"We recently stayed at The Elizabeth in Roda, Corfu. Our experience was a real mix of wonderful hospitality from the everyday staff and lovely fellow guests, unfortunately marred by an unacceptable racial incident and some very bizarre management behavior.
Starting with the positives, when we arrived late and absolutely starving, the staff kindly arranged some pizzas for us, which we were incredibly grateful for. In fact, all the everyday staff were amazing—friendly, courteous, and helpful, especially the lovely cleaning team.
We also really enjoyed the bingo night, which was a lot of fun! The pool and surrounding bar areas were always spotless. It was a wonderful touch that they provided books to read around the pool, and they even had free inflatables for the kids to use, which saved everyone from having to buy their own. The other guests at the resort were also absolutely lovely.
The rooms themselves are very basic but functional. You are provided with tea, coffee, and a bottle of water on your day of arrival, but be aware that these are never replenished. Having a fridge in the room was a big plus for storing cold drinks. We stayed on a bed and breakfast basis. The food was quite repetitive, and hot items (like eggs, beans, and sausages) were often lukewarm. However, if you politely ask the staff, they are more than happy to warm your food up in the back for you, which was a great benefit.
A heads-up for future guests on hidden costs, our apartment required two air conditioning units. At €10 per unit per night, this cost us €20 extra a day, adding an unexpected €140 to our week's stay. The receptionist pointed out that this was in the small print of the terms and conditions, which, to be fair, we had missed—but we still felt €140 for a week of aircon was quite steep.
Unfortunately, there was one deeply disappointing incident involving the owner's son (who is around 16). On three separate occasions, he directed a highly offensive racial slur at my son. My wife brought this to the attention of the owners after the second occurrence, who apologized and tried to brush it off as a "cultural difference."
He had explained that he is well-traveled, meaning he absolutely knew the weight of that word. I want to make it absolutely clear, we are not calling the whole family or the rest of the staff racist. The everyday staff were incredibly kind to us. However, as the only family of color at the resort, this incident made us feel incredibly awkward and uncomfortable.
Finally, it seems the management is incredibly strict and controlling. Since returning home, we’ve been in contact with another guest we met who had their upcoming three-week holiday cancelled by the owners through TUI.
Their "crime"? They allowed another guest to use their bathroom, on the day of the them allowing another guest to use their bathroom they also had their electric to the room switched off. Because they had visited the island several times, they also recommended a fantastic local Mexican restaurant to us since it was our first time.
The owners found out they were recommending outside places to eat and had TUI cancel their reservation. It really feels like if you do not strictly conform to their rules and spend all your money on-site, you won't be allowed to return.
While we cannot fault the hardworking everyday staff who made our stay as pleasant as they could, the hidden costs, controlling management, and the unacceptable behavior from the owner's son mean we cannot recommend this resort."
