Before arriving at the hotel, I was a little anxious about what to expect. Most upmarket hotels in the greek countryside are paying so much effort to offer a traditional style and so little attention to the real needs of a traveller. The Xenia Palace was a pleasant surprise, offering modern, luxurious amenities and roustic touches, just in the right (at least for me) portion.

The hotel is located at the entry of the traditional village of Portaria, just some minutes walk from the main square. Its architecture implies that it was built during the 60s, combining modernistic style of that period and traditional elements.

Our room, on the 2nd floor and facing the mountains, was in the right size and well equipped. The furniture, although nothing really impressive, was not bad. The king size bed was really comfortable. The bathroom was a bit small but it did have a bathtub. The well sized balcony, with comfortable chairs, was a nice place to relax, looking at the village and the mountains. On the positive side the presence of free wifi internet (although a bit slow). On the negative, the bad soundproofing: one could hear what people in the room next door were saying.

Breakfast was served at a nice, well decorated hall and a nice veranda next to it, with view to the pool. The variety offered was wider than in many 5 star hotels of well known chains. What is more, the presence of some local delicacies was more than welcome.

The swimming pool was large and clean. The pool bar prices were really reasonable, better than those of the main bar or those one can find at the cafes of the village. There were also spa facilities, which we didn't try.

Overall, our 2 night stay at the hotel was an experience to remember.

We were in Portaria for a wedding and most of the guest opted to stay a the Xenia Palace Hotel. Being used to finding average hotels in island/seaside areas of Greece, i was quite surprised with the hotel. It's been recently refurbished by the managing company and is looks modern without losing its rustic feel. They have an amazing pool, breathtaking view, good breakfast and lovely outdoor area for dinners/parties/wedding etc.. Some interior designing for the rooms is more than welcome though; they're quite average.

Everything in this hotel is just below average but the view. So, it does not worth it. There are far better options around. I found it very unprofessional not to be notified that a wedding was going on and the hotel was full of the guests and had to carry the reception. So my pool view room turned to be in the middle of the reception and I had to suffer all the preparation noise only to hear stupid excuses by the front desk. The food was not good too neither at the Veranda nor at the breakfast buffet.

Everything in this hotel is great. From the reception staff to the breakfast, the size of the rooms, the pool, the gardens, the food, the spa...
Great value too..we were charged 110 euros for a spacious room, with view to the pool inc breakfast.
The staff are extremely professional and helpful and the location is just perfect.