If you follow me on twitter/instagram you will know that I have just been on holiday for a week to the Greek Island of Kefalonia. Famous for it's part in the filming of 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin', Kefalonia is known for being one of the more beautiful Greek Islands with some fabulously different beaches, quiet secluded coves and food to die for. We stayed in the Magnolia Resort in Katelios (in the Southern part of the island), a 4 star hotel with the option of being either half board or bed and breakfast. We stayed bed and breakfast for the simple reason that we like to try different Tavernas for our evening meal.
The pool view from the front of our room, this hotel doesn't have long stuffy corridors with rooms on either side, they have open air 'corridors' and every room faces outwards with the front doors on the inside of the hotel. The pool area got sun right until the last minute which is great for those who like to soak up as much as possible.
The pool area, beautifully designed with plenty of beds without being too crammed in next to each other. The hotel also provided us with fluffy pool towels so we didn't have to worry about using our sandy beach towels. The pool has an 'infinity' design which I absolutely love, it was more than big enough and although a little bit of a shock to the system when you first get in it's a welcome relief from the sun!
The view room the balcony wasn't the best I've ever had at a hotel, it was all greenery and we could only just see the sea, nevertheless it was a lovely place to relax on an evening as it caught the last of the days sun every day. I loved sitting listening to music and later on if you kept the light off the insects stayed away!! I could also get the WiFi from the restaurant across the road on here so even more of a reason to sit out here. The hotel did have WiFi but due to the 'earthquake proof' walls, it didn't work for me in our room.
The room itself was so clean and tastefully designed, it had a shabby chic feel to it which I absolutely loved. The bed had crisp clean linen on, changed every other day and a thicker cover in case it got a little chilly on a night. There's nothing 'plain' about the rooms, they are designed in a boutique hotel style, the bathroom is spacious with a lovely big powerful shower with constant hot water and there was a fridge big enough to keep any bottles of water and other bits you might like to keep cool.
It had a TV with the usual BBC news channel on it but having a premium room meant that we also got a DVD player & an iPod docking station. they had a selection of DVD's in the foyer but if I'd have known there was a DVD player I would have taken some of my own. I did get to watch The Devil Wears Prada though which I absolutely loved!
One of the best touches in this room was the electronic metal shutter which went down over the patio door to the balcony, meaning that the the sun didn't disturb your sleep if you didn't want it to and there was also a mosquito screen which kept all creepy crawlies out. I never saw one insect in our room all the time we were there!
For a Greek hotel this really was absolute luxury, I know hotels on most Greek Islands have a bit of a bad reputation of being very basic but this was as far away from basic as you could be. You could even flush your loo roll down the toilet which was amazing (usually the drainage systems cannot cope with paper so you have to put it in the bin, ergh). The Magnolia Resort also had a spa which we didn't use but could be hired privately for 30 Euros per hour.
If you enjoy peace and quiet on your holiday and you're not keen on raving music etc. then Kefalonia is definitely for you. The Magnolia resort is an 'adults only' hotel so no children under the age of 12 are allowed, making it doubly quiet and serene around the pool. The only thing I will say is that drinks were quite expensive in the hotel; 2.70 Euros for a can of fizzy drink which I think is a bit much as the average resort price was around 1.80 Euro. We were bed and breakfast and although the selection of food was basic, it was enough for us as we don't like to eat much at breakfast; there was scrambled eggs, streaky bacon, beans, cereal, fruit, greek yoghurt, toast, tea and coffee. One tip I will give you is to try their Tzatziki, it absolutely to die for!! I ate so much during the week!
Booking through Travel Republic it cost us £592.00 for 1 week bed & breakfast in a premium room, working out at £84 per room per night which I don't think is bad at all considering the standard of the hotel. I know you can get places which are a lot cheaper, all inclusive but I don't think the standard would be as high as this was.
No comments