Gaia Royal Hotel — Hotel in Municipality of Kos

Title: Not What We Expected

This hotel was quite an odd setup overall. The staff at reception and housekeeping were unfortunately quite rude, though the bar staff (both at reception and at the pool) were lovely and friendly — credit where it’s due!

Housekeeping Housekeeping operates very strangely here. Instead of checking rooms while guests are out, they knock every single morning at 9 a.m. asking if you want toilet roll or towels. One morning we ignored the knock because we were exhausted from the day before — only for the housekeeper to enter the room to ask anyway. Bizarre.

I went to reception to ask that they please don’t knock the next day. The receptionist just stared at me blankly, so I clarified again. She rolled her eyes and said, “Use your do not disturb sign then.” I explained we didn’t have one, she asked for our room number — and yet the next day, they still knocked at 11 a.m., and again at 12, asking us to remove the “do not disturb” sign they’d told us to use. The irony!

To make things worse, one of the housekeepers actually came to our room later in the stay and started having a go at my friend for “complaining” at reception. My friend hadn’t complained — she’d simply asked politely for the bed to be changed the next day while we’d be out. The housekeeper banged on the door like we owed her money and started shouting at her about it, even after my friend explained she hadn’t complained. Completely unprofessional and very uncomfortable.

Reception The reception staff were another low point. When we checked in, no one gave us the wristbands (and no one mentioned it later either).

At one point, we asked about a local pharmacy around 1:45 p.m. The receptionist, Harry, told us the hotel had a deal with a nearby pharmacy that could deliver. While we tried to explain what we needed, he kept chatting in Greek to the colleague next to him, ignoring us. When I tried to clarify again, he cut me off with, “Yes, I’m aware.” After making us wait about 15 minutes, he then said, “You’ve waited too long — the pharmacy’s closed.” I mentioned that online it said open until 9 p.m., and he just shrugged and said, “No, it’s closed. Come back at 5.”

To top it off, he made eye contact, spoke to me directly in Greek, and when I said I didn’t understand, he replied, “Why would you? I’m speaking Greek.” Unbelievably rude — genuinely the worst attitude I’ve ever had from hotel staff anywhere.

Food The food was… beige. Everything was bland, soggy, and flavorless — ideal only if you have no teeth. The “fruit bar” was just four bowls of unchilled fruit with flies hovering over them.

Drinks The drinks were so watered down you’d drown before you got drunk. Only wine (red or white) and beer are included — everything else, including something as simple as hot chocolate, costs extra.

The snack bar at the pool serves food that’s been sitting out so long it’s gone rubbery. My friend actually used it as bait when fishing — and even the fish didn’t take it!

Beach The hotel is advertised as a beach resort, but the reality is far from that. The beach beds that supposedly belong to the hotel actually cost €8 per day — which really adds up if you’re a family of four. The beach bar attached to the hotel isn’t part of the all-inclusive package either, so you have to pay for every single drink there. Considering it’s part of the resort, that’s just bizarre.

Petting Farm There was a dead bird in the cage that stayed there all day. The horses also seemed to have very little space to move around.

Positives The public areas — reception, the grounds, and the pools — were generally clean, and again, the bar staff were great.

Overall This was not what we expected. Advertised as a 4-star on LoveHolidays, but realistically, it’s closer to a...

This hotel is set in beautiful, well tended grounds. There is an abundance of mature plants and trees that are beautiful. The hotel isn't close to much, so if you are a party animal who likes lines of bars, avoid it. If you are a driver who gets out and about its fine, or if you go to a beautiful island and sit by the pool all week , it seems a shame. The reception staff are friendly and helpful. The restaurant is large and spacious with inside and outside seating. There are cats that wander in and out. They don't seem to cause too many problems( and I dislike cats). The food is fresh and plentiful, always something to eat. The soft drinks are very sweet and syrup like some days and watery others. There is little entertainment ( good as far as I am concerned ). When we arrived, it was 10.30pm, and there was a small child singing karaoke, viewed adoringly by her mother. If I wanted to listen to this type of thing, i would go to a cheap pub. The room was clean( ish) and basic, the towels were changed all but one day, the staff work hard. The mattress.......oh my goodness... my poor back... what else can i say?Our rooms 318 and 320 faced a line of beautiful fir trees , yes it does smell at times, we think that they were using waste water on the plants from the laundry which was below us. Equally, there is a mini zoo on the site, which does smell a bit goaty at times, but again, you would expect that. There are animals in there. We had a cochroach in our room the first night, which my husband killed, but nothing after that. There are mosquito covers over the patio and window. They worked for us. We were bitten a lot despite aftersun with repellent and adding repellent after as well as burning citronella candles in the evening. But this is not the hotels fault! There are 3 pools, a children's one and 2 others both have children's pools with them. There were snacks between 10 and 5pm by the pools, but they were usually rock hard sandwiches and doughnuts and some cakes but when they were gone they were gine ( in my book not all inclusive if they run out, which they did all the time) Despite the hotel rule of not saving sun beds, it was not enforced, leading to towels on beds and no people on towels. there were people in the pool late at night when others were drinking by the pool bar. This was not enforced either. It would have been nice to have an adults only pool, but it was my fault for not booking an aduls only hotel. There were sadly lots of people from( I shall not name the country) who were rude, loud, and spent a lot of time chucking balls around the pool, spoiling the enjoyment of others. All in all, it was ok. ( but probably as we had a car for 5 days and saw everything interesting on the island) You pay at the beach bar for drinks and have to pay to use the hotels own beach chairs on their own beach...hmmmm..................selective all inclusive i think!?!. This hotel doesn't deserve all the bad reviews it has,but It is not perfect. For the price of under a grand for 11 nights all inclusive per person, it was alright. We returned refreshed . Would I return......no....there are lots of lovely all-inclusive out for...

We enjoyed our stay at Gaia Royal. Overall it was a very good holiday and we were able to relax and unwind. We are a family of two adults and two grown up children, and in the past have used 5 star all-inclusives almost exclusively, so there were some shocks to the system outlined below, but this was due to my not reading the listing properly.||A few members of staff deserve special thanks. Veronika on the front desk was an absolute superstar, as were Lana and Paraskivi — always welcoming, helpful, and ready with a smile. Eftechia, who ran the "quiet pool" bar, was very welcoming and friendly and did an amazing job considering she was the only staff the whole day, every day! The omlette chef (sadly I didn’t catch her name) was outstanding — her omelettes set my daughter and I up for the day with hearty omlettes which were delicious. .The housekeeping team also kept everything spotless and comfortable, which was appreciated.||The following comments come from a background of “5* all-inclusive” holidays. I clearly didn't read the listing properly and it was a shock to realise some of the differences. Bottled water, cocktails, and barista-style coffee were only available as an upgrade or separate cost. We did have access to water refils, but having to pay for decent coffee was disappointing. Beach towel changes were charged for, so many guests appeared to bring their own. ||The food was acceptable. There were a good range of fresh salads, the usual selection of processed and "beige food" like chips and chicken nuggets, and a selection of hot meals that catered more towards Mediterranean and Eastern European tastes. Desserts were limited compared to what we were used to, though the ice cream was consistently good (even though not everyone seemed to master washing the scoop between flavours!) We always found something to enjoy, though the choice felt a little more restricted than we hoped for. On one day we had an early breakfast due to a day trip and noticed a wider selection of bread than we’d seen later in the mornings — so it’s possible arriving earlier offers more variety. This is just speculation, but annoying because we like brown and granary bread and rolls and these were only seen at 0730.||The beach itself was good, though again, you had to pay for loungers and parasols.||There wasn't a big animation / entertainment team, but we did enjoy the water polo. Not having organised evening shows allowed more of a chilled vibe.||It was my mistake to think Gaia Royal was a 5* all inclusive, because it doesn't claim to be, but despite that and the small niggles and annoyances we had a good time there and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a hotel that is good value and provides basic services included, like local beer, small selection of spirits, machine coffee and such. And the staff were great, they helped make the holiday...