Hotel reviews Hotel Theartemis Palace - reviews submitted from HolidayCheck travellers in Rethymno

Yvonne

On website great - in real life very disappoiting

2.8 / 6
Hotel not recommended
Friends
Beach holiday
September 2012

On paper/website great- in real life very disappointing. No way is this a 4 Star hotel! My friend and I stayed here for a girly holiday from 24th September to 3rd October, after reading the many great reviews on here, we decided to book 9 days half board. On arrival we were told they reserved a nice room for us in the Annex (separated from the main hotel by a road) but closest to the beach. Unfortunately there was only a double bed in this room, but they told us the only other rooms with twin beds available were towards ... the main road. We had previously read that those rooms are not good, as the road is so busy and very noisy, so we agreed to take the room with the double bed. Bed was not very comfortable as the mattress was hard as a rock and for a double bed it was very narrow, so only good that my friend and I get on well. Our room was a duplex on the 4th floor of the annex and the bed was basically right under the ceiling. Unfortunately the air-conditioning unit was fixed at the height of the floor of the bedroom part and since hot air rises and cold air stays low, you can just imagine how very hot it was in the bedroom part. There are some small windows next to the bed, which we managed to open, after the hotel staff showed us how to. However, as soon as a window was open the aircon switches off and the air coming in was not cool enough. The room was at best a basic 3 star, very old and tiny TVs, fridge was not very cold and no ice department. No mini bar, no kettle or tea/coffee facilities. Cleanliness was adequate with clean sheets and towels everyday and floors were swept and wiped daily as well. Water pressure in the shower/bath was quite good also. The balcony was very nice with a good view over to the main hotel and the mountains. The balcony door however could not be closed securely so we were a bit afraid someone from next door could climb over the low balcony wall and could then come into our room at any time- luckily this did not happen. Be aware that the hotel facilities look a lot better in the photos than in real life. Everything is a lot smaller and darker. The gym is just a corner of a conference room without aircon and very old looking fitness equipment, that doesn’t look safe to use- so we didn’t even try. The food had fantastic review on most review sites so we were expecting some nice treats. Unfortunately the food was one of the biggest disappointments during this holiday: Breakfast was served in the main restaurant and even though advertised as open until 10am, if you get there about 9.15am there won’t be any cups left, hardly any of the fruits left and most importantly all the hot breakfast items, such as fried eggs, pancakes etc., are already cold (at best lukewarm) even though they are kept on a hot plate. The waiters seem more interested in clearing tables than actually providing a service to the customers, so instead of waiting forever until one of the waiters came round with the Coffee, we just took some cups from the waiters station and helped ourselves. The tables were often not laid fully, so we also had to get our own cutlery etc. At first glance the choice of food looks good, but when you can’t eat any of the “hot stuff” because it is cold and most of the fruit is cheap canned fruit, then there really isn’t much left to choose from. We’ve been to many other 4 star hotels and most of them offered fresh eggs of all types to order. Fruit is usually a good selection of fresh local produce and if any canned fruit then only prunes and peaches to add to cereal. Even the honey was a disappointment as it was tasteless and overly sweet, and this in Crete which is famous for its tasty thyme honey… Dinner was served in 2 restaurants, but half board guests had to go to the small and dark restaurant next to the Pool Bar. The lighting was so dark you could not see the food on your table properly. The salad table was quite good and had a good choice of ready mixed salads or separate items you could dress yourself. The hot food however was a disgrace. There is no way this was 4 Star standard. This is what I call canteen food. Overcooked vegetables with ready-made and tasteless sauces. Meat was tough and fatty. Even the Greek specialities didn’t have any of the famous flavours and we were very disappointed. The sweets looked amazing, however most of them were so sweet and sickly artificial-tasting you couldn’t eat them. The best were the Baklava varieties. There were no drinks included with half board at dinnertime, not even water or coffee and tea to have with your dessert. If you wanted any you would have to order this and pay for it. The restaurant staff, although smiling and superficially friendly when they came to your table, seemed miserable and constantly busy clearing tables so you had to wait forever to order your drinks. There was no interaction possible with the waiters, which added to a rather dark and miserable atmosphere in this restaurant. We checked out the food in the main restaurant, which at Dinner was reserved for all-inclusive guest only, but the food there was exactly the same. The only difference for all-inclusive was that there was a drinks table with beer, wine and soft drinks. Be aware that all these drinks come from barrel-type containers and appear to be mixed with water. All 3 wines taste exactly the same, the beer hardly tasted of beer but was so bubbly as if it was mixed with Soda water, Coke was “no name” and flat syrup. We complained to our Rep on day 3 as we paid so much money for this supposedly 4 Star which at best was a bad 3 Star. The Rep seemed very arrogant and uncooperative but in the end offered us a free upgrade to all-inclusive for the rest of our stay. This didn’t change the quality of the food, but at least we no longer needed to spend any money on drinks and could sit in the nicer restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately even the bar drinks were disappointing as the Cocktails were pre-mixed and extra sweet, none of the liquors were branded names and if you had any mixed with that flat sweet coke, it spoilt the taste of any drink anyway. Ouzo and Gin & Tonic and Coffee were the only decent drinks there so we tried to make the most of it and had lots of those. By the way, the water seems to be tap water, so you may be better off buying bottled water at the Spar round the corner if you don’t want to get an upset tummy. The evening entertainment was okay but much more suited to the mostly elderly guests at this hotel. Average age was about 65 so with our 32 years of age we felt quite out of place so walked into downtown most nights, but even there the nightlife was disappointing. Hundreds of places to eat and drink but not many places dance (the locals mainly stand around smoke and drink). The weather was the best about our holiday and even though the beach is not the most attractive with a backdrop of a nasty looking concrete wall and hundreds of ants crawling along the wall and in the shady parts of the beach, it was okay when you laid on an inflatable (protected from the ants) and looked out over the bay (beautiful view), so this is where we spent all our days. I can recommend a bus trip to the South side of the Island, which is stunning. Crete seems a beautiful Island I think we were just unlucky with the hotel. read more

Room
3.0

see above, aircon not placed at the right place...therefore bedroom hot all day/night
Gastronomy
2.0

see above, bad variety, hot breakfast items cold, bad quality
Service
2.0

see above, waiters too busy clearing tables and not addressable for the customer
Sport & Entertainment
2.0

see above, gym in a dark room without aircon, not inviting
Hotel
2.0

On paper/website great- in real life very disappointing. No way is this a 4 Star hotel! My friend and I stayed here for a girly holiday from 24th September to 3rd October, after reading the many great reviews on here, we decided to book 9 days half board. On arrival we were told they reserved a nice room for us in the Annex (separated from the main hotel by a road) but closest to the beach. Unfortunately there was only a double bed in this room, but they told us the only other rooms with twin beds available were towards the main road. We had previously read that those rooms are not good, as the road is so busy and very noisy, so we agreed to take the room with the double bed. Bed was not very comfortable as the mattress was hard as a rock and for a double bed it was very narrow, so only good that my friend and I get on well. Our room was a duplex on the 4th floor of the annex and the bed was basically right under the ceiling. Unfortunately the air-conditioning unit was fixed at the height of the floor of the bedroom part and since hot air rises and cold air stays low, you can just imagine how very hot it was in the bedroom part. There are some small windows next to the bed, which we managed to open, after the hotel staff showed us how to. However, as soon as a window was open the aircon switches off and the air coming in was not cool enough. The room was at best a basic 3 star, very old and tiny TVs, fridge was not very cold and no ice department. No mini bar, no kettle or tea/coffee facilities. Cleanliness was adequate with clean sheets and towels everyday and floors were swept and wiped daily as well. Water pressure in the shower/bath was quite good also. The balcony was very nice with a good view over to the main hotel and the mountains. The balcony door however could not be closed securely so we were a bit afraid someone from next door could climb over the low balcony wall and could then come into our room at any time- luckily this did not happen. Be aware that the hotel facilities look a lot better in the photos than in real life. Everything is a lot smaller and darker. The gym is just a corner of a conference room without aircon and very old looking fitness equipment, that doesn’t look safe to use- so we didn’t even try. The food had fantastic review on most review sites so we were expecting some nice treats. Unfortunately the food was one of the biggest disappointments during this holiday: Breakfast was served in the main restaurant and even though advertised as open until 10am, if you get there about 9.15am there won’t be any cups left, hardly any of the fruits left and most importantly all the hot breakfast items, such as fried eggs, pancakes etc., are already cold (at best lukewarm) even though they are kept on a hot plate. The waiters seem more interested in clearing tables than actually providing a service to the customers, so instead of waiting forever until one of the waiters came round with the Coffee, we just took some cups from the waiters station and helped ourselves. The tables were often not laid fully, so we also had to get our own cutlery etc. At first glance the choice of food looks good, but when you can’t eat any of the “hot stuff” because it is cold and most of the fruit is cheap canned fruit, then there really isn’t much left to choose from. We’ve been to many other 4 star hotels and most of them offered fresh eggs of all types to order. Fruit is usually a good selection of fresh local produce and if any canned fruit then only prunes and peaches to add to cereal. Even the honey was a disappointment as it was tasteless and overly sweet, and this in Crete which is famous for its tasty thyme honey… Dinner was served in 2 restaurants, but half board guests had to go to the small and dark restaurant next to the Pool Bar. The lighting was so dark you could not see the food on your table properly. The salad table was quite good and had a good choice of ready mixed salads or separate items you could dress yourself. The hot food however was a disgrace. There is no way this was 4 Star standard. This is what I call canteen food. Overcooked vegetables with ready-made and tasteless sauces. Meat was tough and fatty. Even the Greek specialities didn’t have any of the famous flavours and we were very disappointed. The sweets looked amazing, however most of them were so sweet and sickly artificial-tasting you couldn’t eat them. The best were the Baklava varieties. There were no drinks included with half board at dinnertime, not even water or coffee and tea to have with your dessert. If you wanted any you would have to order this and pay for it. The restaurant staff, although smiling and superficially friendly when they came to your table, seemed miserable and constantly busy clearing tables so you had to wait forever to order your drinks. There was no interaction possible with the waiters, which added to a rather dark and miserable atmosphere in this restaurant. We checked out the food in the main restaurant, which at Dinner was reserved for all-inclusive guest only, but the food there was exactly the same. The only difference for all-inclusive was that there was a drinks table with beer, wine and soft drinks. Be aware that all these drinks come from barrel-type containers and appear to be mixed with water. All 3 wines taste exactly the same, the beer hardly tasted of beer but was so bubbly as if it was mixed with Soda water, Coke was “no name” and flat syrup. We complained to our Rep on day 3 as we paid so much money for this supposedly 4 Star which at best was a bad 3 Star. The Rep seemed very arrogant and uncooperative but in the end offered us a free upgrade to all-inclusive for the rest of our stay. This didn’t change the quality of the food, but at least we no longer needed to spend any money on drinks and could sit in the nicer restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately even the bar drinks were disappointing as the Cocktails were pre-mixed and extra sweet, none of the liquors were branded names and if you had any mixed with that flat sweet coke, it spoilt the taste of any drink anyway. Ouzo and Gin & Tonic and Coffee were the only decent drinks there so we tried to make the most of it and had lots of those. By the way, the water seems to be tap water, so you may be better off buying bottled water at the Spar round the corner if you don’t want to get an upset tummy. The evening entertainment was okay but much more suited to the mostly elderly guests at this hotel. Average age was about 65 so with our 32 years of age we felt quite out of place so walked into downtown most nights, but even there the nightlife was disappointing. Hundreds of places to eat and drink but not many places dance (the locals mainly stand around smoke and drink). The weather was the best about our holiday and even though the beach is not the most attractive with a backdrop of a nasty looking concrete wall and hundreds of ants crawling along the wall and in the shady parts of the beach, it was okay when you laid on an inflatable (protected from the ants) and looked out over the bay (beautiful view), so this is where we spent all our days. I can recommend a bus trip to the South side of the Island, which is stunning. Crete seems a beautiful Island I think we were just unlucky with the hotel.
Location
6.0

close to beach and to old town

Hotel Theartemis Palace(3.5 stars)

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Hotel Theartemis Palace^{(3.5 stars)}