Akrotiri Beach

"This beautiful hotel has been the setting for some of the happiest holidays of my life, including my honeymoon, and returning as a solo traveller after being widowed was always going to be an emotional experience. Having felt safe and comfortable here in the past, I was really glad to find that nothing has changed. The customer service here is outstanding; all staff members are warm and welcoming, and even at the very end of the season everyone is still smiling. From the front of house to housekeeping through to waiters, the consistency of interactions was fantastic. A special mention to Spiros in the restaurant, who was especially kind and communicative, which really helps when one is eating alone. The breakfast was delicious too! The setting of the hotel is unrivalled, and I do think it’s worth paying to stay on a higher floor to better enjoy the stunning views. And the swimming… it’s what makes the holiday for me, having easy access to Agia Triada, the hotel’s ’rocky beach’, and the gorgeous infinity pool. And not much further to swim from any of the lower beaches, or up to Acapulco bar to swim around Liapades and Rovinia. Being supplied with beach and pool towels means it’s always easy to warm up lost-dip, and as the very high quality and fully serviced sun beds are accessible in different areas, it’s tempting to have a great day just hanging around the tastefully landscaped hotel grounds. The only negatives are small ones; I’d prefer the hotel to increase its eco-credentials by getting rid of plasticised serviettes and single use plastics, and installing water refills stations that guests can access day and night. I found my towels were replaced even when I hung them up (and had only used them once), and there were some very dead plants spoiling the green gorgeousness. But these really are niggles, coming from someone who has blown her eco-budget by flying to spend two relaxing days swimming in the October sunshine."

"Probably the most beautiful hotel in the bay. Incredible view whether from the pool, the rocky beach, or the beach. Negative points: very dark room on the beach side (floors 1 to 3 are actually in the basement), smell of cat urine in all the hotel gardens, dining room undersized for the number of guests, so it is a madhouse at breakfast and dinner.... Too bad, the place deserved better."

"We were on the east side with an absolutely stunning view over the bay and it was lovely to sit on the balcony in the evenings. It got the full sun in the middle of the day but we were not there at that time. We have never stayed in a hotel so close to the water with such a fantastic view. The only downside to that were people eating on the terrace and the music. We were lucky because it was getting chilly in the evening and generally it was quiet by 11pm. I can imagine it may be a problem in the summer. The night of a thunderstorm and rain it was blissfully quiet! The staff were all absolutely lovely and always helpful and friendly - nothing seemed too much trouble. Everywhere was very clean and the staff worked very hard to keep it that way. If you had a walk early morning they were all out cleaning the terraces. The dining room staff were very efficient. I see that several people mention hard beds but we found the bed extremely comfortable. Breakfasts had a wonderful selection and most mornings we managed to sit on the terrace. I can imagine wasps could be a problem but being early autumn we only got the odd one. The pool area was very clean and never too busy. I loved the fact that a notice said towels would be removed if the sun beds hadn’t been used for 45 minutes. That put a stop to anyone ‘booking’ them before they needed them. Ordering drinks on the App meant you didn’t need to move! Our big disappointment was not being able to walk anywhere except along the road which was very busy with traffic. We had bed and breakfast with the intention of eating somewhere different every night but we didn’t fancy the walk back when it gets dark quite early in September and the road walk wasn’t pleasant. In the event we went in the buffet every night. We were going to try the a la carte restaurant but most of the tables seemed to be outside and it was chilly so we were happy with the buffet except that I would have expected more sea food in the choices. We caught the bus to Corfu Town and that goes from almost the door of the hotel and so was very convenient and they run every 30 minutes. The lack of walks was the most disappointing part. We walked to the monastery which was on the road but we went early before it got busy. We had a lovely week - the position that makes the hotel so lovely made it difficult to get about on foot. The beach had lovely clear water but is stony so some sand shoes would be a good buy."