We LOVE waterpark hotels and have been to many throughout Europe. This time we decided to check out Aqualand Resort which is an All-inclusive hotel in Corfu with a huge water park.
The reviews were very mixed but that is usually the case for any hotel we have ever stayed at, and I always prefer to go with an open mind.
Aqualand Resort Corfu
We Stayed at Aqualand Resort in Corfu as a family of 8. 4 Adults & 4 Children & here's what we thought! It's a mixed bag unfortunately...
Overall Rating
{rating}
Pros
>> Massive Waterpark
>> Kids Club
>> Close to the Airport
>> Great Food
>> Self Serve Soft Drinks
Cons
>> Nothing Much Outside Hotel
>> Wifi was Hit & Miss
>> Entertainment was Terrible
>> No Fixed Speakers around Pool
>> Not enough Tables/Seats at Evening Skybar
Here's a bit more explanation of the pros and cons listed above...
Aqualand Resort Pool Area
The Pool area pictured is exclusive to hotel guests and where we preferred to sit every day. There's a smaller shallow pool for little ones and the large pool is plenty big enough for all the guests.
The bar and snack are right next to the pools which is very convenient.
We had no trouble getting beds, but I am an early riser so I always got ours around 7am.
Cons
No fixed speakers around the pool, you could barely hear the music and they would drag a huge speaker next to our beds for activities such as aqua aerobics which was not only dangerous as hell but super annoying!
Aqualand Resort Waterpark
The waterpark is absolutely fantastic, there are slides and areas for everyone of all ages. We opted to spend a few hours a day here testing out the slides.
There's a lazy river, 30 slides, splash zones for kids, baby areas, lilypad walkers and an enormous wave pool.
The onsite grill does amazing Gyros for 4 euros.
Cons
Food and drinks in the waterpark are payable.
The waterpark is open to the public at 10am and the hotel at 11am, I think it should open at the same time.
The height/age restrictions were off in different areas. The slides pictured my 8 year olds were allowed on but the much smaller slides in the "compo tower" were decided by height and one of my twins was half an inch too short, which caused no end of tears.
Aqualand Resort Entertainment
The entertainment at Aqualand Resort is the worst I have ever experienced at any hotel I have stayed at - Ever!
The daytime program was ok, it had the usual aqua aerobics, darts, ping pong, water polo and some games, but the evening was dire.
Cons
Not enough tables and chairs at the evening venue, even though there was space for loads more. So many people came and left. You also get asked about 10 times an hour if you have any free seats if people at your table get up to use the toilet or go to the bar.
The entertainment is on a one-week schedule, so if you're there for two weeks, you have to sit through the diabolical shows twice - torture!
The outsourced shows were just as bad as the in-house entertainment (which was a quiz or bingo).
The entertainment team look utterly depressed, the smiles were so forced.
Only one bar staff on, meaning a constant queue.
There are only two toilets for the venue and they are downstairs! Again Queues.
100s of bird nests and birds in the roof cover, meaning people were getting pooped on all night.
Aqualand Resort Kids Club
The kids club was your usual run-of-the-mill kid's club. It was on 2/3 sessions per day for 1 hour 45mins each session. They did T-shirt painting which cost €12 per child and arts and crafts every day. They usually took the children to the kid's pool for the last half hour to play water games which they enjoyed.
There was a mini disco every evening at 8:30 at the sky bar.
Cons
Only on 5 days out of 7 each week
The building and equipment were very shabby
The same run of songs on the mini disco for 2 weeks straight
Aqualand Resort Food
The food at Aqualand Resort was very good. There was plenty of choice and the restaurant was always spotless.
The snack bar around the pool was good too, you could get hotdogs, chips, toasties, baguettes, wraps and hot pastries such as cheese rolls, sausage rolls and feta & spinach rolls. It opened at 10am and closed at 5pm.
Cons
The desserts were not great - but I never like desserts abroad, so that's probably just me.
Aqualand Resort Staff
None of the staff are particularly memorable or overly friendly. Not that they were unfriendly, they just were all a bit meh!
The reception staff were very nice, always solved any issues immediately and check-in was fast.
Our Cleaner bashed our door down and tried the key about 20 times one day at 8am, whilst we were trying to have a lie-in. Never experienced that before.
Aqualand Resort Location
The location is good in terms of transfer times but that's about it really. There is nothing much outside other than a small bar, a small supermarket, a pizza place and a kebab shop.
The town and the nearest beaches are all about 20 minutes away.
Aqualand Resort Rooms
We had a large family room which was very spacious. It was presented over two levels, with one large double and three single beds. It was cleaned well.
We had room 2214 which was directly outside the pool area, with a great view and it was really close to all the facilities.
Cons
I had to ask 5 out of 7 days for towels as the cleaner forgot most days, which annoyed the hell out of me.
Ants we in the rooms, but we often find that in hotels.
The beds were quite hard.
The cleaners have one day off, which I haven't experienced before in any other hotel, which meant no towels again.
If you like Travel Deals, Join our Facebook Group for Cheap Holidays & Travel Deals
FAQs
How long is the transfer from Corfu airport to Aqualand?
The transfer is really fast from the airport to Aqualand Resort and Waterpark, it took us around 15 minutes in a private taxi and it takes around 20 - 25 minutes via coach. The average time is 20 minutes.
How far is Aqualand Corfu from the Beach?
There are a few nice beaches nearby with Glyfada Beach being the nearest to the hotel. The journey will take about 15 minutes and there's a free bus available from the hotel for guests. The bus does need to be booked at reception 24 hours in advance.
Summary
As I always say, a holiday is what you make it and there's no such thing as a bad holiday. But Aqualand would have to be bottom of my list of all the splashworld / waterpark hotels we have ever been on, simply due to the poor entertainment, which is a shame.