We went half board at the Bellamar and wanted a hotel that was close to San Antonio but far enough out so we could get some sleep at night. The hotel certainly didn't disappoint in terms of location as it is about a 10-15 minute walk along the bay which, in summer, was bustling with people.

Our room was a litt bit small, as we booked a room for 3 people and it had another single bed squeezed in so we were very close...didn't really bother us as we are 3 good friends. Balcony was ok size and you can pay extra for a sea view which may be worth it, depends on the individual.

Food was really good! At breakfast there was the option of cooked breakfast, fruit, cold meats etc. Dinner was equally as good and we were there for 10 days and didn't get bored of the dinner as was always very varied with plenty of salad, meat choices, veggie options, potato option & soup.

Pool area was very chilled, although not totally serene as it faces a road that can be a bit noisy but it didn't bother us. Music was played by the pool but was not overly loud/Ibiza style...just decent music! There is also a pool bar and we had our lunch regularly there; definitely try the Triple Decker Sandwich or the Spaghetti Carbonara. Prices were reasonable too.

There was evening entertainment...didnt look amazing and we checked out the Magician one night which was good fun but as 3 19 year old girls we were there for the nightlife! I loved being out of the 'mayhem' as it meant you didn't get typical English louts at the hotel but we could easily stroll into the main area and there are some good bars along the walk in like Ibiza Rocks Bar and Linekers. And of course further along you reach the infamous Strip!

Whilst we were there we only went to one big club night at Amnesia and bought tickets from a bar for 40 euros. Drinks were VERY expensive in the club so we had our one free drink on our ticket and didn't have anything else! But we met people out there who had taken 2000 euros spending money just for themselves! So very easy to spend a lot but equally you can do it on the cheap and we drunk before we went out on our balcony.

Really would say if you are looking for a hotel that is relaxing during the day and not crazy at night (but at the same time you can access the craziness that Ibiza offers) then this hotel is for you. There were all ages at the hotel but I think it would be best for small groups or couples.

My husband and I stayed at the Bellamar from the 14th Sept - 21st Sept 2011. It was our first time in Ibiza. We had always been put off my stories of drunken teenagers and were aprehensive about going. Anyway, we went to try it and see how it was. The answer we found was BRILLIANT!! The island is soooo beautiful. The Bellamar is a lovely 4* hotel and is worth every one of it's stars. We checked in and the reception staff were really efficient. They all spoke good english as well which was a bonus. The reception area was a clean, bright and impressive start to our holiday. Our room was also lovely. It was clean, confortable and bright. One thing that I could'nt believe was, that we were in Ibiza and managed to get some sleep!! The hotel was so quiet on the evenings. No loud teenagers or drunks in the early hours which was great. The rooms were cleaned on a daily basis and always smelled so clean. The food in the restaraunt was varied and very tasty. For the week we were there it was something different every day for dinner. The hotel could'nt have been any closer to the beach unless it was on it. It was straight out of the frot door of the hotel, turn left and over the road. Took about 3 mins to get there. The pool area of the hotel used to get full really quickly by people who booked their sunbeds with towels from early in the morning. This did not bother us as the beach was so close. If fact we preferred the beach to the pool. We did not sample the entertainment in the hotel on an evening as we found lots of friendly pubs with a variety of things to do and watch. My favourite pub was the Funky Lizard. A great guy named Carl was in charge of the entertainment in this pub and he was excellent. He had me in stitches time after time. All in all, this was one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in. The hotel and San Antonio Bay were a brilliant holiday and I will definitely go back next year to the same place in the same hotel.

Stayed at the Bellamar as a surprise for my birthday, had an excellent time. Hotel is in great location, most of staff very helpful except one particular man on reception who was extremely rude, most arrogant and could not have been less helpful and looked at us like we were dog crap. Avoid him and you can not fault the hotel.

I had the misfortune of staying at Hotel Bellamar for two weeks this summer (last week of July, first week of August). This hotel is one of the highest ranking in the area and I’m not sure if the reason is because it's close to the beach or something else is going on. It certainly has nothing to do with the quality of the hotel itself, as you’ll see…

Alarm bells should have started ringing for me as soon as I got in touch with the front desk for the first time. I sent a polite e-mail asking about the best way to get to and from the hotel and was a little surprised to receive a curt and unhelpful one line response that there’s a bus every hour from the airport - but with no details on which stop to get off at etc. When I wrote back and asked for more information, I received an even shorter and curter reply, with just a few words telling me what the stop was. Bearing in mind the positive reviews Bellamar had on Trip Advisor, I didn’t dwell on this too much at the time, putting it down to cultural differences. I wasn’t prepared for what I was letting myself in for - but you can be. So, without further introduction, I reproduce here the highlights of what you can expect during a stay at Hotel Bellamar based on my experience:

Enjoy the opportunity to step back in time, to rooms transported directly from the 1970s: The room was extremely outdated. A large cathode ray television with a dodgy antenna dominated the space in front of the bed. In addition to its appalling appearance, it presented two slightly more practical problems: a) it only had one channel in English (Sky News) - surprising given that about 60% of the guests at the hotel were UK / Irish / American (though after interacting with the staff, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was intentional); b) the reception was appalling, so even Sky News came through a bit fuzzy. If you’re feeling a bit underwhelmed by the room, you can always pop out onto the balcony. The direct view into the apartment block next door and over the roof of a deserted building will soon make you appreciate that TV.

Expect to pay extra for everything: In addition to the already full price I had to pay for my room, there were a host of hidden extra costs. Internet cost €1 for 30 minutes, with no Wi-Fi availability in the rooms. A significant daily fee and only partially refundable deposit were required to use the safe in the room. I went half board, expecting to have some control over my expenses by fixing my food costs, but little did I know that while water is provided at breakfast, no liquid of any sort is provided at dinner. When I asked for tap water at dinner, I was told that the hotel’s tap water was undrinkable, that I couldn’t bring my own water into the dining room and that if I wanted to have water with my meal I would have to purchase their water at egregiously inflated prices - a petty money making scheme if ever I saw one. Repeated written reminders not to remove food from the dining room are everywhere.

Experience the most stressful taxi situation imaginable: Fairly obviously, guests at the hotel need to get from A to B and I would expect a 4 star hotel to try to be helpful with this. Often, we had to call the taxi company ourselves to book the taxi, as the hotel staff refused to try calling on the basis that the lines get busy as peak periods. The obvious solution here would be to come to some arrangement with the local operator for guests - but given that hotel Bellamar really doesn’t care about the guest’s experience and repeat guests are few and far between, it has little incentive to organise this. I was often hours late to ticketed events as I struggled to book a taxi to get where I needed to go.

Prepare to meet the rudest staff you’ve ever encountered: As soon as I arrived, the staff treated me like I was looking for trouble. I can understand that, based on their location, they may have had some very bad experiences with British / Irish / American visitors before, but to immediately jump to this conclusion as soon as I arrived based on my accent and the fact that I spoke English (as evidenced by their body language and level of friendliness) is just inexcusable. Some key experiences that stick out for me are: Staff at the front desk never greeting me (or any other guests passing by) with a good morning, good evening or good night - I felt like I was trespassing on the property. Staff directing me to a taxi rank that never, ever had a taxi at it - why not just tell me that taxi availability is limited at peak season? A waitress in the dining room asking me to sit elsewhere in a very aggressive way when I chose to sit at an unoccupied table (in fairness, the hotel manager did apologise about this when I flagged it). Items being slammed down on the table when the staff in the dining room brought them over (again, and on a subsequent occasion, the hotel manager apologised, but there are only so many apologies for bad service one can take when no effective action is taken to improve the problem). Also, as mentioned in a previous review, the waiting staff in the dining room are very keen to clear your table and get you out of the dining room as soon as possible - so don’t take too long away from your table at the buffet, or you might find everything gone when you get back. When I think back on the service in general, cold glares from staff, staff pretending not to speak English and later turning out to have fluent English and staff clearly talking about me in Spanish in an effort to make me feel uncomfortable / intimidated are what stick in my mind the most.

To unwind after your adventures, why not attempt a workout at the saddest gym you’ve ever seen: Featuring, and this, unfortunately, is an exhaustive list: 2 dumbbells, a rickety exercise bike and a weight-machine, thrown together in a small room in the basement. If you still don’t feel relaxed you might as well try the indoor pool - it’s tiny, but the sight of the small pool of water occupying 15% of the overall room, which is otherwise a concrete floor, will at least bring a smile to your face.

I was certainly not the only guest to experience considerable misery as a direct result of my stay at Hotel Bellamar - every other morning as I went down for breakfast I passed a hotel guest at reception making an official complaint - usually regarding the demeanor of the hotel staff. I’m very surprised that not many of these experiences have trickled back onto trip advisor.

I would never stay at this hotel again but really liked Ibiza. Don’t say you haven’t been warned!