Hotel Louis Helios Reviews

Just got back from a holiday in Kardamena with my lovely boyfriend. We booked this last minute, and had a really good time. The pool at the hotel is good and the room was comfortable. The weather was really good too. It is easy to get to Kardamena town, and it is near the beach.

Arrived at hotel and was impressed with the amount of refurbishment that had clearly been made since last years reviews. T

he rooms were very clean and reception staff very friendly,(a good start I thought!!) However it became clear that the hotel had somehow turned itself into a halfway house for the 18-30 yr olds. Although they didn't prove to be a problem since they spent most of the day asleep, but became a little rowdy during the afternoon when they finally surfaced and take over the pool to play their games of throwing a ball as hard as they could to each other. The beach is ok and only a little walk away, but there are no toilets down there, a bit a problem for small children! We took water down with us which were supplied by the hotel if you had your own bottles. There were sunbeds available and these were controlled by what appeared to be the odd job man.

Now for the food and drinks!!! Food was ok but very repetitive and at best luke-warm, except the soup which I accidently spilled over my fingers and got scolded. After a while we were almost 'balking' at the idea of having to eat the food again. The meats were always over cooked to the extent that you could have used it for repairing the soles of your shoes. Whilst we were there the staff held a birthday party for the sticks of bread, apparently it was the breads 10th day anniversary!!!! Breakfast was interesting and it was my job to toast the bread which took 15 attempts to get toasted and by this time it was as dry. Wine was forgettable!!Drinks from the pool bar were served in plastic cups which you normally would see being used from a vending machine, even beer!! Was this a ploy??? It certainly worked for me because I couldn't be bothered to keep on queuing up and asking for the equivalent of a pint of beer. I once asked the ridiculous question of asking for a Frappe and a metaxa!! The barman stated that this was not available and said that it was too expensive, even though they made them for themselves!!

Kids club was non existent and was supposed to be run by one of animation team. We took our eldest to it one day and all he did was played with a jigsaw and then let wonder off to do what he wanted, I certainly would not let my children attend the club again. One day she took the children to the pool and showed how to dive, which naturally left out those who could not swim or were in-experienced.

Entertainment was ok and at times funny, especially the Mr and Mrs Karda Garden, one was as miserable as the pope in a brothel.

Went to Turkey on a day trip which we booked ourselves and only cost 25 euros each and 3 euros each for the tax, kids under 5 went free. However be prepared to wait around to get on the hydro foil. Passport control at the port was a joke all 6000 people had to queue in a fashionable orderly mess to pass through a set of double doors in a single column. However we found turkey to be great, full of bargains and excellent fake clothing. My rule of thumb was what ever they said you halved and divided by ten and carry the decimal point 2 places, in other words, just think on how much you want to pay. The turks liked English money but also took Euros and Turkish Lira. Went to Kos town on the bus which was an adventure!!

Overall the hotel is at best 2 star and basic. The food was ok but this the first year that I have ever had stomach trouble. As for going All inclusive, we were spoilt by the AI in Zante last year. It was apparent that the hotel needs to try and recoup some of the money that they had spent and they did this by cutting back on basics.

Would I go back again? Definitely not.

We went to this hotel in 2005 when it was Louis Helios Beach and it was much different! It has been taken over by ";JZ Group of Companies"; and downgraded from a 4* to a 3+* ... we were only told this three weeks before departure mind you ... and when we got there we could see why it had been downgraded.

Although the new ownership has clearly spent a great deal of money refurbishing the hotel, it was not up to scratch in our opinion.

TRANSFERS TO/FROM AIRPORT
Quick, approx 15 mins so good for those who do not want to sit on a stuffy coach for too long.

ACCOMMODATION / ROOMS
We were convinced our beds had fleas in, we had over 40 bites between us throughout the duration. Big problem with ants in the rooms marching around like they owned the place.

HOTEL COMMUNAL AREAS
Lots of kids around which meant lots of rubbish! Kids don't care and just drop trash where ever they feel like it (and the parents never told them to put it in the bin).

SWIMMING POOL
Get up early to get your sun beds - there are not enough for everyone in the hotel! There are water slides for the kids (and those adults who dared make the splash) but they were off for 4 days of the holiday.

ACTIVITIES - DAYTIME
Cheesy pool games going on all day.

ENTERTAINMENT - EVENING
The animation team were very good and made an effort which was taken on board - they did a ";Grease"; night which was v.good I must admit but the mini disco is same EVERY night and the kids get really rough, the bingo is expensive (3 euro per ticket, compared to 1,50 euro in Spain) and the prizes were not worth the money and effort. No continuity of entertainment, some nights really good and other nights really bad.

FOOD
What can I say .... BAD BAD BAD! And don't leave your plate alone - the waiting staff will have it away (even if you're not finished).

Not a good selection of food, samey samey all the time (we actually ate out of the hotel four nights because we could not face another night of unfilling food which tasted the same as what we had eaten at lunchtime or the day before). Not enough selection for the kids either.

ALL INCLUSIVE ARRANGEMENTS
(BAR SNACKS / DRINKS - DAYTIME)
Terrible - just rolls available, occasionally Pizza but not often. Ice creams around the pool and the drinks come in small little plastic cups - not enough to quench your thirst when the temparature is soaring!
(EVENING DRINKS / SNACKS ETC)
Drinks served ok but serious lack of snacks which was mentioned in the brochure as being available, shop on site which we had to purchase our own snacks from (and we had snacks every night we ate in the hotel, snacks is something we hardly do at home but it was because the dinner was always so unfilling).

REP - FIRST CHOICE
She was cool actually, very helpful (Rachel).

RESORT AREA
Now ... this is the interesting bit!

Loads of nightlife in the main bar strip, very good for young people wanting to party and have fun.

But in the same token, some lovely quieter bars along the harbour front for those who just want to chill out with a quiet drink and watch the boats come in or have a chat with friends.

The two best restaurants are:
(1) FU-KING GOU Chinese Restaurant close the the main square overlooking the harbour .... SERIOUSLY lovely Chinese food, cooked by a top Chinese chef, really fresh food and you can see it be cooked; and
(2) ALEXANDERS on the harbour front close the the childrens play area (away from the main square)... try the Kleftiko Lamb, it is to die for!

Shops in the resort area are plentiful, from supermarkets to clothes shops to tourist shops - you can get your ";genuine designer fakes"; (Louis V, Prada, Fendi, Gucci etc etc)

GENERAL INFORMATION (Excursions)

IF YOU ARE THINKING OF BOOKING AN EXCURSION... do not book via the tour operator as it works out very expensive. Go to HARRIET TRAVEL in the main square and see Phil or Jane and they will help you, everything is really organised with them and smooth running. Tip for an excursion, if you have never been to Bodrum try the day trip (early pick up from your hotel can be arranged via Harriet Travel and coach to Kos Town for a 10am sailing to Bodrum). Bodrum is buzzing for shopping and try Ali Baba's Restaurant on the harbour - a very warm welcome indeed and great chicken/lamb kebabs (also they take Euro and Sterling over there so no need to change your money in to Turkish Lire).

Harriets Travel also do trips to various tourist attractions across the Island of Kos and very reasonable rates.

GENERAL INFORMATION (Car Hire)

Try ";Manos"; close to the main square - 38 euro for the day in a small car incl. insurance for 2 people.

OVERALL
The resort area is great but the hotel was not what we expected and cannot believe we spent over £2000 to stay there - not at all value for money in our opinion.

Finally, we met a really lovely family at the hotel from Birkenhead, Merseyside who we know read this website (they know who they are so big hello's!)

We arrived early hours of the morning and would recommend getting a taxi straight from airport (approx 10 mins) as bus took about an hour extra because of waiting around etc. Not great when you're feeling tired!

ROOM - Our room overlooked the pool on the 2nd floor and was always very quiet. The air conditioning was very good and needed even in May when the temperatures were well in the 80's. The room was quite small for 3 but spotlessly clean,plenty of wardrobe space, hairdryer, tv with BBC world channel and greek channels only, fridge,security box and private balcony. The bathroom had a full size bath and excellent shower with plenty of hot water. Towels were changed daily and beds made every day.

HOTEL - Again spotlessly clean and all the staff were pleasant and helpful. The guy in charge of the hotel bar was amazing and remembered what drinks everyone had. There were plenty of sun loungers and no need to get up at 7am to reserve! The pool was fine but the water shutes were not in use. The entertainment team tried to get everyone up for darts, volleyball etc and had full marks for trying! The kids club was non-existent which was a disappointment- it is nice to have a couple of hours each day to sun bathe child free! Evening entertainment was mini disco, bingo and various entertainment after until about 11.30. This was OK especially if you had young kids but a bit tiresome after a while. We walked into Kardamena (10 mins) to break up the evening.

FOOD - We thought it was very good with plenty of choice. Breakfast was sausage (not english!), bacon, various types of egg, beans, mushrooms, toast and cereals, fruit, cake etc. Lunch was plentiful with lovely salads and lots of choice and dinner the same. Chips, burgers, chicken nuggetts and pasta for kids but I know that some parents with fussy eaters thought this was not enough. Fruit juices were the usual 'all inclusive' type, ie doesnt taste like proper juice and the lager was OK but quite weak - wine was very nice but strong! The main bar was very good with cocktails in abundance and the best vodka lemonade and lime anywhere!. Snacks were basically ham rolls and biscuits with cold hamburgers! The ice cream was excellent and limitless. The only problem with the restaurant was the over zealous waiter who loved to clear your plate away the minute you took your last mouthful (or before in some cases!). However this is just a minor gripe and we did find it amusing!

RESORT - Hotel is a pleasant 10/15 min stroll from resort centre which has loads of restaurants, bars including lots of english bars, shops, McDonalds(!), a small harbour and beach. We did have a meal out once in a typical greek restaurant (cant remember name!)and although the food was excellent it doesnt seem to be cheap anywhere (ie prices are the same as home). The shopkeepers etc are all really friendly and love the children. Go to Harriets travel in the square to book any excursions - english owners and they will collect you from hotel. Much cheaper then the travel operators and would recommend Paradise Beach by boat which is only 10 euros each. This is a beautiful beach with soft sand,shallow water and plenty of water sports. The water park is also a great day out - plenty of slides and lazy river. We heard that the trip to Nisyros was also very good. You can travel around the island in a day as only 26 miles long so it would be worth hiring a car or the great beach buggies they have everywhere.

OVERALL - A thoroughly recommended holiday suitable for families and couples. Would definitely go again as the all inclusive was good value for money, the hotel clean, food good and Kardamena is a great resort!! Hope this is useful!!

This was not a good holiday for us but first lets start with the possitives as there are a couple of good points.
rooms very clean, cleaners exremely friendly and they work very hard despite the heat.The hotel manager was constantly walking around checking that all was well and that the staff were working hard.
ok now the bad points:
food - plain, dull, the same day in day out, luke warm, flies seemed to enjoy it anyway, nothing really suitable for kids except of course pasta and more pasta oh and ice-cream.

pool - not enough sun beds, usually dirty, not enough padding so uncomfortable to sit on for long periods. the pool itself very boring and small, dirty water though i did see the pool being cleaned once during our stay there.
children's entertainers- Darren was excellent with the kids and seemed like a big kid himself, they organised a few decent activites however was stunned to hear that my seven year old had been watching the film forest gump whilst in their care....very innappropriate in my opinion.

evening entertainment - well....what can i say....except..what a load of ****. the entertainment manager was a nasty piece of work who made nasty remarks about whoever he didn't like the look of. he played nothing but micheal jackson songs and the song who let the dogs out, very annoying. my family and i was disgusted with his attitude...
reception staff - in one word - unhelpful.

i would not recommend this hotel to my worst enemy.

my wife and i have just returned from a weeks holiday here we chose this for our honeymoon as we were married on the 30/09/06.This is our second visit to louis helios we were here in 2004.
The staff at the hotel were FANTASTIC ON ARRIVAL giving us first class treatment as it was our honeymoon,SPECIAL mention to PIERRE,NIKOS IN RESTAURANT,CHRISTOS AND NIKOS WHO WORK ON THE BARS.
rooms were very clean good air con in rooms.
food was great lots of choice,we had no stomache upsets either.Another mention to theo in shop he was very helpful on many occasions.

all treatment from this hotel is done with caring attention to each individual this is an A catagory hotel and it does what it says, there is bigger things to come out of LOUIS HELIOS which means that it will be more of a 5* hotel as opposed to a A catagory CLASS hotel. My wife and i can honestly say that if you want satisfaction quality peace of mind and a variety of options then please do consider this hotel we have never been dissappointed yet and are already planning to book for next year. If you enjoy watersports you can walk a little way to the beach and arrange pick up from the shack on the beach at KARDAMENA. GREAT HOLIDAY WELL DONE LOUIS HELIOS.

I would definately recommend this hotel to everyone, regardless of age. When we went in August it was mainly family groups and 90% English.

The food is great, far better than other all-inclusive hotels I have stayed at. There was a good choice and and the lovely manager (Pierre) will rustle up anything you want - my friend is vegetarian so often they would make different dishes especially for her. Could not fault the variety and quality of food. The only problem is that the restaurant itself is like a sauna because the air conditioning is rubbish, often putting us off eating.

Room, on the other hand was well air-conditioned (much appreciated as it was in the 40 degree range outside all week!, very clean and well- maintained.

Pool area is nothing special but the pool is also clean and you can always get a sun lounger (even if you do roll out of bed at 12:30 in the afternoon!!!).

Entertainment is probably my biggest fault with the hotel. Very poor standard of evening entertainment and limited daytime activities. Its a shame because at night you want to take advantage of the drinks but it was too boring to stay at the hotel.Did notice that First Choice were running a mini club for the kids that kept them busy and happy.

Drinks were great. Cocktails were ever so strong and they didn't limit you to 2 at a time. One person could order 5/6 drinks and it wouldn't be a problem. Bar staff are very friendly, and so too are reception.

Hotel is far enough out of the resort centre for it to be quiet and peaceful. Beach is lovely with sand and clear waters. It's about a 20 minute walk along the beach into town but at night there are no lights so you cannot walk in - safer to get a cab. It takes 2 minutes by cab and costs 5 euros.

Resort itself is lively with lots of bars and restaurants. Clubs are good too - would definately recommend 'Downtown' club.

Overall the hotel is clean and friendly. Maybe not a 4 star resort but definately a solid 3*. Would go back again. 1 week wasn't long enough.

Date of holiday: 28/09/05 to 05/10/05

Not many bad points so will get these out the way first of all:

(1) Arrived at hotel and room was not ready, was told that it would be ready in 30 mins, hour and quarter later we got into our room, not good when you have been up since 2.30am. BUT - we did have a great room with a FANTASTIC sea-view at the front and pool-view from our balcony.

(2) Food was fresh but not good variety, seemed to be similar dishes most days, DID NOT get food poisoning though! My partner and I ate out 3 nights during our week stay, some lovely restaurants in Kardamena.

(3) Evening entertainment was awful, the animation team tried but it just was not happening. We left our child at home with family and would not have been happy if we had taken him as there did not appear much for the kids to do, even though the brochure contradicted this and said there was kids club etc ... there wasn't.

On the whole though, apart from the 3 above points we liked the hotel. It was within a reasonable proximity to the town (Kardamena). We always got a sun-bed, the All Inclusive was good and the staff were helpful.

Quick transfer from the airport and not the sound of a plane given the fact it's close to the airport.

TIP: If you wish to book trips do not book through the tour operator. We saved loads of money by booking through a travel agent in town and we went to Kos Town for 5E per person and Turkey (Bodrum) for 20E per person + port tax (5E p.p.). The travel agents can be found in Kardemena town square near to the Stone Roses Bar - sorry I cannot remember the name!

We also hired our own transport and went round the island for the day - ideal if like us you were a couple on your own with no kids - but would imagine would be more expensive in car. We saved loads of money doing this as we added up the cost of the trips to places we visited individually through the tour operator and we saved about 100E. We visited Paradise Beach, Kos Town, Kefalos, The Thermal Spa Springs and drove around the whole island up into the mountains - it was lovely.

The holiday overall ... 9/10.

Would we go there again? Yes but would have to be another ";adults only"; for us.

Had an excellent family holiday here in August. Even though it was the height of the holiday season, we never had a problem with sunbeds or finding a table in the dining room. The food was excellent, with a good choice at both lunch and dinner. We did find the dining room very hot, as they never seemed to have the aircon on. Drinks at meal times and during the day very good, decent beer, and very drinkable wine. The rooms were of a good size with a comfortable bed, TV and a well equiped bathroom. Animation team did their best, Marco especially very good (Hubba Hubba).

I found the beach acceptable by Greek standards, with safe bathing out to about 100m. Only downside I can really mention, is the tiles around the pool are LETHAL. My daughter slipped whilst getting in, and landed up with a huge bruise at the base of her spine, and finding movement very difficult for several days. We also saw numerous children slipping whilst getting in and out, with several ending up with nasty grazes.

Apart from the pool incident, I would say we had an extremely enjoyable holiday at the Louis Helios, and would recommend it to anyone.

we expected the hotel to be very basic but we were suprised when we arived there. The hotel was very clean, the pool was great, food was very nice, there was a problem some days with flies so just make sure u eat ur food before they get it!!! The rooms were clean and beds were changed daily. The alcahol was quite weak, the entertainment was awful until Marco arived on the 4th day he was a godsend!!! The loacation of the hotel was good it was a 10 minute walk in to town or 5 euros for a taxi. Water gym with Marco is a must!!!!

The worst part of the holiday was on the last day when we had to leave our rooms at 12 even nthough we were not leaving until half ten in the night, there was nowhere to put our kugage except for reception.

We met some very nice people and plan to keep in contact, we spoke to a around 11 families about their opinion of the hotel and hope we give a fair and balanced opinion

2 Adults and 1 Child

The brief: A good quality, family and child friendly hotel, with real children's club with organised activities, relaxing and quite, close to beach, location irrelevant

Overall

The atmosphere and nature of the holiday dramatically improved from Wednesday the 20th of July when families and older couples arrived.

We felt very sorry for a number of people who had their holiday ruined by the strange practise of putting 18 - 30 (First Choice) holiday people (apparently on last minute unallocated overspill holiday deals) beside families and older couples.

Loudly returning very drunk from Kardamena at 3 to 4 am, arguing and shouting, kicking and slamming doors, and playing loud music, swearing and threatening they woke up children and adults, some couples had little or no sleep for ten days in a row!

Local rep and staff were not keen to get involved. When asked politely to keep the noise down the bad language and intimidation would begin. Only the threat of calling the Greek police had any effect.

On the 20th of July there was a change over of guests and this problem stopped.

Flies are a major hygiene issue, many reporting illness

Staff - Excellent

Very friendly, likeable, enthusiastic and efficient, worked very hard indeed, hard to suggest how this could be improved!

Hotel Layout - This is a 3 star not 4 star hotel

Small and intimate, lively, good for children in school holiday time Very basic, little imagination used, dull interiors
Reception and dining area particularly poor Pool is small and cloudy, needs a good clean, toilets are very basic
Sun beds are cheap and basic no padding Loud and repetitive music played all day at the pool
Air conditioning in restaurants not switched on - very very hot

Accommodation

Functional, clean, basic and reasonable - cleaning staff very friendly and efficient (worked very hard in the heat!)

Food

Buffet style, basic, limited choice (I hope you like spaghetti!) no child menu. We needed to go out to eat quite a few times. (Zia in the mountains is excellent, worth hiring a car to visit and the food was superb
Remote areas, paradise beach and water park are very good) Packed lunch - very plain (small bottle water, dry ham sandwich, two fruit each) Again flies are everywhere this did not occur in other hotels in the vicinity

Hidden Extras - not many e45 for hotel safe

Beach - Poor

Short walk from hotel down a dirt track and across a road (not busy) Small, narrow and gritty, often dirty and littered
Sun beds are comfortable if a little the worse for ware. Children were ordered not to dig sandcastles on the beach (by a ";nasty"; man as the children called him) during one of the few activities organised by the kids club

Entertainment

Every night - Bingo 20 mins, Child Mini Disco 15 mins (same tape every night)
Comedy sketch varies every 14 days - adult in nature. Enthusiastic, committed and friendly, very loud. Other reviews have complained about this, especially Greek night. We thought they did their best

Children's Activities

Friendly and warm, good natured though very lax. Informal and unstructured, at first no activities. Supposed to operate 2 hours morning and afternoon - this was intermittent. Some incidents of children wandering off to be found unsupervised. (This was not officially reported)

First Choice organised a Child Pub Crawl 9 to 15 years old (no alcohol). Most parents we spoke to thought that this was a daft example to set

have just returned from this hellhole.all of our party suffered from a servere stomach bug as did most of the hotel caused by the food. flies, flies flies.food was neither hot or cold. fruit rotten, mould on the butter packs. our party spent a fortune on buying food out. nothing to eat between meals!no burger and chips at the poolside bar here!!troup into the gruel hall three times a day only to.see the flies enjoying the most disgusting food ever. drinks served in hot glasses straight from the smelly dishwasher, yummy!

hope you will be lucky to get a sunbed around this small boring rectangular shaped pool, hope you dont get the throat and ear infection that my son contracted from the pool, to spend five days in bed ill.the beach is a gritty sand patch littered with bottles i did my research on this hotel and i came unstuck. believe me, this is a 2 star hotel.

the only good thing about this holiday was marco the entertainments manager. he was the only reason to smile at this miserable hotel. liston to me i wouldnt go back if you paid me.

Accomadation - very clean rooms. free air con, a bit cheeky showing pictures of beach because its about 200m away down a gravel track [and no AI facilities there].

Poolside- always sunbeds available. 2 great pools, very well maintained/cleaned. very hard working barman [christos] 4 flavours ice cream, lowenbrau beer, fanta/coke etc, cocktails available all day. Free pool table.

Meals- always a good choice, chips available every meal [inc breakfast!] tasty deserts, well stocked salad bar.

Snacks- pitiful. Dry bread sandwiches, biscuity type things and cake which disappeared as soon as it was put out.

Entertainment- a bit steady to begin with but a new team turned up and it improved. games most of the day- water polo, darts, volleyball, tennis etc. night time cabaret was nothing too stimulating but this may improve as the season goes on?

Kids club- was run by Emily. This girl is an asset to the hotel and did a fantastic job. very hard working, always smiling and then filled in as cabaret at night. we couldn't praise her highly enough!

Night Bar- 2 minutes queue max. Nikos works very hard. brilliant polite service.

Sunmmary - if i had to complain it would be that there are no toilets on ground level in the hotel [all basement, even poolside], but that realy is nit picking. the staff are constantly watched over by the general manager who takes no prisoners! anything he didnt like was instantly improved.

Good food, good drink, good service throughout= very good holiday.

I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL TO ANYONE

EXCELLENT!!!!! What can I say - the only downfall is that we had only booked for one week and wanted to stay for 2!!!!

The hotel was fab, clean and lovely, the staff were lovely and friendly and helpful, the rooms were small but well equipped with telly's and hairdryer (even soap and shower gel dispensers in the bathroom!) the food was brilliant, with chips every night for the more picky eaters and choices of salads, soups, and hot dishes, the desserts were divine! the drinks were pretty potent (the cocktails especially!! with the bar men guessing as to what a shot was (usually one=our two)) The soft drinks were proper pepsi and the filtered water that they offered was fine to drink and they were quite happy to fill up a bottle for you. There was gorgeous free icecream on offer for most of the day - with delicious flavours such as almond, banana, and the usual vanilla, choc and strwberry. I cannot fault this hotel - well actually i did see a couple of people slip at the edge of the swimming pool which actually could be quite dangerous but as long as you're careful - watching other people slip is hilarious!!!!!!!

The beach isn't far away at all and there are free pedaloes and canoes a little bit further up the beach and the town is a 15 - 20 minute walk away - well you've got to offset those calories somehow!!! It's a fabulous hotel and for those wanting a quieter life (ie no clubbers coming in a 3am) it's ideal!! I would definitley recommend it!

We went for a chill-out break thinking all inclusive would allow us to be spoilt a little. We did enjoy the hotel and the food was very good, however I have to say that the alcoholic drinks were definitely watered down! The hotel was very clean and in good condition.

The small private beach was a wonderful perk of this hotel but there were never enough sun longers to go round!

Kardamena is very lively in the evening so you can get out and away from the entertainment of the hotel which was awful, it obviously catered for families and we found it monotonous and mundane.

A trip to Bodrum is a must, it is an amazing place.

The only bad thing about the holiday from my point of view was that on our last evening one of the barmen was very verbal regarding the iraq war and upset me with his views.

We would not go back to this hotel simply for the last reason stated above.