Insotel Cala Mandia Resort & Spa

“Overall mixed experience”

We recently stayed at Insotel Cala Mandia Resort & Spa in Majorca and, overall, had a mixed experience. On the positive side, the rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable, and there is a good choice of food throughout the resort. There is plenty of variety, including steak, chicken, prawns, fish a… more

We recently stayed at Insotel Cala Mandia Resort & Spa in Majorca and, overall, had a mixed experience. On the positive side, the rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable, and there is a good choice of food throughout the resort. There is plenty of variety, including steak, chicken, prawns, fish and lots of other options, so there should be something to suit most tastes. We also ate at the 50s Restaurant, which has an additional charge, and this was a real highlight of our stay. The food, staff and entertainment were all excellent, and we had a really enjoyable evening. Unfortunately, our experience with some of the bar staff, reception staff and TUI representatives was disappointing. We found some staff to be quite rude, unhelpful and uninterested when we asked what we felt were fairly straightforward questions. For example, we were trying to find out our transfer time from the hotel to the airport. We were repeatedly told by the TUI representatives to check the TUI app. We explained several times that the app wasn't working, but unfortunately this didn't result in any further help. In the end, we had to contact our Travel Consultant ourselves to get the information we needed. TUI did eventually send a text the day before departure, but we felt a simple explanation from the representatives at the time would have avoided a lot of unnecessary frustration. We were also given conflicting information on several occasions regarding opening times and what was available in different areas of the resort, which was frustrating when simply trying to plan our day. Another issue involved ice packs we needed to keep medication cool during our journey home. We specifically asked for the ice packs to be frozen and left them with the hotel four days before departure. One member of reception even recorded the request in the diary. On the day of departure, after already having confusion over whether they could be frozen, we waited around 30 minutes at reception for them to be brought to us. Eventually, just minutes before our transfer arrived, a member of staff came with a freezer block — but it wasn't the ice pack we had handed in, and it wasn't frozen. Given that we had explained the importance of keeping the medication cool and had made the request several days in advance, this was particularly disappointing. Having stayed in hotels and resorts all over the world, we feel there is definitely room for improvement when it comes to guest relations and customer service. We also felt during our stay that the hotel sometimes appeared more attentive towards guests of other nationalities than English guests. This is obviously our personal perception, but it was something we couldn't help but notice and it did affect our overall impression. There are certainly plenty of positives. The resort has lots going on and caters particularly well for families and children, with plenty of activities and entertainment. For families with young children, there is a lot to enjoy. However, taking everything into consideration, we personally wouldn't return. The accommodation, facilities and food are generally good, but customer service is a very important part of a holiday for us, and unfortunately this is where we feel the resort falls short. We've stayed at other resorts where staff have genuinely gone above and beyond to help their guests, and sadly, we just didn't experience that here. It's a resort with plenty of potential, but for us, the customer service let the overall experience down.

less

“Disappointed and not what expected”

The hotel itself is large, spacious and has some excellent facilities. The swimming pools and water park are particularly good and provide plenty of entertainment, especially for families with children. Unfortunately, there were several issues that made our stay disappointing, and some concerns wer… more

The hotel itself is large, spacious and has some excellent facilities. The swimming pools and water park are particularly good and provide plenty of entertainment, especially for families with children. Unfortunately, there were several issues that made our stay disappointing, and some concerns were noticeable from the very beginning. When we first arrived, we noticed that the water and juice jars in the reception area appeared to have been left in the same condition for some time, which did not give a good first impression in terms of cleanliness and attention to detail. During our stay, we also unfortunately found ants in our drinks. We showed this to a member of staff at the bar, but once again, we felt that no responsibility was taken and the issue was not handled with the level of concern we would have expected. This was particularly disappointing from a hygiene and customer-service perspective. The rooms also lacked basic amenities that I would expect from a hotel of this standard. There was no kettle or tea and coffee-making facility, which was very inconvenient. The level of staffing was another major concern. There appeared to be very few staff, and unfortunately, the service was not particularly friendly or helpful. When we raised issues or concerns, we often felt that nobody wanted to take responsibility or properly resolve them. The lifts were another problem, as they seemed to be out of service most of the time. This was particularly frustrating when travelling with children and trying to get around a large hotel. We also found the dress requirements for the main meals quite impractical. Guests were expected to wear casual clothing for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but in very hot weather, especially with children, this is not always convenient or comfortable. Another issue was that food could not be taken from the restaurant to the pool area on plates due to health and safety reasons. I understand and respect the reason for this policy, but the hotel should consider providing suitable disposable plates or another practical alternative for families who want to eat around the pool. Overall, the hotel has great potential, with its spacious design, pools and water park being definite highlights. However, the cleanliness concerns, lack of basic room amenities, poor customer service, unreliable lifts and inflexible policies took away from what could otherwise have been a very enjoyable family holiday. I hope the hotel takes this feedback seriously. The facilities are good, but better attention to cleanliness, customer service and practical guest needs would make a significant difference to the overall experience.

less