The best Corfu hotels
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Surrounded by pine-pinned mountains and trimmed with silk sand beaches, Corfu has a milder climate than many other Greek islands. It's a magnet for activity lovers who come to get off the beaten track and explore magical olive grove-shaded landscapes via a tangle of hiking paths (including the 220 kilometre-long Corfu trial). There are ancient monasteries and lost-in-the-past villages threaded with narrow alleys shaded by fragrant jasmine and papery scarlet braids of bougainvillaea. Culture-vultures are seduced by the atoll’s countless other highlights ranging from a UNESCO-listed old town to mediaeval monasteries, Venetian fortresses and fascinating museums.
Only a 30-minute ferry ride from Albania’s remoter coasts, this lush Ionian isle is also famed for its Blue Flag beaches. These include Roda, renowned for camel-coloured sands lapped by lucent waters and the Canal D’Amour, a narrow sea channel framed by high cliffs which earned its name from an ancient legend that says if you swim here you’re guaranteed to find the love of your life. From chic hideaways in the hills to cool kid-friendly hangouts by the beach, this verdant atoll which was once home to My Family and Other Animals author Gerald Durrell has a smorgasbord of thrilling accommodation options, too.
Costas EconomouDomes of Corfu
A steep switchback road leads you down to the gentle jade-green waves of Glyfada beach, undoubtedly one of the prettiest in Corfu and, conveniently, the location of the Domes of Corfu. Behind you are cypress-tree-covered cliffs. In front is the serene Ionian.
This family-friendly sister hotel to the adult-only Domes Miramare has boho-chic interiors, with terracotta walls, rattan shades dangling from rope-wrapped wires, and compact matte black bathrooms. Swim-up pool suites are perfect for families, with linen curtains separating bedroom and living spaces for privacy. A Montessori-led kids club and shaded park are great distractions when the pool and sandcastle-building interest wanes.
Couples, solos and friends will also be happy here: an adult-only pool is lined with plush loungers for those seeking a quiet sunbathing spot. Excellent massages in the Elemis spa melt away stress, and dining options range from street food trucks and Greek-Italian menus at a la carte Frourio to heavenly buffet breakfasts and evening meals at Agora (it’s worth going early for an edge table with sunset views).
Address: Pelekas, Glifada 491 00, Greece
Ikos Odisia
Located just along the bay from the first Ikos resort on Corfu, the much-loved Ikos Dassia, Ikos Odisia may become – whisper it – even more popular. The low-rise bedrooms, suites and villas are dotted within 60 acres of perfectly manicured gardens, with wide paths wiggling between olive trees, a long, shallow, sandy beach, and various cool-off spots, from splash pools to adult-only areas.
Weary parents descend on Ikos Odisia for the Anne Semonin spa, Insta-worthy modern luxe interiors (think jute rugs, taupe cushions) and a hassle-free break, where babies and toddlers can feast on buffet lunches of grilled aubergine, figs and Greek yoghurt, with tossed food discreetly swept away by staff without fuss. Parents, meanwhile, have six restaurants to try, with Michelin-star menus (and baby-friendly versions) from modern Greek to Asian, and an option to Dine Out in local restaurants, too.
You could easily never leave. While relaxing in one of the Deluxe Collection cabanas (a great choice if your child is willing to snooze and play in the shade) with Ionian views, the only worry here is which restaurant next.
Heinz TrollMarBella, Mar-Bella Collection
To call MarBella a labyrinth would be an understatement. This family-owned hotel, which is built in a series of jigsaw-style layers over a steep hillside on Corfu’s east coast, is a maze of everything all generations could hope for in a holiday.
Children, in particular, will be in their element here, thanks to a mini water park filled with tipping buckets and spaghetti slides, plus plenty of shaded lawn areas for charging around and letting off steam. The jasmine-scented beach deck is perfect for older kids, with excellent snorkelling and free kayak and SUP hire, plus opportunities to leap off the edge into the ouzo-clear water below.
Rooms have a contemporary-luxe style with a relaxing soft grey and duck-egg blue colour scheme. They range from new suites with private pools (check your allocation if you prefer to have the sun at certain times of the day) to more compact bedrooms with balconies and sit-for-hours views across to the mainland. There are dozens of chill-out spots, from sun-soaked cocktail terraces and moodily-lit lounges, plus four a la carte restaurants spanning Asian, traditional Greek and Italian cuisine.
Address: Ag. Ioannis Peristeron 490 84
Domes Miramare
Once the summer mansion of wealthy (but ill-starred) shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, this legendary adults-only hotel buried in ancient olive groves and standing above its own private beach has been renovated with panache, preserving many of the original 1960s elements such as the glittering crystal chandeliers and sleek marble floors. The renovation also added plenty of luxurious extras, including a vast infinity pool, restaurants helmed by a Michelin-starred chef and suites with retractable roofs for star gazing.
113 rooms include the blissfully peaceful Pavillion retreats with hot tubs or private pools, along with a ritzy range of self-catering villas which have direct access to the resort’s palm-tree-fringed beach. Add a light-filled spa where you can enjoy treatments with Parisian-chic Elemis and Codage products and a sleek private speedboat that will whisk you out to explore the coast in style and you’ll understand why this legendary resort is still as much a celebrity magnet as it was in Onassis’ day.
Grecotel Eva Palace
Old-world rustic charm meets a raft of modern comforts in this Venetian-styled beauty, framed by sweet-scented pines and silver-leaved olive groves along Corfu’s sprawling Kommeno peninsula and fronting the talc-soft sands of one of the island’s finest beaches.
Scattered around a palm tree-studded central pool with bird' s-eye views over the Ionian Sea glittering like a turquoise mirror far below, rooms, suites, and bungalows – some with wonderfully romantic four-poster beds – are comfortably capacious with sheer white walls and wicker furnishings. Deliciously secret sea-view villas buried in a jungle of greenery near the beach have private pools.
Three restaurants quirkily decorated with glittering chandeliers, potted palms and statues of exotic beasts serve everything from steak and sushi to reinvented Mediterranean fare.
Other glitzy facilities include a well-equipped watersports centre, a feet-in-the-water beach bar and a panoramic rooftop spa where sweet-scented treatments, including their signature Love Potion, use a luscious blend of ancient herbs that were once sacred to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.
Kerkyra Blue Hotel & Spa
Member of family-owned chain Louis Hotels’ new Elegant Collection, this completely-refurbished-for-2023 beach resort – a short hop from Corfu’s arcaded old town and Alykes Potamou’s low key tavernas – makes a laidback base for style-loving families and loved-up couples, who’ll appreciate the dedicated adults-only areas dotted around the hotel.
Décor across 240 sea view rooms and suites is soothing – think low sofas, sleek lines, mineral colours, bamboo fittings and bespoke wooden furnishings – but the real star of this seaside show is the wave-shaped pool surrounded by bamboo-shade cabanas and bean bags overlooking a bleach-blond beach dotted with chunky sunbeds. There’s also a bijou Aegeo spa with steam room, sauna and candlelit treatment rooms. For tip-top pampering, choose the balmy breeze-stroked massage cabana by the beach.
With a handful of fine-dining restaurants serving everything from Japanese fusion cuisine to traditional local delights, food is high on the menu here – pick the premium all-inclusive formula and you can sup in a different a la carte restaurant every night.
Grecotel Corfu Imperial
On a secluded wooded peninsula overlooking a string of sandy coves, this glamorous resort, which combines vintage design and contemporary style in an opulent wonderland of marble fixtures and baroque furnishings, is as regal as its name suggests. Embedded in mature gardens edged with stately cypress trees and fan-like palm trees the resort’s rooms and bungalows – many with private pools – have gilded furnishings and hand-painted murals on the walls. Vast Palazzo villas, meanwhile, have vaulted ceilings, larger pools and sea views. Member of the Greek-owned Grecotel chain, which is famed for its family-friendly vibe, facilities are superb in this sprawling resort, which also has several large pools and three private beaches. After all that effort you can recuperate in the Elixir spa or kick back in one of five on-site restaurants. Our favourite is fine-dining venue, Aristos where sumptuous dishes include ossetra caviar with cream of cauliflower and almond oil and luscious lobster ravioli on a bed of foie gras.
HEINZ TROLLIkos Dassia
Eschewing tacky wrist bands and lacklustre dining, this exclusive resort overlooking the silk soft sands and sparkling shallow waters of Dassia Bay offers a truly luxurious all-inclusive experience. 410 open-plan rooms and suites linked by a labyrinth of paths across two large buildings have furnished balconies – many with sea views – and minibars are stocked with premium-brand champagne, wines and spirits. Honeymooners and loved-up couples should book the larger beachfront bungalows and deluxe suites, which also have private pools.
Member of the upmarket Ikos chain, Dassia’s dazzling facilities also include a string of glittering lagoon pools, several tennis courts, two spas offering high-end Anne Semonin treatments, and seven restaurants - serving everything from Michelin-starred cuisine to Thai culinary treats - along with a raft of thrilling on-site activities ranging from windsurfing and diving, to cycling and canoeing.
Address: Dassia Bay, Corfu 49100, Greece
Angsana Corfu
High on a hilltop overlooking the shimmering waters of Benitses Bay, this ultra-chic hotel decked out with contemporary artwork and coiled around Corfu’s largest infinity pool is the first Greek venture of Asian hotel group Banyan Tree. Offering a seamless fusion of Greek hospitality and Asian style, this cocooning haven 20-minute drive from Corfu town has 159 light-filled rooms with chunky king-size beds, vast marble bathrooms, and private terraces with views over the glittering Ionian Sea to the Albanian coastline. In keeping with the fusion theme, the resort’s restaurants also serve a sapid smorgasbord of Asian and Mediterranean treats, ranging from tempura rolls to truffled duck. But the icing on this stylish cake is the spa – Corfu’s largest -≠ which has an indoor pool, along with several sizzling saunas and steamy hammams and 11 candle-lit treatment rooms where Orient-inspired wellbeing therapies include rice pouch-pummelling treatment, Ayurveda.
Address: 11 Km National Rd Corfu Benitses Akra Punta, Kerkira 490 84, Greece
Nido, part of Mar-Bella Collection
Built to resemble a traditional Corfiot village, the low buildings of this elegant adults-only resort tumble like pastel pink and sun-faded yellow lava along a densely wooded slope which offers breathtaking views over an endless blue sheet of sea. Only 10 minutes drive from Achilleion (the mythical Palace where Austro-Hungarian empress Sisi sought refuge after the death of her only son, Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889), 70 suites decked out with elegant fabrics and bow-legged Louis XV-style furniture have spacious terraces with hot tubs or private pools and spectacular sea views. A labyrinth of plant-lined paths leads down to the glittering infinity pool with water beds and sunbeds where you can admire those endless views as you work up an appetite for dinner at fine-dining restaurant Apaggio, where classic Corfiote recipes are reinvented with flair. There’s also a Cinq Mondes spa with sauna, hammam and two sweet-scented treatment rooms.
The Merchant’s House
If staying in a ghost village with only five residents is your idea of heaven this gourmet bolthole in the near-deserted village of Old Peirithia, is for you. Snugly tucked into a pine-studded cleft beneath Mount Pantokrator, the island's tallest mountain, this boutique beauty has six guestrooms carved out of the stunningly renovated stone-walled shell of a 14th-century Venetian building. High ceiling rooms with chunky stone walls are far from mediaeval, however: there are Coco-Mat mattresses and large balconies with spectacular views over to the Albanian coast opposite.
It might be remote but you won’t go hungry. British-Australian and Dutch owners Marieke and David feed their guests gargantuan breakfast platters stacked with crusty home-baked sourdough bread, honey produced by their beekeeping neighbour, along with local pastries and fresh figs, ripe oranges and other fruit harvested from their orchards, whilst two tavernas serving traditional treats are within easy strolling distance.
Address: Old, Perithia 490 81, Greece
CHRISTOS DRAZOSThe Olivar Suites
Less is definitely more at this hip spot on the island’s beach-lined southeast coast buried in centuries-old olive groves opposite a narrow pebble cove near the lively resort of Moraitika – and just 15 minutes along scarlet and vanilla-oleander-lined roads to Corfu town. The minimalist style melds with lashings of comfort here to create a relaxing village-style haven away from the coastal crowds. 120 spacious suites each have a pool surrounded by delightfully private gardens, clustered around an ancient olive mill, complete with massive granite grindstone and oak-beamed levers.
Headed up by former Grace Santorini chef Spyros Agious, the Flya restaurant dishes up delicious meze snacks and other local delights, whilst the resort’s Aegeo spa offers a raft of fragrant therapies, including a vigorous massage inspired by techniques used during the original Olympic Games and an invigorating deep tissue treatment using punch-packing white spirit, raki.
Address: MESSONGHI, 490 80, Greece
Rodostamo Hotel & Spa
Discreet, sleek and effortlessly friendly service is the linchpin of this plush, sprawling couples resort adrift in its 28-acre estate of rippling silver-leafed olive groves along Corfu’s exclusive Kommeno peninsula, where well-heeled Corfiots have their swanky villas. 50 open-plan rooms and suites have chunky beds and sea or garden views. For more exclusive digs, hop on the glass-walled cable car and allow yourself to be whisked to the top of a tree-furred hill where 16 bungalows and villas with hot tubs or private pools have spectacular views over Kommeno Bay. With plenty of tasty treats, including chef Bruno Braga’s modern take on the local cuisine at à la carte restaurant RR and a spa where treatments include the signature Rodostamo using the sweet-scented rosewater for which the resort was named, there’s no real reason to leave this peaceful hideaway. If you are tempted to explore, however, the Rodastomo’s private shuttle bus will glide you in air-conditioned comfort to Corfu town’s cobbled streets or Dassia’s silk sand beach in minutes.Address: 3 Kyknon str. , Kommeno, Kerkira 491 00, Greece
Bioporos Organic Farm
As idyllic as a scene from hit TV series The Durrells, you’ll be surrounded by owners Kostas and Agathis’ farm animals at this bucolic eco-friendly haven buried in a dense sea of olive groves overlooking the swan-ruffled surface of Corfu’s Natura 2000’ protected Korission Lake. Accommodation in two-storey villas with raspberry sorbet-coloured facades is comfortable, if rustic. Satin-soft tiles greet your feet when you leap from your solid wooden bedstead each morning, bathrooms have narrow tubs where you can lather with old-fashioned lavender soap and wrought iron balconies have views over silvered olive groves to the distant sea.
Bioporos offers the island’s only organic restaurant. Whether it’s lazy breakfasts on the lake-view terrace (eggs fresh from the coop; creamy local yoghurt and homemade jams) or laidback dinners of braised beef and tomato pasta dish pastitsada or melt-in-the-mouth Mycenaean stifado stews beneath the stars, the food here is five-star.
Address: Vrakaniotika Lake Korission, Agrapidia, Meliteieoi, Corfu, Greece