Today I decided to share the different accomodation we stayed during our recent Greek island-hopping trip in Ios and Paros. Each place we stayed at was unique in its own aspect and we enjoyed each and every stay thoroughly. Now we’re passing on the recommendation to you and hope it will inspire you to book the same hotel for your next trip to Ios and Paros!
Levantes Ios Boutique Hotel
This boutique hotel is located near Mylopotas Beach, which is a pleasant 8 minute downhill walk (15 minute uphill?). However, as with all of Ios, it is recommended to have some form of transportation (either a car, scooter or quad) to get around. There is a public bus; however, it is quite infrequent and only departs at certain times throughout the day. I booked a scooter for my husband and I from Anemos moto rentals located in Ios City Center – highly recommended with fair prices.
I originally booked the Classic Double with Partial Sea View for €103/$125USD but upon check-in they gave me a free upgrade to a Superior Double Full Sea View room (thanks Levantes!) probably because it was low season and there were rooms available. Nevertheless, I was very grateful for the upgrade and the room turned out to be very pleasant. I loved the design and the crochet pillows that were provided. It was a hot day and the room was cool and pleasant to stay in during the afternoon. I had a little garden in front of my room which gave me views of the beach below.
The room was very spacious and I had more than enough room to put my two pieces of carry on luggage and two other bags I was carrying as well. Furthermore, when we arrived at the hotel for check in at 11AM, I origianlly thought that we could just drop off our luggage, but they said our room was ready and even allowed us to enter our room even though check-in was at 3PM. What awesome customer service! They even asked us whether we had breakfast and invited us to enjoy their breakfast buffet which was still available for in-house guests. 5-star customer service there too! I booked this hotel through hotels.com and I gave them a great 5-star rating 🙂
The pool was open early in the morning at 8AM and I decided to go for an early swim & take some photos. It was completely empty in the morning (of course! who would want to swim at 8AM?); however, we probably came too early as it was still pretty cloudy in the morning. It was quite chilly and too cold anyway (this was such a bad idea). Even though I didn’t get to swim, I loved the view from the pool — you can practically see all of Mylopotas and the beach below.
About half an hour later, guess what! The sky cleared up and the clouds somehow disappeared and the sun came out! It was still too cold to swim so I just took some photos by the pool.
Ios Palace Hotel
Another recommended accommodation in Ios is called Ios Palace & Spa Hotel located right beside Mylopotas Beach (literally just a 40 second walk). When they say “Palace” hotel, it is literally like a palace with over 3 floors of rooms built on a cliff. Don’t worry about having to climb a series of steps in hot scorching summer weather, thankfully, they have elevators! This was very handy because my room was on the 3rd floor and front desk was on ground floor
Customer service wise, I thought everyone was polite and helpful, especially the breakfast staff who helped serve us. Breakfast was included in our room price which turned out to be a buffet (remember we came during COVID times)! Each staff would tend to one customer – literally you just walk around, point to whatever you want and they will help grab the food for you. For drinks we had a choice of freshly squeezed orange juice or coffee – or both if you preferred. We also asked for extra bottles of water which the hotel provided sparingly as we were planning on hiking to secret places – Flat Rock Bay and Never Bay – that same day.
I booked one of their standard rooms (Standard Room £80.76/ $111 USD – prices for low season in September) because I knew that I would be spending all my time outdoors. I did spend some time enjoying the hotel’s two out of three different pools all located on different levels – make sure to find them all!
