Review Rating: 3.5/5
Website: https://www.stemmahotel.com/
Date of Visit: August 2024
Introduction
It’s been 30 years since I first visited Sidari as a child. I was keen to return and see how much it had changed, so my girlfriend and I booked a week here at the end of August and her Mum came along too.
I’ve been visiting Greece pretty much every year since and had a good idea what to expect when I booked Stemma Hotel. In most respects, it met or exceeded my expectations, but there were a few things that do let it down a bit.
Location
The location of Stemma Hotel is ideal: down a quiet dirt road about 10-minutes walk from the main strip where you’ll find most shops, bars and restaurants. The resort beach sits in front of these and stretches west, but a smaller beach is available much closer to the accommodation just opposite the road that leads to the hotel. Here there’s also a modern Carrefour supermarket selling most things you might need during your stay. There are also some nice tavernas on the way from the hotel to the strip, so you don’t have to walk far for a decent meal (Capriccio was our favourite ‘local’).
Rooms
The accommodation at Stemma Hotel is split into several two-storey buildings around a grassy central courtyard with paths leading to each block, creating an open and spacious feel. The way each balcony is staggered also offers a sense of privacy so you don’t feel overlooked by your immediate neighbour.
The rooms are large, furnished in a typically Greek way – basic but functional. The water pressure was good in the shower and there was never a problem with hot water either.
The air-conditioning in our room and my girlfriend’s Mum’s room was pretty poor. The units are quite old and not really up to the job of cooling such a large room. Because the electricity only works when the key fob is in the slot, the rooms get warm during the day (even with the curtains drawn) and the air-conditioning takes ages to cool it down when you get back. The only time the room felt cool was first thing in the morning when it had been running at full speed all night. It’s also quite a noisy unit which affect my sleep the first night, but I chose to get used to it rather than turning it down and being unable to sleep due to the heat. The fridge was also quite loud at times and prone to making random sounds during the night.
Service
The hotel staff are very friendly and welcoming, especially Jimmy at the bar who makes excellent cocktails. Bar prices are reasonable, not cheap but slightly less than you’ll pay in most places on the strip (€3.5 for a ‘large’ draft beer – 400ml, cocktails are €6 or €7). The pool area is large and spacious and wasn’t overcrowded at any point during our stay, though we did visit right at the end of the UK school holidays when many families would have been travelling home.
Facilities
One of the best features of the hotel is its large pool and surrounding area for sunbathing. Although I don’t think the hotel was full during our stay, it was relatively busy, yet the pool never felt crowded and we never had any trouble getting sunbeds either early in the morning or later in the day after returning from the beach.
The hotel offers free air-conditioning, an in-room safe for storing small valuables, and free WiFi, though coverage was patchy and the speed was often very slow.
Food and Dining
Breakfast was included in the room rate. Given the price, I wasn’t expecting a luxury buffet, but it was pretty average at best. A small selection of hot items were available like eggs, small sausages (tasted a bit weird) and occasionally pancakes. The bread was cheap sliced loaf that had an odd texture a bit like cake but was okay toasted. The Greek yoghurt was the cheap stuff you get in some places that wouldn’t mix well with honey and didn’t taste great. We made the best of it rather than buying breakfast elsewhere, but had we been staying longer than a week I think we would’ve gone out for breakfast at least a few days just for something nicer and for variety.
The hotel does sell a range of hot and cold snacks from the pool bar, but we never bought any of them so I can’t comment on the quality, though other reviews online suggest the food is decent.
Price
We booked Stemma Hotel as part of a package deal with the UK tour operator Jet2, paying £600 per person including flights and transfers. The price felt reasonable considering August is peak season and we knew the hotel was on the budget end of the spectrum.
Overall Experience
Overall though, it is a nice place to stay for a budget holiday. I would consider staying again but it would be much better if they fixed the air-conditioning and did something to improve the quality of food at breakfast.
Conclusions
Sidari has obviously changed massively in the 30 years since my last visit. It’s a nice resort, though not the kind of place I would normally stay – too many karaoke bars and Brit-friendly menus, so it’s not exactly a traditional Greek destination, but for a week in the sun it was pleasant enough. I was surprised at some of the prices, though, expecting it to be much cheaper but many of the restaurant prices for food and drink were higher than I thought and almost on a par with islands like Paros and Milos.
Links
Find more Corfu Accommodation or check out our Corfu Island Guide [coming soon].
