Restia Suites

What a laid back establishment. Fantastic. The staff are superb in the reception and bar and restaurant areas. The rooms (sorry, Suites) are luxurious, with great facilities including a whirlpool spa and steam room. The pool area is never packed and the sunbeds across the road at the beach are always available. It shows how good the other guests think of it as most of them are returning every year. we did this as the second week following a Greek Island Cruise and the rest was as we hoped for after a hectic week on the ship.

I do not wish to be a complainer, but all the great reviews for this place cannot be based upon visiting during the last week before they close (I was not aware of this when I booked). I have to stress that all the people here were great, all polite and especially Wendy who was so friendly and helpful. First, this hotel is not 5 star. It’s 4 star. The location is truly remote, so perfect for a quiet break away. A long transfer, so beware if this is an issue to you. The welcome was great (a Scottish lady called Vivienne) and she showed us our bungalow after treating us to a glass of champagne. We had a sea view bungalow, 1 of 6 or 7 I think. The bungalows are north facing in a V formation. Ours was at the bottom of the V, so the farthest back…and yes, for those readers who are good with the compass, you have already guessed that our lovely sun terrace/balcony received zero sun throughout the day! What a spectacular design fault. So, if lazing on your sunny balcony is important, beware…rooms 304/301. We had several minor gripes that accumulated and accelerated throughout the 7 days, due to the fact that the hotel was gradually being shut down around us. Minor gripes do not concern me, but as they accumulated, it became irksome. Apart from the “no sun” terrace, ingredients for the cocktail list were sparse on day one and worse by the day (would it have killed them to go and get a carton of cranberry juice from the store?) It was the same with the dinner menu. By the last day, the waiter was telling us what he did have rather that what he did not have. Same with the beers and wine list…the stock simply dwindled so that you had almost no choices left. We heard comments from other astonished guests, so we know it was not just us that thought this. The room itself was clean and spacious. A nice Jacuzzi bath and large shower. The A/C was very good. Toilet…zero paper can be flushed (due to narrow pipes), so if this puts you off, you should not come here. I believe most of Corfu is like this. Food quality varied – the Moussaka was luke-warm and contained very little meat. The pork dish (that I had) was 60% fat. Lunches were poor. A club sandwich contained processed chicken and turkey. Inedible croque monsieur and the tuna baguette was from a tin and was not even drained…so when you picked it up it was dripping with brine (either this is a Greek thing or it’s unacceptable). Breakfast was decent, and you will have read many complaints over the Orange Juice not being real. It seems that the owner is unconcerned about it. And I must say that we met the owner several times and he was the most delightful man you could ever wish to meet. The pool was insanely cold, so you had to be brave each time you went in. The beach side loungers looked inviting until they removed the tables that went with them on day 2 (part of the gradual close down I guess). Tui boat trip to Corfu Town. Only 3 hours there…for 4+ hours of boating. It’s not worth it. In summary, I want to give a score of 3.5. 4 is too high and 3 is a little harsh. But my score is based upon visiting here on the last week before closure. I would add that I think it is the responsibility of Tui (exclusive sale of rooms here) to understand that this hotel starts to close down during the last week and this should be reflected in how they present the hotel on line. I believe that the money I spent on this holiday is worth the same as the money someone spent here in the middle of the season and it is hugely disrespectful to the client, when the same choices of food and drink are greatly diminished, purely because it is end of season.