BO Hotel Palazzo

"I stayed at this hotel more than ten years ago and remember it as a beautiful and well-maintained property. Unfortunately, our experience on this visit was very different. We booked connecting rooms, described as a suite. Rather than making general judgments, I think it is fairest simply to list what we personally experienced during our stay. The negatives • Room cleanliness: On arrival, the rooms did not appear to have been thoroughly cleaned. We found hair in the bathroom. • Toilet brush: The toilet brush in the bathroom was visibly dirty, which was unpleasant to find in a freshly prepared hotel room. • Bathroom sink: The sink did not drain properly. Water remained in the basin and drained away very slowly. • Shower/bathroom floor: Every time the shower was used, a significant amount of water spread across the bathroom floor, creating a large puddle that had to be dealt with after showering. • Towels: On at least one occasion after housekeeping, we were left without the towels we needed. • Tea/coffee cups: Used cups were not consistently cleaned or replaced when the room was serviced. • Air conditioning: The air conditioning ran continuously and we were unable to switch it off or properly control it from the room. • Outdoor swimming pool: We observed pigeon droppings in the outdoor swimming pool. Regardless of how or when they got there, this is something we would expect to be noticed and dealt with promptly at a four-star property. • General maintenance: There were visibly broken, damaged or worn items both inside the rooms and elsewhere around the hotel. • Exterior appearance: Even smaller details suggest that the property is not being maintained to the same standard I remember. For example, the exterior lighting is a mixture of yellow and white lights rather than a consistent installation. None of these points relates to personal taste, décor preferences or expectations of luxury. They are simply factual observations concerning cleanliness, housekeeping, maintenance and basic room facilities during our stay. The positives There are, however, some important positives that deserve to be mentioned. The location remains excellent. This was one of the great qualities of the hotel in the past, and it still is today. I would also particularly like to recognise two members of staff who stood out for all the right reasons. The gentleman driving the minivan/shuttle to and from the parking area was exceptionally kind, helpful and welcoming. Always smiling, always supportive and with a genuinely warm approach towards guests. His attitude made a real difference and is exactly the kind of hospitality you hope to experience at a hotel. The gentleman working at reception in the morning was also excellent — professional, helpful, approachable and exactly what you would expect from a very good receptionist. A genuine thank you and applause to both of them. Their attitude and level of service stood out very positively during our stay and should be recognised. Overall This was particularly disappointing because I stayed here more than ten years ago and have very positive memories of the hotel from that time. It was a beautiful property, which is one of the reasons I chose to return. Hotels naturally age, and interiors and styles change over time. That is completely understandable. However, proper cleaning, functioning bathroom facilities, sufficient towels, clean cups, controllable room temperature, maintained facilities and a clean swimming pool are reasonable expectations for any hotel — particularly one operating as a four-star property. The excellent location and the two members of staff mentioned above were the clear positives of our stay. Unfortunately, based on what we personally experienced, the condition of the property, maintenance and standard of housekeeping did not match the four-star standard we expected. Sadly, my impression of the hotel today is very different from the one I had after my previous stay more than ten years ago."

"If you are thinking of coming to stay here please don’t bother ! We have stayed before and throughly enjoyed our experience so much so we have come Back . Based on our last experience we booked a classic room which matched the description exactly on the website this time however we seem to have been shoved in a renovated office space which is basically located in the office area of the hotel ! It’s been done on a budget and bears no resemblance to the ‘classic room ‘ we have enjoyed before , upon arrival we did specially ask if this was classed as a classic and were assure d it was … it isn’t … alongside the room being horrible the air con does not work again we had to question this and were told we hadn’t given it enough time to cool down but that it wouldn’t go below 22degrees it’s constantly stuck at 25degrees and we have been in the room for 3 hours solid and it does not budge . We then proceed to think don’t let all this spoil our holiday and started to get ready for an evening out , the shower basically flooded the entire bathroom and if the door wasn’t shut would have flooded the ‘not a classic , classic room ‘ we had to use all the towels just to ensure we didn’t slip and kill our selves on our first night , granted after speaking to reception who said there was nothing they could do apart from replace our towels , which they did but didn’t bother to remove any of the fully sodden towels or mop the floor ! I’m not sure I come away to spend time wiping the bathroom floor so we don’t slip but that’s exactly what I had to do upon returning from our night out … back to no towels !!! Like I said don’t bother !!"

"The hotel shuttle driver broke my suitcase beyond repair, and his response "I don't care”. When we reported it to the hotel management, the driver tried to cover it up by falsely accusing us of using slurs, and despite repeated attempts to resolve this, management never contacted me like the front staff said they would. On the morning of checkout, the hotel shuttle driver loaded our luggage while we were still inside checking out. Our backpacks were over the extended suitcase handles, and he loaded everything as-is rather than removing them and retracting the handles. During the drive, we could hear the luggage repeatedly toppling over. When we arrived, all the bags had fallen over and the telescoping mechanism on my suitcase was completely cracked and broken. I could no longer properly roll or pull it. The hotel later told me suitcase handles should be retracted during transportation to prevent exactly this type of damage. I agree, but their driver was the one who loaded our luggage. We weren't even outside when he did it. In fact, we had taken the same shuttle with the same luggage the previous day, and that driver correctly loaded thr bags into the shuttle. The front desk also told me afterward that the driver involved in this incident was new. Accidents happen. What was unacceptable was the response. When the driver saw the damage, there was no apology, no concern and no attempt to help. Instead, he repeatedly told us he “didn't care.” For comparison, the previous day's shuttle driver had gotten lost while trying to pick us up. When he eventually found us, he immediately apologized. That's how we would have expected this situation to be handled as well. Instead, we later learned that the driver alleged my partner had called him a derogatory slur relating to people with disabilities. This categorically did not happen. Neither of us insulted or disrespected him at any point. We have family members with disabilities and would never use that language. I found such a serious and completely untrue accusation incredibly upsetting. Despite all of this, I gave the hotel multiple opportunities to resolve the situation privately. I was told management would be in the following morning and that someone would call me. Nobody did. I followed up multiple times on WhatsApp, called the front desk again, and eventually sent management a detailed email. Nobody from management ever contacted me. A damaged suitcase could have been an unfortunate accident. The driver's dismissive behavior, the subsequent false accusation, and management's complete lack of follow-up took this to a whole other level."