Diamond Deluxe Hotel & SPA

A good 5* rated hotel. The ‘village-style’ complex overlooks huge crystal clear pools and all buildings within well-cared for grounds. Every aspect of the hotel network exudes a laid back feel, undoubtedly due to the friendly, yet professional staff that work as a well-trained team. Location: The hotel is isolated (2km to Lambi and 4km to Kos) The feel of isolation is reinforced by the lack of tavernas and supermarkets nearby. Whilst the hotel has a very small mini market, it is 1km to the nearest small supermarket situated in a neighbouring hotel. Undoubtedly this reinforces the need for transport. For those not hiring a car or push bikes, there is a local bus service from outside the hotel (No 2 bus, €2 single fare). The service however is unreliable and the bus gets packed to beyond reason. Walking to Kos takes around 50min. Food: Breakfast, tasty, varied and plentiful. Five-course evening dinner, admittedly not always to our taste, food was always prepared to a high standard and far from the usual ‘warm at best buffets’ served up at too many holiday establishments. Some issues we encountered: As someone with mobility issues some of the pathways become lethal when it rains. These occasions are undoubtedly made worse by the excessive pigeon poop being encountered when we exited our room (Block 6++) Hotel management are aware of the problem. The beach area really needs a makeover to bring it up to the same high standard as the hotel; the beach furniture looked tired and beach itself uncared for. We couldn't see any signs indicating the beach area is for hotel guests only. It’s nice to have an Nespresso machine in the room. For making tea, we found the Nespresso utterly useless. Noise: Being of a certain age group we found some of the evening 'entertainment' far too noisy and frankly not to our liking. Thankfully the 'entertainment' stopped around 11pm. Local Area: For guests who like us, enjoy a walk beyond the hotel perimeter, the amount of rubbish, filth and even discarded condoms littering the paths and verges was difficult to ignore. As tourists who are expected to pay a significant ‘environmental tax’ (€105 per week for 5* hotel) it’s not unreasonable to expect part of those funds to be used to clean up the area. Whilst it is accepted that the hotel has no control over this, it is a real issue that needs addressing. Failure to do so may impact whether guests will want to stay at/return to this clearly delightful, deserving hotel.

We went for 10 days at the end of September. I would like to score 3 and a half stars but that’s not possible. Firstly the positives. The hotel is lovely. Aesthetically the hotel is beautiful. The pools are lovely and the room was spacious and clean. The breakfast was great, the staff helpful, especially Chrisa whose smile and service every morning was amazing. 5* to her. The hotel was very clean. The negatives. Firstly and most importantly you have to realise the hotel is very isolated. The buses are sporadic and taxis a rarity ( only 70 on the whole island). We booked bed a breakfast as we liked to go out for meals but had to eat in the hotel for the first two nights as couldn’t find anything close enough to it. It is very expensive to eat in the hotel. So half board is a recommendation. The pools are too cold to swim in but there are plenty of chairs to sit round it. A previous review stated that the hotel staff’s command of English wasn’t good. We found it perfect. Maybe it was late September but I thought a lot of the staff seemed a little tired. It is to be noted that it is around 90 minutes walk into Kos Town. We manage to find a nice restaurant 20 minutes walk away in the end. I would say that save our holiday. It is also a very windy part of the island. Even though it was 28oC on two occasions we had to leave the beach as it was to windy. All in all would never return again.

Having read a number of recent reviews before our visit, it's reconfirmed to me that an opinion is only measured against what may have been experienced elsewhere! So we did enjoy various aspects of our stay but have to give a 4 star overall. The good: - definitely the friendly, cheerful & helpful staff, especially as it's nearing the end of a long summer season! - good buffet selection at breakfast & hot dishes to order, although my eggs benedict was cold when it arrived. - a few enjoyable evening meals in the Emerald restaurant. - nice outside bar area for pool & evening with good daytime food - excellent pizzas! The insude bar didn't seem to be in use. - easy bus journey into Kos town €2 each way. Particularly worth exploring the Old Town & highly recommend Select Restaurant, a lovely typical 'old style' Greek restaurant. The not so good: - the fancy decor is now looking a bit tired with white furnishings quite worn. - our Superior Deluxe room (supplement paid) was pretty average. We couldn't use the terrace as it faced the road just the other side of the hedge & was always in the shade. We had to keep the patio doors closed because of the road noise. We live in a quiet area & certainly don't want this on holiday. - room cleaning got later each day & missed altogether one day when we were using our room to get ready to go out. Ironically we were right next to the attendants store cupboard & there were cleaning buckets, dirty linen sacks outside our door area all day until they finished. After speaking to reception they did at least replenish our towels by the time we got back. - pools, although huge,are FREEZING!! Only managed to brave a swim twice. Indoor pool just the same. - despite other comments, early in our week sunbeds were hard to find after 10am. - they request you to conserve water yet the style of the sinks (no plugs) means you have to keep the taps running if trying to rinse anything out. The unusual taps are also very difficult to turn if you have wet hands - beach opposite is a great disappointment, not to mention the traffic noise if you spent time there. Our first visit to Kos but very much doubt we would return, compared to other Greek holiday experiences.

Just back from a lovely 2 week stay at The Diamond Deluxe. Having stayed there 2 years ago , we knew what to expect, but we probably enjoyed it even more this time. The hotel is really clean , with the rooms being bright and spacious ( they recognised that we had stayed before and were able to give us an upgrade, which was really nice ) The food is lovely ( we were B&B but ate in the Emerald restaurant in the evening on a number of occasions) , with a great choice available. The staff in the hotel are perhaps what sets it apart from others that we've stayed at. From the reception team , through to the restaurant / bar staff and the cleaning team , they're all so friendly and helpful. Big shout out to Vodha / Kostas / Spiros / Mikel / Zeitzan and Chrissy in the restaurant ( others too ) as well as the guys looking after the bars ( Jen and Despina especially) No hesitation to recommend this hotel as we'll definitely be back 😀

Wow! What a brilliant hotel. From the moment we walked through the doors all the staff were so helpful and welcoming. A special shout out to Kostas and Vodkha in the restaurant and the funny Despina in the pool bar who even said goodbye to us as we waited at the bus stop for our coach. The meals were excellent, 5 courses at dinner if you could manage it. Drinks were premium prices. Breakfast was plentiful ( but no bananas!). Rooms were excellent, walk in shower, lovely toiletries, comfy bed. There is a coffee pod machine in the rooms which made decent coffee but lousy tea, ( not boiling water) so could have done with a kettle really as us Brits like a cuppa. Pool bar was great with good selection of food but felt that there could have been some more lighter meals. All their servings were generous. Sun beds plentiful, pools very clean but chilly. That said there’s also a beach area across the road. My swim in the Aegean was very refreshing. There’s a bus stop to Kos City right outside the hotel. We did try to get a taxi at one stage but gave up after waiting an hour. So cars or bicycles definitely a bonus. We did a trip through Jet2, tour of the island which was excellent with Constantine as our guide. What a knowledgeable chap. Brilliant day out with Big Travel. All in all, a great week in a premium hotel as my bill did show!