Benitses Bay View Hotel

Don't come without a car. The hotel is in the forest, far from the beach, and its shuttle runs only 3-4 times a day in each direction, with space for just 7 people. You can imagine the wait. All-inclusive is hard to make use of if you want to spend time at the beach instead of staying at the hotel. The food was awful, nearly the same each day, with no traditional dishes or fish, just poorly cooked vegetables and low-quality meat. The pool really did turn my feet blue, which I hadn't believed in the other reviews. The water in the rooms isn't drinkable, and even with all-inclusive you have to beg staff for a glass of drinking water. The hotel then had no water at all for a whole day, so staff couldn't provide the supposedly drinkable water either. It tasted terrible anyway, and I'm 100% sure they were serving the non-drinking water. The bar staff were extremely rude. I went for drinks 2-3 times and was made to feel guilty for using my all-inclusive package, which ends at 22:00. One evening I left my seat by the pool for one minute, and at exactly 22:00 someone took my alcoholic drink but left the juice. At 22:02 I explained what happened at the bar and asked for another. The man told me I should have watched my drink and claimed another guest had taken it. I pointed out that some empty glasses had also disappeared, but he brushed me off with, “We are done, no drinks!!!” It felt like such a cheap trick. A note for Bulgarians: don't come here with Bohemia. The hotel is dreadful, and the tour guide Lalka made mocking comments that we'd come for a workout because of the walk to the hotel. She showed no interest in the group and behaved as if we should be grateful she had taken us anywhere at all.

The hotel itself is beautiful, and there are buses down to the beach. It's also close to the chateau. The rooms are on the small side and look a bit dated. But it wasn't the quiet place we were told to expect. There were lots of loud Polish visitors, often drunk and causing trouble, and their kids were noisy and kept jumping into the pool. It also seemed to me that the staff disliked Polish people. The drinks tasted very cheap, too.

The staff were friendly and helpful, and we found the hotel clean and comfortable. There was a good choice of food and drinks, and we thought it was very good value. We enjoyed our stay and would go back. It's tucked away among the trees on a hill, which made it a quieter spot. The hotel offered a free bus down to the seafront, and from there you could catch buses to Corfu town and other areas. The palace of St Michael and George was just a few minutes' walk uphill, with lovely views from there. There are lots of steps, so it wouldn't suit someone with walking difficulties. We were fine with them.

The only real positives for me were the view and being so close to Anchillion palace. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend this hotel. If you're British like me, you may hate it. There were lots of European tourists, and it was loud despite being away from everything. I could hear people walking and banging around, the air conditioning units, and a constant banging from somewhere I couldn't identify. There were flies everywhere, apparently coming from the sinks and bathroom drains. I stayed just two nights and don't drink much, so I booked meals rather than all-inclusive, but still had to prove that my meals were paid for. The food was much like what I've had at other Greek hotels. The coffee was terrible, and I was charged a premium price for the coffee that's free at breakfast.