Bella Venezia hotel review: a character-packed Corfu Town stay

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Spacious, laid-back and yesteryear in feel, this 19th-century mansion — with its smart terracotta-painted walls — is the ideal unfussy spot to retire after a hot day wandering the streets of the buzzy old town. There's a little lobby bar, but the star attraction is a paved garden that wraps around two sides of the property. Its pergola is smothered in trailing wisteria and bougainvillea, making it the perfect place to relax with a book and a cocktail and to enjoy a fresh breakfast sourced from local produce. Service is faultless, catering to guests who prefer a smaller, quieter hotel with some grace to its architecture.
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Score 7/10The neoclassical mansion has taken on various guises over the years, serving as a bank in the early 1900s and as a school for girls after the Second World War; it was the only building on its street to remain after the Germans bombed it in 1943. It started life in the 19th century as the private residence of a wealthy family, when luxurious balls hosted here were attended by leading figures of the time, and there remains a smattering of bygone opulence in the airy lobby, with its chequered flooring, plush cream chairs and marble-topped occasional tables. There's a hint of this in the 30 bedrooms too: high ceilings, textured gold-toned wallpaper, smart green shutters and bathrooms with marble-effect panels, elegant bowl-shaped basins and gold taps and shower heads. They're all average-sized; if you get the choice, opt for one of the rooms with a Juliet balcony overlooking the villa's garden.
Score n/a There's a glass-walled breakfast room in the garden, but most choose to sit in the garden itself to enjoy a breakfast of local cheeses and olives, traditional Corfiot fig pie, breads with homemade marmalade, bacon and sausages, and omelettes or fried eggs cooked to order. While there's no restaurant for lunch or dinner, there's no shortage of places to eat nearby, among them Porta Remounda (also known as Barbas, a lovely taverna specialising in mezze and other traditional dishes) and the ever-popular Pane e Souvlaki (serving grilled meat dishes at a motley assortment of tables arranged on the sloping pavement outside).
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Score 6/10The facilities don't come thick and fast here — the listed status of the building doesn't allow for a pool or spa — but you're likely to be out and about in Corfu Town during the day anyway. The hotel's calling card is instead that wraparound garden, a restful area with a soothing lion's-head fountain and air thick with the bouquet of the wisteria and bougainvillea that blanket the pergola. You can laze in a wicker chair or have a game with the oversized outdoor chess set.
Score 7/10It's ideally positioned on one side of a quiet and leafy square just to the south of the old town. You can walk to the main hub of shops and restaurants in three or four minutes, while there are also two beaches easily accessible on foot: it's three minutes to Naok, the beach at the nautical club of Corfu, and just over ten minutes to Faliraki bathing beach.
Price B&B doubles from £127Restaurant n/aFamily-friendly YAccessible N
Adrian Phillips was a guest of Bella Venezia (bellaveneziahotel.com)
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