In the end the stay was good.
But looking after ads and brochures I was expecting something more. The hotel, albeit well maintained, has a decadent aspect from vigorous years of the 60'es. For me the food was not at the level, but maybe I am a bit sophisticate. The SPA was the minimum you can expect. Anyway we found what we were looking for, a very peaceful hotel in a beautiful environment.
PS: don't forget to fight for the beach-umbrella early in the morning!

Knowing how to sum up the experience of staying at this hotel is a funny one! If you love Mallorca -as I do - and you love exploring new areas of Mallorca - as I do - then you will probably be disappointed; I don't mean disappointed by the hotel, but by the general area of Cala Ratjada. My girlfriend and I stayed here for several days in July 2008. The staff were very friendly and helpful; the location of the hotel is beautiful - as it sits looking out to sea on the East Coast of Mallorca - and the hotel have clearly made imprvements since previous reviews on this site, e.g. the coastal path was very 'solid' and easy to use, when walking to Cala Ratjada. However, Cala Ratjada in itself was a total let down. It was tacky, tasteless, loud and no better than some of the other down trodden resorts which gives Mallorca a bad name. It is certainly not cosmopolitan, as is say the beautiful and vibrant city of Palma. So whilst the hotel is value for money and can't be held responsible for the state of the general resort, staying here means your options are limited without a car. And if you like to try out lots of different restaurants then this is not the place for you, (unless you enjoy eating sterile food every night)! So, this hotel is fine as a base for a while, but if you love Mallorca and love making the most of each day as you soak up all this stunning island has to offer, don't stay at this hotel for too long!

This was our first holiday as a couple since our kids were born (19 and 17 years ago) and we wanted somewhere quiet and nice. We couldn't have picked better.

The clientèle is 70% German, 20% Spanish, 10% British. No yobs, almost no kids. There were a few toddlers, too young to get bored, but there are very few organised activities apart from some low-key evening entertainment. Thomson's Web site says "ideal for couples or families", but they are wrong. Ideal for couples, lousy for families, at least if your kids are active!

Plus points:
- The location, right on the water. No sandy beach, but get a sea-view room and wake up to the sound of the Med 30 metres from your window.
- The food. You can eat conservatively (Wiener schnitzel) or Mallorquin. Hot breakfasts cooked in front of you. Big buffets at night. Lunch feels like lunch: a reduced buffet selection but always plenty to choose from. We enjoyed almost everything except perhaps the fish (surprisingly, on an island), which was sometimes overcooked or lacking in flavour. The desserts and cheese were all excellent, which is often not the case on buffets. The grilled vegetables were as nice as the wonderful ladies cooking them "live".
- The all-inclusive package. Make sure you get this!. I don't know how much it added to the cost of our holiday because we filtered our Web search for "only all-inclusive" but it was a great move. Very few guests take "all-inclooseef", so the bar is still set up as a profit centre, not a cost centre. You can choose from a range of good wines, almost all of the cocktails, and all the spirits apart from one or two high-end whiskies and cognacs. All are served properly, not slopped out like in many all-inclusive places. In fact you get to sign the bill for each drink as if it was being charged to your room. Even if you're not a "serious drinker" the ability to have a freshly-squeezed orange juice whenever you want it and without worrying about the budget is great.
- The spa. The treatments are reasonably priced and the free part (sauna, steam rooms, ice fountain, indoor pool) are brand new and superb. Note for the shy: you will feel out of place if you keep your swimmies on in the sauna. Just go naked like the Germans do.

Minus points:
- If you like chatting to other Brits on your holiday, you won't have a big choice of conversation partners.
- Cala Ratjada is not really a quaint fishing village. It's not a total dump like Magalluf but it's not totally unspoilt either. Get a car and explore the east side of the island. We went out most mornings and worked on our tans in the afternoon.
- Unfortunately, at the end of your allotted stay, you will have to leave. You will not enjoy leaving. You will want to come back.

Having printed Martin Cleverly’s useful review to take with us, I felt that I should reciprocate by adding some of our experiences on our return. I echo many of the comments already posted and will try to expand on a number points previous reviewers have made and discuss areas that I feel have been neglected.

The distance from hotel Grupotel Aguait to the small Son Moll beach (mechanically cleaned daily), which is over the road from the Hotel Serrano Palace, is about 1.4Km and should take you between 18 and 20 mins at normal walking speed or you could wait, and wait, for the bus. Martin speaks highly of the coastal path to Son Moll beach; this a natural earth path adjacent to a residential area and is also popular with the locals and their dogs, while I would agree that the views are special and the sea bracing, I found myself having to watch where I walked. Son Moll beach is also where the nearest small supermarket is located, but it doesn’t seem to open before 09:00. The next nearest supermarket is a quite large Aldi about 1.5km drive inland towards Capdepera.

The regular tourist train runs every 1.5 hours, twice in the morning (10:10 & 11:40) and three times in the afternoon (16:25, 17:55 & 19:25) and costs, adults 2.70 euro, children 1.4 euro. The bus service, cost 1.55 euro, runs more frequently but I can’t say the timetable is regular, starting at 9:30 and ending 20:45 but at a frequency varying between 15mins to 1 hour 40mins depending on the times of day, with an average of about 45mins.

Martin says that the hotel rooms are much larger than a normal hotel; I would probably say our room, nearest the sea inlet, facing the sea and with a great view of the 07:00 sun rise, 74 degrees East of North, was adequate, not sure I would stretch to large. Room dimensions – Main part 4.3m x 2.95m with a 1.67m wide double wardrobe, corridor passed the bathroom 2.8m x 0.82m, bathroom 2.0m x 1.9m with a shower over the bath, the balcony was 3m long by 1.8m deep with a small table and two chairs. Our previous room, first night only; (they had over booked, but we were later generously compensated), facing the pine forest, had a bidet (not with view ; < )) and was very slightly larger. By the number of towels hanging over the balcony railings on that side, I suspect the sun didn’t make an appearance until the late afternoon and wasn’t enough to dry towels (no excuse really as the hotel offered clean beach/pool towels daily for a refundable weekly deposit.) Our bedroom had two single beds and a 14-inch television. There were 19 television programmes, 10 Deutsch, 5 Espanol, 2 Catalia, 1 Holland and 1 English tragedy channel (Sky news).

I can’t say the provided evening (alternate nights) entertainment was worth waiting in for, usually started at 21:30 and one occasion finished 45 minutes later. We did have one night where the group (three musicians and one singer) wowed the audience for two hours with popular songs; many in English and quite a number of people took to the floor dancing. Piano music throughout the day was absent during our visit and I’m fairly sure the bicycles were for hire and not free.

The gym was typical of many hotels, in that the equipment provided was only just sufficient to warrant an entry in the hotels list of amenities, however anyone intent on keeping in shape while on holiday should think again. The 4 or 5 weight machines in particular didn’t seemed to have received any maintenance for many years and in one case the weights were stuck in the up position and may have caused injury if accidentally released. The one tennis court attached to the hotel appears to be disused, however I believe there are good facilities within a short walking distance inland.
I enjoyed my daily swim in the sea, easily accessible down a few swimming pool style steps. The Cala or inlet is ideal for snorkelling, numerous underwater small caves housing many colourful small fish. My wife liked the salt-water swimming pool, which she said provided excellent buoyancy.

The fixed dinner times are 18:00 and 20:00; as I wasn’t too bothered about late night revelries my preference was for the later time, more time to enjoy the evening sun or extra time to return from trips in the car. I couldn’t fault any of the members of staff, except maybe that the Manager (a mini Hank Marvin look-alike) was the only one to speak English to any degree of fluency, I guess if I return I will take a German or Spanish phrase book. However, we did have a deal of fun with our waitress exchanging English and Spanish words. If the management want more English visitors, the least they can do is provide labels and menus in English; after a week or so it wears a bit thin being adventurous with meat dishes and wondering what you might be eating.

The road (C-715 multimap.com, the AA used Ma-15) from Palma to Cala Ratjada via Manacor and Arta is excellent. As you approach Cala Ratjada the road circles around to the left of Capdepera located high up on a hill. Watch out for road distance marker Ma-15, 77km; shortly after this you come to what I called the ‘palm tree’ roundabout. Take the second exit, which is a small road running at an angle towards the left from the roundabout, easily missed; the supermarket Aldi should be on your left. Drive down this road, called Carretera de Sa Pedruscada, about 1km, until you pass a Farmacia (pharmacist) on your right and approach a Tee junction. Turn right and the hotel is about 600 metres along on the left.

Reading my review again it would appear that I have been very negative, however my intention was to be factual wherever possible.
I wholeheartedly agree with most of what other reviewers have said and have no hesitation in recommending this hotel and its location for a peaceful, relaxing holiday, it is an ideal location also as a base from which to explore this part of Majorca, either on foot, bicycle or car (we hired for 10 days at the airport for 170 euro plus petrol). Just be aware that no holiday location is perfect, being prepared for the shortcomings can only enhance your experience.