Hotel Palia Dolce Farniente

“2nd visit, some issues but overall still my favourite hotel”

Stayed in June 2025 and loved it so much I returned for 9 nights in June 2026. Firstly, I had emailed to request a specific block as it was near the main pool. Unfortunately couldn’t have that for a few nights but I thought ‘ no problem’ However, I was placed in block 6. Beautiful rooms as always b… more

Stayed in June 2025 and loved it so much I returned for 9 nights in June 2026. Firstly, I had emailed to request a specific block as it was near the main pool. Unfortunately couldn’t have that for a few nights but I thought ‘ no problem’ However, I was placed in block 6. Beautiful rooms as always but backing onto a karaoke bar that was very noisy! I think they have regular issues with this and I was not happy…thankfully I got moved to my preferred block after 3 nights. Not ideal to have to move during the holiday but I tried to make the most of it. All staff worked hard to sort this…Thank you to Hamid and the operations manager Abram for listening and sorting it out. Having said all that, I love this hotel!! Staff in reception and the restaurant were lovely. The entertainment girls…Coco, Tata and Angel…thank you for your kindness and the workouts!! The lovely guys on the bar…especially my lovely Bonio ❤️❤️ Yes there are many french holidaymakers but they were friendly and chatty, and more English this year. But people from all over which was nice to hear different languages. The food…always lots of choice! Maybe I’m not fussy but I enjoyed every meal. Lots of all inclusive drinks if you don’t care about brands (I don’t) and some fantastic shows (the flamenco was incredible 💃🏻) The rooms are all renovated to a nice standard, although the air con in my second room wasn’t great but the ceiling fan was enough for me and you soon acclimatise. All in all there was a reason I returned. The hotel is set out beautifully with pretty buildings and immaculate gardens. Enough pools to suit everyone and close enough to 2 nice coves/beaches, and plenty of shops and bars, but not so crowded as Cala d’or centre. I’ll be back next year for sure!! ❤️❤️

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“Looks were deceiving! Not at all as good as we were promised!”

Main thing to be aware of, is that this is a hotel that largely caters for French people. So pretty much everything is done in French, including the evening entertainment. Great if you speak French, but not if you don't. The swimming pools were smelly, especially the top one, the kiddies pool was… more

Main thing to be aware of, is that this is a hotel that largely caters for French people. So pretty much everything is done in French, including the evening entertainment. Great if you speak French, but not if you don't. The swimming pools were smelly, especially the top one, the kiddies pool was quite small & the adults pool wasn't really any good for actual swimming. Rooms & beds were ok. Our air-conditioning didn't work but they fixed it the same day. Food was a mixed bag. Breakfast was terrible, nothing seemed to be warm & cold baked beans are not pleasant. There was a reasonable selection of fruit & cheese/meat. Lunch was worse, it seemed to be just the previous nights dinner warmed up slightly, but evening dinners were on the whole ok. A couple of evenings the food was excellent, but the rest were just average. Beware the paella, it contains bits of broken mussel shells, which is very unpleasant. 'Local' spirits were ok (cheap supermarket brand stuff), the beer was just San Miguel, no other choices & it wasn't the best. Finally, the beach is very pretty but really tiny and gets busy early on. It's ok for a quick swim, but not much else & the parasol hire (>£15) was a bit steep for what they were & the shade they gave. Wouldn't go back!

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“Great Location and Friendly Staff, But Not Ideal for English-Speaking Guests”

We recently stayed at this hotel as a group of six (three couples) and overall had a really enjoyable holiday, but there were several aspects of the hotel that let it down. The hotel appears to be very heavily geared towards French guests. The vast majority of guests were French, and unfortunately… more

We recently stayed at this hotel as a group of six (three couples) and overall had a really enjoyable holiday, but there were several aspects of the hotel that let it down. The hotel appears to be very heavily geared towards French guests. The vast majority of guests were French, and unfortunately we found that some were not particularly welcoming towards English visitors. While this isn’t the hotel’s fault, it did make us feel somewhat excluded at times. The staff were all lovely and friendly, but many had limited English, and most of the entertainment was conducted in French. To be fair, the entertainment team did make an effort to include us and communicate in English where possible, which we appreciated. One of our rooms had significant issues. We were initially placed on the ground floor and experienced ants throughout the room, including the bathroom, countertops and even around the kettle. We were also given a wet room, which would normally have been fine, but it repeatedly flooded, with water running out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. We reported the issue and were advised that maintenance would investigate, so we stayed put until the following day. However, the combination of the flooding and ant problem became too much. Once we were moved to a first-floor room, the issues disappeared completely. There were no ants, and the bathroom was separate with a proper shower screen, making for a much more comfortable stay. The food was fairly standard and quite basic. It wasn’t really to our taste, so we chose to eat out most evenings instead. On a positive note, the pool area was always clean and well maintained. The hotel’s location is excellent, with shops, bars, restaurants and a beautiful beach all within easy reach. Overall, we had a great holiday and enjoyed our trip. I appreciate that this is a 3-star hotel, so expectations should be realistic. However, I do feel the experience would have been improved if the hotel catered more equally to guests from different countries and languages, rather than focusing so heavily on French visitors.

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