You get value for money here, and it is worthy of its current 3 star status.

Interestingly, there are a lot of reviews written in similar tone - more than I have seen typically on this site - so I conclude that I must obviously be out of step with the majority, but this hotel is not for everybody.

Some of the people we spoke to were somewhat confused by the disconnect between their actual experience and the research that they had undertaken before travelling. Most of these will of course not write a review here. I do so in fairness only because it was a bitter sweet experience for us, and I thought I would add my 5 penneth only for the benefit of (what I perceive to be) a balanced narrative.

We loved the beach, the evening adult entertainment in the main, the short flight from London and the food on the plane on the way home.

We also loved the fact that our 4 year old made some lovely new friends, as did we. Most of the staff were highly motivated and the creche folks doubled up as the evening children's act, which was both strangely hypnotic and addictive at the same time. They worked very hard and were a credit to the hotel.

The food was average and repetitive buffet fare, and somewhat fly blown in the outside restaurant. However our 4 year old thought it was great, and the free ice cream went down well whenever he could twist our arm.

The kids' club served as a well-attended playground - though one in which you may not necessarily wish to leave your children unattended for any period of time. However our 4 year old loved it as long as we stayed there. This was the norm with others as well.

The kids' disco (and similar variants thereof) were a bit formulaic in the evening, and will get repetitive and irksome if your stay is for more than a week: but hey, our 4 year old loved it.

There is little of interest for active adults in the hotel or around the resort, which means that you will spend much (if not all) of the time enjoying your children enjoying themselves: which is great. And our 4 year old really loved this too. Couldn't say that we were totally rested at the end of our stay: but how much does that matter to you?

I guess some people go on holiday purely to see their kids have a good time, whilst others aim for this and expect rather more besides. All I would say is know your mind to avoid disappointment here, and be sure to look round the island whilst you are there if you do go, as it is interesting and beautiful in parts.

First Choice have dropped this hotel for one reason or another next year, but fear not however as one can book directly with the hotel (as well as the odd internet company): though expect to pay more for the same holiday, as there are apparently proposals afoot to apply for an upgrade to 4 star status. This will probably prove more palatable to those in the Euro zone than those from the UK, where other destinations offer demonstrably better value for money.

Which brings me back to my initial thoughts.

We have just returned from 11 nights at the Royal Son Bou Family club. Our party consisted of my partner and I and our 3 children aged 6, 2 and 5 months, we also had my in-laws with us for a week. I booked this holiday with First Choice on the trip advisor reviews and tried not to get too excited as I could not believe a hotel could be this good, but we were not disappointed, it was excellent and they have thought of soo many ways to make a holiday with young children as easy as it could be.
STAFF/RECEPTION - All the staff were lovely, very friendly and helpful and they all love the kids. We had a problem with the sink in our room and it was fixed immediately. They seem to work long hours, but work very hard and are always smiling.
You can hire parasols (cost us 11 euros) and pushchairs (15 euros per week) from reception. I also enquired about trips and car hire which was cheaper than through the travel agent.
CLEANLINESS - The whole place was spotless, you would see them cleaning all day.
APARTMENTS - We had a standard 1 bed apartment which had plenty of space for the 5 of us. I asked for a refurbished one after reading the reviews and also for ground floor, both of which we got. Beds were comfy, bathroom had 2 sinks (low one for the children to have their own), small kitchenette with microwave and fridge which was ample for making up formula feeds as we were all inclusive, large wall mounted flat screen tv in both the bedroom and living room which had BBC 1 and 2 and CBeebies. The towels were changed daily and the bedding approx twice a week. The travel cot had a proper mattress and was already erected, and all the rooms have a highchair. All the beds seemed to have hygiene covers over them and the covers on the cushions on the sofas were also changed. Air conditioning and ceiling fan in bedroom. The only downside was that as we were ground floor our balcony never had any sun and felt a little like we were in the basement BUT almost all the apartments have steps up to them although everyone just leaves pushchairs at the bottom as the place is so safe. My in laws had an older style room, but it was still immaculate and their sea view was stunning.
FOOD - Something for everyone, huge variety at every meal. I didn't feel stressed with my children wandering and being noisy as most of them were doing the same. Plastic cutlery for the kids and food accessible for them to help themselves. Staff were great with the kids. The main restaraunt (La Prat) was large and had air-con. We sat by the entrance mostly as the area is smaller, but the larger far end has beautiful views of the coastline. It can get very busy between 7 and 8. There is also a small creche which is a fantastic idea, although our daughter wouldn't go in unfortunately. La Basilica was more open, and served toasties, pastries and cakes between breakfast and evening dinner. Flies did not seem to be a problem for us when we ate there in the evening.
ENTERTAINMENT - Brilliant. Adult activities all day - aerobics, aqua aerobics, football, water polo and volleyball. Kikoland was amazing, loads of organised activities within a play area. You could leave the children but we just went along with ours and watched them get involved or play on the bouncy castle and play park. The kids loved the entertainment in the evening, lots of songs and dances which we were all singing by the end, and still are! The seating area was really busy during the kids entertainment, but most people left before the adult entertainment started, which was a shame as it was really good - Acrobats, magicians, tribute bands etc. This said, the hotel was silent by 22.30 until approx 8 am which was brilliant. The large pool was cold, but this didn't seem to bother the kids, and the kids pool was heated and gated and surrounded by astroturf to stop little ones falling over. Loads of spare sunbeds, even though the hotel was full, and reserving with towels is not allowed. We got pool towels when we arrived and were surprised to find at the end that they were a gift to take home.
THE ISLAND - Son Bou is very small but has everything needed - cash machine, supermarkets, shops, car hire etc, although a few of the hotels are quite a bit out of the centre at the top of the hill. We hired a car from Europcar right opposite the hotel which cost 62 euros for the day, which was cheaper for us instead of doing trips. It was easy to drive aroung, 45 mins from one side to the other. The Cituadella is pretty, but we went to Mahon twice. The harbour is really pretty. The bus services are very good, we took it from Son Bou to Mahon which only took 20 mins, and cost 2.35 euros single per adult. You can change in Alaior (10mins away) to connect to Cituadella. We got a timetable from the hotel reception. We got a little road train around Mahon which was 5 euros and lasted 50 mins. There is also one of these around Son Bou which cost 6 euros. The beach in Son Bou is stunning and the water very warm.
WEATHER - We had a heavy rain the day we arrived but other than that it was mostly hot and sunny, with the odd hazy few hours.
OTHER - Nappies cost a fortune, large pack of size 3 cost 14 euros and a small pack of size 5 between 6 and 8 euros (cheaper in the hotel shop). Only 20 minute transfer from the airport. This hotel is 90% occupied by Germans/Swiss/Italians, and it made me feel very ignorant as a Brit as everyone else (including the staff) seemed to be able to speak multiple languages. My son made friends with a Swiss boy despite the language barrier. There was no 'loutish' behaviour, everyone was very family orientated, it made for a really nice atmosphere.

I would recommend this hotel to young families, as I think our 6 year old son would find the entertainment a bit young by next year. It will be hard to top this hotel in the future!

A great holiday - it was our third time back to Royal Son Bou Family Club. It's just perfect! Hotel, Staff, Food, Entertainment People, Kikoland etc! We're hoping to go back in 2012 but First Choice are no longer offering this hotel for Summer 2012 - what a shame. Hopefully another tour operator will though! :)

We have just returned from 2 weeks in the Royal Son Bou. Firstly, this is a great family hotel, especially for our 22mth old son. It is centred around young children and my son loved all the activities – especially the pony trekking, tee-shirt painting and the nightly kiko disco. Meal-times were stress free due to the child seats provided instantly, the child-friendly buffet and the provision of children’s cutlery.
The apartment was spotlessly cleaned every day, and was bright and spacious. There were quite a few stairs up to the apartments, but it felt like such a safe complex that many parents left buggies at the bottom. The cooking facilities in the apartment were basic, but again spotlessly clean. The fact that there was a tv in the lounge and another one in the bedroom was so unexpected, but so useful!
The staff at the hotel were great, especially in the restaurants where they fussed over my son and made us feel so welcome. The maids were lovely and thoughtful, and the reception staff were helpful and exceptionally efficient (when we needed some new linen for the cot, it arrived at the room within 10mins and when an engineer was required to fix our air con, the same response times were adhered to).
The pool area was fantastic. The hotel has a policy that loungers cannot be reserved, and it was great that there was not a fight on for the best spot. The best thing is that the complex is so close to such a beautiful beach. It was only a short walk away via a tunnel from the hotel. The sand was soft and my son spent hours building sandcastles and splashing in the beautifully clear and shallow waters.
The hotel is located in a great position, near the main area of Son Bou. Lots of little shops, some bars and restaurants and even a little “Thomas the Tank Engine” train which takes holidaymakers for a trip round the area. All very charming, easy, child-friendly and reminded my husband and I of the type of holidays we went on when we were younger.

Onto the negative points for us. We were one of only a small handful of British families staying at the complex. Whilst this was not a huge issue for us, many of the activities were aimed at German holiday makers, and we did feel a bit excluded from some activities (my husband found it impossible to try to play water polo when he was unable to communicate with all of the other players). The food was also aimed at the German market, which we found very limiting, stodgy and meat-based. Given that I am a vegetarian (I know, there always has to be one!!!), it was disappointing that the hotel and the head chef were reluctant to accommodate our request for a little bit of simple vegetarian food to be prepared.
It seemed a bit odd to us that all bedrooms seemed to be twin beds, and the walls were so thin that we were woken many mornings by hearing our neighbour’s family waking up!

But in summary, a good value for money holiday. Great for young families.