David and Diane. Liverpool. UK.
My partner and I stayed 8 nights at the Blancala Apts. We had initially requested a sea view and a balcony rather than a ground floor terrace. On our arrival they had no record of our request or the follow-up email request we'd sent in Spanish. We were given a ground floor apartment with sea view, but were told they'd try to move us next morning if possible. We hadn't paid the earth for our holiday, so fair enough. Anyway, we'd only been in the room ten minutes when the lady from reception knocked on the door and said she'd found us a top floor room. Up we went (to room 123) and this was exactly what we had wanted. Top floor, balcony, sea view and pool view too. Happy days!!
We only intended to use the apartment as a base so we weren't expecting a palace. The apartment was clean and basic, but had pretty much everything we needed. Free TV (we've had to pay extra in other places) 2 ring electric hob, not that we used it much. It seems the staff do not empty the bins in the apartments, but there are recycling skips just up the street for the rubbish. You just take it out yourself. Hardly an inconvenience though. Toilet rolls were restocked and towels replaced almost daily. I don't recall the bed linen being changed in the time we we there though. Not a big deal to us though, although if we were there longer I'd hope it would be changed at least once.
We initially found we had no hot water in the apartment and assumed it was solar powered and we'd taken a shower after everyone else had run the hot water off. We queried this with reception and they said the water was through a boiler, so they'd send someone up first thing next morning to have a look at it. Anyway, I found the boiler in the wardrobe and found it had just been turned off. I turned it on. Bingo! Hot water. Anyway, reception were always helpful and willing to sort out any issue, so I can't fault them there. It's worth noting the times reception is open just in case you have a problem. It's not open 24 hours.
The apartments appeared to attract couples and families, so there was little in the way of excessive noise. The resort itself is very quiet and much of it appears to be residential. If you are looking for a wild party place, this is not for you. Luckily, we wanted a quiet, relaxing place within easy reach of Ciutadella. This fitted the bill nicely. Walk out of the Blancala, turn left and walk a few minutes and there is the bus stop to Ciutadella. Buses to Mahon run from Ciutadella. Both places are well worth a visit and have the character, history and charm that a purpose built resort like Cala Blanca is obviously going to lack.
For those not wanting to venture too far there are two beaches not that far from the Blancala. To the north there is Cala Santandria and to the south there is Cala Blanca beach itself. We generally frequented the beach at Cala Blanca. It is a small beach with white sand and crystal clear water. There was always a lifeguard on duty, and he was helpful for advice after I had a brush with a jelly fish. Other than my encounter with this rogue jelly fish we had a fantastic time relaxing and snorkelling. There are restaurants on both sides of the beach, but we tended to eat at Sa Cova. Lovely, friendly staff, and Juan the waiter was a lovely guy.
We don't have children, but I felt that Cala Blanca would be a nice, safe and quiet resort to take young children to. I've never seen so many babies in a resort in my life. I think the resort may be too quiet for some people, so it's worth asking yourself exactly what you are looking for before booking this resort. If peace and quiet is is your thing, with a couple of nice beaches, maybe a bit of swimming or snorkelling and low-key nightlife, then this place could suit you.
Those hiring a car may want to drive to the supermarket on the road to Ciutadella to stock up on food and provisions. We actually walked it, so in a car it would only take a few minutes to get there. You can stock up there for local prices rather than tourist prices, and there is a better selection of goods too.
I can't really vouch for the restaurant at the Blancala because we didn't use it. That was only because we like to get out and about to eat, so this was no reflection on the Blancala itself. Plenty of other guests seemed to use it regularly, so I'm assuming it was fine.
The pool area at the Blancala seemed to be clean. I noticed it was hosed down by a staff member on a few mornings I was up early enough. The pool itself was also cleaned by a little robotic hoover one night. The child in me found it fascinating watching the damn thing doing its job as I sat on the balcony with a cold beer.
I don't think we could have asked for more from our stay at Blancala and Cala Blanca in general. I've given a four out of five (very good) rating for everything, but that is in the context of getting what we paid for and what we expected. We'd stay there again if we were to go back to Cala Blanca. I can't really think of any negative points simply because we got what we expected to get and found everyone helpful and friendly. So, thank you Blancala!! Even the weather behaved itself apart from one day of rain and a few showers the day after.
- Apartamentos Blancala Ciudadela
- Apartamentos Blancala Hotel Ciudadela
