Arcadion Hotel Corfu Town: A Central and Classy hotel

On our spontaneous trip to Greece and Albania in autumn 2018, we were lucky to book late and still stay in consistently good hotels. The Arcadion Hotel Corfu Town is one of my favourited from this trip.  We usually look for somewhere mid-range and non-generic, but friendliness, cleanliness, comfortable beds and good customer service always are on top of our list.

Let me reminisce about the sun-filled town of Kerkyra/ Corfu Town, where, despite a very late booking of just one day ahead, we resided in a super central townhouse with unrivalled views of the Old Town Promenade and the Ionian Sea.

Corfu gets busy during the months May-September.  Most holidaymakers are on a package and head straight for the large resorts in the far north (Kassiopi, Sidari and Acharavi) or south (Kavos). The beaches around Corfu Old Town are not that amazing, and most tourists will visit Corfu Town on a daytrip. Another option would be to stay in the  suburbs of Kanoni and Mon Repos (handy for the airport, amazing for planespotting in high season, and you can cycle into Corfu Town/use the City Bus).

There also appears to be an extended season from March to November when mega cruise ships unload thousands of day trippers onto the island.

We had spent two nights in a deserted Paleokastritsa and toured the island by car,  and wanted to spend the last night of our vacation in Corfu Town. Two nights in advance, there was plenty of accommodation to be had: from 30 EURO rooms to four-star hotel rooms for 150EURO. This offer on Booking.com stuck out, it looked very classy for a three-star hotel,  and we loved the traditional architecture and central location.

Location of the Arcadion Hotel Corfu Town

The Arcadion Hotel Corfu Townis on the Liston, which is basically the navel of Corfu Town. It is a square, and also the prime waterfront promenade, and flanked by shady arcades and cafe terraces. Very expensive and in summer also very full cafes. But you will find a McDonalds on the ground floor of the building which is surprisingly low key, low-smell, and somehow beautifully integrated into the building. The actual hotel reception is in a side lane to the right of the McDonalds, and tiny and functional.

The Hotel

The Arcadion Hotel Corfu Town is a proudly Greek hotel, independently owned and managed. They appear to have spent all their funds on good room refurbishments.  As you enter the lobby and communal hallways, it looks very no-frills. However… enter the guest rooms and they have a distinct classic, country-manor feel.

Out front, you will have all rooms with a beautiful view of the Liston and a balcony. They will cost more but are generally larger. In the back, you will find rooms with a city view like our rooms. On the floor plan, it appeared that rooms were quite different in size.

Our Room at the Arcadion Hotel Corfu Town

For a standard room, ours might have been on the small side. This is the room in all its glory, but when you have a view all over Corfu Town from your bed, who’s to complain? And as small as the room was, it was cosy and functional. No space to roll out your yoga mat, but wardrobe space for ten. During the day, they kept the shutters shut, so it is nice and cool, and of course there is air condition.

The bed was extremely comfy, with lots of lovely fluffy pillows and the smoothest quality bed linen. Top marks for the bed.

The bathroom, in contrast, was just functional. It was very clean, but had a shower and a toilet and a sink – no bathtub. Well, I can live with it, especially as this is classed three stars and I have seen far worse bathrooms in mid-range hotels, but it was a bit of a letdown.

Facilities at the Arcadion Hotel Corfu Town

This hotel concentrates on good, comfortable rooms at great prices and warm but unfussy Greek hospitality. There are few special features. On the first floor, there is a cute lounge with a TV and a piano – in true “classy” style. There also is a lift, something of a rarity on Corfu Old Town. Reception is staffed 24 hours a day, receptionists speak good English, and they will be very helpful. We stored our luggage there before our evening flight back, and even left the keys to our hire car there, which the car hire agent said “she’ll pick up later  in the day” – all worked beautifully and reliably.

They also serve a lovely breakfast, which is not easy to come by in Greece. Normally, Greek breakfast is coffee and maybe another coffee. Bougatsa if you are having a special treat.

The breakfast room at the Hotel Arcadion is small and gloomy,  and the buffet looks uninspired. However the food is good quality. For the lovers of an American Breakfast, there are fried eggs, omelettes and various ham/sausage items, which, though not cooked to order, were cooked fresh at intervals. If you are vegetarian or vegan, they have so much fresh fruit that it’s easy to assemble a breakfast of that, and then, the choice of baked goods, among them a  good rye bread, doesn’t really leave room for much else. Coffee and tea come from an automatic machine, but a good one which makes every cup fresh and therefore, quality is nice, almost exceptional for a three-star.

Special Treats

While at the Arcadion Hotel you are very much in the centre of things, just five minutes walk away on Moustouxidi Street, you’ll find a Kerkyra that is still charming but more local. Chances are that if you start walking south on Kapodistriou or west on Theotoki Streets, the tourists and leather/jewellery/kumquat shops will thin out and you will find the  “local shops” like Marks and Spencer and the Hondos Centre and Greek restaurants. Look for a corner restaurant covered in bougeainvillea.

The Porta Remounda Restaurant is a traditional Greek Corfiot restaurant with a relaxed vibe. Somewhat more formal than a taverna, with a good wine list to match. Prices are extremely moderate for Corfu – well, for Corfu Town which, especially in its touristic centre, is settled within the higher price range. Just a few blocks from the Liston, everything seems normal again.

We ordered just a little, chips, a Corfiot dish of green in feta cheese, and one last glorious Greek salad.

Oh, and mushrooms were in season, and in Corfu they like them grilled with balsamic dressing, also widely used in Corfu.

But for the best kumquat lemonade, you need to go to Bristol Cafe. it is something like a meeting point in the very centre of the Old Town, and at some stage, every one will pass here.

Arcadion Hotel Corfu Town Details

Address: 2, Vlasopoulou Str., Liston – Spianada, Corfu town 491 00, Greece

Telephone: +30 2661 037670

Hotel Website: https://arcadionhotel.com

We booked this room on Booking.com and paid 62 EURO in November 2018 for a double including breakfast.

Nearest Airport: Corfu International Airport “Ioannis Kapodistrias” (CFU), 4km

Features: Non-smoking rooms, quiet rooms, free WiFi, private bathrooms

Doesn’t have: bar, spa, probably bathtubs

Disclosure: This trip was entirely self funded. I have received no monetary or non-monetary rewards for linking aside from some affiliate links. For the simple process of linking to other businesses, I proclaim this unpaid advertising. I will only review and recommend places that I have stayed in myself. You can trust me for the whole, unbiased truth.  More details on my affiliate link policy are here.