Govino Bay Apartments

My family and i (2 adults and 4 kids - 2 teenagers and 2 juniors) recently stayed for a week at Govino Bay at the beginning of July. The apts are located right on the edge of Gouvia Bay ( more about that later) and a busy dual carriage way. Our apts didn't suffer from road noise as we had pool and sea view but a couple who were located nearer to the road noted the road noise - inparticular the Greek's penchant for tooting car/scooter horns indiscriminately. On arrival the security guard (the complex has its own security) was very welcoming and even carried 2 of our cases the short distance to the apt. The complex comprises of several two storey apt blocks. Our apt slept 6 a comfortable size twin room, very generous size lining/kitchen/lounge area and a delightful mezzanine level with 2 further beds - inc air con - although the air could only be felt upstairs! The apt had lovely large windows on two side in the lounge area which could be drawn back to create a refreshing breeze. This was needed as rather disappointingly the apt had neither terrace or balcony, although there was a little landing at the front with a clothes drier, and if u don't mind sitting on the steps was a great sun trap in the afternoon. The apt was very clean and well maintained and adequately equiped throughout inc hairdrier in the bathroom. Maid service was everyday bar Sunday, inc sheets changed and even our dishes were washed! Plently of towels were provided and refreshed. The little mini market was well stocked and reasonably priced, better value than some of the shops further into the village. The grounds are delightfully landscaped and very well maintained as too is the pool area which is spotless. On our visit we never had any difficultly in ever getting a sunlonuger. The pool was super, Comprising of a safe area for toddlers and generous length and depth in the main pool, because of the climate the temperature was lovely. However as noted elsewhere the lifeguard was very strict in prohibiting the use of lilos, diving etc during the hours 10-5. This at first seemed like a kill joy but infact it was nice just to wallow in the pool with out being bombed/splashed every 5 secs. After 5 the fun began when the lifeguard left and out came the lilo's and as the pool area was bathed in sunlight right until evening everyone could enjoy the sunshine. The pool side bar i believe was supposed to be open until 1am but i only saw it open until 11pm on one night. I found it pricey 1.70e for a 200ml plastic cup of cola, the coffee frappe was dIvine but again pricey at 2.70e, a plate of yummy chips was 2.50e. Gouvia itself consists of two main streets, whilst we were there the 'resort' had a feeling of going out of business, many restuarants had only one or two tables occupied. We would highly recommend BELLA MAMA'S we ate there on 5 nights, the food was lovely, traditional Greek, lovely salads and cold beer! effecient very freindly service and excellent value for money. Leon's is the place for scrummy pizza and a great greek night on Saturdays, don't go to Moukas - don't be deceived by the lovely vine covered eatery, poor service, meager, questionably cooked over priced food. Daphne's just outside the apts complex offers very reasonable priced drinks and very friendly service - try the children's cocktails for the yougsters. Gouvia Bay 'beach' was disappointing. The narrow stretch of ' by the apts was lacking any sand to speak of and grass had grown thru what was left of it - and didn;t really serve any purpose. The water there was very calm and warm and a good place to use those pesky lilo's during the day. If you venture further up into the village there is a decent stretch of shingle and the water there is lovely for bathing/snorkling. There are plenty of value for money boat trips/pedaloes/kayaking but suggest you book early. We booked with our first choice rep to go on Theo's beach BBQ trip @44e per adult and kids over 12. This was a fantasic all day excursion but a bit pricey. Beware tho - if you book this drinks refreshments are not include on Theo's boat and at 2e for a can of coke bring plenty of dosh. Overall a great holiday tho, lovely apts, disappointing resort, friendly people, lovely food, nightlife centred around dining out, and WOW what fantastic weather pure sunshine every day from sunrise to sunset 35+ degrees each day. CORFU ROCKS! ENJOY.

I stayed with family at the Govino Bay apartments. The weather couldn't be faulted for the week we stayed. The apartment was first floor and overlooked the bay. The pool is great and well maintained. No problems with the lifeguard but I saw one or two breach 'inflatable' rules and get a ticking off! But it's nothing more than health and safety. After 5pm you can have all the inflatables you want in the pool. We were self catering and it worked out brilliantly. Wandered down the main road to a supermarket (not Dillias) about 1.5km away. It has a good selection of everything including cooked chickens. this helped with preparing evening meals (and keeping cost down). There are smaller supermarkets on the road with the restaurants and bars in but their prices are very high. Only use them in an emergency. To give you an idea we took about 500 euros for 5 of us, had dinner out three times, wine for the table (and a cold beer or two for the men) and still came back with about 60 euros. We didn't hire a car so when we did the supermarket run we took my suitcase with handle and wheels. No lugging carier bags in the noonday sun for us! I always take zip lock plastic bags and we made full use of them for cooking the veg in the microwave. I also had a small cool bag with cool packs from the freezer. This meant we could stay by the pool with cold water and sanwiches. There's a room safe you can use for 11 euros a week. well worth it for passports and wallets. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained. The staff responsive to blown fuses, blocked bath and anything else you threw at them. The linen was changed each day which we hadn't expected. The apartment was air-conditioned but not the bedroom opposite the bathroom on the ground floor. This may a good reason not to put children into it. The mezzanine and living room areas were cooler. Water is about 1.40 for 6 one and a half litre bottles. We went through between 6 and 12 a day. You will drink a lot and of course you'll use the water for cooking. The local restaurants were excellent and reasonably priced. Again the staff were helpful and friendly. True you'll have to search for greek food but it is out there! we made our own greek salads. For a cheap relaxing holiday it's hard to beat. Enjoy Phil

Me and my boyfriend, brother and sister-in-law and their son stayed at this hotel it was fantastic all the time. The people are really friendly and so are all of the staff. We had no problems with the life guard at all i read some reviews before going and it seemed the life guard wasn't polite or nice she apparently has a skin disorder that prevents her from going in the sun. We heard that she was always on her phone and always at the bar which is true. But she wasn't rude to us. We stayed for 2 weeks and the maid service is fantastic the bar staff during the day was quite bad there was a new barmaid and she was useless basically specially with cocktails. But the barman on the night shift ahkis was great. cheap drinks a nice swimming pool and great maid service. This hotel was so beautiful the only problem is that we and some other couples had ant problems in the apartment and had to buy some ant killer because we had so many ants. We had a few that were in beds but not alot really to be bad...if you do get bitten rub tomato's over the bites and that helps..definitely try to go to paliokatrista and take snorkles because the water is so clear and feed old bread to the fish because they will eat out of ur hands. We had a fantastic holiday and sad to come home yesterday but will definitely be staying at govino bay again

myself and my family have recently stopped at govino bay apartments and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience the locals are lovely and the food is excellent, a must if you have children is to visit aqualand an amazing water park only 5k away. a really friendly bar that I would suggest is Hackers internet cafe, where the food is also excellent and the service is second to none, a family run buisness.

We had a great time - the accomodation was brillinat value, room was spacious, we were on the ground floor (Room 611) so we had a patio with table and chairs and a lovely view of the grounds and bay, we couldn'y have asked for anything better. The rooms were kept really clean, the cleaners did a fantastic job 6 days a week. All the staff are extremely friendly and spoke fantastic English. One of my daughters was stung by a jellyfish, the lifeguard was absolutely brilliant. She treated it straight away and within 30 mins the swelling had disappeared. Although a previous review mentions the restrictions around the pool i.e. no inflatables or ball games before 5 O'Clock this only added to a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday. My 2 children aged 9 & 6 had no problem with this. In fact, other guests advised me that the only time their children had had accidents was after 5.00 pm, when games and inflatables are allowed. This is because the lifeguard finishes at this time. The grounds on the apartments are simply fantastic (although there were some issues with ants on the sunbeds). We tended to move our sunbeds onto the beach area. I say beach area, as the apartments are built around the bay there isn't a proper beach it feels more like a lake. This however did not spoil the location. As mentioned by previous reviewers there is a shortcut to the town through the hotel Corcyca next to the apartments, it is just a 5 min walk. There are enough restaurants to eat in a different one every night of your holiday. We did not find one bad restaurant although, on our 2nd visit to Bella Mamas I had to return my meal as I had a cold moussaka. I would recommend Moukas Restauant, it is really friendly, quick service and definately value for money. The Mexican at the far end is great, really good atmosphere. Restaurant SOS really surprised us, lovely salads, the only one to contain grated carrot and the did a great Meze. Muses we found to be the only restaurant where the staff were unwelcoming, I got the feeling they were not keen on children. They where very unaccomodating which was the opposite for all other restaurants. We found the cost of the meals very reasonable much cheaper than Spain. A pint of beer cost around 3 euros and a 0.5 litre of wine ranged from 4 - 6. All the house wine we had was great. Elvis at Melodies Bar was a fun night out , my 2 girls really enjoyed this, dancing until 1 am. I would recommend a day at Aqualand, however get a taxi 15 euros one way and pay on the door it is so much cheaper than the excursion offered by holiday rep and other agents in the town. There are 38 slides and the 3rd largest wave pool. Plenty of sunbeds so no need to get there early. We also went on a boat trip to Paxos (Sarris Cruises). Again book this in the town, there is a travel agent just down from Melodies, so much cheaper than the holiday rep. Although Paxos was lovely to visit, it took 2 hrs and 100s of people were on the boat. The boat was too big to enter the blue caves that it visits during the journey and you were not allowed to swim in them, which was a bit disappointing. There were smaller boats closer to the caves where this did happen. We hired a car for 2 days, again do this in the town not via the rep. We paid 100 euros for 2 days for a Jimny Open top Jeep. Day 1 we went up North to Roda & Sidari. If you like busy sandy beaches where you cannot get a sunbed these are the places for you. We didn't stay at these beaches but decided to stop at Kaminaki, the beach was OK and the sea was shallow, sunbeds were available (arrived at 1.00 pm), but a couple of hours is enough. On the 2nd day, we went to the West visiting Glifada, much better beach and worth a visit. We stayed for about 4 hours and drove to Paleokastritsa, which again was lovely. Here we went on a small boat ride which took you right into some caves where there were some beautiful sites. This trip cost 20 euros for the 4 of us and lasted 30 mins. You simply get in a boat from the beach. The West side of the island is definately the best and I would recommend if you hire a car you spend your time along the West,forget the North. Overall, we had a great holiday and after seeing more of the island in the car, we really appreciated how lovely Govina Bay Apartments and their grounds were.

We had a lovely relaxing holiday at these apartments, they were very clean and spacious. we had a problen with the water heater but it was fixed within an hour. Gouvia was a 20 min stroll away through the neighbouring resort. and it was very easy on the local buses to corfu town. We had a few meals at Daphne's try her fetta in the oven for a starter mmmmmmmm, the chinese restaurant in Gouvia SZE CHUAN was excelent also the Olivios Italian was very good. Nine muses was ok but they tried to rush you. Watch the iced coffee in the beach bar in Gouvia they use tap water. There were plenty of water sports around and about

Fantastic accomodation and setting if you are a couple I would imagine. However, with three small children we felt that we were not particulary welcome or that they were not welcoming. The lifeguard is a threatening presence over the pool, a whistle around her neck spoiling any attempt at pleasure. No lilo's or balls allowed in the pool - and Lord help you if you try to move one of the blue sunbeds! But at 5 o'clock - well, what a different story! The shutters on the bar go down (why? everyone knows that you need a drink at that time as a pre-cursor to your night out) and the gestapo leave the area. Before you know it, everyone has come out of the woodwork and the pool is positively writhing with people having FUN with balls and lilo's nevertheless. Shocking! Honestly, the atmosphere completely changes and then Govino Bay is lovely. Get rid of the brooding presence of the lifeguard and her lackeys and remember that what we really want is fun on our holidays. Alternatively - and here's a radical thought - don't bother advertising this place for families - oh yes, but I forgot - we're the ones bringing the cash in, aren't we? The apartments were great, the grounds fantastic, Aqualand and the marina, the 9 Muses restaurant all lovely. But would we return? Not until the gestapo stop making us feel like we've committed a criminal offence just for blowing up an airbed!

I have been to Govino bay 3 times now in the last 4 years. Both with friends and with my teenage son. I get mad at people who write bad reviews for this place as it is a small paradise and if you go onto other review sites most people sing its praises!!! Yes, a few of the apartments are a bit dated but they are in the process of redecorating and updating them, but even at that they are always immaculate and well constructed and i feel value for money. The re-done ones look absolutely beautiful. They are set in the most gorgeous well-kept gardens and sit directly on a small shingle private beach. Many of the stafff have been there for years and are friendly, welcoming and helpfull as are the locals, (with the exception of one grumpy maid!). There is a short cut to the town if you go onto the beach and walk round to the Corkyra Hotel (the apartments sister hotel) There is a path that runs up to the main street. There is no entertainment in the complex itself at night although the pool bar is open for a quite drink. You go to the Corkyra Poolside for that where the reps do their show and a helpful Pavlos the bar manager is always smiling. He has quite a sarcastic sense of humour and is good at saying "Gonna no dae that!" The food at Daphnes which sits just inside the main gates is scrumptious but Bella Mamas Restaurant, a 5min walk into town is the best i found. Melodies bar run by Minos and his wife is a great place for your evening drink. Don't book anything like boat trips ets through your rep, go to the travel centre just along from Melodies bar in the village. Spiros boat the Magdalena does a lovely boat trip to the north of the island with a few stops along the way a vistit to a small fishing village on the coast, jumping of the boat to swim into caves then stopping for a while at a private beach for a greek barbeque - all included in the price which is very reasonable. You can also get trips to Paxos and the main land. There is are also 2 waterparks with Aqualand being only 20mins away and a great day out! You can get the No.7 blue bus from right outside the main gates it runs every half hour and it's only 1 euro to Corfu town! There is so much to do and see in the town, but be sure to talk a wander away from the main square down the winding back streets to the older parts of Corfu abd be sure to visit the old and new fortresses. I would love to live here it's such a beautifull place and i have never met anyone who hasn't thoroughly enjoyed thier holiday there. It is ideal for any age. P.s try Bongos Bar and Restaurant if you have young children as they have a supervised play area for your children while you can relax.

We have just returned from a lovely holiday in these apartments 3 weeks ago. They are well situated with a transfer time of approx. 20 minutes from the airport ,a 5 minute walk to the shops in Gouvia and approx. 20 minute bus to Corfu town (depending on time of year). We had a 2 bedroomed apartment which has a ground floor bedroom and a mezzanine (balcony) bedroom above the lounge. The apartment was very spacious and here are some points for people who may wish to stay here 1. The mezzanine bedroom has stairs from the lounge and no stair gates. Our 2 daughters (aged 2 and 4) shared this bedroom and we were a bit concerned about the stairs so close to their beds, but we placed our large suitcase over the gap and it seemed to do the trick with them using it as a sliding door. They thought it was a great adventure to 'sleep upstairs'. The actual mezzanine was very large which gave them plenty of space to keep their toys. I understand that a lot of the apartments are privately owned so some may have stair gates. The larger apartments (like ours) all seem to be situated on the upper floors and the 1 bedroomed apartments all seem to be on the gound floor. 2. I read a review on these apartments before we came which wasn't very good. It mentioned that the place had a lot of ants. The third day into our holiday and my daughters dropped some bread on the floor when eating their breakfast. Within 5 minutes it was covered with ants (not sure where they came from). My husband went to the supermarked and bought some ant killer. We sprayed the floor in the corners and we never saw another ant in the apartment and we were there for 2 weeks. 3. The apartments are set in beautiful grounds with own private beach (see picture). The beach is very pretty, but there is a river delta here and the sea is a bit cloudy and reedy. We preferred to use the hotel pool when we didn't venture out which was very clean and overlooks the beach. It is olympic size with a toddlers pool next to it. The water is clearer elsewhere (further away from the river), but people did swim in it and it was very calm. 4. If you book a larger apartment, they do not have balconies, although they have very large windows and are very bright. The ground floor apartments have terraces with table and chairs. 5. The cleaner came every day except sunday and kept our apartment immaculate which must have been a hard job with my 2 children! I spoke to other people in the complex and they also said how clean their apartments were kept. 6. The kitchen in the apartment is very basic with a small cooker with 1 large and 1 small cooker ring, a microwave, kettle and coffee maker. But we prefer to eat out when we are on holiday. 7. Good places to eat. We had several take-away cocktails from a restaurant called Daphne's which is just next door to the complex. (go out of the front and turn right). They also make a good english breakfast (recommended by others and I can't manage such a large breakfast). We had quite a few lunches and dinners there and the quality of the food was good. To go to Gouvia, you leave at the front of the complex and turn left. After about 3 minutes there is a turning left which is signposted Gouvia and this is the beginning of the shops and bars. We had some lovely meals at 9 muses and they seem to be the only restuarant that does grilled tuna steak. Also Moukas was one of our favourites. 8. Things to do. We hired a boat on a couple of occasions from Billy's Jet Ski. (when you go to Gouvia shops, just by 9 Muses turn left signposted to beach). When you get to the beach turn right towards the marina and you will see Billy's Jet Ski on the beach. You get instructions on how to use the boat and are directed along the coast to a taverna called Agni. This restaurant was very special and has had a good review in the Telegraph. The man who runs it is english and I found out about the restaurant and Billys jet ski from his website which is (--). We were lucky to go in June, because I have spoken to a friend of mine who went there by car and she said it gets quite busy in the high season. The beach here is small and pebbly but the water is very clear and the children had a great time. You do not have to go to Agni if you don't want as there are several bays and tavernas along the coast and they all have jetties for you to moor your boat. When you go near to any taverna they run out to help you 'park' your boat which was great for us as we were total novices. The boat costs around 100 euros for the day . They also do a night trip where you take the boat at around 6 in the everning to agni's taverna and you moor there for the night. You come back the next morning and some people have spotted dolphins on their return journey. The night time hire is around 70 euros. We hired the boat with another family with their 2 children and there was plenty of room for the 8 of us with life jackets (in the right sizes) provided for everyone. This was a very special experience for us and we loved just stopping the boat here and there and jumping off to cool down. I would definately recommend a holiday in Gouvia and would love to return again and Govino Bay was a perfect base for our holiday.

After reading many reviews on these apartments we where all loking forward to staying. What a mistake first of all there is no reception and because the apartments are so spred out a security guard puts your luggage in his truck and says follow me. When we got there our aprtment faced the small bar and unles you know about the short cut into Gouvia you walk for about 10 minutes till you get to Gouvia out the main gates. The rooms are basic so is the kitchen equipment they don't even give you a wooden spoon!! The information that they give you in your room is 2001 4 years out of date. maids came in when they wanted to which is not good when they don't empty the toilet bins. when we moved the sofa beds we found loads of dust paper and broken glass. The life guard would be on her phone all day and would not let you have anything in the pool They are trying to sell the apartments which speaks volumes