Ok, but certainly not a 4 star hotel

First the good bits. The hotel is well positioned right opposite the small harbour at Cala Bona in a pleasant setting. The promenade is right on the doorstep and, aside rental bikes, the area is pedestrianised and traffic free, so quite quiet. Reception is cool and airy and there is a large and comfortable bar/lounge area. The service we received, especially from Gabriella, was excellent; always on hand and always efficient. There is a large restaurant area with ample seating, and tables are spaced apart to promote a degree of social distancing. The food was, at best, average. Buffet style breakfast and dinner with a selection of hot and cold foods. All edible but rather repetitive and not always visually appealing. The grill chef, often under pressure from impatient guests, seemed to rush things, impacting on the look of the food and, on one occasion, offering clearly under cooked fish and meat. Coffee or tea was available from a machine. Our room, considering the fairly recent refurbishment, looked tired. It was clean and pleasant enough, and we had a large terrace overlooking the harbour, but it needed a really good facelift to realise its full potential. The bathroom was small and cramped. The air conditioner was a little noisy. Amenities were quite limited. We did not use the bar area, but on the few occasions we solid looking in we observed it to be totally empty and so there was no atmosphere; I felt for the sporadic evening entertainment, playing to an empty room each night. This cannot have been helped by the fact that the nearest neighbouring hotel seemed to have managed to spread their lounge area outside and onto the main promenade, and provided quite lively entertainment each night which was presented and performed right outside. Certainly any passing tourist would be more drawn to that than into the Catalonia! There was a small pool bar but again this was always very quiet; despite that, service was slow. There was a table tennis table on site but this seemed to have just been folded away into a corner. The gym appeared to be well equipped and clean. There was an indoor pool which had a selection of very comfortable padded loungers around it; a pity they were not available at the outdoor pool, because the loungers there were very uncomfortable! The outdoor pool was small and, if you were planning on getting a few lengths in, quite restrictive when there were more than 8 people in the water. Parasols were provided, but they were in the wrong bases meaning they could only be opened at a low level, resulting in the edges of the extended canopy and the poles were at eye level to anyone around 5’8-6’ tall; quite an obstacle course! Despite signs advising guests not to reserve sun beds, and the threat that towels would be removed if this happened it was never adhered to or enforced, so if you want a good spot then do get up early! The lock on the poolside toilets did not work and was not repaired despite this being reported. Perhaps the biggest surprise during our stay was the decision to employ tree surgeons to work on the palm trees around the pool at 9am one morning; this further limited the number of sun beds available, was noisy, dirty and, dare I say, dangerous, as huge branches of tree were dripped from height. Why on earth not get them in to do the work after the pool closed at 7pm? Or better still, before even opening for the season??! Did we have a good stay? Honestly, yes. Could it have been better? Absolutely! Would the hotel justify a 4 star rating? No, just about a 3. Would we return? Unfortunately not to this hotel.

MARK DAVID SPECK19-07-21

Night away

Lovely hotel in a wonderful location. Great staff doing their up most best in these difficult times

MARTIN CHRISTOPHER HARROD14-09-20