A Mostly Positive Stay with Some Disappointments
We recently stayed at Ikos, Porto Petro for nine nights, and overall, our experience was positive. The rooms were spotless, the food was fantastic, and the service was generally good, though a bit inconsistent between restaurants. The views were stunning as well. However, having stayed at Ikos Aria before, it's hard not to compare the two, and unfortunately, Porto Petro didn't quite match up.
We booked a deluxe room and requested a ground-floor option because of our daughter's Autism and the safety concerns with stairs or lifts as she is a climber. However, to our surprise, the "ground floor" required us to either go downstairs or use a lift. The outdoor area was just okay with a partial sea view (as seen in our photo), so if you need direct pool access or accommodate a wheelchair, the first floor might be better.
The deluxe drinks were underwhelming. The "premium" brands were not what we’d call premium, and certain items, like a red wine my husband liked, could only be accessed at Seasons, the deluxe guests' restaurant. At Aria, staff would have gone the extra mile to get it for us anywhere, which was not the case here. Similarly, breakfast was limited—our child wanted donuts one morning, but since they weren't available at the restaurant we were dining at, it simply wasn't an option. At Aria, staff would accommodate such requests, which we missed here.
Another issue was the deluxe pool, which was green for the first four days of our stay. It clearly wasn't being maintained properly, and you couldn't even see your feet at the bottom. We ended up using the family pool, which was cleaner and less crowded.
During our stay, it was our daughter's birthday, so we arranged for dinner by the beach and requested balloons and a cake. Unfortunately, there were no balloons upon arrival, and when they eventually brought some, they looked quite old and dull. The cake was also forgotten until the very end, when a waitress ran after us as we were leaving. Fortunately, our daughter was happy to find some balloons tied to her bed when we returned to our room.
We dined out for two nights. One restaurant, Es Bergant, was fabulous, but the other in Cala D'Or was awful, so be mindful of your choices. On a positive note, our favorite restaurant at the resort was Olivia—absolutely fabulous! The Beach Club was great for lunch, and Ouzo was lovely any time of the day since we adore Greek cuisine.
Shoutouts to Daniel for organizing things for us, Caitlin and Nikos from Seasons, and the English lady at the Porto Petro Bar (unfortunately, I can't recall her name). While the stay was enjoyable, there were enough shortcomings that kept it from being a five-star experience.