Aqua Blu Hotel & Spa

The Aqua Blu, on the Greek island of Kos in the Dodecanese, is a hotel so finely tuned to its gorgeous beach setting that you could almost forget people come here for the island’s fascinating ancient history, too. Kos is famous as the birthplace of Hippocrates, who founded his school here (and along with it, Western medicine) in the 5th century BC. Not that one needs an excuse for the sort of vacation that involves a cocktail or few, an umbrella-shaded lounger and a very near view of the sea, but still, there’s some satisfaction in having all that and a high-minded excursion to make, too.

Fortunately, a visit to the ruins leaves plenty of time for relaxing by the beach, whose soft sand and views of mountainous islands rising from the Aegean beckon from right outside the hotel. As popular as the beaches here are, though, enjoying the view from the hotel’s pool, surrounded as it is by day beds and palm trees, or from the privacy of your own terrace might be the better experience. All of the rooms have at least one floor-to-ceiling window with views of either the sea or, in the case of the pool rooms, of your own private pool. Sunny modern interiors, a mostly bright white color scheme and the spacious, open layouts all have the effect of drawing attention back to the water.

Looking out at the sea from the room, or from the beach, or the lively bar or restaurant, it’s easy to understand how the hotel chose its name — and hard to believe, if we want to put our high-minded history-buff hats back on, that the ancient Greeks had no word for the color blue.

Please note: Aqua Blu Hotel & Spa is open seasonally from April through October.

How to get there:
Aqua Blu Resort & Spa is approximately 5 minutes by car from Kos' port and 35 minutes from the airport. Ferries from Bodrum take approximately 1-2.5 hours (depending on the boat) and 2-3 hours from Rhodes (Rodos port).