Elly Beach Hotel

My wife and I have just returned from staying at the Elly Beach Hotel, Liapades, Corfu. After we had booked the we decided to have a look at the area on the web and came across Holiday Watchdog. We read the reviews with sinking hearts but decided to go out there with a positive mindset!
We arrived at Corfu Airport to meet our transport (£40 extra). we were met by a Czech lady whose words were "you have two cases, I have only a very small car!" she wasn't kidding, it was a beat up old red fiat Uno. My wife ended up having a to hold a case next to her on the back seat, her hand luggage sat on her knee. I sat in the front with seat forward to give my wife some legroom and a backpack on my knees. It was a baking hot day, the car had no A/C and only the two front windows opened! Things could only get better, couldn't they?
At the Hotel we were shown to Room 103 on the lower level adjacent to the pool bar (5 metres to the right). The view of the sea and bay was splendid.
When the cleaner had finished we entered the room, to say it smelled bad is putting it mildly. The bathroom, the rear wall of the bedroom adjacent to the headboard all had mould growing on them, the walls were actually wet to the touch. The bed, the sofa, the wardrobe and the curtains were all damp to the touch. We complained to reception and were shown another room which was again totally unacceptable, eventually we were shown to the "bungalows". These were much better although they were up a partially made broken concrete road laid onto a 45 degree hill (I kid not!) and about a ten minute walk from the "restaurant".
The bungalow seemed to be fine until our neighbours for the week arrived. They were lovely people however whenever they used the bathroom for whatever purpose it soon became apparent that a cost saving measure had been employed and the dividing wall between bathrooms had been finished a few brick courses short of the ceiling! You could hear (and smell) everything they said or did! This was confirmed with other occupants of the bungalows as being the same in all of them.
The food (and I use the word loosely) in the evening was absolutely appalling! There is no other way to describe it. As one German lady said "It is hard to tell what one mush is from the other mush!" It was cold and of very poor quality, the dessert on the first evening comprised a Jelly! As my wife said "I haven't had Jelly on its own since I was at School!" We tried one more evening from the Al a'carte menu the Mousaka my wife ordered had obviously been microwaved as it was hot around the perimeter of the dish but stone cold in the middle - That was the last straw subsequently we ate out at a wonderful little taverna opposite the black and yellow taxi boat in the village. I really cannot recommend this taverna enough, excellent food and at a very good price.
The beach itself was filthy with litter (old tins, drinking straws etc) the water looked inviting but I could not work out where the smell of drains was coming from! I wandered over to the left of the beach where the boat hire jetty is and, looking over at the rocks on the left side of the bay, i could see the clear water was somewhat "coloured". I walked along what appears to be a newly built sandstone type wall to where it ended behind the rocks; I discovered the source of the smell and the water colouration.
There was a large diameter pipe pouring effluent of some description openly into the sea albeit hidden behind a large rock. The smell was dreadful. There was God knows what (Although I have a pretty good idea!) pouring into the sea 3 metres from the shoreline and only 25 metres from where families with little children were playing in the water, people snorkeling all blissfully unaware. The literature claims the bay to be one of the cleanest; I think not! We changed the name from Elly Beach to "Smelly Beach".
All of these facts have been reported to the reps in resort and they came up and sampled the food - they said they found it acceptable! I make no comment on that!
My wife and I have stayed at various places around the World and at many other of the Greek Islands. Elly Beach was by far the worst hotel we have ever stayed at, not surprisingly we will not be returning.
The Hotel needs to review its catering and invest in properly heated serving areas, invest a lot of money on repairing and renewing the buildings, the top pool and its surrounds (broken tiles and rotten wood are hardly conducive to a safe environment for anybody let alone children).
The local "council" or authority or even the hotels themselves need to get together and get the beach cleaned up, bins would be a great help to this end and would encourage holidaymakers to dispose of their waste more wisely.
A great concern to me is the effluent pipe emptying into the bathing area I would advise anyone with children to stay out of the water - this needs urgent attention!
The hotel falls well short of its acclaimed three star standard its only saving grace is its wonderful staff, the chap on reception really could not have been more helpful; to the all the hotel staff – Thank you.
Most of the above comments have been recorded in the Hotel guestbook by previous clients - such a useful tool, shame the hotel management don't choose to act on the remarks and also such a same that "in country" representatives of the travel company don't read them; they are there to look after our concerns hopefully the Lady to whom I refer now realizes that I will not make any statement that I cannot fully evidence. Elly Beach Hotel - avoid it!

If you are thinking about going to the Elly Beach Hotel then ignore some of the other posts about it being terrible - I loved it and came back thoroughly relaxed!!!
To address some of the complaints I have read;
1) Yes, wasps are a problem there but a problem easily remedied....we found that putting an open jam sachet a few tables away meant that you had a hassle-free meal. The hotel staff had also placed wasps traps discreetly around the hotel.
2) Cats - yes there were cats, but they were the cutest, prettiest little animals and their presence was not at all unwelcome! There were only 3 adult cats there and 3 kittens.
3) Food - we had no problem with the food served - don't expect to have 5* food if you are paying for a 3* star hotel, and the food from the a la carte menu was lovely and very reasonable.
They were the only negatives I could possibly address - I couldn't find any others.
The Elly Beach Hotel has the most amazing location, it is absolutely stunning. You eat your evening meals on verandas overlooking the bay with waves gently lapping in and distant music from the quiet bar below (if you are looking for a clubbing/ bar holiday go elsewhere).
The beach is 10 seconds from your room, the pools are gorgeous and the rooms are clean and comfortable (air conditioning highly recommended). Definitely take a trip to Corfu town - great in the day for shopping and lovely in the evening for meals and drinks.
Oh and don't forget to go to the water park - it's awesome!
Have a great stay, I certainly did.

We knew it was beautiful when we arrived, but we couldn’t really appreciate it because it was dark. When we opened the curtains the next morning, we couldn’t believe the view. It was incredible.
The hotel is placed right on the beach in the middle of a spectacular bay. Our room was huge by modern standards and had a large balcony overlooking the fabulous bay. We too went to sleep to the sound of the lapping waves.
The whole hotel complex is spread out, so not one of those anonymous high rise blocks. It's simple, no frills accommodation - but with everything you need really. The joy of the simpler hotel is lower prices (food, drinks etc) and less people. Nearby Paleokastritsa was equally beautiful but their beaches were really crowded even in September.
The food was fine. On one evening we didn’t fancy the half-board buffet so bought off the menu - but at a fiver a head that was no great hardship.
We didn’t take a car as we don’t drive, but that looked a lovely option. Again, no real hardship - you can get taxis to most places and it's not hard to get a bus back from Corfu Town, if you don’t mind a downhill stroll through olive groves and villages for 30 minutes at the end of it (heaven).
We had an amazing week. It's not for room-service addicts - but if you're happy in your own company, like a relaxed atmosphere in a spectacular setting, it's a little bit of heaven I'd say.

Like Mr Pearse we were arrived nervously at this hotel having read other people’s comments about this hotel from 2004 and like him we were expecting the worst. What we found was an idyllic setting and a lovely hotel. Our room overlooked the bay and all we could hear during the night was the sea lapping onto the beach. We ate on the terrace in the evening watching the sun set over the mountains. It was peaceful and very romantic.
Anyone wanting Blackpool in the sun will be disappointed.
We also agree that you get what you pay for and for under £250 half board we feel we got a real bargain. This hotel is gorgeous. The food was excellent - the staff told us that they have a new chef and a new menu. The staff were very helpful and nothing was a problem for them. We didn’t really meet the owner so can’t comment on him.
There were 2 regular cats who visited the terrace! We didn’t see any wasps but apparently there are a few in the hotter months.
We will definitely go back one day.

1 reader found this review helpful

The dreadful comments about this hotel on this site nearly put us off going. Thank god we didn’t listen to these wingers.
Briefly:
I) Hotel setting absolutely stunning -if you want to wear kiss me quick hats and drink Fosters Lager till you fall over this is not the place for you.
ii) For value for money, this was absolutely excellent. (For those who pay £300 for a week in the Greek Isles and expect absolute luxury - get real!!)
iii) The staff are absolutely wonderful (except the owner who has clearly had a charisma by pass)
iv) The food pretty good by Greek standards, - a good choice for evening meals and a good breakfast (Buy your own British Jam at the local supermarket)
v) The swimming pool and gardens and terrace are truly delightful.
vi) The sight of the sun setting over the sea and private bay to the front is stunning, - got to be one of the prettiest bays in all Corfu.
vii) Yes there were some cats, but these were not intrusive and didn’t bother you if you didn’t want to be bothered. (There weren’t any mice or rats either!!) I know which I prefer to see)
viii) As for complaints about wasps!! - well really you might as well complain that there were flies and mosquitoes!! - This is a Greek island, not Brighton.
ix) The rooms were large with large balconies with wonderful sea views. Maybe they are looking a little tired in some respects, however as somebody who has visited Greek Islands many times before, the room was more than acceptable (Air conditioning is available).
x) The local area is outstanding Paliokastritsa is stunning, but visit Dukades a lovely Proper Village, have Beef in garlic sauce with some basic local red wine at "Elizabeths" - unforgettable and amazing value. (The moaning minnies would probably complain at the noise of the village childeren playing in the square!!)
xi) Go to the Elly Beach with an open mind, - its been there for some time but its clear that a lot of money has and is being spent at the present time.
xii) Excellent crowd of people all concerned at the negative comments previously expressed, but all glad the had visited Elly Beach.
xiii) Would love to go again, but after describing the Hotel Owner as a "distant" unsociable so and so, will probably not be welcome back!!

We can only confirm what has been said earlier about this hotel. There is no way it deserved 4 star rating-in fact it is more 2 star.
The food was dreadful-no choice at all. And the dining area always full of cats and wasps. The food was left uncovered and it was often hard to tell what we were eating.
The rooms were basic in the extreme and bathrooms also basic. There was no menu choice to speak of ,and although complaints were made to the rep ,and although she admitted there had been many, no offer was made of other accommodation. Every guest at the hotel complained and some had even tried to change their booking before they came, when they had read the web site.
The complaints made to Accommodation2u since our return have met with no success other than a condescending ‘this is what Greek hotels are like’. As seasoned travellers we know this is not true, having previously stayed twice in the area in excellent 3 star accommodation.
May we add that the hotel staff were lovely, but the agencies are wrong to advertise this as they do, knowing of the complaints, and we are now considering our next step.

No way was this a 4 star rating hotel, more like a 2 star. The food served for breakfast and evening meals was bland & basic, but if you purchased a meal from the menu it was excellent. The location was heavenly, the hotel is set in a wonderful bay that is tranquil and stunning.
The accommodation was a turn off right from the start, the bathroom floor flooded every time one of us took a bath. The bed sheets were changed every day, but on close observation they had cigarette burn marks on them.
When we were trying to eat breakfast swarms of wasps tried to land on our food & cats seemed to rule the roost, always begging around the tables. I love animals but this was ridiculous.
The hotel has 2 swimming pools one being salt water that meant a shower was required after a dip. The beach is mainly shingle with a steep winding lane leading up to Lipids itself.
The staff & the cleaners were really friendly people, but the manager seemed aloof and distant.
When me & my family go back to Corfu again in the future, because it is such a lovely island, we would avoid Elly Beach hotel mainly due to the plumbing system & the food, but that said the hotel is just average set in a gorgeous location.