Marina Palace Hotel

Even with the weather against us, we enjoyed what this recently renovated beachfront hotel had to offer. The sea views were stunning, and breakfast on the first floor came with a lovely view too. The service was punctual and kind, with a wide buffet of sweet and savory choices. Our clean room had a balcony, sky-earth windows for access, and the main comforts, including Wi-Fi, TV, and a refrigerator. The bathroom had a finally large, spacious shower, which made a real difference. I've added this hotel to my favorites in the area and will look it up again when I return for work or a holiday. A nice experience I'd repeat.

I ordered a takeaway pizza the next day and was told it would take 5 minutes. I was skeptical about how anything in Italy could be ready in 5 minutes, unless you count Italian minutes, and it actually took 25. I stayed calm. The waitress, who seemed to be the assistant manager, said it was ready, checked my order, then handed it over. It was all wrong. Even after checking, how did that happen? I complained, and she realized she'd mixed things up and went looking for my pizza. She found it after another 5 minutes, but it was cold and unacceptable. No apology or regret, just take it or leave it. That's Marina Palace, a shame.

The rooms were spacious, clean, and very close to the beach, but the staff need to be friendlier. For a 4 star hotel, I expected better food and service. Friends who arrived the night before us had a bad experience with the dinner buffet and advised us to cancel breakfast and dinner. We spoke to the front desk, and they agreed to remove the meals from our reservation. When we were leaving, the manager at the front desk argued with us and was nearly rude. She acted as if she knew nothing about the cancellation, even though she was the person we had spoken to when we first arrived.

The kids were happy, and that made the holiday great. It's a very good spot for a relaxing trip with children. The place gets 5 stars from me even though the coffee cups were chipped, the buffet was too small for the number of people so some got food and some didn't, and the tables weren't always set.