Domes of Corfu, Autograph Collection

I stayed at this hotel, and to say my experience was a mix of heaven and hell would be an understatement. On the surface, it’s the kind of place you dream of. The beach is stunning, powdery soft sand, crystal-clear waters, and sunsets that could make you believe in magic. The bed in the room was absolutely lovely too, plush, clean, and incredibly comfortable. Honestly, those are the two things that kept me sane during the stay. But unfortunately, that’s where the dream ends and the nightmare begins. With the room, it was practically a disco in there’s many lights, all flashing or glowing or blinking when we were trying to sleep The worst part? They don’t switch off. The lights on the smoke detector, the TV standby, it’s like the room was designed to keep you awake at night. Add to that a near-invisible army of mosquitoes that seemed to have moved in long before I arrived. I was given a so-called “mosquito device,” which might as well have been a decorative. The room cleaners were the one shining light in the day-to-day operations. Every day the room was spotless, and they clearly took pride in their work. But when it came to food and drink service, it was another story entirely. I’ve never known such a confusing and frustrating experience just trying to order a glass of wine or a meal. Whether by app, phone, or in person, nothing ever seemed to go smoothly. The app which I was assured was the “fastest way” to order — didn’t work at all. And if you ask the staff, they’ll either redirect you or leave you hanging. I waited so long for drinks one evening I wasn’t even in the mood anymore by the time they showed up — warm, by the way. On more than one occasion I just gave up altogether. It’s such a shame, because the setting deserves elegant, seamless service to match, but instead it felt like a chore every time I wanted something as simple as a cocktail or a bite to eat.

While my wife and I will leave a seperate review for the Hotel, we simply cannot go further without celebrating Giannis, and (without any exaggeration) both his world-class cocktails and customer service, with this personal review. A cocktail with Giannis is a memory you cannot forget. His joy, passion, skill, knowledge, creativity, flair and attention for detail mark this man as a rising star on the international cocktail scene. For my wife and I, he truly made us feel at ease during our vacation with outstanding customer service, carefully listening, guiding and crafting a unique drinks experience for each visit we made and we went to this bar each time just because of Giannis. Giannis is also currently developing a cutting edge, Chemistry cocktail laboratory at this hotel, due to open soon, which we are confident will be a resounding success when it arrives. The passion and drive he carries about this will be the catalyst to a very memorable cocktail experience at the hotels where he is leading. Giannis is often travelling, busy training his team throughout Greece, but if you are fortunate enough to find him behind the bar as we did, you will not be disappointed. He is a wonderful man, a credit to Domes and beyond. We look forward to seeing how far his talent and skills will take him and are truly honoured we got to experience his crafting and mixology expertise.

Ok, to put things in context we’re here in the first week that the hotel has opened after the winter break. So I should give it a let on the service……. I have by giving it 2 /5 instead of 1/5. We’re having a good time as it’s a good location, the hotel is fine (clean if a little soulless), it just feels a little fawlty towers at times and so we’re just laughing it off. On the first night, the buffet (decent salad, cold and disappointing hot food) was fairly empty with about 4, tables and 3 waiters and so they weren’t overrun. But it still took 2 courses and 5 discussions with a waiter to get our drinks. This included standing next to the wine and being told that they’d bring it right over (not allowed to pick it up) and then the waitress turned to attend to some cutlery for the non existent customers. My wife asked for directions to the toilet for our toddler and got told “sorry, it’s my first day”. No attempt to help us find someone who did know. At the pool I walked up to the bar to order lunch and was asked why I didn’t use the app. I ordered from the bar and then later on ordered a drink from the app….. waited 25 mins and then walked to the bar to be told by the same waitress “oh the app isn’t working”. The second night saw the waiter knock over our wine, no kids menu available in the a la Carte restaurant, long waits etc etc. We’ve got 5 nights to go. My weight and liver are doing well from the lack of food and wine but I didn’t quite expect this to be such a wellness retreat (thanks to the lack of service). Am hoping that the staff find their feet and can live up to the 5* billing of the hotel.