Kos, Greece

Oku Kos

Price per night from$229.66

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR218.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Oku Kos Photos

Style

Healing property

Setting

By-the-sea Marmari

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Oku Kos is an adults-only boutique hotel in the Greek isles that uses a holism-with-a-wink approach to give guests a sense of wellbeing – perhaps unsurprising considering Kos’s historically alleviating tendencies (Hippocrates’ stomping ground and the world’s first hospital lie close by). There’s no calorie-counting or stringent soul-searching; simply beachy afternoons, rubdowns with fragrant herbs and olive oil in the spa, nourishing farm-to-fork meals (including vegan options) and a heck of a sunset to take with your digestif. And, the hotel’s eye for elevated rustic style (warm woods, rattan and wicker, stoneware), is yet another mood-lifting reason to stay.

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Facilities

Photos Oku Kos facilities

Need to know

Rooms

100, including 50 suites.

Check–Out

12 noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 2pm.

More details

Rates usually include a choice of generous breakfast spreads, morning yoga lessons and entry to the gym.

Also

So, we can’t all flee to a Grecian isle for good – life isn’t Mamma Mia, ya know? But, with the right stoneware pot, straw basket and stylishly whittled footstool, you can maintain the illusion of an elongated getaway. The hotel’s concept store has all you need to recreate its look.

Hotel closed

The hotel closes annually from 3 November to 5 April.

At the hotel

Beach, spa with a hammam and sauna, gym, concept shop, small library, laundry services, free WiFi. In rooms: flatscreen TV, wireless Marshall speakers, a minibar, coffee- and tea-making kit, free bottled water, bathrobes and slippers and free WiFi.

Our favourite rooms

For the full this-is-my-life-now experience, choose one of Oku’s three villas. They have the same stylish look as all the rooms, but come with a private pool, a terrace a group can spread out on, and a separate lounge, too. There are two bedrooms, but a solitude-seeking couple would be equally comfy. Alternatively, plump for the more intimate Suite with a Private Pool.

Poolside

There are two. The open-air, unheated freshwater pool has beckoning turquoise waters, pillowy day-beds lining the deck and frilly thatch parasols and a pavilion to provide shade – you’ll need to move fast to secure your lounging spot, but if you miss out you can decamp to those laid out on the beach. If temperatures lower, the indoor spa pool is bath-tub warm.

Spa

The spa may be petite, but it’s central to the hotel’s soul-restoring philosophy and it’s as stylish as the rest of the stay: the hammam has dove-grey tadelakt walls, perfumed plants grow around the entrance and attractive stone and wood elements abound throughout. Treatments use all-natural treatments, including those grown onsite and approved by the resident herbalist, and are designed to leave you feeling floaty and serene after. Try the signature Hippocratic anatripsis massage that uses a rhythmic ancient technique, or the Aegean scrub for silky smooth skin. Yoga and Pilates classes are held daily on the beach too, and personal trainers are on hand to motivate – the gym is probably one of the most chic we’ve seen with its mid-century-esque NOHrD work-out equipment.

Packing tips

Both active and less-active wear will come in handy during your stay.

Also

Some ground-floor rooms are suitable for guests with mobility issues and have adapted bathrooms.

Children

The patter of tiny feet is antithetical to Oku’s ‘hey, sit down, relax’ ambience, so this stay is just for adults – sorry kids.

Sustainability efforts

Dining is seasonal to ensure ingredients are locally sourced and organic (many straight from the hotel gardens), earth-kind cleaning products are used throughout, and solar panels provide power throughout the hotel in an effort to minimise water and energy waste.

Food and Drink

Photos Oku Kos food and drink

Top Table

The sunset view is first-prize here – tables are first come, first served, but fairly well spaced out on the terrace to allow everyone a gander.

Dress Code

No need to dress to the nines – you could even go as low as a three or four – but do bring a cover-up for after dark when temperatures drop.

Hotel restaurant

We like the as-you-like-it attitude of To Kima Beach Club, the hotel’s indoor-outdoor dining hub by the pool with a bar and lounging areas. Chef Michalis Chondrobilas (Mike to his friends) is passionately involved with local farms, whose produce he turns into delightful Med dishes in his open kitchen. There are Grecian classics and the sort of excellent fresh fish, country-reared meats, moreish dips, elegantly composed salads and fresh-as-can-be veggies you’d expect in this part of the world. We’d plump for the swordfish souvlaki, linguini pomodoro with three kinds of tomato, or the pork tenderloin with fava mousse. And, Asian flavours are infused through the menu too; nods to the hotel's Japanese name include sushi, sahsimi and ddishes from further afield. The degustation menu changes by the day, there’s a dedicated vegan menu (and gluten-free choices) and desserts, such as baklawa cheesecake, will thrill. 

Hotel bar

Surrounded by squishy sofas, the poolside bar sits in a pavilion with sea views. It’s as easy-breezy as the restaurant; just waft in when you get thirsty. Barkeeps have a range of potent sippers in their repertoire: say, the Highball Oaxaca Tribe with mezcal, lime and ginger beer; or the Sea Breeze with rum, rhubarb bitters and cranberry juice. However, they’re happy to work on the fly and whip you up something bespoke – we very much enjoyed our refreshing mix of vodka, basil and lime.

Last orders

Breakfast runs from 7am to 11am, lunch from 12 noon to 6pm and dinner from 7pm to 11pm, but staff are fairly free with timings. The bar is open from 7am to 1am.

Room service

You can pick and choose your in-room feast from the full menu during restaurant hours.

Location

Photos Oku Kos location
Address
Oku Kos
Sikamini, Marmari
Kos
85300
Greece

Oku Kos lies by the beach on the north shore of its namesake Dodecanese island, surrounded by grassy fields with a mountain backdrop.

Planes

The hotel is just a 20-minute drive through a picturesque cross-section of the island from Kos International Airport. Transfers can be arranged for €60 each way.

Automobiles

You can drive the length of Kos in around an hour and conditions are good, so it’s worth hiring a car if you need entertainment beyond flopping and dropping. There’s free parking at the hotel.

Other

Blue Star ferries run four services a week from Athens to Kos; but, be warned, the journey is a drawn-out nine hours plus.

Worth getting out of bed for

The hotel went to a lot of trouble to make its wellness area as aesthetically pleasing as its rooms, we love the hammam and the gym’s Scandi-style NOHrD equipment and the spa is the kind of spot where you’ll wonder where they got, say, that bronze bowl or woven hanging as you’re pampered. When you’re done head on over to the concept store to lay down some serious Euros on homewares. The bar and restaurant’s open-plan layout make it a good watch-the-world-go-by spot, and the terrace is in prime position for sunset-watching. Kos isn’t as party-hard as some of its Ioanian and Cycladic cousins, but it’s certainly where you’d want to come when you’re looking to rest and recuperate. Wellness is embedded in its bedrock – a vast healing site, the world’s first hospital, was erected here in honour of the god of healing and medicine Asclepius, and the island was home to Hippocrates, the legendary doctor whose do-no-evil oath is still sworn to. The ruins of Asklepion are some of Kos’s most impressive with colonnaded temples, former hydrotherapy baths and the medical school. But, those aren’t the only rows of weathered columns you’ll see while you’re here. Paleo Pyli’s crumbling Byzantine churches, the well-preserved steps of the Roman Odeon theatre and the ancient shrines and basilicas of the Agora are just a handful of the ancient sites giving dramatic historical context to an even more dramatic landscape. The hotel has a beach almost all to itself, but stretches of heavenly coastline are the sort of thing Kos does very well, and they don’t have names like Paradise and Magic beach for nothing. Inland, the salt lakes at Alykes and Plaka Forest with its preening peacocks are wonderfully diverting. Next door to the hotel, Erika’s Horse Farm organises unique ‘ride-and-swim’ excursions where you’ll trot along the beach and wade out flank-deep into the surf. And if you prefer a more traditional restorative, wallow in Therma Hot Springs on the south coast. Of the dinky isles orbiting Kos, Kastri is worth visiting to pose by its pretty blue-and-white church – it’s close enough to swim to – and further afield, volcanic island Nisyros has mighty hilltop monuments and intriguing regional delicacies: try chickpea meatballs, a stiff shot of koukouzina spirit, or cherry-tomato spoon sweets.

Local restaurants

Oromedon’s bougainvillea-strung roof terrace has quite the panoramic view and is especially romantic after dark. The menu errs towards traditional dishes; expect fat buttery prawns, tender pork in couscous, salads with crunch and generous blocks of feta. For languid meals till late try Barbouni, whose sun-kissed terrace overlooks the sea. Pescetarians will fare well here, because sushi, seafood platters and just beautifully cooked catches of the day are the most tempting choices. It has a deli with fine Greek produce too. And if you’d like to get dressed up, book a table at the restaurant in the Albergo Gelsomino hotel, where the likes of tuna tataki with peach and chilli and pork spare ribs drizzled in ponzu sauce are served with artistic flair.

Local bars

Sitar cocktail bar in Kos Town is low-key and romantically low-lit – twosomes should order up a flower-garnished sharing bowl of tropical punch – or a whisky flight, or one off a long list of tasty libations. 

Reviews

Photos Oku Kos reviews
Zoë Zimmer

Anonymous review

By Zoë Zimmer, Graphic artist

Oku Kos, a serene retreat on the north coast of the hideaways namesake Dodecanese isle, is dedicated to slow living and mindfulness, which feels very on-brand considering its locale’s healthful history – native son and father of modern medicine Hippocrates would approve; after all, a massage in the spa, inspired by ancient practice, is named after him. Its setting is quite the tonic, too, located right on the pretty-much-private beach, just a short ride from the airport. This meant we arrived just in time to sip a sunset cocktail as we checked in. Sitting out in the dwindling evening light on the terrace outside the lobby (complete with a resident cat) and smelling the fragrant herbs from the nearby gardens, it was hard not to feel instantly relaxed from the minute we arrived at Oku. 

In fact, everything at Oku feels like it was designed intentionally to be peaceful (an ambience aided by the fact that this is an adults-only hotel – sorry kids). The pace and ease with which everything is done here means you’re practically engineered to do nothing except chill out, even the rooms’ interiors (earthy hues, warm woods, stormy grey stone and tactile linens – a departure from Greece’s typically all-white style) are calming. There was even a hammock in our villa, and if that doesn’t set the tone for unwinding then I don’t know what does. 

The main communal area of the hotel has a really beautiful open deck that looks towards the sea, which is also where the restaurant is set, with sparklingly blue views. Food here is a kind of Greek-Asian fusion (sounds odd, but it actually works really well), and the seasonal menu is all organic and locally sourced, with a lot of the produce coming straight from Oku’s very own gardens. It’s the kind of alchemically brilliant Grecian cooking that somehow manages to be healthy yet irresistible, and I was particularly taken by their grilled avocado drizzled in truffled shoyu, which I’ve since tried to recreate at home, and failed.

In the evenings, the hotel offers some really unique things to do. On one night they held an outdoor movie screening, and on another a local astronomer gave a talk about the constellations (which are brilliantly spottable here) and regaled us with stories from Greek mythology. Or, if celestial bodies and deities aren’t your thing, you can just hang out by one of the lit fire pits after dinner. 

No holiday with relaxation as its core value would be complete without a spa, so I was happy to spend some time in Oku’s hammam or get rubbed, scrubbed and wrapped in such a healthy amount of olive oil and handpicked herbs that you could have served me for lunch. They also have a dedicated menu of CBD-infused massages and a gym where stylish Scandi equipment makes a work-out feel like an arthouse movie montage – although, admittedly, I was happy to spend no time in there at all.

All of the staff at Oku were so friendly and helpful; often at breakfast one of the managers would come over just to check how everything was going, and the staff at the beach bar didn’t bat an eyelid when I asked them if it was possible to turn the music down a bit (because apparently I’m that person now…). And one of the things I loved most about Oku Kos is the beach being right on your doorstep. Most days, after breakfast, we’d stake out two sunloungers and then – well, not a lot – that was where we’d be until it was time to go back up to the deck for our daily sunset cocktail. Although, between the beach, the communal pool and the private pool in our villa, there was no shortage of scenic settings. 

Apparently, there were ancient ruins and temples nearby, but I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t see a single one of them, because between the incredible beach, pools, spa, restaurant, and concept store (where you can tell how confident the hotel is of their taste in covetable things), I had very little desire to set foot outside of this stylish retreat ever again. I promise that next time I go I will pry myself off the sand and the cocktail out of my hand for long enough to see some local culture, but as for this time, my very chilled out stay at Oku Kos felt fabulously curative due to the nothing-but downtime – here’s to Hippocrates.

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Price per night from $219.12