After getting married in October 2010, we spent a year saving for the perfect honeymoon. Kontokali did not disappoint!
We arrived early hours and were greeted by a friendly receptionist, and a gentleman who took our cases up to our room. On first impression, the room seemed quite basic for a 5* hotel, but on reflection I think that is more the Greek style. A plush room with decorative cushions and mod cons would not have been inkeeping with the beautiful natural surroundings. And the view.... WOW! Overlooking a little island (the name escapes me) and the main hotel beach, it really took our breath away.
One of the highlights of the week was the breakfast. Everything you can imagine, from pastries to Full English to local fruits and breads... Tom's favourite was the omelette freshly cooked in front of you in 2 minutes, whereas I loved the Greek yoghurt and local honey. Yum!
We loved relaxing on the beach with towels provided by the hotel, and the water was beautiful. The pool is a stunning feature, and a perfect length for a proper swim if you fancy working off that breakfast!
The jacuzzi, steam room and indoor swimming pool are all free features in the Spa, although we did find the treatments to be slightly out of our price range which was a shame as they had so many to choose from! We also used the tennis courts when the temperature dropped slightly early evening, which were in very good condition and in peaceful surroundings.
We ate in the A la carte restaurant courtesy of Olympic holidays (honeymoon offer) which was defintely a 5* experience. Some of the most beautifully presented and tasty food I have ever seen, and although we ate through a thunderstorm, our waiter (the restaurant manager) kept us entertained and topped up on wine!
We would thoroughly recommend the Greek Night, during which a slightly crazed and very agile Greek man leaps about all over the place to live music then invites everyone up on stage to get involved, which we did and loved!
We took the bus into Corfu town one day, which we would definitely recommend, as they have lovely local craft shops and cafes around the Old Town, although we did find that the prices shot up compared to Kontokali and Gouvia. We walked into Gouvia most evenings, which took around 30 minutes at a leisurely pace. The harbour is pretty, and we enjoyed some fabulous local food at a variety of restaurants. Very good value. We were well looked after by the owner of the 02 bar, who even let Tom watch half of an English football game even though the bar was packed with Greeks eager to watch a local match! A very friendly and chilled out bar.
We have previously stayed at a 5* hotel in London, and we were made to feel unwelcome and unworthy of such accomodation (perhaps because of our young age?), so we were slightly apprehensive about the same thing happening on this trip. We needn't have worried. In fact, the staff were the most pleasant, professional and friendly I have ever experienced; from the front desk to the breakfast staff to the barmen... We felt as if they would go out of their way to help in anyway they could and we would like to express our deepest gratitude to the front desk manager (I'm so annoyed that I can't think of his name - he had glasses?) who arranged for us to have a room on our final day free of charge to allow us to change for a photoshoot we had around the hotel in our wedding outfits. This made our last day relaxing and enjoyable before what turned out to be a nightmare journey home (long story).
Overall we felt as though we got away to our own little paradise for a week, which was exactly what we needed. We would highly recommend the hotel for couples, although they did cater well for families, with a games room next to the beach bar.
Thanks again to all the staff who made it special!