Romanza Hotel

First time to Corfu and checked with Trip Advisor where to stay and go. Found The Romanza in San Stephanos and can say now what a really great holiday we had. The Romanza was just as described and the hill no where near as bad. Mind you it was only 27+ degrees and we did not attempt it during middle of day. Romanza very friendly, clean and well situated to enjoy the lovely nearly unspoilt fishing village of San Stephanos. Every one friendly but not pushy and we ate most nights at the hotel and were not disappointed. Lunch time was a lovely kebab in the Tasty Corner - good value and great place to sit and watch all the activities of the main street. Only one disappointing thing about Corfu and that was our meal in Corfu Town on a night visit. Went to The Central and found the food, staff and toilets very very bad. Our meal was adequate but you are charged a 3.00 euro cover charge and everyone around us complained about the service and food - so do not go there!!!! We hired a quad bike on our last day and it was great fun - wish we had hired it much earlier in the holiday and will definitely do so when we return to San Stephanos hopefully next year. Did not like Sidari bit like Clacton but it served a purpose for families etc. If you are looking for a nice quiet holiday would definitely recommend the Romanza

If its simply a view and a pool holiday you want this is perfect. There are no rowdy customers and the staff are very welcoming and friendly. The food is outstanding in the restaurant even if a little slow to arrive. The word 'hotel' didnt match what we were expecting though. It is apartments and unfortunately we were put on one of the groundfloor apartments which proved noisy due to the guests above us. The walk to the village or beach is down hill but you have to get back and in 30 degrees heat and no options of a taxi its a bit of a struggle at times. A car was a must for us and you'll need one if you run out of money because there are no cashpoints in the village either. On a more positive note the resort of San Stefanos is great with some great restaurants. We enjoyed the holiday but probably wouldnt stay at the romanza again. Fantastic value for money though if all you want is a quiet pool holiday.

San Stefanos is a purpose built resort with little if any Greek charm. There are lots of restaurants there all selling the same dishes which are mainly Greek and English. It also has pubs and bars showing football and karaoke, singers etc. If this is your thing then fair enough, but i wanted the real Greece. The beach is lovely and huge, with soft sand and shallow waters ideal for paddling. Parasols and two sun loungers cost between 6 - 7 euros for the day. Brits dominate the resort. The Romanza is situated at the top of a very very steep hill into town. Taxis were non existant or 15 euros minimum to get into town as they had to travel from Sidari, the next town along. The hill is really really tiring, and we are fairly fit and young. With shopping it's even worse, and in daytime heat - forget it! There is an even more dificult track from the back of the hotel to the beach which is fine going down but coming up is faint-inducing. But, if you don't make the effort you are stuck at the pool, which is full of 'regulars' who swagger about the place letting everyone know just how regular they are so to speak! But more of that later... The rooms are as you'd expect, tidy,smallish, bad shower. 5 euros per night for AC , but worth it. As with most Greek buildings the rooms are noisy; creaky or slamming doors, and screeching table legs in other rooms. This made for interupted sleep every night. The breakfasts are ok, basic is toast and coffee/tea or orange. Pay extra for more choice. The people at the hotel were v.friendly and helpful. The restaurant food was ok; nothing amazing in my opinion. The fact that there are so many regulars here make it a somewhat uncomfortable experience. They seemed so comfortable there, loud, over confident etc that at times it felt like we had trespassed into a private party! There is very little to do apart from go to the beach. I'd say a week is long enough. To sum up, if you like being in a hot 'little england' you may enjoy this. If you like old streets and charm, it may not be for you. Over all, I have to say I was very disappointed.

Hotel location as previous reviews has a great location for views and sunsets but be aware of the walk up either the road or cliff path at what ever age you are or time of day as it is heavy heavy work. Local taxis not available they come from Sadari at 15 euros a time just for going up the hill. Car hire was unavailable anywhere that week until the 5th day of the holidays due to Greek holidays and is a must. The Restaurant was good and is run under a franchise by a english girl and her partner and the bar upstairs has a english girl there in the evenings did not see much sign of the Greek owners until we were leaving !!!. Hotel room we had was at the other side of the pool which is adjacent the restaurant and was small and very basic with a tiny bathroom and hard beds and a must have charge of 35 euros per week for the air conditioning The beach at San Stefanos is great we spent most of our time there catching up on our sleep and energy (the hill). This hotel seems to have a lot of return visitors we had one lot of 5 there on year 7 and unless you have tranport you are trapped. Great restaurants at Arilas next resort about 3 miles. Keep away from Sadari. First time we have done a review but felt after one week at this hotel and booked purely on the reviews we must put our point over.

We booked independently with the hotel directly as there are no operators from Ireland with a presence in the northwest of the island. We stayed in a ground floor room with a nice private balcony/patio type thing outside, which faced west and was sun drenched from about 3pm until sunset. There are also communal tables and chairs out in the garden and a set of swings. The room was normal for greece i.e. white, clean and pretty much spartan. The bed was comfortable, and the linen clean. A mosquito repellent plug-in device was provided. The room was cleaned every day, and we were perfectly happy with it. We availed of the optional airconditioning (5 euro per day charge) and it made for a comfortable nights sleep. The view from the patio is lovely - and we were on the ground floor, so it was not as spectacular as the higher ones im sure. The food in the hotel was, on reflection, the best available in the resort. We tried about 5 other resteraunts over our week long stay and none of them bettered the food available in the hotel. The swimming pool is a major selling point. There seems to be enough beds for people that want them, snacks, meals and drinks are available poolside and the view onto the sea behind it is amazing. The location of the hotel is provides its spectacular views, but on the other hand this means that its a bit of a walk to and from it. We immediately hired a scooter, so I dont know quite how bad it is. The beach is accesable via a rather steep path at the back of the hotel. Using this means that you arrive onto the beach in a more secluded and less crowded part of the beach, but with the nearest beach bar about 5 mins walk only. The walk back up is rather gruelling! The type of people that the resort attracts are sunseekers, families and couples, almost all from the U.K. Its a quiet enough place, busy for meals and some matches on the telly get a bit of a crowd in the bar, but lager louts or people expecting a little bit of ibiza should look elsewhere - there are plenty of resorts catering to that, and this is not one of them. Overall, the best points of the hotel are the views, food, pool and staff. Some negative points might be the location, quietness and distance from the airport, but these might not be bad points anyway depending on your disposition. If what you want is to get away from it all and relax the Hotel Romanza and the Resort of San Stephanos are highly recommended.

Where should I start?! We thought that the hotel was lovely. It's quite small in comparison with some of the others in town, so there was a friendly atmosphere where guests said hello to one another at meal times and round the pool and you got the feeling that the staff took time to chat to you. Because it's about a 10 minute walk from the main strip in San Stefano, it's also relatively quiet - no noise from surrounding bars and restaurants to keep you awake. I take the point about the walk up the hill that some people have made, but we enjoyed the stroll before and after dinner and you can stop and admire the view over the bay while you get your breath back! The location may not be ideal for people with mobility problems or for families with young children in pushchairs though. There is a path down the hillside behind the hotel straight to the beach, so it only takes 2 minutes to get down there if you use that route. The rooms were basic like many places in Greece, but they were nice and the beds were comfy - we slept really well every night. The rooms have a full-size fridge in them, which we found really handy. Our sheets and towels were changed in the middle of our week's stay and the maids came in each day to make the beds etc. Each room in our block had air con, but we just slept with the windows open and it was fine. The view from our balcony was gorgeous and the sunsets stunning. The pool area was well-maintained and again had a great view over the beach. The staff were all friendly, helpful and good fun. The food at lunch and dinner was lush! We went on a B&B basis and there was a small choice for the included breakfast or you could pay a bit extra if you wanted something else. We tried a few places in town in the evenings but we both agreed that the food at the Romanza was the best. We'd recommend the Greek Night at the hotel which is on Mondays. There are dancers in traditional dress and they get you up joining in around the pool. Many people return again and again to the Romanza which I think is the best recommendation. If you prefer to be in the thick of things and you don't like the idea of walking up a big hill you may prefer something in the centre of San Stefano, but we loved it!

We arrived at Hotel Romanza 2nd June from Edinburgh. This was our forst visit to Corfu and we were certainly surprised with how green the island was. Our trip from the airport took appox. 1.5 hours through some very narrow streets, very pretty villages and lovely scenery. The Hotel is at the top of a rather steep hill however the hill winds which makes the climb more tolerable. On arrival we were greeted by Tracey who was extremely friendly (no fuus or visit to reception required). She had obviously been waiting for us and called us by name immediately while showing us to our room. Our room was in fact a family room which consisted of two bedrooms (one with double bed and the other with two single beds). The bathroom was small with shower however it was perfectly adequate for our stay. The rooms were basically furnished and spotlessly clean. Our towels were changed most days and the bedding was changed apporx every three days. Unfortunately my husband sores quite a lot so to give me a sleep he slept in the room with the single beds on the second evening. The beds were not made up however when the maid came to clean the room that morning she realised that someone had slept in the single bed and from then on that bed was made up and changed too. The maid service was excellent. The rooms were kept very clean. The pool area was again very clean and tidy with plenty sun beds and parasols around the pool area. The restaurant led off from the pool and consisted of indoor and outdoor seating areas. The food in the hotel was delicious. The chef certainly did a wonderful job (I did hear he had help from his mother who has obviously taught her son a great skill). It was a pleasure eating in the restarant where, not only the food was excellent but the veiws from the cliff top venue and the sunsets were spectacular. The staff in the restaurant were fantastic. At breakfast Helen (at least I think that is what the young girls name was) was so friendly. I don't think I ever saw her without a smile. She had so much time for everyone in the restaurant. There wer another two young men (sorry didn't get their names) who were very nice too. Jenny was the main person in the restaurant (front house) and the partner of the chef. Jenny was great fun and explained every dish she was so approachable and helpful and gave us many laughs trying to get us to pronounce our meals in greek. Yes the restaurant was wonderful. the bar staff really consisted of Jenny and Tracey. Once again a really friendly atmosphere. Tracey, like Jenny was very friendly and helpful. We had many a nice chat over a metaxa whils watching the sun go down. The owner of the Hotel (Mike) and his wife and Christina obviously took pride in their hotel. They made everyone feel at home and really couldn't do enough for everyone. Mike seems to be up at an early hour every day walking around making sure everything is neat and tidy. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone wanting a quiet time in nice accommodation with spectacular views and delicious food. We will certainly be back. A few tips for travellers to Corfu. Go to mothercare for anti mosquito bands and buy your anti-mosquito balls etc from the supermarkets. We went to Aspa (I think this is the spelling) which was quite a big supermarket on the way into the wee town. The staff there are so friendly and helpful giving me excellent advice on the correct lotion to buy for a serious mosquito bite. Take trainers of comfortable shoes for the walk down to the centre and back (it really is not too bad however would certainly be made easier with good shoes). There are some lovely walks to take but again some need good shoes. The climb from the back of the hotel to the beach is not as bad as it looks so try it. Don't do the guided walking trip around corfu town, it was badly organised and not worth the money. The boat trip around the harbour in corfu town is quite good. The trip to Albania was good however make sure you have mosqito lotion with you and food (it is a long time until you get lunch). In conclusion, Corfu was excellent but what really made the holiday was the Romanza Hotel and all the staff who work there. As I have already said, we will be back in the next couple of years without doubt. Hope this has helped you make up your mind about this hotel.

Visited the Romanza for the first time in May this year. We found it to be a fabulous little hotel. Clean, well looked after, sunsets out of this world, excellent restaurant and lovely staff. Beds made up and rooms cleaned every day, towels and bed linen changed 3 times in 11 days. We even managed to get to grips with the hill up from the village! To be honest we didnt go very far as we didnt need to. Found the restaurant on site to be one of the best in the resort, there was a well stocked bar and we were very well looked after by Tracy every night. A really good place to relax and chill out, but not really suitable for the less mobile or really for those with very small children. The beach is reached down a shingle path at the rear of the hotel, ok going down, much harder work coming up!! All in all a very relaxing stay and although we rarely stay at the same hotel more than once this one would definitely be worth considering for a return visit.

Cant fault the Romanza. The staff and so helpful and friendly, the food is as good as anywhere in the village, the rooms are basic but spotlessly clean and the views are to die for. Would go back there in a second.

If you want a chilled out break with great views and friendly staff look no further. There is a fair walk to the beach but to be honest it helps work off some of the great food. You need go no further than the hotel for meals as there is a varied menu at reasonable prices. The food in the hotel in the best we tasted in the resort. Now i can see why most of the people we talked to came back year after year. I would say the place is not for those who arent good on their feet or who are expecting lively nightlife. great for couples who just want to chill and recharge the batteries.