Firmly in travel season, I was in Corfu last week – staying at the lovely Nido, part of the Mar-Bella collection of hotels. The Mar-Bella (not to be confused with the Marbella in Spain) Collection has three hotels, two on the east coast of Corfu, and one on the mainland. Nido is their adults-only boutique hotel, located on a hillside (and next door to their family-friendly original hotel Mar-Bella) around half an hour from Corfu Town.
As you arrive, there is a driveway up the hill to the reception area with one of the delightful staff members ready to meet you. Being a small hotel, everything is relatively close by – however, it is on a hillside (there are buggies provided if you don’t want to walk up and down all the time). Despite being small, the entrance area is really quite grand and doubles up as a bar in the evening where there is also entertainment a couple of times a week.
Mar-Bella Nido, Entrance
As I arrived quite late, I was surprised that they said I could have dinner if I went straight to the restaurant, which I wasn’t expecting at past 9 pm. However, they accommodated me, and given it was a buffet it was relatively easy. It confused me on the first night, as their specialism is soup – so you’re always offered soup as a starter. You then have the choice of something off the A La Carte menu, of which there were usually three choices, or take something from the buffet.
Mar-Bella Nido, Room Terrace
The hotel has three ‘blocks’ of rooms up the hillside, and as I said, a buggy is available to take you up and down. My room was 229, a suite with a jacuzzi in the second block, and just overlooking the swimming pool. It had a large terrace area with a couple of sun loungers, overlooking the sea below. Inside it was lovely and spacious, with a large bed, dressing table, sofa and open plan bathroom and dressing area.
Given many of the rooms have their pools, the main swimming pool area was never that busy (it is located on top of the restaurant), which has its own bar and there’s a seating area if you want to have a light snack for lunch. There are plenty of sun beds on the terrace, although as it was so early in the season, the pool was a tad chilly.
Mar-Bella Nido, Swimming Pool
Breakfast was excellent, on a similar basis to dinner. You can choose from the buffet, or there are several things you can order, both sweet and savoury – and at this time of year, you can just about sit outside in the morning.
Where the hotel is located you can’t quite call it a village. There are a couple of shops, a couple of tavernas and an ATM. However, if you want to explore a bit more, there is a bus stop across the road from the hotel, and it takes about 30 minutes to get to Corfu Town (if the traffic is OK) and only costs a couple of euros each way. There is a beach with some watersports on offer (that are also shared with the nearby sister hotel), although it’s not a sandy beach, it’s rather pebbly.
Nido is a delightful hotel, and the staff are fabulous and make a difference.
For details on how to travel there, contact me on 01442 879787 or email yourdreamholiday@traveltimeworld.co.uk
