Lis-bon appetit..
THE WELCOME
The grand lobby entrance was spotlessly clean, airy and bright. The breathtaking view over the Aegean Sea stopped us in our tracks. We were led to the sunny terrace and sat down with a complimentary cocktail.
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
If you are looking to explore, Kos town is a couple of miles away and is easily accessible by bus for a couple of euros. Buggies are also available to hire near the Grecotel complex, which would set you back around £50 for the day. In Kos Town you will find ancient ruins, affordable shops, plenty of dining options and great nightlife. Or take a boat trip to Bodrum, which is just a stone’s throw across the calm Aegean. A romantic evening in Zia to watch the sunset is also a must.
THE ROOM
Our large, luxury suite had a separate double bedroom, en suite bathroom and living/ dining area with tea-making facilities and a telly. Situated on the top floor, we had dreamy, panoramic sea views. But there is accommodation suitable for all budgets and sizes here, from your double rooms to bungalow maisonettes.
THE FOOD
You will never go hungry with five amazing restaurants. The Premium Plus all-inclusive option includes a big selection of buffet food and fresh Greek souvlaki and crepes at the pool bar. The a la carte restaurant offers Greek dining at its very best.
THE SERVICE
Five star. Staff were extremely friendly and helpful. We also enjoyed the fresh fruit that was regularly brought to our room.
LOVED
The big pool areas – finding a sunbed was never a problem – and the sea views, which can be marvelled at from most spots on the complex. The three island boat trip was also a brilliant day out.
HATED
Would have liked some more chill-out music around the pool and restaurant areas. BOTTOM LINE
From £115pn including American buffet breakfast in a garden view double room. CHECK IT OUT kosimperial.com. THE easiest way to discover the best food a city has to offer is to go on a walking tour – and Eating Europe does some of the best.with walks in London, Amsterdam, Prague, Paris, Rome, Naples, Strasbourg and Florence, it has added Lisbon to its tours of delights. Go on a gastronomic journey through the Baixa and Mouraria districts, tasting as you go. eatingeurope.com. KENT is known as the garden of England, with some of the UK’S best growing conditions. A hundred years ago city-dwellers flocked here for working holidays picking fruit. Today, Kent’s liquid sunshine is increasingly in casks, in bottles and on the vine.
Free cheers Faversham festival
Originally Kent was hop country, its rolling downs trellised with hop poles and vines. These days, with global trade and global warming, most brewers get their hops from further afield.
But the hop tradition is still celebrated in the Faversham Hop Festival, a street festival with live entertainment, a funfair, a hop blessing, Morris dancing and tours at Shepherd Neame, one of the largest traditional brewers in the land. It runs on August 31 and September 1 and is free. See favershamhopfestival.org.
Fresh beer Green fortnight
Remember Beaujolais nouveau? Well now there is a seasonal ale made from green hops, available for a short period from the end of summer. Most hops are kiln-dried after picking and mid-august into early September is harvest time for those small areas of hops still growing in Kent. It means for a very limited period there are fresh hops available to Kentish brewers, and they have to be made into beer within 12 hours of being picked.
The resulting green hop beer is available from several of the county’s craft breweries and is the focus of a Green Hop Beer Fortnight at the end of September, with a series of special events and a map that details the participants. See kentgreenhopbeer.com.
Micropubs Herne Bay
In this former hop hotspot, micropubs are prolific. They are defined as “a small freehouse which listens to its customers, mainly serves cask ales, promotes conversation and shuns all forms of electronic entertainment”. And while traditional pubs are closing down, these intimate owner-operated ale houses are opening up on many a high street.
There are more than 700 countrywide, with a high concentration in Kent.
The very first is the Butcher’s Arms in Herne Bay, a small pew-lined salon that opened in a former butcher’s shop back in 2005.
Its size is ideally suited to a maximum of 18 customers and there is no formal bar. Instead, owner Martyn Hillier taps the ale from casks in a chilled room out the back.
Micropubs like this are sociable places where convivial conversation between people who do not necessarily know each other is the order of the day. See micropub.co.uk.
To Whit to woo Whitstable
As this seaside town grew more popular with trendies it became known as Notting Hill on sea. It has a working harbour backed by a jigsaw of fisherman’s cottages and net lofts, many converted to weekend retreats.
Big attractions here are the oysters and sunsets, with pop-up bars along the seafront and fresh fish sold direct from fishing boats on Saturday mornings.
Judging by the couples-in-arms, it looks like a weekend break for boho This quietly distinguished beach resort with ornamental gardens and wrought iron balconies really comes alive in summer, th thanks to its sheltered sands.
It was much loved by Dickens, who wrote p part of Nicholas Nickleby here. Ronnie Corbett used to have a holiday home in town, and the Two Ronnies’ four candles s sketch was supposedly inspired by H Harrington’s ironmongery store in