Sandy Beach Resort

Resort The resort itself is ok, it could do with a refurb as parts of it look very tired, however the Lobby bar was really lovely, clean and fresh. It is basic, and if I’m honest I don’t think it warrants the 5* tourist tax, I would say it’s more of a 3*, but it was overall a nice holiday. Room We had a two bedroom family room with a garden view, which had lots of space and 4 single beds, house keeping were great and made our beds up daily and fresh towels. It would have been nice to had the coffee replaced, I asked at reception once and they were very quick to sort this but in the end I just took a few sachets from the restaurant. The room did feel like it wasn’t sure which was the master room, one room had the TV and phone in, and the other had the coffee/access to the balcony. It wasn’t any problem for us. Staff Generally staff were fine, some are very tired at the moment after a long hard summer, but when they realise you are kind and polite they became much friendlier. Drinks Tokens Weird, really do not like the concept of this. HOWEVER…. The resort was generally very clean because of this…which can only be a positive, and also it helped to manage the wasps (more on them later) Food This is difficult, the food is typical all inclusive, but for the first half of our holiday it was cold (we are not fussy and if the food had been warm my review would be different) we discovered a microwave in the children’s area of the restaurant 😬. There was a real lack of fruit as well (there was tinned fruit or apples/bananas) but felt limited. The flip side, salads were brilliant, and varied. We were really impressed with these. We also really liked the desserts I often Dont bother with desserts but they were really impressive. The ice cream was also of good quality and a variety of flavours. We booked two of a the a la carte options for our stay, we ate at the Italian restaurant and the gryos restaurants. Both were very nice and the food was great, our favourite was the Italian but this is just based on personal food taste. The snack bar was a winner and the pizza slices and brownies from there were fantastic. We did eat out one night at Mondo’s and this was lovely and very reasonably priced. Entertainment We didn’t really see much of the animation team at all until about 5 when they were stopping the day time entertainment. They did the mini disco which our children really loved and they appeared very engaging with the kids. They did go on to do entertainment some nights after (we watched the musicals show which was great) but because that didn’t start till 9:30 we didn’t stay for many as when the sun went down (bare in mind we travelled end of October so this is no surprise) the temperature really dipped and the entertainment was outside so we didn’t stay. Beach The beach was okay, I don’t think I would say it was a high standard beach as it wasn’t massively clean but it was fine. We enjoyed swimming in the sea and seeing the fish which was great, my husband got stung by a jellyfish tho and we heard of several other people being stung. Pools The pools were good, our kids loved the slide pool. We didn’t use the other ones just because of this but they all looked fine. The pool was cold but alright when you were in, and there were loads of people in there so can’t have been too bad! You get a voucher to exchange for beach/pool towels which I liked, but you do need to keep hold of the voucher to present at check out so you don’t get charged. Insects The hotel cannot do anything about this but there are lots of wasps and mozzies. So all I can say is pack your mozzie spray and antisan. If travelling with kids make sure you take calpol too -my 11 year old was just walking along a path (with us so I know he wasn’t being daft) and got stung in the neck by a wasp. Other facilities There is a little train that goes round the local area, it’s €5 an adult and €3 a child. You can get off at various points but the area didn’t really seem to have much going on (maybe due to end of season) so we just enjoyed the train ride. You can hire bikes/scooters/buggy’s from the guys on site, we didn’t use but it looked reasonable enough. Same for water sports guys on the beach- we didn’t use but they looked reasonable. The day trip to Old Corfu Town is so worth it- we did it twice! €10 per person (no child concession) but it was lovely to go round the old fortress and potter around the streets there. Well worth doing in my opinion.

-firstly the gyros restaurant was wonderful, Nadia and her team made it a lovely evening…. The resort as a whole..mixed feelings. Last week of the season and most staff weren’t particularly happy or helpful. Spiros the Barman, the staff in the gyros restaurant and the room cleaners in block 800 were the exception.! The resort has seen better days, kids club and certain areas need modernising, seating and some pool furniture seemed cheap and uncomfortable. Our room was a family room, which was massive with a big bathroom. The choice of pools was excellent with at-least 4 large pool areas to choose from. An amazing exclusive beach was located right outside the hotel, with free sunbeds. The speciality restaurants were very good but the main dinning area was like a massive noisy canteen. The food was at best average and was Luke warm within minutes of sitting down. BUT The salad bar was always good with a great selection. The quality of meat was poor with cheap cuts making up kebabs, stews etc. desserts were good. Breakfast was good. All inclusive drinks again cheap, nasty tasting spirits. This did mean we drank less which isn’t a bad thing!! But would have liked better quality. (Tasted like lidi fizzy) the hotel was massive with meal times being a large scale operation ,staff handled it well , the biggest we have been to. We would chose in the future to stay at smaller resorts for a more personal experience. location wise, the resort is quite isolated not much going on outside the hotel. We booked brilliant days out to Corfu town and a boat trip to paxo. Both reasonably priced and “must sees”. Overall we had a lovely family holiday.

I and my family had great experience at gyros great service food was excellent would definitely see myself here agian in the near future

Lovely meal in the gyros restaurant, and great service from Nadia. Great resort for family’s. Would definitely recommend

Lovely complex with Lovely clean rooms. Restaurant was really good with lots of variety everyday. A la carte restaurants were fantastic. Definitely worth a visit

Overall a lovely family holiday The positives... Food selection great, especially for my vegan family with things clearly labelled Generally nice room Pools and beach are lovely Near to a few shops and places to book day trips Water sports place right on the beach Lovely setting, nice and clean, plenty to do on site No trouble finding a sunbed by beach or pool, that said we did visit late in the season Generally staff very polite and helpful The negatives... Toilet flush in room was very temperamental, even after having it looked at Some confusion with booking the on site hairdresser, qr code had slots from like 6am, booked for 10, turn up to be told person isn't in until 2 (quite rudely too) You're allowed 2 Al a carte restaurant visits only if you have a week stay. We were only 6 days and told wed have to pay extra which is a shame, one visit would have been nice Token system for drinks is a bit annoying especially if you're only wanting water or soft drinks Bring mozzie spray as right next to a lagoon Id definitely consider visiting again in future.

Honest opinion on our family of 5 stay Review after a 7-day stay: 1. Resort: it definitely needs renovating. Is quite dirty in some areas. Our room especially was very run down and basic. We kept getting ants coming into our room. Rooms are cleaned daily, (but again just basic cleaning (floors swept, new towels and bin emptying). Bedding wasn’t changed at all. 2. Staff: most our friendly, cleaning staff can be quite abrupt and rude. Not sure if it’s more of a language barrier though. Overall they are happy to help. Workers in the restaurant don’t stop and are such hard workers. 3. Pools: Pools I have to admit are great. 3 family pools and then one adult one. My kids absolutely loved the pool with the slides which operates 10-1 and then reopens 3-6pm. Plenty of sun beds, never struggled to get one. Again slightly run down around the pool area, few tiles were falling off and the floor was a bit gritty. There’s a snack bar next to the slide pool which is so handy if you don’t fancy lunch. This offers pizza, hotdogs, pasta, cake and wraps daily. 4. Food: something for everyone. A wide selection of salads, vegetables, pasta, rice, meats, bread, and then a slightly different theme each night. Have to admit as a vegetarian I thought it was great. Although it can be very repetitive and doubled up in areas to make it look more. There’s also a child’s snack area which was offered, chips, pasta, fish fingers, sausages and chicken burger. Deserts were very good, variety of different icecreams and cakes. 5: Entertainment: hardly any animators around but this could be due to coming in October so can’t comment on what it’s like peak season. There is a kids club operating from 10:00 to 12:00 and from 15:00 to 17:00, which is a great option for families with children. My children weren’t really interested in the evening entertainment but we could hear the music so it sounded good. They have a mini disco for children starting at 8:30pm. 6: Beach: clean and sandy, with enough sunbeds and umbrellas. Due to being end of season we weren’t able to do any of the water sports. Normally they offer, pedlos, jet skis, paraglides, snd inflatables. 7: On the resort grounds, you can rent bicycles, strollers, scooters, and electric toy cars for children. You can also hire a train that takes you out of the resort and down Agios Georgios town. There’s also a games room Overall: We had a lovely week, despite some minor issues. Definately not the 5 star rating they charge for the tourist tax though.

We enjoyed a meal at il gusto, everything was delicious. My husband said the mashed potato was the best he's ever eaten and the chicken fell off the bone. My salmon and sauce was perfect. My daughter enjoyed her pizza and pudding. Special thanks to Nadia and the team.

Absolutely lovely food. Staff very accommodating and lovely, Nadia especially very lovely. The best dish was the pizza,

Upon arrival, everything was clean and well-maintained. The staff were courteous and attentive, and the facility was spacious with a wide range of amenities.