Iberostar Waves Club Cala Barca

“A wonderful family time”

We booked as a family party of eight to celebrate our ruby wedding anniversary, three generations with our four year old grandson and eleven month old granddaughter. We had a terrific and unforgettable family holiday. If you put a group of highly paid consultants in a room and challenged them to de… more

We booked as a family party of eight to celebrate our ruby wedding anniversary, three generations with our four year old grandson and eleven month old granddaughter. We had a terrific and unforgettable family holiday. If you put a group of highly paid consultants in a room and challenged them to design a family resort they would likely come up with something close to the Waves Resort. What they couldn't provide however would be the pleasant, helpful and professional service as exemplified by all staff in all departments here (apart from room maintenance, but I'll return to that minor point later). Though a large and sprawling estate, stretching to over 500 rooms, nowhere felt overwhelming or packed.....we could always get sun beds together (and didn't rise at the crack of dawn to reserve them). The pools are family friendly, our grandchildren loved the splash pools.......and importantly are very safe; I have never seen so many lifeguards as they all reported for duty at 10am. The entertainment is great for families, children well catered for during the day by hard working entertainment staff (i never thought I'd have been in a foam party or have my photograph taken with an eight foot tall Transfomer). Evening entertainment provided some music and a very professional circus act. Queueing for drinks is kept to a minimum thanks to self serve beer and soft drink pumps and it was lovely for the wife and I to end the evening with a lovely latte at the coffee shop situated to the rear of reception and above the entertainment stage. Needless to say the ice cream shop was a big hit with the grandchildren (and our daughter alike). In summary there's everything here for a great family holiday. I must give a special mention to the executive chef and his team; we have done numerous all inclusive holidays around the Mediterranean with varying standards from bland to quite good. Every resort must work to a budget per guest and in these cost conscious days as profit margins tighten this becomes a more and more difficult task. Frankly we were blown away with the quality and variety of food in each of the restaurants here. The chefs work wonders with an extensive range of dishes served at every mealtime, and all consistently hot and frequently replenished. My personal favourite was the Oriental/Asian night in the main buffet and of course our last night at the beachside barbeque restaurant which really ended the holiday on a beautiful and unforgettable high note. We made wonderful memories to last a lifetime. Outside of the resort itself is the adjacent Mondrago National Park where we were able to have some fantastic early morning walks discovering stunning coves and beaches, all deserted at this early hour. We listened to the call of the hoopoe but sadly never saw one. All in all this was the perfect family holiday, a celebration of our 40 years together and the best possible way to spend a week in this (to us at least) undiscovered and beautiful part of the island. We would love to return one day. There was only one mildly negative concern, the plug in our washbasin didn't work and despite reporting it numerous times (in person and via the app) and the help of the reception staff the maintenance team never got round to fixing it. I hope this resort continues to flourish, though the grounds are immaculate some of the rooms are now looking a little tired and you suspect some serious investment will be required in the not too distant future to keep the accommodation up to the clear high standards this company sets itself. If you're reading this review and wondering whether to visit, my view based on our personal experience would be to go ahead and book. We found it to be considerably ahead of its local competitors in the Balearics.....we've tried many of them over the years and none have really matched the standards shown here.

less

“Will be returning!”

Just returned from a lovely week here. It was our first time coming and we would definitely return. The good bits - -Room was really lovely and spacious. Bed was very comfortable and it was cleaned to a high standard every day. -My 4 year old loved the splash park! The slides were great and he had … more

Just returned from a lovely week here. It was our first time coming and we would definitely return. The good bits - -Room was really lovely and spacious. Bed was very comfortable and it was cleaned to a high standard every day. -My 4 year old loved the splash park! The slides were great and he had a fantastic time and would have happily spent all his time there! Loads of Sunbeds so there was always room there also. - All the pools were fantastic. We loved going to the splash park in the morning, stopping until lunch to have lunch from the food trucks there (which was great for my picky 4 year old who could have chicken pops and chips!) and then went to the main pool in the afternoon when it got a bit too hot as it was quite shady and cooler which was also great for children. - The ice cream parlour was amazing! Was great to pop in when it was quite hot to get a nice ice cream and cool down. Another firm favourite with my son! - The entertainment was great! From foam parties to face painting to a live band at night. Really enjoyable! -The coffee shop was a lovely place to get out the sun and chill. - All staff were really friendly and approachable. I could honestly go on about all the good parts, it really was a great time. I would definitely recommend the beach restaurant as it was amazing. The only issues I found were the toilets around the resort could have done with more cleaning more often, quite a few times we went in a cubicle and it was dirty from other guests. Also I think the restaurants would have been a lot better if they had a 'kids section' of food (with maybe sausages, chicken nuggets etc) as there was one day my son (who is very picky with food!) wouldn't eat anything from the restaurant and just had chips! But there is the food truck I suppose which is good for kids to have chicken and chips! Overall, it was an amazing holiday and we looked forward to returning!

less

“A lovely family holiday”

We’ve just returned from a stay with our son who is about to turn 2. I would say 2 onwards is the perfect age for this location. Overall we had a great holiday. The hotel is large and on a big site, so you do quite a bit of walking, and there are a lot of stairs. Our room was a good size but it w… more

We’ve just returned from a stay with our son who is about to turn 2. I would say 2 onwards is the perfect age for this location. Overall we had a great holiday. The hotel is large and on a big site, so you do quite a bit of walking, and there are a lot of stairs. Our room was a good size but it would have been helpful to have a ‘kitchenette’ area with a sink and kettle/cups for tea. Plenty of pools but most sunbeds by the main kids pool were taken by 10am. Some parts could do with modernising but everything was incredibly clean, staff are always cleaning. Staff were all friendly and very sweet with our son. Excellent food options every day, much more choice and high quality compared to the usual all inclusive buffet. Beach restaurant is lovely but recommend booking as soon as you get there as it gets booked up! Would be good if the evening entertainment started earlier for children, a lot of people having post dinner drinks but children were restless then going to bed before entertainment had started.

less

“Average stay”

We had an okay weeks stay as a family with our 4 year old. Having stayed at Iberostar before we were a bit disappointed with this hotel- it’s a bit tired round the edges. The pool areas are not the cleanest & it was like a Butlins family fest - so many kids that my 4 year old commented there are to… more

We had an okay weeks stay as a family with our 4 year old. Having stayed at Iberostar before we were a bit disappointed with this hotel- it’s a bit tired round the edges. The pool areas are not the cleanest & it was like a Butlins family fest - so many kids that my 4 year old commented there are too many kids! Food and entertainment is good and you can catch the bus to a local beach in Cala mondrago and Cala d’Or, however we wouldn’t return unfortunately.

less