Hotel Rodos Palladium

Third stay to the Rodos Palladium and, this time again, we liked everything: great service, excellent food, beautiful outside (swimming pool, garden, beach), sleeping rooms and dinner rooms very clean, professional and smiling staff (special thanks to Nikoletta), good location. The rooms were refurbished compared to two years ago. We will come back for sure.

First off- this is emphatically NOT a 5 star hotel. There are too many silly errors and omissions for it to be a 5 star- read on if you would like the detail. It IS a very good large tourist hotel. Especially the food and the staff. Good stuff: I do not agree with negative comments about the food- I have also stayed in very many hotels throughout the world (check my over 200 reviews!) and the food in this one, for a large tourist hotel, is amongst the best. On gala night the lamb shank was brilliant! There is an amazing choice for both breakfast and dinner. The entertainment is very low key. Staff work hard to get guests to join in darts, boulle and aqua stuff throughout the day but not so hard that you feel pressurised. The evening entertainment is pretty tourist resort standard except for a saxophonist and his lady vocalist who were fabulous... The venue for the evening entertainment changes each night- the saxophonist in the main bar, the Supremes tribute band on the main stage, the 70s/80s pop evening in the beach bar. Not well attended by guests who, in the main, are fairly low key themselves. Many guests simply watch the stage from their balconies. Not many children at all but a few babies. (Just after UK school holidays.) The few children were fairly quiet and, in fact, the calm atmosphere is quite a feature of this hotel. I would guess that 90% of guests are couples. During the day around the pool there were maybe 2 or 3 inflatables- mostly with adults. Loungers were generally available all day around the pool area but get reserved on the beach and by 10am have all gone. Some become available again from about 2pm. The parasols are not moveable so the loungers do a merry dance all day as the sun moves. The staff are also excellent. Too many to mention all but Michael on the bar and special mention to waitresses Rena, and Evi and Ledia. The only hotel in 40 years of travelling where we left an sealed envelope for restaurant staff. Staff were very patient even when they are trying so hard to placate an incredulous guest who is shocked by the milk carton policy which I will explain by means of a short One Act play entirely made up by me (see 7- below) Lots of seating areas everywhere and some really cool balconies off the main bar with 4 seats and a table each, hidden by curtains and very large sliding doors. From around 2.30 the pool area calms down after the aerobics and darts and the pounding music ends. It is then beautifully calm and even very few inflatables in use ( might be different at peak times of course) The towel man will blow up your inflatable, by the way. Internet connection very flaky. Provided with a code which had to be entered every day at around 3pm. On our last day, by the pool, it disconnected every 30 mins or so. Reasons not to be a 5 star.... 1. After a long journey and arriving at a 5 star I would expect maybe a refreshing drink and/or a cold towel? Especially as we were directly booked with the hotel- not with a mass travel company. 2. I would also expect a corkscrew to open the 'free bottle of house white' in my room. Not to have to ask for one. Or maybe they could just plan ahead and have the supplier use screw tops. Reception knew what I was going to ask for as soon as I said 'the wine in my room'! 3. The resort director should at least wear a name badge, especially at his own cocktail party, and not assume that his aura of instant karma will make his identity obvious as he floats around to shake everyone's hand. 4. Fan in bathroom did not work even after reporting it. 5. Again, in common with many 5 star hotels in hot places, I would expect a bottle of water each day in my room- not just one for the week. Also to pay less than €3.80 for this essential- it is 80 cents in the supermarket. 6. The same silly 'save the world' towel policy that all hotels shout about these days but then fail to train housekeeping. So all the towels are changed anyway no matter where you leave them- sometimes twice in day. 7. Best of all- (Imagine the scenario- It is the weekly Rodos Palladium management strategy meeting...... After financial and guest feedback reports the subject of cost saving arises;) - General Manager "What small petty thing can we do this week that will give TheFeenee something to complain about?" Housekeeping Manager "Let's stop filling up the tiny plastic creamer cartons in the bedrooms on Tuesdays and Thursdays! They will have to buy milk or come down to reception in their pyjamas to ask for more!" Customer Relations Executive " Fabulous darling! But make it Saturdays and Sundays as well!" Accountant "We will save an extra 230euro a month if we don't fill for 4 days! " General Manager "Do it!" Yep- seriously. This is a hotel which beats the competition and "wins more awards than any other in Rhodes" (unquote) by not filling up the milk cartons in the rooms on 4 days every week. Pathetic and petty. So, this is a hotel which aspires to 5 star but does not achieve it because of silly penny-pinching policies which detract from what could be a knock-out resort very quickly- 1) Welcome guests with a cold drink in reception (just a juice machine would do- very little staffing required) 2) Refill the room tea/coffee each day and maybe upgrade the 'creamer' so that it tastes OK in the tea 3) Report back to the guest when they report a maintenance issue 4) If you shout about saving the world with a towel re-use policy then train the staff to support it 5) Put a bottle of water in each room, each day. This is the one which will cost money- but as you charge 3.40 for a bottle which costs 85c in the supermarket outside, you can afford it as, wholesale, they would cost the company only 40c. 6) If you give something away (the wine) don't invite criticism by not enabling customers to open it. 7) Stop the silly signs by the bed inviting guests to save the world by putting the sign on the bed to stop bed linen changes. If guests don't know when the change is due how can they use it? Pointless PR exercise. ("Virtue signalling" of the worst type) Would we go back? Yes- certainly. TheFeenee (Over 200 reviews- 40% 5 star)

Everything was amazing, and thank you for the special gifts for our Honeymoon :) Staff was very friendly and polite, food was delicious with lot of choices, the beach was nice. The massage was super good :) Thank you for everything.