Sentido Apollo Palace

Had a wonderful 10 night stay here and it exceeded all my expectations, the main reason being the staff, who can not do enough to help you and make you stay a pleasant one. They work hard to make sure the guest experience is really good. Sarkis in the signature adult bar is the most charming hard working host you will find, he clearly takes great pride in his work and his amazing cocktails. Waiting staff also in the Asador and Cantina, with a special shout out for exceptional service from Sagar in the Asador. Other staff like all the life guarding team are friendly, helpful and professional. Thank you Demetrius. One last shout out to Demtris on the bar team also and every member of staff. You made our family holiday very special and we thank you for your hospitality. 7 stars

We’ve just returned from an 11-night stay at Sentido Apollo Palace in Corfu, and overall, we had a lovely holiday.

The hotel itself is immaculate and very modern inside. Our room had modern features such as button-operated air conditioning and lighting, which made it feel very up-to-date and comfortable. We did see photos of some of the rooms belonging to guests we made friends with, and they were not quite as modern as ours. However, we were told that by next season the whole hotel will have been renovated, so I imagine the rooms will all be brought up to the same standard.

The outside of the hotel still has a lovely, traditional Greek feel, which I personally thought was incredible. The grounds are absolutely huge and almost feel like you have your own little Greek village to explore.

The pools were fantastic. They were very warm, clean and, importantly, didn’t seem to be heavily chlorinated. My child didn’t experience stinging eyes, and we didn’t have the usual dry skin or hair you can sometimes get from hotel pools, which was amazing. The splash park and slides were also a great addition for children. There is an adults-only pool with a bar, as well as another pool near the splash park and slides that has a lovely shallow sectioned-off area, which is perfect for babies and younger children.

The food was honestly incredible. There are multiple restaurants, but even the main buffet was always fresh and varied. There were different themed nights, so even after 11 days, we never felt like the food was getting boring. One of the highlights was the farmers’ breakfast on a Thursday, where you can pick your own vegetables and have them cooked fresh in front of you. It was such a cool experience!

One downside was the housekeeping. The maids didn’t really clean the rooms during our stay; they mainly made the beds and provided fresh towels. This was a bit disappointing, especially after spending the day at the beach and bringing sand back into the room. I would have expected a little more from a hotel advertising itself as 5-star.

Unfortunately, the entertainment was the biggest let-down for us. It was pretty much the same activities every day — volleyball, table tennis, water polo, aqua gym and the mini disco. For a family hotel with so many children, I really don’t think this is enough. There were no special themed evenings, such as a white party, which we would have expected from a 5-star family resort.

There were only four entertainers for such a huge hotel with a large number of rooms and accommodation, so perhaps this explains the lack of entertainment. However, I also found some of the entertainment team quite off-putting. The way they spoke about other guests and told us that they didn’t like working there was uncomfortable to hear, especially when you’re paying a lot of money for your holiday. It’s not something you really want to hear from the people who are supposed to be creating the holiday atmosphere.

We also had a few experiences with bar staff who were quite rude. On one occasion, I asked for a particular drink and was told they didn’t have it, despite the drink literally being right there. It felt more like they simply couldn’t be bothered, which was disappointing.

Overall, though, we did have a lovely holiday. The hotel grounds are beautiful, the pools are excellent, the food is genuinely incredible and the resort itself has a really lovely atmosphere. The negatives for us were mainly the lack of entertainment, some staff interactions and the standard of housekeeping.

The hotel markets itself as 5-star, but personally, I would say 4-star is a push — and that’s mainly because of the entertainment, which felt very limited, especially for a family resort where you expect more for children.

Despite the negatives, we had a great time and made some lovely memories. With better entertainment, more thorough housekeeping and a little more warmth from some of the staff, this hotel could really be something special.