Going to Corfu? Go Here! (Gelina Village Hotel & Resort)

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Product:	Gelina Village Hotel & Resort
Date:	11/07/01 (1336 review reads)
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Jeez, I say this almost every year, but yet again I wasn't going to go abroad this year. Well, that was until a few weeks ago when once more I decided that I REALLY needed a holiday after all. So I scouted around a few sites on the 'net and eventually found something very appealing on the 'Direct Holidays' site.

A week in a four-star Aparthotel in Corfu for around half of the brochure price - well, I couldn't pass that up could I? I chanced my arm and asked for a one-bedroomed apartment rather than a studio, and because it was a late booking they said that was no problem. Before finalising the booking I had a look at the Hotel's website (www.gelina.gr). It looked like a rather laid back place, just what I was looking for since my intention was to chill out for a week in the sun. It sounded perfect all round so it was duly booked with three weeks to go until departure.

The Hotel is situated a couple of hundred yards, or a five minute stroll, from the village of Acharavi in Northern Corfu (this opinion is about the hotel, I'll review Acharavi later!). My first impressions of the hotel, formed with the assistance of a very enthusiastic rep, were that it was a really excellent looking place. The approach to the hotel was down a small palm tree lined avenue with views across the sea to the breathtakingly gorgeous mountains of Southern Albania. The main building of the hotel itself was also a very impressive sight with its large entrance canopy held aloft by four massive pillars.

The booking-in process was very quickly handled by a very pleasant and friendly receptionist who informed us that we would be staying in the apartment block named 'Nikolas'. Ah, I really should explain that shouldn't I? The main building of the complex doesn't actually have any guest rooms/apartments, it is used to house reception, the main dining area, shops, indoor pool etc. All of the guest accommodation is housed in fiv
e or six satellite buildings that have each been named after the owner's grandchildren.

The receptionist told us that our luggage would be delivered to our apartment and actually walked with us the 200 yards or so to show us to our apartment. The luggage was duly delivered by a porter within a couple of minutes.

The apartment itself was massive and spotlessly clean. It comprised of an entrance hall, bathroom, large bedroom with twin beds (ach well, you can't have everything!!), and a very spacious lounge with a small kitchen area at one end. The lounge contained a bed-settee, but since it was only my hubby and I we never needed to use that. Had there been more than two of us I don't think it would have been a problem since there was separate access into the hall area from the bedroom and the lounge, so privacy wouldn't be a problem. There was also a balcony, which unlike most places I have been had a clotheshorse provided!

Facilities in the apartment included air-conditioning with vents into the two main rooms and the hall. A direct dial telephone (I only made one call to the UK and it worked out at around sixty pence for a couple of minutes which was very cheap compared to most hotels). Satellite TV, even though BBC World was the only English language channel. The essential fridge used to house water and, perhaps more importantly, beer. Safety deposit box (charged at around £4 per week) and hairdryer. Oh, and a quick tip! Electric kettles are not provided. There is a pyrex jug thingy provided to allow water to be boiled on the stove, but it takes forever. I'd recommend taking a travel kettle!

The apartment was cleaned spotless by the maid every day, except Sundays, which is common in most hotels, and she would even wash up the odd coffee cup (well I was on holiday, you can't expect me to do dishes!!). If you find you need fresh towels on a Sunday just give reception a call and they will bring them.
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Since I wasn't there to hang around the apartment I will move swiftly on. As well as the indoor pool that I mentioned (heated during off-season months) there were two outdoor pools. The main pool, very large and circular with an 'island' in the middle, had a water slide and lots of shallow water areas and seemed to be geared more towards children. The other pool was a basic rectangular shape and was mainly deeper water where you could get a decent swim. Since most of the families with kids went to the main pool, or the beach, the other pool was much quieter and a more relaxed place to soak up some rays - so I spent most of my time there.

Both pools had poolside bars, and the main one also had a self-service grill where lunch could be bought. We preferred to take the short stroll into the village for lunch so I can't vouch for the quality of the food there, but other people said it was very good. A short stroll from the main pool was a private beach that had all of the usual water related activities such as windsurfing, pedalos, water skiing etc. The beach is a blue flag beach and is very clean and sandy, no horrible gravel or pebbles! More up my street was a little beachside bar which sold a variety of cocktails and beer (served in glasses from the freezer - excellent).

Close by the main pool there was also a very well equipped childrens play area which looked really good for the kids. Other leisure facilities included a small football pitch, a volleyball pitch, three tennis courts and a gym (mind you, with the temperature reaching 100 degrees you would need to be totally off your head to engage in such pursuits!).

Oh, back to the bar then, I almost forgot to say that the bar prices were mostly the same as in the tavernas in the village, pretty unusual for a four-star hotel! I won't harp on too much about the food, but it was the best I have ever had in a holiday hotel. Breakfast and dinner were both served buf
fet-style and every taste was well catered for. Being a shameless carnivore I must admit to going on a meat-fest for the whole week, but there were always plenty of veggie options. The waiting staff in the dining room were as efficient and friendly as the rest of the hotel staff with drinks being served promptly and dirty plates removed before you had a chance to lick them clean!

OK, so even the rosiest of rose gardens sometimes has the odd weed so here are the few bad points. Germans!! Oops, I hope Malu and Sister_Midnight don't read this now - but the place was heaving with our Germanic friends. Now, I'm certainly no Germanophobe but on holiday they do tend to do my head in a bit. As a race they generally seem to be very pushy and rather arrogant when it comes to holidays, not to mention the 6am towel on the sun-lounger behaviour! Seriously though, most of the entertainment in the hotel seemed to be geared towards the German contingent which was rather irritating at times. To be honest the entertainment wasn't really up to much anyway but the standard holiday hotel stuff isn't usually my idea of fun - and it wasn't any different to that of other hotels.

The only other real bad point was that the areas surrounding the pools were mainly grass - insect central. I do wish hotels wouldn't do that, and it is something that would have put me off going if it hadn't been such a good deal. Err, and the tea at breakfast was a bit cold, but that is me just being REALLY picky now!

All in all this was a really good hotel. Don't go here if you want an action packed holiday though, it is very laid back. The complex was very quiet at night and there were no cars except the occasional service vehicle, so it is ideal for families with young kids.

Oh, and before I finish up, just one last tip. The electricity in the apartments is activated by a plastic tab which is attached to the keys. This is, I suppose, to stop p
eople from leaving their air conditioning on all day. The tab actually comes off the keyring though, so after the maid has done the room you can take the tab off the keys and leave the air-con on in the evening if it's hot. This also will allow the plug-in mosquito deterrent thingies things to work if you have them - so if you go here remember to do that before you go for dinner!

So the big question - would I go back?

Um, the answer is no, but not because of the hotel itself. I didn't really care much for Corfu in general, and, although I had a really fantastic holiday, there are other places that I would rather go. In saying that, if you like Corfu then I would have no hesitation in recommending the Gelina Village 100% - if only they would slab over the insect heaven that is the grass round the pools!!

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