Ibiscus Corfu Hotel — Hotel in Municipality of Northern Corfu

Right of the bat we found the staff to be incredibly kind and helpful during our stay. Our suitcase was taken to our room for us while we had lunch and upon arriving to our room we were greeted with a complementary bottle of wine and large bottle of water (+ a new bottle of water in our room every day). Our room had a beautiful view over a small garden area and then the sea and Albanian mountains beyond. The room itself was very nice, very large bed and rainfall shower head, which we loved. We did struggle to work out how to use the Aircon but reception helped us out with that one.

We only had two small issues with the room, first was that the water from the shower very easily spilled out into the rest of the bathroom, where there was another drain in the floor but there would be a small puddle left, leaving the floor quite slippery. The bathroom did however come with a rubber mat to place down. Secondly the WiFi did not work inside our room, we had connection on the balcony and everywhere else in the hotel but not inside our room, to be fair didn't raise this issue to the hotel, so I cannot say if this issue was fixable or not.

There was a wide selection of food available for each meal, some days were definitely better than others in terms of quality of food but generally speaking there was so much to choose from that we always found something we enjoyed. As a vegetarian I did have less to choose from but there was always a large salad bar, vegetarian soups with bread, lots of fruit and pastries and pizza fresh made in a little pizza oven (on occasion made with meat, but a veggie one made on request). There was also food each day at the pool bar, generally more handheld food like chips, burgers, sandwiches etc. The pool bar also had a list of cocktails which were served in plastic cups to have by the pool and beach.

The pool itself was nice and clean, not very big but had lots of sun loungers around it. We didn't spend much time at the pool and instead mostly enjoyed the private beach attached to the hotel. The beach is not particularly large but has lots of loungers along it and some amazing views especially at sunset. The beach is sandy (good for bare feet) and the water is very shallow a long way out. There were signs at both the pool and beach that said towels left on loungers before 7am would be removed which we appreciated as it gives you a more fair chance of getting a lounger without getting up at the crack of dawn. Of course if you don't get there early the loungers would be full up but this is the nature in most places. There were some days we managed to nab a lounger later in the day.

The hotel is in a beautiful location, admittedly not the best if you are wanting to explore the island without renting a car (which we did not). The hotel does however run a free shuttle service to the nearby town of Roda and from here you can easily catch a bus to Kassiopi, Sidari and Corfu town. The hotel gave us a bus time table and we did day trips to sidari and kassiopi. Roda itself is also a lovely little town with some shops and restaurants on the water front. The shuttle service really made a difference for our trip and both of the men who drove us back and forth were incredibly friendly and we had lovely chats with them :)

We also liked that there is a small shop available on site stocked with basic toiletries, snacks, drinks, pool inflatables, souvenirs etc and the wonderful lady running the shop was also very friendly

Other things we enjoyed about the hotel include -spa with massages available -game room -gym (although we didn't use it) -live music on some evenings in the main hotel bar/lounge area -ability to borrow towels for use at the pool and beach, which they allowed us to use after we checked out as our flight wasn't until the evening and we wanted to stay at the beach a while longer (they also looked after our suitcase for us)

Overall we had a very relaxing stay here and it was a wonderful romantic setting for our 5th anniversary. We would definitely stay again, thank you...

We chose the Ibiscus Hotel because we prefer smaller hotels. Situated 5 minutes drive away from Roda meant it would be quiet for us. Its quiet location within metres of its own beach was ideal; the sound of the waves simply added to the tranquility. On arrival; we knew about the tourist tax because we had read the informative communications from Tui! Yes tourist taxes go up – its their law; either deal with it or stay in the UK! We had requested an accessible room. We were delighted that we were in a ground floor room in the block next to the main hotel. I have arthritis, also recovering from a hip injury and use a walking stick; but every part of the hotel and beach was easily accessible. The accomodation was perfect. Very roomy, huge bed! Very large walk-in shower with good water pressure. The room was complete with tea/coffee making facilities, an ample fridge and complimentary bottles of water, frequently replaced throughout our stay. The air con worked well and we were able to sleep well. The hotel is simply beautiful. Cool, nice décor. Communal areas were not cramped. We are fortunate to have stayed at many all inclusive resorts in different countries. The Ibiscus did not disappoint in any way. There were :No wrist bands, no entertainment crew hassling you to join in with activities and no cheesy entertainment every single night. Four evenings per week we were treated to a lovely variety of traditional music and dance. The pool bar was great for drinks and service. Food here catered for all. Hot snacks and a well stocked fridge with a variety of salads, sandwiches and wraps. My partner inhales all food known to mankind! – but I have to be gluten free and follow a FODMAP. I did email the hotel the week before we went detailing this. I attached an english and greek version of FODMAP. They hadn’t heard of it, but went above and beyond to ensure I was fed well! The buffet selection was great. The hot foods were hot. We did a rekky every evening and there was plenty of variety. Vegetables, potato, rice and pasta dishes. There were food information cards for each dish so I could easily manage my gluten & FODMAP. The individual salads were amazing and every meal boasted fresh fruit and salads – typical of the area. I occasionally asked for something without the sauce which was easily accomodated by the staff. The. pool bar during the evenings morphed into The Taverna – traditional greek food, delicious. There was choice for all palates, chips every evening, homemade pizzas most evenings. Depending which website you look on its either a 4 or 5 star. It is worthy of both. There was a noticable pleasant absence of children, out of control running around. Also people returned to the buffet if they wanted more food; not taking a huge amount – having 1 mouthful and leaving it. This might seem petty to some, but I believe this hotel attracts a different clientele. Shout outs to:- Janis – Chef, Kostis – Restaurant manager, Vagelis – (no english but brilliant waiter!) Mikalis, Demetrius – omelette maker, Tassos – Taverna host, I cant remember others names though. All the staff worked tirelessly, a great team spirit. My final thankyou is to Kristie. The hotel manager. I observed her picking up litter, watering the gardens amongst other duties. She dealt with any complaints (you cant please everyone!) quickly and thoroughly. Unattended towels by the pool before 7.30am were removed. People reserving sunbeds and being absent until late afternoon – towels were removed. In all businesses things happen, there are glitches, things break. For me it speaks volumes how these issues are dealt with. Quickly and efficiently. Will we return –...

Good and fast access to a sandy beach. Nice internal gym. Hotel personnel in the dining places were friendly and accommodating. Received one hour more for check-out without extra pay. We took a suite which contained a private pool of 4m2 which was refreshing and ok for our toddler. Water is very cold though. The food is ok, esp. the pastries (we stayed only 2 nights). The common pool was very warm, our kids liked it. Some rooms have a pool shared with 6 rooms, it seemed quiet and calm.

On the negative side, our suite had enormous amounts of molt and fungus on the exit of the air conditioning system. Never seen this before. It should be treated asap - this creates health risks! The walls of the suite were mega dirty, full of stains, and were not painted in many years. The terrace of the suite was dirty, the suite pool was ok but contained very sharp edges, we regularly hurt ourselves on them. The terrace of our private pool had an umbrella with holes, unusable for shade, more for decoration.

The double room we took in addition, was for three people but the “additional bed” for the third person was a very small one person sofa converted to a bed. Good for small teen but not for an adult. Cleaning could be better, stains were everywhere . The sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach were in a terrible state, like there has been a war - they were also not cleaned up at the end of the day. We put "do not disturb" in the morning and still the cleaning person knocked the door continuously in the morning. The corridors where the suites are, are dirty.

Note that the hotel is full of Germans, busses of them arrive regularly via German travel agents - we had a bad encounter with a group of them, they were actually cursing on the back of other international guests for no reason; they also leave towels on unused sunbeds.

In the evening entertainment was foreseen.

All ok for a 3 star- but not for a 5-star...