| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
Luke Kendrick from Birmingham travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and more than 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location |  | | Staff |  | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: We arrived early morning and was impressed with everything, Plenty of pools, food was good i thought this would be a great holiday.
We had a few problems with some of the drinks- somtimes the fizzy drinks just tasted vile, or salty or watered down. We believe this may be the reason that all 17 of us got ill!.
I cant complain about the food, it wasnt that bad at all, the staff were good too but there were the odd moody ones. Entertainment one word -poor. no more said.
Unfortuantly my holiday was cut short, I cut my foot on a pool light and had 2 deep cuts needing stiches. I cut my foot on a pool light that was already broken and showd me that the hotel didnt maintain the pools as i would expect.
The hotel paid for the doctor and taxi fares at least. The worst part was the cut was on the back of my foot so i couldnt wear a shoe! and no swimming and no alcohol as i was on pain killers.
In general, im was glad to come home. I would revisit the place though as the first 4-5 days were fantastic.
Click here for more information on this hotel, resort and region
|
| |
Scott from Edinburgh travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
freedom direct
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Great "Greek 5 star hotel" amazing staff (apart from one moaning bar man) Lovely food my parents were staying at Norida and we paid the 5 euros per day to share some meals etc... with them and only ate in their main restaurant once as it was poor quality with far to many Germans pushing in the que our restaurant was chilled out and relaxing.
Location didn't bother us as there was many buses to town and taxis were cheap.
Entertainment as far as animation staff was a bit rubbish but we enjoyed it never the less and the club and pub were great!! Pedalo's were free and so were canoes.
Water sports were ridiculously extortionate 20 euros per person on the banana boat!!!
This I cannot understand and when I queried this with the water sports boss man he claimed there was a fuel crisis and shortage in Greece. (hahaha)
All in all would definitely return one day but for a longer visit.
|
| |
mrs geddes from dalbeattie travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
findmeaccom.com
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2006 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: After reading previous reports we went to this hotel with an open mind and were pleasantly surprised.
Arrived 5.30am in the morning and were greeted by pleasant staff who helped with cases to room (which was only up a small hill).
Room was spacious and clean and had a pool directly outside door as well as a larger one down one flight of steps with plenty of sunbeds.
Food was fine, plenty of choice and nothing that was out at lunch was repeated at night. Staff were friendly, especially with the kids. When we were there the entertainment was low key and held in hotel rather than ampitheatre however Mini disco was a big hit with the kids, and the animation girl who did it was great.
Hotel was located quite far out of Kardamena however this caused us no problem as we were looking for a relaxing holiday and could easily get the bus in to town for next to nothing.
Would definitely consider going back.
|
| |
Jane Foster from Cambridge travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
Fleetway
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just returned from a week at this hotel which was booked at the 11th hour due to cancellation of Kos Aqua Beach. Fleetway travel very helpful.
The hotel is rated as a 5* but I would say it is more a 4*. First impression was that the hotel was very clear and the staff friendly. We arrived early hours of the morning and were directed to our room which was situated at the top of the hill. A bit difficult to find but once there was very pleased with it.
Spacious room with kingsize bed plenty of cupboard space and we also had the benefit of an extra bedroom although there was only the 2 of us. Fridge was stocked with water, soft drinks, couple of beers and wine on arrival. We found this adequate and it was restocked every other day although we didn't use it much.
The hotel is about 8 or 9 years old and it is now beginning to show its age with doors and such on the rooms needing refurbishment other than that the rooms were clean and well kept daily. Food was ample and adequate with enough choice and the staff in the dining room were very attentive. The breakfast was basic and a wider selection of fruit would have helped. The hotel is situated some way out of town. It took us 1 hour to walk there.
Also due to the way the hotel is built on a hill it is not suitable for people with walking difficulties. Quite a few steps although there was a lift down to the beach. Several swimming pools are situated around the site of the hotel and beach towels were provided. A 10E deposit was taken for these and returned at the end of the holiday.
Plenty of sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach with a bar serving drinks and snacks. Canoes and pedalos were also available free of charge and extra charges made for all other motor sports.
I probably wouldn't return to this hotel again due to its location although there was a free courtesy bus that ran into town in the morning and afternoon/evening. If you just want a chill out holiday then this hotel is fine but would suggest it is more geared up for couples rather than families. Entertainment was very limited but that didn't bother us.
|
| |
|
|
mrs m mould from stoke-on-trent travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
sunstar leisure
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2006 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We had a fantastic holiday. The hotel is really clean. They seem to be constantly cleaning up. We loved the food, but we love all kinds of food, fish, meat salads, sauces. I think this is hotel is more suited to adults and if you have children the Norida or the Family Village would suit you better.
I love the beach it shelves very quickly so young children would need to be watched, but snorkling is great and lots of fish come to feed if you take a piece of bread in with you. We have stayed at the Norida before but there were more children there which is why we chose the Summer Palace.
The only problem with the hotel is some of the people who visit it and leave rubbish about and have no regard for others but you get them everywhere you go.I would definately go back again. Can anyone tell me where in the UK (if they minused off the flight cost) they can go all inclusive, with sunshine for the price we paid, I doubt it.
|
| |
Poole from Weston Super Mare travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
Airtours
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2006 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel was Kept clean although washing the floors in reception at 4.30 in the afternoon may be considered hazadous.
Accomodation was spacious with sea views. Air conditioning was one small unit in the main room. Nothing in the second bedroom.
Minibar was stock every 2 days but 1.5litres of bottled water was not enough for 3 people for 2 days.We had to buy extra water in the supermarket.
Hotel general maintenance was starting to show its age. Poorly fitting doors.
Food was well cooked but lacked imagination similar food each day. Food hygine was good dishes were being replaced regularly even if not empty.
Hotel is on the side of a Hill so may not suit elderly or unfit people. We were unlucky and got a room at the top of the hill and the paths were paved with shiny ceramic tiles. These were dangerous to walk down so had to walk in the road.
Staff were very friendly and helpfull.
The entertainment was sadly lacking There were a few games arranged on the beach during the day. The evening show was in an area by the indoor swimming pool which could only hold 50/60 people. The entertainment was in German and aimed at their humour. We only went to the show once and walked out after 10 mins. It was very base. There was no drive from the entertainment staff to get you go to the show.
Overall this was not a 4Star Plus hotel. If you want sit in the Sun By the pool or beach all day and drink in the Bar at night then it is OK. If you expect Entertainment then you may be disappointed.
|
| |
Simon Foster from Brixham , Devon travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
Sunstar leisure
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel had just opened for the season and we were some of the first people to arrive, the staff could not do enough for you, very polite and courteous.
The hotel staff were walking around all day mopping and cleaning, our room as cleaned and made every day of our stay.
We did not visit the entertainment so should not comment.
This is not suitable for wheelchairs or people who can't manahe steps so go and book some where else.
We used the facilities in the sister hotel in Kos town for free and the Norida beach hotel too.
Our experience has been excellent.
|
| |
emily from staines travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
sunstar
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: A nightmare. Never book with sunstar again. No help at all.
Everyone was a liar, the rep, the staff.
We called sunstar in the uk from kos everything they told us was a lie. We had saved for this holiday all year and it was a joke!
When we got back (70)hours late! And contacted sunstar they said we wear the only ones who had complained (a liar) we contacted every one who was out there with us as we took there details and found they had the same letter as us.
The hotel is no 5* more 2 star (dont go).
|
| |
Rachel Roberts from Manchester travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
Sun Star Leisure
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We visited the Summer Palace Hotel in July this year and have never been so disappionted in a hotel.
The Hotel and Bedrooms were very clean. The Large Salt Water Pool was dirty with black greesy residue around the side, the vents in the bottom of the pool had slats missing out of them, and one day very soon their is going to be a serious accident or loss of life when somebody gets there foot stuck in it, we would not let our children in it, the same goes for the indoor pool, which had the same problem with broken slats, missing mosaic tiles, and the lights from inside the pool regually floating around on their electrical wires.
The food was just o.k but was visited by lots of flies so was very off putting, Our son spent the last 5 days of the holiday with sickness and the runs and the first 2 days back home as well, which either was contracted from the dirty pool or the snacks which were Ham and Cheese Sandwiches these were left out in the heat on a tray from morning until night the only other snack available was Hot dogs.
When were arrived at the hotel you could get any alcaholic drink from any of the bars, this was with drawn on day 5, and only beer (which must not be alcholic drinks in Kos !!) and soft drinks where available at pool bar and beach bar, If you wanted anything else you had to go to the main bar in the hotel reception.
The entertainment was very poor with the animation team trying to sell you raffle and bingo tickets every night, there is not any room in this hotel for evening entertainment everybody squashed into a small hot room under the reception area. The Hotel Reception Staff are very rude and very unhelpful.
When we booked our holiday we were told that we could use the facilities of The Norida Beach, on arrival we were told that we had to Pay 5E per person per day to use the hotel. The Italian Resturant was o.k the first 2 times we booked in (you do this the day before) but the menu is the same lunch and evening and after day 5 men could have a beer but ladies its soft drinks only, waiter made pass at me and when it was made clear to him that I had no interest the service was rubbish after that anyway, we ate out in a couple of nice resturants in Kardamena, but were forced to stay in when our son became very ill.
The Rep was absolutley rubbish and never followed up any complaints in fact after she promised to look into the various complaints we never saw her again at all !!. We saw her at the welcome meeting so she could try and sell the trips !.
The Chinese Resturant at the Norida Beach is very nice we ate a good meal in there after we found a Norida Beach wrist band in one of the pools, again book the day before. The night club Da Boom was enjoyed by our son until he became very ill.
The cable car down to the beach broke down on a regular basis so beware if you are on the beach and it breaks !! even when working there are still a lot of steps down to water. If you should have a complaint and ask to see the manager he was never available and the reception staff suddenly were unable to speak English.
We have stayed in 5 Star Hotels in Greece, Turkey and Spain before and have never been unhappy, we wanted to come home. We did not hear one good word about this hotel from any other visitor. DONT GO ! Its a 2 star at best.
|
| |
|
|
dave from cardiff travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
airtours
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2005 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just came back from the Summer Palace and I do not think I went to the same hotel as some of you on here. Had a great time the food, staff, drink were all fine and the room was very nice with a very good seaview.
|
| |
Ken Humphries from Maldon travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
Sunstar
on a family holiday.
There were 6 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2005 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Having read some previous reviews on this hotel we were expecting the worse but were pleasantly surprised.
I think we were lucky with our room allocation which was not too far from the reception/restaurant etc and the rooms were spacious and clean. The reception had not been informed that one of our rooms needed a cot but they kindly arranged one pretty quickly even though it was quite late at night.
The sea views are spectacular from most of the rooms and from the restaurant and main pool.
The food is perfectly edible but very much the same choice every time and we found the dining room clean and all the staff (with the exception of the maitre d')very friendly. We enjoyed our two meals in the Italian restaurant which made a nice change of venue.
We did not attend any of the entertainment so cannot comment.
Definitely not a place for young children or those with walking problems because of the steep slopes and many stairs. Families with children would be much better off in the Norida Beach complex which has much better facilities for the the kids (and has just had the reception area refurbished).
Kardamena was too English for us but we did get some good food at Scala and some very nice wine at Mojo's (ask Peter for his organic house wine). Should also mention the Malibu beach bar on the coast road between the hotel and the town (about 45 mins walk) - great music, very warm welcome and a nice pool to cool off in. All the locals were exceptionally friendly.
All in all we had a very good holiday - this is not English 5-star after all and we felt it was well worth the money but should probably have stayed at the Norida.
One possible pitfall is Kos airport which clearly cannot cope with the volume of traffic. We were very lucky both in and out with very short delays but on the way back there were long queues to get into the airport for some flights. It is worth checking what the line is for rather than just join the end of it since we managed to bypass this as it was not for our destination. I assume the situation will only get worse as the season builds up.
|
| |
Carole Bates from Brierley Hill travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
Air Tours
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2005 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Having not been All Inclusive before we thought we would give Summer Palace a try, in the brochure it looked very inviting.
Although the brochure did say there were a lot of steps, we didn't think there would be quite so many, even with the lift to the beach you still had steps and a steep slope. Getting the cases back to the Reception at the end of the holiday was a nightmare, this should not happen in a 5 Star Hotel.
The Dining Room was pleasant but there was not nearly enough variety in food, definately not 5 Star.
The alcoholic drinks were rubbish and we saw the bottles being filled up from 25 litre plastic containers, again not 5 Star.
The journey to and from the Airport was a nightmare the journey to the Hotel took about 1.30 hours instead of 10 minutes and the journey back took about 1 hour.
We cannot comment on the entertainment because we didn't choose to be involved.
|
| |
Lesley Freshwater from Wales travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
Sunstar Leisure
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2005 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We had a super holiday, the the hotel, staff and food were fantastic.
The staff couldn't have done any more for us.
|
| |
Lorraine Sharman from Bracknell Berkshire travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
Sunstar
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2005 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Worst holiday I have ever been on could not wait to get home. Booked for Norida Beach but on arrival was told hotel was not ready due to storm damage - total lie it was being decorated for new season!
Summer Palace more 2* than 5* ants in our room and no running hot water, food terrible same things everyday started to eat out in the end after people started to go down with what I can only assume was food poisoning!
Bar service absolute rubbish 30 mins to get a drink gave up on that as well in the end.
No entertainment whatsoever unless you can call the dream team dressing up in drag and trying to sell us bingo tickets entertainment!!
Flight time home changed 4 times thought world war 3 was going to break out in reception, reps totally useless about as much use as a chocolate tea pot!!
Flight home absolute nightmare, no plane to take us until an old jolloppy of a plane turned up 1hr late, was sat at back of plane near engine and had the absolute horrors when the captain climbed up on a ladder and started to tinker around with a screwdriver on a panel next to the engine!! 90 mins later we were on our way only to be told 2hrs later that we were diverting to Vienna due to problems with the navigation system!! Absolute horrors again! Another 90 minutes sat on the tarmac finally arrived at Gatwick 2hrs later, have never been so glad to be on solid ground, very distressing flight 3.5 hour flight turned into a hellish 8.5hrs, felt sorry for the people who had to stay on board to go to Manchester.
Would never ever book with Sunstar again holiday was totally ruined thanks to them!!
|
| |
Kelvin Cook from Egham travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
SunStar Leisure
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2005 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: On arriving at the airport we were met by the rep for Sunstar Leisure to be told due to storm damage to the pool at the Norida Beach Hotel we will be staying at the Summer Palace instead this we found out the next day to be a lie as the hotel was shut due to finishing touches to the complex.
On the journey to our hotel we had to stop off and let a couple of people out at another hotel as the coach driver was reversing a tree branch hit and came through the back window almost hitting a family of four who were sitting on the back seat how nobody was injured god only knows the driver took no notice and started to drive off only to be met with shouts of stop from most of the people on the coach.
The rep was hopeless it seemed to me all he wanted to do was to get us all to our hotel so he could get home as it was now around 3am in the morning.
Once inside the Summer Palace we were met by a cue of around sixty people all trying to check in, my wife asked if their was any tea or coffee available only to be told it was in your room (another lie) after about an hour we were checked in, once in the room no tea or coffee making facilities there.
The hotel was clean but not 5 star in my opinion.
After a sleep we had a walk around the complex it looked ok. That evening we had a meal in the restaurant which was nothing special the bar only had one person serving so it was not uncommon to cue for twenty minutes for a drink after two nights of this we decided to go out for our evening meal and drinks.
We were due to leave the hotel on Sunday the 8th of may at 03.45 in the morning but when I received the flight tickets the time had changed to 19.30 of the 7th of may, on the Friday evening I noticed a lot of people around our tour desk so I went to see what was going on only to be told our flight time had been changed and we had to be out of the hotel and on the coach for the airport for 05.30 on the Saturday morning of the 7th losing a whole day of our holiday so we could catch an 8'oclock flight home (another lie).
I asked the rep (Dougie) if he would speak to the hotel reception and authorise a phone call back to England as my car was in a off airport car park but he declined and said I would have to pay for the call. Once checked in at Kos nobody from the tour company was to be seen and no information was given to nobody, at around 10.am two hours after our departure time a Greek aircraft landed Alexander Air we were told this was our aircraft once boarded the craft we were told it was going to fly to Gatwick first then on to Manchester (another lie).
Its now around 12'oclock and we are taking off, after a couple of hours in the air the captain told the passengers the aircraft had to do a detour to Vienna for radar problems, this was a scheduled stop for maintaince already planned but again we were kept in the dark so after two hours on the ground at Vienna we were back on the move.
Lets not forget we had only been offered a small airline breakfast no more food was available. We arrived at Gatwick around 4pm. So from 05.30 until 16.00 we were only given a small breakfast I find this unacceptable. I would never again consider travelling with Sunstar Leisure as the reps were useless and support from them was nil.
|
| |
Margaret & Doug White from Hartlepool travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
Sunstar Leisure
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2005 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We had originally booked for family village but were told on landing in Kos that we had been upgraded to 5 star summer palace hotel. Great we thought till we got to hotel, then were in a long queue for half an hour waiting for keys and wrist bands then had to wait for porter to show us our room.
When he arrived he told us we were only downstairs when we got there key would not open room door another half hour later where given another key for a room upstairs, no problem great views, problem very noisy people on our floor slamming doors at all hours of the night and shouting their goodnights in very loud german.
Cleaners arrived very early and very noisey. Entertainment not very good food much of the same all week.
|
| |
geoff tucker from whitehaven travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
sunster leisure
on a couples holiday.
There were 1 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2005 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The flights and transfers were trouble free but arriving at the hotel at 2 am we were faced with large queues to check in. The porter showing us to our rooms got lost and we wandered around the hotel finally finding our room about 4 am.
A 5 star hotel raises expectations on food, comfort and standards of service. The summer palace fails miserably on all counts.
Those with walking difficulties should be aware that there are many steps at different levels of the hotel as all the rooms are very spread out on these levels. There are no lifts to take you up and down to the different levels.
The food is poor quality and quantity with long queues at peak times for service at the grill. The food at the buffet is not covered and visited by flies and sparrows. There were frequent shortages of bread, plates and eggs etc. The variety of food was very poor, the same foods being served at several mealtimes, and if you had children with you, there was very limited choice.
The furniture in reception was torn and tatty and the area smelled strongly of chlorine from the indoor pool. This was the only comfortable area to have a drink but understaffing resulted in waits of up to 30 min for a drink. People started ordering double quantities but a notice appeared on the bar restricting customers to two drinks.
The Italian restaurant could not produce a small salad within 30 min and the staff were reduced to asking the guests what they had ordered as their system had failed.
If you are a smoker the hotel imposes a 5% surcharge on credit card purchases of tobacco, some of the shops in Kardamena impose a 2% surcharge, beware.
Kardamena appeared small but pleasant and was just opening up for the season.
Our flight was cancelled with a delay of 22 hours, resulting in a riot with the Sunstar leisure reps unable to cope. We were given assurances from the reps that we could keep our rooms on at no extra charge and details would be confirmed by reception at 10 am the next day. At 10 am Sunday we were told by reception we had to pay 40 euros to keep our rooms. This was greeted by another near riot. Sunstar leisure took another hour to confirm to the hotel that they would pay the bill.
At 2 am the bus turned up for the airport transfer to pick up passengers for Manchester but despite phone calls from the driver no reps turned up. The Gatwick passengers poured on to the bus and the driver left for the airport leaving some behind. There were no reps at the airport, we had been abandoned by sunstar leisure.
This was a holiday from hell. We paid the money and expected better.
|
| |
dunn from glasgow travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
global sun
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2004 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel is 10 minutes from the airport which is handy. It's situated about 4 miles outside Kardemena and is part of a group of 3 hotels which I believe are all, all inclusive, although your all inclusive doesn’t extend to these hotels.
The hotel looks fab and if you get a sea view it is quite fab especially because there are no rooms above or below you. 4 of us went on holiday and the kids had their own adjoining room.
Rooms were cleaned every day and the drinks fridge was filled every day.
There are about 8 pools and the beach, the main pool which is on the brochure is salt water, but there is a very nice freshwater pool higher up in the complex with Diana’s bar very close.
The breakfasts and lunches are perfect, dinners are ok but there tends to be a lot of fried food which is very oily.
Drinks are in the price Lowenbrau is the beer which is served in small glasses or plastic cups depending on where you are. My advice would be to give the bar staff a tip and you might just get a smile out of them, they all appeared miserable.
There is absolutely nothing to do at night, no entertainment at all. The problem with the hotel is a few years ago you paid for drinks etc, now it's all inclusive so they have your money and it would appear that they would prefer if you left the hotel after dinner to find your own entertainment.
As a result I would go back to Kardamena for the weather but not this hotel.
|
| |
Rob Jackson from Dunstable travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
Sun Star
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2004 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I booked a last minute holiday with Sun Star to the Summer Palace hotel in Kos, unfortunately the company they used to supply the flights (Golden Sun) went bust 5 days before we were to leave but we managed to get some excellent flights with Thomas Cook although the flight times were terrible.
Stansted to Kos 21:30 arriving 03:15 and leaving 04:15 arriving Stansted 06:00. We hired a couple of Taxis at 18 euro each to the Hotel.
The Hotel is on a Mitsis complex containing 3 hotels, Summer Palace and Norida both 5 star rated and the Family village 4 star rated.
The complex is located about 10 minutes bus ride from Cardamina and sits at the foot of some breath taking mountains over looking the sea. Summer Palace has approx 250 rooms at least half are a chalet style in a type of village arrangement with five swimming pools dotted around.
As the hotel is on a hill side there are many steps to negotiate between the rooms and pools there, is a pool side bar well located in the middle which is able to serve all the pools with out to far to walk. There are another two pools 1 is indoors and the other is a salt-water pool located on a terrace over looking the sea, with a poolside Italian restaurant.
As the hotel is located on a hill side it is difficult for the disabled or anyone who finds walking up hill or stairs slightly difficult. To get to the beach you need to negotiate a large number of steep steps although there is a lift down to the beech, it may be worth noting there is only one and if that’s out of order walking is the only other way down to the beach.
The rooms are air conditioned and nicely decorated with fruit and wine awaiting your arrival and a free mini bar containing two bottles of water, two bottles of beer, two bottles of Pepsi and two bottles of Fanta replenished each day.
The food is typically Greek with a huge variety to choose from and of a good standard although whilst we were there a number of English people complained that there was no English food laid on for their children.
It is worth remembering you are in Greece, if English food is what you require I would suggest Bognor would be a more appropriate destination. That said the snacks, which are supposed to be laid on, were pretty much nonexistent. We eat well at meal times so this wasn't a problem for us but the fact that we were unable to get a toasted sandwich or something of that nature around the pools was extremely frustrating as we were under the impression this was an 'Ultra All Inclusive' holiday, Hot dogs were available on the beach, but this is a long way to go if you are sitting by the pools.
Drinks were good, however the only beer available was Lowenbrau and the only named drinks were Martini Campari and Johnny Walker, sometimes Smirnoff was available but had to be specifically asked for, other types were available under a Greek name.
Unfortunately we did feel the evening entertainment let the hotel down, as there really wasn't an adequate place to hold such things, two nights of the week guest are required to walk down the hill to the Norida for their evening entertainment.
There is a very poor table tennis table with ripped up bats and an equally poor pool table.
That said we had a wonderfully relaxing holiday and the Hotel was good and I would recommend it, but not for the slightly infirm. It is also worth remembering this is a 5 star hotel in Greece not a 5 star hotel in London so please do not make these sort of comparisons as there are none.
|
| |
Claire from Kent travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
Sun Star
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I went last year, and I thought the hotel was gorgeous!!! The room was lovely and the AC was really refreshing!
Rooms were cleaned everyday and were spotless
Food was good - lots of variety.
The location of the hotel is right at the end of Kos and is very calm and peaceful.
The staff were very friendly but sometimes did get fed up and stressed.
There were plenty of pools (8 in total) so you could chose the pool that was closest to your room. Was really hot when I went but with a nice cool breeze.
While I was there, we hired a car and went to bubble beach! It was amazing! All little bubbles come up from the bottom of the sea and sea was really warm.
Also drove into Kos Town and went around the shops - if you are thinking of going to this hotel I would recommend that you hire a car or bike! Kos is quiet a small Island that you can drive around everywhere in a day trip - amazing!
I also went to Turkey for the day and that was really good - good value for money!
Kardemna is a nice town - got plenty of things to do and it there is a coach that takes you and picks you up - no charge!
Entertainment could be a bit better - but what do you expect from an all Inclusive that is 5 stars?? Entertainment is always better a slightly lower rated hotels.
Excellent holiday am going back next year with my friends, Kos in Breath-taking.
|
| |
Silke Hoffmeister from Erba travelled to Summer Palace Hotel with
Francorosso
on a family holiday.
There were 5 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2004 |
rated the Summer Palace Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Our "vacation" at the Summer Palace in Kos has been a nightmare (vomiting, diarea etc.) and we would need to get in touch with other people who had been there.
Thanks.
Silke
|
| |
Subscribe For FREE Updates
Sunny Says there
are 22 visitors online