By Lyn Funnell
MONDAY
All excited as Hubby John, Daughter Rana, Granddaughter Isabella and I arrive at Gatwick Airport and check in.
We go to the Lounge as it’s private and comfortable, and we can eat and drink as much as we like, so it’s probably cheaper altogether than buying everything bit by bit amongst all the chaos in the main airport.
Sadly, queuing at Corfu, the Customs were being absolutely stupid, playing Let’s hold up the Brits as long as possible. It took two hours for everyone to be stamped and let through!
I smiled and said Kalispera! And he smiled back, replied, Kalispera, and stamped my passport!
Just a few words of the language make such a difference.
It’s all so ridiculous because they also held up the reps, the coach drivers, and all the chefs in the hotel.
We finally got there near midnight. But the chefs had prepared a delicious cold buffet for us.
TUESDAY
We stayed in the hotel and explored.
The Sandy Beach Hotel has 795 rooms and 12 villas.
Unfortunately the doors bang loudly and undisciplined kids think it’s funny to bang them over and over again, in between letting off all the fire alarms.
Some parents are so stupid that you wonder how they managed to book the holiday in the first place! They must know what their kids are doing.
Rana and Isabella had a wonderful time in the pools. But after an excellent buffet lunch, we wandered down to the private beach. There are plenty of sunbeds there.
Later we walked along the beach. There are several supermarkets, bars and car hires in the village.
We went in Theo’s bar. He said it opened tomorrow, but he still welcomed us and served us with drinks while he carried on working.
Would you get that service and welcome in England?
Every evening we would stroll down to the beach to watch the sun set, sending beautiful changing colours across the sky.
Woken at midnight by the new arrivals and the drunks returning to their rooms. Banging doors.
WEDNESDAY
We wasted our time in the morning waiting for a bus to Corfu Town which didn’t turn up. Then we were informed at Reception that it didn’t start for another week. So we walked to Linia village and timed it. It takes exactly 20 minutes.
There’s a bar on the corner, Linia Café, run by Harry and his English wife Jenny. They’re a mine of information. The bus stop to Corfu Town or Kavos is opposite them.
We had lunch. The buffet is so huge and varied that we kept discovering more sections. Absolutely first-class!
More banging doors in the corridor and the fire alarm went off. But there was no list of phone numbers to call Reception.
We walked to Reception to complain about the noise and Joe the manager said that new arrivals were being firmly told to respect other people and be quiet.
In the evening we walked to the village again and found out that Billys Excursions had a coach going to Corfu Town in the morning for 10 Euros each. It saved all the hassle of walking to Linia, so we booked it.
THURSDAY
Caught the coach to Corfu Town.
Oh dear, what a disappointment! Our lovely little Greek town is ruined. It’s just a European town now. All the family-run shops are now selling the same commercial-made rubbish. And the once cheap bars and restaurants are run by Companies.
In the end we went back to the main area and sat outside at a restaurant as we could hear Greek voices, so we assumed they’d know where to go. We were served by disinterested waiters and I had one of the worst meals I’ve ever paid for! It was supposed to be chicken doner kebab. But I didn’t recognise those inedible crispy bits as chicken. Then we saw the same waiters serving at the other restaurants.
We fought our way through people from three cruise liners and waited for the coach.
The biggest disappointment of all was seeing that all the ceramic places selling traditional Greek urns and plates have gone, after hundreds of years. Sad.
FRIDAY
We walked to the Nature Reserve along the beach. Nobody else around at all. We could see the lagoon but we couldn’t get round to it.
Back to the hotel. Oh the noise! Banging doors and screaming kids running up and down the corridor. Poor Rana was trying to have a quick sleep. But no chance.
We complained at Reception and they said they’d sort out another room.
In the evening we walked along to the village and booked a car for the next day. Just £35 for the day, plus filling up the tank.
SATURDAY
Corfu celebrates Easter a week later than the UK. We’d been told about the strange pot smashing that went on in every town and village. So we collected our car and headed for Lefkimi, a few miles away.
We arrived early and parked near the church.
The church bells chimed at 11am and the pots were dropped off balconies.
We loved it! See my earlier article about it.
https://unknownkentandsussex.co.uk/12497-2/
As the crowds cleared we walked back to our car.
We drove to the Lefkimi Salt Flats. Salt was collected here in the past.
The bay here is beautiful. The sea is clear and blue.
Then we decided that we had to go to Kavos. But did we really want to?
John and I lived there 40 years ago when Kavos was just a village.
Oh dear what a dump! It looked like an abandoned war zone. There were bars and restaurants crammed in tight rows, overshadowing the roads. All of them had cheesy names in English. Everywhere was shut and it was obvious that a lot of them were never going to open again. The Corfu countryside was destroyed for ever. We couldn’t wait to get away from it.
We drove along the coast to Benitses and Messonghi. Rana had a swim in a deserted bay but it was too cold for the rest of us.
Next we headed to the other side of the lagoon. It’s noted for flamingos and otters, apart from much more wildlife.
Then we drove back to St George South and gave the car back. We’d had a lovely day.
SUNDAY
Terrible door banging started early in the morning. Why don’t these kids ever go outside?
We went to Reception where Joe dangled some keys. ‘Where were you yesterday? I had other rooms for you! in a couple of villas,’ he said.
So we grabbed the keys and a buggy driver, and rushed back to throw all our things together.
Oh what a difference! We had our own pool right outside the back door and the main pool with bar a few yards away.
Peace! Quiet! Luxury! It’s well worth paying a bit more for a villa.
Rana and Isabella got changed and straight in the pool and I walked along to the other pool and a vodka and tonic.
MONDAY
Check-out time was 11am but Joe said we could stay where we were until 5pm. And we made the most of it!
In the evening the loos had long queues as some women were getting changed in them.
If they’d booked it at Reception they could have had the use of a room for an hour to have a shower and get changed. But nobody had told them.
In the airport we got through Customs easily and onto the plane early.
Oh dear, we had a screaming kid behind us all the way home, kicking the back of our seats.
Poor Isabella felt ill. We couldn’t change seats as the plane was full.
When we got home and on our way, we couldn’t believe how bad the potholes are on our roads after the smooth Corfu roads. Poor Isabella!
We arrived home about 1am. Another holiday over.
My conclusions; The Sandy Beach Hotel is a great hotel with lots of facilities, and the best buffet I’ve ever seen in my life.
But they need to make some changes.
Security needs to check on loud, badly-behaved kids. And the arrival times are unfortunate as new arrivals turn up near midnight, all excited of course, dragging their cases. And as it’s all-inclusive, in come the drunks.
The rep was useless. She got on the coach at the airport when we arrived, said We’re waiting for some more people, then you’ll be on your way. And she got off again.
Why couldn’t she have chatted to us about Corfu?
Everything’s done on the jet2 app now. The rep visited the hotel once, but she didn’t arrange a welcome meeting for us. She just wasn’t interested.
I get fed up with UK lists, but the rooms need phone numbers and an information pack in them.
Yes we enjoyed our holiday. But do get out and explore!
