Dreams Corfu Resort and Spa

Honestly a great hotel…is it the best ever, no….but is definitely not the worst as some reviews would suggest. We had a bungalow room which was perfect. So quiet at night. The room was lovely, no issues at all. The pools were all ok, yes there was green staining but I had no issues with hair or costume discolouration. The sea was warmer than the pools but as described by others, murky and a little rocky. Managed to book the à la cartes and didn’t use the buffet in the evenings but used it for lunch and breakfast with no issues. The à la cartes were lovely and of a standard of others in similar hotels. Staff were excellent, efficient and helpful when required. We had preferred access to the lounge and pool. This was nice and worth the money we thought. We left the hotel a few times, the bus to town was an adventure. We went on the jeep safari to the north which was a great day out. All in all a great holiday on beautiful Corfu.

We holidayed in Gouvia, Corfu, 44 years ago in 1982 when we were in our early twenties and it was for nostalgic reasons we returned. Back then the main street down to the beach was being dug up by the locals, under the supervision of a German engineer, and a sewage pipe was being laid. Nothing much has changed within Gouvia. The footpaths are narrow and uneven, and the local traders tend to display their wares encroaching up to or onto the footpath forcing pedestrians into the road. Gouvia is not mobility scooter friendly! There are many tavernas and restaurants within Gouvia. There has been little development since we were last here. The beach area in 1982 was covered by small to medium size pebbles but I was disappointed to see that it now resembles ‘crush and run’ as found on a building site. There are now many sunbeds and parasols to hire by the day. The view across the bay to Albania is fantastic. The sea was calm and looked clean. Back then, we were bored one day and decided to walk along the coastline, heading north, and around a promontory. We were greeted by a broken jetty, scrubland that headed inland, and a sea that appeared stagnant. I certainly would not have swam in it. We put it down at the time to the old water discharge system from the village. And this, many years later, is where the Hyatt Ziva Corfu is located. We originally booked before the name change and rebranding from Dreams Resort Corfu. We would only be going for a week as my wife frets about leaving our dog, so decided to push the boat out and upgrade to a Preferred Club Bungalow with a sea view. My wife is not very mobile these days but the resort had a myriad of footpaths that linked every aspect of the hotel and was, in the main, mobility scooter friendly. We’d got through Corfu airport, using TUI assistance, very quickly. The ESS system seemed to have been abandoned due to the sheer numbers arriving. TUI had arranged a wheelchair friendly taxi for us which turned out to be a minibus, complete with a ramp. We arrived at the hotel within 30 minutes to be greeted by Konstantidas(?) who was part of the reception team. He went through the information regarding the hotel and even booked us in while we enjoyed a welcome drink. We were then whisked away to our bungalow, number 230. With the plane arriving late we had missed the evening meal time slots but the hotel puts on a small limited buffet in the World Café. The Preferred Club Bungalow was a decent size with a very comfortable bed. There is a wardrobe, (hessian covered doors – very 1970’s) which contained 2 dressing gowns and slippers (not used), a safe, a hairdryer and an umbrella. There are only 2 drawers built into the wardrobe. There is also a fridge containing 2 beers, soft drinks and water. Above the fridge there’s tea and coffee making facilities including what was I think, a Nespresso machine, which went unused. The room also features a small table, one Bauhaus type designer chair – I challenge anybody over 60 to get out of it with dignity, and a spare bed that doubles up as a sofa – once again if you sit on it with your back against the loose cushions your legs stick straight out. The very comfortable king size bed faces a wall mounted TV set which only seemed to get news channels and limited 2nd rate films with Arabic subtitles. There is a ‘smart’ button on the remote which could probably pair with a mobile but we are of a certain age and did not dare touch it! Outside on the terrace there is a table that looks as if it has just been picked up by the ‘Money For Nothing’ team and two uncomfortable iron chairs, the backs of which cut into your spine and shoulder blades. Top Tip – take a cushion from the ‘sofa’. The bathroom is well appointed but lacks tiles on the walls, even in the shower! The finish appears to be a smooth painted cement render that can be quickly painted should it need sprucing up! So, all in all, the room has been designed in a minimalistic way, utilising form over function. It looks very good at first inspection but becomes wearing after a few days when there is nowhere comfortable (except on the bed) to sit. Housekeeping, however, was something we had never experienced before, even in five-star hotels in Mexico and the Caribbean. We only needed to leave our room for a short time and the bed would be made and glasses cleaned and put back in the designated place. The bin would be emptied regularly. On an evening the bed would be straightened. We started looking for hidden cameras as the room was ultra cleaned every time we went out! Well done Angelique(?). We did have to contact reception about restocking the fridge after 2 days but it was restocked again 2 days later. Top Tip – if you enjoy wine in your room ask for a bottle at the reception bar to take away. The sea view over Gouvia bay from our terrace was fantastic, only spoiled by the positioning of an inflatable water park just off the little used (is it the preferred?) man made beach. This is the area that years ago we walked to and discovered the broken jetty and suspect sea. The beach, if it was preferred, was used by all guests. Preferred Club guests are issued with yellow towels and others have brown. Luckily the waterpark was mostly not being used as we holidayed in term time. I could imagine the noise from the waterpark being irritating if you have upgraded to a preferred bungalow and expected a quiet holiday. On our first full day at the Hyatt Ziva we ventured to the Italian restaurant for lunch. Located next to the Lagoon pool the restaurant was busy but we were shown very quickly to our table. Whilst my wife had a pizza, unable to finish – it was huge, I had the seafood risotto. I can report that the risotto was one of the best dishes I have had, ever! Even if you do not eat fish I urge you to try it. It was wonderful. We decided after lunch to stay at the lagoon pool. There were many available sunbeds. After a good lunch I do often fall asleep, which I did on this occasion, only to be rudely shaken from my slumber by my wife telling me to pack up ‘we’re going’. A lot of noise was coming from a group of twenty/thirty something German lads in the pool. My wife, who is half German and fluent explained as we walked away that they were drunk and using inappropriate language. There were a few young pre-school children. Luckily they departed the following day. Our evening meal was at the World Café which is a buffet. The food looked good but unfortunately everything was lukewarm. We are well aware that Greek food can be on the cooler side to what we are used to but whilst we were eating we didn’t see any dishes disposed of that still contained food but they were replaced once empty. The second day we stayed at the preferred pool. Entrance is gained by your room keycard opening the gate. Exchange yellow towels are available to the right as you enter. Many free sun loungers and parasols. There are steps up to the preferred pool(s) so if you have a disability you may struggle. I had read previously on Trip Adviser that there was a problem with algae in some of the pools. I did inspect and struggled to find any. I have seen worse at other resorts. Chlorine would have killed this off of course, but I prefer fresh unadulterated water. The drinks service at the preferred pool is very good. We ate lunch at the Barefoot Bar, next to the Infinity and kids paddling pool. A popular place at lunchtime and had a very nice Calzone pizza, my wife having the baked salmon which was amazing as she does not do fish! The water in the Infinity pool was clean but there was an oily film on the tiles around the pool at water surface level. I concluded that this was due to suncream being washed off the bathers. There are two showers that swimmers used after being in the water but we did not see one bather using them prior to entering the water so no wonder there is a ‘tide’ mark. That evening we were eating at the Greek YiaYia restaurant which was one of the two we had booked with Konstantidas on our arrival. We both had the pork steak which was huge. A pork loin which extended down to a rib and filled the plate. The dish itself was very fatty with the accompanying vegetables being soaked in olive oil. We both ended up leaving most of it. I spent a very uncomfortable night with stomach pains and indigestion and did think at times it was food poisoning as I wanted to be sick at times but the following morning after visiting the onsite hotel shop I was able to procure some antacid tablets which sorted out the problem very quickly. I put it down to too much oil with the dish we had at the YiaYia. We managed to book via the app the Seaside Grill and the Trattoria. Unfortunately our visit to the Seaside Grill was cancelled due to a thunderstorm that lasted 5 hours! So once again it was the World Café buffet. My wife just had lukewarm pasta in tomato sauce and I had a beefburger with cauliflower and a bit of beef in a cream sauce, all of which was lukewarm. The other restaurants we visited were the Papouse and the Trattoria. The Italian being very good. We did skip breakfast most days. We went to the preferred lounge for a light breakfast on our first full day. It was a more civilised place to eat unlike the main buffet when at times you would think that people had never had a cooked meal before! Snacks were available from the bar at the Infinity pool which we tended to go to as the toilets were close, and the staff serving drinks made sure you were never in need. Regarding staff – this is the hotels greatest asset. They can not do enough for you. Especially Jaqueline in Preferred Club reception and the staff I have mentioned previously.

So, is this hotel a 5 star? That is the big question and open to many variables. If you live in a terrace house in Stoke-on-Trent or a back-to-back in Rotherham you would certainly have a different view to a person who lives by the river at Walton-on-Thames or by the Stray in Harrogate. My own personnel view is that the hotel is a very good 4 star. To get to a 5 star I would want to see a spirits dispenser in the Preferred Club rooms, a daily bottle of wine in the room and how about a golf caddy bus service running around the hotel instead of having to request a pickup? (We twice requested a pick up through the preferred desk and twice had to chase up when it was late). But most of all – make the food hotter, especially at the World Café. There is nothing wrong with the quality of the food but how about a head chef being visible, interacting with guests and being in charge of when a dish has been out too long and ordering its disposal which is the norm in 5 star establishments we have visited. The visible staff, as mentioned, are brilliant, so somebody must be training them. Are the senior management too complacent and too busy to see what could take the hotel forward to another level?

Now the question of upgrading to Preferred Club. Was it worth it? Well, the sea view from our Preferred bungalow was fantastic but marred by the carbuncle of the water park. I probably wouldn’t have been happy in high season. The staff, whether you are Preferred Club or not are fantastic. We did have a minor problem with my wife’s scooter being unable to negotiate a small step at the top of a ramp to reception but within days a wooden ramp was installed! Now here’s another top tip – wristbands are not used so there is a way of abusing the Preferred Club system. Should you want to go into the Club area by the pools simply follow in a Club member through the gate and pick up a yellow towel from the towel box. Likewise you could do the same to enter the Preferred Lounge through the sliding doors and help yourself to premium drinks! While we were here there were no checks in the Preferred areas and many guests had yellow and brown towels!

If you have booked The Hyatt Ziva, Corfu don’t worry. It is a very good hotel but with a few implementations has the potential to be a great 5 star, but not at the moment.

Just returned after nine nights at this hotel and thoroughly enjoyed nearly every minute. Recent reviews had me slightly worried before arrival but personally could hardly complain about anything, the main positives for me were very friendly staff and the quality the food Our room on the first floor was lovely with a beautiful sea view and a massive very comfy bed, the bathroom had a great walk in shower and complimentary toiletries. The air con worked well but unfortunately developed a leak straight away which we reported on their app and someone came out very quickly to sort it, he did a good job and it was much better but unfortunately continued to leak very slightly for the duration of the holiday. The food at the buffet restaurant was varied and great quality even day,great selection for all tastes catered for and we never had any complaints at all. We also ate at the barefoot grill a few times during the day because it was handy for the beach area and though the menu was a bit limited we always found something tasty to eat. We went to the Greek al a carte restaurant one night and thoroughly enjoyed that as well as a one off but to be honest we were more than happy with the buffet. The main bar in the lobby was where we spent most nights and it had a great choice of drinks to choose from, it was waiter service but we found it was much quicker to just go to the bar ourselves. The night time entertainment was pretty good and we saw a very good live band called boombox collective who really impressed. Now for just a couple of negatives, recent reviews have mentioned the swimming pools being dirty and even having green slime in them , I never experienced this however around the edges of the lagoon pool in particular there is staining that does look a bit off putting, surely these stains can be scrubbed off easily enough, otherwise the pools looked clean enough to me and there was plenty of people in them. Finally our flight time was early and we arrived at the hotel at 1pm , as the hotels official check in time is 3pm we didn't really expect our room to be ready and it wasn't, but no problem as we were directed to the buffet restaurant for something eat and then a couple of drinks in the bar, but it had been a long day of travelling, in our case since 03.00am the previous day and we were exhausted and in desperate need of a shower and a sleep but we were left sitting around the hotel until 4pm before getting our room key,if you advertise your check in at 3pm then the room has to be ready by 3pm, I know that they must have been busy but they also must know when guests are expected to arrive so no excuse really. Apart from that an amazing holiday in a beautiful well run hotel and I would return in a flash, and I will hopefully return next year