Skiathos Palace Hotel

"As a family, we had a lovely holiday at Skiathos Palace. The Breakfast had good choice of food and the tables were in the open air and a wonderful view. Katerina and Yiannas were our smiley Breakfast helpers, with Sophia on hand too. The hotel puts a shuttle bus to the beach and also to Skiathos town. They were a godsend. The rooms are clean and comfortable, with housekeeping come in daily. Our air con was good too. There is a kettle and mugs in the room, but no tea or coffee, but no problem, I took my own and got milk from the one of the Supermarkets at bus stops 23 and 24, These bus stops were also easy for some lovely Tavernas, far more like Greek tavernas used be. The hotel doesn't have any lifts, but kept us fit. I feel I don't have any mobility problems ( just older) but found the steps down and up from the road, both from reception and the better ones from near apartment 138 were difficult to navigate with bags.. All they both need is a full handrail not just partial one, and I wouldn't of worried about them, as they are very steep and I felt very unsteady ( hence only 4 stars) Most of the staff were friendly, Dimitria (Customer Relations) was very helpful and kind and always a smile, and excellent at her job. Our Grandchildren got so much pleasure from the pool. It was large, clean and warm and we got free pool towels from the little shop in the lovely little play area of the hotel. Thank you Skiathos Palace, for a lovely holiday. We have visited Skiathos over the last 32 years and have seen it slowly grow in tourism. The growth in the last 5 years is unbelievable and I fear it it is losing its charm with this tourist explosion. The airport visibly is suffering from the increased pressures of more tourism, it was like hell on earth."

"Skiathos Palace Hotel Review The only genuinely good thing about this hotel is the view. The setting is beautiful and the views across Skiathos are fantastic, but unfortunately that’s where the positives end for us. I stay in hotels every working week of my life because my job involves working away from home, so I’m used to seeing a wide range of hotels and standards. That’s why I feel pretty confident saying this hotel is advertised as a 4-star hotel, but in my opinion it is nowhere near the standard I would expect from a 4-star property. It feels dated and tired in places and the overall experience simply doesn’t match the rating or the price you pay. And don’t expect proper air conditioning just because it’s advertised. Ours was more like an 80-year-old man who’s been smoking for 70 years trying to blow cold air across the room. It makes a noise, gives it a good go, but actually cooling the room seems to be asking far too much. And before anyone says maybe we just had a bad room — we actually had two different rooms. We had to move because of a water leak from the room above us, and the air conditioning in the second room was exactly the same. So this certainly didn’t seem like a one-off problem. Then there’s the tea and coffee situation. You get a kettle and mugs in the room... and that's it. No tea, no coffee, no milk and no sugar. So don’t wake up in the morning expecting to make yourself a brew unless you’ve brought everything with you. This is honestly the first hotel I’ve ever stayed in where they provide a kettle and mugs but nothing to actually make a drink with. For somewhere claiming this sort of star rating, it’s such a basic thing to get wrong. The drink prices are also extortionate. A large beer is €7, and I asked for a double whisky and Coke only to find out it would have been €26 for Famous Grouse. Needless to say, I gave that one a miss. In the end, we actually started eating and drinking away from the hotel, because the prices simply didn’t reflect the quality you would expect for what you are paying. There is much better food and drink available elsewhere on the island, often at far more reasonable prices. Thankfully, getting away from the hotel is really easy. The bus system on Skiathos is excellent, with buses running roughly every 10–15 minutes, and there is a stop right outside the hotel. That became a real positive for us because it meant we could easily head out and find much better places to eat and drink. Another strange decision is the dark decking around the pool area. In the Greek sun it gets absolutely roasting, so walking barefoot to and from the pool is basically like walking across lava. Not exactly what you want around a swimming pool, especially if you’ve got children. One thing I think people really need to know before booking is that there are no lifts in the hotel. If you have a disability or struggle with stairs or mobility, I would seriously think twice before booking. The layout means many of the rooms are below the pool and dining areas, so getting around involves a lot of steps and changes in level. In my opinion, getting around this hotel could be extremely difficult for anyone with reduced mobility. The hotel also makes a big thing of having a “private beach”, but don’t book expecting some exclusive private stretch of coastline. Greek beaches and shoreline are generally public-use areas, so the wording is a little misleading in my opinion. And even though you are staying at the hotel, don’t expect the sun loungers on the beach to be included — you still have to pay extra for the privilege of using them. For a hotel charging these sorts of prices, I would have expected beach loungers for guests to be included. To make things even more frustrating, for tourist-tax purposes it is apparently being treated as a 5-star hotel, meaning you end up paying the higher tourist tax rate as well. So somehow it’s not good enough to feel like a 4-star hotel, yet when it comes to paying the tax, suddenly it’s a 5-star! The views are stunning, but unfortunately a great view alone does not make a 4 or 5-star hotel. I definitely wouldn’t return based on our experience."

"We had a fabulous time at this hotel. We stayed in a beautiful room with a hot tub and had the most fantastic views. The staff were lovely, we couldn't ask for more. We had a problem with the hot tub and this was sorted the next morning. The complimenty bus shuttle to town was brilliant. The food standard was not 5 *, but we always found something we liked. We had a wonderful time and made some fantastic memories."