TUI BLUE Oceanis Beach

This was my second visit to this hotel, we visited last year for one week and had such a great time decided to return this year for a two week break and I don't regret any minute of it. While all the staff were fantastic and a few do deserve a special mention I do want to start my review with a thank you to one particular member of the waiting staff in the Yacht Restaurant, Pantellis, he served us everyday for Breakfast and Dinner and without fail he always made time to come over and chat to us despite being exceptionally busy with other diners. He made us both feel very welcome and always made us both smile, so much so that we actually chose to dine in this restaurant over the others just to chat to our new friend. Thank you Pantellis and I look forward to seeing you when we come back. The room - We stayed in room 3121, a junior suite with pool and sea view. The room was lovely and although if you went out your way to find issues you would no doubt come across some I do feel these would really be nit picking. Room 3121 did have an AC vent in the private pool area which was a little louder than I would have liked but didn't really cause us any problems. The private pool was clean but the water was cold, I did expected this but agree with many other reviews that it would be nice if these private pools were heated. The room entrance way / wardrobe area was a little dark and could have done with a little bit more lighting but again that is finding fault when really there wasn't one. The rooms was clean and on arrival there was a bottle of wine, some fruit, bottles of water and a bottle of wine. The cleaning staff were all very friendly and did a great job each day. They really deserve a load of credit. They stocked up the room with 2/3 bottles of water each day, made the bed, cleaned the room and left a towel origami animal on the bed each day. The latter was a nice touch, we kept them in our room until we left building up our own little towel animal farm in the corner of the room. I agree with many other reviews that the mini bar didn't have a great selection, there was no wine in there and the beer wasn't the best. It also was only filled every three days. So an improvement would be to fill this more often with more options. It would also have been nice if the room got restocked with fruit and other snacks on a regular basis but this only happened on the first night. We spend a few evenings chilling in our room after dinner to get some R&R, there was a TV but there was very a very limited selection of English channels. I know the executive and superior suits both include satellite TV but the junior suits unfortunately do not. It would be a nice addition to add satellite TV to all rooms. In addition to above it would be nice if the hotel offered some hireable films/ tv programs that you can opt to watch on those nights where you do just want to stay in the room. The only fault I really had with the room was the beds. We requested a double room but got a twin room with the two beds pushed together. I don't have an issue with this and while separately these were very comfortable the main issue I found is I kept falling between the gap between the two. Unfortunately, this seemed to be because one mattress was sitting slightly higher than the other and if you happened to roll onto the join it was quite uncomfortable. This is something the hotel should probably look at. Our Arrival: We arrived after 0000hrs on the first night but were still greeted by very friendly porters and reception staff. Unfortunately, this was too late for food but the hotel ahd left out sandwiches for you to help yourselves to. These were ok, but as these were ham and cheese and with my partner being a vegetarian there was nothing he could eat. I am sure if we had flagged this the reception staff would have sorted something however, we were both quite tired and decided to leave it. A suggestion for the hotel is that they mark these sandwiches and provide a vegetarian option as standard. In other hotels a sandwich platter was left in the room with various options which was a nice touch. We visited the reception staff everyday to pay our bills from dinner as we opted the paid for bottles of wine over the all inclusive option and the staff were always friendly and helpful. They were always able to change notes into smaller chance which was a real benefit. The hotel does offer WIFI, this is a bit hit and miss in certain areas. While it works the majority of the time there are occasional dead spots and dropouts which is understandable but perhaps something the hotel could invest in. One issue we did find is that if you leave your roaming data on and happen to cross into one of these dead spots (or when going out of the hotel) your phone will likely select a Turkish network operator over a Greek one. This unfortunately is not included in any networks inclusive eurozone allowance so you end up getting charged. In discussion with my network provider over this the issue appears to be with the phones picking up the WIFI from the boats and cruise ships that pass the island which do use a Turkish provider. Guests should be aware of this before coming but our rep did flag this on arrival. It would be really helpful if phone operators caught on to this and build in some functionality to resolve the issue but it isn't one for the hotel. We spend a few days on the hotels private beach, It was lovely. To improve the luxurious feel it would be nice if there were a few more staff manning the beach so the hotel could offer a waitered beach service providing drinks and snacks. Other hotels do have this but this one didn't seem to. And while you could go to the beach bar and order your drinks there was no snacks on offer at the bar. Regarding the all-inclusive snacks and drinks. These were nice but a wider selection would have massively improved the offering. Snack wise you had the choice of creps and toasties, but these were only at the pool bar. Ice cream seemed to be available at all bars. I would like to have seen a wider option of snacks and them being offered at more bars e.g. olives, nuts, crisps etc. One minor gripe of mine is the hotel have taken away the natural beauty of the beach by adding sand to some areas. While I know some people like this for me I would prefer it left natural with the volcanic rocks. Again nit picking, the bar menus were a bit tatty and could have done with replacing as these were starting to look like these had seen better days. Also some of the tables and chairs could have done with levelling as these were wobbly from where they are regularly moved. The food at all of the restaurants was great. We ate at each of them during the course of the holiday and enjoyed every meal. While I have seen several reviews stating this is not the best I would ignore this, while yes it could be better it has to be taken into consideration this is not a cook to order restaurant. They are providing a buffet for a large number of people and on each day offering a huge variety of options. I saw some people moaning they couldn't find anything to eat but I can honestly say as a fairly fussy eater and with my partner being a vegetarian we always managed to find something to eat each day and the quality was of a high standard. One improvement for the restaurant would be better labelling of the foods as often some things were not labelled or labels were not directly located by the food item. In addition it would be nice if the main restaurant didn't alter table sizes on arrival, all too often I saw the hotel staff going out of their way when a large group turned up unannounced requesting a table for between 4 and 8 people. While it's nice the staff accommodate this I feel it’s unfair on other guests and the staff who have to rush around when it could have been avoided by giving advanced warning. The evening meal does request that men wear trousers, I personally like this rule but I do feel that the rule needs expanding and should be enforced a little firmer. While generally this was obeyed in the interest of fairness it should be expanded to include women wearing skirts of a minimum length and to cover the feet. if I was to complain about anything in the hotel it would be the VIP lounge, this is included with a suite but really doesn't add anything to the experience. While I like the idea, what is actually offered is of no real benefit. I would request the hotel actually made some changes to make this more beneficial by firstly raising and slating the roof of above the main stage area so you can actually see the evening entertainment from this room. A better provision of drinks and snacks would also go someway to making this feel like a VIP lounge and again waitered service from the bar below as you are very limited to what is in the fridge at the time. On one occasion we booked room service, this was great. The menu was a little limited though especially for vegetarians. My partner celebrated his birthday while we were out there and the staff made this special by providing a cake, bottle of fizz, leaving a card, balloons and petals on the bed. This was really a nice touch so thank you. We walked into Kos on one occasion and Therma on another, it's quite a distance without a pavement some of the way so I would advise against it unless you are feeling particularly healthy and instead get the bus. It is fairly regular and at a fair price. It would be nice if a bus timetable was included in the room as standard and at the bus stop, but this was not the case, though one could be viewed at reception. The bus stops themselves have no seating and provide limited shade. The hotel could do with a bit of investment to improve this by providing a seated, sheltered bus shelter. I regularly used the spa, access is included if you book a treatment but otherwise its 20 euros a day to access. This is a shame as it would be nice if it was inclusive. I did however go for several treatments through my stay and despite being a little expensive were actually really good. The gym facilities were also of a good standard. A Changing room and shower would have been a nice addition. The outside fitness area unfortunately had no provision for water despite a locked fridge that couldn't be accessed. I attended several of the bookable and non-bookable activities, these were all very enjoyable and a nice touch. Personally, I would have wanted an archery class and a few more games on offer e.g. chess etc but what was there as good. The hotel has gone some way to modernising by providing the Sensimar app. This was good but very basic, I would love to see this expanded in the future to include bus timetables, excursion booking, spa booking (still manual), table booking, ordering of room service, viewing open tabs/bills, messeging reception and reps etc so that it really does become a one stop shop to make your holiday experience simple. I have seen some hotels offering these services in the room via a TV or tablet which in addition to the app would really go some way to brining this hotel into the modern world. Tablet controlled lighting and air con would also be a huge enhancement to the room and increase the luxury experience. There are two shops on site, the convenience store sells pretty much everything you could need including gifts however is a little bit more pricey than buying the bits in town. A laundrette would be a nice touch as currently if you want to do any washing you have to do it in the bathroom or pay for the cleaning service which while good when used did machine dry my jeans causing them to shrink a little. A laundrette on site would allow you to wash your clothes in privacy and mean you can pack lighter on a two-week trip. One gap in the hotels offering is that they do not offer visits to their farm and factories. While they advertise the fact many of the foods, oils and wines are ‘home grown’ it would really be nice to offer an excursion/tour of these farms and factories to see this going from farm to plate. But as above the hotel and holiday was great and although there are areas, I would love to see improved I really have no issue with the place. I will be going back and really do love this place and the staff. I can’t thank them enough and they work extremely hard to make the holiday a great and relaxing experience. I want to end my review as I started with thanking people who deserve a special mention. I have already mentioned Pantellis, who again I cannot stress enough how amazing he was but in addition Antonis, the restaurant manager who also went out of his way to check in each day to ensure everything was to our liking. Danni and Seva the Tui activity staff who were brilliant and always came over to chat. The reception staff, unfortunately I didn't note their names but they were all brilliant and finally the cleaning staff who despite not being able to pinpoint to a single person worked tirelessly in the background to provide a great holiday experience. ευχαριστώ (efcharistó) - Thank you θα σε δω την επόμενη φορά - See you next time

Went as a group of 4 friends. The hotel is spotless and the views are amazing what really makes this hotel are the staff, from the staff around the pool, to the bars and restaurants they always go above and beyond and are so friendly. Different entertainment proved daily, water aerobics, film nights, shows some better than others. The food no matter what time of the day is brilliant, english fry ups with english sausages and bacon. The different themed nights in the buffet were great our highlight being the greek night, the restaurant staff always helped us find a table for 4!! There is a bus stop right outside the hotel for a trip to Kos Town. Would also recommend an afternoon at the spa Overall a very relaxing holiday would highly recommend this hotel!!! Only con would be when travelling with friends the bathroom does not have a door and the shower is a glass door so no privacy.