We loved this hotel - it is like staying in a stylish (but not pompous) country house hotel. The food in the restaurant is marvellous and the staff are extremely professional, friendly and welcoming. I loved the fact the staff remembered our names and room numbers and we did not have to go through the rigmarole of signing slips of paper for everything we ate and drank. It is a very calm and peaceful place and you feel pampered, but not smothered. There is no loud music being piped into public rooms or big weddings being held by the pool which so often intrudes on a guest's stay. We had a room in the new building. Lovely and spacious - with floor to ceiling windows and a great sea view. We did not find the road particularly busy or noisy or intrusive and I would rather have a balcony than be in the old building with no balcony.

I was desperately trying to work out who the snooty woman was referred to in earlier emails but could not find her at all! I should also say that the start to our stay was not ideal as there had been a huge mess-up on our booking, however it was dealt with in such an honest, professional and sensitive way by the manager Maria Martinez at 2am in the morning that I walked away admiring the professionalism and atttitude of the manager rather than being annoyed at the difficulties we had found ourselves in!

If you want rest and relaxation with great food in a unique hotel which is a 5 min drive from the restaurants of Palma then this is a gem!

Whilst the rooms and main parts of the hotel are beautiful we were very disappointed with the rest of the expereince. First the hotel is in a horrible location in an old 50's resort that is pretty run down. The view from the lovely infinity pool has a building covered in graffiti. It also means that if you want to stroll out of the hotel it is impossible to find anywhere nice to go and you have to go into Palma itself or drive further north. Our meal on the first night was very poor and predictably expensive. Considering the good quality of the food throughout the rest of the island, this is unforgiveable. My husband is vegetarian and was basically given reheated spaghetti with tomato sauce - the kind of food motorway service stations serve, not 5 star hotels.
Some of the staff were very snooty but most were lovely, however the snooty woman in particular ruins it for everyone as one tends to rememebr her. Our room had a problem with its drains which made it smell horrible. They changed rooms for us very swiftly and courteously but still! THe rooms were lovely, quiet and well laid out. We were in the new building and it was great but all the other little things that were wrong meant that we didn't want to stay and eat inthe hotel or hang around too much in the day - a terrible shame.

The Hospes Maricel is a beautiful oasis, with a gorgeous pool area, wonderful views and an ambience of restrained elegance. Our room was in the original building and was large and well-appointed. It was rather dark, however, and the impressive glass doors in the bathroom were less successful on a practical rather than design level, since they made a distracting level of noise every time they were closed. While the hotel itself is stunning, the service was less than perfect. On two mornings out of five we had to request towels for the pool area that were supposed to be left in our room every evening. It took at least an hour before the requested towels arrived poolside. There were not enough umbrellas around the pool and this led to some anxiety as guests tried to reserve a shady spot. The buffet breakfast was extortionate and when we asked for basics such as butter, we were made to feel as though we had asked for something really unreasonable. We felt that the hotel was exploiting the fact that there are no restaurants or bars within walking distance of the hotel that offer a decent breakfast. In fact, the area surrounding the hotel is a bit tacky and alternative restaurants are a taxi ride away. Some of the staff were very friendly and helpful but others were rather ungracious and in order to improve the quality of stay, there needs to be much more consistency - there is a lack of attention to detail that needs to be addressed.

This was our 3rd visit and the Maricel is still simply magical.

This time we stayed for 9 nights in a sea view room, located in the main/old building, that they're now calling Maricel Palace. We always stay in the main/old building simply for the views. The new building is very nice, but the views just aren't the same. I suppose it just depends on how important a view is to you?

We got there a few days before the hotel was hosting a huge party for a new film called Grown Ups, starring Adam Sandler, Chris Rock etc. We were slightly worried that the preparations would cause disruptions but we had nothing to worry about. The hotel staff remained attentive and professional despite the long hours and hard work they had to put into the preparations. And the bonus was the hotel guests were invited to the party so we got to rub shoulders with a few celebs!

In the evening we went to:

Puerto Portals - highly recommend Tristan's Bistro and Tahini

Portixol - lovely harbour to walk around and grab a bite to eat at Portixol Hotel

Il Paradiso restaurant - request table 30/31/32 on the balcony

Simply Fosh restaurant - simply fab!

Check out my last two reviews on the Maricel, all I can add is that it just gets better and better every time we go there, however note:

Fitness Centre - only 3 cardio machines (treadmill, bike & cross trainer) & v.limited resistance weights

Free Wireless Connection - we noticed alot of people had the new Ipad but connection was limited, however there is a laptop in reception that you can use

We love the Maricel and can't wait to go back next year