Corfu was the destination for our girls' holiday in September this time. We chose the Hotel Mareblue Beach Resort quite far in the north of Corfu. We booked a double room with AI for one week. You can find our experiences and impressions here:
The Hotel Mareblue Beach Resort on Corfu
The hotel is quietly located, somewhat secluded in the north of Corfu. It is very green and there are no other hotels in the immediate vicinity. The complex is very large, with many paths, so you can even take a little walk within the grounds. The room markings are funny: the names are from all the James Bond films. Many paths are accessible and you can avoid steps; we also discovered accessible rooms.
You can tell that quite a bit has been renovated here. The lobby, or rather the bar right by the reception, is furnished really nicely.
Room
We had booked a double room, but apparently got a family room, as we had a double bed and a bunk bed in the room. Since the double bed was quite narrow, we split up and I slept in the bunk bed. We had one wardrobe and another narrow wardrobe; it was fine for the two of us, but it would have been very cramped for 4 people. You get one key, which also serves as the key for the electricity. The bathroom had a bathtub, washbasin, and toilet. The balcony was ok, with 2 chairs and a table; we had a view of the sports area and the woods behind the hotel. To our right and left there were more rooms with balconies. In terms of location, we were very close to the main building.
Beach
The hotel is located near the sea, so from the pools you sometimes always had a sea view. However, if you want to go to the beach, you have to leave the complex, cross a road, and then either walk a few meters to the right to a bar, where there is a small bay with nice loungers and a small taverna/bar. If you go left, after about 50 m you reach Agios Spiridon Beach. This is a lovely sandy beach with loungers and umbrellas that you have to pay for separately. You can also rent motorboats here and cruise around on the sea.
Pools
The hotel has 2 pools: a relax pool, adults only, in the upper area, and a large pool at the end of the complex. At the large pool there is entertainment and children are allowed. There are plenty of loungers, but not quite as many umbrellas.
Entertainment & Sports
The hotel has a small gym and a sports field for football and tennis. There are several game tables (air hockey or billiards) spread around the grounds, e.g. by the large pool or upstairs next to the restaurant. In the evening there are up to 2 shows: one downstairs by the pool bar, where there is a stage, or upstairs by the main building. There is also a bar both by the large pool and at the relax bar, as well as by the entrance next to the reception.
Food service
In the restaurant in the main building, a buffet is offered for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There really is a very large selection here. At breakfast you can have an omelet made to your individual wishes. You can get the drinks yourself; there are 2 drink dispensers in the restaurant for this. In the main restaurant, if you like, there are 2 seating areas: either right by the buffet or behind it in the conservatory – here you have a beautiful view.
In addition, there is the Olives restaurant right by the pool with a sea view, where you can eat à la carte; here you have to book a table at reception. Right next to it is the Italian restaurant, where you also have to reserve a table. At lunchtime you can also get small snacks here, and next to that again is the ice cream stand. You can eat almost around the clock.
Excursions
From our hotel, a hiking trail leads to the abandoned Agia Ekaterini monastery, where you can still admire walls and a little bit of the furnishings; the monastery is quite dilapidated. If you continue along the blue hiking trail on the coast, you also come to an old lighthouse that is no longer in use either. We then walked on further and discovered Gialiskari Beach. A small, secluded beach. From there you can hike back to the hotel. Right by Agios Spiridon Beach there are 2 tavernas and a supermarket. If you walk along the road from the main entrance, you also come to a supermarket.
The hotel offers lots of excursions; travel reps also come by and you can book trips.
Offer for children
The hotel offers childcare and has a playground.
Price
We paid € 1898,- for the hotel, AI with flight for 2 people for 7 nights. (As of 2022)
Conclusion
The hotel is really very nicely furnished; our room was ok, the bed was already a little saggy, and I think there was too little storage space. The room was always cleaned except on Sundays, the trash cans were always emptied (no paper may be thrown into the toilet here, so you have to put it in the trash can). Unfortunately, there were not that many channels available on the TV.
Unfortunately, the rooms are very noisy; you often unintentionally hear discussions from the neighboring room. Unlocking the rooms is also insanely loud with these old keys and locks, and it is also almost impossible to close the door quietly.
At the time we were there, the hotel was very well occupied (there were mainly English people there), so on some days you were overrun at the buffet. But the staff were excellently organized and always assigned the tables very well; we really never had to wait long. Also with the food, basically everything was always available, and they were also very quick at clearing tables. As always in such dining halls, it is quite loud; the tables and chairs are placed a little too close together for my taste. If you can, definitely sit in the conservatory; here you have a beautiful view, it is not quite as loud, and it is airier.
Here we tried to go eat at off-peak times. In the evening, right at 7 p.m., it wasn't immediately so busy; at lunchtime it was generally much quieter. Only in the morning, because of me, we didn't manage to go that early and were always right in the middle of the hustle and bustle from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
What was pleasant at this hotel was that hardly any loungers were reserved. We always still managed to get loungers later in the morning too. It was also nice that there are many loungers in the shade; I especially liked lying under these wonderful olive trees. You can get towels at the large pool for € 10,-. These can be exchanged every 2 days.
I was a little disappointed that the beach is quite a bit away; we only wanted to go swimming and then return to the hotel, but in the end we reconsidered. At the other beach to the right of the hotel, there was a lot of seagrass and many rocks, so it wasn't sooo nice for going in; I would recommend water shoes.
The evening entertainment here usually started around 9:45 p.m., so be careful with small children: depending on the location, you can have a loud environment.
It should also be said that the hotel is about 1 hour from the airport if you drive directly. For us, the outward journey took almost over 2 hours, as several hotels had to be served and the roads were really narrow; the bus driver did a really great job and reversed in some alleys really at the limit.
On our last day we had to return the room at 11 a.m.; we were able to store our suitcases in the main building on the 1st floor and could still relax by the pool and enjoy the food until we were picked up. We were very lucky with the weather for September; it was sunny and still up to 27 degrees warm. Only 2 days were cloudy in the morning, when we went on an excursion.
Basically a nice hotel, quietly located with large grounds and beautiful pools, good food, and a wonderful view. Because the beach is a little farther away, I would not book the hotel again.
Photos by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at
Read also: Review: Hotel Sunset Resort in Bulgaria – Pomorie
