Well. What can I say? It’s been emotional!  Two weeks of hard graft in the blazing sunshine and The Ionian Beach Hotel is finally up and running for another season.  And, throughout the process, I’ve come to know what ‘working like a Greek’ really means!

The bungalows have been stripped and repainted, the gardens have been trimmed and spruced and the beach has been bulldozed and raked ready for yet another fun-filled summer season of sun, sea, sand and sailing!

It never ceases to amaze me how much damage salty, sea air can do over the winter months. Bare metal can very quickly become oxidised and turn into dirty brown dust.  Perhaps the best example of this is the hinges on the beach changing room doors, being particularly exposed all year round.  There are now remnants of six, yes six(!), sets of hinges that have long since disintegrated and turned to dust on each of the cubicle doors.  Quite rightly, our new maintenance man, George Dimopoulos, has fixed the doors with a degree of scepticism as to just how long the new hinges will last.

Then there’s the air-conditioning units. We’ve had everything from birds nests to ant infestations as well as lots and lots of rust. Again, the repair works have been swift and effective and I’m glad to report a fully functioning set of air-conditioning units all just waiting for a final service inspection to ratify their clean bill of health. 

There’s still a long way to go before the hotel will be full but there’s a busy bank holiday weekend ahead and arrivals have started already.  This should be our chance to test out a few new recipes, try a few new ideas in the bars and introduce some of our loyal Greek guests to the improvements we have fashioned for them.

In the meantime, I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to the hotel team (including our new Polish friends who helped with the painting) for all the hard work, energy and passion that has gone into preparing the hotel for its opening. Well done everyone. Excellent effort and I’m sure your contribution will be greatly appreciated by many guests to come.

Alan Potts