snorkeling. I think if you go here expecting a 5* hotel you will be disappointed it lacks attention to detail - if you go with the mentality that it's a 3/4* depending on who serves you it won't disappoint...

So firstly I wouldn't reccomend going in may, we came the begging of may and was disappointed with no pool bars open nothing on no music or entertainment at all. We visited the sister hotel next door - michelangelo everyday to use their pool/ pool bar and night entertainment and purchased our lunch there which was lovely and wished we had just booked here instead.

ROOMS - Do NOT book a beach front bungalow, looks great on the photos but ours was damp, old and very very basic, bugs all over, fridge didn't open because the cupboard door wasn't able to open due to the bedside drawers being in the way, tiny bathroom, felt like I was sleeping in a shed, all the white just makes it look clean but didn't feel it, the open wardrobe was just a wooden shelf unit and behind was the bare brick from the foundation of the bungalow, so was bugs, spiders and damp behind the whole thing it was so awful, the bathroom had a vent that was swinging off the wall meaning you could see the interior of the walls so anything could get in through this, wasn't secure to the wall which it should be, I could smell damp sleeping at night and had to ask to be moved, the reception staff were lovely and understanding and moved us in a suite which was much nicer, newer and cleaner. But again I think the hotels rooms , suites and bungalow are 4 star not 5 star. The 5 star about this hotel are the reception staff, the pools and the views. So if your not bothered about where you sleep what you eat or drink then go for it but it's deffinatley not what we expected for a 5 star.

FOOD - This hotel is NOT for people who like GOOD food or is it for Kids, we went half bored and glad we didn't do all inclusive because it's not worth it, if kids go they will no doubt be very hungry, didn't ever come across any foods kids love, no sausages, no chicken nuggets l, no pizza or pasta the food is so limited in choice, cold, not fresh - most of it just salads and cold meats chips and the odd dish with fish, I didn't see any chicken on any dinner time! The food for us was more like a 2 star restaurant I was forcing myself to eat whatever was there as Im pregnant just to fill me up but honestly it was not nice and not much choice, one night there was no meat at all so basically just had pasta, chips and vegetables. Breakfast all I ate was panckes and fruit as there wasn't much else. Had to look for the waitors for tea or coffee on a morning as there was only one guy who brings the white water and coffee too you, so every morning I'd be walking about to search for him because I like my tea with my breakfast not after. He was rushed about and there was hardly no one here the dates we went. We had a complimentary meal one evening as a part of our stay, it was nice but again only had a choice of 4 things of the main menu but got a 3 course so was fresh, tasty and filling.

ENTERTAINMENT - Not sure if it was because begging of may it all just begins to open but on the timetable we were given it stated all pool bars were open and lounges but there was no one around any of them and only 1 pool bar which was open 1 day it was right at the top of the hotel up alot of steps and when we used it one day you'd sit at the bar and no one even came to ask for my order l, had to get their attention and ask for a drink. So if you wanted to sit in the adult pool which was ground level to the hotel you'd have to walk up about 100 steps to get to it because that bar was not in use, again I was pregnant it would have been so much easier if I could lay at any pool and be able to walk to the pool bar there. So this is why we never used any pool around our own hotel which is a waste.

AREA - The town is a 15min drive on a taxi, didn't see any bus stop out the hotel so we just ordered a taxi, €17 there and €17 back. Nothing else is around this hotel, which i really didn't mind because it was just a shirt relaxing break for us. Views of the hotel are gorgeous, just sea and mountains really peaceful.

*photos added of...

In general not bad.

We have stayed there for 7 days and upgraded to all inclusive after the first day - much nicer to have access to everything:)

Food and drinks: The food was quite good, it changes daily for lunch and dinner. A lot of healthy options like salads, vegetables, various meat, my highlight was Greek desserts😂 Breakfast was very boring, every day it was the same and if you want to eat healthy, you literally ate the same stuff. By the end of the vacation, I couldn’t look at the omelette anymore, but there were really no other options rather than eggs and vegetables.

We have mostly eaten in the main restaurant, but you can also have lunch and breakfast at the Greek one. The variety there was not so great.

The drinks were honestly bad. So sweet and the cocktails were far from originals. I really liked the bar at the upper pool, the barman lady was great and did decent drinks as well, but at the main bar it was really not good, so I only had gin tonic there, which was alright.

Rooms: The rooms are quite worn out, but alright I would say. In the first room we had, we didn’t have air conditioner working properly and the toilet didn’t flush well, so we had a room exchange, where everything was fine. Be prepared if you live in a bungalow, that quite a lot of bugs might appear in your room - ants and spiders, so always lock the doors.

Also there was not so much privacy, since toilet doors were made from glass and they didn’t even close properly. For newly couples this wouldn’t be the best option😂

Staff: Great people are working there, everyone was really nice and polite. Only good impressions.

The pools: Pools were very nice and spacious, the water in May was quite cold, would be nice if they would heat the pools. There are three pools in total, one of them was mentioned to be adults-only, but I didn’t get it, since kids were present at all of them. What really was super annoying is that people reserved the tanning beds in the early morning, so when you arrive at 8:30, not so many of the beds were free. And we even weren’t there during the high season! We removed towels once and the couple came in 1:30 hours annoyed by that lol, saying “we just went for breakfast”. Then maybe I will reserve it before sleeping even?:) we asked at the reception about it and they told us that of course it’s not allowed to reserve it, but nothing was done afterwards. I have also written an email about that to the hotel and they said they will invent some measures, but I don’t know if it is true or the situation will stay like that. So 2000s when you have to stress about a spot at the pool even when you come quite early. Also there was no lifeguard at any of the pools we were.

The beach: The beach is super nice! It’s quite rocky, so definitely take the swimming shoes with you, but it’s very nice when you don’t have the sand all over you and the water was crystal clear and perfect for snorkelling - so many fishes and nice stones. The water was always calm as well and you can see Turkey on another side.

Entertainment: Every evening there was some program for the guests like live performance, dj or dancing. Ofc it is far from Turkish hotels haha, but for those who wanted total chill like us, it was good. There was Pilates or aerobics at the pool, but unfortunately that pool was always busy (thanks for those who reserve tanning beds) so I never saw it.

Another point I would like to mention for the hotel - the stray cats who live on the territory. They are super sweet and I loved feeding them. But their condition was not great - there were two or three cats which had bad skin problems, one of the cats was heavily breathing, which I reported to the reception and even offered to pay a vet visit. He said I could call myself if I want, but I was leaving in 15 min to the airport already. It’s just so nice if the hotel would take care of them properly and even promote that they do it and those 5 cats would be healthy and happy.

Anyways, nice...