To say we were worried about this holiday was an understatement. We booked based on last year’s plaudits and then discovered only one comment for this year (and it was negative) before we were due to travel. I even asked the travel agent to phone the local rep to check everything was alright!
Our worries were completely unfounded and we can honestly say this is the best holiday we’ve had yet. I hardly know where to start with the plaudits as I am gushing with them!
We stayed at Parc Natural for two weeks and flew back yesterday. This 5* hotel is the equivalent of an English 4*. From the moment we arrived everyone was incredibly friendly and this carried on throughout the whole fortnight from Reception staff, porters, housekeeping and the wonderful restaurant staff who quickly get to know your likes and dislikes.
We stayed on a half board basis and found the food to be tasty, colourful with a good variety. It’s a buffet style with hot and cold food available. We’re vegetarian and had plenty of choice and from what I could see there was plenty of choice for the meat eaters too and it was all beautifully presented.
They have three themed nights a week and there is also a menu that you can choose something from every night in addition to the buffet choices, also there was the option of eating at the Bistro (booking required) instead of the restaurant on certain nights but we chose to stick with the buffet. When I’ve travelled before, normally the food choices are the same again on the second week, not so here, for two weeks there was a different soup and other options every night and I was really looking forward to the homemade tomato soup coming around again!
There are three blocks of rooms. Block 1 is the main block above reception and the bar, block 2 is above the restaurant and has a glass covered corridor linking it to the main building and block 3 is at the end by the ocean and linked to block 2 by another glass covered corridor.
Our room ( Block 2) was spotless, very comfortable and the housekeeping service was impeccable. Not only did they come in the morning but there was also a bed turn down facility in the evening (& a chocolate on the pillow) and bins were emptied again if required and towels replaced. We were on an upper floor overlooking the trees at the back of the hotel with a partial sea view. It was perfect for us as it was very quiet even though you could see the road in the distance. We didn’t sit out on the balcony area very much as the circulating air temp was very warm. We slept with the air conditioning on every night which was very quiet and unobtrusive. Something that stood out, is that all the corridors have carpet (the rooms are tiled) and this reduces the noise of shoes tremendously if you decide to have an early night. Across the corridor the rooms overlook the pool area and the evening entertainment.
The evening entertainment had a good variety with a pianist one night and a male quartet singing in the genre of ‘Il Divo’ on another, Spanish flamenco dancers etc. The bar staff are very attentive as people drift out to find a comfy chair and table following their evening meal. They make a great Mojito cocktail too!
This is a predominantly German hotel with Spanish, French and Dutch guests too. We were among only a handful of British people and it was wonderful to be amongst a variety of different cultures. The towels on the sun loungers by the pool situation does happen and it’s accepted (the hotel provide pool/beach towels). It’s really not an issue as everyone does it but to be honest we didn’t use the pool at all, purely because the hotel backs onto a beautiful beach.
On this white sandy beach you can hire two sun loungers and a permanently sited parasol at a cost of €8.50 a day (charged by the council & not the hotel) You can reserve them but we didn’t as no matter what time of day we went down, we could always find a couple of sun loungers not in use. The sea at this time of year is like a tepid bath and is very shallow, so quite safe for children. You can walk metres and metres and still only be waist height! It also has a lifeguard. Due to the location of the hotel, this end of the beach is very quiet compared to other areas along this stretch of sand.
There are ‘pedlars’ that come along selling sunglasses and fake Louis Vuitton bags but a polite ‘No thank-you’ is all that’s needed. There are also people who come along offering a massage; I think they are Thai or Malaysian. I said ‘No thank-you’ the whole of the first week until I saw another guest having one of these massages. I then couldn’t wait for them to ask me if I wanted one!!
I have to say it’s the best head, neck, shoulders, back and arm massage I’ve EVER had and all for the price of €10!...... Wow! To have legs and feet done is another €10…..Wow! Money well spent, I wish I’d discovered how good they were in the first week of the holiday! Most of the massages are done by women and they are superb but the tall, quiet gentleman who is a gentle man was just wonderful. Look out for him.
I know a lot of people hire cars when they are away but to be honest we didn’t want the stress of map reading and concentrating on finding our way, we both wanted to enjoy the views, so we used public transport. For $1.25 you can go from Alcudia as far as Ca’n Picafort. That’s a price increase of 25 cents in the 6 years since we were last over there. Not bad!
The bus drivers are very helpful and conveniently yell out the name of the town they are stopping in so that you know you have arrived! We did several trips on our own rather than an organised one by the holiday company as the local transport was so easy to use and the timetables easy to follow. The main bus into Palma from Playa de Muro takes about an hour and 15 minutes and cost €5.35 each way. We did this several times so that we could be intrepid explorers! Palma, the old town is fascinating and the Cathedral well worth a visit. If you have the opportunity then jump on the city sightseeing tour bus. You can jump on and off as many times as you want and it takes you all around the city with an audio guided tour. One of the stops is Bellver castle……fascinating. In the harbour there are literally hundreds of very nice looking yachts.
Another day we caught the 8.30 a.m bus from Playa de Muro into Palma, walked out of the bus station and straight onto the Soller railway (go up the escalator out of the bus station & turn right) which left at 10.10. This is a must. This old train takes you up through the mountains to Soller which is a beautiful old town. If you want, you can catch the tram from Soller to Puerto Soller which travels past multiple orange and lemon trees. Puerto Soller itself is a very affluent port with some very nice looking yachts insitu. It’s a magical day out for grown ups and kids alike!
We thought we’d go for a bit of variety on the way back and caught a bus from Soller to Pollenca coming back through Alcudia to Playa de Muro. What we hadn’t realised was that this route goes all the way up through the mountains. The scenery was spectacular and the road hair raising at times. If you are of a nervous disposition then don’t sit on the front seats where you can see EVERYTHING!
A lot of people talk about Valldemossa when they go to Mallorca as a ‘must see’ place to visit. So, along we went (on the bus) and it was another ‘Wow’ factor moment. There are the tourist shops that are overpriced but get away from them,explore the back streets and prepare to soak up the atmosphere. Every single house has a wall tile outside depicting an image of Santa Catalina Thomas. This place is worth a day of your time rather than a ‘pitstop’ on the way to somewhere else. There is the ‘Real Cartuja de Valldemossa’ tour of the Royal Charterhouse and adjacent Palace. It’s about €9 each and worth every penny. The original scores of Chopin (who stayed at the monastery in 1838) are fascinating to see.
There are markets on most days and although we didn’t rate the one at Inca the last time we were here, I can say the one in Alcudia old town is well worth a visit. There are hundreds of stalls. There are the usual ‘bling bling’ and sunglasses/handbags stalls and then there are stalls full of every type of olive imaginable, fruit stalls that are a riot of colour, animated conversations, hustle and bustle as the locals buy their produce. It’s worth a visit for the atmosphere and photography opportunities and once you’ve done, then have a walk around the old balustrades and walls that used to protect the old town. The church is worth a visit too. If you want a bite to eat then we can highly recommend ‘Sa Caseta’ which is a pizzeria in a quiet square just off of the main hustle and bustle route behind the town hall. Very nice handmade pizza, relaxed atmosphere and the sangria wasn’t bad either!
I’ll finish by talking about the National Park opposite the hotel (S’albufera de Mallorca) It’s free to go in but you do need an ‘permit’ stamping when you get down to the information office which is actually just a leaflet telling you about the place. We went twice in the two weeks, the first time we walked and went into all the hides. Amazing……the variety of wading birds there are a joy to behold. We saw a turtle sunning itself before disappearing back in the water. It’s very hot and humid so take at least a litre of water per person. There are 3 identified walks with number 1 being easily achievable and number 3 being very long (approx 11km).
After being very impressed with the open space and wildlife on foot, a few days later we decided to hire bikes and cycle around the park. We hired bikes from Wheels Sport (turn right out of the hotel, walk over the bridge and they are situated on the left hand side just a short way down) at a cost of €10 per bike and no deposit required. The bikes are in very good condition too and you’re given a basket and bike lock.
The cycling was fantastic, we covered so much more ground as we pedalled our way around the whole of Walk 3 which took about an hour. We saw ‘quaint’ houses, grape vines, a field of tomatoes and the funniest thing of cows with large white birds perched on their backs!! We enjoyed it so much that we went back in later in that day and did the whole thing in reverse. Be warned the gates shut promptly at 6pm but it’s not a problem because if you’re on foot then you can side step the gates and on the bikes, just lift them over like we had too!
I could go on and on with this review as we had a great time and loved being on the island for those two weeks. If you’re looking for quality, friendliness & high standards then Parc Natural Hotel is the place to be. We’re not sure how we’re going to top this holiday as for us, the hotel, facilities and the exploring of the local area and culture that we undertook far exceeded our expectations. Put simply, it was a fabulous holiday.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
