Hotel Helios Splendid — Hotel in Municipality of Southern Corfu

I am taking the time to write this feedback so others are not misled by the name or some of the fake reviews being posted elsewhere. The first hint I had was on landing when my shuttle driver said he needed another 10€ to take me there as it was too far and not remotely in Morartika (as advised). Being in a holiday mood I happily obliged. Soon I realized this hotel is very remote from Corfu town, and there are only 3 buses (daily at 8:30,12:30 and 3:30pm) to take you to the Corfu town. (Sunday’s there are no bus). The nearest town Mesongi is 6km away, and the terrain is unwalkable. Its 15€ for each trip. In my 7-day trip I ended up spending around 200 € on just going to the nearest town to get basic supplies, enjoy a lively beach and have some authentic Greek food. Let’s talk about the hotel. The photoshopped images have a limited resemblance to reality. Let’s start with the name. Hotel Helios Splendid. I struggled to find anything splendid about the hotel (to be honest, the Air conditioning was good). The toilet flush handle fell off the first day my kid tried to use it and we resorted to pulling the loop to flush. The shower almost fell on me when I tried use it (the single clamp had come off and someone forgot to fix it). There were cow webs in some corners nor had the room been deeply cleaned prior to our arrival (found a pack of cigarettes). The inbuilt cooking induction had broken down and instead of having it replaced and a non-secure portable induction was put over the broken induction. A serious health and safety hazard if someone accidentally yanked the dangling cord it would come crashing down. The WIFI was slow (something I liked as it forced my kids to ditch their gadgets). The cold breakfast (7€ / person) was very consistent for the7 days I stayed there. Anything worth eating (hot like eggs) were charged ‘extra’ (never mentioned during the time of booking). I had booked a bed and breakfast but due to some error between the tour operator and the hotel, I was forced to pay again for the breakfast at the hotel. Being so distantly remote, I had to pay 196€ again for 4 of us for the cold breakfast. The hotel claims to be ‘200 mts’ from the beach. Very conveniently, the steep incline of the road is omitted, making it unsuitable for people with mobility challenges. Nor does it have a pool (which is mostly present in most Greek hotel), making it unsuitable for families with children I had booked a car rental through the hotel and was quoted 80€ /day. I happened to find out that the normal rate was around 30 to 40 €. Luckily for me, I decided not to drive after seeing the narrow, broken dangerous roads leading to the Boukari village where the hotel is situated. A trip to Corfu is incomplete without visiting the Paxi and Anti paxi island. Naively, I booked the trip through the hotel for the last day of my trip. I checked a day before to ensure everything was on track and was assured by Manuela (hotel owner, receptionist, cleaner, accountant all rolled into one) that all is in order. The next morning I was told the travel pickup was running late (by an hour) and asked to wait on the road as Manuela assured me, they were on the way. After waiting for-another hour in the hot sun I was told the tour was cancelled as Costas (the tour operator) Helios had a tie up with decided the weather was going to be bad in the afternoon when the weather forecast showed clear blue skies. And clear blue sky it was that afternoon! I doubly checked with other tour operators later and they were amazed to hear the excuse). When I asked Manuela why this happened, she vaguely tried to blame the tour operator when I had booked it with her (Hotel) directly. (Tip: Captain Homer in Messongi is a reputable tour operator) All in all, a shambolic inn (that’s more apt that using the word Hotel). To me, the Hotel Helios Splendid was more of a holiday from Hell, and splendidly nothing to...

I booked a twin room for my daughter and I for 9 nights (60€ per night), my friends had already stayed there for a couple of nights and our rooms were joined, there was a door that connected our rooms which was nice.

The hotel is located in the remote fishing village of Boukari and situated about 5-10 min walk to the beachfront. Walking down is not a problem but might be when coming back to the hotel as there is a steep incline. At the bottom of the hill is a bus stop that takes you to Corfu town (40 mins) via Messonghi (10 mins, lots of bars and shops). The bus departs 8:30, 12:30 and 15:30 daily but beware that the last bus back to Boukari from Corfu Town (Green Bus Station) is at 14:30, after that you can only travel back to Messonghi then walk back to Boukari (40 mins) or catch a taxi which costs 15€. The walk back is not bad at all and you get to see the lovely scenery and plenty of picture moments which I highly recommend.

At the bottom of the hill is a small shop where you can purchase supplies, however, it would be better to go to Messonghi where you'll have a lot more choice. There is also Boukari Spiros Karidis Restaurant (our favourite seafood restaurant) and others to eat from.

Manuella who is the owner of the hotel is lovely, very professional and always on hand to help with anything. She is bi-lingual in English, French, Italian, German and Greek so perfect for most guests staying there.

Straightaway, you'll be blown away by the picturesque scene of flowers in the hotel's carpark. On the left takes you to the hotel rooms and on the right takes you to the garden, reception/breakfast area (see pictures).

A cold breakfast was included in the price (salad, cereal, yoghurt, bread, cakes, fruit, tea, coffee, juice). Hot food is extra, a plate of sausage, bacon and eggs cost 4€, on another occasion, I ordered 4 fried eggs and that was 6€ (see pictures).

The rooms were clean and tidy with it's own a/c unit which was great and much needed as the heat can make the rooms feel like a sauna. The balcony doors are connected to the a/c so if they're open the a/c will not work which makes sense!

The room included a chest of draws, wardrobe (with hangers), cupboards (extra storage space) and side tables next to the beds.

The bathroom was clean and tidy. It had no bath but there is a small shower cubicle (not great for larger-sized guests but not all rooms are the same, there are rooms with larger showers, please ask about this), bidet, and toilet. As the plumbing is not great in the country, you shouldn't flush any toilet tissue, there is a bin provided which are emptied daily. Our bedsheets and towels were changed every few days.

I didn't enjoy the bed, it was too soft for me, however my daughter did. Our beds actually comprised of 2 mattresses on top of each other so I guess the bottom one (thicker) would have been firmer and better for me.

There are French-style doors leading to the balcony with shutters. The balcony is spacious complete with 2 chairs and a table. The view from our balcony was breath-taking (see pictures).

All in all, we really enjoyed our stay, and will definitely be back. It's perfect for a peaceful, non-touristy village with plenty of scenery to immerse yourself in. The beach is small and not full of tourists and is great for families with young children as the waters are...

To be honest, this is more of a quiet and relaxing bed and breakfast than a hotel. If you come here with that in mind, it’s perfect. If you expect a classic hotel, you will be disappointed. It is very remote and I don’t recommend staying here if you don’t have a rental means of transportation. There is enough space to park your car.

The rooms are small and it gets quite cramped with two suitcases. Bathrooms very outdated, it’s impossible to shower without flooding the entire bathroom and the showerhead is rusty. The beds are not super comfortable, just a very slept through mattress covered by a super thin sheet but you can get still get a good nights sleep. However, one of the neighbors has a very annoying dog that barks a lot.

Breakfast is COLD, if you want something warm including anything other than regular coffee, it costs extra so keep that in mind. The cold breakfast is fine though, just very repetitive and not so spectacular. Some watermelon and yogurt would be nice but costs extra as well which I personally don’t understand but okay.

The owner is very nice and helpful, super sweet lady. It seems like she is the front of the house and her husband does housekeeping etc. and especially housekeeping could be improved. The garbage was not emptied when we arrived which is pretty gross considering toilet paper goes in there and not in the toilet but okay, not the end of the world.

There is NO POOL but it also isn’t stated anywhere that there is a pool so just don’t assume that hotels have pools. There really isn’t much to do at the hotel so essentially everyone leaves for their day trips after breakfast.

In the end, you get what you pay for here. It’s not expensive for a reason, expect a gorgeous bed and breakfast and you will love it, if you’re looking for a classic hotel, this place...