Skiathos Palace Hotel

"Lovely view and bar. Only problem was no air conditioning in guest areas"

"To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever been genuinely disappointed with a hotel, and I very rarely leave reviews but felt I needed to for others to see as the 4.3 rating has surprised me. When booking, the Skiathos Palace was advertised as a 4–5 star hotel, but unfortunately I would rate it closer to a 3 star at best. The location is lovely and the views are fantastic, and the pool area is definitely the highlight of the hotel. Breakfast was also decent and the staff were friendly, so I want to make clear that the staff themselves were not the issue. The rooms, however, were a real disappointment. They are extremely dated and, rather than feeling like a 4–5 star hotel, they felt like I had stepped back into the 1960s. Our air conditioning made a constant ticking noise and there was also a noticeable drainage smell in the room, which was particularly off-putting. Another issue was something I’ve never experienced in a hotel before. We asked for an iron for the room and were told they don’t provide irons due to health and safety reasons. I travel around four times a year and have never stayed somewhere that doesn’t provide an iron or at least make one available to guests. We were then told that ironing costs €2 per item and requires 24 hours’ notice. When you’re travelling, clothes naturally get creased in your suitcase, so having to plan ironing a full day in advance isn’t particularly practical. Individually, some of these things may seem minor, but combined with the condition of the room, the drainage smell, the noisy air conditioning and the lack of basic facilities, it really took away from the experience. The pool, location and views are fantastic, and the staff were lovely, but unfortunately those positives weren’t enough to make up for the overall standard of the accommodation. Overall, I wouldn’t stay here again, which is a shame as the hotel has a fantastic location and could be a really special place if the rooms and facilities were brought up to the standard you would expect from a 4–5 star hotel."

"A recent contributor wrote "I would never return". Yet we say "we would always return; in fact we do", and have done for over 35 years! You see, contentment in life arrives not when you get what you want but rather when you want what you already have. So when you make a holiday destination decision are you escaping life for brief moments in time or searching for what you had or what you think you want? If it's the former then you must be like King Sisyphus in Greek mythology who was sentenced to push a giant boulder up a steep hill only for it to roll down and for him to start over for all of eternity. And aren't there days in your life that feel just like Sisyphus? Each time you push the rock of life uphill it rolls back over you but you are persistent and so do it all over again. And that's because the thought of idyllic days in the Aegean spurs you on. But if it's the latter then think of the words of Socrates 2500 years ago who succinctly observed "people who are unhappy with what they already have are unlikely to be happy getting what they want". At the Skiathos Palace the daily management of such a large number of guests is like watching the black swans on Maratha beach gliding serenely along the surface of the sea but take a look underneath, and it's paddling like fury which means now and again it's feet will get tangled in the weeds. What I mean by that of course is, the small number of reviews that have a different perception of their particular experience compared to everyone else. It is hard for me to understand how someone can spend the equivalent daily rate of a mediocre hotel in a Western Europe city only then to fixate on the minor things that they see to be totally unacceptable at the Skiathos Palace which is an recognised gem in the Aegean Sea. Regrettably, by doing so, they risk missing out on the life-long memorable experiences of being immersed in unique Greek cultural encounters that 99.99% of the entire world's population can only dream of. Minor things, for example,it's just a fact of life that a Greek 5 star holiday Hotel is not the same as a Western European 5 star City Hotel; if so, the Ritz in London would have 15 stars. Or complaining about lack of choice at breakfast? Well I usually have 3 ginger nut biscuits at home but here I have to choose from many different breads and pastries, yoghurts, fruit in syrup, six types of honey, fresh fruits, meats,cheeses and eggs done five ways, if you find this limiting then Gordon Ramsey must be your personal chef or where your simple breakfast for two at the Ritz costs a minimum €100! However, it is an undeniable truth that there are, in the world, truly exotic hotels set in celebrity locations such as the Grande Bretagne Athens (€1200 a night, not a week!), many with Michelin starred restaurants, guaranteed weather or on photogenic powder soft beaches! But could they ever feel like home from home as Skiathos and the Palace does for us, it's unlikely? If you take the time to look there are many other warm, positive reviews on here for the Palace and some not so, but we truly hope everyone will return at some stage and for the less enthusiastic amongst us they start to “get” what we and lots of others “get, i.e. we want what we already know and have. ” If however your idea of a perfect holiday consists of hiking up mountains, wandering jungles or over deserts with no one around, or having your grapes peeled whilst being fanned by Nubians whilst reclining on rose petal covered pillows, Roman style, then the Skiathos Palace may not meet your expectations. If however your desire is for a sublimely relaxing few weeks enjoying a truly civilised lifestyle as I previously said 99.99% of the entire world can only dream of I can't think of any better place in the Aegean. Final thoughts, Marcus Aurelius was a legendary Roman Emperor who followed the Greek stoics views on life. One his most famous quotes being; "It never ceases to amaze me:we love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinions more than our own". These are naturally my opinions of the Skiathos Palace Hotel but you unable to agree or disagree with me until you go there, then discover contentment as we do and then write your own review. More than 3,000 people already have and some might welcome reading yours, so what's stopping you?"