I stayed at this hotel in May as a surprise birthday treat for my father-in-law.
Originally we were travelling to Barcelona - but sadly our flight was cancelled due to the Volcanic ash, so we ended up in Majorca instead. Our hotel was booked via the internet at airport whilst waiting for our flight to board.
First impressions were ok - but a bit disappointing especially in comparison to the hotel we had booked for our original destination, however the hotel reception and front seemed clean and welcoming. 'Ollie' the duty manager that evening was VERY helpful and welcoming.
The room was small on first entry and very dark. It had a small ensuite bathroom (with HUGE sink which jutted over the wc for some reason). We had booked 2 double rooms but ended up with two twins. The room itself was very clean and fresh.
Be aware! the bedrooms are not sound proof and you can hear guests in the next room just even having a conversation. It's not very private or quiet. The noise from people in other rooms flushing toilets or using showers or even just opening drawers was very intrusive.
Satellite tv was advertised but in reality the only english speaking channel was BBC world news. The Mini bar required a key to open which we still never received. There were safes in each room which required credit cards to activate (no charge we have been promised).
The pool area is very nice and clean. Although it was very quiet when we stayed and we were the only guests who used it.
The hotel in is in quiet residential area. Very few staff were on duty and at times it felt like we were the only guests who were staying in the hotel.
We were advised that the hotel has changed hands and refurbishments have been made - but looking at the information shown on comparison sites when under it's previous name it doesn't look like very much has been altered.
Reception staff (apart from Ollie) were very sombre and not the most helpful. Think this was in part due to their limited command of English. They wery slow to serve drinks, teas or coffees and indeed seemed unable to graspe the concept of customer service at times. They were also very slow to clean up after guests, cups/ glasses/ash trays left in the same place sometimes for over a day.
Heaven only knows how they will cope when the hotel is busy in the height of summer if they can't clean up after 4 guests! We in fact helped them by returning debris and used dishes to the bar area but they still didn't wipe tables or clean ash trays.
Quite disappointing as this has potential to be a nice quiet hotel say perhaps for older visitors but not for anyone looking for a bit of life or atmosphere.
We didn't take up the offer to have breakfast preferring instead to venture out and see what was on offer elsewhere.
We took bus in to Palma a few times which stopped a very short walk from the hotel and took approx 15/20 mins and only around 1.25 Euro each way. Also handy to jump on a bus to Palma Nova, Magaluf or Santa Ponca if desired.
Would suggest that this hotel would be best for those people who want a basic base to use to explore other parts of Majorca. Next time I think we would prefer to stay in Palma centre itself. Much more going on and more to choose in terms of hotels, retaurants, bars and lovely shops. Cala Major is a very quiet resort.
- Zenith Hotel Palma De Mallorca
