Sidari Village Hotel

Sidari Village We expect All Inclusive 4* to be of a reasonable quality and comfort. The Sidari Village was the poorest 4* we have ever experienced. In its favour was the food, in our opinion there was good choice, quite bland, but then we like salads and vegetables. We were usually out at lunchtime, the lunches were not very interesting. The pool snacks were extremely poor.We had a great view from our room. We changed from the first room allocated which had been on the ground floor next to the road. Reception was quite amenable to swapping rooms for us.Pool was attractive and kept clean and free from litter.Our room had a faulty lock and this was attended to when reported.We found the staff friendly, however some of the staff in the dining room expected guests to stand back for them to pass, which is not an acceptable practice.Our room was clean, however very basic and shabby, definitely in need in need of updating. Very few coat hangers and were an assortment seen at a clothing department store. Towel rails were flimsy.Towels were changed twice but should be changed every day, as it was impossible to get them dry, as there was no sun/wind on the balcony. Day before departure we had no room service which is not good when bins need to be emptied. Large bin was never emptied. The only toiletries provided was soap, not good enough when hotel is listed as 4*. We ordered packed lunches twice, however very little effort was made for the sandwich. The bread was appalling, sliced and dry and not buttered nor butter provided. This was rather surprising for the bread at breakfast was freshly baked and beautiful.The entertainments bar was appalling and more like a campsite bar (when camping in the UK such a room is welcome from the rain), however as we expected 4* this "barn" had no appeal what so ever. We decided to go into town every evening for a more attractive atmosphere and comfort. Of course as we were all inclusive this cost us money we had not expected to budget for.There is no quite lounge area. There are settees in the reception area which is stark and noisy.There is no area for non smokers.More lighting is need on the road up to the accommodation. A folding step is necessary for the mini bus; a portable step will hardly suffice.The hotel could make an effort to provide information about the area e.g. walks, maps, and facilities.If you are expecting 4* facilities on your holiday we would recommend looking elsewhere. Sidari Village hotel is a good location but needs to make improvements. Not to be recommended at this time.

I enjoyed my whole time at Sidari Village Hotel! From the receptionists to the animation team were very helpful and very friendly. The entertainment during the day and night was wonderful. I know I will be there next year.

I would recommend to all.

Sidari Village Hotel was excellent. Went with two families. Food was great, animation team were great. Our friend was the one who was dressed up in a yellow bikini and the blond wig in a game show. We went on the 28th July 2008 for two weeks. Going back next year.

Excellent hotel, excellent new managers, excellent animation team.

Everything was great at Sidari Village Hotel from the staff to the pool! The food was very tasty, the pool was massive, the "animation team" or the entertainment team were amazing. It is the place for kids, there is a kids hour every night 8-9 then there is a quiz or bingo then the actual entertainment. All the staff are very friendly. There is also a park if your kids get bored.

I would recommended this hotel to every one, especially with children. It is fantastic . 8-)

Staff are amazing from waiters to entertainment to the guy driving the minibus. Downside, the hill but the view you have across to Albania cancels this out. Great value for money and the new owner of the Sidari Village Hotel is investing a great deal to make it better and better. Ask to be shown the newly renovated rooms. I know where I'll be staying next year!

SIDARI HOLIDAY VILLAGE

1st New owners

2nd Predominantly English visitors and a few Poles. (Not any Dutch as per previous reports)

3rd Have given the place a new makeover

4th Excellent "Animation" entertainment team, with varied entertainment day and night, every day!

5th Cost 3 adults with OT Beach.com less than £800, some paid nearly £1900 for the same with Thomas Cook or Panorama.

Difference you get that good old welcome meeting to sell you trips so is the difference in the price worth it. You decide?

FLIGHT: Went with Easyjet, half hour delay, not ideal with non-allocated seats.

ARRIVAL AIRPORT: As this was not via a tour company, all holiday detail was via email and vouchers. Upon arrival at airport headed for the Holidays 4 U counter handed over the voucher and hey presto 56 seater coach with two drop-offs, and 8 persons on board, 7 of which where at The Sidari Holiday Village!

HOTEL: Arrival at 1am, handed over another voucher for accommodation and keys were handed over, also R/C for the TV & A/C (Need to shut the door for the A/C to work!!). Bags were taken and us via minibus up to block 15 (3rd best block on the resort!)

THE HILL: The accommodation blocks 3-15 all have sea views, and are up an extremely tall hill, there is a saviour in the form of a minibus that runs all day until midnight. It says it runs every 15 mins, but its as soon as someone wants it!! and it's free!

HOTEL BLOCKS: Blocks 1/2 are on the ground level next to the pool, block 15 is the closest to the top of the hill block 14 is next back then 13 and so on till block 3.

ROOMS: Have kitchenette, bathroom with shower (Not very good spray or size but adequate for a shower). Beds a bit hard two single beds put together, TV with satellite channels, and a mezzanine floor up some stairs with another 2/3 beds for the kids. All in all perfect for the few hours you spend their to sleep, A/C very good.

FOOD: ALL BUFFET STYLE OK not the best AI, breakfast comprises of full English, (Bacon not brilliant) eggs scrambled or fried, sausage (Frankfurter) mushrooms (Salted and tinned) Tomatoes (Fresh). Fruit juices (weak) cereal, cold meats etc. Lunch, Greek salads and various hot dishes, evening meal the same. If you are looking for pie, mash and beans then this is NOT the place for you, if you want VFM AI then this is the place...

POOL: Excellent, cleaned every morning, plenty of sun beds, went down at 8am for breakfast and then went and got a sun bed, no problem was at half term in May/June not sure if when full in August it will be the same?

POOL BAR: Day times plastic cups for the drinks, you can have Beer (Lowenbrau) gin, vodka, whisky, rum, shnapps, ouzo all locally produced. Some pizza and cheese puffs for snacks in the day.

In the evening there were glasses, however the 2 drinks per visit at the bar was sometimes ridiculous. Especially when know one else was at the bar!. So it was take back and go back and get another 2 drinks!! Be a where the AI stops at 11pm, and this is dead on. Everyone seems to get up there about 15 mins before and get loads in to last for another half hour.

ENERTAINMENT: Daytime is excellent the new team are really good with the kids and run pool, darts, painting, quizzes, volleyball, water polo etc etc.

In the evening they do 2/3 nights full cabaret over a fortnight, other nights have alternative Mr&MRS, bingo, lucky13 etc etc. All this stop at 11pm, and you are encouraged to visit the Camelot bar (Not part of the AI program) but its happy hour 11pm till midnight (Half price 4 Euros 50 for 2 cocktails)

Accommodation 10 mins from the beach, main street full of shops, bars restaurant. BED bar and the Greek restaurant just up the road a must. We had a meal for 7 with drinks 3 course, Greek plate smashing, dancing all night 100 Euros the lot!!

Sidari good VFM?, would be if the euro rate was better

Very good, food cheaked for correct temperature every meal time and not only once while we were eating.

We stayed in the Sidari Village in June 2007 and we liked it, we did not like the hill but the views are fantastic. It's built into the side of a hill. There is a mini bus, that goes up and down all day, the poolbar is good but there is not much room by the pool and we were early in the season. The food was average, some days it was better than others, watch for the spicy tomato pasta it has octopus in it but it looks really good. The entertainment team were good, they tried hard, Lindsey the English girl was great and lots of fun, don't mention her football team though! We really had a good week, not sure if I would return here but will go back to Sidari.

Holidays come in all shapes and sizes, and the requirements to be an excellent holiday differ from person to person, and even year to year. For me, my holiday to Sidari Village in Corfu, was all about two weeks away with the family, to relax and recharge the batteries. All we needed was a change of scenery, some sun, a pool, a sandy beach, clear warmish water, and a good variety of Taverna's to try out in the evening. Sidari, in Northwest Corfu, ticked all the boxes.

We travelled with Manos (My Travel), and the transfer from the airport was reasonable, taking just about an hour, after hanging around for the bags and the coach for a while.

Sidari Village apartments are a complex of 17 accommodation blocks built into the side of a hill. Fortunately, we had a ground floor apartment in one of the lowest blocks, so there was no hill climbing! For those not so fortunate, there was a minivan shuttle bus that constantly made the trip up and down the hill. I did the walk once to take some photos, and would recommend the bus for the trip up!!! The rooms were a little basic, but didn't bother us after the first couple of days. The kitchenette was virtually non-existent (small fridge, two electric hobs, a microwave and a sink - no toaster). The bathroom was small (shower basin, sink and toilet). The beds in the main room were hard, and those in the kid's room were glorified sofa beds, although comfier than the main beds. The air conditioning was good, but only on at certain times of the day, and only worked when your key fob was in its slot next to the door. After being on all night, the rooms were quite chilly.

The complex offered a good variety of facilities, including an excellent pool, a good pool snack bar, a well stocked/priced supermarket, and security boxes behind reception. The pool area contained quite a few sun beds, but not that many fixed sun shades that offered protection from the sun all day round. As a result, there was the usual early morning stampede for the best beds. If you are planning on spending all day around the pool and want constant shade, be prepared to stake your claim at around 08:00, even though the pool doesn't open until 09:30! The pool closes at 18:30 each day. The pool snack bar is recommended, especially for breakfast (a full English fry up cost us €2.90, which is around £2). The entertainment was typical package holiday stuff, with aqua aerobics, water polo and killer pool during the day, with a kids disco in the evening, and pretty awful singing by the would be West End stars, or holiday reps as they are better known.

The walk to the Taverna's and the beach wasn't too far, taking less than 10 minutes. The nearest beach was the best in my opinion. It is a narrow strip of sandy beach running around the bay, with shallow water of a reasonable temperature. There are lots of sun beds (€7.50/day for 2 beds and a sun shade) and lots of water sports options (canoes, pedalo's, banana and ring rides, etc...). There were changing cubicles, and the toilets were in beach bars. The Canal d'Amour beaches, although pretty, are very small, catering for only a few dozen people at most.

The variety of Taverna's and bars are all located along the main road that runs along the coastline. When you reach this road from the Sidari Village Apartments you are virtually in the middle, so the choice each evening is simply turn left or turn right. Turning left (heading towards the Canal d'Amour) is the quieter option, offering a wider variety of evening meal choices, and a handful of bars showing Sky Sports, UK soaps, and the latest box office movies. Turning right offers wall-to-wall food and drink options, with people on the street trying to entice you into their place. It is more hectic, and the food isn't as good in my opinion. We thought the best places for food were Mythos (George's Taverna - traditional Greek + English), Cactus Jack's (Tex-Mex), The Rose Garden (traditional Greek + English), and China Town (Chinese), which were all to the left. Mythos is highly recommended, we ate there four times, and each time was spot on. The Greek food is awesome, especially Moussaka, Kleftiko, Souvlaki, Stamna, Stifado, and Sofrito. The Lagoon Bar was the first bar we came to when leaving the apartments each night, and was great for movies, quizzes, and other entertainment.

Beyond Sidari, we hired a car and visited Aqualand (1 hour South), Kassiopi (40 minutes East), and Agios Georgios (1 hour West). Aqualand is a fantastic water park with plenty to do all day. Kassiopi is a very nice harbour town, and we took a cruise to a local sandy beach. Agios Georgios is a nightmare to reach, on some of the worst roads I've ever driven on, but is a very picturesque bay with a nice beach front.

All-in-all it was a great holiday, and our highlights, apart from the weather, were definitely the lazy days by the pool/beach, the water park and the food.

Photo's available at http://www.ls2000.karoo.net/sidari1/