We stayed for one week in one of the Stamatia apartments on the top floor, which offered amazing views of the beach and surrounding Kefalos.

The apartments are set off the main road of Kefalos, up a small, gradual hill setting it 5-10 minutes away from the beach, restaurants and bars.  This is a bonus as some bars can be quite noisy at night on the main road.  Locals' scooters and coaches can be heard still; however doors can be shut to reduce noise.

The apartment itself was very light, clean and spacious, however simple as are all Greek apartments.  Large sliding doors open out onto a balcony, with shutters and a net curtain to provide some privacy.

Our room was equipped with adequate cooking utensils; however we didn't do any cooking.

All apartments are cleaned 3 times weekly, with towels and bedding changed twice a week.

The apartments don't have direct access to a swimming pool, however First Choice organised use of a local hotel pool.  This is just a small 3 minute walk down the road.

On departure, we had to leave our luggage with the owners of the apartments as our flight was not until 4.30 the following morning.  We had to leave the room by 12 midday, which caused problems as we didn’t have a room to shower or change in for over 14 hours.  However, our room was ready for us when we first arrived, meaning we didn’t have to wait around at all.

We would definitely consider returning to the Stamatia studios if we visit Kos again.

After a week spent on Kefalos beach, we were very grateful of the lush sea and breeze to cool us a little.

While the beach we spent our time on was pebbly - shingle (which was uncomfortable to walk on without flip-flops, especially in the midday heat), we spent all our time on sun beds (5 Euros for 2 beds and umbrella for a whole day) right by the sea.

The sea was perfect for us all day, as it was very cool.  It soon became very deep, meaning you had to swim rather than walk on pebbles; however there was still shallow water in which you can play.

There are plenty of water sports available to try out, ranging from hiring a Pedalo (around 10 Euros for an hour), jet ski (30 Euros for 15 minutes) to water skiing, banana boats, ringos, parascending, wakeboarding and other water sports (http://www.baywatchwatersports.com/).

There are plenty of bars and restaurant/cafes along the beach front and along side roads, offering a variety of food and drinks to suit everyone.  They are all very cheap - the two of us never spent over 6 euros for lunch (about £4, so £2 pp!!!), including drinks.

The beach is a great place to be during the day and/or at night.  We spent many late afternoon/evenings on the beach and returned to local restaurants on the sea front for our evening meal.