We flew to Palma de Majorca, (a.k.a. Mallorca), Spain on May 28, 2004 from Miami, Florida. Spent a week at the Hotel Leman, a family-owned, 4-star hotel, which is in the best area of the Playa de Palma (Beach of Palma), and only a short 75 meter walk to the beach. Great views from the top floors!
We have stayed there a number of times, and are always quite pleased with the friendliness of the staff and level of service.
This used to be one of the older, original hotels that were built during the Tourist Boom of the 1960s-1970's, but has been remodelled a few times, last time was in 1999, and well-maintained
All rooms are air-conditioned, telephone, safe, minibar, 12" TV's (the only English channel is CNN International) have nice, modern bathrooms, with Grohe fixtures, fluffy towels, and a transparent sheet of rigid plexiglass with a rubber seal on the bottom edge which serves as a curtain. Interesting, but it works to keep water from splashing out during your shower.
We chose "Half-Pension" which includes breakfast and dinner. For lunch, we used to do a "picnic" which was going to a local supermarket, (they just opened up a brand-new 'Mercadona" barely 2 kms. away, getting some breads, cheeses and ham. That would keep us fine until 7 PM, which is when the dining room opened. Else, sometimes I would have dinner a bit later, past 9 PM. Dining Room is open until 9:30 PM, although by then, almost all guests will have finished their dinners way before then.
All meals were served buffet-style. Breakfast was a huge selection of fruits, fresh-baked on the premises breads, hams, cheeses, yogurts, eggs, bacon, sausages, cold cuts, grilled tomatoes, etc.
Fruit juices were some artificial stuff that reminded me of "Tang" for the most part. Disappointing, as there is so much citrus in Spain. Champagne (Cava) is served twice a week for breakfast, as well as smoked salmon.
Dinner is also a wide selection of dishes with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and was quite good.
Try to get a room on the 6th or 7th floors, as if you stay closer to the street, you might get bothered.
My only complaint was that during dinners, you have to pay extra for ANY drinks. Even a small bottle of mineral-water costs € 1,80, same price as from the mini-bar. In comparison, a "Menu del Dia" in any restaurant will always include wine and/or water.
All-in-all, I thought it was very good value for the money.
The Playa de Palma, as well as the rest of the island of Majorca, is a very well-known resort in Germany and Britain, and the majority of the guests at the Leman are Germans, although there are also French, Swiss, Russians, Dutch, etc. Keep in mind that most (thought not all) of the bars, restaurants and night clubs in the area cater to the German majority. As in German beers, German foods, German pop music, etc. You might or might not enjoy it, depending if you are fluent in German, or if not, how tolerant of flexible you are.
We are partial to the area because we used to live there for many years, and enjoy visiting the old neighbors. However, even if you do not know anybody, it makes for a good base, as the beach is well-maintained, and it is an easy drive (also have a continuous bus service) to the capital city, Palma, and an even closer drive to the airport (4 kms.), if you have a reason to go there often (i.e pick up or drop off friends/family).
A certain section of the beach in front of "Balneario 6" (one of the numebered beach bars) is famed throughout Germany for non-stop drinking and partying. It is funny to see these sun- and fun-starved people guzzling down drinks from meter-long straws, and then more beer-guzzling all night long. Although you can certainly rest and relax, the Playa de Palma is not a place to get away from it all. It offers a lot to see and do for everybody, young and old, singles, couples and families.
If you are seeking more typical dining or entertainment, just hop in your rented car and in a few minutes you can be worlds away from the fun-loving crowds.
If you are seeking plush accomodations, then stay at one of the 5-star hotels on the island. If you are seeking very peaceful, pristine, almost-deserted beaches, stay at another beach resort area, although the section of beach, in front of the Hotel Leman are never jam-packed, not even in peak season, July, August and first-half September.
A car is essential to discovering the island.
We got a terrific deal from a British-based car rental company, CarJet, who works through Europa Rent-a-Car, had a Ford Focus with a diesel engine, was $25 a day. Great mileage also, drove 700 kms. on €45 of diesel. Remember that diesel goes for US$3.40/U.S. Gallon here, regular gasoline is over US$4 a gallon!
I would not recommend staying in Ca'n Pastilla proper (too close to departing flights), nor in El Arenal (much too crowded and noisy with older lower-category hotels).
Would recommend sticking to 4-star hotels, as there is a varying range for 3-star hotels,some good, some not as good. If I couldn't stay in the Leman, I would try the "Garonda" or the "Acapulco" but just about any of the 4-star hotels on the beach would be fine. I would be apprehensive about the street noise level (buzzing motorscooters, and singing drunks returning to their hotels at 6 AM), the closer you stayed to the "Schinkenstrasse" (Ham Street), named for the several Serrano Ham bistros, blasting away German Top 40 music until midnight.
President Clinton came to Majorca once, and loved it! And so do the 3 or so Million tourists that come to Mallorca each year.
Best months of the year to come to Mallorca are May/June or September/October. July and August are peak, busiest and most expensive times of the year, when just about all of Europe takes off. However, you can come any time of the year, and still have a very nice time. Millions of European tourists would agree. However, keep in mind that there are many other resort destinations competing hard for the tourist Euro, and if you're looking for travel bargains, those are to be found in the Caribbean. My advice is that if you come after October and before May, stay in a hotel in Palma, as the beach areas become almost deserted during those times, and its too cold to go swimming, although winters are mild.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
