Ikos Kissamos, Crete-A Week at Ikos Resorts’ Newest All-Inclusive Resort

1 About Ikos Resorts

Ikos Resorts is a collection of luxury all-inclusive hotels set in prime beachfront locations across the Mediterranean. Founded just over a decade ago by the Sani/Ikos Group, the brand has quietly but firmly established itself as something rather special in the world of high-end all-inclusive holidays — a segment that, it must be said, has not always enjoyed the most glittering reputation. Ikos has changed that.

With resorts in Halkidiki, Corfu, Kos, Mallorca and Marbella, and now Crete, the brand has built a loyal following — you will find a remarkable number of returning guests at any Ikos property. The formula is what they call ‘Unconditional Luxury’: Michelin-starred restaurant menus, premium drinks included as standard, impeccable service and beautifully designed properties, all wrapped up in one package. Ikos Kissamos in Crete is the eighth resort in the collection and, having just opened its doors in April 2026, is very much the exciting new arrival.

2 Ikos Kissamos Resort

Well, where to begin. Set along 600 metres of unspoiled beachfront on the shores of Kissamos Bay, Ikos Kissamos is, by any measure, a big undertaking — the largest hospitality development ever built on the island of Crete, in fact. Does it feel that way when you’re there? Not in the slightest. Spanning over 53 acres of landscaped gardens and coastal terrain, the resort is divided into four distinct areas — the Main Village, the River Village, the Dunes Village and the exclusive Deluxe Collection — but the low-rise buildings, natural materials and thoughtful landscaping mean the whole thing sits gently in its surroundings rather than imposing on them. Wood, stone, woven fibres — it all feels very deliberately, very beautifully Cretan.

Now, the location. Ikos Kissamos has drawn the long straw here. Kissamos Bay sits in the northwest of Crete — a part of the island that mass tourism has largely passed by, and long may that continue. The views across the bay are simply stunning. And if you venture beyond the resort, the neighbours are rather impressive too: Gramvousa, the so-called pirate island, is accessible by boat directly from the resort; Balos Lagoon is within easy reach; and Falassarna beach — both of which, I am pleased to report, feature in TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Awards 2026 as among the world’s top ten beaches. As I said, not a bad set of neighbours. Talking of neighbours, we did go into Kissamos, which is about 10 minutes drive away, it’s a quiet little town with a few shops, bars and restaurants.

3 Restaurants

Whilst Ikos Resorts are celebrated for many things, the selection of restaurants at every property is genuinely impressive. Ikos Kissamos offers seven restaurants in total, all open for dinner and many for breakfast and lunch as well. Food is also served throughout the day at the pool and beach bars. As a result, planning your meals becomes a rather enjoyable part of each day — though I should warn you that the choices are not always easy.

The Market Restaurant — Main Buffet (Buffet, no reservation needed)
Breakfast: 07:00–11:00 | Dinner: 18:30–21:30

Kriti Restaurant — Greek & Cretan (Reservation required)
Breakfast: 08:00–11:00 | Lunch: 12:30–16:00 | Dinner: 18:30–22:30

Fresco Restaurant — Italian (Reservation required)
Breakfast: 08:00–11:00 | Lunch: 12:30–16:00 | Dinner: 18:30–22:30

Beach Club Restaurant — Mediterranean & Grill (Reservation required)
Breakfast: 08:00–11:00 | Lunch: 12:30–16:00 | Dinner: 18:30–22:30

La Plage Restaurant — French (Reservation required)
Breakfast: 08:00–11:00 | Lunch: 12:30–16:00 | Dinner: 18:30–22:30

Anaya Restaurant — Asian (Reservation required)
Lunch: 12:30–16:00 | Dinner: 18:30–22:30

Azul Restaurant — Peruvian (Reservation required — Deluxe guests only at breakfast & lunch)
Breakfast: 08:00–11:00 | Lunch: 12:30–16:00 | Dinner: 18:30–22:30

Booking a Restaurant

Restaurants can be booked in advance via the concierge team, the concierge WhatsApp service, or the Ikos app. The WhatsApp concierge service was occasionally a little slow to confirm bookings, but otherwise worked well. My advice would be to book your preferred restaurants as early as possible, particularly La Plage and Anaya, which were consistently popular throughout our stay.

4 The Diary of a Foodie at Ikos

As we are primarily a food website, I thought a day-by-day account of our dining experience might be useful. Don’t worry — it won’t be a blow-by-blow breakdown of every course. Think of it as an informed guide from someone who ate his way enthusiastically around the resort for a week. The things I do for this website!

Day 1 — Kriti Restaurant: Traditional Greek & Cretan Cuisine

For our first evening at Ikos Kissamos, Greece seemed the obvious choice — after all, we were in Crete. Kriti is the resort’s dedicated Greek and Cretan restaurant, and like many of the dining venues here, it faces out to sea with a generous open terrace and an indoor section for those who prefer it.

The à la carte menu is served in the evening, with a buffet at breakfast and lunch. From the menu, we enjoyed a selection of mezedes to start, followed by one dish from the sea and one from the land. On the night we visited, live Greek music filled the air, accompanied by traditional dancing and, naturally, plate smashing. A lovely way to spend our first evening — and the perfect antidote to a long day of travelling.

Day 2 — Anaya Restaurant: Asian Cuisine

A casual lunch at the pool bar kept things simple during the day. For the evening, we headed to Anaya, the resort’s Asian restaurant. Inside, the décor reminded me of some of the better Asian restaurants in London — seductive lighting, a central open kitchen with counter seating, a real sense of theatre. And, of course, al fresco dining is available if the evening is kind, though the interior more than holds its own.

The menu covers a broad range of regional favourites: Thai curries, crispy duck, dim sum and more. You really do need to venture into Anaya during your stay — it is excellent. A gentle suggestion for the menu planners at Ikos: a foray into India would not go amiss. A butter chicken or a Goan fish curry would slot in beautifully alongside what is already a very strong offering.

Day 3 — Dine Out Evening in Kissamos Town

One of the cleverest ideas Ikos offer at all their resorts is the option to dine out at a selection of local restaurants — fully covered under the all-inclusive package. At Kissamos, two restaurants are available. We opted for a traditional Greek restaurant in Kissamos town, where we were collected from the hotel and delivered back afterwards.

The food was good — my sea bream was perfectly cooked and served with real care. The service was charmingly, unhurriedly Greek, which was lovely, but it did leave us wondering whether the 1 hour 50 minutes before the minibus collected us was quite enough time if the restaurant had been busier. We were fortunate that it was early in the season and relatively quiet. Worth bearing in mind.

It’s worth noting that the wine list was drawn from the Ikos wine list — a nice touch that keeps things consistent. If you fancy a change of scenery and a taste of genuine local life, the Dine Out option is one worth taking up.

Lunchtime that day we ate at the beach club, keeping it to one course each — sensible enough given the breakfast we had enjoyed and the prospect of a full evening meal ahead.

Day 4 — Dinner at La Plage: French Cuisine

We started Day 4 with breakfast at Fresco, the Italian restaurant, which operates waiter service at breakfast — a very pleasant change from the buffet. Plenty of healthy options on the menu, and my avocado with soft-boiled eggs was simple and good. Fresco dons its Italian hat properly for lunch and dinner.

For lunch, I succumbed to a burger from the pool bar. After a healthy breakfast and a spirited game of padel, I felt it was entirely justified. It was delicious.

Dinner at La Plage was a highlight of the week. Classic French dishes, including foie gras, moules, and steak tartare, with many other options to choose from, the food and service were something genuinely special. La Plage should be near the top of your list. Oh, I nearly forgot, a visit to Le Plage starts with a glass of Champagne, a nice touch.

Day 5 — Italian Lunch & Buffet Dinner

Rather than booking dinner, we decided to visit The Market Place, the resort’s buffet restaurant. The Market Place is open for breakfast and dinner, with no reservation required — a useful option when you want the flexibility of simply turning up when you’re hungry.

Before that, a bowl of seafood pasta at Fresco for lunch, with a couple of glasses of rosé, was exactly the right way to spend a warm afternoon. Simple, well-executed Italian cooking in a lovely setting. The buffet at dinner offered a wide range of choices, beautifully presented and well stocked throughout the evening. A good night.

Days 6 & 7 — Return Visits

For our final two evenings, we returned to two favourites: Anaya for the Asian menu and La Plage for the French. Both delivered again — which, to my mind, is the truest test of a good restaurant. Consistency matters.

On Day 7, breakfast at Kriti was a buffet-style affair, slightly smaller and more intimate than The Market Place, and with the sea as a backdrop. A lovely way to end the week.

A word of particular recommendation for the wine tasting. We were treated to a masterclass in Greek wines, led by the head sommelier, who accompanied his knowledge of wine with amusing stories of Greek mythology and their love of wine. It was a genuinely entertaining and educational way to spend an afternoon — and a very enjoyable one at that.

To sum up the food experience at Ikos Kissamos: a great deal is made of the restaurants, and by and large, they lived up to that billing. The dinner menus were well planned and inventive, the food well-cooked and beautifully presented. Service at dinner was consistently excellent, and the staff were genuinely warm and attentive. On the drinks side, the wines were good, and I never had to wait for a top-up — which, as regular readers will know, is something I regard as rather important.

At lunchtime, we generally preferred a lighter bite from the bar menus — partly because we were rarely sufficiently hungry after a full breakfast, and partly because the afternoon called for the pool rather than a long sit-down lunch. That said, the restaurants were busy at lunchtime with plenty on offer, we did make it into the Beach bar (great lamb cutlets) and Fresco the Italian restaurant for lunch. For breakfast, the buffet was our usual choice, though waiter service at Fresco made a very pleasant change.

5 Bars, Drinks & Entertainment

There is no shortage of places to enjoy a drink at Ikos Kissamos. The resort offers a Lobby Bar, River Village Pool Bar, Beach Bar, Deluxe Palms Village Bar, Deluxe Dunes Food Truck, Azul Bar, La Plage Bar and Beach Club Bar — with opening hours ranging from mid-morning through to midnight, depending on the venue. Room service for drinks is available 24 hours a day. Every room comes with a stocked mini bar, and all drinks are, of course, covered under the all-inclusive package.

The wine list across the restaurants is genuinely good — a thoughtful selection that includes excellent Greek wines alongside international favourites. Interestingly, the resort also offers a range of low-alcohol alternatives, which is a welcome and increasingly relevant addition to any drinks menu. Entertainment is provided through music in the bars and public areas at various times throughout the day and evening — pleasingly ambient rather than intrusive.

6 Eco Credentials

One of the things that genuinely impressed me about Ikos Kissamos was the thoughtfulness with which the resort sits within its natural environment. Eight distinct garden landscapes unfold across the site, each designed with the local ecosystem in mind. Wildflowers bloom in abundance throughout the grounds, seagrasses and coastal plants line the pathways between the villages, and the resort actively encourages local wildlife — from the butterflies and bees that dart between the flower beds to the birds that seem entirely untroubled by the guests sharing their space. Walking around the resort in the early morning is a quietly lovely experience.

The dune preservation initiatives along the beachfront were particularly noteworthy. Rather than sculpting the coastline into something unnaturally pristine, Ikos has worked to protect and maintain the natural dune system, which supports a surprisingly rich variety of plant life. Educational nature touchpoints are dotted around the resort — a lovely touch, especially for younger guests who might otherwise walk past such things without a second glance.

On a broader level, Ikos Kissamos is pursuing LEED Gold certification and operates under the brand’s own Ikos Green framework, which commits to net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, the elimination of single-use plastics, zero waste to landfill and 100% water reuse. Over 70% of the food served across the restaurants is sourced from local Cretan producers, which is a genuinely impressive commitment to the island’s agricultural community. It is the kind of quiet, well-considered environmental ethos that does not shout about itself, but is all the more impressive for it.

7 Arrival & Check-in

No standing in line at a busy reception desk here — the Ikos approach to check-in is altogether more civilised. On arrival, we were warmly greeted and shown to comfortable seating.

Staff: “Take a seat, sir and madam. Can we bring you a drink?”

Me: “A glass of champagne for my better halfwould be wonderful, thank you — and I’ll have a beer.”

A cold towel arrived to help us freshen up after the journey, followed by a relaxed ten-minute chat about the resort — what was on offer, how things worked, what we might like to try. By the time we were shown to our room, we already felt at home. And so our Ikos adventure began.

8 Keeping You Informed

Ikos keep guests well informed throughout their stay. A daily WhatsApp message covers the day’s events and entertainment, backed up by email and a printed ‘what’s on today’ sheet. In practice, it means you are never short of ideas about how to fill your day, which, I discovered, is both a blessing and a mild source of decision paralysis.

9 Swimming Pools & Beach

Ikos Kissamos has four large pools across the resort, each with an adjacent children’s pool. During our visit, there were always ample sunbeds available whenever we visited — a small but significant thing that makes a real difference to a holiday. Do note that the resort operates a sensible sunbed policy: any unoccupied sunbeds with towels or belongings left on them are cleared by staff at 09:00 and again every hour. Fair enough, I think. Having said that there was more than enough sun beds for everybody at the tme we visited.

We are not beach people but as you would expect the beach are on the resort had plenty of beds and sun shades.

When you are on your sunbed no need to worry about getting up for refreshments, the team at Ikos keep you fed and watered all day.

The Deluxe Pool and Deluxe Beach are reserved exclusively for Deluxe Collection guests. Pools are open daily from 09:00 to 20:00.

10 Kids Clubs at Kissamos

We travelled as a couple, but on our visit, as it was during term time there were mainly young children at the resort. I cannot speak from experience, but talking to parents, they were very pleased with the children’s facilities and it seemed like the little ones were having a great time.

 The Nerees Kids Club caters for little ones from eight months all the way up to eleven years, with tailored activities and facilities for each age group.

For children aged four to eleven, the club runs daily from 10:00 to 18:00 and is complimentary, making it genuinely excellent value. A lunchtime session is available for an additional 30 euros. For babies and toddlers aged eight months to three years, individual sessions are charged at 40 euros — very handy for parents who would like a quiet afternoon at the spa or a leisurely lunch without small people in attendance.

For older children and teenagers, the Just4Teens Club caters for ages twelve and above, also running daily from 10:00 to 18:00 as a complimentary service. Again, chatting to parents they were impressed with the facilities, which were excellent, and the staff were patient and enthusiastic with their charges.

Babysitting is available from 18:30 onwards at 15 euros per hour (cash only, reservation required) — so parents need not miss out on a special dinner. All of this is branded under the charming name ‘Little Guests of Ikos’, which rather sets the right tone.

11 Sports & Leisure

Sports

The resort boasts four tennis courts and two padel courts — we played padel four times during our stay, if you have not played it please give it a go, it’s great fun. There is also a volleyball court, a football pitch and a full programme of organised sporting activity running throughout the week: basketball 3v3, darts tournaments, table tennis, football and volleyball are all on the schedule, with sessions running from mid-morning to early evening. 

The Watersports Centre is open daily from 09:00 to 18:00, right on the beach. Whether you fancy paddleboarding across the bay, kayaking, or attempting to stay upright on a windsurfing board (I speak from personal experience), there is plenty to keep you busy on the water. With the backdrop of Kissamos Bay and the hills of western Crete behind you, it is a rather spectacular place to get wet.

Fitness Classes

The fitness class schedule at Ikos Kissamos is genuinely impressive — and runs seven days a week, which is more than can be said for many gyms I have paid good money to join. The mornings begin with yoga at 09:00, followed by Pilates at 10:00 and Aqua Fit at the beach pool at 11:00 — which, with the Cretan sun overhead, has to be one of the more enjoyable ways to work up a sweat. Abs & Hips, Hatha Yoga and Circuit Training fill the afternoon slots, with HIIT, TRX, Vinyasa Yoga and Power Pilates rounding out the day. There is, in short, no excuse not to arrive home fitter than you left — although I offer no guarantees given the excellence of the restaurants.

12 Spa & Gym

We had good intentions to visit the gym, but sadly I have to say we did not visit the gym apart from a look round when we arrived, our activity was reserved for the padel court, walking & bikes

The Spa and Indoor Pool is open daily from 08:00 to 20:00 (reservation required). The Gym Centre keeps the same hours, offering a well-equipped facility for those who like to maintain their routine on holiday. The Hair and Manicure Salon is open from 10:00 to 19:00 for those looking to feel a little more polished on the beach.

The standout, however, is the salt room. A session of halotherapy — breathing in the salt-infused air — is said to have real benefits for respiratory health and general relaxation, and after a morning exploring the resort, it is exactly the kind of quietly luxurious indulgence that makes an Ikos stay feel properly special. I would highly recommend building it into your day.

13 Bikes

Every Ikos resort provides complimentary use of bikes to get around the resort and the surrounding area, and Kissamos is no exception. Bikes are available to suit every age, from the tiniest guest — toddlers were having a wonderful time on their little bikes when we visited — to, as I would describe myself, the slightly older and occasionally wobblier rider. The resort’s grounds are well-suited to cycling, and bikes can also be taken beyond the resort to explore the local area. Well worth doing.

14 The Deluxe Collection

For those looking for the ultimate Ikos experience, the Deluxe Collection offers an elevated tier of luxury within the resort. Guests booking Deluxe rooms and suites benefit from exclusive access to the Deluxe Pool and Beach areas — more private and intimate spaces away from the main resort. On the Local Drive front, standard guests enjoy one complimentary day with the electric MINI Countryman; Deluxe guests get to do it twice, which feels like a worthwhile perk. Additional Deluxe benefits include a premium wine and drinks package featuring prestige champagnes on tap (my wife would have liked that perk), priority restaurant reservations and — rather appealingly — a romantic dinner on the beach.

That said, I should be transparent: we booked on the standard package, and hand on heart, I would not feel compelled to upgrade. The standard wine list was genuinely good, and we never once struggled for access to the pools, restaurants or general facilities. The Deluxe Collection is there for those who want the very best of everything, but the standard package at Ikos Kissamos is already a very fine thing indeed.

15 Conclusion

There has been no expense spared in the creation of Ikos Kissamos. The rooms, public areas and restaurants are finished to the highest standard, and the setting — on that unspoiled stretch of Kissamos Bay — is frankly difficult to beat. Overall, we had a wonderful holiday, made better still by a staff team who could not have done more to help. Without exception, they had a can-do attitude that made everything feel effortless.

The biggest endorsement I can give? So many of the guests we spoke to were returning Ikos visitors — people who had been to other resorts in the collection and come back for more. That kind of loyalty speaks volumes about the brand.

Are there negatives? In all honesty, a few. The resort had only been open a week when we visited, and with so many new staff finding their feet together, there were occasional teething problems. Small things, none of which impacted our stay in any meaningful way. Speaking to other ‘Ikos returners’, the general feeling was that the experience wasn’t quite at the level yet of an established resort — which is entirely understandable — but most were pragmatic about it and loved the resort. The improvement over the course of even our seven days was noticeable. Visit in a month’s time, and I suspect it will be running like a well-oiled machine.

One story I cannot resist sharing: during our stay, I fell into conversation with a fellow guest who spent a considerable length of time detailing her various complaints about the holiday — only to reveal, at the end of our conversation, that she had extended her stay by three days. Priceless!

Would I recommend an Ikos holiday? Without hesitation, yes. Finally, a very sincere thank you to all the staff at Ikos Kissamos who made our time there so enjoyable, so much so we have booked another Ikos holiday for next year, what better recommendation.

Review based on a 7-night stay, 6th–13th May 2026.