Rena Studios

“An oasis of peace and quiet”

This place is a truly charming throwback to the Greek island holidays of days gone by, but with a few 21st century upgrades. Traveling on my own for a recharge and looking for a laid-back quiet week away, I couldn’t have found a better place in Kos; an Oasis of peace and quiet. Firstly the proprie… more

This place is a truly charming throwback to the Greek island holidays of days gone by, but with a few 21st century upgrades. Traveling on my own for a recharge and looking for a laid-back quiet week away, I couldn’t have found a better place in Kos; an Oasis of peace and quiet. Firstly the proprietor Cosmas is a charming example of an invested owner, he and his brother Dimitri simply couldn’t do enough to help and nothing was a problem for them. The fact that I met people returning to Rena Studios for the umpteenth time told me as much about the people running it as it did about the place itself. The throwback: The accommodation is traditional, basic and typically Greek. No TV or minibar, no bath and no frills. I found mine to be clean and everything did what it was supposed to do…..the shower head brought back some memories as it danced around the bathroom soaking everything in sight the first time I switched it on. The upgrades: The room has air conditioning at a small fee and was a must for me in the middle of August so budget €7 a day if you want to stay cool. WiFi in my room was always available but I was near the office and others weren’t so lucky….its free if you’re close enough to reception. The pool is fantastic - clean and shallow and not busy at all - it is salt water so chemical-free too. Food at the bar was excellent, cooked fresh to order and, along with the drinks, reasonably priced. The beach is a five minute walk away and the nearest supermarket and tavern a further five minutes away. I got a bike for €20 for the week and a gentle ten minute flat ride on the immaculate cycle path took me to Kos Town. All in all this was ideal for my needs and I wouldn't hesitate to go back there in the future. If you have young kids, or you want evening entertainment on tap, bring your own.

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“amazing studios.”

Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by this hotel Do no look at google maps for pictures, they are from dec 2011 and do not paint the real picture of what this studio is like as lots of new hotels have been built around the area., its stunning, sunny pool allday, always have a sunbed everyday. An… more

Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by this hotel Do no look at google maps for pictures, they are from dec 2011 and do not paint the real picture of what this studio is like as lots of new hotels have been built around the area., its stunning, sunny pool allday, always have a sunbed everyday. And the owners two brothers are the perfect hosts, and the food they do is very good. Ill miss my usual mythos and gyros at 1pm. I went with just me and my daughter, yes the rooms are basic, but what do you need a room for on holiday other than to sleep and shower in, its 7 euros a day for the air conditioning, but its well worth paying as its very hot. The walk to kos town is do able in 25mins, but there Is a bus the number 2 that takes you there, never on time, but only 1.50euros each to get to kos town, lambi beach is literally a 15mins walk away and on the walk there is a great supermarket and some great tavernas which do some nice food, found a gem of a restaurant called meltemia which is across from the closest beach to rena. And has a supermarket next door. All in all, if you go expecting the ritz as a room, you will be disappointed, if you go knowing what you are going to get you will have such a fantastic time and the pool is spotless, and the owners knowledge of the area is astounding, you can hire pedal bikes through them. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at rena, and my daughter wants to go back again mainly because it was like having a villa we had that much of the pool to ourselves, yet the place was fully booked. If you are having second thoughts, don’t. just book it.

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“Lovely friendly and quiet break :-)”

What a lovely little spot Rena Studios is! The staff (Cosmas and Dimitri - brothers) are just lovely and continually go the extra mile for guests - even in October when they have not had one single day off since the start of the season in early March! So friendly and helpful. I'm sure it gets very… more

What a lovely little spot Rena Studios is! The staff (Cosmas and Dimitri - brothers) are just lovely and continually go the extra mile for guests - even in October when they have not had one single day off since the start of the season in early March! So friendly and helpful. I'm sure it gets very busy in high season but going in October was perfect for me - I wanted a relaxing break in the sun, to swim, snorkel and explore - and that's what I got with bells on. I mostly travel alone and enjoy that, I did actually go with a friend this time but turns out we are chalk and cheese when it comes to hols so I struck out on my own and loved it. The good bits - Rena is perfectly placed for Kos Town, but in a lovely quiet spot just 5 minutes from a beautiful beach which is quiet and relaxing. No sunbed fighting, no loud music - glorious. To walk into town it's about 30 minutes, there is a short cut which takes you down a lovely avenue, which would make it quicker, but I don't understand some reviews I have seen which say it's 'miles away' - it really isn't. Rena is just outside Lambi Beach too which has many shops and restaurants, and lovely beaches. Buses outside the apartments are regular but to be honest I didn't use them - I did what everybody else was doing and hired a bike! Having not been on one for 20 or so years I took to it like a duck to water and loved it! Kos is built for cycling - very flat with great cycle tracks throughout the town and plenty of places to leave the bike when you want to explore. Perfect! In high season I guess the cycle lanes may get blocked with drunken tourists but in October it was pretty clear, and cycling into town took around 12 minutes. Bike hire cost me 5 euros a day at Rena and I had it for 5 days - I could have negotiated a rate but to be honest I didn't try. It was hardly expensive! Food at Rena is lovely and cooked fresh to order, very good prices too. Lovely cappuccino was 3.5 euros and a bottle of Alfa was 4. No complaints here! The pool area is lovely, salt water pool and beautifully clean and chemical-free and as I said, the sea just across the road - lovely! There's a huge Konstantinos supermarket about 15 mins' walk away with everything you could need - quicker on the bike ;-). There is a smaller one closer too. Kos Town is lovely and I visited a few times. Such a lovely friendly vibe. Do yourself and favour and visit Patrikos for your evening dinner! The not so good bits - many of the rooms are dated and could use a refurb, there's a small area for cooking with 2 rings plus a kettle and a few bits of crockery and mugs, glasses etc. Not over the top but all I needed. I don't go away to cook in the apartment and it did me perfectly fine but I know some people expect more. (If you expect more - pay more. I got my place for 17 euros a night so it's all good!) The toilet and shower arrangement is a bit odd, it's a very small bathroom and the shower is next to the toilet, there is no shower hook so you have to hold it up to shower yourself but it's no big deal and stops you wasting a ton of their carefully solar heated water. There are no frills so you need to take (or buy very cheaply) some shower gel and shampoo. Again I am confused about reviews saying no towel change etc. I think you get back what you give in these family run places - I enjoyed some nice chats with the cleaner lady - I found her helpful and friendly, and my apartment was kept clean with nice fresh towels every day. Maybe making a bit of an effort and treating people with respect pays off? Just a thought! Other than that, the air con is extra (I didn't need it) and if there are any safety deposit boxes they will be in reception (I didn't need one - I've never felt safer in my life). If you are a fan of posh hotels with posh price tags you won't find it posh enough here, but if you want good old fashioned friendly service, great food and a relaxing holiday with an amazing beach and walking distance to Kos Town - get booking! (One caveat - don't book with Stayforlong - they don't answer queries and don't deal with complaints about their service either). I will be back to Rena! I promised all the little sea fishes and I like to keep my promises <3

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“Good pool area”

Cons: Very nice pool area and sunbeds were free not like in other hotels that you have to fight for sunbed. Nice bar around the pool with good food and good prices. Cheaper then in restaurants. We were paying 3.80e for Large Mythos were in restaurant would be 4.50/5e. The owner are very friendly. G… more

Cons: Very nice pool area and sunbeds were free not like in other hotels that you have to fight for sunbed. Nice bar around the pool with good food and good prices. Cheaper then in restaurants. We were paying 3.80e for Large Mythos were in restaurant would be 4.50/5e. The owner are very friendly. Good size rooms. What we didn't like: The hotel is very old and need renovation but you get what you pay for and we were completely fine with this. Just the toilets we had room number 10 for 7 days and the room was very nice but the toilet was disaster. It was so small and dirty. you have toilet beside the shower and its so small you can shower while using toilet :D We have extended our stay for additional 4 nights and were moved to room number 1. nice room it was renovated and the bathroom as well so we were pretty happy there. The cleaning was not great, the cleaner kept walking in the room and checking if we left which is not nice someone could be sitting naked. She was so noisy.. Everyone need privacy on holidays not to worry if the cleaner will enter from no where the room. The towels were never changed which was disappointing having the same towels for 7 days they only change the towel when we change the room. I understand its 2 star hotel but the towels should be changed at least 2 times per week. Same with bed sheets never changed the cleaner only made the bed so it looked as fresh but it was the old sheet for a whole week. I cant imagine staying 2 weeks in the same room gross. The hotel is very far away from the city we try walking for the 1st 2 days but its impossible my advise rent a bike its 20e for whole week. We rented scooter it was 20e per day and it was great. There is bus stop 3min from the hotel which was handy. The bus is usually late by 10/15min. The beach beside hotel is not nice and have a lot of rubbish and seaweed. The nearest normal beach was around 25min walk. We asked to stay longer in the room I have advised that we will pay extra as our flight was at 11pm and we had to exit the room at 11:30am. They said they cant let us to stay in the room as someone is moving in. We checked and no one was in the room we took taxi at 7:30pm and still the room was empty which was disappointing because this ruined our last day. Overall the hotel need to focused more on cleaning and providing fresh towels/bedsheets. Also tell the cleaner people on holidays need privacy. Other then this it was good stay and cheap stay you get what you pay for.

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