Palmera Beach

I stayed at Palmera Beach Hotel for three nights on an all-inclusive basis, including my birthday. There were some genuinely lovely aspects to my stay, particularly my room and sea view, but unfortunately the overall experience didn't feel as polished or luxurious as I had expected from a four-star adults-only hotel.

The biggest positive was my Superior Sea View room. It was modern, comfortable and had a genuinely fantastic uninterrupted view over the sea. Waking up to the water immediately outside was wonderful, and the balcony was easily my favourite part of the hotel.

The location will depend heavily on what you're looking for. The hotel is directly on the seafront, which gives the sea-view rooms a fantastic outlook, but it is also in the very busy Hersonissos resort area, surrounded by bars, restaurants and nightlife. There is fairly constant noise from the seafront street: general activity and commotion starts in the morning, while in the evenings there is music and noise from people outside until quite late. This didn't personally disturb my sleep as I routinely wear earplugs, but I think it's worth mentioning for anyone choosing the hotel specifically for a relaxing break or who is sensitive to noise. The beach immediately outside is extremely small, and the hotel beach loungers were an additional charge during my stay.

I was also disappointed by the communal outdoor facilities. The swimming pool is extremely small and tucked away between buildings, while the main garden is essentially a lawn with loungers. There is a gym and an upper terrace with a lovely view, but these were surprisingly difficult to find. I only discovered them after deliberately exploring the hotel on my final evening; the upper area required using a different lift and there was very little obvious signage. Overall, the facilities felt fragmented rather than forming the relaxing resort environment I had expected.

Parking was another significant frustration. The hotel car park was full throughout my entire three-night stay, so every time I used my hire car I had to find street parking in the surrounding busy roads.

The all-inclusive food was mixed. Some meals were enjoyable and it was very convenient, particularly when I first arrived, but quality was inconsistent. The evening buffet appeared to have different themed cuisines each night. Ironically, my weakest meal was on the Greek evening, when freshly cooked pork souvlaki was so tough that I couldn't eat it. Drinks were similarly inconsistent, including one particularly poor cocktail.

My biggest disappointment, however, was the service. There were a few members of staff whom I found genuinely kind, warm and welcoming, and I don't want to overlook them. Unfortunately, that wasn't representative of the majority of my interactions.

On several occasions I stood at the pool bar for some time without being acknowledged while staff were sitting and drinking/socialising with guests. At times it wasn't immediately obvious who was actually working. On another occasion I waited while the staff member apparently serving at the bar flicked through sports channels on the television, again without acknowledging me.

I also asked at the indoor bar whether there was somewhere I could refill my water bottle before going out. The staff member sighed, told me to wait, and then continued eating his lunch while I stood there. After several minutes I gave up and asked at reception instead. I was initially asked why I needed to fill a bottle because I was all-inclusive. When I explained that I was going out, I was eventually directed to the pool bar to collect small plastic bottles of water. I used these for the rest of my stay, although it seems an unnecessarily wasteful solution to a simple request for drinking water.

I don't expect formal or overly attentive service and am perfectly happy with friendly, informal hospitality. What bothered me was repeatedly having to actively seek someone's attention simply to be served or obtain basic information, often without any acknowledgement while I waited.

I also booked a two-hour treatment at Palmera Zen Spa. I appreciate that the spa may be operated separately, but it is marketed as part of the hotel experience and the hotel itself contacted me after booking to promote spa treatments.

Unfortunately, the coordination between hotel and spa was poor from the outset. The hotel emailed me offering 10% off a pre-booked spa treatment and gave me its reservations email as the contact. When I emailed that address, rather than forwarding my enquiry or copying in the spa, I was simply told to contact Spa Manager Nikos separately. Nikos then initially told me that the promotion the hotel had just sent me had actually expired in February 2025. After I sent him the promotional email, the communication issue was acknowledged and I was offered an hour in the private spa area as a goodwill gesture, which I appreciated.

There was then a further booking problem on the day of my treatment. My appointment had been explicitly confirmed by email for 11:00, with instructions to arrive ten minutes beforehand. I arrived at 10:50 and was told by the therapists that they had my booking recorded for 12:00. I showed them my confirmation and, as I didn't particularly mind waiting, offered to return at 12:00. They agreed and thanked me.

I then went to the hotel reception to work out how to pay, as I hadn't been given any information about payment beforehand. This was when I spoke to Nikos. I explained that I had arrived for my confirmed 11:00 appointment, the therapists had it recorded as 12:00, and they had agreed that I could return then. His response was that if I came back at 12:00, my treatment would be cancelled.

I had to explain repeatedly that I was not asking to move my appointment: I had arrived on time and had simply agreed to the solution proposed by the therapists. Eventually Nikos said he would come downstairs to speak to them.

After completing the required form, I was taken into the private spa area but still wasn't given an explanation of what was happening. I specifically asked what was going on and was simply told that I could “detox” and that the therapist would collect me when she was ready. I found the interaction confusing and his manner throughout quite patronising.

It was only when the therapist eventually collected me that somebody clearly explained the situation. She told me that she was allergic to one of the products normally used for the Marine Iconic treatment, so the treatment needed to be adapted. The body massage would use normal massage oil while the appropriate products could still be used for the facial. I had absolutely no problem with this adaptation. It was a perfectly reasonable solution and could have been explained to me very simply from the beginning.

Importantly, the therapist herself was excellent and my eventual treatment was very good. She was warm and professional, and the necessary adaptation didn't detract from the experience at all. My criticism is of the management, communication and lack of coordination surrounding the spa rather than the treatment itself. I have reviewed the spa separately with more detail.

Overall, Palmera has some strong ingredients: a fantastic seafront position, a beautiful view from the right rooms, comfortable accommodation, some lovely individual members of staff and an excellent spa therapist. Unfortunately, the small and poorly integrated outdoor facilities, unavailable parking, inconsistent food and drinks, confusing wayfinding, uneven service and poor coordination with the spa meant that the overall experience didn't live up to the four-star impression I had expected.

I had originally planned to stay for two nights but extended my booking to three because I wanted a little extra luxury around my birthday. In hindsight, I wish I had stuck with the original two nights. I enjoyed aspects of my stay, especially the room and view, but I wouldn't personally choose Palmera again for a relaxing resort-style break.

We arrived after midnight and were greeted by a friendly and helpful receptionist who immediately made us feel welcome. Every member of staff we encountered was super polite and helpful. The room was checked and tidied every day and we always had clean towels and fresh shampoo etc. The local beaches are not great because of their compact size and crowded nature, so we spent most of our time in the lovely garden by the pool. Loungers were always available and super comfortable. We went all inclusive and the food was AMAZING! Every meal was full of choice and everything was delicious. The desserts were to die for. Huge praise to the chefs and waiting staff. On our last day they allowed us to use the pool and garden long after our checkout time and we're even happy to let us use towels and showers in the spa before we went to the airport. We felt really valued and looked after all week. A brilliant hotel experience.

We had room 735, the stqy was beyond incredible. From room, to staff, to location. Everything was like a dream. We had reserved with half pension, breakfast and dinner. Dinner was different foods from different origins every night. Brilliantly done! With tasty deserts! Absolutely exquisite! One of the best buffet I've ever had the pleasure of eating. Get there early enough and you might find one of the windows seats to have dinner while watching the sea. All in all, amazing! Will be visiting again!!