Ikos Dassia
Ikos Dassia sits on the green, wooded north-east coast of Corfu, in the Greek Ionian islands, on a sheltered bay lined with olive and pine trees, about 5 miles (8 km) from Corfu Old Town. The restaurants, the branded drinks and the children's clubs all fold into one premium all-inclusive price. Families come for its à la carte restaurants, a calm shallow sea, a crèche from six months and one of the shortest airport transfers of any Ikos resort.
On this page
Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail: who this resort suits, what is folded into the price and the facts to skim first.
Ikos Dassia is one of the more expensive family all-inclusives on Corfu, with à la carte restaurants, premium wine and spirits, a daily-replenished minibar, 24-hour room service and a day's car hire all in the price, no per-restaurant supplements and little upselling. It opened in 2018 in a converted pair of older hotels, so it isn't a brand-new build like its Ikos Odisia sister down the coast, but it was renovated throughout and runs to the group's standard. The site is also built up a wooded slope, so getting between the rooms, the pools and the beach means a walk uphill or a ride on one of the resort's golf buggies, the electric carts that shuttle guests around on call. You'll get the most from it if you'd otherwise pay separately for good dinners, childcare and a hire car, and you don't mind those uphill stretches.
Best for
You want à la carte restaurants, a calm shallow sea and a children's splash zone, a crèche from six months, and you'd otherwise pay out for meals, a babysitter and a car.
Maybe not for
You'd struggle pushing a pram up hills and want flat ground throughout, or you're on a tight budget.
Best ages
Babies upwards. Paid crèche from six months, a free club from four, plus babysitting for an adult dinner.
What stands out
A sheltered shallow bay, real shade from mature trees, and crèche and kids-club staff that guests single out by name.
What to check
The crèche age floor if you have a young baby, and that your room is big enough for a cot, since the entry Doubles aren't.
Where is it?
On the wooded north-east coast of Corfu at Dassia Bay, about 5 miles (8 km) from Corfu Town.
Quick facts for families
The resort and its setting
Where Dassia sits, how it climbs its wooded slope and what that means for getting around with a pram.
Dassia opened in 2018, built from two adjacent older Corfu hotels that were converted and renovated into one resort of around 410 rooms, suites, bungalows and villas across two buildings, Sea and Sky. It sits on the calm north-east coast of the island, the sheltered side rather than the rockier west, with olive and pine trees down the slope, so there are pockets of natural shade you don't often get on a Greek resort beach. The rooms, the pools and the beach are spread up and down that slope, so you either walk the inclines and steps or call one of the on-demand golf buggies, and the buildings have ramps and lifts for pushchairs. For how the Ikos brand and its all-inclusive works across the group, see our guide to Ikos and the group behind it, and for the wider island our Corfu guide.
Every restaurant and bar
All eight dining rooms, the eight bars and how the à la carte booking actually works.
Every restaurant is included with no per-restaurant supplement, and so is the wine. There are eight restaurants and eight bars. The Flavors buffet runs all day and takes walk-ins; the seven à la carte rooms need a dinner reservation, which is the one piece of admin families have to stay on top of (how it works is in the box below).
Flavors is the Mediterranean buffet, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and it doesn't need a reservation. It's the most practical room with a young child, with broad choice, no fixed sitting, high chairs and children's cups, bowls and cutlery, and you walk in whenever a toddler is ready to eat. There's a buffet in each building, so you don't have far to go.
Ouzo is the Greek restaurant, à la carte and generally relaxed with children. Kerkyra serves regional Corfiot cooking, named after the island, and is a Dassia touch you won't find at every Ikos. Grill House does meat and fish over coals, the kind of straightforward plates children tend to eat. All three need a dinner reservation.
Fresco is the Italian, à la carte for dinner with a reservation, and its pasta and pizza usually land well with little ones. Its menus are by Ettore Botrini, who holds a Michelin star at his own restaurant, Botrini's, in Athens, rather than here. Provence is the French restaurant, more formal and better suited to a parents' evening than a fractious toddler; its menus are by Pascal Barbot, who holds a star at his own restaurant, Astrance, in Paris. The resort's own kitchens aren't themselves starred.
Anaya is the Asian restaurant, Thai and pan-Asian, à la carte for dinner with a reservation, and the one guests across reviews rate most highly in the group. Its menus are by the Paris chef Thiou. It's a treat for adventurous older children, though for a fussy toddler the buffet is the safer bet. Enoteca is the Italian Mediterranean room, also à la carte for dinner with a reservation.
Dress code
At dinner, shorts and flip-flops aren't allowed in any of the restaurants, the buffet included. Days are casual, including lunch by the pool and beach.
The eight bars
The Lobby Bar is the main one and keeps the longest hours, from morning to the small hours, for coffees by day and cocktails late. The Main Pool Bar serves the family pools through the day, with a separate Deluxe Pool Bar for Deluxe Collection guests and Adults Only Pool Bars by the adults-only pools. The Gelaterie does unlimited ice cream through the day and sits beside the children's water-play area. In the evening there's a Wine Bar with a long list, a Teatro Bar by the theatre for before and after the shows, and a late Night Club for adults. All the drinks, the wine list included, are in the price.
How restaurant booking works
You arrange your à la carte dinners through the Ikos app. A standard room can pre-book a limited number of dinners before you arrive and the rest on the app once you're there, where tables also free up through the week. Deluxe Collection guests can pre-book every dinner, which is the single most useful thing Deluxe adds for a family. The early-evening sittings that suit small children fill first, especially in July and August, so book the moment the app opens for your stay. The Flavors buffet is the always-available fallback if a night doesn't come together.
Rooms and suites
Every room category with its official size, the eight pools and the children's splash zone, and the sheltered Dassia Bay beach.
Where you'll sleep
There are fifteen room categories across two tiers, six standard and nine in the Deluxe Collection. The table below is the full line-up with the official sizes; the guidance after it is which suit a family with a baby or toddler.
| Room | Size | Sleeps |
|---|---|---|
| Double Room | 25 m² | 2 |
| Superior Double Room | 25 m² | 2 |
| Junior Suite | 35 m² | 3 |
| Panorama Junior Suite | 35 m² | 4 |
| Family Room | 50 m² | 4 |
| One Bedroom Suite | 58 m² | 5 |
| Deluxe Junior Suite Bungalow | 35 m² | 3 |
| Deluxe Junior Suite Private Garden | 37 m² | 3 |
| Deluxe Junior Suite Bungalow Private Pool | 37 m² | 3 |
| Deluxe One Bedroom Suite | 58 m² | 5 |
| Deluxe One Bedroom Suite Private Pool Beachfront | 58 m² | 5 |
| Deluxe Two Bedroom Suite | 100 m² | 6 |
| Deluxe Two Bedroom Suite Private Pool Beachfront | 105 m² | 6 |
| Deluxe Two Bedroom Bungalow Suite Private Pool Beachfront | 120 m² | 7 |
| Deluxe Three Bedroom Villa Private Pool Beachfront | 170 m² | 7 |
Tap a room name to see its photos and floor plan in the gallery.
For families, the choice comes down to whether you need a door to close on a napping baby, and Dassia's entry rooms are small. The two Doubles at 25 m² sleep two with nowhere for a cot, so skip them with a child in tow; they differ only in outlook. The 35 m² Junior Suites and Panorama Junior Suites are open-plan, workable with one small child but with no separate room to darken for a nap, which one reviewer flagged. The cheapest room with a bedroom you can shut off is the One Bedroom Suite at 58 m². The Family Room at 50 m² comes as interconnecting rooms, so children can sleep apart from you. For two children in their own rooms, or to bring grandparents, the Deluxe Two Bedroom Suite at 100 m² sleeps six, and the beachfront bungalows and the three-bedroom villa run larger again.
Several Deluxe categories come with their own outdoor space, and the names tell you which. A Private Garden version gives you a ground-floor garden you step straight out into, the easier choice with a pushchair and a child you'd rather let out without stairs. A Private Pool version adds a small enclosed pool off the room, which is the closest you'll get to a fully fenced splash area for a very mobile toddler, and the beachfront Deluxe categories put you on the sand. Standard rooms here are smaller than the purpose-built Odisia next door, so if space matters most, book a suite tier rather than an entry room.
What the Deluxe Collection adds
For families, the most useful thing Deluxe adds is the dinner booking. Deluxe guests can pre-book every à la carte dinner rather than a capped few, so you don't compete for the early sittings each day. On top of that, Deluxe includes a dedicated Deluxe pool and pool bar, a more-spaced private beach section, in-suite check-in and concierge, two complimentary short massages per suite, and a second day with the car. Standard guests get the same clubs, beach and restaurants, so Deluxe gets you space, ground-floor or private-pool layouts and booking certainty rather than a different holiday.
The pools
The resort has eight pools, spread between the two buildings rather than gathered in one spot. Each building has a main family pool with a shallow, graduated entry, and the children's pool is heated a little warmer than the main ones. There's a dedicated children's water-play area too, with jets, fountains and water guns, next to the children's pool and beside the Gelaterie. Two adults-only pools, one per building, give parents a calm corner away from the family water, and Deluxe guests have their own pool with the Deluxe Pool Bar alongside. Inside the spa there's an indoor pool that's for adults only, so children can't use it. Loungers, umbrellas and waiter service come with all of them, and the main pools wind down in the early evening.
The beach
The beach is a 600-metre stretch kept for guests, with sunbeds, umbrellas and drinks brought to your spot, and pine and olive trees behind it, so there's natural shade close to the water for a baby out of the sun. Dassia Bay is sheltered and shelves in gently, so the water stays shallow a long way out and stays calm. The shore itself is a mix of coarse sand and shingle rather than the soft white sand of the brochure photos, so pack water shoes for little feet at the water's edge. Non-motorised watersports such as canoeing, pedalos and paddling are included; motorised sports cost extra.
Babies and toddlers
The crèche and clubs from six months up, everything that fills a family day, and the days out beyond the gate.
The crèche, clubs and the baby kit
The Heroes Crèche takes children from six months to four years for an extra charge, run by the in-house Ikos team to UK Ofsted standards in small groups: roughly one carer to three for the six-to-twenty-three-month babies, one to four for two and three year olds, and one to six at three. Sessions run mornings, early and late afternoon, charged per session. The activities are sensory and messy play, arts and crafts, soft play and shaded outdoor play. Families single out the crèche staff for settled, attentive care, and spaces go fast, so book before you travel. If your baby is younger than six months, email the Heroes team before booking to ask what they can offer.
The free Heroes Kids Club covers four to twelve year olds through the day, with arts and crafts, physical play, visits to the splash zone, a mini disco and karaoke. There's a Just4Teens club for over-twelves, and a Heroes Supper Club for four to twelves in the evening for an extra charge, which gives parents a night to dine alone; it's listed as included for Deluxe guests, though one family was charged anyway, so confirm that at check-in. For an adult dinner without the children, the resort offers babysitting for an extra charge, subject to availability and best booked ahead. There's no cash machine on the resort, so bring euros if you'll want a babysitter.
The room is set up for a baby or toddler before you arrive if you ask in advance: a cot, a baby bath, a monitor, baby sets such as toilet-seat adapters, and high chairs and child tableware in the restaurants, with nappy-changing facilities through the public areas, ramps and lifts for pushchairs, and pram hire if you'd rather not bring your own. The kitchens make fresh purées on request and serve children's courses before the adults' plates, there's a children's menu everywhere, and the Gelaterie's ice cream and 24-hour room service with children's options cover the gaps.
On resortThings to do
Plenty is included with no extra charge. On dry land there are two floodlit tennis courts, five-a-side football, beach volleyball, mini basketball and table tennis, with guided mountain-biking and bike hire, and giant chess and board games for downtime. There's also a complimentary round of golf, nine or eighteen holes, once per stay at Corfu Golf Club about twenty minutes away, with transfers, clubs and a buggy laid on. In the water, paddling, canoeing and pedalos are included, an hour of windsurfing per stay if you hold a licence, and a beginner's diving lesson in the pool; water-skiing, parasailing, ringos, scuba and boat trips cost extra. Fitness covers a studio plus classes from aqua aerobics and Zumba to yoga and Pilates.
Several academies and excursions cost extra. Football Escapes runs week-long camps for five to fifteen year olds with UEFA-licensed coaches, and there's a coached Tennis Academy. The Ikos Spa, by the Paris house Anne Semonin, is free for all guests to use the indoor thermal pool, sauna, steam room, relaxation areas and gym, with treatments, hair and nails charged on top, and Deluxe guests get two short massages per suite; the thermal area is adults-only, so it isn't for children.
The daily programme runs to all ages, with a children's mini disco and karaoke, evening shows at the theatre and live music. Your booking also includes a Culture Pass to Corfu's cultural sites, among them the Museum of Asian Art and the Old Fortress in Corfu Old Town, and a Dine Out scheme covering dinner at two tavernas in Corfu Town with transport arranged, the Dora Fish Tavern at the New Port and the Agora at the Old Port. A Dine Out evening means a drive and a late dinner away from the resort, so it suits older children or a parents-only night more than a baby on a bedtime routine.
The area and days out
Dassia village is a quiet low-key strip right by the resort, with a handful of tavernas, cafés and mini-markets, handy for nappies, sunscreen and snacks at non-resort prices, though it isn't a shopping town. For that you head to Corfu Old Town, about 5 miles (8 km) away on a short drive, reachable on the complimentary car day or a taxi: a UNESCO-listed old town with two Venetian fortresses, the arcaded Liston, the Spianada square, the Museum of Asian Art and the bigger supermarkets. North and south along the coast road sit the east-coast villages, Ipsos in the next bay, the marinas at Kontokali and Gouvia toward town, and the clear-water coves of Barbati and Nissaki further north, all a short drive.
For a day out with the included car or a hire car, Corfu's famous sandy and dramatic west-coast beaches, Glyfada, Agios Gordios and Paleokastritsa, are around thirty to forty-five minutes across the island, and the Achilleion Palace south of Corfu Town has grounds an unsteady walker can manage. Seasonal boat trips run from Corfu Town and nearby ports for a child happy on the water. For the wider island, its beaches and when to go, see our Corfu guide.
Loves and gripes
What guests rate and what frustrated them, how it stacks up against its sister, the journey in and the weather by month.
What families love, and the gripes
What families love
- The à la carte food, with Anaya, Kerkyra and Provence the names that come up most.
- The warmth of the staff, a frequent high point across reviews.
- The crèche and kids-club teams, the most specific family praise.
- The calm, shallow bay and the natural shade from the trees.
- The baby and toddler set-up in the rooms and restaurants.
Common gripes
- The wooded slope, hard work with a pram between room, pool and beach.
- Restaurant and crèche slots that book up fast in peak season.
- Small entry rooms set against a top-end price, smaller than newer Odisia.
- A coarse sand-and-shingle shore rather than the soft sand of the photos.
- Deluxe Collection delivery that some found inconsistent.
How it compares
On Corfu the natural comparison is its neighbour, Ikos Odisia, which opened in 2023 ten minutes up the coast. Odisia is purpose-built, flatter and has larger standard rooms, so the decision between them is Dassia's established setting and slightly lower entry price against Odisia's level ground and newer, roomier accommodation. If you're pushing a pram all week, Odisia is usually the easier choice; if you want the mature trees and their shade, Dassia is the better fit. Against the wider group, the food and service feel much the same across the brand, and Dassia's distinctive notes are the Corfiot Kerkyra restaurant and the children's splash zone that not every Ikos has. For how the whole group works, our Ikos guide goes into the brand in more depth.
From the airportGetting there
Corfu airport is the arrival point, about twenty minutes away by road, one of the shortest transfers of any Ikos resort. With a pushchair, luggage and car seats a private transfer beats a coach, and you request it yourself rather than it being laid on automatically: arrange it through Ikos or your operator a couple of weeks before you travel, with child seats on request. Transfers are included when you book direct with Ikos for five nights or more, and on any Deluxe Collection booking. Your stay also includes a day with a car, enough for a run into Corfu Town or a trip across the island, again with child seats on request.
When to goWeather, April to October
Ikos Dassia is open from around the start of April to the end of October, and the figures below, long-term averages for Corfu, cover that season. The warm, low-rain window for a family is roughly June to September, when days sit in the high twenties to low thirties, the sea reaches 22 to 25°C and rain is occasional. The gentlest weeks with little ones are late June and September, warm enough to swim but short of the July and August peak for heat, crowds and price. April and May are cooler shoulders with a sea still too cold for small children, and October turns wetter as the resort winds down.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 19° | 10° | 57 mm | 6 | 16° |
| May | 24.5° | 14.5° | 31 mm | 4 | 20° |
| June | 29° | 18.5° | 19 mm | 2 | 23° |
| July | 32° | 20.5° | 9 mm | 1 | 26° |
| August | 32° | 21° | 27 mm | 1 | 27° |
| September | 27° | 18° | 91 mm | 5 | 25° |
| October | 23.5° | 14.5° | 136 mm | 7 | 23° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer.
Questions
The things families ask most, the official pages worth a bookmark and when this guide was last refreshed.
How young will the crèche take a baby?
From six months, with no younger places bookable online, so a family with a baby under that age should email the Heroes team before committing to dates. Within the crèche, reserve the morning sessions first, as they go before the afternoon ones.
Is it hard work with a pram?
If pushing a pram up inclines all week is the thing that would put you off, book the flat Ikos Odisia ten minutes up the coast instead. At Dassia most families cope by calling a golf buggy for the longer uphill runs, so it comes down to whether you would rather ride those stretches or rule out the slope altogether.
Will a fussy toddler eat here?
Default to the Flavors buffet for any meal a toddler might refuse, and save the à la carte rooms for the nights everyone is in the mood. The buffet means you are never committed to a fixed menu or sitting, so a refused dinner costs you nothing and you can try Fresco or the Grill House another evening.
Should a baby swim in the sea or the pool?
For the youngest, lean on the heated children's pool early in the season, when the sea is still cold for small children, and move to the bay once it warms through June. The sea here is calm and shallow, so by midsummer either works.
Do you need to hire a car?
No, not for the basics, since your stay includes a complimentary day with a car for a run into Corfu Town or across the island. Paying for your own hire car is only worth it if you want several separate days out, as the included day covers one trip rather than a whole week of touring.
Is there much for older children and teens?
Yes. The free Heroes Kids Club runs all day to age twelve, there's a Just4Teens club for over-twelves, coached football and tennis, included watersports and a complimentary round of golf, plus a mini disco and karaoke in the evenings.
Which room should a family with a baby book?
Book at least a One Bedroom Suite if you want a door to close on a nap, since the entry Doubles are open-plan with no room to darken. If the budget stretches, a Deluxe suite with a private pool is the one to chase for a mobile toddler, because it gives you an enclosed splash area right off the room.
When is the best time to go with little ones?
Late June or September. Both give a warm sea and warm days short of the July and August peak for heat, crowds and price, and restaurant and crèche slots are easier to get. The resort runs roughly from April to the end of October, and in April and May the sea is still too cold for small children.
See more resort photos
Open the photo gallery →
Useful links
- Ikos Dassia: the resort's own site for rooms, what's included and the children's clubs.
- GOV.UK Greece travel advice: entry rules and safety updates before you travel.
- Corfu with little ones: our guide to the wider island, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 21 June 2026.
