Small, quiet and friendly. The hotel has around 40 rooms of very good standard, all of them face seaward to a certain extent, if you crane your neck slightly around the corner... We booked through "On the Beach". Tip here, look up hotels and resorts you like in Thomsons or Thomas Cook brochures and then log in to OTB where you will usually find the same holiday a lot cheaper including air fares and transfers which can be a taxi just for you...
Anyway, the Hotel is ably run by the very accommodating Gabriel and his young and friendly staff. Breakfast is a buffet affair, taken in the first floor and very attractive restaurant, with plenty of choice of cereals, bacon, eggs, continental foods toast etc, you simply help yourself. The evening meal, taken almost al fresco, is somewhat different however with a three course multi choice menu. There are some strange titles for dishes which might be a bit lost in translation - cottage cheese pudding (actually very nice slice of a cheesecake with some sweet filling), Grandma's custard, which looked like a bowl of custard with cinnamon topping (didn't try this one but others did and enjoyed it. Beware though, on two nights, some of the main course meals were charged a supplement of 3.50EUR, which I thought a bit unfair considering we were half board. Having said that, the meals were very nicely cooked and presented if a little mean in quantity. the rooms are well appointed and comfortable with a decent size flat screen TV that has BBC1 and 2 and plenty of other foreign channels. The beds are comfortable and we had a good nights sleep every night. The bathroom is of a good size, clean and has a really good shower unit. To the rear of the hotel is a small pool that is in the shade for most of the day and does not get much use. There is also a 4 seater hot tub which is really pleasant. What the small pool lacks in, is amply made up by the beach and sea water cove to the front and side of the hotel. The beach is small, about half the size of a football pitch and has quite a few sun beds (extra charge applies), but there is a lot of space if you just want to lie and sunbathe. The sea water is a inlet, about 100ft wide and half a mile long. It is not directly connected to the sea as the cove bends at the far end which ensures that the water is kept very warm and virtually wave-free. The water is also crystal clear and combined with a very gentle sloping beach means very safe bathing.
Santandria itself consists of the hotel, a diving school next door, a couple of bars/restaurants, two shops and a housing estate. There really is nothing else there and that lends itself to being an exceptionally quiet place. It is certainly not a place for teenagers or single twenty some-things. The next resort down the coast is Cala Blanca, which is slightly more developed but still quiet. Cala n'bosch is the third resort along and resembles everything that is wrong about Blackpool, Skegness or Rhyl. Fine if you like "English" bars and cafes every 5 feet, funfairs, kiss me quick hats and a lot of noise, but that's not what we chose Santandria for. Further up the road and to the North is the very picturesque old town of Cituadella which is very laid back and seemed to be filled with either leather or clothes shops or ethnically orientated hippy palaces that just haven't moved with the times. The town is full of narrow cobbled streets which are so full of charm they are well worth a second visit. Bus services in the area are frequent, cheap and comfortable with the drivers being very helpful to non Spanish speakers.
Would we go back again? Probably yes in a couple of years time. The hotel needs some money spending on it and it would have got a five but for a couple of niggling things. There were fittings in the bathroom that were falling off the walls. Our room had the equivalent of the M1 for ants running up the balcony wall, some of which ended up in the bedroom and on the bed which tended to spoil what was otherwise an extremely enjoyable and relaxing time.
Please don't let that put you off, if you want to relax, safely swim, enjoy a superb coastline in the middle of nowhere and have a really good hotel to base yourselves in, then this is the place for you.

We booked this holiday through Thomsons for a week, initially being rather bemused that there was no Thomson rep, however this turned to our advantage. Reading other reviews there are some disadvantages but believe me these fade into insignificance on arrival. There are two young men that appear to organise the hotel and their dedication and address is truly impressive, nothing is too much bother. Buffet breakfast (its good) is served in the dining room overlooking the bay(cafe con leche is the best) and dinner is served on the beach terrace (waitor service) but there is no dress code, which my partner was delighted with allowing him to wear shorts all week. Dinner is three course and a small choice but very good indeed, the fish every night was delicious. Age group was relatively middle age and there was a delightful peace about the place. Weather (in September) was above 26C so don't forget sunhats, sun lotion and definitely snorkels, the sea was not like a bath but a wonderful refreshing swim and a nice gentle slope into the sea, great for nervous swimmers. There is a diving centre right next door, I think they were doing a day special for about 65 euro.
We love a game of tennis and although no court at the hotel, if you take a bus (10 mins) or walk 40 mins into Ciutadella and find Bar Oar there are tennis courts behind (reportedly Nadal played here when he was 11 years old) the bar. It is 10 euros to play but non members can only play in the mornings. One of the barman who works in the morning speaks good English and the bar had alot of locals playing dominoes and going about their daily routines.

Ciutadella has several museums and we found going on a Sunday it was nice and quiet, great for photos. The buses (public transport) are well organised and a MUST is a bus trip from Hotel Santrandra to Mao (or Mahon), costs 5.50 euro one way each. We went on a Tuesday as it was market day. You catch the bus outside Hotel Andria along from Sandtrandia at 9.15 into Cuitadella (however the buses are regular all day) for the transfer to the Mao bus, believe me this is very simple and it tells you all where you are going all up on a screen on the bus. In Mao we walked down to the harbour and got on the yellow boat for the fantastic boat ride around the harbour, although 11 euros, it was worth every cent. Its even glass bottomed, so great for kids, however although there were a few children there weren't many and they all appeared very well behaved. The organ recital in the Santa Maria chuch is also well worth the 5 euro entrance fee, some very familiar music was played and great atmospherics, amazing organ, chandalier, aesthetics.
Football can be seen about a 25 minutes walk away from Hotel Santrandria in an area that looks very British orientated, anyway there are row of bars very much designed for football/sport and egg and chips (OK area) but not the real richness of other local areas and beauty spots.
Our highlights was the Somni, a horse dressage show, which we loved and about a 20 minute drive away, loads of parking there. Thomson advertise but because of having no rep we decided to do this independently which worked out splendidly. We hired a car for the day and night, picked the tickets up during the day and they booked our seats there and then (we got great seats in the Grandstand, no obscured viewing, seats (94,95,96 & 97 as there was four of us), 22.50 euro seats. This really was a splendid show, even though we are not really horse fanatics. Before the show at about 17.30 in the evening we took a drive a little further along from the show near Ferrieres into the centre of the island, only about half an hour drive from hotel, to El Mercado, where you find El Toro the highest point of the island, where there is a delighful church and the panaromic are a MUST, but go at this time as in the day it is mayhem with coaches etc. There is also a cafe that sells reasonable priced drinks and you can sit out and absorb the delights of it all.
The hotel, well we loved it, there is a small jacuzzi (free) that we used most nights, night lights if you want to be really romantic. Take your beach towels, the sun beds on the beach are expensive so most just laid on the sands. The hotel walls are a bit thin and yes if you want a siesta sometimes there are alot of scaping of chairs from others. However at night there are not discos, or loudness and there hotel settles into a 'good night sleep' mode as there is much to pack into a week if you want, or laze the days away. This hotel is a true delight, I can't imagine anyone finding too much fault.

We stayed from 3rd sept until 10th sept on a bed & breakfast board basis.
The reception was very welcoming, rooms basic but comfortable. Fresh towels daily, fresh sheets twice a week.
Breakfast was delious with a good choice of food. Would suit most needs.
Bar was excellent. Fantastic food, great service and a fabulous view!
Sun loungers alittle expensive at £17 euros a day, but worth it if your planning a full days sun bathing.
Sea is very calm, being in a bay, perfect for little ones. Warm and great for snorkelling.
Local shop just up the hill & regular bus service into town - about 3 euros for two adults single.
All in all had a great holiday & we're planning on returning next year.

I have been in Santandria Playa Hotel in Menorca, ES, from 29th August to 4th September 2011.

I want with my partner a relaxing holiday, and a not expensive one.
This Hotel was perfect.

We think that the personality of this small Hotel (about 40 rooms) depends from a particular location (just ON a little calm and blue beach with withe sand, green pines and spectacular sunsets), a special attention to details (colours, design, music and food, so typical and surprising tihs year with a new managing staff) and from a special style in customer care and in staff approach.
The hotel manager and the staff are able to create a particular atmosphere, friendly and soft, so different fromt the usual 'big' Spanish hotels.

It's also a good base to rent a car and explore the island - all the beaches, full of fishes and of colours - and the interesting archaeological site (megalithic - so unexpected).
The near Ciutadella is beautiful.

We want to come back.