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| Marbelle Corfu, view from our room 'suite 5001' All went fine till we arrived in Antwerp where we started looking for platform number 7. No platform carrying that number to be seen and no train to Eindhoven announced. I asked around, first at the guy selling sandwiches at level -2, then the train conductor at - 1 and last at the information booth on the ground level. As our ticket mentioned ‘via Mol’, we were sent to the 12:10 pm train on platform 6 to Mol. It was exactly the same departure time as on our tickets. With some hesitation and a ‘I do not know’ answer from the female conductor of that train, we went on board. I had previously tried to reach international information, but to no avail. It was only after we had boarded the train I managed to talk to someone. Our train was not a train but a bus. Thank you Belgian Railway System ( NMBS ) for being so specifically clear on this ! |
The best thing we could do is to jump of
the train in Berchem and find a taxi to drive us to Eindhoven airport. 177 €
and one hour later, we arrived safe and well and luxuriously ahead of time in
Eindhoven. NMBS, you can expect my bill!
I have rarely seen such a wild gang of
travellers on a plane. Young Greeks moving up and down and jumping up the moment the plane
touches Corfu ground. I later learned from the taxi driver Athens played
Eindhoven and the match ended 1-1 all.
It is almost 9:00 pm when we arrive at the Marbella Corfu
Hotel. I had first managed to book a 35 € pp. flight. Then finding this hotel
on booking.com had been another great discovery. Knowing that booking.com or
any other booking engine for that matter takes at least 15 % commission on the
total, I called the hotel directly. We were offered a superior room with sea
view and half board for 63 € per night, not per person, but for me and my
daughter. When the email confirmation came, we seemed to have been upgraded to
full board.
Now that we are here, enjoying our lush two
bathroom, two closet, two terraces, two tvs, full living and spacious bedroom
suite for the same price, guess what…
So far so good this is the best hotel deal
ever.
We wake up on a sunny morning ready to
explore the breakfast buffet. Fresh fruit, bread, sweets and eggs…. All of
premium quality. As for me the water is too cold to dive in the pool,
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| Marbelle Corfu, one of the pools |
I stay in the sun to work on my color. At
four o’clock I go for my hair cut and excellent well being massage at the
Apivita Spa. During the day we learn our full board package entitles us to one
evening meal à la carte in the Italian restaurant, and one à la carte in the
Greek one. Jeezes, what more can you get. My carpaccio is above good and my
truffle risotto divine. Nerjis starts with an insalata caprese di buffola (
here wrongly spelled as buffalo, god forgive them ) to continue with
tagliatelle al tartufo. We hesitate before ordering desert. Our first two
courses were just too good. We crack and Nerjis goes for the tiramisu in an
original presentation and of exquisite taste; me, the fruit salad in a
strawberry soup in good companion, lemon and mango sorbet. Summer has gone, so
I rush for the room and jump under my third hot shower of the day.
As we further progress into the week, the
days are getting warmer. But there is no way one will get me into the swimming
pool. The water is still just too cold and that is a big negative point on the hotel.
I am convinced this marvellous place would attract the double of its guests if
only one of the 3 pools were warm, especially at this time of the year. Another
thing missing here are hooks, hooks on walls to hang our clothes, towels,
bathrobes. The reason I mention this is not to complain, only to help them
turning things from very good to perfect.
We take the local bus straight from the
hotel entrance to the bus station in Corfu town. It is Monday morning and busy.
Unless one is blind, you cannot miss the fact that the crisis here is hitting
hard. The old town buzzles with nicely decorated coffee bars.
Some are full,
others half empty. It is end of season so few tourists in town. I did expect to
see some sales, but there are none. My opinion? A missed opportunity. That also
goes for the Marbella Corfu hotel. One of the three boutiques sells clothes,
and this is the last week before they close down for winter.
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| Corfu Town, Capuccino at Vios |
Late afternoon the same day. I feel extremely clean and warm after
having enjoyed the free hammam and sauna in the hotel spa.
Can it get better than this? Monday is our
Greek à la carte rendez-vous.
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| Marbelle corfu Greek Restaurant |
My salad with semi-sweet vinaigrette and my
seabrass Petsikoia style is nice, but I do prefer the Italian place. The staff
deserves ten points for taking notice I am gluten allergic. Every dish on the
menu can be prepared gluten and/or lactose free. And that in itself is rarely
seen.
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| Me, forgetting I exist.. |
We would have liked to return to the
Italian restaurant. But due to the cold evenings the restaurant has been moved
to the Greek one. And for being in such high demand, we failed getting in.
Today is our last night and we are on the waiting list again. Satisfied with
our morning visit into Corfu town, we are back in our room. We are slowly
getting hungry and waiting for the final call.
The call never came. We make way to the main restaurant and ask the lady in charge of the restaurant bookings. On our way we pass by the italo-greek place and notice it is half empty. But the same lady insists they are fully booked. We wait for half an hour; still fully booked in her pc, but still half empty when we look. We ask the manager, explain and five minutes later we are seated in the italian restaurant. The meal is superbe as we expected, but throughout the whole dinner not even half of the tables are taken. If I were managing this place....
All I can say is to absolutely recommend
this hotel. It might have its short comings but...
Every detail here is perfect, almost ! I’ll be back this time of year BUT the pool has to be warm.