Butlins in the sun! (Bouganvilla Park)

Member Name: emmachilcott

Product:	Bouganvilla Park
Date:	03/10/09 (142 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Plenty to do, good entertainment, great for children

Disadvantages: Shabby accommodation, expensive supermarket.

Firstly I must say that I booked this very last minute when there wasn't much more around, and after reading a lot of very mixed reviews, I decided that we would just put our heads down and go for it, and even though we got off to a bad start, I am relatively glad that we did.


The Bouganvilla Aparthotel is situated on the East coast of Mallorca in Sa Coma. There is a 1 hour transfer from Palma Airport (1hr 45 mins if the coach drops off along the way), but we took this as an opportunity to sit back see a bit of the Island. On arrival, our check in was very simple. We were given a room number and a map to direct us to our apartment and as we were staying all inclusive, our wrist bands were put on (silver for U18's, blue for the drinkers!)


~*~Accommodation~*~


When we entered our room, I really could have cried. After a long journey, we were all tired and grotty and simply wanted a shower, but the room was dirty and tatty, and I didn't feel as though I even wanted to put anything down, yet alone use the facilities. I went straight to reception where I explained the problem and the manager walked with us to view the room. She agreed that it was sub standard, and showed us to a room which was ten times better; Far away from the "Big top"( I'll explain later) close to the restaurant and bar area, and ideal for the pool. We unpacked happily! For anyone visiting we ended up in room 12 (Gardinia block) and purely by coincidence (I'm sure!?) everyone else in this block had also complained about their initial rooms!


We had a twin studio apartment which consisted of twin beds in the bedroom, and a single sofa bed in the lounge area with a pull out bed underneath it for the children. The beds were quite comfortable; however the twin beds slid apart easily even when they are pushed together which became a little frustrating... A huge wardrobe in the bedroom housed all of our clothes easily, and this is also where the safe is located (available for hire for 15 euros a week).


There is a small kitchenette in each of the apartments, whether you are self catering or not. We were all inclusive, so I only used the fridge for storing water, but if you are self catering, the equipment is all present to enable you to make decent meals - Microwave, two ring hob, plenty of crockery and cutlery and a large range of utensils; there is a table and chair set in the main room to ensure comfortable meal times.


The bathroom consisted of a toilet, sink and a bath with a shower attached to the taps. The shower curtain was not the cleanest that I have ever seen, and it had a tendency to stick to you which is a personal pet hate. There is a vented window in the bathroom, however this didn't stop that bathroom smell from developing a few hours after the maid had been in. Out of peak season (from the beginning of September) the maid only comes in every other day. I really do not feel that this is enough as by the end of the second day sand was traipsed everywhere, and the bathroom needed cleaning desperately. This also meant that you had to use the same towels several times and as we seemed to each be having three showers a day I constantly had to dry them out. The bed sheets were only changed once during our week's stay which is not good, especially when the rooms get quite stuffy. There is no air conditioning in the rooms; it is possible to hire a fan for 15 euros, but this would have made little difference. I do not like the idea of leaving the windows open during the night for security reasons, so we were lucky that we went in September when it wasn't too hot - I can imagine that it is intolerable during the height of summer. We had a few down pours during the week, and the rain poured in through the badly designed inward opening windows. Because the windows swelled from all of the rain, it became impossible to open them - we eventually used a bottle opener to prise them open which did the trick!


Generally speaking, the accommodation at the hotel is all very tired and shabby, and the cleaning standards are not high (dust under the bed is always a sign of a lack of effort!) I visited several rooms during our stay, and they were all the same. The accommodation definitely lets this hotel down, and I'm sure that with a bit of upgrading, the Bouganvilla could gain another star. The rooms have very basic facilities, but it is possible to hire TV's, DVD players and other items from reception for an average sized fee to make your stay more entertaining, but I'm not sure that this is worth it a we spent very little time in our room. The grounds around the complex are well maintained, and a gardener is usually present somewhere. It is flat all over, and if you have a ground floor apartment I can not envisage any problems for disabled visitors.


~*~Restaurants and bars~*~


The main restaurant is buffet style, and we ate most of our meals here. It was clean and the staff were helpful in clearing your plates away quickly. The food was generally of a good standard, plenty of choice for everyone and we were not hungry at all during our stay. Breakfasts consisted of your usual English breakfast ingredients; guaranteed to give you a heart attack after a week, or you could choose cereal with dried fruit, croissants and other pastries, toast or cheeses and hams.


Lunches and dinners were very similar. There is always the option of salad with cheese or ham, but as you move along you can get a selection of around five hot food items which varied a lot during our stay: Casseroles, ribs, pastries, escallops, sliced meats with sauces, fish....there really was plenty; too much if anything! You could also choose pasta, again, different every day. There is a wide choice for vegetarians, and children are well catered for. Desserts come in the form of cakes, pastries, jellies, mousses and fresh fruit; all well presented and delicious.


When the restaurant first opens, there is the usual queuing, but this goes down after ten minutes, and there is just gentle traffic from there on. A major gripe of mine here is that there are no toilets which are crucial in my opinion in any dining establishment, and also it became stuffy and they are reluctant to open any windows; my guess is that they want a quick turnover at meal times. If you are self catering, you can get a meal for twelve and a half euros which I consider to be expensive - especially if you are a family doing it every day.


Juice (a choice of four but it was quite processed - fresh would have been better), water, tea and coffee is available at breakfast - all help yourself, and at lunch and dinner; white wine, red wine (both perfectly palatable to my cheap taste!) lager, water and soft drinks are available on a self service basis: As was the case in La Tasca, the Italian restaurant.


La Tasca is again buffet style, but this has excellent pizza, pasta, and chicken in creamy sauces. The restaurant feels more like a restaurant than a dining hall, and you feel as though you need to be a bit smarter in dress to eat here. It has a pleasant atmosphere, and the staff are attentive to your needs. We only ate here a couple of times as we preferred the choice in the main restaurant for the children, but for couples it is ideal and relaxing.


A snack bar is open to all inclusive guests from 12 - 6 and this serves burgers, hotdogs, salads, cakes and fruit on a self service basis. It is open air but with umbrellas for shade and right next to the toddlers pool so ideal for an afternoon snack. There is also a bar here for drinks if you are all inclusive.


The main bar is located near the main pool. There is a large selection of drinks for all inclusive, and spirits are served in large measures. You are only allowed two drinks at a time; probably designed to slow down your drinking, I consider this to be a good policy, but a lot of people were complaining about it. The queue was never more than eight people long, and it went down quickly. My major problem with drinks is that they are all served in disposable plastic glasses and thousands are being thrown away every day with no thought to the environment - I took to reusing mine and the bar staff thought that I was mad!


~*~Entertainment~*~


There is a Butlins style big top tent covering a part of the complex, and this is where all of the evening entertainment takes place. It starts at 7.30 with "Booms" which is entertainment for the wee ones. We are fairly reserved as a family and when we first arrived we wondered what an earth we had let ourselves in for as the entertainment team (six young individuals)danced away on stage, but by the end of our holiday, we were actually looking forward to the evenings and dancing the night away! The entertainment team are ranked the best in Mallorca at the moment, and thoroughly deserve this. They work exceptionally hard, are full of happy enthusiasm and are very talented.


At nine, there is the nightly bingo which goes on for about fifteen minutes and at prize fund of around five hundred euros for a full house, we found it hard not to participate - tickets are 2 euros each. After the bingo, there was usually an audience participation game which was great fun, and from 10 onwards either the entertainment team put on a really great show, or tribute bands took to the stage; Elvis (The King isn't dead, he's living it up in Majorca!)and Abba performed during our stay and they were outstanding. Entertainment went on until midnight, and it is very loud so if you have young children who need sleep, or you are after an early night, ensure that your accommodation is far away from the big top. A bar is located on either side of the tent, and queues are minimal.


Throughout the day, the same entertainment team organize free activities around the pool such as quizzes, water polo, aqua aerobics and various games where anyone can join in. Announcements are also made poolside of activities about to take place throughout the complex: Archery, French bowls, shooting, football, table tennis, Connect 4..... the list goes on and on, and I'm sure that you would be exhausted if you participated in all of it! If this isn't for you, it is quite easy to sit by the pool all day doing nothing (as I did!)


If you fancy a change from the resort (and a lot of people would) the hotel supplies a free land train that makes the ten minute journey to the beach, departing every half hour. The train isn't very big, and was generally full so we usually arrived at the pick up point 25 minutes before it was due. Peak season, I would give it an hour!


~*~Pools~*~


There are five swimming pools within the complex which were all clean and well maintained. The main pool is a rough kidney shape, and it gets very deep in the middle. It is absolutely freezing, but once you get your breath back it is bearable! The rest of the pools are fairly shallow, and therefore a bit warmer! There are plenty of sunbeds, and the staff did their best to remove towels of beds if they were not being used after a couple of hours, and we never had a problem finding space. Four of the pools are located in the central area of the complex, but one is on the other side and is ideal for young families, being much quieter and serene. The main pool area has music all of the time, and a lot of activities but one thing that also took place here astounded me.


On a daily basis the "Sun care advisor" would take to the microphone. At first I believed this to be a useful resource, but then I realised that she has been put there by a company to sell their miracle overpriced tanning products. She would stand there daily and tell us that we were using the wrong protection, and probably the wrong aftercare. I think that these scare tactics were disgusting, and for someone selling a miracle tan product, she was surprisingly pale!


~*~Shopping~*~


By the main entrance to the complex, there is a hire shop where you can hire those Chucklevision style car/bike vehicles, and also various go carts and buggies. Prices start at 6 euros for half an hour in a go cart, which I don't think is that bad, but we did not participate as we didn't want to look too much like a tourist! There is also a jewellery shop and a small souvenier shop here, and the prices are relatively reasonable.


Inside the complex there are two souvenir shops that also sold pool inflatables, some clothing, sun cream and hats amongst other tack! Prices were inflated, but were not as bad as the onsite supermarket which was ridiculously priced. Also putting me off entering the supermarket was the token Spanish man who sat all day practically guarding the entranceway.


Most bizarrely of all was the onsite tattoo shop. I cannot imagine why anyone would want to get a tattoo in a foreign country that you are briefly visiting, where you would have no chance of reprisal if things went wrong. Whilst trying not to sound too snobby (I do actually have a small tasteful tattoo but...), this is possibly an indication of the type of clientele that visit here during peak season, making me glad that we were there in low season!


~*~In conclusion~*~


This resort is advertised as a larger than life three star family resort and that about sums it up. My kids had a fantastic time, so that is all that matters to me, but I would not consider holidaying here without children as it was all too hectic. I doubt that we would return as we only go back to the same place twice if it is outstanding, and this is not, but for the money, you are getting exactly what you pay for. I would never go self catering here as it would cost you a small fortune, but for all inclusive, I believe it to be good value.

A few grumbles, but overall we made the most of it and had a great time.

Summary: You'll either love it or hate it!