"We’ve just returned from a week's stay at Aqualand Resort Corfu from 3rd–10th August. We’re a family of four with two teenage children aged 13 and 15, and we travelled with another couple and their 13-year-old daughter.
Overall, we had a really enjoyable holiday. The hotel is nice and the waterpark is brilliant, particularly for families, but like anywhere there are a few compromises and things that could definitely be improved.
Our room was really spacious. We had a private mezzanine with a double bed, which was lovely, although the staircase up to it is quite steep and a little rickety. The bathroom is downstairs, so navigating the stairs in the middle of the night can be interesting – especially after a few cocktails!
The bathroom itself was large and clean and the shower was excellent. We also had a balcony overlooking the pool, which was surprisingly quiet at night.
The main living area had a TV, desk, phone and kettle. The kids' beds were comfortable and we even had a spare single bed.
Rooms are cleaned daily apart from Sundays, and the cleaning staff were excellent – friendly, hardworking and always pleasant.
Pool & waterpark
There were plenty of sunbeds available throughout our stay. There was none of the usual mad early-morning scramble to claim one, and there are large umbrellas providing plenty of shade.
The main pool is lovely, but the wave pool was probably our favourite. It almost feels like being at the beach without the hassle of sand between your toes! There are free rubber rings to use in the waves, which is a great touch, and the area seemed very well supervised by lifeguards.
The waterpark itself is brilliant and kept our teenagers entertained throughout the day. The rides are great and, during our stay, the queues moved very quickly, so the kids could get plenty of goes on the slides.
One downside is that you can't take the hotel's all-inclusive food or drinks into the waterpark, so you have to keep trekking back and forth to the hotel if you want something to eat or drink.
The poolside snack bar is good, serving things such as hot dogs, toasties, chips, sandwiches, wraps, biscuits and cakes.
The pool bar was generally good and usually had more than one member of staff serving. There are also activities during the day including water polo, darts and table tennis, as well as pool tables.
Food & restaurant
The restaurant can get extremely busy and isn't always the most relaxing experience.
Breakfast in particular can be chaotic if you arrive after around 8:30am, although it does quieten down again towards the end of service. Despite travelling as a group of seven, we always managed to find somewhere to sit together.
There was plenty of choice at breakfast: fruit including melon, oranges and grapefruit, cereals, toast and the usual continental options. The cooked breakfast included bacon, eggs, fried eggs and sausages. The scrambled eggs were incredibly salty when we tried them, and the sausages varied between tiny tinned-style ones and sliced pepperoni-style sausage.
Lunch and dinner were always varied and we never struggled to find something to eat. There was usually a selection of meat, fish, pasta, potatoes and vegetables, alongside some local dishes.
There's also a children's section with the usual favourites such as chips, pizza and chicken nuggets.
The desserts were quite cream-heavy, although the rice pudding served in the morning was lovely. The ice cream was great and definitely a favourite with the kids.
Evening entertainment
This was probably our biggest disappointment.
The entertainment area is semi-open-air on the second floor and was absolutely boiling in the evening – at times we found it almost unbearable.
The entertainment was also heavily geared towards younger children, with things such as the kids' disco. With three teenagers aged 13–15, there wasn't really anything aimed at them or at adults.
We were genuinely surprised there wasn't more evening entertainment such as live music, singers, a band or even a disco where families, adults and youngsters could have a dance, enjoy music or be entertained. We were aware a week prior to our holiday that the evening entertainment was very limited, so we made our own fun either in the reception bar with games, or took drinks back to our balcony and listened to music.
Theo’s Boat Trip:
We also booked Theo’s Boat Trip during our stay. This was definitely an experience – some parts were brilliant and others could have been much better.
The boat itself was comfortable and the onboard bar was excellent, with plenty of choice.
The first main stop was at a beach on mainland Greece. It was absolutely boiling when we visited and there was very little escape from the heat. You have to pay separately for the sunbeds and umbrellas, which, given the temperature and the fact you're already on a paid excursion, left us feeling a little exploited.
There was a closed building on the beach with picnic tables outside. Had these been shaded, they would have provided a much more comfortable area for everyone to sit and eat.
The food itself was lovely – BBQ chicken, kebab and Greek salad served on the beach – but because of the intense heat and lack of shade, we found it difficult to properly relax and enjoy it.
Things improved massively at the Blue Lagoon, which was easily the highlight of the trip. The water was beautiful and everyone had a great time swimming.
Theo, the captain, is mad as a bag of frogs – in the best possible way! 😂 Our kids loved the entertainment and the water fight he organised. There are also slides from the boat into the sea and you can jump into the water from the top deck, which was great fun.
Overall, we're glad we did the trip and the kids really enjoyed themselves. The Blue Lagoon and the fun onboard were fantastic; we'd just have enjoyed the beach stop much more if adequate shade had been provided.
Getting out & Corfu Town:
The hotel provides a free shuttle bus into Corfu Town twice a day, with morning and evening options, as well as transport to a local beach. This is a really useful addition, particularly because the resort itself is fairly isolated.
We took the evening shuttle into Corfu Town and absolutely loved it. It's beautiful, with loads of little streets, shops, bars and places to eat and explore.
Our only disappointment was that we couldn't stay longer. We'd have loved a few more hours to wander around, have something to eat and enjoy the town later into the evening without watching the clock for the return bus.
We looked at getting a taxi back instead so that we could stay later, but were quoted around €60 one way, which was difficult to justify.
Corfu Town was actually one of our favourite parts of the holiday, and if the hotel offered a later return shuttle – even as a paid option – we'd definitely have taken advantage of it.
Getting out locally:
We also walked into the small local village a couple of times, which was a really welcome change from staying within the resort.
We stopped for drinks at the Spider Bar and really liked it. The beer was noticeably better than at the hotel and, more importantly in that heat, was served in an ice-cold glass! There was also much more choice, including cider, iced lattes, iced tea and other drinks.
It was just nice to sit somewhere with a bit of atmosphere. They had a TV showing football and some music playing, and both the waitress and barman were absolutely lovely and made us feel very welcome.
There's also a pizzeria and a burger bar nearby. We didn't get around to eating at either, but locals recommended them to us and they looked worth a visit.
If you're staying at Aqualand, I'd definitely recommend taking a walk into the village at least once. It was nice to get away from the resort for a couple of hours, have a proper cold beer and experience somewhere a little more local."
