Kresten Palace

So after reading some of the reviews was apprehensive about this hotel! I needn’t have worried. Yes some of the negatives are true but it didn’t have any affect on our holiday. Arrived late at night and check in was slow and with only one person at reception and a lot of us arriving at the same time, it seemed to take forever although that is not the receptionist’s fault just bad luck. I knew there was a room tax but wasn’t expecting 10 euros per room per night so as ours was a family room it was 100 euros but people in front of us had 4 rooms and had to pay an extra 400 euros. There was a notice on the reception desk and they charge different nightly tax for different months. Most of the year is 3 euros a night but June July and august jumps to 10 euros - what a con! But again not the hotel’s fault personally! It does add to the cost of your holiday. We’d booked a family room which was meant to be one big room with a double bed, a partition then 2 single beds and one bathroom, from the photos it looked very new and modern. We got given a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom plus a lounge area room which we saw as a bonus especially the 2 bathrooms between 4 of us. It was clean but definitely needs some improvement in the bathrooms, they need a refurbishment but it served our purpose but definitely more 3 star for them, rusty tap fittings, tiles in poor condition etc. The only toiletries suppled were a shower gel dispenser which as others have said is quite unusual for a 4 star hotel. We always bring our own anyway so was not a problem. The shower drainage was awful and you think it might overflow but one shower was okay, we’d then give it 5 minutes to drain away before the next person jumped in. The bedroom itself was fine although the bed sheets don’t tuck in under the mattress just loose on top so by the morning I was just sleeping on the mattress which I really didn’t like. We had a ground floor garden terrace with a table and 2 chairs on each terrace. These terrace rooms really need an airer to hang your pool towels on. Room had a safe but you had to pay per night for that too. This brings me on to the wifi. It is free in public areas but is pretty non existent at the pool except the pool bar and restaurant. Quite intermittent while sitting on your sunbed! You had to pay for the wifi in your room which to me is a negative. I did know from the reviews this was the case but luckily eu roaming was on our mobile package so we just used our 4g as you do at home. A 4 star hotel really should provide free wifi though throughout and it should work everywhere which it doesn’t. The pool. It’s beautiful with plenty of sunbeds. I’d go down at 8am before breakfast and there were plenty to choose from so there was no setting alarm clock to rush down to get them which was really nice. The pool bar drinks very reasonable priced. Pool restaurant very good with plenty of choice and good service and again very reasonable prices. One negative here is that the pool toilets need to be cleaned regularly during the day. The restaurant. Bit mixed here, breakfast was good, same everyday but so much to choose from you could always have different things. Dinner, I was really worried about this after previous reviews knowing I’d booked half board. It was fine, plenty to choose from, it wasn’t piping hot but buffets never are but it was hot. They have 3 theme nights a week, Italian, Greek and Asian and all were very good. We’d already decided to eat out if the food was that bad but we ate out 4 nights of the 10 just to change it up a bit and was nice to be served. On previous reviews people expect soft drinks and water to be given for free but I’ve never been to a half board hotel that does this and I’d expect to pay for drinks. Again they were reasonably priced. The entertainment team work their socks off from 10am till late at night. My son did table tennis, darts, volleyball but there was yoga at 10am every day, aqua aerobics, mini golf, boules - lots if you or kids want to join in. The staff are all friendly and polite. Nikki and margarita in the main restaurant stand out a mile and always gave an amazing service. An absolute asset to the hotel. There was one thing, tables weren’t cleared quick enough either whilst eating or when people had left - a definite negative as you’d walk in for either breakfast and dinner and very often have to sit at a dirty table and ask for it to be cleared but Nikki and Margarita were always there to help. There’s not much around but a 15 minute walk from hotel takes you to a few restaurants and bars which suited us. The buses outside the hotel can take you to Rhodes town for 2.50 euros or you can get a taxi from reception. Rhodes old town is beautiful with lots of shops and restaurants, we went twice it was that good. A special mention to Neena and Eleni at reception, they sorted out a late checkout and a problem I had with our return transfer. They were so polite, friendly and helpful. Another incredible asset to the hotel. Someone had not written a nice review on here about neena and it could not be further from the truth, she was amazing to me! Thank you for a lovely holiday Kresten Palace. Sent from my iPhone

We had a wonderful time at this hotel! The food was delicious, the surroundings were beautiful and relaxing. A big thank you to Antonis, Fedra, Dabu, and Eleni – the best staff ever! Very friendly and professional. We felt truly welcome. Thank you so much – see you again!

We arrived at the hotel for a two-day vacation, the vendor we booked the hotel through did not make sure that our reservation was confirmed, as a result we experienced two stressful and humiliating days with the hotel staff. I would like to thank the girls at the reception: Pamela and Nena for the kind and tolerant service, and for all the help