Tigaki Beach Hotel

The location is convenient and quiet, near the beach and with plenty of shops and restaurants close by. Our room was clean and small, but had what we needed. We were disappointed by the buffet: the quality was really poor and the same dishes came around every day, which felt especially disappointing for the price of the all-inclusive package. I think it's aimed at German and English tourists who don't eat good food. The cleaners were also noisy and intrusive. Even with the 'do not disturb' sign on our door, they still came into the room.

Tigaki Beach Hotel is in a fantastic location, and I'd recommend it. The town is lovely for a wander, with nice bars, shops and restaurants. We ate at the hotel because we were all-inclusive, but there were some lovely places to eat. The nearby beach is great, though its sunbeds cost around €10 each. In town there's a tour shop, and local tours are significantly cheaper there than through the tour operator you flew with. We took the three-island cruise, which was excellent and well worth €120 for five people. There's also a free bus to the Lido water park, which is superb, but spaces are limited, so get there early. The all-inclusive food was excellent, and the snacks were good too. None of us had a problem finding something to eat, including the kids, despite older reviews I'd read. The bar opens at 8 am for coffee, cold drinks, beer and wine on tap, and you can also get cold coffee and as much ice cream as you like during the day. Cocktails and other drinks are available from around 6 pm. It was close to 40 degrees most days, so I'd bring a cold flask to keep beer chilled. We were surprised by the condition of the hotel and grounds after seeing mixed reviews. It has clearly had serious refurbishment, with clean shared areas and well-kept grounds by the pool. There are four pools, two regular large ones and two for children, including one suited to babies and toddlers. I don't think they're heated, but a cool dip felt good once the sun was out. Plenty of loungers, and we had no trouble finding one. Our rooms, 2205 and 2206, were in the separate building across from the main hotel, overlooking the pool. They had a shared locked corridor and were much better quality than I expected for what we paid. Both had kettles and fridges, despite what some other reviews said. The rooms were comfortable and well equipped. Check-in was a little slow because we had to pay tourist tax that TUI hadn't told us about. It was roughly €70 per room per week, €140 for our two rooms, and wasn't listed in any of the TUI booking paperwork, which frustrated me.

If you want to be surrounded by thousands of tourists, this is the place. It's noisy, not clean and not enjoyable, with loads of sunbeds packed onto a very narrow beach. The road through the village is lined with tacky gift shops and expensive places to eat, and there's lots of loud music. We prefer somewhere quieter and less touristy, like Lagada Beach on the south side of Kos.

We booked our holiday through TUI, and it was my wife's birthday. The hotel was clean, lively and only a short walk from the beach. The staff were friendly and very helpful, and our rooms were always cleaned. In the dining area, Noah paid special attention to the kids and remembered what they wanted when they came to eat. When I mentioned the birthday to the Kitchen Manager, Mr Costa, he really made an effort. He helped decorate the table and baked a cake, which we paid for, then sang for my wife and made the evening special. The hotel owner also gave us a bottle of wine for the occasion, and the cleaners went all out with flowers in our room. My wife was very happy. I'd recommend this hotel anytime.