MarBella Mar-Bella Collection

"If you read nothing else in this review know that the Mar Bella earns it's 5 Stars for its service! The staff are fantastic, there's obviously a culture within the Mar Bella management that instils an 'above and beyond' attitude to service that is demonstrated across the staff from Customer Relations (Spyros, Christina, and Myriam) who actively seek you out to ensure your stay is everything you expect, to the teams within each of the areas. Bear in mind, these staff members work tirelessly in unbelievable heat and in the face of some demanding customers. Special mention go out to the Deck and Bar Grill team Senaida, Eleni and Paulos who treated us like family and made us so welcome. As for the resort itself, it's worth noting that its a series of buildings that have been built over the years, over a number of levels into a hillside. We were in one of the original buildings (Nafsika) down towards the beach that has been renovated to the standard of the rest of the resort. We had a Superior Sea Facing Room which was tidy but a little smaller than I've had at other resorts. Well appointed with a full bar fridge for our use at no extra cost. The bed for our son was a sofabed that was too hard to sleep on so we had an additional mattress brought in that addressed the problem. The building itself is a little remote from the main reception so moving back and forwards from the building to the Terrazza restaurant, the water park and pools can be a bit of trek involving multiple walkways, elevators and stairs, so if you have any mobility issues I would ask for one of the rooms closer to the centre of the resort. The pools are good with plentiful sunbeds and the staff tend to enforce the 'no reserve' rule - leave towels for an extended period of time, they will be moved to free up the beds. They also enforce no large inflatables rule in the pools which makes the experience much better, although there is a lot of activation like water aerobics and dancing where the music can be a little overbearing if you're wanting a quiet lay around the pool. But the real jewel in the crown of the resort is the beach deck - we didn't know there was a small beach with beds further along near the boat jetty but the deck gives you sunbeds with waiter service and direct access to the sea from stairs and ladders and a jetty to jump from which was my son's favourite. The restaurants are very good, you have the choice of the Terrazza, Kum Kuat or Kuzina restaurants for breakfast - so you tend to have somewhere close to get to in the mornings. And you can use the a al carte restaurants for lunch, my favourite being the beach deck restaurant overlooking the sea. The evening A La Cartes were also of a high standard with theme nights for cuisine at the main Terrazza buffet. It is worth noting, and we did not discover this until the end of our trip, that you can also use the restaurants and bars at the newly built Avali resort down the road as part of your all inclusive. While the food was consistently of a high standard with a good variety, the 'Greek' food was not to the authenticity of other resorts that I've stayed at and I would have liked more 'taverna' style options with gyros and souvlaki (which was only available from the pool canteen) and calamari (only available on the lunch menu in the deck grill). The Burgers were excellent by the way - trust me, you will never be hungry. The drinks are excellent - I tied a number of wines from the wine list but insisted on selecting Greek wines which were all beautiful. I used the gym daily and enjoyed the 30 mins a day use of the steam room and sauna. Don't forget to use the free boat trip which is 4 hours in the morning and evening which takes you out to a waist height sand bar in water that's like a bath. There's a car hire firm that sets itself up in reception but I didn't like their pricing policy (they quote a price, then hit you with EUR15 a day on top for insurance) I have excess insurance to cover this but they insisted that without the insurance I was liable for ALL costs, not the usual EUR1200 excess, which is just BS tourist gouging. If you need a car from a trusted hire company, go to the Benitses Car Hire and meet Fotis at the bottom of the road next to the super market - really helpful and honest. By the way, the municipal bus comes right up to reception and will take you to Corfu town for EUR2.20 If I was to make any recommendation to the owners/managers of Mar Bella resort is to build a staircase/elevator to the waterslide park rather than having to walk up the extremely steep road in the heat AND invest in StarLink - the internet connection at the hotel is painfully slow and uneven with poor mobile phone data coverage in the area. Be aware that this is very much a family resort - while there are some Adult Only area, if you're a couple or have older children, consider the Avali as this resort has a lot of young children."

"We are currently at the Marbella Collection hotel, arrived yesterday and instantly knew that this wasn’t to the left level of luxury they describe they are. We were immediately underwhelmed. We managed to check into our room early which was upgraded to a family delux garden view. I won’t ever understand how a family can stay in this room for a week. It’s small, dated and with frames hanging wonky and off the wall. Paint missing from areas of the walls and switches. The bathroom is tiny and outdated I’ve stayed in holiday inns with nicer bathrooms. You don’t have a full size bath or shower and it is slippery when in there, my partner is 6ft and his head nearly reaches the top of the ceiling in the shower. There is one tiny wardrobe to hang clothes for a week, this space isn’t enough for one person let alone a family. The room feels dark and dingy and does not feel luxury in the slightest we despise having to come back to this room. Having spent our first night in this room you go to bed listening to what feels like people are moving furniture above. Banging, screaching, clanking and you wake up to it aswell. The pool area - this area reminds me of a local lido on a hot day in the UK. There are people everywhere with not enough sunbeds for the amount of guests and there are lots of them so close together you practically sit on top of each other. The sunbeds are old metal framed with paint peeling off and chipped away. You cannot get a sunbed on these all day. Even when they do become available they are left in a less than desirable state with dirty towels drinks and food left without being cleared for ages. Food is being left on picnic benches for hours with nobody cleaning it up. On top of that people ditch their cups and towels in the most random of places around the hotel and are just left there to become part of the decor. We went to the buffet yesterday and the food is less than average with not much choice. We did go to an ala carte yesterday which was okay, some dishes were nice and some not so nice. Staff were good in the pan Asian restaurant. The hotel is dirty, some of the corridors have leaves and old flowers on the floors which is just left. Overall, we have been here less than 24hrs and feel as though we have been miss sold. Kenwood Travel who are usually trusted travel agents of ours describe this hotel as - “Five stars simply aren’t enough when it comes to the luxurious MarBella, Mar-Bella Collection. Located on one of the most stunning Greek islands surrounded by the sparkling Ionian Sea, every guest that resides here is guaranteed to fall head over heels with the fantastic world-class service and the top-notch facilities found throughout. The experiences to be had at MarBella promise to be unforgettable, from pure relaxation on the powder-white Mediterranean sands to the spacious and elegant collection of rooms and suites. If you stay in a one or two bedroom suite, you'll even enjoy your own private heated pool, all to yourself.” The reality is that this hotel is not 5* luxury, nor is it world class service and pure relaxation. It will definitely be unforgettable but not in a good way. Our holiday has been ruined and we are more than unhappy. We have spoken to Kenwood Travel about this were they said we would need to pay for an entire new holiday if we left. We have also complained to management at the hotel but heard nothing so far. We did venture over to the sister hotel (Avali) and have put in a request to move there however not heard. We are here for another 6 nights and honestly aren’t enjoying ourselves at all. Be warned when booking, this is not 5* and not luxury or relaxing in the slightest. Would not return and would not recommend."

"Fantastic Animation Team – Made Our Holiday! The animation team was absolutely fantastic and really made our holiday extra special! They were friendly, energetic, welcoming, and always had a smile on their faces. There was a great variety of activities and entertainment throughout the day, with something for everyone. They created such a fun and positive atmosphere without ever being too pushy, and their enthusiasm was contagious. A huge thank you to Vincenzo, Daniel and the entire animation team for all their hard work, energy, and entertainment. You could really see how much effort they put into making sure everyone had a great time. An amazing team and definitely one of the highlights of our holiday! Highly recommended!"