On my most recent trip to Corfu, we wanted a bit of a relaxed resort holiday following a busy few days exploring Corfu Town and taking the ferry to Albania. And so, after plenty of research, we landed on this Grecotel property in Daphnila Bay. We had a really good stay on the whole, but it didn’t wow me as I expected it to. It was my first experience of a Grecotel hotel – and as winners of many luxury awards, I had high expectations. I also came from Angsana Corfu, another luxury hotel on the island, so the bar was set quite high!
Anyway, read on for my thoughts and my full review of Grecotel LUXME Daphnila Bay in Corfu.
Overview
Location
This hotel is located in the area of Dassia, around a 20 minute bus or taxi from Corfu Town, or 30 minutes from the airport. There are two other Grecotel hotels on the Kommeno peninsula – the Eva Palace and the Corfu Imperial. We were really underwhelmed with the local area, in terms of running and walking routes in the immediate vicinity of the hotel. And as the Grecotel Daphnila Bay complex is so large, you can only embark on walks or runs either the front of the hotel or the beach.
The front of the hotel actually is on a very narrow and winding road, which connects down to the main highway. Although brilliantly easy for catching the bus to Corfu Town, running or walking routes along here were limited and took us through busy industrial areas.
From the beach to the right, the uneven, rocky path takes you towards Eva Palace. But the land is so hilly and with so many stairs, you can’t really run through this property.
If you turn left along the beach, there is a path you can follow but again its quite rocky and the beach turns into a deserted outcrop. It’s really not geared up for walks or runs from the property, which we found really disappointing.
That being said though, Daphnila Bay itself is beautiful. The views from the hotel towards the water are stunning and the bay is very sheltered and calm. We loved looking out over the sea from different vantage points in the hotel.
The All-Inclusive LUXME Concept
Grecotel describes LUXME as an upscale all-inclusive holiday concept covering everything from premium F&B, entertainment, wellness, sports and activities.
What I liked about it is that all food and drink was truly covered from day to night. I’ve written more on the foodie offering below, but this covered a mix of a la carte dinners, to buffet breakfasts and lunches as well as all snacks and drinks in between.
Unfortunately, we didn’t find the quality of the food to be as good as expected.
Secondly, in terms of entertainment, wellness and activities, there was very little put on or included. Despite the app listing a variety of daily activities in the programming, we generally found these weren’t running. The staff running these were also rarely present. Compared to somewhere like Club Med, it was really lacking on this front.
I don’t know if this is because we went the first week of October but either way, we found it a little disappointing.
In terms of the price, a room in the low season starts from around £231 (based on two sharing).This increases to around £574 per night in August. Make sure to check out the latest rates here.
Review of Grecotel LUXME Daphnila Bay
First Impressions
The morning we arrived, the whole island of Corfu was recovering from a huge storm. This meant a lot of the hotel was flooded and towels were everywhere to soak up the water. We were overwhelmed when walking to check-in in the lobby, as there were literally dozens of people everywhere. We presume waiting to check out, but for some reason, everyone looked a little shell-shocked! So it was a slightly unusual scene to arrive to. Unfortunately, our room wasn’t ready so we stored our bags and headed to the beach front. Initially, everything looked a bit dirty and rundown, but we realised this was due to the storm and flooding, as the whole hotel looked much better in the following days.
Our Room
When we finally were able to access our room, we were really pleasantly surprised. I had booked us a Hideaway Daphnila Bungalow, which was several categories above the entry-level options. These are garden or sea view rooms in the main hotel.
The bungalow was an excellent upgrade for the additional space offered. We loved the bed – it was extremely comfortable and we had great seats on the terrace and in the small living room area too.
We loved the decor and found it very calming, and the temperature of the room was always perfect.
Whilst the shower was very powerful, the bathroom had literally no storage space at all and was badly planned. I think it was evident then that the room is quite dated!
Overall though, our room was a lovely restful space and we had some great sleep in here.
Facilities at the hotel
There is a central swimming pool directly in front of the main building, but it was too chilly during our visit to swim in. Behind this is an undercover smaller pool, which is heated and mostly suited to small kids.
Behind this is a very small and slightly outdated gym, which also leads to the spa. I have to say, this whole part of the hotel is quite dated and cramped.
At the front of the hotel is another kids area and where some of the evening entertainment takes place, but it is quite basic and not much was on during our visit.
We were surprised to find so many tennis courts in excellent condition, as well as a brilliant padel court and outdoor gym area. There were always tons of free courts, until an adults-tennis holiday group arrived in the second part of our week. Tennis courts are included, but the padel court has an additional cost per hour.
Communal areas
There are a great number of bars and seating areas around the hotel. My favourite area was the large lobby space between the Patisserie and Gattopardo. There were always ample seats free, and the staff were really attentive with bringing drinks or snacks here. I enjoyed working here on my laptop, but plenty of families, couples and groups would also be enjoying this space.
Down at the beach, the Oliva by the beach area was great for all-day chilling or a break from sitting on a sun lounger.
Food and Drink
As part of the LUXME offering, there really is food and drink available around the clock. It was easy to use the app in advance of arriving at the resort to make reservations for the evening meals. Overall, compared to other all-inclusive brands (such as Club Med or even Greek ones such as Mitsis), we felt the food offering fell a bit short of my expectations.
I’ve done a brief overview here:
- Oliva – really great lunch offering down here, and a very popular pizza bar too. Loved stepping away from the beach to grab midday good here. There is a beach bar by here too, although I didn’t find the seats too comfy. In the evenings this turned into an Asian restaurant, but we didn’t end up trying this.
- The Creperie and Gelateria – is right next door. Whilst the ice creams didn’t hugely take my fancy, the crepes here are so delicious! Perfect afternoon snacking!
- Antiqua Cucina – Breakfast is served here each morning, which we found to be fairly good but not exceptional. The lunch offering in here was a real letdown however, and I preferred staying at the beach to eat.
- Tavernaki – We enjoyed this meal although the portion sizes were huge! The mezze platter was huge! My main course afterwards was a struggle. Although it was a bit chilly down here in early October, it was delightful to sit by the water’s edge for dinner. Reservations required.
- Corfu Venezia Hot Stone – This is one of the dinner offerings and is served on the outside terrace. It was probably my least favourite dinner of the week and the service this evening really missed the mark. Reservations required.
- Gattopardo – This was a degustation menu, only available at dinner to diners aged 12+. It was a more refined affair and the service was excellent. It was a bit chilly down here in early October, it was delightful to sit by the water’s edge for dinner. Reservations required.
- Patisserie and Chocolaterie – This is an area within the large lobby bar area that serves up tasty treats at around 5pm each day. There weren’t tons on offer but they were tasty!
You can read more on the F&B offering here.
The Staff and Service
We found all the staff to be really pleasant, although there was definitely a sense of winding down for the season (in early October). Some staff really went above and beyond, and some had already checked out.
As mentioned above, there was a real lack of entertainment and activity offering. And certainly the staff at the beach were just handing out towels at the most.
I was emailed a mid-stay survey which I decided to complete on the spot. I did make a couple of remarks about the service at the Venezia Hot Stone and some frustration that the padel courts had a charge. The front desk team really stepped up trying to make amends, which I was pleasantly surprised about. They offered us a free hour on the padel courts. They also sent some local foodie gifts to our room, which I thought was a lovely and unexpected gesture as my complaint hadn’t been major.
Review of Grecotel LUXME Daphnila Bay in Corfu
To summarise, our stay at this hotel was good, but it simply doesn’t compare to other stays we’ve had – including Angsana Corfu.
However, it is more affordable at around xx per night, on an all-inclusive basis. Make sure to check out the latest rates here.
But do make sure to factor in some time exploring the rest of Corfu too. If you’re looking for guides to other Greek islands, do check out my other posts:
- Lesser known islands to visit whilst island-hopping in Greece
- 10-Day island hopping itinerary: Athens, Santorini and Milos
- Santorini on a Budget
- Milos Travel Guide
- Athens in One Day
I hope this guide helps in planning your trip to Greece and the beautiful island of Corfu.
Feel free to ask any further questions below if there’s something I haven’t covered.
Disclaimer: This stay at Grecotel Daphnila Bay was an independent visit paid for by myself. As always, my reviews are entirely honest and my own.
