Labranda Marine AquaPark Resort - All Inclusive

This was a last minute booking from me and my partner, as we booked 5 days before arriving at the hotel. We arrived at LABRANDA late on a Wednesday evening. The check in process was smooth, and we were driven to our room on a golf cart, by a polite young man, which was very convenient. We were lucky that we had a room right by the pool, as some of the rooms are a fair distance from the actual hotel. The rooms were quite outdated and basic, however we were not bothered by this due to just sleeping in them. There was a small fridge which was filled up everyday with fresh water. Maids visited the room everyday and changed our towels. The food in the hotel was relatively good, there were some days where it was a bit vague, but on the whole, I thought it was to a good standard, with a wide variety of options. One negative thing I would say about the dining area, is it can get very crowded with kids, and I would STRONGLY recommend that the hotel maybe has a separate area for adults/couples to eat, or maybe even a separate time, as it was very loud with kids throwing food around and screaming. The location of the hotel is not the best, but Kos is easily accessible by a bus at the end of the lane. We also hired a car for just 25 euros and went and explored the island, which was a lovely day out and a great experience. You can also book excursions through your reps at the hotel, and we did the Aegean cruise which was an awesome day out and I would highly reccomend it. The biggest let down of this hotel was probably the fact that the beach is non existent. There isn’t really a beach there at all, and the photos are quite misleading. In addition, the entertainment wasn’t exactly the best, but the team did good for the facilities they had. The pool area was nice and clean. There are 3 pools in the complex, each meeting different age groups. We particularly enjoyed the adults only pool, which was a lot quieter and had a separate bar. There was a lovely man who we called the ‘cocktail man’ who would come round with a wheelbarrow every day full of treats. He was very polite and was extremely funny, probably the nicest/most helpful worker we spoke to when we were there. In conclusion, our holiday to Kos was a good one. We booked it last minute, and had a great time. The only disappointment was the beach and the location of the hotel (there are no bars or restaurants walking distance away). However, if you are looking for a couples holiday, I would not say this is the hotel for you, as it is quite loud and full of young children. This was probably our fault for not looking into things before booking. We enjoyed our stay at LABRANDA, but would probably not return due to the fact that it certainly isn’t a hotel for couples.

We travelled end of may for 10 nights, myself, hubby and twins age 7. We jumped in a taxi from the airport. The cost was €33 not including tip (which they seemed genuinely grateful for). Arrived at the hotel around 9.30pm and were checked in in time to make use of the buffet restaurant. I had requested a room close to the facilities and we were given an apartment just across the courtyard from the main entrance. Room - The one bedroom apartment were basic but clean, had 2 single beds pushed together in the main bedroom and 2 made up chair beds in other room. All the beds were quite hard and all but 1 of the pillows flat. Both rooms had big wardrobes but only about 5 hangers in each. There was a shelving unit also in main bedroom but could do with some drawers as we struggled to find storage for the all the clothes. The main bedroom also has the patio doors leading to the balcony, which had a small table and 3 chairs. The bathroom was a good size but as mentioned in previous reviews the bathtub is very high and if youre 5ft 5 or under is quite difficult to climb in and out of! Once you’re in though the shower was amazing, very powerful and always plenty of hot water. The maid who was very nice came in every day and was very thorough. Even if we turned her away she always came back once we had gone out. Food - We were more than happy with the food to be honest, none of us ever struggled to find something to eat. The food in the buffet restaurant varied daily and the standard was very good, and the desserts are the reason none of my clothes now fit! As part of AI you get one meal in one of the al a carte restaurants (Italian or Greek) on the roof terrace. We chose Italian and booked it for our twins 8th birthday meal. For €15 the hotel organised a cake and a balloon each for them and brought the huge pink and blue cake out and sang happy birthday to them, what a lovely moment it was! The cake was delicious, the rest of the meal was pretty mediocre. The food from the snack bar by the wave pool was always good, this varied slightly between hot dogs, spicy sausages, burgers and souvlaki. There was always chips and salad. The ice cream from the gelateria was lovely, although not free as we were led to believe when booking. It was €1.50 for 1 scoop, €2.50 for 2 scoops or €3 for 3 scoops, with flavours such as cookies, strawberry cheesecake, twix... Pool - On our first day we made it to the pool at 9am and only just managed to get sun beds. After that we took turns to get up around 7am to go put towels down, even then there were always half the sun beds with towels already on! You can get pool towels here but can’t comment on them as we never bothered, although plenty of people did. The kids loved the pools and the slides. We tended to stay round the slides pool and ventured over to the wave pool for the last hour. There is a lifeguard perched on top of the slides who polices the whole pool and spends his day blowing his whistle over and over (and being ignored) at kids climbing up or blocking the baby slides mostly. Maybe another lifeguard at ground level would be safer (and quieter!) Entertainment - kids loved the mini disco which was on every night at 8.30pm for 30 minutes. The entertainment team played a small variety of songs each night and danced along, the kids copied the dances. The main entertainment was at 9.30pm each evening, (usually the same entertainment team) we only stayed a couple of times. We didn’t see or hear anything about the kids club, although we made no effort to find out as our kids were happy in the pool. We didn’t even see anything of day time entertainment for adults while we were there, no one came round asking for people to join in with games etc as we have usually experienced at other hotels. Overall the entertainment is what makes this a 4* review rather than a 5* review. My husband and I both had massages in the spa while we were there. Hubby opted for sports massage while I had a traditional Greek massage. Hubby said his although good wasn’t as hard as he was hoping for. I thought mine was simply lovely, very relaxing and a fabulous peaceful hour away from the kids lol. At €170 for the 2 massages it was an expensive treat! There is nothing round this hotel. You can get the bus into kos town but as I have walking issues we got a taxi, this was €12 each way and took 5-10 minutes. Highly recommend the Katerina 3 island boat trip. Check out the reviews for this, way better than most from kos town! Family run boat run by captain George, he doesn’t overcrowd and goes out of his way to make sure everyone has a good time and gets to see dolphins. He even let the kids drive the boat! We paid €70 for 4 of us. All in all we had a lovely holiday. Thank you Labranda. Would we go back? Yes we would, but as there are so many places we want to visit we probably won’t make it back there any time soon.

Visited with my daughter and 4 grandchildren, 2 of which are under 2. The pools are lovely however getting a sunbed is a challenge, towels are put on sunbeds and left their all day! Staff should not allow this. The food is very good with a large varied selection. Greek salad is amazing! Kids would have liked burgers but not on the menu. However they were happy with pizza. Apartments are lovely with all you need i.e kettle, fridge and free air con! WiFi included. The downside to our holiday was entertaining the under 2's. The park could be improved (no swings).. some little tykes cars etc would have been nice. I think the hotel is more suited to children 5 years up. Where the hotel let's itself down is the entertainment or lack of it. The kids entertainment starts at 8.30pm (far too late) the area for entertainment is poorly laid out. (why put a stadium behind a brick wall with no tables and away from the bar!) not my idea of fun. We got a bit bored to be honest a week was long enough, once you left the complex their was nothing within walking distance. However 12 euro in a taxi took us to Kos Town which we enjoyed. The beach near the hotel isn't suitable for little ones. Overall if your happy to play in the pools all day, eat and drink and top up your tan this is an ideal holiday place. But wouldn't recommend for under 5's.

Stayed for a week at end of may. Self, Wife, and 12yo daughter. The hotel looks and feels a bit dated, and rooms (at least ours) cheaply furnished. Didn’t consider this too much of an issue as we didn’t go there to sit in the room. Site is mostly clean, however some of the top floor landings did have quite a lot of pigeon mess due to birds nesting in the eaves. This was swept away daily, but was back by end of day. Slides aren’t the tallest, and are nothing special. On a few occasions I had small kids move into the area at the bottom of the slide after I’d set off. A bit more vigilance/policing by the pool staff wouldn’t go amiss. Wave pool pretty good. This comes on for about 10 mins per hour. There were not enough loungers, and a number were broken. Many were old, looking and quite dirty. Suffered, as most places do with selfish individuals ‘bagging’ loungers and then not using them. Signs say unattended towels will be removed, but this is not done. There’s not much else in the immediate area. Tigaki is a fair walk away up the coast. There is however a Pretty regular bus service runs from the end of the road about 5 mins walk away. This is 2.1 euro one way, takes about 15-20 mins into Kos Town. Last bus back is about 10pm. Food a bit patchy. Always plenty of choice, but not always very hot. Typically most items were overcooked. Swordfish steaks for example were cooked to being tough pieces of leather. Omelette in the morning was like chamois leather.. Staff were always friendly, and helpful. Animation team did a good job on the two nights I saw them. We arrived on the late flight, on arrival there was a bit of food made available. An employee with a golf cart took us to our room. Safe in the room is free, on the proviso that lost keys are charged for. Safe was big enough to fit an iPad in. Recommend the option included in the all-inc to eat at one of the speciality restaurants. We ate in the Greek one, it was very good. Beach is basically a narrow strip, and not much to shout about. Recommend the 3 island , and Nisyros volcano tours. We booked these independently through a company called kos4all at a much cheaper rate than was available in the resort. Would we go back, not at the price point we paid (through on the beach). Did we enjoy ourselves - yes. Main reason is we didn’t think, on reflection that the water park was good enough to warrant the high price, and the food didn’t measure up to that we’ve had on other all inclusive deals.

I always read reviews before I travel and some on here made me nervous, so hopefully this honest review will address some of the negatives! The hotel is very clean and a good sized site. Are the rooms dated? Yes, a little too much tan and wood veneer but did it matter? Absolutely not. We only slept in our rooms and cleanliness was far more important that modern decor. The cleaners came in daily and one alway made my nightdress into a fan which made me smile! The bath side is indeed very high. Again, did this affect our stay? Nope. My 4 year old I lifted in and out and my 7 year old, who is by no means tall, climbed in and out by himself. We were also one of the farthest away blocks which another reviewer mentioned. We were given a golf buggy ride there with our luggage and it’s a maximum 5 minute walk from the main area. With all the food and drink, the walk was welcomed! It also meant we were a little further removed from the noise of the entertainment. The pools were amazing, my kids loved the slides and there were no height restrictions. The lifeguards were attentive (the one in red blew his whistle at everything!) so make sure your kids don’t dare to climb up the slides or hang around at the foot! The restaurant was exactly as we expected, busy at times but we always got a table. Food was regularly replenished and if something ran out, you just asked one of the many staff (people say it was understaffed below but we never had that experience) and they replaced it. The snack bar bbq by the pool was also good and yes there were queues at the pool bar but never for long and the adult pool bar, if you could manage to walk an extra minute, was always empty. Coffees and cold drinks, you just helped yourselves anyway. Comments below say it was geared towards Germans!? There was a whole mixture of nationalities there which is why I go on holiday. Each evening the kids entertainment started with a welcome song in about 6 different languages. The majority of the entertainment staff were actually Italian and spoke about 5 languages between them. They were also great, the kids loved them, they worked their butts off, kids club was also good with a complete mixture of activities. There was also a good mix of male staff which I think is important as they do more rough and tumble play and let the kids splash them and jump all over them in the pool! We hired bikes one day and cycled to Kos Town. It cost 15€ for three bikes, one with a back seat, for the whole day! The guy was really helpful and it was a great way to get out for a morning and burn off some calories. On that note, I also did aqua gym was a good fun and my husband used the gym which is a little like a fish tank as everyone can see you and it’s not mega equipped but enough to shift an ice cream or two! On the ice cream note, yes the gellateria is an additional cost but there is soo much food on offer and a selection of ice creams in the restaurant that you don’t need to use it. Also, it’s luxury flavours, waffle cones, toppings, alcoholic ice cream concoctions and they are €1.50 each? I mean, seriously? Does nobody treat themselves on holiday? We did and they were good value and delicious! I also used the spa. You get a free 15 min massage voucher on arrival. I booked an anti stress massage and so they offered to swap my 15 minute free massage for a body scrub. The whole thing was amazing, my masseuse was great (definitely knew what she was doing and I’ve had a lot of spa treatments) and the right amount of pressure. It was €70! I paid $200 for a massage in a 5 star resort in Cabo and this was on par. In conclusion, we would definitely go back. We had a great family holiday and anything negative, was small. I’m fortunate to have travelled all over the world and stayed in some amazing hotels and I’m yet to find one that is faultless. So book Labranda, go with an open mind, a sense of realism, happy heart and excited kids and you won’t be disappointed.

Where do I start this was the first time I have come to Greece my wife has been before but not me as soon as we arrived at the hotel we was greeted by the hotel porter Marion who already made my sons holiday start off excellent he was really friendly with us all and made us feel welcome also my daughter who was 1 when we was on holiday and the smile on her face said it all to cap it off 1 off the days we was stuck for a taxi from Tigaki and he brought us back to the hotel lovely man every day we seen him he would stop and talk to us and my son loves him the hotel was very clean and always being cleaned,the food was excellent for an all inclusive resort and the bedrooms were always cleaned on time and with no issues the cleaners were very friendly,the pool areas were clean no issues and every morning were cleaned,1 person who made us feel welcome was panos the pool barman we as a family have made a good friend he made my kids happy and it was nice to talk to him he advised us where to go and also the management team were friendly spoke to us when they seen us this hotel by pictures don’t say what the hotel is all about you need to come see it for yourself excellent place we will definitely be revisiting labranda aqua park we only arrived back last night and already looking to come back,thankyou for making our family holiday special for my little girls first birthday we was not disappointed and the Greek people are so friendly didn’t see one bad person lovely country.

ARRIVAL- First impressions very good, we checked in quickly after filling out some forms and then was met by a man on a little golf buggy who took us and our luggage to our room. Safety deposit boxes are free request these at reception, and also ask for a mattress topper for beds there aswell. ROOM - Spacious and airy. Basic but adequate. Hairdryer provided, but still might want take your own. You have a kettle in your room and tea/coffee provided daily when the cleaners have been in. Bottles of water left also in your fridge daily....lovely touch I thought as everywhere else i have been you purchase this. CLEANERS/CLEANLINESS - Fabulous everywhere is kept super clean. The ladies who cleaned our room done a great job everyday. And we got clean towels as we needed them daily also. The resort is equally as clean, and food courts/bbq the hygiene levels are very good always cleaning nozzles on sauce spouts and general cleaning to ensure everything is kept pristine. POOLS - there are four pools and the life guards done a great job looking after the safety of the kids. They never left their posts only to swap with each other...well done! ANIMATION TEAM - worked really hard to involve everyone, to be fair we never much went to the evening entertainment as done other things but what we did see was good. TAXIS - we ventured out to Kos town, the Taxi cost us 12 euros each way and the same to go to Tigaki Beach, but you can catch a bus at the top road for 2 euros, just ask reception for bus timetable. Kos town was well worth the visit there is some great shops there and lovely little restaurants. Same with Tigaki beach and if you in yo your water sports you can hire jet skis for 40 euro for 20 mins. SPA - On arrival you get a voucher to go to the spa for a taster session of your choice, which is located downstairs in the hotel. I didnt take advantage of this, however in week 2 of our stay I managed to pull some ligaments out in my shoulder and couldn't move it at all, very painful. It turned out that two of the spa staff were trained Physiotherapists so I went down and was greeted by Aggeliki who made me feel at ease and was so kind. I booked in and Griannis worked my shoulder putting ligaments in, almost straight after I could feel a difference but it was suggested I would need another session (which I did need) so had Dimitra on the second visit...all good cant thank them enough, would have been a lousy painful end to the holiday if not for them...5 STAR. BEACH - the beach at the hotel is the only thing I was disappointed in, there is a very small sandy strip with steps down to the sea. You have to get over alot of rocks to get into the sea, which are quite slippery, technically the brochure in my opinion stretched the truth....hence why we travelled to Tigaki beach.

Just coming to the end of a two week stay and will be sad to leave on Monday. When booked ice creams were part of all inclusive and we were disappointed that by the time we arrived this had changed... however ice cream IS serve free in the restaurant both at lunchtime and the evening. The ice cream sold in the ice cream parlour is by far superior to any free ice cream we have received on any all inclusive holiday and well worth the 1.5 Euro’s. The milkshake served at the parlour is pretty amazing too and for grownups they even have Baileys milkshakes 🤪. The food is ok and on par with the usual All Inclusive hotels we been too non of us has gone hungry. Very clean resort and rooms cleaned daily. Not enough entertainment for ages 10-16 as pool games and even the pool fitness is all done in adult only pool. My grandchildren have always enjoyed doing the fitness in pool routines but here they could not. There is a kids club but you be hard pushed to persuade any child above the age of 10 to go. They have basketball and tennis courts but again nothing structured for older children as in team games. Luckily they have the pools. The games room is pretty poorly located and I feel sorry for the shop lady who has to put up with kids near her shop goods as the games room is right next to her goods. There are large rooms by the kids club but I have no idea what they are for as didn’t seem to be used which seems a waste. Doesn’t really seem to be enough staff in the bar areas. But despite these few niggles we would come back as it’s been a really lovely holiday.

Arrival We arrived late due to a delay and they were very accommodating from the start. They let us into the restaurant even when it was about to close. We then got taken to our room on a little cart with our luggage, very helpful man. Rooms Rooms were clean, plenty of space for a family of 4. Beds are abit hard but I'm used to sleeping on a cloud at home so it's to be expected. TV which we didn't really use does only have 2 channels in English but there is a sheet in the room which tells you what channel is what. Only slight disappointment was the shower as it pointed to the wall so we had to either stand right back under it as we couldn't move it or we took it off the hook completely but everything else was fine. Drinks There's about 5/6 cocktails to choose from + 3 non-alcoholic cocktails, different local spirits + beers. You can help yourself to the soft drinks + water, there is also a range of hot drinks to choose from (shame there was no hot chocolate) Pools The slides are fun they kept our children occupied for hours. We went to the wave pool a couple of times but it was only on for 1 of the times we went there. Food - Main Restaurant Food was good, lots of variety + staff do cook fresh food in there aswel (fish, pork chops, turkey ect) there is a childrens section which is mostly pizza, nuggets/fish fingers, chips + some kind of veg like sweetcorn/peas. Also get all the different ham, cheeses, salads + breads. There is also different soup every day too. On the main bit there is always plain pasta + 2 different sauces to add to it so your not limited to just 1 style of pasta a day. They do a few different themed nights Greek, Mexican, Spanish so you get to try different food. You also get to choose if your want to go for an Italian or Greek a'la carte so we chose the Italian + it didn't disappoint at all, the pizzas are a decent size so if you have children it might be better for them to share 1, I had the bolognese for my main which was lovely. For starters there you can have different salads or bruschetta + then there are 2 desserts to choose from aswel. Food - BBQ It opens at 12. The food was alright you get 2 meat options a day aswel as chips + salad. There was hotdogs every day then the other option would be burger, pork chops, kebabs. The guy who cooks it is friendly enough but it's not always piping hot as he cooks + puts in to the trays to keep it covered. We enjoyed going a couple of times. Entertainment The team do try sooo hard at what they do. They do alot of different sports/activities throughout the day French Bowls, Volleyball, Pilates, Football, Darts ect. Night time entertainment I have to say the Musicals night was my favourite it was such a laugh! They had a Greek night on and that was the traditional dancing. Quiz night, Karaoke + they did a Mans Labranda competition which was hilarious so men if you're reading this good luck Haha. Entertainment does tend to finish by 10.30 and ours kids enjoyed kids disco. They do have their signature song which they have a dance to + you will know it all by the time you leave, it is played a few times a day. Beach Can't really say it is a beach to be honest it's more like a beach front with a few sunbeds down it + steps into the sea so we never used it. We did have a walk along to see the other beach that we saw some reviews on about but never used that 1 either. Kos Town We decided to go into Kos town using the bus. It's €2 an adult a €1 a child over 5 which isn't bad + it take around15 minutes to get there. The bus does get very busy but our hotel I think is 1 of the first stops. Also coming back from Kos town get your tickets from the bus stop as it works out a little bit cheaper than paying it on the bus. Definitely recommend Special icecream + bakery in Kos town their icecream has to be the best we've had + the desserts are nice aswel so are on the very large side. Departure You do get to keep your wristbands on until your transport arrives to pick you up so don't worry if you have a late departure. There is a luggage room downstairs which is locked + can only be opened when you collect the key from reception. All I can say is good luck in Kos airport on your way home it was MANIC!! Expect to be standing outside for a good 30 minutes or so unless you're at the front of the queue! Overall We would come back again and recommend it to families.