Hotel Diana Palace

We have just returned from our 8th stay at this wonderful hotel. We first stayed in 2016 when we were looking for a holiday suitable for a family which included 2 teenagers and our son in his early 20s. I was a reluctant visitor (always having holidayed in Spain), but we fell in love with Diana Palace and its people and we have returned twice a year since then, often bringing with us additional family members or friends (something we would never do on any other holiday). If you read any of the island forums on social media, you will know that All Inclusive (AI) is a much debated subject. I will say this: if you have older children or a larger family, this makes budgeting while away a breeze. You are not precluded from eating out, but you can relax knowing drinks and food are prepaid. To the critics who allege you should eat out to support the locals, I will say that this is a family run hotel. The family live on the island, operating 4 hotels in various locations, all of which employ local staff and some from the wider Greek areas. We have stayed for various lengths of holiday, at various times during the season and every single time, the service, cleanliness, welcome and facilities have all been consistently excellent. The hotel is not huge and therefore, has a close, friendly atmosphere. It has a high percentage of repeat bookings (approximately 40% of guests book again). Many guests forge strong friendships with other guests and with the staff. It is testament to the owners that they have a very low turnover of staff, which means on returning, there are many familiar faces. For those who have read any of the negative reviews posted in the course of this summer, I would strongly advise you take them with a very large pinch of salt. Most of these reviews are from people who had their original holidays to other resorts and/or countries cancelled or changed by the tour operators because of the ever-shifting covid restrictions. If you are not used to Greece and its ways, I can appreciate it may come as a surprise. It is most definitely not Spain. If you engage with the people of the island, however, it is almost impossible not to fall in love with Zakynthos, with Argassi and most of all with Diana Palace. Never has hospitality and customer service been more exemplary. Every member of staff wants only for each guest to have the best possible stay and will do everything in their power to accommodate all requests and to rectify any problems or complaints. The standard of food is extremely high. Again, to those who have criticised the food this season, I wonder what exactly they were expecting. If you want an 'International Buffet' in the Spanish style, then yes, you will be disappointed. There is a notable absence of Anglicised food or burgers and chips. But if you love good food, made to local recipes from locally sourced produce, then you will never be short of choice or delicious meals. And if you want something not on display, PLEASE just ask the serving staff and I guarantee Chef will provide you with something to your taste. The restaurant manager and his team were extremely restricted this season in the operation of the restaurant because of all the regulations in place to safeguard against Coronavirus. No one will argue that this made a difference to the way mealtimes operated, but I applaud the whole team for working so hard to ensure everyone was still served generously and promptly. Definitely no 20 minute queues for food (something we experienced more than once in Spanish hotels long before anyone had heard of Covid). Drinks are included in the AI package from morning until 11pm. For those who made a lot of the absence of branded spirits or soft drinks, I would politely point out that not only is this clearly stipulated in the hotel description, but is in fact the norm across European AI hotels. Few companies aside from Sandals can afford to provide branded drinks. And branded spirits are available in the hotel, they are just not included in AI, but frankly the hotel prices for drinks are so beyond reasonable I don't see the problem. Want branded cola? If you buy some at the supermarket (across the street or down the road), and ask nicely, one of the super friendly bar tenders will store them in the bar refrigerator for you. There are so many good things to say about this hotel and its people. I would urge anyone thinking of booking to discount any negative reviews from this season. Nothing is normal this year and unless you have previously visited the hotel, I firmly believe you cannot honestly comment on the standard or services. It is an attractive hotel with well maintained gardens. The main pool is in the centre of the hotel overlooked by the pool bar, terrace, restaurant, and shaded seating. Sunbeds and umbrellas are readily available (no Olympic style dash at stupid o'clock every morning). In non-covid seasons, towels are available from reception on request. There is also a 2nd pool near the bottom of the hotel with its own bar facility. The pool has a children's slide and a small children's play area. Both pools have dedicated children's pools. Normally there is an extensive animation programme which runs from 10am until 11pm 6 days per week. Sadly this was much reduced and ultimately suspended this summer, but usually there are all kinds of activities for all ages, but without any pressure to join in if you just want to relax. There are a range of rooms within the hotel, from singles, to Superior doubles, family rooms (single bedroom) and family suites. Please do check with the hotel in advance of arrival if you have any specific room requests. Tour operators tend not to be very clear on what the room types mean, but the reception staff are happy to accommodate requests if at all possible by phone or email. The hotel is perfectly situated in the centre of the resort. Cross the road at the bottom gate of the hotel and you can walk straight down into the sea. Sandy areas are a little further along, and if you want large sandy beaches there are plenty on the island within easy reach. Argassi is perfect for families. A safe environment with a good selection of bars, restaurants, shops and excursion operators. From this season, the hotel has employed a full time Concierge who can assist with organising trips, hire cars, local information and anything you need to know about making the most of your holiday. Just 10 minutes' drive from the airport, it is well worth paying the €17 for a taxi rather than taking the tour operator transfer which takes much longer. If you book your room direct with the hotel, you will receive free private transfers included in the price, along with a number of other benefits not included in tour operator packages. Check the website for details, and it is also worth noting that there is a loyalty discount scheme for repeat bookings. In short, we as a family LOVE this hotel. If you do your sums, it represents great value for families, and it is such a wonderful island to make lasting memories on.

Having already had three holidays cancelled this year we finally got away between 5- 16th September , 11 nights of wall to wall sunshine at this well located and extremely well organised hotel. We had trepidations relating to the pandemic and also in relation to a raft of negative reviews which emanated just prior to departure, i did consider long and hard as to whether i should try to change hotel but thankfully decided to see first hand and so glad we did. Like all seasoned travellers i did some research and made a room request prior to travel and we were allocated as requested. A nice clean room with ample space and good balcony with an aspect to our liking . 24 hour a/c was at a supplement of 4 euros per night and well worth it. Instead of central control you are issued with a programmer handset and if you leave one of your cards in the room you return to a very chilled room. The procedural arrangements throughout the hotel with respects to Covid 19 are to be admired and whilst some seem to find the resulting limitations caused by this in the dining areas etc as a need for negativity , we were extremely thankful for the efforts that were made in order for us to feel safe and be as safe as was possible. The food is fine and plentiful and the drinks were the normal a/i standard. We found the beer was good and the gin also. What was outstanding was the staff in the dining area and in particular the two barmen Markos and Stathis who were tremendous. We attended the local tavernas on a few occasions and also the local bars. This was partly due to some of the restrictions in the hotel but equally we probably would have gone out as much anyway as any a/i becomes a bit samey after a few days. In conclusion a very good 4* hotel with exceptional staff. Difficult to rate the a/i package as there were restrictions but it seemed to us that under normal times this must be a cracking place. The room although standard was more than adequate and i dont believe the upgrade to superior at the prices quoted is worth the money. We are active OAP's who have travelled extensively across the World over the years and still enjoy a number of holidays each year and often vary the standard of accommodations we choose and this Hotel measures favourably with other 4* all inclusive Mediterranean Hotels and it is difficult to understand the validity of the negative reviews other than to come to the conclusion that they must emanate from people that expect to pay 4* star prices and expect / demand 5* accommodation and facilities or simply from people that haven't quite got to terms with the fact that the World pandemic has come at a cost to all our lives and changes have had to be made. Well done all at the hotel 5* staff.

We arrived here on 31st August for 12 nights, we where given a room above reception area facing the road, the room was fine but we did think we would find it hard to sleep due to road noise, so we decided to see how much it would be to upgrade to a ground floor superior room with pool view, the reception staff couldn’t do enough for us with dealing with our request, we paid €480 for the upgrade but was well worth it, now we where there during COVID-19 and I must say if this was COVID-19 then I would love to be here when it wasn’t, the staff here are so nice and friendly really made you feel so welcome. Food choice was more than enough, you won’t go hungry, drinks yeah they do taste funny but do what we did pay for your mixer at the bar and you will be glad you did.bar staff are excellent and so friendly, remember your name and what you drink, try the ice coffee and maybe add a baileys delicious. Superior room was fab loved the walk in shower. Want clean towels not a problem talk to reception and it gets sorted out for you. Pool area’s where great, yeah there is the early birds who get up at the crack of dawn for there beds but we never had a problem getting beds. Would I recommend this hotel yes I would we where there COVID-19 time and it was fab so looking forward to going back when this madness is over because I really cannot wait to see it and be there when things return to normal. Dianna Palace thank you for the wonderful memories