Kardamena's Comeback: From Party Central to Aegean Chic"

This week, I returned to Kardamena in Kos for the first time in 35 years. My last visit was seemingly a lifetime ago when I was a young 24-year-old head of finance working for Bromley-based International Leisure Group (ILG.) and doing my first resort audit.

At the time, the resort was dominated by ILG’s youth brand, 18-30, with basic self-catering accommodation and the most amazing two-bar street featuring over 100 bars. So, not surprisingly, I ended up counting more shots than beans.

How things have changed!

Kardamena never really fitted the mainstream model of mass-market tour operating because although it had 5-6 large hotels based on its outskirts, its tourism was dominated by youth tour operators using small, locally run self-catering units, with the promotion of pub crawls and booze cruises dominating.

Many of us forget that until the advent of the Internet, the primary sales tool for tour operators was the 250-page “Summer Sun” brochures, where the main photo for any hotel was its large swimming pool. A “Double-Page” spread was the ultimate goal for any hotelier, but to get this, you had to appeal to a broad spectrum of guests and operate at least one kid’s club.

After ILG collapsed during the fuel crisis triggered by the 1990 Gulf War, I moved to the North of England to become the Commercial Director of Airtours Holidays, taking personal control over the pricing of all holidays.

I remember sitting with the Hotel contracting team reviewing prices and asking them to justify why they had paid more for a higher-quality hotel when the brochure photos looked the same as the cheaper hotel down the road. Often, the only solution was to add an arbitrary “plus” to its star rating, based solely on their judgement, as nobody had even heard of peer-to-peer review sites like “Tripadvisor” then.

The pricing of the “Summer Sun” brochure required a detailed and extensive focus on previous sales and pricing relative to other hotels in a destination. However, for the specialised "Greece" brochure, space constraints necessitated consolidating self-catering accommodations into three price tiers across the entire brochure, irrespective of the resort. This simplification was justified by the assertion that "Customers cannot differentiate between properties beyond the presence of a pool”, given they all had similar “Star" ratings, and we had to fit 3-4 accommodations onto each page to have enough beds on sale to match our flight capacity.

The net effect was commoditising self-catering accommodation and providing little reward for better quality, creating a negative circle that discouraged investment.

So what has changed?

Kardamena is following a journey similar to that of Ibiza.

The major integrated tour operators have departed, and Kardamena, like many resorts, has adapted to holidaymakers' shift towards premium experiences. Post-COVID-19, average per-person spending has increased by 30% as holidaymakers prioritise quality time with loved ones, embracing higher-end holidays.

The resort has literally reinvented itself as a mid to upmarket destination for the 40-plus age group, with a raft of new “Boutique” seafront hotels offering beautifully refurbished rooms and restaurants placed on decks overlooking its gently lapping Aegean Sea.

We stayed at the “Keyma Rooms and Suits’, which integrates well into the local community, expecting its guests to frequent the numerous nearby restaurants as well as use its facilities. Combine this with multiple beach clubs that are springing up, and you will be quickly reminded of the revamped Ibiza, but at a third of the cost.

Like Ibiza, the key booking sources are now Airbnb and Booking.com, whose online brochures allow every room to be displayed individually and promote proximity to the sea rather than access to swimming pools. High-quality accommodation is rewarded with much higher room rates, creating a virtuous circle of re-investment and refurbishment.

?However, unlike Spain, the Greeks have managed to maintain their family and community spirit. The whole resort seems like a “partnership,” run by multiple generations of families who all know each other and understand the value of creating resort “repeat business” via friendly and caring customer service.

Most visitors seem to have been coming for many years and believe me; I would not be writing this recommendation unless I’d already booked my holiday rooms for next year.

?The transition, however, has been challenging. Many restauranteurs remember the old days fondly and surprisingly still praise the benefits of the resort’s larger hotels, which offer All-inclusive family facilities that attract more budget-conscious customers via Jet2 and Easyjet Holidays.

They point out that there would be fewer flights without these guests, and although they contribute less to the local economy, most All Inclusive guests still eat out once or twice a week and frequent the numerous shops that have sprung up to fill the gaps left by closing bars on Kardamena’s main streets.

Kardamena’s regeneration is far from complete, but because as a destination, it presents such great value compared to the White Isle of Ibiza, you can imagine many more 40-plus travellers trying its new re-invented holiday offering.

However, inspiringly, the locals still have other life priorities.

If you ask what they do in the quiet winter months, locals look at you strangely and remind you that this is their favourite time of year. When work is finished, they can relax by walking, swimming, or taking Pilates classes while catching up with friends.

Many ask why I don’t just join the “Digital Nomads” community springing up in the resort and stay for the rest of the summer.

I may not be ready for this yet, but Kardamena has certainly staked a claim on my digital nomad future.

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