Ekati Mare Hotel & Suites

Having read the very mixed reviews we were dubious about what to expect, but honestly was really pleasantly surprised. For a brief review: the location is a bit naff, but the hotel and staff are lovely, food, entertainment and service are great. Rooms good standard too, even the cheaper rate annexe rooms. And lovely private beach with bar. Lots of other places to visit nearby and so overall we would recommend this lovely hotel as a great base for this. ------------- For a more details review please see below: We paid very little for 2x 'Annexe 1 Bedroom Family Room with Balcony or Terrace' at the end of September, between 7 of us (adults) and half board. So for us personally the value for money was fab! Tourist tax was €10 per night per room (we paid €140 for a week for 2 rooms) can be paid by cash or card Beautiful hotel, clean and modern, and looked really lovely lit up at night. There is one main pool and a smaller circular pool (which no one used as such) There are also two long pools for the 'swim up' rooms, but these are segratated off with plants- looked lovely. Pool towels are available from reception for a €10 refundable deposit upon return, must be in cash. There is a pool bar, where you are attended to from your seats. They offer a 'Happy Hour' from 9pm-11pm here too, 20% all drinks, their sign at reception stated every night but it seems that Friday's aren't included. A gym, located downstairs in the main building, small but with all the basics you would need (treadmill, bike, weights etc) and all modern equipment. There is also a changing area near to the gym, with a loo, sink and shower, used for guests who have checked out but have a later flight. There is also options for massages, though we did not utilise this service so cannot comment. Our room was in the annexe which isn't connected to the main hotel, these are certainly more of the 'budget rate' option which was perfect for what we wanted. Out of the main gates, turn right, walk a little and turn right up a little road, building marked 'Ekati Mare' on your left. There is another hotel here with a bar and pool, which you can also use if you wish to. Cocktails are €10 each here and very good. We had one room on the first floor, one on the ground floor. The rooms were modern, clean and spacious. Included kettle, basic tea making supplies, fridge, safe, hair dryer, tv and air con. Free WiFi too. All included in the cost. One room (ours) had open clothes storage, with shelves and rails (the upstairs one had actual cupboards) This really suited us as we could store our suitcases here and hang the necessary items, but I would recommend taking your own extra hangers, or ask for a few more as I'm sure the hotel would be very accommodating if requested. The air con was very cold for us, would recommend setting to around 22 for a comfy sleeping temperature. The shower has a rainfall head, or standard, depending on what you prefer. The downside is that the drains can't easily cope with the flow of water and it quickly spills over the shower tray and floods the bathroom, so just be careful. There is a hairdryer in the bathroom, along with a two pin plug for your razors/toothbrush chargers. During our week long stay our towels were changed twice, but I'm unsure if the sheets were. However the cleaner comes in every day to empty the bins, make the beds up, and every couple of days clean round the shower and mop the floors. Our little hand soap wasn't replaced in our week stay, so we ended using the shower gel instead. Additionally, with the sewer systems in Greece you are always asked to use the bins provided for loo paper, so would recommend taking nappy sacks/scented bin bags to help with that issue. There are banana trees surrounding the annexe and so there are lots of wasps/hornets, though they didn't seem at all interested in us, just the fruit. But the trees do mean the terraces/balconies are shaded, which can mean it's harder to dry your towels there (better to dry at the beach before returning) Our terrace had a little table with 3 chairs, they are open with a wall separating from the other rooms either side, and a joint path running along the front of all the rooms. This felt plenty private enough for us though. The hotel has a private beach across the road- out of the main gates turn left, walk up until you see the signs for La Mar beach bar and enter there via A gravel car park. A lovely sandy beach! The sun beds are free and plentiful, with a wooden walkway from the beach bar to the sea. The beach itself has quite a bit of seaweed, and as you enter feels quite muddy, but the sea is very clear after a little while. My teen used water shoes as she didn't like the feel, but the rest of us managed fine. It stays shallow for a long time but for a family this would be ideal and feel very safe. The bar has toilets and an outside shower to rinse off. You can order at the bar and they will bring your order to your sunbeds, which is great. Orders drank at the bar come in glass, whereas at the loungers you will receive plastic cups/tankards. Some of the hotel entertainment is here so worth finding where it is when you arrive. The food was amazing, there was always something for everyone. We had a vegetarian and a fussy 17 year old and they both ate well every day. We were a large family of seven and rarely had to wait long for a table. The staff always moved tables together to accommodate us quite quickly. We did usually try to get there early to make it easier for everyone. The buffet breakfast was between 8am and 10:30am. Breakfast consists of cereals, tinned fruits, yoghurt, porridge, breads, cured meats, pastries, pancakes and cooked food items (scrambled eggs, fried eggs, sausages pieces, beans, omelettes, mushrooms, tomatoes, bacon) every morning. There is also self served orange juice drink available, and a coffee machine. Dinner is served between 7pm and 9:30pm. Buffet style again, with options varied each evening, but there was always a variety of meat options, pastas, veggies and some kind of potato. There is a selection of salad options, with cheeses and meats too. There is always some kind of 'special' being cooked at the counter, our favourite was the gyros! Lots of different options of puddings which changed slightly each night, usually some kind of jelly and fruits available too. Water in a dispenser for you, but the option to have other drinks served to your table at an additional cost if you so wish. We arrived early hours and was offered sandwiches (only options included meat, so would suggest doing some just plain cheese for vegetarians?) fruit and cake, which was a lovely touch. We had a late evening flight home, and our evening meal was not included on that day after check out, which was 11am. Just a note for anyone booking. Entertainment is amazing, love the energy and enthusiasm from all the entertainment team. They were welcoming and encouraging, and great fun to watch even if you weren't fully participating. Entertainment includes pool based activities, darts, boules, karaoke and quizzes to name a few. Evening entertainment is usually at the pool bar, afternoon entertainment at the beach bar. There are timetables each day at reception or on the board outside the pool bar with the days itinerary, locations for each are stated on there. All the staff here are honestly great, they were welcoming and helpful, attentive and just all round lovely people. Patient with any queries and requests, helpful and nothing felt like it was too much trouble. To address some of the other reviews, yes there are wasps, a little annoying at times (bearing in mind we travelled in September so not at highest season for them) a few more wasp traps etc would be helpful but it really wasn't too bad for us. There are also some resident cats and dogs, this is really common in Greece so not something that bothered us either. There are sewage smells at times, but this is just greek sewer systems in general, everywhere we have stayed on the greek islands have had this. Please everyone use the bins provided in the bathrooms, people overloading the systems with loo paper will make this much worse. The hotel itself is located at the end of the Kavos strip, away from the hustle and bustle, and quite private and quiet. Though you could hear some traffic in the evening from the main road outside, it wasn't intrusive or persistent. The area isn't what I would class as expensive, I think prices are just higher now all over than they ever have been. Drinks are roughly €3 soft drinks, €4 for a coffee, €5/6 for a draught beer, €10-12 for a cocktail, and most meals are between €10-15 each. And I honestly think that's a fair price. Supermarkets are dotted up and down the strip, as a guide for pricing- 6 pack of 1.5l bottles of water is €2-2.50, singular cans of fizzy drink were €2, multi packs about €7 for 6, biscuits €2.50, beers €7 for 4 cans, Nescafe cappuccino/mocha sachets were €4 per pack, Haribo sweets €1.50-2, crisps €2.50-3. We found cigarettes etc were cheaper at duty free at Corfu airport, pack of 200 was around €4-5 cheaper. We visited the 'Tex Mex' restaurant further down the strip, they currently offer a sirloin steak meal for €15 and it was fantastic value for money. Highly recommend, well worth a little walk down and visit! The shop across the cross road there, attached to the excursions stand, 'Penny's, offer soft serve ice cream for a few euros too (would also recommend, especially after a long walk) And the little cafe a little further along, 'Dennis', offers normal scooped ice cream, with flavours such as Bueno, pistachio and Mint Choc etc.. we searched everywhere for ice cream so thought it was worth adding. Kavos strip is honestly not a nice area at all, very run down and late evening walks don't feel very safe. However, during the day it is much more pleasant and the main beach is lovely and sandy, albeit some seaweed. There are water inflatables and water sports available there which we enjoyed. The lady at the watersports offered to take pictures from the boat using our phone, and they were fantastic! Across the road from the hotel is a booking agent whom we found very helpful. We booked a BBQ boat trip to caves, swim stops and Sivota for €35pp which I would highly recommend. We also walked from the hotel to Arkoudilas beach, which takes about 45-60 minutes depending on your fitness, the beach is gorgeous and secluded. There are signs for it once you walk down to the opposite end of the main strip which are easy enough to follow but we used google maps. There is a monastery there too, but we didn't have time to visit that in the end. No shops and off the beaten path, so pack snacks and water. Accessible (just) by car if you're renting one. There are also buses to Corfu town, with stops spotted up the strip, which we didn't end up using ourselves but will add a picture of those signs too. It states €4.80 for tickets, cash only. We visited at the end of the season, so we understand it can be much busier during peak times. Also worth noting that at this time of year less options are available for food as restaurants don't renew stock, ready to close up for the season.

We stayed in a new duplex above the swim up rooms. The duplex was built very recently and was a lovely place to stay. The bed was very comfortable and the shower amazing. Great balcony too. The staff were all very friendly and worked very hard. We were on half board and the evening meals were wonderful. Marina, the head chef and staff very hard worked to provide varied and delicious meals. There was a lot of choice and a lot of local vegetables were used. The swimming pool was lovely and so was the swim up pool. The ladies who organised and ran all the entertainment were very friendly. We went in September as a family to Kavos. I would recommend hiring a car to visit the other beautiful towns in Corfu.

Right on the outskirts of a town with a ropey reputation, however this didn’t remotely mar our stay. My partner and I had a beautiful time at Ekati Mare, and their associated private beach bar. Staff were super friendly, food was good (even better at the pool & beach bars), rooms were clean and complete with everything we needed. Hotel clientele were absolutely brilliant. It was very peaceful as an experience. Special shout out to Kia and Kim (hopefully spelt that right) who were both extraordinarily charming, and brought a real sense of fun and community to us, and other guests. Pair of absolute gems. It’s clear this place is committed to the long run, with continuous improvements being made to the beach. It’s not the finished article, but it doesn’t need to be for the price we paid. We’ll definitely be back - looking forward to seeing how far Ekati Mare goes in the next couple of years.

Nice clean hotel with excellent reception staff. Bed comfy but with ill fitting sheets, shower good. Food ok. We were staying in a swim up room which seemed nice initially…. However, we were next to what looked like the water treatment area and the sewage smell was horrendous. We asked to move rooms as this room also saw no sun. Ideally for swim up rooms you want rooms numbered 900s and not 700s. In our opinion the number 700 rooms should be cheaper because of this. The hotel rooms have very little storage or room to hang clothes. There is no bathroom as such! One door is the toilet and one door is the shower. The shower opens directly out to clothes storage area which isn’t great!! The washbasin is in the bedroom which is separated by a screen of sorts but you can see straight through it so no privacy. It lacks the small things, like no hooks to hang towels to dry, no shelf under washbasin to store towels or toiletries. No airer outside. The towels are so old and threadbare too. Our first night we went to the hotel bar to be ignored by the bartender, then a grumpy waiter told us to sit down. We ordered a large beer and a G&T, we were expecting nice glasses and garnishes (not here!!) G&T in a half pint glass and beer in a koppaberg glass. Hotel prices but poorly presented and served. So when we paid for the drinks we certainly didn’t leave a tip but a charge of 3% got added anyway. This was our first and last drink at the hotel!!Big Max down the street is great for food and drinks. Cheaper and served how you’d expect them to be served with a smile. We always left a generous tip here!! As for the food, we struggled here and we’re not fussy eaters. No omelette station so had to make do with pre-made ones that had dried up. Every year when in Greece I look forward to Greek yoghurt and honey but here it just didn’t taste the same? The orange juice was like squash too, the coffee was good. The evening meal was similar lettuce and tomatoes but nothing to go with it, missing tuna/fish or sardines. There was never any pitta bread which you’d expect in Greece. The meats were tender but were lacking in flavour. Have to say we were really disappointed with the food here. This hotel would be better just offering the B&B option as what I could see there was a lot of waste. The entertainment team are far too loud for the average hotel guests it’s meant to be a chilled and relaxed hotel. There are a few nice eateries about. Especially Big Max. The food here was amazing and tasted how it should. Unfortunately Kavos as a place is extremely run down and the beach is not maintained. It’s the worst beach I’ve ever seen abroad. It’s smelly and dirty with huge piles of dead seaweed everywhere. It’s no wonder there’s mosquitoes. This hotel is a good 3 star at best, certainly not a 4 star. Please note as a 4 star hotel we had to pay an additional €70 euros (€10 per night) plus extra charge when paying by card.

The mixed reviews made us think we'd made a mistake in booking this hotel. Let's start by saying the comments regarding the sewage smell is exactly as people have described, really strong, disgusting smell of raw sewage throughout the day, everyday. Not nice at all. We had a swim up room, lovely room, great shower, really comfy bed but with I'll fitting sheets. Towels changed daily but the cleaning that was supposed to be daily was somewhat lacking to say the least. Our safe wouldn't work on arrival, sorted the same day. The fridge was colder on the outside than the inside and took a few harsh words to get changed for a working fridge. Apparently, the hotel have ordered new ones that arrive as and when. Staff are polite and efficient but the cocktails are shocking. Eg: Pina Colada with no cream of coconut, just coconut rum with a mixer. The coke on draught as a mixer is on par with Panda pops or Rolla Cola. Order a short with a separate can of coke if you want a decent drink. It says it's a lifestyle hotel, a place to chill and relax, that is until the activities team blast out, and I mean, blast out, banging rave/dance music. Decent tunes but not at max volume as you're relaxing. The background music pumped out around the resort is, for some, rather inappropriate as we heard numerous tracks containing harsh swearing words, not great for a 'family' hotel. Food is decent, even for the fussiest of eaters. You'd always be able to eat something I'd say each evening. Deserts were samey samey and pretty tasteless. The resort itself is shocking, quite dirty, a little run down. No decent traditional taverna's or bars to have a drink and people watch unless you want to wait till after 10pm when the seedy bars open up and try to entice you in with free shots and pints of cheap spirits. Saying that, Desperado's was very good food indeed, nice drinks to. We drank at the Fountain bar a couple of nights, good cocktails but you'll pay €10 a pop. We ate lunch at Pure, very clean, lovely owners and very good food. Sugar and Salt doesn't look much but the food is decent and cheap. Strong Bacardi n coke though. Penny's Kitchen, again, doesn't look much, but the food was superb and very cheap. Don't judge a book by it's cover. All in all, thankfully, we were half board as trying to eat out on a night at a nice quaint Greek taverna was nigh on impossible at this resort. Pick the hotel up and place it in Kalamaki, Kefalonia, Skiathos, Santorini, Kos etc etc.... And it would be fantastic, but where it is currently, isn't for those who like a relaxed atmosphere with lovely eateries on your doorstep. The transfer, by coach is 1hr 20m+, private transfer is approx 50mins. Would we return, not on your nelly. There are far more lovely Greek resorts than this one.