Ikos Aria
Ikos Aria spreads flat across 47 acres above a long sandy beach at Kefalos, on the quiet south-west tip of Kos in the Greek Dodecanese, with its eight restaurants, branded drinks and children's clubs folded into one premium all-inclusive price. Families come for the Blue Flag beach with its chapel-topped islet and ancient ruins, a heated toddler splash pad and a crèche from six months.
On this page
Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail: who this resort suits, what is folded into the price and the facts to skim first.
Ikos Aria is one of the more expensive family all-inclusives in Greece, with eight à la carte restaurants, premium wine and spirits, a stocked minibar, room service and a day's car hire all in the price, no per-restaurant supplements and little upselling. It opened in 2019, so it's one of the newer resorts in the group, and at around 47 acres it's large, with low bungalow blocks spread across a flat site and golf buggies, the electric carts that shuttle guests on call, to cover the longer walks. You'll get the most from it if you'd otherwise pay separately for good dinners, childcare and a hire car, and if a long sandy beach matters more to you than the very best kids' facilities.
Best for
You want a long Blue Flag beach, à la carte restaurants and a crèche from six months, and you'd otherwise pay out for meals, a babysitter and a car.
Maybe not for
You want the best kids' clubs going, a small resort with short walks throughout, or you're on a tight budget.
Best ages
Babies upwards. Crèche from six months, Tots Football from eighteen months, a free club from four and babysitting for an adult dinner.
What stands out
The 850-metre beach with its islet and basilica ruins, a heated toddler splash pad and the short airport run.
What to check
Whether the room is near the pools or a buggy ride away, and water shoes for the rocky patches at the sea's edge.
Where is it?
Above Agios Stefanos beach at Kefalos, south-west Kos, in the Greek Dodecanese, about 15 minutes from Kos airport.
Quick facts for families
The resort and its setting
Where Aria sits, how the flat site spreads back from the beach and what that means for getting around.
Aria opened in 2019 as the group's fourth resort, and unlike the terraced Halkidiki resorts it sits flat on a wide site above its beach at Kefalos, the south-west tip of Kos. Low white bungalow blocks and gardens run back from the sand, with the pools, the main building and the restaurants gathered near the centre. Because the site is large, some rooms are a fair walk from the main pools, so the resort runs golf buggies, the electric carts you can call to shuttle you across the grounds, which is the easier option with a pram and a tired toddler than pushing the full distance. The rocky Kastri islet sits just offshore at one end of the beach, and you look out across the Aegean toward the neighbouring islands. For how the Ikos brand and its Infinite Lifestyle all-inclusive works across the group, see our guide to Ikos and the group behind it, and for the wider island our Kos guide.
Every restaurant and bar
All eight dining rooms, the nine bars and how the à la carte booking actually works.
All eight restaurants are included with no per-restaurant supplement, and so is the wine, an extensive list chosen by the resort's sommeliers and served alongside premium spirits. The buffet runs all day and takes walk-ins; the rest are à la carte and need a reservation for dinner. Several menus are designed by chefs who hold Michelin stars at their own restaurants elsewhere, though the resort's own kitchens aren't themselves starred.
Flavors is the Mediterranean buffet, open for all three meals and the only restaurant that doesn't need a reservation. It's the most practical room with young children, with broad choice, no fixed sitting, high chairs and child tableware, so you can eat whenever a toddler is hungry.
Ouzo is the Greek restaurant, set beachside, and its barbecue lunch is a recurring favourite in reviews. The outdoor beachside tables make it an easy lunch with children.
Kos is the second Greek option, built around traditional island cooking, on a terrace looking out to sea.
Fresco is the Italian, and the pasta gets steady praise. Its menus are designed by Ettore Botrini, who holds one Michelin star at his Athens restaurant, Botrini's, rather than here.
Anaya is the Asian restaurant, Thai and pan-Asian, with the satay and salmon picked out in reviews. Its menus are by the Paris chef Thiou.
Provence is the French restaurant, with lamb and beef the dishes guests mention most. Its menus are by Pascal Barbot, who holds a Michelin star at L'Astrance in Paris.
Oliva is the Spanish restaurant, where the paella and prawns draw praise. Its menus are curated by Andoni Luis Aduriz, who holds two Michelin stars at Mugaritz in the Spanish Basque Country.
Seasons is the Deluxe Collection restaurant, à la carte and Mediterranean. If you're not in a Deluxe suite and you want to eat there, check at booking whether standard guests can reserve it for dinner, as that isn't something to count on.
Dress code
At dinner, shorts and flip-flops aren't allowed in any of the restaurants, the buffet included. Days are casual, including lunch by the pool and beach.
The nine bars
The Lobby Bar keeps the longest hours, 09:00 to 01:00, for coffee by day and cocktails late, with the Lagoon Lobby Bar alongside it in the evenings and a separate Deluxe Lobby Bar for Deluxe Collection guests. Three daytime pool bars serve the pools, the Main Pool Bar, the Beach Pool Bar and the Deluxe guests' own Deluxe Pool Bar, all roughly 09:30 to 18:00. The Gelaterie, the ice-cream point, keeps the same daytime hours and is a reliable hit with children. In the evening the Teatro Bar opens by the theatre and the Night Club runs late. Every drink, including the wine list, is included.
How restaurant booking works
You choose your à la carte dinners when you book the holiday. A standard room comes with three pre-booked dinners; Deluxe Collection guests can pre-book every night. The early-evening sittings that suit small children fill first, so pick those when the season's booking window opens. The rest you arrange on the Ikos app once you arrive, where tables also free up through the week, and the app concierge is quick to answer. Walk-ins to the à la carte rooms are hard at full capacity, so the Flavors buffet is the no-booking fallback.
Rooms and suites
Every room category with its official size, the pools and toddler splash pad, and the Blue Flag beach with its islet and ruins.
Where you'll sleep
There are twelve room categories across two tiers, six standard and six in the Deluxe Collection, the latter running up to two-bedroom bungalows with a private pool. The table below is the full line-up with the official sizes; the guidance after it is which suit a family with a baby or toddler.
| Room | Size | Sleeps |
|---|---|---|
| Double Room | 32 m² | 2 |
| Superior Triple Room | 32 m² | 3 |
| Junior Suite | 42 m² | 4 |
| Junior Suite Private Garden | 42 m² | 4 |
| Panorama Junior Suite | 50 m² | 4 |
| One Bedroom Suite Private Garden | 58 m² | 5 |
| Deluxe Junior Suite Private Garden | 52 m² | 4 |
| Deluxe One Bedroom Bungalow Suite | 80 m² | 5 |
| Deluxe One Bedroom Bungalow Suite Beachfront | 72 m² | 5 |
| Deluxe One Bedroom Bungalow Suite Private Pool | 80 m² | 5 |
| Deluxe Two Bedroom Bungalow Suite Beachfront | 90 m² | 6 |
| Deluxe Two Bedroom Bungalow Suite Private Pool | 110 m² | 6 |
Tap a room name to see its photos in the gallery.
For families, the choice comes down to whether you need a door to close on a napping baby. The 32 m² Double and Superior Triple are the entry rooms, fine for two adults and a cot but tight with an active toddler sharing the floor. The 42 m² Junior Suites and the larger 50 m² Panorama Junior Suite are open-plan, workable with one small child but still a single room. The cheapest layout with a separate bedroom you can shut off is the One Bedroom Suite Private Garden at 58 m², which sleeps five and steps straight out to a ground-floor garden, the easier choice with a pram and a child you'd rather let out without stairs. For two children in their own rooms, or to bring grandparents, the Deluxe Two Bedroom Bungalow Suites at 90 to 110 m² sleep six. If you want the shortest walk to the sand with no road to manage, the Deluxe Beachfront bungalows sit right behind the beach.
Several categories carry a Private Garden, which gives you a ground-floor garden you step straight into, and it's worth seeking out with a baby or toddler, since it saves stairs with a pram and lets a child out into an enclosed space. The rest have a balcony or terrace, which trades that ground-floor access for the view from above. Interconnecting combinations are sometimes possible but aren't a published option, so ask when you book if you need two rooms side by side. Cots are added on request and sit on top of the stated occupancy.
What the Deluxe Collection adds
For families, the most useful thing Deluxe adds is the dinner booking. Deluxe guests can pre-book every à la carte dinner rather than a capped three, so you don't compete for the early sittings each day. On top of that, Deluxe brings a dedicated Deluxe pool and bars, a private beach section with more space between sunbeds, in-suite check-in and concierge, two complimentary massages per suite, a children's games and film library and a second day with the electric car. Standard guests get the same beach, splash pad and clubs, so Deluxe mainly gets you space, a quieter pool and booking certainty.
The pools
The pools are spread across the central grounds rather than gathered in one spot. The main pool is split into zones for different ages, with a separate adult area, a shallow children's pool and, at the toddler end, a heated splash pad, the clearest difference from the group's Halkidiki resorts, which have none. A larger beach pool sits nearer the sand, served by its own bar and the Gelaterie, and it's the busiest in peak season. There's a calmer adults-only pool, a Deluxe pool for Deluxe guests and an indoor pool in the spa that opens to children only during supervised splash hours. The pools are heated and shallow at the children's end, though the resort doesn't publish depths.
The beach
Agios Stefanos is an 850-metre stretch of pale sand with a Blue Flag, running the length of the resort, with sunbeds, umbrellas, towels and drinks brought to your spot. The sea shelves in gently, so it stays shallow a long way out, easy for toddlers to paddle. Pack water shoes, though, because there are rocky patches at the water's edge in places; the resort lays sandbags to ease the way in. The chapel-topped Kastri islet sits about 150 metres offshore, close enough for strong swimmers to reach or to paddle out to by pedalo, and the remains of an early-Christian basilica sit on the sand itself, which splits the beach into two sections. Non-motorised water sports, pedalos, paddleboards, canoes and windsurfing, are included, with motorised sports at extra cost.
Babies and toddlers
The crèche and clubs from six months up, everything that fills a family day, and the days out beyond the gate.
The crèche, clubs and the baby kit
The Heroes Crèche takes children from six months to four years for an extra charge, run to UK-style childcare standards in small groups: roughly one carer to three for the six-to-twenty-three-month babies, one to four for two and three year olds and one to six at three. Sessions run 10:00 to 13:00, 13:00 to 15:00 and 15:00 to 18:00, charged per session, so you can plan around a nap, and they fill in the school holidays, so book the crèche with your holiday rather than on arrival. Families single out the staff as the strongest part of the resort, though one detailed account rated the kids' facilities as good rather than the best in the luxury bracket, so weigh that if the clubs are your priority.
The free Heroes Kids Club covers four to twelve year olds with team sports, arts and crafts, swimming and a mini-disco, in sessions from 10:30 to 13:00, 13:00 to 15:00 and 15:30 to 18:00, staffed at one carer to ten for fours to sevens and one to fifteen for eights to twelves, and there's a Just4Teens club for over-twelves. For younger children there's also the Tots Football Academy, a short morning session that takes children from eighteen months, which is unusually young. In the evening the Heroes Supper Club gives fours to twelves a buffet dinner and supervised activities for an extra charge, so parents can have a quieter meal, and for a dinner without the children the resort offers a professional babysitter, also for an extra charge and subject to availability, best arranged at the resort.
The room is set up for a baby or toddler before you arrive if you ask in advance: a cot, a baby bath, a monitor, baby sets such as toilet-seat adapters and nappy-changing facilities through the public areas, with high chairs and child tableware in every restaurant. The kitchens make fresh purées on request, and there's a children's menu in each restaurant tailored to its cuisine. Pram hire is available for a charge if you'd rather not bring your own, and the on-site mini-market stocks formula, nappies and baby basics if you run short, at resort prices.
On resortThings to do
Plenty is included with no extra charge. On the water the non-motorised sports are free: pedalos and paddleboards you can take a small child on, canoes and windsurfing, plus an introductory scuba lesson. On dry land there are floodlit tennis courts, beach volleyball, basketball, football and mountain biking, with bike hire for the family, a 24-hour gym and fitness and yoga classes. The kids' clubs run outdoor play through the day, and there's a herb garden in the grounds.
A few things cost extra. The Tots Football Academy for eighteen months to four years and the Heroes Football Academy for older children run coached sessions with licensed coaches, and tennis coaching is offered too. The Ikos Spa by Anne Semonin is for adults, with treatment rooms, an indoor pool, a thermal suite of sauna and steam room and the gym; the indoor pool and thermal suite are free for adults and treatments are charged on top, with the indoor pool opening to children only during supervised splash hours. There's no children's spa programme.
The daily programme covers all ages, with open-air theatre productions, live music, an early-evening children's show and mini-disco. Your booking also includes a Culture Pass for the Kos Archaeological Museum and a tour at the Akrani winery, a Dine Out scheme for dinner at two local tavernas, by reservation and with transport arranged, Mylotopi about 2 miles (4 km) away and Kochylari about 1.2 miles (2 km), and a day with an electric MINI to explore the island yourself. The Dine Out tavernas suit a child old enough to sit through a longer meal.
The area and days out
The resort sits at the quiet south-west tip of Kos, so off-resort days need the included car or a taxi. Kefalos village is walkable but small, with little beyond a few shops and tavernas, so the on-site mini-market covers most day-to-day needs. Below it, Kefalos Bay and the nearby sandy coves of the south-west coast are the closest beaches, with tavernas and watersports.
For the island's main sights you'll want the car day. Kos Town, near the airport at the far north-east end, is roughly 45 to 50 minutes away and holds the Castle of the Knights, the ancient agora, the harbour and the Kos Archaeological Museum on the Culture Pass. The Asklepieion, an ancient healing sanctuary a short way out of town, has open ruins and steps that suit a curious walking toddler more than a crawler. Zia, a mountain village mid-island, is known for its sunsets and tavernas. Boat trips to the neighbouring islands run from Kos Town and Kardamena in season, fine for a child who's confident on the water. For the wider island, its beaches and when to go, see our Kos guide.
Loves and gripes
What guests rate and what frustrated them, how it stacks up against its sisters, the journey in and the weather by month.
What families love, and the gripes
What families love
- The long sandy beach, rated among the best in the group.
- The heated children's pools at the toddler end.
- The range and quality across the eight restaurants.
- The short airport transfer.
- The value if you eat and drink across the all-inclusive.
Common gripes
- Restaurant reservations hard to get at peak, so pre-booking matters.
- Rocky patches at the water's edge in places, hence water shoes.
- Some rooms a long walk across the 47-acre site.
- The beach and adults-only pools small and busy at peak times.
- The evening entertainment found a little too English by some.
How it compares
Within the group, Aria stands out for its long Blue Flag beach, which reviewers who've stayed at several rate near the top, and the toddler splash pad the Halkidiki resorts lack. Where it's only solid rather than outstanding is the clubs and the night-to-night consistency of the food, both rated good rather than the best on offer. So if a long sandy beach and easy flat ground with little ones are what you're after, Aria is a strong fit, and the rooms come out larger than at some sister resorts. If you most want the very best kids' facilities, or the terraced sea-view setting of the Halkidiki resorts, compare those too. For how the whole group works, our Ikos guide goes into the brand in more depth.
From the airportGetting there
Kos airport is the arrival point, about 15 minutes away by road and one of the shortest transfers of any Ikos resort. With a pushchair, luggage and car seats a private transfer is easier than a shared coach, and you arrange it rather than it being laid on automatically. It's included on a direct Ikos booking of five nights or more, requested through the concierge a couple of weeks before you travel, with baby and booster seats on request. There's no minimum length of stay to book the resort itself. Your stay also includes a day with an electric MINI, two days for Deluxe guests, enough for a supermarket run and a trip out, with child seats on request for that too.
When to goWeather, April to October
Ikos Aria opens for the season roughly from April to late October; confirm the exact dates for your year when you book. The warm, low-rain window for a family is June to September, when days sit in the high twenties to low thirties, the sea reaches 22 to 25°C and rain is light. The easiest weeks with little ones are June and September, warm enough to swim but short of the July and August peak for heat, crowds and price. April and May are pleasant for getting about, but the sea is still cool for small children, and October stays warm with more chance of rain.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 20° | 13.5° | 35 mm | 7 | 17° |
| 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.
Questions
The things families ask most, the official pages worth a bookmark and when this guide was last refreshed.
How young will the crèche take a baby?
From six months, in small groups, for an extra charge. Places are limited and go first in the school holidays, so book the crèche with your holiday rather than on arrival, and pick the early sessions if your baby naps in the afternoon.
Do you need to hire a car?
No. Your stay includes a day with an electric MINI, which is enough for a supermarket run and one trip out, and the resort is set up to keep you on site otherwise. A car of your own only pays off if you want several separate days exploring, since the resort sits at the quiet south-west tip of the island and most sights are a drive away.
Can a toddler paddle safely in the sea?
The sea shelves in gently and stays shallow a long way out, which suits toddlers. Keep water shoes on at the edge, where there are rocky patches in places. On a windier afternoon the heated children's pool is the calmer option.
Is there much for a child too young for the kids' club?
Yes. The Tots Football Academy takes children from eighteen months and the crèche from six months, and the children's pool is heated and shallow enough for early walkers. The free Heroes Kids Club itself starts at four.
How do you get a table at the à la carte restaurants?
Standard guests can pre-book three dinners before arrival, Deluxe guests can pre-book the lot. The early sittings that suit small children fill first, so book the moment the season's window opens, then use the resort app on site for the rest, where tables free up through the week. Flavors, the buffet, takes walk-ins as the fallback.
Is Seasons open to standard guests?
Seasons is the Deluxe Collection restaurant. Whether standard guests can book it for dinner isn't something to assume, so check it when you book if it matters to you.
Is babysitting available?
Yes, a professional babysitter for an extra charge, subject to availability. Arrange it at the resort rather than expecting it on tap, and the evening Supper Club for fours and over is the alternative if you want a quiet dinner.
When is the best time to go with little ones?
June or September. The air sits around 28°C, the sea is warm enough to swim and rain is low, without the high-summer heat and the fuller, dearer weeks of late July and August. May is fine for getting about but the sea is still cool, and October stays warm with more chance of rain.
See more resort photos
Open the photo gallery →
Useful links
- Ikos Aria: 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 wider island, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 21 June 2026.
