Britain Abroad (Sol Cala Blanca Hotel (Mallorca, Spain))

Member Name: SomethingToBe

Product:	Sol Cala Blanca Hotel (Mallorca, Spain)
Date:	19/04/09 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice rooms, centrally located

Disadvantages: Horrible food!

The Sol Cala Blanca Hotel is part of the Sol Melia Chain, which has hotels all across Spain and its islands. I went there on a field trip with my university and stayed for a week in April.

The Location:

Majorca is a multi-faceted island and although famous for its clubs, bars and drunken Brits, when you travel around a bit has some beautiful scenery, interesting history and cultural hotspots.
However, if these parts of the island are what you are looking for it is best to stay somewhere else. The beach resorts on the island are essentially British or German dominated, Palma Nova being a British part. There are endless "English" cafes and bars and shops that sell all the home comforts. Essentially Britiain in the sun. Palma Nova is located in Majorca right next to Magaluf and is a walkable distance. This is where all the nightlife is located, including BCM, Europe's biggest nightclub. It is not a particarly nice area and makes Palma Nova look beautiful!
The hotel itself is in the centre of Palma Nova, right on the beach and with the shops etc the other side, so is ideally located for this type of holiday.

The Room:

The hotel is a four star resort and the rooms reflect this. I stayed in a twin room with my friend, and the beds were very comfortable and spacious for singles. The view we had was over the bay and was lovely, however this depends on the side of the corridor you are staying! If you stay on the other side as my friends were, you get a view of another hotel and some shops.... not so nice!
The bathroom was big and the shower was very powerful. The bathroom also had a bath in it as well as a toilet and a sink. Towels are replaced daily if you wish (there is the usual towels on the floor means replace system) and the room and bathroom are cleaned also on a daily basis.
The room also comes with a wardrobe, TV, desk, armchair and coffee table and have plenty of floor space, so it is not cramped at all. A minbar and safe deposit are also available in the rooms at an extra cost.

The Restaurant:

I have to say, for a four star hotel, the restaurant was appalling. We went half board and so got breakfast and dinner included. The breakfast was fairly standard, with cereals, continental options and full English being served in a buffet style.
The dinners however were disappointing. One of the people in our group was vegetarian, and basically lived off of vegetables and salads for the entire week. Even the rest of the group were pushed for choice. The meats served were basically fat and there was not a hugh choice of foods to choose from anyway, despite dinner also being a buffet style. The foods were basically tasteless, so much so that we opted to eat out for most of the evenings as the local restaurants were really cheap.

Other Facilites:

The hotel has two swimming pools, one outdoor and one indoor (which is heated in winter). It also offers computers (at an extra charge), a hairdresser, a bridge room (which can be used for conferences) and a taxi rank outside. The staff are pleasant, however not overly friendly. The receptionists all speak English.

Price:

Obviously prices depend on when you go, how long for etc, but the website is currently offering rooms from 70 euros per night.

Overall Opinion:

I personally believe that the Sol Cala Blanca is not worth the money. The rooms are nice enough, but the food really lets the place down. There is not an extensive range of facilites, however everything you might need is situated nearby. Palma Nova is a good resort should you want nightlife, however if you are looking for the other side to Majorca, I would suggest staying in a different resort.

Summary: Ok, but not worth the money