Forget the old-style fly and flops. Now, all-inclusive holidays are reaching for the stars. Samantha Laurie heads for Corfu...
I’ve never seen myself as an all-inclusive person. My first experience – a bargain basement week in Mallorca spent trying and failing to stop three children from consuming their bodyweight in Coke and chips before breakfast (but it’s free, mum) – rather put me off. Plus, I love eating out at different restaurants, loathe semi-warm buffet food and get restless after ten minutes on a sunlounger.
Avali
But it turns out that all-inclusives have gone upmarket in a big way since the last time I looked, mostly to attract people like me who want more variety & less flop. One in three holidays booked by Brits are now all-inclusives (up from 1 in 14 eight years ago), with most of the growth at the luxury end where à la carte menus, splendiferous spas and a full range of cultural experiences are de rigueur.
Nowhere more so than in Corfu, Greece’s seventh largest isle. Surrounded by crystal clear waters and far lusher than many of the islands further south, Corfu’s charms range from the obvious – a long season (May and September are perfect times to visit), wonderful food, good local wines, plenty of flights (three hours from the UK) – to the rather less familiar, such as a fascinating historical legacy of Byzantine churches, Venetian fortresses, French colonnades and English cricket grounds.
Avali
Another attraction is that most of its hotel chains are locally run. One such is Mar-Bella Collection, which opened its third luxury site on the warmer-watered, shingle-shored south-east coast only last summer.
Occupying a much sought-after beachfront spot, the small (76-room) boutiquey Avali has all the expected pizzazz of a newly built five-star: peace, calm, glorious sea views, friendly staff and a jaw-droppingly beautiful infinity pool overlooking the quiet bay. It’s a stone’s throw from its sister sites – adult-only Nido and family-focused MarBella – with guests encouraged to ‘dine around’ the different resorts.
Experiences form a key part of the package, with regular wine and olive oil tastings for guests and pop-up dining events, such as the return of the popular Greek Chefs Abroad. In June, the second in a series of long weekends focused on midlife health and wellbeing takes place, as experts fly in to talk nutrition, hormonal health and longevity.
It’s clearly working. We’re here in September, just a couple of weeks after the launch, and the place is full. As are both its sister hotels. This is, of course, the best time to visit: Corfu is basking in autumn sunshine, the crowds have thinned out (although visits to the old town need to be timed to avoid the cruise ships arrivées) and the island is still alive with food, oil, wine, boat tours and history trails. So much to entice you from that infinity pool!
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Samantha Laurie
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Samantha Laurie
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Samantha Laurie
What to do
- Food & history tours: Once a powerful naval state, this strategic isle was ruled by the Venetians for four centuries, before passing to French, British and Greek control. All these nationalities have left their mark on the architecture of Corfu’s UNESCO-listed old town. For a fine potted history, corfuwalkingtours.com – run by sisters Nausica and Ariti – offers a three-hour daily culture and food tour €89 p/h) which includes tasting stops to sample local cheese, meat and kumquat liquor.
- The Durrells: The book and TV legacy of the Durrell family and their 1930s residency attracts legions of fans (especially from the US) to see the real-life homes, such as The White House in Kalami, and filming locations. Private half-day tours from €230 a group.
- Olive oil tasting: A fact-packed deep dive into the world of oil – in particular Corfu’s own award-winning Lianolia variety at the home of its premier producer, The Governor – proves to be a highlight of our trip. From a very low starting point (not a single one of us knows that green and black olives come from the same tree!). We taste our way to knowledge. This pacy taste-like-a-pro session (60 mins, €25 p/h) includes plenty of food pairings, culminating in the shocking revelation that olive oil on ice cream is rather delicious. theolivehouse.gr
British Airways Holidays offers seven nights at the 5* Avali Mar-bella Collection, from £1,789pp, travelling on selected dates. Includes economy return flights from London Heathrow, one checked bag per person and accommodation on an all-inclusive board basis. Club Europe (Business class) flights are also available. Visit: britishairways.com/corfu
