Insotel Cala Mandia Resort & Spa

This was our first holiday abroad with a nearly 2 year old and thought it was great for him! We stayed in block D which is lower rise (3 floors) and focussed on families with smaller children. I’m block D there is one restaurant open for breakfast and lunch and dinner (reservation for dinner) until the dates became off peak and then it was just open as lunch and snack bar. Breakfast and dinner had to be taken in the main restaurant which is a bit of a trek with a buggy as you have to go to the main hotel and then go down a few floors so there queues by lifts at busy times (there was a way to walk round which was further but more peaceful) The pools were amazing for children. In block D there was a pool for small children with a smaller pool and there was a deeper pool with a smaller section fenced off and an fun pool with slides and a pirate ship a splash pad pool and an indoor splash pad. So plenty for smaller children. All inclusive drinks you could pour your own juice, water fizzy drinks (Coke Zero Fanta etc) slushes or house white and wine or lager from dispensers at the restaurant or ask for drinks from the bar. There were plenty of ice creams and lollies in the freezer or you could ask for crepes with ice cream etc The restaurant was buffet and served hot food from about 11 (fries chicken nuggets etc for kids). There was plenty of fresh bread and salad every day and breakfast was continental or the chef cooked meat and eggs The main restaurant food was amazing and the drinks were the self dispensed ones and it was all self service so lacked a bit of atmosphere as it was huge but was nicely laid out with plenty of high chairs and the best buffet choice I have seen anywhere with daily specials. I am vegetarian and there was plenty of choice in the general section but there was also a special vegetarian section We went to the local beaches and caught the land train to Port Cristo which was fun There are a few shops nearby and we bought a few bits for our particular apartment as we had a fridge and a microwave. Main downside was that the main door to the apartment could be unlocked inside by pulling the handle so we had to watch our little one if he ran up the hall as he could open the front door which he thought was hilarious. It would help if there was an extra lock higher up We felt totally safe in and outside the resort. You have to wear a wristband to show you are a guest at the resort There was entertainment which we didn’t watch as it was too late for us but we did take our little one to the mini disco which he absolutely loved and seemed to tire him out enough for bed! There were different playgrounds for different ages and even an indoor play area. Football and tennis pitches plus archery, you could hire bicycles etc so plenty to do if you are active. We hired a car and parked on the street outside for free which was no issue. We would definitely recommend especially if you have under 5’s as block D catered for them extremely well.

First of all we booked this holiday based on, location, reviews and price. The location seemed to be good with amenities close by, Porto Cristo being a short drive and Palma being within driving distance for a day trip, The reviews on here and on first choice seemed to be good with only minor problems in a small amount of reviews. Many people class it as a "perfect hotel" i would definitely disagree, this also seemed to be the feeling amongst a few other guests in the hotel as well. And the price for October was reasonable for us, but overall we definitely didn't get our moneys worth. One thing i will say is there are better hotels around than this one. Rude staff, bad food practices, loud cleaners, busy restaurant. etc. I have a few problems and complaints that I would like to make regarding me and my girlfriends first holiday. We were extremely excited to get to Mallorca and experience our first holiday, however we had disappointment throughout our break. 1) We arrived at the hotel and didn’t have the warmest of responses we then checked in and was surprised at the 45-euro tax that was demanded straight away. We understood this matter, however the check in staff were not friendly. 2) On the 3rd night in Monday 21st, we went down for our tea and had an ok meal, we weren’t overwhelmed by the variety of food, nor the quality of food or practices, for example the pasta bolognaise sauce was left in porcelain dishes on top of a hot plate, more like luke warm as young children were touching the plate without bother. We then went to the grill part and they were advertising chicken, and burgers. My girlfriend opted for the chicken she asked the “chef” what meat it was he replied with turkey, however the sign read chicken, this was the last item she picked and then came back to the table, although it had just been cooked it was cold and also barely cooked, the chicken was still pink in the middle so I told her not to eat it. My meal consisted of the chicken curry and the beef curry, with rice and chips. I ate the meal and it was nice, again I wasn’t over whelmed and lacked flavour. We then went to the bar and I had 2 beers and a whisky, being a well-built man, I can take my drink, so when I was throwing up at 2:30am I knew something was wrong, I immediately identified that it was around 6 hours after we had eaten, so It may be the food. I went back to bed and felt reasonably ok, however in 30 minute intervals I was throwing up, I was Cleary trying to get something out of my stomach, as I threw up from 2:30 am till 11:00am the next morning, after a total of 19 times throwing up my girlfriend got the in house doctor, he came down and I explained what I thought was food poisoning, I asked him could it be that and he nodded but didn’t say yes for definite, however with him being an in house doctor I wondered If his verdict wanted to remain impartial ? Anyway after 1 ½ days in bed I got up and had some time outside, we had a chill in the sun for a short while and then came back to the room and got ready to have tea again (Wednesday Night) we arrived at the restaurant and I spotted a smart man talking with what seemed to be the head chef, I approached him and asked him who he was (assistant general manager), I then spoke to the assistant general manager and I expressed my concerns, he apologized and he took my phone number, room number and date of departure, and he said he would be in touch. 2 weeks later and I’ve not had a response. The next day (Thursday) my girlfriend also threw up at around 6:30 after having chicken at dinner time (again 6 hours after eating) however she was only ill the once luckily, however we both didn’t feel like we had the confidence to eat what was available. Therefore we avoided the food for the following times: Tuesday Breakfast, dinner and tea , Wednesday Breakfast and Tea, Thursday Dinner and tea, Friday Dinner and Tea) so overall we avoided 9 meals which massively caused a problem for us as we went hungry and ate plain biscuits from the spar shop. 3) Another complaint was the fact that the cleaners would come around at 6am and slam towel bags down outside each room, bear in mind that we were around 12 doors down from the start of the corridor we heard around 20 towel bags slam on the floor and wake us up. Another problem was the cleaning ladies would gather outside of our room and would talk loudly for around 5 minutes each morning, again keeping us awake. A small problem but an extremely frustrating one for both me and my girlfriend. Also, our bed sheets were only changed once on the day I was ill fortunately, however after that we noticed that we had holes in the same places in both the duvet and the bed sheet. 7) In my opinion the security of the hotel was extremely poor, we could walk down to the beach where there was a restaurant, we didn’t need our key card to scan in or out, this was worrying as people from the restaurant outside of the hotel could access the pools and restaurant areas without needing to be a guest. Anybody could access the hotel at any point due to the lack of security, which once again put me and my girlfriend on edge instead of being relaxed as we should have been. Overall not an enjoyable first holiday experience at Insotel Cala Mandia.