Royal Palace

This property about 2 hours outside Bratislava is known for its Thermal spring and Spa. We arrived around lunchtime and were welcomed with a drink whilst the staff took care of the check-in formalities and parked the car. The room was very spacious and nicely furnished overlooking the square in front of the hotel. The hotel has its own Thermal bath and a luxurious dining room with live music. The meals featured local dishes and a wide selection of local wines. The staff was very friendly and took pride in their job. A hidden gem that has found a place in our travel plans when in this part of Slovenia.

We were a party of 8 including 4 children, in 3 rooms in August 2021. The hotel public areas and rooms are attractive with adequate space. The Spa is outstanding, and I really mean it, proper world class Spa. Treatments were included with an itinerary in the price of the room. The breakfast was very good. The more senior staff, notably Pavol and Dada were excellent and tried their best to address some of our concerns below. Housekeeping was patchy. For example, the tea, coffee, sugar wasn't replenished, no milk provided for tea/coffee, towels sometimes replaced, sometimes not etc. But the major let down was the evening meal. Firstly, the hotel expected guests to order their evening meal 24 hours in advance which is ludicrous. Even with 24 hours notice they couldn't turn out a decent meal. A couple of examples. Very small pieces of fish fillet, served with boiled vegetables, no sauce. The fish had been cooked and kept warm so it was completely dry. Burger and chips, with a tasteless burger and flabby chips. Crepe Suzette that was simply inedible, bread that had been cut hours before serving and was stale. Apparently there were only 2 chefs in the kitchen, plus the head chef when he was working which wasn't often. The hotel said they had problems hiring due to COVID, but we didn't have similar issues in any other hotel or restaurant in Slovakia. So that's 2 chefs trying to cook for more than 80 people. If the restaurant is important to you, go somewhere else.