"We visited Iberostar Waves Club Cala Barca as a family with our 18 and 16-year-old. We paid £6400 for the week. We did enjoy our holiday overall, but there were quite a few things that would stop us returning, and I think this resort is probably much better suited to families with younger children.
Our room and pool area
We stayed in apartment 1240, which had two double rooms, bathroom, living/ dining area, fridge, very large balcony and a pool directly outside. The location was lovely and relatively quiet, and we never had an issue getting sunbeds. Some of the wider family we were holidaying with did reserve beds, but we regularly removed our own towels when we weren’t using them because there was absolutely no need for us to take up beds unnecessarily.
Unfortunately, the cleanliness of the pool area really let it down. When we arrived there was no green tinge around the pool, but this gradually developed during our stay and wasn’t cleaned. Napkins and rubbish were left on the pool steps for days and I actually found myself picking things up.
After around five days, white pool clothing and white material on our inflatables had actually turned green.
On one occasion there was poo in the baby pool. I reported it to the lifeguard and, to their credit, they responded very quickly and dealt with the pool itself. However, the brown paper towels on the floor around the area were then left there.
The room
Our room itself was cool, quiet and very clean, so absolutely no complaints regarding housekeeping. It was quite basic, though, and a fair trek from the main part of the complex. There are buggies available to take you backwards and forwards, which is helpful, although at busy times you can be waiting for one.
One thing that surprised us for an all-inclusive hotel was that there were no drinks whatsoever in the fridge and no small snacks. I’ve never experienced that before at an all-inclusive resort. There is a water dispenser outside and a glass jug provided in the room to fill, which was useful. Toiletries included hand wash, shampoo and conditioner, but otherwise the room really was very basic - not even a pen and paper.
Deposits and additional charges
This was something I found unnecessarily frustrating.
We asked for an iron and were told we needed to pay a €20 deposit. This wasn’t simply held or shown as pending on the card; it was actually charged. They also wanted a credit card rather than our travel card, meaning we faced a card charge.
We then had to pay another €20 deposit per towel, so €80 for four towels, again actually charged to the card.
The deposits were refunded once everything was returned, but it still meant charges and refunds going backwards and forwards on our card.
Beach sunbeds aren’t included either. We paid €14 for two beds and a parasol. At the end of the holiday, when settling this, I asked whether the €14 could simply be deducted from the deposits they already held/refunded. Apparently not, so yet another transaction had to go onto the credit card.
None of these amounts individually are huge; it was simply the constant charging and refunding that became irritating along with each transaction putting another fee on my card.
Food and restaurants
The main buffet restaurant was probably our least favourite part of the resort. It was extremely busy, hot and incredibly loud. The acoustics make an already busy restaurant feel even more hectic.
There was a good choice of food and the staff were incredibly friendly, but unfortunately the food was often warm rather than hot.
More concerning was the food truck near our pool. It was really convenient to have nearby and the lady serving was lovely and very apologetic, but more than once we were given burgers that were genuinely raw and still frozen in the middle. These weren’t slightly underdone burgers or us being fussy - they were actually raw/frozen inside and had to be returned. The chips were also sometimes undercooked.
We also ate at the Mexican restaurant, which is a Mexican-style buffet, and at the Beach House.
I really liked the fact that you didn’t have to constantly book restaurants, other than the evening meal at the Beach House. It made eating much more relaxed.
The Beach House itself was great, although one policy made absolutely no sense to us. There were often couples sitting at tables for four at the front with the best beach views. Yet whenever my husband and I asked for one of those tables, we were refused because they were supposedly “for four people only”. We would then see other couples sitting at them!
Drinks
The drinks selection was okay but fairly limited, particularly the wine. The white wine and cava from the main bar were also frequently served warm, which wasn’t great in the Mallorcan heat.
The lager on tap was Mahou.
Beach
The beach immediately by the hotel is pretty, although unfortunately there were times when there was a noticeable smell of sewage.
We visited other beaches and coves nearby which we personally thought were much nicer.
The hotel’s location is quite isolated, so bear this in mind if you have older teenagers. Our 16 and 18-year-olds didn’t find a huge amount to do on the resort itself, although they enjoyed going down to the beaches in the evening and travelling into Cala d’Or.
A taxi to Cala d’Or was around €10 each way for us and we loved it there. The marina is beautiful for the atmosphere, views and restaurants, while the main centre is great for nightlife, markets and shops. It gave our teenagers much more to do and we really enjoyed our evenings there.
Overall
There were definitely positives. Our room was spotlessly clean and quiet, the majority of staff we encountered were incredibly friendly, there was plenty of food choice, and the resort clearly has a lot to offer families with younger children.
For us, though, Cala Barca was simply too big, busy and hectic. The cleanliness around our pool needed considerably more attention, serving burgers that were raw/frozen in the middle really isn’t acceptable, and all the separate deposits and card transactions felt unnecessary for an all-inclusive holiday.
We had a good family holiday and absolutely loved Cala d’Or and this part of Mallorca. In fact, we would happily return to Cala d’Or.
We just wouldn’t return to Iberostar Cala Barca."
