OKU Kos: an adults-only village of cubist houses on its own beach

OKU Kos is an adults-only beach house at Sikamini, Marmari, north coast of Kos, laid out as a village. One and two-storey cubist houses stand among gardens and pavilions, and the 100 rooms and suites are spread through them as what OKU calls a village-style collection of private sanctuaries. The house keeps its own stretch of beach, and the dunes run up behind the rooms. The minimum guest age is 16.

OKU Hotels has houses on Ibiza, on Kos and in Andalusia, with a fourth coming in Bodrum, and Kos is the Greek one. OKU is taken from the Japanese idea of inner space. On Kos the building takes from traditional Greek island architecture, which is where the cubes, the gardens and the pavilions come from.

The ground

Kos International (KGS), 15 minutes by car, is the nearest airport. From there the way in runs 8.5 kilometres along the Epar.Od.Ko-Kefalou, past two roundabouts, to a signposted left turn and the hotel road. Kos Old Town, the mountain village of Zia and the ancient healing temple of the Asklepion are each within an easy drive. In front of the hotel the beach is secluded, and the grounds behind it are wide enough for the village plan to spread.

The rooms

Classic rooms and bungalows are on the ground floor of the cubes, about 32 square metres inside, each opening onto a private terrace under a wooden pergola with the gardens in front. The roof terrace rooms are on the top floor, close to the dunes and the beach club, the same 32 square metres inside, with lounge seating and a hammock on the terrace above; the sea view versions look over the Aegean.

Junior suites with a shared pool run to about 45 square metres, with a dressing area, an indoor living room and floor-to-ceiling doors onto a terrace and a pool shared with one or two neighbouring suites. One-bedroom suites with private pool are about 65 square metres, each with a living area, a private garden around the water and unobstructed views of the sea. Interiors across the house set mid-century pieces against rough natural textures and handmade accessories, which OKU calls bohemian minimalism.

The villas

Three beachfront two-bedroom villas stand directly facing the sand, each with 100 square metres inside and 75 outside. Both bedrooms are en suite with king-size beds, the first-floor one has a roof terrace facing the sunset, and the ground below holds gardens, direct beach access and a private 8-metre pool. A villa takes four adults, with the option of an extra bed in the living room.

The spa

Kos was the home of Hippocrates and the birthplace of healing, and the spa is built on that lineage. The facilities are an indoor quiet pool, hammam, sauna and treatment rooms, the hammam under a dome and the sauna glass-walled onto a courtyard. Therapists work with local ingredients and long-established techniques, and the treatment menu carries a signature treatment based on the island’s Hippocratic traditions. The spa is open daily from 9am to 5pm. A gym stands alongside it, and yoga runs twice a day, on the beach and on the yoga shala.

The table

To Kima is the one restaurant and the communal hub of the day, set between the beach and the main pool, with an open kitchen, a central bar and terraces on the pool side and the beach side. The name is the Greek word for wave. Breakfast is included in every stay. Lunch is all-day and casual, and dinner turns to sharing dishes, fresh salads and grills, local and Mediterranean with a fusion twist, with a vegan menu of its own. The bar looks over the dunes to the water and runs late with a DJ. People who are not staying can eat here too: a table at To Kima can be booked from outside, as can a limited number of day passes to the hotel’s facilities. Both need booking in advance.

Who is this for

OKU Kos suits couples and friends travelling without children, and anyone who likes a hotel they can walk about in. OKU builds the place around barefoot ease, slow living and mindfulness, and the mood holds to that: unhurried, quiet and low to the ground, with the gardens doing the work a lobby usually does. Beyond the sand the island opens up on foot, by e-bike, on horseback or by boat, from ancient ruins and natural wonders to water sports off the northern shore.