Royal Hotel and Suites

I stayed at this hotel with two friends, expecting a 4-star experience, but it was barely 2 stars. The room was nothing like the photos—those likely only show the luxury suites with private pools. Our room was outdated, the air conditioner leaked, and the bathroom was dirty with no ventilation. The food was awful. The buffet was the same every night, with minimal fresh fruit or vegetables. My vegetarian friend was stuck eating just salad or spaghetti for every meal, and snacks throughout the day were limited to poor-quality meat options. The cocktails came from a machine, loaded with sugar, and tasted artificial. When I tried to take photos of the food, I was told this wasn’t allowed, raising serious concerns about their transparency. The staff were unhelpful and rude, especially when we asked about vegetarian options or the dinner menu. Oddly, one of the stars had been removed from the hotel’s rating sign, which speaks volumes. The pool was much smaller than pictured, and we could see into the “private” pools, which never got any sun. The hotel also seemed to be a family home, with relatives constantly around the pool, which felt intrusive and unprofessional for a supposed 4-star resort. In short, listen to the 1-star reviews—they’re accurate. We ended up eating out every night and wouldn’t recommend this hotel to anyone.

Arrived late on 28/9 for a week here - not having appreciated that the resort was winding down and many things closing on the Monday 30th September. Due to late arrival, evening food was a sandwich and a welcome drink at the bar. We had a family room which was very comfortable and well appointed with a good walk in shower, kitchen area, double bedroom with its own courtyard as we were on the ground floor. Breakfast which was had a delightful selection of food was eaten out on the terrace which was lovely and evening meal in the same area. Always plenty of choice, or local and international food, salads, desserts, starters and always a special being cooked up by the chef in the kitchen - some nights fish, others barbecue/mixed grill. Service at the bar - usually had wine with dinner was always pleasant and wines were a delight. We had a faulty kettle which we only spotted on the first morning and this was swiftly replaced and apology for the inconvenience. The receptionist was very informative about local buses, markets, and places to visit which we did on several days as the choice of restaurants on the local beach reduced each day. The first day we visited the beach we'd assumed the closed shops were due to it being a Sunday. People were dismantling sunshades/sunbeds on the beach they said due to the high winds but some said they said they were packing up for the season hence getting on buses to go further afield. Waiting for buses was a pain - as there was often several hours between buses and some 'resorts' further down the coast had even less open than Polychrono as several buses had been cancelled from the timetable. The beach had sharp grit to travel over to get into the sea so worth packing jelly shoes. There were several in it but the lifeguards also packed up 30/9 and took their equipment so with a real hefty current/heavy waves, didn't look particularly safe on windier days. The hotel's private beach advertised in the brochure was deserted both times we visited. We had to ask reception where it was - right at the end of the resort beach but due to the wind, the foam sun loungers had blown across the beach and the bins were full so it didn't give the good impression we'd seen in website/literature. There were other places to sit on the beach under shade weather still warm enough to while away the hours. The hotel had several families as well as couples despite being term time and we rarely saw anyone in the two swimming pools. There was a private function in the grounds on the Sunday with many families attending. We avoided the bar/pool area due to the amount of people who smoked there. There was a larger garden area beyond our room if people wanted to make use of that and rooms had their balcony/courtyard. There were magazines and books in reception forming a holiday library to read, return or swap - which I used. I'd happily recommend the hotel, its facilities, service, staff (always friendly) and location - just

Everything was fine with this hotel, they have a good all-inclusive option, and it's a short walk to the beach. I see a lot of positive reviews have been written about the hotel, so I won't add anything there. The problem is with the town, Polychrono, which really lacks character; there's nothing old or interesting. The beach is really narrow, there are free parts (without sunbeds), but they're really crowded. Of course, once you get into the water it's wonderful, but the beach itself is not an attractive place to relax. Also it seems that about 80% of the town's guests are Serbian, some from Macedonia. Of course I've nothing against Serbs, but it's not so nice when one nationality is so dominant. All in all, there are many more charming places in Chalkidiki.