Our dream week at Ikos Dassia

It was the first time we’d discovered Corfu as a family! The Greek island is only 1 hour 45 minutes from Monaco, a flight time that reassured my two princesses, who were impatient to discover their holiday destination: Ikos Dassia.

 

 

A warm welcome

To make sure we were comfortable from the moment we arrived at the airport, we had organised a transfer to the hotel with a Little Guest travel designer. The route our driver took was pleasant, between the seaside and lush green forests. The journey took less than 20 minutes. We were met outside the hotel by the person in charge of customer relations. She told us that there was a table for us at the buffet. On it was a welcome drink for me and my wife, and two fruit juices for the girls. A nice touch!

 

 

An intimate family hotel

Ikos Dassia is a resort divided into two buildings, and both are similar in terms of their architecture: a modern, contemporary decor. The building is still a little young, but it has been maintained to a high standard, which suggests that the gardens will soon be lush.

We had booked a family suite with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, an ideal choice for organising showers. Our cocoon was very spacious (50 m2), with splendid sea views from our two furnished terraces.

As well as our very pleasant living space, we had two other favourite spots in the hotel: the four pools heated to 27° and the beach. Despite the fact that the hotel was fully booked, we never felt crowds swarming around us. The spaces between the beach loungers are quite wide, giving each guest a certain amount of privacy. A waiter came by regularly to check that everything was going as we’d hoped, took drink orders, brought fresh fruit and even offered to clean our sunglasses. An impeccable service!

Most of the staff speak English. We also met a few members of staff who spoke French, mostly trainees studying at the Vatel hotel school. The girls were delighted to be able to exchange a few words with them. It was thanks to them that they learned that at the far ends of the hotel’s beach, water sports activities such as paddle boarding, pedal boats and kayaking were offered free of charge every day for 20 minutes.

 

 

A family paradise

The girls didn’t really take advantage of the kids-club programmes, preferring to devote themselves to the many water sports activities on offer at the hotel. The hotel also has other services and areas dedicated to children, such as a baby club with attentive nannies, a top-quality babysitting service and extraordinary teenage activities.

Every evening, we loved getting together as a family to enjoy the open-air shows in the lively amphitheatre-bar. A great time to spend together after dinner!

Another unforgettable memory of our stay is, of course, our introductory family diving lessons in the hotel pool. Memorable in terms of laughter and learning! The girls were very disciplined and had a lot of fun.

My wife and I were also lucky enough to enjoy a wine tasting session thanks to a warm chat with the hotel sommelier. We discovered some exquisite local wines. It was a very rewarding and convivial experience.

 

 

Visit of the historic city center of Corfou

We took advantage of a slightly cloudy day to visit Corfu’s UNESCO-listed old town. We got there with no problem thanks to the hotel’s shuttle service.

Corfu is a citadel town, really nice to discover both for the cultural aspect and for its shopping sites. During our walk, we spotted the Old Fort and the Achillion Palace, the former property of Sissi the Empress.

We took advantage of our city outing to organise a sunset boat trip. Our twilight stroll took us to the shores of the tiny ‘Mouse Island’, which is barely big enough to house a monastery.

We loved it!

What we liked best about the Ikos Dassia was unanimously the quality of its cuisine. The restaurant business is a real strength of the Ikos group. The idea is to offer several themed restaurants and to book your table in advance via an app. The bonus? The choice and preparation of the menus are supervised by a Michelin-starred chef. There are so many different restaurants in the hotel that it’s impossible to dine in the same place every night!

The à la carte menus are extraordinary, and so is the wine. It really is a bespoke, attentive service. We loved the service. One evening, the four of us tried a modern take on the traditional moussaka. It was delicious! No matter what we chose, every evening the dish we chose lived up to our expectations. In short, I’ve fallen in love with the haute cuisine at Ikos Dassia.

 

Affectionately