Palmera Beach Hotel & Spa

"We are currently staying at this hotel, and unfortunately, we had an upsetting experience at breakfast on Monday 12th October. Breakfast is advertised as being available until 10:30 am, and we arrived at approximately 10:15 am, fully within the stated breakfast hours. However, a male member of staff told us that the following day we needed to arrive earlier because he wanted everyone to be out of the restaurant by that time. The way this was communicated made us feel singled out, unwelcome, and uncomfortable, especially as we were the only Black guests still in the restaurant. We noticed that this comment was directed specifically at us, which left us feeling targeted and questioning whether we were being treated differently because of our race. We understand that staff may need time to prepare the restaurant after breakfast service ends, but guests should be treated with respect and spoken to politely, particularly when they have arrived within the advertised breakfast hours. This experience left us feeling upset and disappointed. No guest should feel uncomfortable or discriminated against while staying at a hotel. We hope management takes this feedback seriously and ensures that all guests are treated fairly, respectfully, and equally, regardless of their background. We are still staying at the hotel, and this incident has unfortunately affected our experience. We hope the management will address this matter appropriately."

"I will try to describe everything as briefly, yet as thoroughly as possible. I can honestly say that I had one of the best weeks of my life diuring my trip. From the moment I checked in, until the moment I left for the airport by taxi, every single minute was filled with incredible care and attention. The staff is wonderful everywhere, at the reception, the bar, the restaurants. Food is incredibly delicious in both restaurants, and the staff are genuinely warm, kind and caring. Here, you truly feel that peope care about you. If you want to experience genuine human warmth and hospitality, you absolutely have to visit Palmera Seaside. I will never stop talking about how mych warmth every person here gave me and how they turned my solo trip into one of my most beautiful memories. As for the rooms, they were clean, comfortable and well maintained, with a hot jacuzzi and a TV that worked perfectly. The breakfast was not the most varied, but it was more than satisfing. There is honestly not a single aspect of my stay that disappointed me, and I already can not wait to come back. A huge thank you for the entire team for making my stay so special. With love, Liza"

"We have just returned from a 10 day holiday in Crete sadly marred by storms, torrential rain and flooding. We have visited the island many times in the past but this was our first visit to this hotel which has a seafront location in party central Hersonissos. We booked through Jet2 a suite with jacuzzi and steam room which we thought had terrace and sea view. We contacted the hotel directly 3 times by email in the run up to our holiday to check our booking as it was for a very special occasion. We received a response at 4 pm uk time on the day we were flying out to be told we were not being given the suite we paid a lot of money for as we had not booked directly with them and that our booking was for something else! We were offered an alternative larger room which when we arrived turned out to be down a side street right opposite the hotels kitchen. On the ground floor opposite a lift, front door and staircase as well as busy street you can imagine this was far from what we had anticipated! With extremely noisy guests coming and going at all hours of the night we didn’t sleep for 4 nights and could not use the outside space as who fancies stripping off on a busy street !! We were told we could have an upgrade 5 days after we arrived but had to pay an additional almost £400 for this. It was an improvement as a roof top penthouse suite at the top of the building which sadly we could not get the full benefit from because of the weather. We got one day of sunshine on the terrace. It was a relief to be in a quieter part of the hotel but made an already expensive holiday even more expensive. The bed was comfortable but the pillows lumpy and the mattress has seem better days. The outside space is big with a wrap around terrace, 2 sunbeds, jacuzzi, sofa, coffee table and two chairs on the main terrace with sea view and on the side terrace two chairs and table overlooking the garden. Given the price of this penthouse suite as the best on offer it needs some attention too. We had to call for maintenance as soon as we arrived as the jacuzzi motor was making a really bad noise. The curtains were hiding had mould marks on the wall and there were issues with safety in relation to electrics on the fridge and kettle and one of the ceiling lights. If you book this suite you also need to be fit as there are no lifts so you have to ascend four floors of stairs. Breakfast was an experience which felt a bit like participating in a rugby scrum to find a table and choose what you want from a buffet. A wide selection of food available to choose from but you had to contend with other guests who often don’t queue and will lean across you to get what they want. Tables are also very close together so you could be eating your breakfast with people squeezing past your table to get theirs. You could sit outside to eat but with so many people smoking it was like being in an ashtray vacuum and the elevator music outside was very loud so not a peaceful experience. On a positive note the hotel has a spa ( treatments pricey) , a small and cramped gym with sea view on the third floor, and it is close to restaurants, shops and a lovely coastal walk. The highlight was Maisha who is the most fantastic young woman who works in the restaurant manning the coffee station and later on reception. She is a shining star with a smile for everyone and a helpful disposition. She is the hotel’s main asset and we hope she has a bright future there as she deserves to be recognised for excellent customer service. All of the staff work very hard around the clock to serve their guests some more affable and good at customer service than others but as rot is almost the end of the season and many are weary it is understandable that they are looking forward to a break themselves when the season winds down at the end of October."