Last Easter I took my GF to Mallorca, to visit the island and also to stay in a nice 5* hotel called Hipocampo Palace. I made a package reservation on [--].

When we arrived at the reception, we were informed that Expedia had made a mistake and that the hotel was full. Expedia had therefore downgraded us to Hipocampo Playa.

Needless to say, they did not try to contact us although the trip had been booked for more then 3 weeks before departure. They did not call to apologize. I had to write a lengthy letter - there is no number to call ... - to explain how unhappy I was. (I'll never ever use them again, there are so many bad reviews on the web, I should have trusted them).

Back to the hotel now ...

The hotel we were downgraded to ("Hipocampo Playa") was ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE, it's got 4 stars but honestly barely deserves 3 !!

- Information was extremely difficult to obtain from the reception given that they wouldn’t speak even Basic English. It is really German, even maids have basic German knowledge, no English at all.
- we were promissed some sort of compensation but never saw anything coming
- The indoor swimming pool was tiny
- The sauna had to be booked (!)
- The fitness room was ridiculous
- The room were not spacious
- The bed mattress was as hard as a rock
- It smelled cigarette smoke everywhere
- The diner was basic & the wine list was appalling
- The dining room was in fact a huge noisy cantina
- Kids were running and shouting everywhere
- Evening entertaining is laughable
- On the 1st night I had to call twice to get 2 bottles of water sent to the room
- On the 3rd night I asked for drinks to be sent to the room and the reception literally barked at me in Spanish and hung up on me. I had to go to the bar and order drinks and bring those upstairs myself. Needless to say I couldn't put the bill on the room for some obscure reason (!!!) and they wouldn't take card payments.

- The bar is really like a huge smoky pub were german tourists get drunk and smoke all night calling it entertainment - no dress code, quite low level.

I could write a novel ...

Just don't go there ... trust me ...

The palace is really good, we went there to the swimming pool and sauna and beauty / massage salon and really that's where we wanted to go in the first place. (There is a proper bar and lobby and strictly no smoking policy).

------------ Never again with Expedia, they took my money and then changed the rules in the middle of the game ------------

This hotel is okay. We enjoyed our stay overall but....

Pros:
Location is excellent
Beach is close and lovely as are shopping and promenade
Rooms are clean
Nightly entertainment is very enjoyable.
Service was good, employees were pleasant.

Cons:
Food is average and pretty boring.
We stayed for 5 days and they never changed the sheets.
The inside and outside pools are tiny
Workout equipment is minimal and in very poor condition
Hot tub was cold
Could not get coffee before 8:00, bad for early risers.
Long (1.5 hours) bus ride to and from the airport

Other Info:
Most guests were retirees/elderly.
Very few children.

We stayed at the Safari Park Hotel just down the road in 2000 and the food, outdoor pool and children's acitivies were quite a bit better. (Safari Park indoor pool was awful but perhaps they've cleaned it by now). If you want more unspoilt surroundings, try Can PIcafort. We stayed there in 2004 and it was very nice and not quite as touristicated (yet). The hotel there, Dunas Playa, had great location and service but the food was only okay.

Pros: The staff were always able to answer your questions. The rooms were always cleaned everyday. The location is fantastic as it was only a five minute walk from the places where everything was happening like sacoma, but the hotel was so much better than any hotel i saw there. It was close to the boat that took you to loads of places like the caves of drac. The food was good although not always to our tastes but the close kfc n burger king and fantastic pizza place around the corner fixed that if we were ever hungry.

Cons: GERMANS !!! GERMANS !!! and more GERMANS!! this hotel was 99% german ...me and my girlfriend were the other 1% but they keep to themselves so no worries, just be up early if ya want a lounger by the pool but the beach is so good youll not want to go to the pool. its on the other side of the island but a taxi only costs 70 euros. AND thats about it.