Argo Studios

1 reader found this review helpful

Rooms 3, 4 & 10.

I have just returned home after spending 2 weeks in Benitses. This was an amazing holiday which all of my family enjoyed. When you arrive you will find that Anne and Spiros make you feel very welcome and also as it is a small set of apartments it doesn’t take long before your mingling with other guests.
The rooms are very basic but we only used them to sleep in, the fan came in very useful and if you find it too hot you can purchase air con for just €5 per night (well worth it). We hardly ever cooked in the apartment as the food at the pool bar tasted great, had loads of variety and not too expensive.
Most guests enjoyed playing ball games in the pool and spending all day sharing stories (Dave) and just being lazy. I found that the splashing of water and games with the balls etc add to the holiday atmosphere which makes the holiday much more enjoyable.
Spiros and Anne were well prepared to go out of the way for you, one night they made 12 guests a Greek Sunday lunch (it was meant to be English but the butcher let us down), Anne even cooked us Yorkshire puddings. If you ever wanted anything they didn't have they were more than happy to go out of the way and get it for you.
There were a couple of good bars in Benitses, shamrocks was open until around 4am with good music although the drinks were rather steep, cheers bar which is a 5 min walk from the apts plays any football match you want and sells cheap drinks. Laceys bar is a flop.
When you visit you must try Greek food and also a gyros pita (the best ones are from a little shop 1 minute away from the apts, it costs €1.80 great snack). Also crepes (pancakes) are very tasty and you can choose from many fillings.
I would definitely recommend staying here, it’s the perfect holiday, and I hope to see you all in a couple of year’s time.
All the best.

Hi,
We have just returned from two weeks of absolute bliss. The Roula studios are an ideal location for anyone wanting a lazy, relaxing holiday.
Spiros and his family take it as a matter of pride to ensure that their guests have a holiday that caters for all their needs. Accommodation and pool facilities were always very clean. The food was excellent in quality and very good in price.
The studios are situated very close to the numerous restaurants and bars but is set back from the sea front and so has a relaxing atmosphere.
My wife and I enjoyed days around the pool and found the children at play to be no distraction, in fact we found there to be a very friendly atmosphere amongst the guests and there were several occasions where almost everyone would participate in pool games. We accept that whenever we go abroad their will always be a situation relating to sun loungers, anyone not realising this is very naive.
This was our first visit to the Roula Studios, it will not be our last.
Thank you Anne & Spiros for making our holiday one that we will always remember.

Having just returned from 11 nights at the Roula, I could recommend both the resort and accommodation highly to anyone thinking of visiting Corfu. Here are some thoughts on the stay:
The room, pool, bar, staff, friendliness and cost of food and drink at the hotel were all great. Spiros, the owner, who has lived in the village all his life, is warm and welcoming as is his wife and family. Only a two minute walk down a winding street will take you to the centre of the resort and ten minutes the other direction up the hill into the lush green mountains will take into beautiful white-washed houses, two Greek Orthodox churches, deserted olive groves and hillsides with wonderful views of the town and sea beyond.
The pool can become crowded and the entirely British customers seemed to continue the most unwelcome custom of putting towels out on sun loungers at 8am despite not using them until 1pm, sometimes leaving us sitting on a deckchair. These people are idiots, but hardly the fault of the hotel. Though when space was available, a lazy day could easily be spent around the pool, enjoying the occasional beer and sandwich from the bar and snacks from the bakery and supermarket down the road.
As a couple we chose the resort because of its supposed suitability for couples, but found there were a few children who were fairly noisy and disruptive and the constant splashing and flying beach balls wore a bit thin before long. Probably best to go outside school holidays if it is quiet break you are after.
As for Benitses itself, it is small, perhaps a mile along the coast in total, and much less busy then most resorts on the Med. The food is good – local dishes Stifado (stewed lamb with red wine) and the Greek salads always worth trying – and in the main very cheap. Twenty Euros for a meal for two with decent local wine is not bad at all. Restaurants vary from Greek tavernas, mostly clustered around the pedestrianised, shady path along the front of the town, pizza places, and a few places on the seafront to the south. Thankfully, no one jostles you to come into these places compared with a lot of resorts.
There are few bars but several cafes, some offering magnificently indulgent crepes with ice cream, ice cream sundaes and so on as well as beers and cocktails. The two bars, Laceys and a garish Irish “pub” cater for a Brit crown though they are both expensive and strangely quiet some nights. Cheers, further to the south, is cheaper and has a better atmosphere as well as showing Premiership and Championship football.
Benitses beach is fairly poor – two short, narrow strips of shingle and pebbles too close to the road. But we still enjoyed a couple of days there. Boat trips leave regularly that take people around various islands and sights and the usual banana boat/paragliding antics are available too. A short taxi ride (about 15 Euros) will take you to nearby Messonghi however which has a much larger and nicer beach in a fairly secluded bay with some good café/bars and no car fumes.
But no trip to the island is complete without visiting Corfu Town (Or just Corfu), an absolute must. A sprawling mix of old ancient and modern, with medieval streets, shops, cafes, two forts, a few good museums and even a cricket pitch, it’s worth at least a couple of days and nights. We stopped at a great candlelit Italian restaurant on what felt like a secret sloped backstreet behind a backlit church. Kumquat brandy, the local tipple, is however an acquired taste.
Buses from Benitses run from early morning until 10pm and cost 1,10 Euros, but the town is buzzing well into the early morning – a taxi will set you back 25 Euros though could come down with some haggling.
All in all a relaxing break in a charming resort. To make the most of your stay hire a car or scooter and see the rest of the island. Benitses is nice but small – the beach at Glyfada is apparently very good and there are countless remote villages, beaches and things to explore.

My wife and I have just returned from a week’s holiday that we can only describe as excellent in every way and made so by a very special family.
If you want a relaxing holiday around a pool that never gets too busy and to be looked after by people that can never do enough for you then this is the place to go. Thank you Spiros, Anne and family.
The Roula Studios are set back from the main area of Benitses but close enough that it only takes two to three minutes to walk there.
The rooms are cleaned on a regular basis and although we were told that our room needed work doing to it over the winter we could find little fault with it.
Anne is an excellent cook and with the exception of one lunch that we had on our one and only day on the beach, we ate every meal at "home".
We were due to be picked up a 2.00am to go home and Spiros closed the bar at midnight and although I suspect they were going anyway, he said we should go to a bar close to the bus stop and they, three friends, their son Christopher and two mad Scotsmen, also staying there, would keep us company.
They turned what could have been a very boring wait into a bit of a party.
Thanks to you all and we will see you all next year.

We had a wonderful time at the Roula. Ann and Spiros were lovely and couldn’t do enough to help make your holiday nice.
The pool area is beautiful and very peaceful. The food is great and very reasonable. The safety deposit boxes are cheap at 5 Euros a week.
The place is very clean and the Chinese restaurant opposite is brilliant. I only had one complaint and that was with the kiosk on the sea front near where they drop you off. I ordered my cigarettes to take home and the man robbed me of 60 Euros.
I was furious and told Spiros who went and had a very heated argument in Greek with him. I still didn’t get the money back. Spiros told me that the people in the village have lived there forever and the man in the kiosk is from the mainland and, and that that the kiosk was rented.
He was horrified at the behaviour of this man and also upset because it reflected badly on his village. I asked the Olympic rep is she would warn other people not to shop there but she said she couldn't. If you need to order cigarettes go to the supermarket on the corner. The owners are villagers and won't steal your money.
All in all we had a fab time and can't wait to go back.

A superb room in a superb establishment. The resort is neither too quiet nor too busy and is only 2 minutes walk from the Roula Studios. Spiro, Anne, and Chris provide a quality and friendly service that makes a great difference.
Having travelled on a few occasions with Olympic, I can quite honestly say that this place outshines the others. The maid is energetic and the rooms are cleaned more frequently than my own!
An excellent pool (no euro-disco music blasting I am happy to report) and the food is of a high standard but reasonably priced. Fans are free (a rarity) and the air conditioning a very affordable 5Euros per night.
Beds comfy, all facilities clean and in working order and the studios are dangerously close to an excellent bakery.
Well worth hiring a car to see what else Corfu has to offer - but you could easily spend a relaxing holiday just locally with, perhaps, a boat or bus trip.
There is a great pizza place on the main street - wood oven and perhaps the best tasting pizza we have eaten.
I would confidently recommend this place to anyone.
One last point - our relatives stayed at a 4*star place at the same time and had to agree that the Roula was far superior in every respect.

Hi - just returned from 10 days of total bliss - Benitses is a great place to be if you want a laid back holiday - and the Roula is the only place to stay.
Quiet, secluded and within 150 metres of the shops and restaurants. Anne and Spiros and their son Chris made my holiday - friendly, helpful and fabulous food - thanks Anne - just weighed myself and put on half a stone!
Studios are clean and well looked after and are a great location - Spiros takes great delight in looking after the pool area, often cleaning it three times a day - always clean and food and drink available throughout the day.
I found the rep in the resort very helpful and welcoming and can't wait to go back - say hello to that gorgeous little dog of yours (Boomba??) and see you soon - Ann - Room 2.

1 reader found this review helpful

The Roula Studios are superb, and it isn't their fault that a lot of the resort had closed down already!
Spiros and Ann are superb hosts, so friendly and cook lovely food and give great hospitality.
Sure, the apartments are basic, but if you want 5 Star luxury accom, then you pay for it! They are very clean and well maintained and a great location in the old village.
Everything is on your doorstop, from a local bakery to a great restaurant (Paxinos) and only a couple of minutes walk from the Beach.
I used to rep for Olympic holidays in 2003 in Benitses and the Roula was my 1st choice to return to when I went back on holiday. My mum is going back this September to the Roula for the 2nd time!!
If you are going to Roula you will have a great time.

We stayed at the Roula studios in May/June 2006 having returned there to celebrate our Sons 21st birthday, having enjoyed it so much the year before.
Our party consisted of 18 people from age 19 to 70, but everyone enjoyed the holiday.
The owners Anne and Spiros could not do enough for us and made it a very special time for us all. Many thanks to all their family for making our sons 21st such a special night.
The food was excellent. It was a perfect choice of apartments for our party.
The local people are all lovely and friendly and cannot do enough for you.
Once again many thanks to Anne, Spiros and family for everything.

Would like to warn other visitors to Benitses, that last October the whole resort of Benitses was closed, except for one restaurant and a corner shop type supermarket, where we struggled even to buy the basics.
Had to go into Corfu town by bus, virtually every day as we couldn't even exchange travellers cheques in Benitses.
Although there are two travel agents they were both closed for most of our two week holiday.
We stayed at the Roula studios and had to rent two apartments for our party size, we were allocated rooms 13 and 15 on the third floor.
The rooms were clean but every time you had a shower the floors were swimming, especially in room 15, where you had to paddle through an inch of water in the kitchen after using the bathroom.
I would also point out that when we stayed in October last year, that the owners closed both the pool bar and the pool early, [at least by three hours, once all day]. On several occasions during our stay. We were told by the rep that it was open between 9am and 7pm.
The Olympic reps in resort were totally unhelpful, we would never book with them again, this was our second time and we had problems the first time also.