Hipotels Playa de Palma Palace

“We have stayed in many five-star hotels over the years, including several Iberostar properties, and this was the first time we left feeling that the pool was managed more like a controlled zone than a place to relax. The issue was not the existence of rules. Every hotel has them, and we respect them. The problem was that a blanket prohibition on all recreational inflatable items—including a small mesh water hammock—was only discovered after arrival. Had we known this before booking, we would simply have chosen a different hotel. What disappointed us most was not the rule itself, but the way the situation was handled. Instead of a customer-focused discussion, every response repeated the same policy while avoiding our questions about when and how this restriction was communicated before booking. As the author of Don’t Just Guard, I couldn’t help smiling at the irony: after spending years writing about life behind secure doors, I finally found a swimming pool with stricter supervision than some correctional facilities. The hotel is modern, clean and professionally maintained, but guest experience is about more than beautiful buildings. Transparency before booking and a willingness to engage with reasonable customer questions matter just as much. If you simply want to swim, you will probably enjoy your stay. If relaxing on any type of inflatable floating lounger is part of your holiday, ask the hotel in writing before you book.”

“Our overall experience at this hotel was satisfactory. The hotel is well located and has several positive aspects. However, there are a few areas that need improvement. The staff at the breakfast buffet can be quite stressful and often give the impression that they want guests to leave as quickly as possible. One waitress in particular, whose name I will not mention, was especially unpleasant. My family and I only had dinner at the hotel once, and the experience was slightly better than breakfast. We were served by a Senegalese waitress who was extremely kind and professional, and I would like to sincerely thank her for her excellent service. The spa area was nice, with plenty of activities and facilities to enjoy. However, there was an issue with the towels: once downstairs, guests are essentially stuck and unable to go back upstairs while wet, which is quite inconvenient. The reception staff were friendly and clearly did their best to assist guests. However, it was apparent that their training may not have been adequate, as they sometimes seemed unprepared to handle certain situations. Overall, the hotel has a number of strengths, particularly its location, but unfortunately, the various inconveniences we experienced mean that we would not consider returning in the future.”

“We had already paid £480 online through Trip.com for a double room for 3 nights. However, upon arrival, the hotel demanded an additional €400 simply because a second guest would be staying in the room. What made this even more unreasonable was that I checked the exact same room type on multiple other dates, and the price was identical whether selecting 1 adult or 2 adults. The listing itself also clearly indicated that the room rate included accommodation for 2 adults. Despite this, the hotel still charged an extra €400 at check-in. This additional amount only included breakfast and city tax for the second guest - there was absolutely no room upgrade, no extra bed, and no additional service provided. In fact, the amount charged was so excessive that it was close to the price of booking an entirely separate room. At check-in, the hotel stated that if we refused to pay, the second guest would not be allowed to stay. We tried multiple times to communicate with the hotel in a polite and constructive way, but there was no flexibility or reasonable attempt to resolve the issue. I completely understand paying reasonable extra charges for breaktast or local taxes, but the way this situation was handled felt extremely unfair and poorly communicated in advance. Trip.com customer service was actually very helptul throughout the process and even provided compensation themselves, which we appreciated. Unfortunately, the hotel remained unwilling to address the situation fairly. The property itself may be nice, but this experience left us feeling disappointed, uncomfortable, and taken advantage of. Transparency and fairness in pricing are essential, especially for international travelers.”

“It’s for the first time when i write a negative review, but I feel other guests should be aware of our experience. We booked our family holiday through Booking.com. After our arrival, the hotel informed us that an additional charge of €982 was required for our 8-year-old child. My complaint is not only about the amount charged, but mainly about the way the situation was handled. I asked the hotel to allow me time to contact Booking.com and resolve the issue through the platform where I had made the reservation. Instead, I was told that if I did not pay immediately, the police would be called. A receptionist was then instructed to accompany me to my room while I collected the money. I found this humiliating and unnecessary. My child witnessed everything and became frightened. During the discussion, I was told that the hotel’s priority was to make money. Those words perfectly reflected how we felt we were being treated. After our stay, I asked the hotel several reasonable questions, including why I was not allowed to resolve the matter through Booking.com, why there was such a large difference in the charge compared with another family travelling with us, and why a receptionist had to accompany me to my room. None of these questions were answered. We chose this hotel expecting a relaxing family holiday. Unfortunately, this incident overshadowed our stay and left us deeply disappointed. I hope the hotel will improve the way it treats its guests in similar situations.”

“We stayed here as a family of 3 with a baby and overall happy with the hotel and our time here for 3 nights. The staff were all very friendly, well presented and they would fulfil your request quite efficiently once raised which will be mentioned shortly. The lobby was beautiful, very clean, tidy and open space with high ceilings which felt welcoming. The highlight and the best part of this hotel would be the buffet, the selection and the quality of the food was great, there is something for everyone. Though the rules of men having to wear long trousers for dinner I feel is unnecessary as it doesn't really match the atmosphere, regardless of outfit, I think as long as you don't wear swim wear to dining then it shouldnt be an issue of how you dress, that is just my own opinion. The swimming pool indoors and outdoor is spacious and clean, very relaxing with more than enough sun loungers around. The option of ordering drinks to your sun lounger was nice but service was very slow and it was difficult to flag someone to place an order for your drinks, would be nice if the staff could be more accessible in those areas to take orders as the drinks were lovely and refreshing. I wouldn't rate this as a 5 star hotel and more of a 4 star hotel, the reason being: There is no shuttle service, compared to many other hotels that are classed as 4/5 stars who normally offer this. Upon check in, they don't offer to bring the luggages to your room and the lifts are really slow, there are only 2 lifts to operate the entire building and on one of the days, one of the lift was out of service. Most times it took almost 15 minutes of waiting for the lift to go down to breakfast. The reception was very friendly but didn't explain what the hotel has to offer, I know you can read it up once you get to the room and it is on the room TV but it's a nice touch when speaking to the guest upon arrival. When we booked this hotel we specifically selected and requested a baby cot, however that was not in our room on arrival, saying that, once we informed reception about it they sent someone to bring in the cot within half an hour. We had the room with the jacuzzi on the balcony, as a 5 star hotel, you would expect there to be decent amenities in the room, they had Ritual branded shower gel, shampoo, hand soap however, there were no shower cap, hair band, toothbrush with toothpaste, disposable shaver etc, the usual things you normally get at a 5 star hotel. Other than that, we were pleased with our room as it was clean, enough space, and amazing sea and pool view. They did use 2 small double beds joined together to create a king size bed if that bothers you then bear that in mind. Beds are very comfy and we did have good sleep the whole time, no noise outside that's a plus. When using the spa, you need to get a key from the reception to use the locker which was not mentioned to us, so you would find that you walked all the way to spa and have to go walk back to the reception to get a key, it's on the same floor but it isn't exactly close by, there should be an actual reception where the spa actually is located to makes things easier. The changing rooms are quite small and there was only one disabled /baby changing room there, lucky the spa was empty when we went in the afternoon otherwise you would have issues getting a space to change. Spa itself is nice and has all the facilities you would need, it's also very clean and water temperatures were good. You get a nice view of the outdoor pool too and alot of sunlight coming in. The beach is very close, 5 minutes walk from the hotel, do not expect this to be a family friendly beach nearby as all around the hotel outside was full of football fans chanting and shouting for the whole time we were here anyway. Once you step out of the hotel, the area surrounding isn't classy at all, so it feels like the hotel is located in the wrong area. Overall it is a good hotel and I do recommend it, but definitely wouldn't class it as a 5 star hotel but I'm sure with some improvements they can achieve it.”