Akti Beach Club
Akti Beach Club is a large ultra all-inclusive beachfront resort on the south coast of Kos, in the Greek Dodecanese, set in 85,000 m² of palm-planted grounds just east of the resort town of Kardamena. Families come for a club that takes children from age one, three dedicated children’s pools with a waterslide, a short airport transfer and food and drink included around the clock.
On this page
Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail, who Akti suits, what’s folded into the price and the facts to skim first.
Akti Beach Club is a mid-market ultra all-inclusive on a quiet stretch of the south Kos coast, and it’s strongest for the very young end of the family. The Baby Club takes children from age one, which is unusual on an island where most clubs start at four, and there are three dedicated children’s pools, one with a waterslide, alongside the two main pools. Food and drink run around the clock, the airport is about 15 minutes away and the family section was renovated over the winter of 2022 to 2023. The two things to weigh are the beach, which you reach across a small road rather than straight off the grounds, and the fit for a baby under one, where there’s no club and the baby kit is cots and high chairs.
Best for
You want a beachfront ultra all-inclusive on Kos with a club for a one to three year old, three children’s pools, a short transfer and food and drink included around the clock.
Maybe not for
You have a baby under one and want supervised childcare, you want to step straight onto sand without crossing a road, or you want to walk to a village of tavernas and shops.
Best ages
Strongest from age one, when the Baby Club starts, through mid-childhood. Under twelve months is the weakest fit, with no club and the baby kit limited to cots and high chairs.
What stands out
A Baby Club from age one, three children’s pools with a waterslide among them, plus ultra all-inclusive food and drink served 24 hours.
What to check
Whether your dates catch the Mermaid’s three dinner nights, and whether you’ll need a kettle in the room for formula.
Where is it?
On the beach about 2.5 miles (4 km) east of Kardamena on the south coast of Kos, roughly 15 minutes from the airport.
Quick facts for families
What the resort is like
Where Akti sits, how the grounds are laid out and what that means for getting around with young children.
Akti Beach Club is on a quiet part of the south coast of Kos, about 2.5 miles (4 km) east of the resort town of Kardamena and roughly halfway between the town and the airport. It sits right by the sea, with its own beach across a small road. The grounds are large for this kind of resort, 85,000 m² planted densely with palms, so there’s real shade to duck into with a baby or toddler when the sun is high, and 416 rooms sit across the family section. For the wider island, its beaches and best months, see our Kos guide.
The resort divides into a few daytime areas. The Main Pool area, near the dining room, is the calm end, with no animation programme. The Amphitheater Pool area is the busy end, where the entertainment team run games and pool activities through the day and where the evening shows take place. The beach is the third zone, with its own bar.
A semi-separate adults-only section sits within the resort, with its own three pools, a bar and a restaurant called Palmetto. Family guests aged 16 and over can use the adults-only bar and restaurant, but the sunbeds at the adults-only pool and beach are kept for adults-only guests, and children can’t go into the section at all.
The family section was renovated over the winter of 2022 to 2023, all 416 rooms and bathrooms along with the lobby, restaurants, both main pools and the communal areas, so the family side is recently done. The adults-only rooms were refurbished earlier, in the winter of 2019 to 2020. Right next door is a sister hotel, Akti Palace, run by the same group; its spa, gym and indoor pool are for Akti Palace guests only, so they aren’t facilities you can use from here. Between the two, Akti Beach Club is the stronger for families, with the Baby Club, the children’s pools and the larger grounds.
Every restaurant and bar
The ultra all-inclusive basis, the buffet and night dining, the speciality restaurant and every bar.
Everything runs on an ultra all-inclusive basis. Meals, snacks, soft drinks, juices, hot drinks, ice cream and the full range of local and international beer, wine, spirits and cocktails are all included, and the food and drink keep going 24 hours a day. It carries on until you actually leave the resort, not just to your room check-out, and you wear an all-inclusive wristband throughout.
The Main Restaurant is the buffet, and the room you’ll use most with young children. Breakfast runs 07:00 to 10:30, lunch 12:30 to 14:30 and dinner 19:00 to 22:00, with show-cooking stations covering Greek, Asian and Italian dishes, sushi, fish, meat and a grill, and tables both indoors and out. High chairs are here, drinks come with the meal and dinner is smart casual. With no fixed sitting, you walk in when a toddler’s hungry.
Between 22:00 and 07:00 an Express buffet keeps going with salads, appetisers, fruit, cheese, desserts and hot and cold dishes, drinks included, which is handy when a baby has you up at odd hours.
Mermaid is the speciality restaurant, waiter-served seafood as a tasting menu of many small dishes. It opens only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, dinner at 19:00, with one visit per stay included. The fixed menu can’t be changed for allergies or dietary needs, and it isn’t a meal that suits a baby or young child.
Palmetto is the adults-only restaurant, with Chinese show-cooking at dinner, Italian at lunch and breakfast too; family guests aged 16 and over can eat there.
The bars
The Pool Bar, the main one, is open 10:00 to 24:00 with the full drinks range. The Amphitheater Pool Bar serves snacks and drinks 10:00 to 18:00 and drinks again 21:00 to 24:00, and it’s the hub for the daytime animation and the evening entertainment. The Beach Bar is open 10:00 to 18:00 for snacks, burgers, hot dogs and drinks. The lobby keeps coffee, tea and cookies going 24 hours, handy for early starts and late nights. The adults-only section has its own bar.
Evening dress is smart casual at the Main Restaurant and Mermaid, so no beachwear, wet swimsuits or sportswear, though smart shorts are fine. High chairs are available in the main restaurant. If anyone has a food allergy or a dietary need such as gluten-free or dairy-free, tell the front office when you arrive and the main buffet can handle most of it; the Mermaid’s fixed menu can’t. For a beach day or a day out, you can order a lunch basket the day before.
Booking the Mermaid
The buffet, the Express night dining and all the bars need no booking, so you just walk in. The only table you reserve is the Mermaid, your one included speciality dinner. Because it runs three evenings a week and seats fill fast, book it as soon as you’re on resort, checking its nights against your arrival and departure. A short stay that lands on the wrong days may miss it altogether.
The rooms, every type
All six family room types, the five family pools and the beach across the road.
Where you’ll sleep
There are six room types in the family section, all renovated in 2022 to 2023. The table covers how many each sleeps, the layout and the view. The guidance after it is about which suit a family with a baby or toddler.
| Room | Sleeps | Layout | View |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double Room | 3 | One room in the main or garden buildings; a double or twin plus a single | Garden, pool or sea |
| Standard Family Room | 4 adults | Two separate rooms; a double or twin plus two singles, no sofa bed | Garden |
| Superior Family Room | 5 (4 adults + 1 child) | Two separate rooms; a double or twin, two singles and a sofa bed | Garden |
| Maisonette | 5 (4 adults + 1 child) | Two floors and two bathrooms; a double and sofa bed downstairs, twin upstairs, joined by an internal staircase | Garden or pool |
| Suite with Sharing Pool | 4 adults | Two separate rooms; a double or twin plus two singles; ground-floor terrace with a shared pool | Garden or pool |
| Superior Double Room with Sharing Pool | 3 adults | One room; a double or twin plus a single; ground-floor terrace with a shared pool | Pool |
Every family room has individually controlled air conditioning and heating, satellite TV, free Wi-Fi, a free safety box, a hair dryer, a phone, a writing desk, a wake-up call and a balcony or terrace, with a daily maid service. All of them have a mini-fridge. Only two, the Suite with Sharing Pool and the Superior Double Room with Sharing Pool, come with a daily-restocked minibar and coffee and tea facilities including a kettle. In every other room there’s no kettle, and you hire one from reception with a €25 refundable deposit (last checked 2026). That matters most for formula: if you’re making up bottles and you’re not in one of the two sharing-pool rooms, plan to hire a kettle on arrival.
A word on the “sharing pools” you’ll see mentioned, 15 of them across the resort. These are small pools built into the terraces of some ground-floor rooms and shared between a cluster of rooms; they’re a private terrace feature, not communal or children’s swimming pools, so don’t count them as somewhere to take a toddler for a swim.
For a baby or toddler, the two-room layouts are the ones to look at, because a door between the sleeping rooms lets you keep an early bedtime while you’re still up. The Standard Family Room is the entry-level version and caps firmly at four adults, so it suits two adults with one or two children. The Superior Family Room adds a sofa bed for a fifth person, with the same firm cap of four adults and one child. The Maisonette is the roomiest, two bedrooms over two floors each with a bathroom, so the ground-floor double works well for a cot while an older child or grandparent takes the upstairs twin. The internal staircase between the floors is worth thinking about with a mobile toddler, so if a stair gate matters to you, ask the resort about one at booking. The Double Rooms sleep up to three in a single room and aren’t really family rooms once a cot and an active toddler share the floor.
Cots are free on request up to age two, and you can book them ahead through reservations or ask at reception when you arrive. Beach and pool towels are provided, and an iron can be hired at reception. The adults-only section has its own room types, refurbished in 2019 to 2020, but children aren’t allowed in that section, so they aren’t a family option. Check-out is 11:00, with late check-out subject to availability and a courtesy room you can book for the day of a late flight.
Pools and water features
The family section has five pools: two main ones and three for children. The Main Swimming Pool, by the dining room, is the calmer of the two and the better bet for young children who want a quiet splash. The Amphitheater Swimming Pool is the lively one, where the animation team run aerobics, games and competitions, so it suits older children, roughly four and up, who want the activity. The three children’s pools, one with a waterslide, give toddlers smaller, shallower water away from the main crowd, and they’re unusual on this stretch of coast. The pools are fresh water with some salt in it. The adults-only section has three more pools, but they’re kept for adults-only guests and aren’t open to children or to family guests. The ground-floor sharing pools mentioned with the rooms are private terrace pools and aren’t part of this count.
The beach
The beach sits directly in front of the resort with clear water, reached by crossing that small road from the grounds. The surface is both pebbly and sandy, and the resort recommends bathing shoes, which is worth taking seriously with a toddler paddling at the edge. Sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach are included, and the Beach Bar runs 10:00 to 18:00. The sunbeds in the adults-only beach area are kept for adults-only guests, so as a family you use the general beach. Pedal boats, canoes and snorkelling gear are included; a separate watersports station run by a local operator offers water skiing, ringos, banana boat rides, parascending, jet skis, speed boat rides, sailing boats, catamarans and windsurfing for an extra charge, with a 10% discount for Akti guests.
Babies and toddlers
The clubs from age one, the baby kit that’s confirmed and what isn’t, then the days out beyond the gate.
The clubs and the baby kit
This is where Akti stands apart on Kos. There are three included clubs, all open 10:00 to 19:00 daily: a Baby Club for ages one to three, a Mini-Club for four to twelve and a Teen Club for thirteen to seventeen. The Baby Club is the unusual one, because most clubs on the island start at four, so a one to three year old here has a proper supervised programme of arts, crafts and games rather than waiting to be old enough. The clear gap is under twelve months: there’s no formal club for babies below age one, so if you’re travelling with a baby that young, the club isn’t part of the picture.
The baby kit is cots (free, up to age two) and high chairs in the main restaurant. If you need a steriliser, bottle warmer, monitor, bath seat or stair gate, ask the resort directly before you book. The one gap to plan for if you’re formula-feeding is a kettle, which comes only with the two sharing-pool rooms.
The resort doesn’t advertise a babysitting service, so if you want an evening to yourselves, ask directly whether one can be arranged. There’s a medical service on site 24 hours a day, charged separately as it isn’t part of the all-inclusive.
On resortThings to do
The evening programme is included and rotates through the week: a Greek night with a live band and dancers once a week, professional dance shows and animation games three times a week each and a Mini Disco for children every night, all centred on the Amphitheater. Daytime sports are broad and included too: beach volleyball, water polo, boccia, mini soccer, table tennis, archery, darts, giant chess, canoes and pedal boats down at the beach. There are two tennis courts with rackets and balls provided and free tennis lessons you book at reception.
The fitness centre, with treadmills, bikes and weights, is open 08:00 to 22:00 for over-sixteens. Wellness on site is limited to massage gazebos in the gardens; the full spa with its indoor pool is at the sister Akti Palace and not open to Akti Beach Club guests. There’s also a mini-market for essentials, a games room with a pool table and bicycle, scooter and quad rental, all charged separately, plus a free luggage room (lockers cost extra) and a chapel in the grounds.
Off resortThe area and days out
Kardamena, the nearest town, is about 2.5 miles (4 km) west, a cosmopolitan resort with roughly 4 miles (6 km) of beach, tavernas, shops, watersports and a small harbour running boat trips. A free shuttle runs there several times a day on a set schedule posted in the lobby, and there’s a public bus stop in front of the hotel; a taxi takes around 5 minutes and costs about €10 (last checked 2026), or it’s about a 45-minute walk, so it’s a shuttle-or-taxi trip rather than a stroll.
Kos Town is about 19 miles (30 km) away, around €40 by taxi (last checked 2026), with the 14th-century Castle of the Knights, the free Roman Odeon, the western excavations and the Hippocrates plane tree in an old town of narrow streets, plus a harbour for ferries and day trips including to Turkey. A public bus leaves from the road in front of the hotel Monday to Saturday at 09:30 and returns at 14:30, for €3.80 per person (last checked 2026). Just outside the town, the Asklepion is a World Heritage ancient healing complex set over three terraces, open daily 08:30 to 20:00. Up in the hills, about 20 km from Kos Town, the village of Zia is the island’s highest, known for its sunset views, tavernas and craft shops.
For a beach day, Paradise Beach is a fine-sand bay on the south coast with watersports, about 10 to 15 minutes away, with the quieter Magic and Lagada beaches nearby. On the north coast, Mastichari is a small port with a long sandy beach, fish tavernas and a ferry to Kalymnos. Near the airport, the Antimachia windmill, the only working one in the Dodecanese and open daily 09:00 to 17:00, and the Plaka forest, where peacocks, cats and turtles roam in the shade, both make easy family visits.
From the harbours at Kardamena and Kos Town you can take boat day trips to the volcanic island of Nissyros and other Dodecanese islands. Kos is small, about 287 km² and easy to tour in a day, so a hire car makes the rest of it easy to reach; there’s a rental desk in the lobby with a representative morning and evening, and coastal cycling routes too, with bikes for hire in Kardamena and at the resort. Kos has water parks too. The nearest is Aquatica, just west of Kardamena, with the larger Lido Water Park up at Mastichari on the north coast.
Loves and gripes
What families rate and what they flag, how it compares on Kos, the journey in and the weather by month.
What families love, and the gripes
What families love
- Three children’s pools including one with a waterslide, unusual on this coast.
- A Baby Club that takes children from age one, when most Kos clubs start at four.
- A short airport transfer, roughly 15 minutes.
- The depth of the ultra all-inclusive, especially the 24-hour lobby coffee and the all-night buffet.
- A recently renovated family section.
- The multilingual animation team’s daily programme, from pool games to the evening shows and the nightly Mini Disco.
- A broad, included activities programme with free tennis lessons.
- Green, shaded grounds that help with the heat.
Common gripes
- Crossing a road to reach the beach.
- A beach that’s pebbly as well as sandy, so bathing shoes are needed.
- No club for babies under one.
- Being 2.5 miles (4 km) from Kardamena, with a scheduled shuttle rather than an on-demand one.
- No kettle in the standard rooms.
- The Mermaid running only three evenings a week.
- No advertised babysitting service.
- Adults-only sunbeds at the pool and beach kept for adults-only guests.
One family-travel directory, KiddieHolidays, ranks Akti fifth of the baby and toddler-friendly hotels it lists on Kos. The resort has run for more than 20 years and holds Travelife sustainable-tourism certification. It’s worth reading recent reviews for your own dates before you book.
Against the other Kos family resortsHow it compares
For a baby under one, TUI Blue Atlantica Marmari Beach up on the north coast has a crèche that takes babies from birth to three with a baby lounge, bottle warmers and sterilisers, which Akti doesn’t match, so it’s the stronger choice for the very youngest. For a one to three year old the two are more comparable, and Akti’s activity programme is the broader of the two. Grecotel Kos Imperial near Kos Town is a five-star with a lazy river and more extensive facilities at a higher price, so it suits families happy to pay for the premium tier rather than a solid mid-market all-inclusive. The two Kipriotis resorts at Psalidi have on-site waterparks with more slides, but their clubs start at four, so for a one to three year old Akti still has the edge. Closest of all is Holiday Village Atlantica Mikri Poli, also near Kardamena and newer, built around a splash park; if splash-park water play matters more than a club for the youngest it may edge Akti, though Akti is the more established and has the Baby Club from age one. Next door, the sister Akti Palace has a full spa and indoor pool but a smaller site and fewer children’s pools, so for families Akti Beach Club is the stronger of the two.
From the airportGetting there and when to go
Kos International Airport is about 7 miles (12 km) away, roughly 15 minutes by taxi and around €25 one-way (last checked 2026), with taxis at the airport around the clock; the actual time depends on the traffic and the route. On arrival you pay a Greek accommodation tax of €15 per room per night, in cash or by card (last checked 2026). The hotel and grounds are accessible by ramp apart from the beach, though the rooms and bathrooms aren’t specially adapted.
Akti runs as a summer resort, and the exact season shifts from year to year, so confirm your dates when you book. For young children, early June and September are the easiest weeks, warm and sunny without the peak heat and crowds of July and August, when it reaches about 31°C; May is warm but the sea is still cool at around 19°C.
When to goWeather
Kos has hot, dry summers and mild, wetter winters. The south coast where Akti sits is sheltered, and the Meltemi, the Aegean’s summer wind, blows less strongly here than further north. The table covers the summer season a family would travel in.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 24° | 17° | 20 mm | 5 | 20° |
| June | 28° | 21° | 8 mm | 3 | 23° |
| July | 31° | 23° | 2 mm | 3 | 24° |
| August | 31° | 23.5° | 5 mm | 3 | 26° |
| September | 28.5° | 21.5° | 15 mm | 3 | 25° |
| October | 24° | 18° | 60 mm | 6 | 23° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer. The resort opens for the summer season only.
Questions
The things families ask most, the official pages worth a bookmark and when this guide was last refreshed.
Is the Mermaid restaurant worth planning around?
It’s an adults-leaning seafood tasting menu of small dishes, not really one for a baby or young child, so most families won’t build their week around it. If tasting menus are your thing it’s a good evening for the grown-ups, with one visit included; book it early, since it only runs three nights a week.
Can we get a babysitter for an evening out?
The clubs finish at 19:00 and there’s no evening childcare, so plan on the children being with you at dinner. The resort doesn’t advertise a babysitting service, so if a night out matters, email or call before booking to ask whether a sitter can be arranged.
Will we have a kettle for making up bottles?
Only two room types come with one, the Suite with Sharing Pool and the Superior Double Room with Sharing Pool. Everywhere else you hire a kettle at reception for a €25 refundable deposit, so formula-feeding parents in a standard or family room should factor that in.
How tricky is the beach with a pushchair?
You cross a small road between the grounds and the sand, so it isn’t a straight walk onto the beach. It’s not a busy main road, but plan to manage the crossing with a pushchair or a small child rather than expect step-free access.
When is the resort open?
It runs as a summer resort and the exact dates shift from year to year, so check the season against your travel dates when you book. UK operators typically sell Kos from around May to October.
What time can we check in?
Rooms are ready from the afternoon, so if you land early, ask about leaving your bags. Check-out is 11:00, and the food and drink run until you actually leave on the last day, not just to check-out.
What do we need to travel to Kos from the UK?
Greece is in the Schengen area, so UK passport holders can visit without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180, with a passport valid for the trip. Check the current GOV.UK Greece travel advice before you go, as entry rules can change.
See more Akti Beach Club photos
Open the Akti Beach Club photo gallery →Useful links
- Akti Beach Club: the resort’s own site for rooms, what’s included and the children’s clubs.
- GOV.UK Greece travel advice: entry rules and safety updates before you travel.
- Kos with little ones: our guide to the island, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 12 July 2026.
