Akrotiri Beach Resort Hotel review: a hillside haven overlooking a brilliant blue bay
If it fancied a night out on the town, Akrotiri Beach Resort Hotel would be well advised to carry some proof of age — it doesn't look anything like it's 50 years. This is a hotel that has clearly been cared for over the decades by its family owners, with lots of floor polish and regular dashes of paint. Ranged up the steep slope of a hillside on the west coast of Corfu, the property has a slightly topsy-turvy feel, with the entrance on the hotel's fourth floor. It all makes for a confusing floor numbering system, but once you've got your head around that you can spend your time lazing at the pool or sunbathing on a secluded ledge specially cut into the cliffside.
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Score 8/10There are 125 rooms — standards on the floors below reception and superiors on the two floors above. The sizes are much of a muchness (all offer a decent amount of space) so the difference comes from what's through the window, with superior rooms offering wilder sea views and standards looking over the public beach. Rooms are simply styled with wood-effect flooring, whitewashed walls and muted furnishings of duck-egg blues; each has a balcony, but if you want more sunbathing elbow room, there are 11 rooms with private decks (six of them with Jacuzzis). Bathrooms have been freshly renovated and have wet-room showers, wooden countertops and stone-coloured tiling.
Score 8/10 As the clock ticks towards 7pm, there tends to be a rapid exodus from the poolside as guests hurry to spruce themselves up and snag a table on the terrace of the main buffet restaurant. It's an excellent, daily changing spread of hot and cold dishes — among the (many) options on one evening, plucked entirely at random, were squid-ink risotto, fried sea bass, beef and mushroom linguine, crème brûlée and raspberry cake. Breakfast is here too, another varied buffet of cereals, yoghurts, pastries, cheese, grilled meats and vegetables and a station for freshly prepared omelettes and other egg dishes.
If you'd prefer a more intimate evening meal, the adjacent à la carte restaurant serves Greek and international cuisine, with a particular focus on seafood (the grilled fish filleted at your table with a theatrical flourish by the waiting staff). Lunchtime snacks — burgers, Greek and Mediterranean dishes and the like — are available either from the poolside Calypso pool bar or the Amo Ammo beach bar, which perches on a lick of sand above the public beach. The staff are certainly kept busy with laying on the varied offerings, but you'll find them helpful and attentive.
• Discover our full guide to Corfu• The best all-inclusive hotels in Corfu
Score 7/10While there's no dedicated spa, a 'mobile spa therapist' visits the hotel to provide facials and massages, which can be booked at reception. The small fitness centre has some cardio machines and a few dumbbells, and you can take part in morning yoga classes. Every second evening, there's live music at the poolside, including performances of traditional Greek music and dance. Aside from the public beach, a set of steps leads down to several platforms on the cliff face where you can lie on a sun lounger or even take a dip in the sea.
Score 7/10With its location at Palaiokastritsa on the west coast — on a spit of land above the bay — the hotel is blessed with great views and offers direct access to the sands of Agia Triada, as well as the private, rocky beach with its platforms cut into the cliffs. There are further beaches a short bus ride away. You can take a walk to the hilltop Saint Spiridon church and arrange boat trips to get closer to some of the intriguing caves around the base of the cliffs, while there are hourly buses to Corfu Town (taking approximately 45 minutes). Beyond that, you'll find a few touristy shops, bars and restaurants nearby, but little else to draw you away from the pool or beach.
Price B&B doubles from £209Restaurant mains from £15Family-friendly YAccessible N
Adrian Philips was a guest of Akrotiri Beach Resort Hotel (akrotiri-beach.com)
• Best family hotels in Corfu• More great hotels in Corfu
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