Review: Apostolata Island Resort and Spa, Kefalonia, Greece

Two words: private pool. A luxury I’m afraid I’ll never be able to holiday without again.

And the only way to stay at Kefalonia’s 5 star, Apostolata Island Resort & Spa.

If the idea of waking to glorious fresh sunny mornings overlooking the Ionian sea, sipping limey gin and tonic sundowners by the pool whilst house martins swoop and chirrup in the evening breeze and enjoying relaxed Greek hospitality is appealing then this hotel is definitely worth considering.

Although billed as a 5 star hotel, at best this is a 4 star hotel with some rooms enjoying more privacy, space and attention from the hotel staff than others (aka private pool rooms). The only other pool on the property was busy, loudish (children) and ringed by sun loungers which were nabbed in the early mornings by conscientious British and Croatian sun botherers.

We took half board, breakfast plus one other daily meal. Don’t do this. The food is plentiful, fresh and varied in the kind of bland and forgettable way of a 1980s Sizzler. Small nods to Greek cuisine feature, thankfully, to eradicate the blahness of attempting to appeal to the taste of every possible European palate: pizza, breaded fish, chips, German strudel all looking emotional and trapped under school-cafeteria style lighting.

Perhaps for ease just go with breakfast and then take advantage of the many tavernas and cafes for lunch and dinner in the local village of Skala.

The local food whilst samey is very good. Souvlaki meats, fresh Greek salads and breads, omelette, sardines and calamari. Iced coffees. Delicious, affordable and most with sea views if not right on the beach itself. Don’t offend your taste buds at the hotel when you have all this a mere 5 minute free hotel shuttle or 7 euro taxi ride away.

The island of Kefalonia, one of Greece’s greenest, rises almost vertically out of the sea. Everywhere is hilly, including the location of this hotel. And as the grounds are spread over a fairly large distance it can be a long walk from room to restaurant especially under the piercing heat of the Greek sun. Not good news for those with mobility issues, although if you call reception they will gladly send a cheerful young chap to collect you in his golf buggy. And if you do happen to slip over on the 180 degree descent after a few bevvies in the village one evening in an awkward and embarrassing kind of way, the beautiful smiling Despina at reception will immediately send out the troops to your room armed with bandages, antiseptic and encouraging noises to soothe and subdue you.

The staff at this hotel are generally accommodating, friendly and laid back. There was a very chilled pool man who came once every few days to languidly fish out some bird poo from our pool whilst gazing contemplatively out to sea. My favourites were the laughing and gracious room attendants, women who reminded me of kindly mothers and grandmothers slightly down on their luck gossiping ironically over folded smalls.

Other stand out hotel facilities include the most unexpected, fir tree-shaded ”private beach”, a rocky outcrop at the edge of the sea from which you may gingerly lower yourself into the cool ocean suspended and exposed from a jetty ladder. Take your snorkel and fins and you’ll see varieties of fish bobbing lazily barely submerged in the water. A magical spot especially in the mornings.

The resort also boasts a cute little chapel at its furthest corner, beside a small green on a cliff overlooking the sea. If I had my wedding day to do all over again I’d book out the hotel rooms that sit in a neat row on the hill adjacent to this chapel for my guests. We’d spend all day on a hired yacht drinking champagne and in the evening I’d get mightily wed in that gorgeous little church and spend the evening dancing on the green by the sea under strings of naked lightbulbs jostling each other in the night air.

Apostolata Island Resort & Spa. If you get it right, this hotel will leave you dreaming of the rugged cliffs and towering green firs of Kefalonia. Of the hot Greek sun and the cooling evening breezes that stir the peace of your private pool beside the Ionian Sea.

This is an independent review. We stayed and paid our own way at this hotel.

#HotelsKefalonia #ReviewApostolataIslandResortandSpa #ReviewsGreekluxuryhotels