Epirus Coast, Greece

Elix

Price per night from$199.67

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR189.20), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

See sea everywhere

Setting

Clifftop Ionian coast

Overlooking the Ionian Sea on Greece’s lesser-known (and rather enticing) Epirus Coast, Elix is a striking stack of contemporary rooms and suites – many with private pools, all with sea views. A photoshoot-worthy infinity pool and prime patch of sand on Karavostasi beach are catnip to sun lovers in search of somewhere new. Between days reclined by the pool, return to vertical with walks in the Epirus hills or out on the Ionian, courtesy of paddleboards or sailing dinghies. This is a resort in the truest sense, with fine and casual dining, bars beside the beach and pool, and pretty nearby towns – in this case shipwreck-strewn Sivota and picturesque Parga – a short drive away.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

In-room breakfast the day after arrival and a bottle of sparkling wine; GoldSmiths get €50 to spend in the spa.

Facilities

Photos Elix facilities

Need to know

Rooms

146, including 59 suites.

Check–Out

11am. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More details

Rates include breakfast. and dinner at the main buffet restaurant.

Also

The hotel can whip up a day cruise on a private yacht to the idyllic coves of Antipaxos and the Blue Caves at Paxos. Beyond the Room Service menu, breakfast in bed, cakes baked to order, cocktail gatherings and small dinner parties can all be arranged.

Hotel closed

Annually between November and March.

At the hotel

Pool, spa, gym, fitness studio, tennis court, choice of restaurants and bars, boutique, deli market, beach section, beach-to-hotel funicular, watersports. In rooms: private or sharing swim-up pool (depending on room type), flatscreen TV with music channels, free WiFi, Nespresso coffee machine, kettle, minibar (at extra cost), free bottled water, Gilchrist & Soames bath products.

Our favourite rooms

Its sizeable pool and terrace and gorgeously grand bedroom make the Deluxe Suite Private Pool a winning choice, with special commendation going to the terraced Junior Suite Panorama Sea View. Prize for the biggest pool goes to the Junior Suite Panorama Private Pool.

Poolside

The freshwater infinity pool has incredible sea views and is open 10am–6pm daily. There’s a pool bar team to ferry drinks and snacks to your parasol-shaded lounger. Alongside the main pool, there’s also a Jacuzzi and a covered shallow pool for children. There's a lifeguard at each of the pools, though of course, little Smiths need supervision.

Spa

A relaxing retreat of cool tiles and calming aromas, Elixir Spa has a sauna, steam room and three treatment rooms with a menu that includes couple’s massages and uses the award-winning spa brand Ariadne Athens spa products, merging unique bio-actives with natural Greek and Mediterranean ingredients.

Packing tips

Rotating selection of swimwear, smartish options for dinner and shades, shades, shades (you can never pack too many sunglasses for a stay on the sparkling Ionian coast).

Also

Laundry and ironing services available (extra cost). Inaccessible communal areas and the stepped layout of this clifftop hotel make it impractical for wheelchair users.

Pet‐friendly

Elix is a hound-free zone. See more pet-friendly hotels in Epirus Coast.

Children

Very welcome. Extra beds and cots are available in all but standard rooms; there are menu options for children at Saffron, Indigo and Azure Beach Bar; and the hotel has a kids’ club, crèche and babysitting service.

Best for

Over-4s and pool-proof Little Smiths (or static babes in arms) are best suited to the terraced layout and pools-everywhere design at MarBella Elix.

Recommended rooms

The decadent dimensions of a Family Room Swim Up are hard to beat. All family suites and rooms come with a screened-off bedroom and sofa beds in the living area. If travelling with toddlers, be aware that Swim Up room options do not have pool gates.

Crèche

For children aged four months to three years, there are two crèche sessions, morning and afternoon, from €35 a session, featuring bubbles, craft, sensory play and treasure hunts.

Activities

Tennis court rental is free. Kids club for four to 12 year olds is free and has sessions morning and afternoon, with the option to book a lunch session at extra cost. Activities include craft, drama and storytelling, plus sports and water fun. Intrepid older children and teens will love the watersports, boat trips and hikes at Adventure Club, which runs during July and August at extra cost.

Swimming pool

Adjacent to the main pool is a shaded, shallow pool ideal for babies and toddlers. Both pools have a lifeguard.

Meals

Highchairs are available and there are kids’ menus at Saffron, Azure and Indigo. The kitchen will heat baby food or milk on request. All rooms have a minibar fridge but no kitchenette.

Babysitting

Must be booked ahead and costs €15 an hour for a minimum of three hours – maximum three children to one sitter.

No need to pack

There are baby phones available on request for free.

Also

From 7pm, you can order dishes from Pearl’s glorious Greek menu to come to your room, creating a sense of occasion over dinner without the babysitter.

Sustainability efforts

The hotel has reduced its energy bills by 75 per cent through a combination of installing solar panels to heat its water, water-regulation valves and a desalination system. LED bulbs are used across the hotel. Local residents make up 75 per cent of staff at the hotel.

Food and Drink

Photos Elix food and drink

Top Table

Indigo’s cushion-scattered benches, facing the pool but shaded from the Ionian sunshine, are a picturesque spot to linger. Any table on the terrace at Pearl feels special, particularly if you’re there in time for sunset.

Dress Code

Trousers and shirt for Mr Smith, a chance to flaunt a fine dress or top and skirt for Mrs Smith. Sports or swimwear, flip-flops included, all mean you risk being turned away at both Saffron and Pearl.

Hotel restaurant

For fine dining, Pearl has tables indoors and out. The menu pairs modern Greek and Mediterranean influences with palate-pleasing results. Enjoy regional specialities such as Batsaria goats’ cheese and spinach pastries, grilled octopus and wine-braised Paramythia beef cheeks at lamp-lit dark-wooden tables. Saffron is the hotel’s casual all-day dining option: it’s here you’ll find breakfast, family-friendly buffet spreads and a choice of cooking stations. Cuisine-themed nights ensure the menu stays brilliantly varied. Shaded poolside eatery Indigo has an extensive drinks menu as well as lunch and dinner menus that tick cherished burger, pizza, sandwich and salad options alongside Greek favourites such as souvlaki and beef kebabs. In similar style, Azure beach bar serves drinks, salads, sandwiches and hot lunchtime staples, for refreshment by the sea. From 15 June to 16 September, there will also be dinner on the beach (subject to availability). 

Hotel bar

The high-ceilinged lobby, with its floor-to-roof windows and tabled terrace, is home to Ruby, an all-day lounge bar. As idyllic for sunset drinks as it is for escaping the midday sun, poolside Indigo has a comprehensive Greek wine list alongside more familiar European fizz and signature pink gin cocktails. At the beach, Azure serves surfside coffees and soft drinks, as well as classic cocktails and cold, cold beer.

Last orders

Dine at Pearl between 7pm and 10pm. Saffron is open 7am–10am for breakfast. Lunch is served 1pm–3pm and dinner between 7pm and 10pm. At Indigo, drinks and snacks are served all day; for lunch, it’s 12.30pm till 4.30pm, dinner is served 7pm–10pm.

Room service

Available round the clock with a selection of choices from any of the hotel's restaurants.

Location

Photos Elix location
Address
Elix
Karavostasi Beach, 46100 Thesprotias, Greece
Perdika
46100
Greece

Elix perches above the broad sands of Karavostasi, not far from Sivota and Parga, two postcard-pretty coastal towns in north-west Greece, on the Ionian coast.

Planes

Preveza International Airport (also called Aktion) has direct flights from across Europe and is an 80-minute drive from the hotel. Corfu International Airport is less than three hours away by car and ferry. Airfield Margariti, 40 minutes away, is the nearest private runway.

Trains

Cars and ferries tend to dominate in this mountainous country: the limits of Greek rail infrastructure mean taking the train makes little sense.

Automobiles

This is a mountain region with dramatic cliffs and rugged coastline – all of which means driving is breathtaking but not easy, with hairpin bends and sheer roadside drops fairly standard. The hotel has on-site parking and valet parking.

Other

The hotel can arrange private boat transfers from Corfu Town to the hotel, taking around 45 minutes, from €500 each way. With ferries to Corfu, Igoumenitsa is the nearest port, a 45-minute drive from the hotel.

Worth getting out of bed for

There’s so much to do without wandering far at Elix, from stand-up paddleboarding to kayaking, learning to sail, mountain biking to hiking. Charter a yacht for the day to see Paxos and Antipaxos, or book a private transfer to Corfu to explore the largest Ionian isle. The delights of seaside resorts Sivota and Parga warrant an excursion or two. Back at the hotel, don your Tennis whites for a few serves under the sun, at the property's free to use court, and for little ones, a children's playground is in the works. The hotel also offers entertainment nights at the amphitheatre for all guests.

Local restaurants

At nearby Perdika, Fork and Knife serves hearty burgers and super-fresh pasta alongside artily presented Greek plates and seafood – just the thing for a night out of the resort. A regularly changing menu of steak and fish from the grill and Mediterranean fare are on offer at The Crabs tavern in Perdika, where pots and pans are strung from the beamed ceiling; especially good for fresh fish and other seafood. Tables on the terrace overlook pretty Sivota harbour at Filakas Hotel restaurant, where you can dine on seafood dishes such as calamari and linguine with clams, as well as mezze plates of hummus, melitzanosalata and Greek salad – a great spot for lunch.

Local cafés

Right by the beach in Sivota, Charlie’s is nominally an all-day coffee spot, but proves especially popular for brunch – with locals and visitors alike, all lured by its tempting menu of toasties, pancakes and omelettes. The Green Bakery in Parga has an enticing, vine-shaded terrace, and serves freshly baked bread, fruit juices and coffees with a worth-a-browse brunch menu.

Local bars

Cocktails at VR Bar in Parga are best enjoyed over ice as the sun sets; this beachside drinking den is at Villa Rossa hotel, at the easterly end of Kryoneri Beach. Margaritas, daquiris and harbour views all feature at Amigos Cocktail Bar, part of Pargas Distillery; pull up a stool at the carousel outdoor bar or take a wooden table on the terrace.

Reviews

Photos Elix reviews
Caroline Kent

Anonymous review

By Caroline Kent, Stationery star

All Inclusive; two words that once would have brought me out in hives, now beckon to me like a siren’s call. As my most notable holiday accessories these days are three young children (rather than a case filled with great books and a killer bikini) the appeal of mass-scale cosseting has become irresistible. Having nurtured a long and deeply held prejudice that such holidays meant jettisoning all aspirations of quality and style in a Faustian pact for convenience and ‘free’ childcare, we approached with caution. But it is not so at Elix – this is all-inclusive, Smith-style.

Perched high on the cliffs above the Ionian coast, we quickly discovered the only drama here is the setting, everything else is comfort and ease. After an hour’s drive from the airport, we arrived and were welcomed into a lofty but cosy lounge, handed a cocktail, and introduced to the hotel. This was a little overwhelming for weary travellers and perhaps could have waited ‘til morning. Tired from our trip, we wanted to slink off to our room and sleep away the journey, but everyone was warm and friendly, and eventually, we were shown to our room.

Much excitement from all concerned to find it capacious, and simply but stylishly furnished, looking out to the starlit sea. Full marks from tired parents for the deliciously comfortable bed and an equal-sized interconnecting room that enabled our kids to sleep separately from us, and enjoy the luxury of their own hotel room to trash (Keith Richards would have been proud). We returned to this haven every evening after a hard day of lounging, eating and drinking our fill, to find Sophia the housekeeper had left tiny chocolates and origami towels in the shape of ducks and elephants on the kids’ meticulously made-up beds which were a highlight of everyone’s trip. Travelling in October, the weather was a little unpredictable but with breathtaking views of Karavostasi beach from our room, and the terrace attached to each, we could enjoy the beauty of the place even in a thunderstorm.

The next morning, energies renewed, we trotted downstairs to the terraced restaurant for breakfast. Flanked by the wooded mountains of the bay, with panoramic views across the water to Corfu, it serves delicious and constantly changing feasts for breakfast, lunch and dinner – a mixture of traditional Greek and international cuisine. The staff were the sweetest, particularly to the children, one memorable morning bringing our grumpy four-year-old a plate of marshmallows for breakfast, because why not, it’s all included!

A vast and elegant island-gazing infinity pool serves as the focal point of the hotel and we spent some idle hours on one of the many loungers there while the kids made friends and we made the most of the bar. There is a tiny, awning-covered pool for toddlers adjacent to the larger one which our littlest inhabited like his own rock pool. Many of the hotel’s rooms have private swim-up pools which were enthusiastically coveted by our children, and if you have had the good sense to limit your offspring to a manageable number, I’d highly recommend you request one (they sleep a maximum of 4).

What felt particularly special here though, was Karavostasi beach far below, reached by hundreds of winding steps through the pine trees – or the hotel’s funicular – where you could spend the day catching up on your holiday reading while the children play in the water under the watchful eye of the lifeguards, with lunch, drinks and endless ice cream available on tap from the hotel’s beach cafe.

Thirty minutes of kayak hire per day was included with our stay, but high winds meant we could only venture out once to explore the bay's azure waters. The children hiked up the mountain behind the beach with the Kids Club on another, which I felt was impressively intrepid of the team. Childcare is available for a few hours every morning and afternoon (though it needs to be pre-booked) with kind, competent and enthusiastic young staff who worked hard to ensure everyone enjoyed themselves whatever their age and interests.

This is a place where you can be as indolent or active as you wish, with all the usual all-inclusive activities available - gym, spa (I had the greatest massage of my life), water sports, yoga, and excursions to the surrounding area. The latter are not included, but we didn’t want to miss the chance to snorkel in the otherworldly, cyan waters of anti-Paxos on a boat trip to the famous Blue Caves which which is offered by the hotel as a day tour – though make sure you book ahead as it is very popular.

Stacked into the mountainside and arrayed over several floors, a stay at Elix entails a fair amount of scampering up and down steps, so while it would be hard to recommend for anyone with physical challenges (though there are lots of lifts), there’s plenty of opportunity to get your steps in and ameliorate the worst excesses of the all-you-can-eat aspects of your stay.

We had a wonderful time at Elix, but ironically, my very favourite thing about it was nothing to do with the hotel itself: there is a tiny cove just a five-minute walk back down the winding, wild cyclamen-lined road that terminates at the hotel. Sheltered from the October winds, this bay was flanked by gnarly olive trees – a perfect, pebble-lined, emerald-green swimming spot where we saw hundreds of colourful fish, and even an octopus while snorkelling. I would escape there most days for a swim. For all the blissful indulgence of having your every need catered to, for me, the greatest joy of travel will always be the thrill of exploring and discovering a little gem of peace and solitude far from the madding crowd.

Book now

Price per night from $189.11