Fodor's Expert Review Corfu Palace

Built in 1950 as the island's first resort hotel—and these days showing it—the Corfu Palace is a grande dame in bad need of a face-lift, albeit in an unbeatable location and with some lingering grace notes. This stolidly built landmark's guest rooms have a spaciousness from an earlier age, and they are all sweetly decorated with old-fashioned Louis XIV–style furniture. Even better, the hotel is but a couple of minutes' walk from the town center and overlooks Garitsa bay. Every guest room has a sea-view balcony and a marble bathroom. The two restaurants have seating in the gardens that surround the huge saltwater pool, and once a week there's a barbecue. You can book a tennis court at the nearby Corfu Tennis Club and hire facilities at the Corfu Yacht Club. The hotel, one of the few in Corfu to remain open year-round, caters to many older visitors and families who don't want to stay in the busy center of town. The island's only casino is located just off reception and operates 24 hours a day.