In October 2023 my husband, 2 year old son, parents and I travelled to Corfu for a week of relaxation and calm before baby No2 arrived. I wanted somewhere that was child friendly and all inclusive but still luxury! It seems so hard to find a hotel with kids that ticks all the boxes. The Caribbean is ideal for luxe all inclusive but with a 2 year old we wanted something closer.
A lot of all inclusive resorts in Europe tend to be quite basic with the more luxe accommodation offering max half board. With us wanting a ‘stay in the resort’ minimalist holiday and a fussy eating toddler in toe I was sure we needed All Inclusive so I went on the hotel hunt!
I had previously been recommended Marbella Corfu by a travel agent a couple of years ago and when researching back into it it seemed the perfect spot!
WHO I BOOKED WITH
I found a great deal through hotels.com and we booked our flights with easyJet. Moving forward I won’t do this again as I didn’t realise if you book directly through Jet2 on specific flights your toddler gets free EVERYTHING, flight, baggage, accommodation which is an incredible saving as after 2 years old they pay adult prices on flights.
THE HOTEL
Mar-Bella Collection of hotels comprises of 3 hotels. Nido, Elix and Marbella. We stayed at the Marbella which I believe is the most family friendly.
It is a 5 star resort set on the southeast coast of Corfu. We stayed in a Family Room Garden View on the Premium All Inclusive plan. This includes all your food, drinks and snacks over your stay.
The hotel is only a 25 minute drive from the airport and we arranged private transfers with the hotel in email prior to arriving which was organised. The price was inline with just taking a taxi from the airport so no more expensive and they were waiting for us at the gate and had car seat all set up ready to go.
THE ROOM
Our room was actually a little dated and in the older part of the hotel. If you are booking, although our room was fine, If you wanted a more luxe room be sure to check you are booked in to the newer part of the hotel. I believe they will all be transformed in the near future but our room was a little dated and could have definitely done with a revamp. The newer suites however look incredible and definitely worth paying a little extra if in budget for your family.
THE FOOD
You have the main buffet restaurant and then a selection of a la Carte restaurants (you have to prebook these in advance and you get 4 evening meals out of the 7 to choose a la carte). We did try most of the a la carte restaurants however preferred the main buffet restaurant with a toddler as it was so much easier and the food was lovely! We could order our drinks straight away and then get our meals without waiting around and trying to keep a toddler in his seat for half an hour. Our favourite a la carte was the Italian really tasty!! Least favourite food was the Japanese. The Deck Bar and Grill was best decor right by the beach so a lovely lunch spot.
Also around the pool they had a snack bar serving food if you wanted something low key at your lounger. Another highlight, for Issac in particular, was unlimited ice cream poolside 24/7… that was definitely a hit.
THINGS TO DO
The hotel in itself was pretty low key which I liked. Not too crazy busy or full of entertainment. They have 2 main pools and an adults only area. They also have a water park area with slides and a pool. The waterpark pool wasn’t heated so with it being October it was actually freezing so we didn’t spend a lot of time in the water here. My son did like watching the bigger kids playing in there though so I would sometimes base myself on a lounger to have a nice coffee around the pool in peace whilst he watched the madness.
The main pool was heated and the perfect style for a toddler. We all got involved in the daily aqua aerobics and they had the kids club staff hosting little picnics and treasure hunts in a shaded grassy around near the main pool which was a lovely touch.
There is a weekly sunset cruise one night a week that is complimentary and offers refreshments whilst you watch the sunset. This was a lovely trip to do before dinner. Get yourself to the jetty earlier than needed as it gets busy. We actually spent a lot of evenings before dinner down at the beach watching the sunset.
Evening entertainment – Nightly mini disco at 8.30pm which was the highlight for Issac. 30 minutes of singing and dancing! After that the entertainment was not really kid friendly and definitely aimed towards adults.
There isn’t really a large beach area it is more of a deck with steps down into the beautiful sea! If we were travelling adults only I would have definitely spent most of my time on the deck however with a wild one running about it didn’t feel that safe. There is a section that is on the beach with a few loungers however this is quite secluded and not near the toilets/bar so not a great spot to base yourself for the day but lovely for a couple of hours. We came here after Issacs nap most days for some chill time for him.
Talking of naps, I spent his nap time most days on the Belvedere Terrace with the panoramic sea view! It’s a really chilled spot that has perfect shaded areas ideal for nap time.
Overall a beautiful stay! I loved Corfu although we didn’t venture out we will definitely be going back to explore more. We would 100% stay here again I would just definitely try out a different room next time.
Any questions at all please feel free to reach out and get in touch!
We are always on the look out for luxe all inclusive European holidays so let me know if you have any recommendations and I will continue to share our stays on here
Ashley x