| Product: |
Sol Guadalupe Hotel |
| Date: |
05/08/02 (993 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Friendly Staff, Guaranteed good weather, Excellent food
Disadvantages: Quite expensive to stay in
It was probably in about 1970 something that my mum discovered the Guadalupe Sol hotel. This was a long time before I was actually born...in the early 80's. Her and her friends used to go out there, partying, soaking up the gorgeous sun and enjoying the general atmosphere that Majorca and this hotel had to offer. In the late 1970's, my mum met my dad and then instead of her and her friends going, her and my dad went together, as a couple. They went for a few years before my mum became pregnant with me. Even when my mum was a few months pregnant, my parents still took regular holidays to Majorca, staying in exactly the same hotel. Later on in this opinion, you will find out what kept drawing them back (and no, my mum didn't have huge crushes on the Spanish waiters if that's what you were thinking!).
My mum enjoys telling the tales of how my first trip to Majorca was actually taken whilst I was still inside of her. By that time, many of the staff at the hotel had got to know both of my parents quite well and were very friendly on all of their arrivals. Not only did my parents start to mingle in with the managers, but they also became close friends with the people who worked on the reception and even the maids who clean the room - known as 'Maria's' to my mum, because that's what they all seem to be called out there (no offence if you are reading this and your name is Maria, it is a very nice name, and in fact one of my best friends is called Maria and she isn't a cleaner).
So, my mum had me (no, not in Majorca, even though I am sure that she would of loved to of given birth to me in one of her favourite places rather than some London hospital). I was only a few months old when I took my first trip to Majorca and stayed in the Guadalupe Sol. My mum recalls how all of the staffs were like 'awww, coochheee coo, isn't she a little dear etc.' the sort of baby talk that you expect from any loving parents, b
ut they had taken on the role of being very polite and caring.
Little did I know that this was going to be the hotel where I would spend the majority of my holidays, both summer and winter and at all other occasions. Over all the years of my life so far, I have been lucky enough to visit the Sol Guadalupe Hotel on a number of occasions, in fact I think the last total when I counted was approximately 20 or more. This obviously seems a very small number of visits compared with my mum and dad, but perhaps when I start to go away with my friends more, this hotel will be the ideal one for us to stay in.
As I went through my toddler years, this hotel became more and more appealing to me. I think that one of my favourite things there would have to have been the 'Mini club', which they had to offer. This is like a kiddie club that does face painting, colouring, sports, swimming and lots of other fun activities for children aged between about four and eleven. The Mini club leaders were really nice and I always used to admire the way that they could speak approximately five or more (on average) languages, just off of the top of their heads.
The hotel has a little playground for kids to play in, consisting of a slide, two swings and a little hut where they hold Mini discos sometimes, usually at the weekends. This can be quite amusing for the children and will keep them out of mischief.
Another thing, which is great for children at the Guadalupe Sol hotel, is the way in which the pool is very safe and the whole hotel has a child friendly feel about it. Not only is the hotel for families though, there are usually lots of young groups of teenagers or even couples who stay there, and you occasionally get some old people sitting under the shade drinking their freshly squeezed orange juice whilst watching the world go by.
The pool has been made safer over the past few years by them actually employing a full tim
e life guard (well for the hours that the pool is open which is from about 7.00am till 5.00pm). In the evening's the pool is closed off with barriers to stop anyone from jumping in after a few too many to drink! The pool is a very nice feature - it isn't just rectangular like the one's you usually see in travel brochures, especially on hotels that are designed for children, this pool is different. It is still based mainly around a rectangle shape but it is slightly angular and bigger than some of the other pools I have been in, and this one even has a little island feature slap bang in the middle for people to swim around or to sit on the edge of it when they get tired. I remember the games we used to play on there when we were kids, like the way that the crocodiles were coming to get us if we didn't watch out, or that the sharks might bite our feet off if we stepped from the island into the water. The pool is kept very clean, you always see the pool cleaner putting the chlorine substance around the edge onto the tiles every morning before anyone gets in and also every evening after everyone has left. This insures that the pool is up to it's high standards. I'm about 5 foot 7" tall, and the shallowest part of the pool (down the bottom end) comes up to about my waist. Down the deep end though, the water comes above my head and I can't even stand up above the water level.
They even have an indoor pool, which I am pleased to have been in (when it was Christmas time) and it was a bit too cold to go in the outside pool. The indoor pool is very relaxing and the heating system is very warm and comforting.
They are lucky enough to have a kiddie pool; well that's what I refer to it as anyway. This is because it can't be more than a couple of foot deep and is quite small and circular as well as being very plain.
There are sun loungers situated around both the main pool and the kiddie pool, but you tend t
o see more families with young children hanging around the kiddie pool and more adults around the main pool. This will be the first year that I have been and they have been using Euros out there. Usually I have found it relatively easy to convert from British Pounds to Pesetas and back and forth etc. but now I reckon that it will be much more confusing - wish me luck! The sun loungers have to be paid for if you wish to use them during the day and they used to cost only one hundred pesetas (less than fifty pence), which is well worth it. Like with most hotels, these sun loungers are usually gone by about Breakfast time, as all of the foreigners have snapped them up, placed their towels there and gone off, till they wish to use them again (usually sometime around mid afternoon!). I can't complain though, we actually have done the same thing our self when we thought that there wouldn't be any space down by the pool, and my parents have even been known to set their alarm and take it in turns as to go down and put the towels out.
We don't spend all of our time around the pool though, we do like to get and about in Majorca and do often go to the beach which is situated only a few minutes walk from the hotel, although this is across a road, but it isn't very busy, so it makes the beach easily accessible, even for young families.
One of the best things about the hotel, is the new dining room that they have recently refurbished (2000-2001). There is so much choice and selection of food available, I guarantee you that everyone is catered for and that you'll never go hungry. There are a few choices of board that you can be on - full board, half board or bed and breakfast only (but they don't like that option much). We tend to usually go as half board as it offers us breakfast and dinner and we find that that is plenty enough to eat. If we get peckish during the day we usually grab some doughnuts or freshly baked rolls with different
fillings in from the local shops.
At breakfast time, the selection is magnificent, whether you want the Full English or a more continental choice of possibly croissants and just cereals, they have it to offer, things are never too much trouble. We have got to know a few of the chefs there and one of the men who serves up the Full English breakfast can only say a couple of words of English - 'One egg or two?' hehe. Breakfast served between about 8.00am and 10.30am.
When we have been as Full Board before, the lunch has been very similar to the dinner, which is why we tend not to go for the lunchtime menu anymore, as it spoils the enjoyment of the evening meal. Lunch is served between 1.00pm and 3.00pm.
The evening meal is excellent. There is a huge array of choice inclusive of different pasta's, meats, fish, potato products and for desert...lots of nice sweets, fruit and cakes...delicious! Dinner is served between the wide range of times - 6.30pm till 9.00pm.
There is a teenage club for teenagers aged between about fourteen to eighteen or nineteen and their activities start at about 10.00am and finish early in the afternoon. At the hotel they have games such as pistol shooting at target ranges and even water polo.
The hotel is baby friendly, offers the chance fort you to hire out cots and even gives you the opportunity to take up a babysitter to look after your children whilst you enjoy one free night out as adults or on your own.
The rooms in the Sol Guadalupe are terrific, I always used to stay in a room on a spare bed whilst my parents had the main double bed against another wall. In the rooms there is a little coffee table, a couple of chairs, fitted wardrobes which are mirrored and have lots of storage space (I needed it for all of the clothes that I took with me!), chest of drawers, dressing table and a few other bits and bobs, including a telephone. All rooms have balconies; some have better
views than others. On different occasions we have tried the front and the back of the hotel to see what the main difference was and found that at the back the views are marvellous, across the wonderful Majorcan hills, you can see the sun set in the distance but the only thing that spoils it is the way that if you are unlucky enough to get a room which is on levels five or six and in the middle, then you might be opposite a rowdy apartment block which can keep you awake till early hours with all of their noisy music and drunken behaviour. We now usually stay at the front of the hotel because although you can hear the entertainment, which goes on from the actual hotel it self, all of this stops at around midnight and ensures a peaceful sleep. It is the law out there that any music equipment must be turned down or off unless the doors are closed and no sound can escape, therefore disturbing those around them.
The front of the hotel looks out over the pool as well, and the rooms have recently been refurbished (just like the dinging room has only just been changed), so everything is nice and clean looking. The rooms now have a great air conditioning system which keeps you gloriously cool in the evenings, when the temperatures can soar right up high!
The entertainment that the hotel offers is great. There is a different theme every night, such as Flamenco dancing on a Tuesday and Magician show on a Friday. There are shows to suit everyone - the only annoying thing is that they always have to repeat everything that they say in everyone else's language so it can take a bit of time to go through it all!
The hotel has a fantastic entrance hall where you are greeted and shown to your room as soon as you arrive. The disabled facilities are good and the hotel has about four lifts to cater for all of us who are out of energy and cannot carry our cases up the flights of stairs to our rooms. There are ten floors in total in the Guadalupe Sol, so if
you're unlucky enough to be on the top floor, then that would be a lot of walking.
The hotel has its own library where you can rent out some books if you get bored. The library also has a card games section where many of the older visitors tend to hang around in the afternoon playing poker or whist.
Because we have been staying at the hotel for over thirty years now (well not me personally, but my family), we are always invited to a special managers dinner with all of the other regular guests, we get our room stay at a cheaper price and if we're lucky they give us little gifts such as last year we got an alarm clock and a t-shirt that says Sol Melia (the company name) written on it.
In case you wanted to know the prices...it costs us about £31.00 a night for each of us at half board, although I go as cheaper because I am the third adult sharing the room, unless I have my own room which I don't recommend as it gets lonely and a bit cramped (single rooms tend to be like broom cupboards, I've experienced).
Overall, a brilliant hotel that I keep returning to...year after year.
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