Corfu Palace Hotel

Of course any hotel looks great when there are no problems that come up. The way I judge a hotel is how they handle problems. I stayed at the Corfu Palace Hotel for one month. I was a single female traveling alone on business. I had prepaid before I left for my trip the transfers from the airport to the hotel and back. I confirmed with the tour company in Corfu several days before my departure to make sure the taxi would arrive at the hotel to take me back to the airport. The tour company faxed me confirmation that the taxi would arrive at 5:45am. It was about 6 am and the taxi had not arrived. I was really getting worried because I had several bags and they were heavy. Also, I did not want to miss my plane to Athens because then I would miss my plane back to the States. Now I am looking to the hotel for help. The reception person said he would call me another taxi and I informed him I had no more euros. He called several people, but they would not come because I did not have euros to pay them. The reception person asked me what I was doing traveling with no euros. I told him I did not need euros, I had prepaid the transfer. I informed him I had only US dollars. He told me that was just fine, and all I had to do was pay the taxi with dollars. I want to inform everyone reading this that even if you prepay everything and you are going home, have euros with you. The reception person was wrong, taxi people do not like US dollars. He called a taxi that came, but the taxi person became very rude and mocked me when he found out I had dollars. He left. The reception called another taxi. That driver was also very upset and unhappy because of the dollars but he did take me to the airport. He complained all the way and he gave me no help with the luggage at the airport. A hotel of that caliber and they do not have any arrangements with the taxi people in Corfu to take someone to the airport that had stayed one month. It was sad that the hotel could not come up with a solution to help me. That was my second stay there. I have several properties in Corfu. Everytime I go back to Corfu I will never stay at the Corfu Palace again, and the people that go to Corfu concerning my business properties will not be staying at the Corfu Palace either.

The Corfu Palace Hotel needs to be refurbished. The Two Single Beds in our two adjoining rooms had to be over Ten years old. When I asked for another matteress they just put a pad on it. The price of the Hotel went up 75.00 euro between our reservation and arrival. The Staff thou was very helpful and pleasent.

Three minutes taxi ride from the airport and we (me,54, my wife 21 she tells me and our youngest son 15) drew up outside the Corfu Palace Hotel - and what a beautiful floral sight, both grounds and setting. Porters literally rushed to take our cases and Reception couldn't have been nicer. We'd reserved a room with an extra bed for our 15 year old son. When we got to the room there was a little Z bed there - he's 6' 2". The porters held up their hands in astonishnment and assured us it would be changed -within 3 minutes it was and maids rushed in to make the beds -we asked for more pillows -they were there in seconds. The room decor was tired (we were on the 5th floor) but I've yet to see an "old style" Uk hotel any better - and the view and the service soon makes you forget any shortcomings. If you want new go stay in a budget hotel with no aura. The airconditioning worked . Mozzy scarers and lotions were available in the little shop by the hairdressers, although we had no problems with them till the last night in the gardens. A short walk into the beautiful Corfu Town built by the Venetians, dinner in Town and a pleasant eveneing later at the Pool Bar was repeated pretty well every night. Next morning - well what a breakfast. In 25 years of staying in UK hotels, sometimes a different one every night I've never seen the equal of it - even a chef standing by to cook fresh eggs. The new Manager later told me that he regularly reads this site and tries to correct any shortcomings. He added that they've just spent a fortune on the outdoor pool and 600,000 euros on updating the kitchens. He admits the next job is the rooms. As advised the BBQ is well worth the price and every Tuesday night the manager has a free cocktail hour to meet and chat to the guests. Would we go back....definite yes and probably this year and I know that the minute I walk through the door I'll be greeted ny name.

The gardens and pool area are excellent. The hotel in general terms is 'tired' looking. Our first guest room smelled very musty and needed a good dust. The one we stayed in was somewhat 'old looking' with handles missing on cupboards paint missing on wood. Certainly not 5 star quality and more importantly the cleanliness was not there. The bathroom florsecent celing grate was completely covered in black black dirt. I kept thinking it would fall down on me. Great centre town location withnot much other choice in hotels. I just want to stress that in terms of a 5 star hotel and the criteria for one - this should not longer be classed as 5 star. If you just care about the pool area for relaxing then you will be more than happy.

The Corfu Palce Hotel was all we had expected of it. It is in the ideal location for Corfu Town, just two minutes walk. The staffthrughout the hotel were very attentive from the moment we arrived until giving us a free extension time on our room at the end of our stay. The breakfast buffet was first class and the bedrooms were always maintained to the highest possible level. This is one hotel we would be happy to revisit.

The last ten days we spent our holidays in Corfu Greece, which was an excellent choice. The island is beautifully green right now with lots of flowers. We stayed in the Corfu Palace hotel and we had a great time. We stayed on the 6th floor (superior room) with a splendid view on the sea from a real spacious balcony. The interior of the hotel is ok and would need an investor to make it top class. The location is fabulous (old town within walking distance/ 10 minutes most) and the facilities (swimmingpool, terrace to lunch or dine) are great. What really makes the difference however were the staff; we never experienced the royal treatment we've got here: the staff (director, receptionist. waiter, poolbarman) are extremely friendly and interested in your well being. No wonder that many of the guests (a lot of them grey haired pensionaries) were "regulars". We had a great time and would very positively recommend the hotel.....because the people make the difference.

OK so we stayed at the Corfu Palace Hotel by default as the Grecotel Imperial Palace closed early! I'll state this up front so that you understand that this hotel was not our first choice. Having said that, in common with other respondents we agree that the location is excellent for access to Corfu Town its sights and amenities. We spent several days on enjoyable strolls taking in the odd cafe for lunches and cakes! The hotel benefits from all rooms having a sea view facing east you get some excellent sun rises.... in October this was around 8am so not too early! (See photo). There is a road passing in front of the hotel that is moderately busy, but no beach. The promenade is flat to the south and can be easily walked for 1 to 2 kilometers to a windmill under restoration, and further on you reach the house Mon Repos where Prince Philip was born - worth the visit despite this fact. The other way leads gently uphill into Corfu Town. The roof gardens on the first floor were badly in need of maintenance. (see Photo) The rooms, as stated elsewhere, vary in standard.If you pay for upgrade the 6th floor is better furnished and has some additional club level type facilities. We understand that rooms on the 5th floor have also had some refurbishment. However other rooms can be large but basic to the point of not even having headboards.... somewhat drab by modern standards. The breakfasts were fairly standard but food was left out early and the chefs were not present to continuously cook eggs / pancakes as you might expect in a "5 star" establishment. We did not eat lunch in during our 10 day stay. The evening meals could either be taken as a Table d'Hote menu (for those on half-board)or you could use the small A La Carte restaurant. At least we could for the first half of our vacation. Then the hotel became the base for local hotel and catering students who were going to be there for some months - until March 2006 we understand. In the evenings the main restaurant was then used by this group whilst all the hotel guests and outside diners crammed into the A La Carte restaurant some experiencing delays of 1 hour to get a table. The food quality was mostly good and complaints about the lack of timely publication of evening meal options and decline in food quality during the second week eventually bore results with some upgrades to A La Carte at no additional cost. However the gentlemen acting as waiters had seen better days, Nicolas being the honourable exception. Several required glasses as they could not even read their own handwriting when taking orders, and one made a very passable impression of being related to Manuel from Fawlty Towers! The indoor pool and leisure facility is run by an outside organisation with a wierd charging approach. 25 euros for a 30 minute massage seems fair, but 20 euro for each use of the Jacuzzi does not.... the pool was free and unheated as was the outdoor pool so these were used by limited numbers but it could be so much better. The reception staff seemed to lack a "can do" attitude we gave up asking for things like mosquito killing devices which they promised... yes they were there in October, mainly in the garden surrounding the outdoor pool. It seemed like they felt the season had ended and they couldn't be bothered. We visited the Grecotel Imperial Palace Hotel near the end of our stay and though closed we could see what we had missed out upon. Given the choice I would stay there and travel in to Corfu Town next time.... Given a few million euros on refurbishment and a management team that prided themselves on having the best staff in Corfu this place could be excellent once again. I hope for those of you returning they make the effort. Taken in good part it did not ruin our vacation, but if you are expecting first class service and amenities this is not the hotel I would recommend. (By the way the Corfu Holdiay Palace is an entirely different hotel near the end of the airport runway - this has caused confusion on this site elsewhere)

The location of this hotel is terrific, it is within walking distance of Corfu town but is not noisy as it is not in the centre and the poolside area is the best thing about it, no noisy music, no noisy kids ( just a few well behaved ones). We are a couple in our 30s on our last holiday without children as we are expecting, and it fitted our needs perfectly, although we were just about the youngest there. I can't really add much more to the previous reviewers comments ( posted Sep 05). We were on the ground floor and we couldn't see the sea, we did have a lovely view of the garden so we weren't that disappointed. I thought the buffet evening at 45 euros was incredible value for money, I have never seen such a wonderful array of seafood, barbecue items & any other Greek dish you care to mention and then a huge dessert selection. The greek entertainment was somewhat lame, I think perhaps not all of the dancers were true professionals, but it was still a great evening. The poolside prices especially for lunch were very steep. A club sandwich costs 12.5 Euros, roughly the price of a starter and main course in town. There were also bizarre rules about which poolside bar could serve what and only certain foods could be served by the pool. We also got told off for bringing our coffee down from breakfast, so be careful to only consume items you have purchased there. Breakfast had an excellent selection of foods and a fresh orange juice maker, Michael Winner would approve ! The service was generally top notch, and the amenities such as the paper shop and the spa were a plus, but the standard of the rooms is more 4 star than 5 star. From what we saw of other hotels in Corfu town and Corfu generally, this appeared to be the only well located plush hotel.

My husband (37) and I (34) stayed at the Corfu Palace the last two weeks of August and it was our first visit to Corfu island. The location of this hotel is excellent - a ten minute stroll to the Liston area of the town centre. We arrived in our room about 11pm and there was a bowl of fresh fruit, a bottle of red wine and a fresh flower arrangement in our room. The bed linen and towels were changed every day and there was a small vase of flowers in our room every day. The hotel also provides pool towels which are changed every evening between 6 and 6.30 pm. The room was a good size with antique-style furniture and loads of wardrobe space and hangers - the bathroom was a little small but perfectly fine. Every room has a sea view from which you can see the old fort, the Greek mainland and Albania. I would recommend that when you are booking this hotel to request a high floor as I suspect that the lower floors have a limited sea view. We ended up with the fourth floor which was fine (there are only six floors). Breakfast at the hotel was excellent - there was something for everyone including freshly made crossiants and danish pastries, different meats and cheeses, about 12 different cereals, pancakes, sliced melon, fruit salad, tomatoes and cucumber, different varities of yoghurt and jams, various breads and hot breakfast selection including bacon, sausages, eggs and mushrooms. There was also a fresh orange juice machine, and other juice including grapefruit and peach. There was also a toaster and a capp/latte maker. Tea and coffee is served by the waiters and you have a choice of sitting outside or inside. We always had our breakfast around 9am - it was never busy and there was a good choice of tables. Apart from breakfast, the best bit about this hotel is the pool and garden areas - it is so quiet. This is not a hotel for anyone with children of any age - there is nothing for them to do. There is no kids club and no daytime activities. If your ideal of a holiday is rest, relaxation and peace and quiet, with no children running about, the pool at the hotel fits the bill. It is easy to get a sun lounger and each pair of sun loungers has a brolly and a table. The hotel discourages the use of airbeds and beach balls in the pool for any children that are there. Most of the clientel at this hotel are aged from mid 30's to 80's/90's and seemed to be mainly English and Greek. We used the pool bar every day and the beer and wine is about the same price as Corfu Town. The water however is far too expensive - 3 euro 20 for one bottle. You can buy 4 bottles for that price from one of the kiosks in town. We had lunch at the pool bar - there is a fairly extensive menu but we mainly had toasties, club sandwich, burger and fries or omlettes all of which were very tasty with good portions and ranged from about 6 euro up to about 20 euro in price. The hotel has a cocktail hour every Tuesday from 7pm - 8pm where the manager makes a point of talking to everyone. (Tip - don't have the cocktails, they are like water. The wine and beer are complimentary so its better to have those instead). Every Thursday is the BBQ night with entertainment but we thought it was a bit expensive at 45 euro a head. All the staff at this hotel are friendly, helpful and efficient from the manager to the cleaners. The public areas inside the hotel have fresh flower arrangements everywhere each day. The hotel is listed as a five-star but I would say it is more like a good 4 star. Having said that, the pool, the atmosphere, the view and the breakfasts are definately worth five stars. I would recommend this hotel to anyone - it is an oasis of relaxation compared to the bustle and noise of Corfu Town.

We stayed at the Corfu Palace Hotel, which is the best hotel on the Island. As we had a late flight on the evening they let us keep one of our 3 rooms which we appreciated the ladies on reception are very helpful, but the men seem to be less friendly, it is an informal hotel and you appreciate that it is in Corfu Town so you can walk to the shops and the harbour for your boat trips, our Thomas Cook representative was very helpful so yes i would definately recommend this hotel with a sea view if you want to stay on Corfu Island.