"Palma Nova Palace advertised as a **** 4 definitely not more like 1 to 2 at best.
Unfortunately, this was the worst hotel experience our family has ever had, and we feel that the holiday we paid for fell significantly below the standard that was advertised and reasonably expected.
Upon arrival at the hotel, our rooms were not ready. We were instructed to leave our luggage in a storage room, however it was already full, meaning we had to remain with our luggage for several hours. This resulted in us losing valuable holiday time. The air conditioning in the reception area was also performing very poorly, making the wait extremely uncomfortable in temperatures of around 34°C.
Before travelling, I specifically requested adjoining or family rooms and contacted both TUI and the hotel several months and again several weeks before departure. I was advised that availability would be checked upon arrival. However, when we checked in, we were informed that the hotel did not have family rooms or adjoining rooms at all, only standard twin rooms. As a family of four, this meant we were separated for the duration of our holiday, which was extremely disappointing.
The air conditioning in the hotel continued to perform poorly for the first four days of our stay. Reception advised us it was undergoing maintenance, but this offered little comfort given the extremely high temperatures. On one evening it failed completely, leaving guests in the lounge visibly uncomfortable and dripping with sweat.
The pool facilities were also very disappointing. The main pool was exceptionally deep, something that was not made clear in the hotel description. Three members of our family are non-swimmers, making the main pool unsuitable for us. We therefore had to use the smaller pool, which was dirty and had an unpleasant smell. The condition of this pool was so poor that we have since had to dispose of swimwear that retained the smell despite washing.
As a result, we chose to spend several days at the beach instead, paying €41 each time for four sunbeds. We visited the beach on four occasions, resulting in an additional cost that we had not budgeted for on an all-inclusive holiday.
The room itself was also below an acceptable standard. There was rust around bath plugs and in the bathroom, the sink leaked continuously leaving the bathroom floor wet throughout our stay, and there were only two electrical sockets available in the room, which was inadequate for a family. One of our plugs hung dangerously off the wall. (I have attached pictures).
The customer service from hotel staff was equally disappointing. Whenever concerns were raised, we were met with little interest or assistance, often receiving nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders. On one occasion the hotel had completely run out of ice creams, and on another occasion there was no bottled water available to purchase which i did report and again got the shrug of the shoulders . I find it unacceptable that an all-inclusive hotel could run out of such basic items, particularly bottled water, which was not included within the all-inclusive package. Reception showed no concern when this was reported, despite the nearest shops being approximately a ten-minute walk away.
The food was another major disappointment. Afternoon and evening meal choices were extremely limited and of poor quality. We regularly found ourselves choosing between chips or leaving the hotel to pay for meals elsewhere because the options available were simply not acceptable. This completely defeated the purpose of paying for an all-inclusive holiday.
The overall atmosphere at the hotel was poor, and many of the staff were unfriendly. Bar staff would often throw change or tokens back at guests rather than handing them over politely. Evening entertainment was mainly spoken in a foreign language so we could not engage in the entertainment. He did try really hard though and was very friendly.
During our stay we met the only four other English guests in the hotel, and all of them expressed similar dissatisfaction and stated they would not return.
Overall, we spent a considerable amount of additional money during our holiday on beach facilities and meals outside the hotel because the facilities included within our all-inclusive package were not fit for purpose. This was an expense we should never have had to incur.
We booked this holiday expecting a relaxing all-inclusive family break. Instead, we experienced poor accommodation, inadequate facilities, disappointing food, additional unexpected costs and consistently poor customer service. The holiday fell well below the standard we were promised and what we reasonably expected.
We have shared our concerns with TUI but their response was "nothing can be done as we did not complain whilst on our holiday". We only had 8 days and they expected us to take time out and fight with the terrible WiFi to get in touch.
I got in contact as soon as I returned but that was their response. Absolutely shocking.
Would never return to this hotel and would definitely recommend say avoid if looking to book. Awful experience.
Palma nova itself was fantastic and the beach is gorgeous.
It's a shame that a hotel quite close to the town centre and beach would not make the effort."
