I have been staying in this hotel with my wife for a week in august 2010. We were a bit disappointed by the overall impression this hotel. It does not deserve the 4* label. But step by step.

Location - great. In a first line to the see, just across the parade (promenade). In the middle of everything (shops, restaurants, bars, night clubs). Everything was so close.

Staff - OK. Helpful, cheerful, kind. At the reception desk as well as in the dining room.

Accommodation - the biggest disappointment. Although other reviewers here indicated some previous refurbishment I could not see it. Everthing seemed so old, used, scratchy, worn, smelly... There was some strange smell everywhere. Like if you opened your grandmother´s closet in her very old house. The only investment they made were electronic door locks. The whole hotel was air-conditioned. But somebody did not think about the air-conditioning unit in the room. It was blowing the cold air directly towards our bed (to our legs to be precise). So if it was on, our legs started to freeze soon - since they use only one simple bed sheet instead of a real quilt. And if it was off, we started to sweat soon. It took us some time to figure out how to set the control unit properly to gain a reasonable temperature in the room. It was still showing 25 °C even if the temperature was obviously lower.

Balcony - we paid some extra money for a sea view. It turned out we had a different view of what a sea view means. We were accommodated in a room which had a view to a backstreet with a partial side sea view. But on the other hand it was probably better than rooms in front of the hotel with the direct sea view - these were placed right above the pool area with lousy (and quite loud) night shows determined especially for German pensioners (the hotel was full of them). The balcony was quite spacy but there was no privacy there. You could not just see to any balcony on the same floor but also to many balconies on other floors. This made the balcony usable only for letting the wet towels dry.

Food - very good. Plenty, tasty, variety, buffet style. But the system in the dining room was not so great. There was a square "island" almost in the middle of the room and you had to walk around it and serve yourself. There were often queues and you had to stay there too although you only wanted one thing somewhere around the next corner. I really did not like it. But you could not jump the queue since the other people could kill you just by a simple look :-) At breakfast - people must wait until the waiter brings a pot with coffee or hot water to their table. There was no vending machine there like in other hotels. It usualy took some time until we were served. Once we were not served at all. The hotel also includes bar, restaurant and "gelateria". Tried everything - worth the money.

Services - really not a 4* hotel services. There was no gym, jacuzzi, massages or any kind of sport activities available n this hotel. Only the hotel pool. There was also no internet access in rooms. It was limited to the lobby area only and you had to ask the staff for a password. We were also surprised by the fact we had to pay for the whole stay while checking in! It had never happened to us before. At least not in a 4* hotel. We needed some beach towels - they lended us but for a deposit of 20 EUR each. We stayed in 3* hotels before where we had beach towels available in our room for free.

Overall summary - if you need nothing but a simple, quiet hotel room with basic services this could be for you. But consider well what you spend your money for. There is a plenty of hotels on the Playa de Palma and I believe the competiton can offer better services for even better price.

I've just came back from 1 week vacation to Mallorca, where I've been with my sister and my friend. I am still amazed about the "perfectness" of this island. It doesn't seem to be true. Everything I have seen seems to be somehow a movie set, arranged for the tourists to say "wow" every other minute.
We have stayed at Mac Garonda Hotel. The hotel is good and has a 1 minute walk position from the sea. The room was not ready when we got there, so they have appologised and offered us a sea view room, although we hadn't payed for one. The room was big enough for the 3 of us with a small mini bar and a big closet. The only thing i wasn't pleased with was the food - wich wasn't bad, but not good either. I would say that they had a poor chef that was making bad use of good ingredients. Some dishes kept repeting and where not surpising at all. Also, the entertainment offered in the evening on the terrace was designed for seniors - outdated songs performed by dusty singers.
Another thing that lets say, made me frown, was the instistence of the street sellers - the ones from Africa, I guess. They sell sunglasses and all sorts of useless accesories (apparently), because I think the teenagers bought more from them. They where not aggressive, but they were very pushy.

And that's about it the downs of the place.

The night life is pretty active as well - we've been out two times only - trying to understand how the German teenagers party.
Everything else was perfect: please take a few trips from your agency and also try to do one by your own: don't miss going to Soller and Port of Soller by the old train, to Porto Cristo, to Formentor and all the other perfect places. Have paella as much as you can and sangria as well.
My personal recommendation, because there are a lot to be said about Palma, is DON"T WASTE ANYMORE TIME, JUST GO THERE! Its perfect.

We stayed at the Mac Garonda Hotel in September-October 2009 for two weeks.

Had never stayed at the Mac Garonda before, as we usually stay at a another 4-star hotel almost across the street. However, this time, we decided to try the Garonda, as the room rates were a better deal, especially after Oct. 1st, and we were curious about the Garonda, as we had friends who always stayed there and enjoyed it. This is a family-friendly resort area, and the beach is just across a mostly-pedestrian road, with very little, if no traffic to speak of.

This is one of the original hotels on the Playa (Beach) de Palma, built in 1964, but has been remodelled, and has had many changes of ownership since. This beachfront hotel (the water's edge is about 60 meters away) Has an enviable location right in the middle of the 6-kilometer long beach. Guests are overwhelmingly German, but there were a few British, Irish, Spanish, Dutch and Scandinavian. At this time of the year, it was mostly middle-aged couples and groups of singles, but there were also a few families with children.

It is not a sprawling resort, and neither are any of the other hotels along this beach, but is large enough not to feel cramped. Room was spacious, with a very large terrace the size of the room, but you will get this only if you're on the 5th floor, where there are only 8 rooms available. Guests on other floors will get a much smaller balcony. There are only twin beds, but they can be joined or separated as needed.

Room has a small refrigerator - used to be a minibar - with 2 water bottles, 2 cans of San Miguel Beer and 2 cans of Pepsi. If you want refills, go get them yourself, and the nearest source is the SPAR Supermarket "Super Biarritz" which is next door, where the McD's is. Although the tap water is certainly potable, you can get a 5-litre bottle of Mallorcan Mineral water for € 1,80.

TV in room, is a small analog, only channel in English is CNN International, with other, channels in French, Italian, Portuguese and Russian, along with all the local Spanish and several German TV channels. Downstairs in the bar, there is a large LCD TV.

When making phone calls from your room, keep in mind it costs just over €0,60 per minute for local calls, international calls will be even more expensive, but it's free to receive calls, so have your family and friends call you instead. There is a room safe available for € 28 per week, leave a € 6 deposit for the key. Large Beach Towels are available for a € 20 deposit.

Bathroom was also very spacious, with marble walls, well-stocked basket of complimentary amenities, i.e. shampoo, bath gel, shower cap, shoe polish, etc. As in some other hotels in Spain, there are no shower doors or curtains, but a plexiglass partition is used, and works well to keep water from splashing outside the bathtub. If you're a person with a big (beer) belly, you might find it a little tight to get between the handle and the plexiglass screen, as there is only about 40 cms.

We found quite a bit of dust inside the clothes closets and on the TV, but the maid on duty came up right away and cleaned it.

Free WiFi is available on the ground and first floors, you need to ask reception for a User Name and Password, good for eiither 1 or 2 hours, free for the asking. Bring along your laptop and you will be able to make internet calls for free. If you didn't bring it, there are two PC's, €1.00 for 10 minutes, are available in the lobby.

Evenings, there is a duo who plays live music in the bar, but it is low-keyed. Most guests will want to go out for a stroll and if into it, hang out at "Bierstrasse" (Beer Street) or "Schinkenstrasse" (Ham Street). You don't have to be fluent in German to enjoy the local clubs, but it will certainly help. Palma City is only about 9 kms. away, and I would highly recommend that you rent a car for at least a day, to explore the rest of the island.

There is a large outdoors, mostly covered, terrace with ample seaviews, along with a swimming pool, which was barely used. Water was quite cold, but was told it should be heated. Didn't see a workout room. A nice touch is a Foot Shower, at the bottom of the staircase leading down to the "Tamarindo" Restaurant, to wash off the sand off your feet, upon returning from the beach.

Breakfast is open-seating, but for dinner, there is the 7:00 PM or the 8:30 PM seatings, and you are assigned to a table, although the Maitre d' will gladly make changes for you. For breakfast, you are offered: Orange Juice (very sugary, but I combined it with any of the fresh melon, watermelon and pineapple juices available), toast, breads, jams, fresh fruit, sliced hams, cheeses, croissants, pastries, eggs prepared to order, scrambled eggs, hard-boiled eggs (thought the 5-minute hard boiled eggs were overdone, but was told that this is a Health Department requirement), grilled and raw tomatos, pancakes, muffins, cereals, bacon, yogurts, champagne (Spanish Cava).

We had Half-Board and the 7:00 PM seating, and didn't miss lunch. We just had a fruit or some yogurt instead. The dining room is closed for lunch, but for those guests on full board, the "Tamarindo" Restaurant (open to the public on the ground floor) is available.

Dinner is another abundant buffet which also offers fresh grilled fish and meats every night, and a local mallorcan specialty, i.e. Cocarrois, Trampo, Tumbet, Sopas, Sobresada, Chicken Escalduns, etc. I thought it was amusing how they translated some dishes. Soups were excellent, and "Gazpacho" (cold andalusian vegetable soup) was also offered almost nightly. If you so wish, you can arrange to have dinner at "L'Arcada" which is a pizzeria around the corner belonging to the same hotel management group. Drinks during dinner are not included, a 0,5 L bottle of water is € 2,10, San Miguel Beer, €2,30 and a bottle of good local wine for € 12 - 17. Desserts include Creme Caramel, Rice Pudding, Fresh Fruit, 3 different flavors of ice cream. Gentlemen: Don't forget to wear long pants for dinner, else you will be asked to change. No shorts allowed for dinner.

If you see a gentleman wearing a suit & tie, that is the Hotel Manager, and he is always there at the entrance to the Dining Room for Dinner. He is very approachable and affable, so if you may have any comments or suggestions or concerns, please let him know.

The hotel does not offer any parking facilities whatsoever, but you can easily find parking on the next street over, Calle de la Mar Egea. There is a bus stop just outside the hotel, and with frequent and inexpensive bus service to Palma. A good idea because Palma traffic is horribly congested, seems like the City authorities have declared war on cars.

If you're looking for a good, family-friendly, well-located hotel on the Playa de Palma with excellent cuisine and good service, this is the place. We'll be staying here again.

I've stayed there for 7 nights. The hotel is excellent, the services also and the view...........magnificent. The breackfast was with a variety of food and the dinner also. I will go for sure to this hotel on my next trip to Mallorca.