"Stayed at the Hotel Condesa for 3 nights for along weekend with my daughter on an all-inclusive basis.
Have to say that the hotel doesn’t feel particularly “all-inclusive” when you find out you have to pay for each clean beach towel, the in-room safe, certain poolside sun loungers, the rooftop terrace (which they say is a separate entity yet is advertised as a facility of the hotel) and even the bingo!
Room:
I emailed well in advance to make sure they had a note of our request for a twin room but on arrival we were allocated room 122 which was a double room. Could not separate the beds as they were “penned in” by fixed bedside shelves and the gap between the wardrobe and the beds would have required some rather interesting ninja moves to gain access to our clothes.
Room 176 was better laid out and could be configured as a twin, however, it was basic in terms of facilities, i.e. no coffee making facilities.
The bathroom was a decent size but the frosted glass door was far too small for the doorway, resulting in a large gap around the edge and a slight lack of privacy (in an audio sense, if you get my drift). It also had the tiniest bath towels I have ever seen, and the bathmat was the size of a large flannel!
Location:
This is where the hotel really wins!
It’s in a fabulous position with direct access to the beautiful white sand and turquoise waters – you can literally walk from your poolside sun lounger onto the beach!
The beach itself is public so the sun loungers and parasols are managed by the local authority and cost Є19 per day. They can also be pre-booked via a QR code, which is handy if you want to guarantee yourself a bed.
Pool Area:
The sun loungers around the pool certainly introduce a "competitive sport" element to your holiday .... think of the Hunger Games at 6am, in your PJs and flip flops!
The doors to the pool open at 6am and by 6.05 the good beds overlooking the beach are reserved with towels, by 7am the pool side beds are gone, any later than that and you’re looking at the shady area or beds by the kid’s pool.
Frustratingly, people reserve beds and don’t show up until late afternoon, which is rude & inconsiderate. The lifeguards say they can’t do anything about it, which is frustrating, so unless you fancy setting your alarm for 6:45 and joining in with the sun lounger dawn dash, you are going to struggle
There are pods on an “island” in the centre of the pool that you can reserve for Є25 per day. Again, this feels a little cheeky when you're already paying for an all-inclusive package.
Restaurants / Food:
The main restaurant feels a bit like a cafeteria; the outside terrace has a much nicer feel but is small, so it gets full very quickly.
There is plenty of food on offer in terms of volume but we found it very repetitive and, after 3 nights, craved for something different. There is also a sense that some lunch dishes are making a second appearance at dinner, and apart from the food coming straight from the grill (grilled chicken, steak etc) most of it was lukewarm and a few things were strangely cold …fridge temperature onion rings anyone?
Restaurant, Don Jaime, is much nicer. Smaller with lovely views overlooking the beach. Again, its buffet style (fewer options than the main restaurant) but they do themed nights such as the BBQ where we had the most delicious BBQed beef (cooked to taste)
The staff in both restaurants are very helpful and couldn’t be faulted.
Watch out for the robot trolleys in the main restaurant as they tend to go rogue every now and then and catch the odd guest or waiter by surprise.
Pool Bar:
Poolside bar offering a wide selection of drinks open from 10:30 to 22:30.
The Beefeater gin was flavourless (water?), the pink gin was better, but they ran out of that.
The cocktails are premixed and quite weak, which is a shame.
The Aperol Sprits is decent, as long as you ask them not to drown it in soda.
Poolside Snack Bar:
Awful, simply awful - Pre-cooked burgers and hot dogs taken out of a fridge reheated under a grill – I hate to waste food, but it was inedible and went straight in the bin.
Rooftop Bar:
This is really lovely, and it’s such a shame that it’s not part of the All-inclusive offering.
The seating area is really nice, the views and the cocktails are very good but not cheap – we paid Є29 for a frozen daiquiri and a mojito.
Entertainment:
The illusionist made the audience disappear in their droves!
The MJ tribute tried hard and the traditional Spanish band, The Rumba Kings, were good. Unfortunately, their slot was eaten into as we all had to sing happy birthday to the 92-yr old owner and watch a special “performance” put on in his honour by the entertainment team. Let’s just say it was a memorable evening.
Reception Staff:
The reception staff were very helpful and friendly but clearly, they are working with what they’ve got.
Extras:
AI gets cut off at 11am on the day of departure, and they charge Є50 per person to extend it
Late checkout comes at a price too – Є70 just to keep your room for a few hours!
There is a free shower room you can book, which is handy, although we were only given one pool towel each, no bathmat or hand towels, and you only get 15 min slots.
Overall
The hotel is in a fantastic location, the staff are lovely and it has everything you need for a beach holiday but it does seem a little stuck in a time warp in terms of its overall offering.
The rooms could do with updating, the food could be improved, the entertainment could be more polished and the constant little extra charges here and there make the all-inclusive package feel rather less inclusive than you would expect.
That said, did we have a great weekend? yes, it was a lovely, fun mum and daughter trip, and we enjoyed ourselves in spite of the few niggles, after all, who wouldn’t love the beach location and giggle at a really bad magician after a few Aperol’s.
Would we return to this hotel? Sadly, not in its current form – There are some lovely things about the hotel, particularly that fabulous beach location, but for us there are better options in Mallorca."
