"We just returned from 9 nights at Vista Badia and we had a fab time. The staff in the place are incredible! The staff at reception couldn’t do enough for you. Big shout out to the two ladies on reception, who were so friendly and helpful, it was them who made our experience so good.
On our last night the staff helped us pick a restaurant S'Oratge Ristorante Restaurante and it was AMAZING!
We stayed in a select room with the hot tub and we’re sure we’d use it but it was used almost every day. Fab place to sit in the morning and just chill.
The hotel is spotless! The cleaning staff work tirelessly. The cleaning staff were also very friendly and we always had fresh towels and made our beds most days.
Food- we stayed All Inclusive and it’s so worth it.
The breakfast is what you expect and is very busy around 9-9:30. My only suggestion to this hotel is to run breakfast until 10:30 because not too many people come inside for lunch so I think that breakfast needs more time. We stayed in a place in Ibiza and breakfast was until 10:30 and made a world of difference. Having to rush for breakfast on holiday is a bit stressful.
Lunch- the buffet inside was probably the best at lunchtime. Dinner buffet was not that nice in my opinion, so we did our best to make use of the onsite restaurants. They are located at Safari park hotel which is a massive and overcrowded hotel so we were very glad we did not stay there.
Restaurants- you get 1 guaranteed per stay which I feel should be increased based on length of stay. If you stay over 7-10 nights, should be two guaranteed and 14 should be 3 because I’d have been disappointed to eat at the buffet and more than the 2 nights we had to. Every day at 2pm, the bookings that weren’t used at the hotels would open up and you had to be at the hotel on their public WiFi in order to book. I didn’t like this as it’s not secure, also the bookings were gone within seconds and I mean seconds. It’s like Disneyland! The panic to get a booking is hilarious but worth it so we didn’t have to eat at our buffet restaurant. It was too loud for us and our kids so when we did need to go there, we ate outside on the terrace area. So if you’re at the beach or out and about, be prepared to eat at the buffet that night.
We ate at La Fontana (Italian à la carte), Cardamon (Chinese buffet) ,Goa (Indian à la carte), Country Grill (Mexican BBQ buffet) and Sicilia which was in our hotel and Italian also.
The best was La Fontana for experience and food but also the country Grill. We ate at country Grill 3 times I think and absolutely loved it every time! The staff here are so friendly and the steak and food is sooo good! We always left happy, everything is very fresh.
I don’t recommend Sicilia personally. The starter was nice (just the same as last fontana) but main not at all. I think they need to look at a different theme or copy the food at La Fontana exactly, it’s like the restaurant is an afterthought and an extra offering to what they have already. It’s on the raised deck beside the pool. Our kids were hyper and acting up so we had to leave so I couldn’t eat the main dish but I was relieved and we just grabbed bits at our buffet instead.
Don’t get me wrong, the buffet is ok, recycling some salad bits from breakfast etc. I wish they would just make less at breakfast instead of seeing the need to reuse cucumber etc. as by lunchtime it was dry!
Room- clean and comfortable and beds were firm but also had a topper so we slept well enough. Do need a bit more sound proofing but not bad. No tv in the bedroom, just in the main living area where kids sleep so couldn’t use it once they went to sleep. I’d move the tv into the bedroom for sure! Only thing is on one of the days there was a weird smell of dog poo on out kitchen counter. It was like a dirty cloth had been used to wipe it down and it was rank. I had to scrub it with soap, boiling water from the kettle and the tea towel. I was raging we had no bleach. It was a bit weird, and no idea where it came from as we hadn’t left the complex at that point so nobody stepped in anything, nor would it have ended up on the counter if we had! We never complained about the smells in the room because what’s the point, we gave it a clean ourselves and opened the window and doors. We did not want to move rooms but there is definitely something around the kitchen area, perhaps behind the presses that stinks like fishy the rest of the time, perhaps the glue on the laminate kitchen presses. The rest of the room was still spotless so it’s not the cleaning staff but perhaps maintenance need to look behind the presses to see if some food or something is behind there or maybe the filter on the extractor fan needs changing.
Pool- I was apprehensive it would be really cold so early in the summer but it was actually not bad and we had great fun. The bouncy thing was a good laugh. My biggest criticism is there is no proper shallow end. Around the bubble it’s as shallow as it gets (1 metre) and as soon as you leave that space, it’s deep and I’m 5’4 and was out of my depth almost immediately! It’s so bad and the line marking the deep end is blue and easy to miss with the reflection . My youngest who is 5 had to stand on his tippy toes the whole time. There is a baby pool but at 5 he feels he is a big boy and doesn’t want to be with the babies. There is a big section of a deep and and another area that I think they could do with it being shallower. Not that they would do that on one review but if your kid is shorter, it’s something to bear in mind.
Bar- the AI drinks are beer, and machine blended cocktails (Sangria, Pina colada and love on the beach) mojito is €5 but it’s sooo worth it. Other than that the fizzy drinks have to be gotten at the bar as well, have seen other places where they are self serve but the bar is well staffed so you never wait long. Shout out to August who was always happy and so nice!
There is a section behind reception for books that people left behind for others and I think this is a great idea. I made use of this!
In a previous hotel they had a basket where people left hats, sun creams, unused packs of nappies, little beach toys etc for other guests and it was amazing, really reduced waste as we left behind really good kids sun cream and face creams etc that I know would just go in the bin but we had no room for them. We had to buy extra sun cream but would have been great to check a box to see if any had been left behind.
La Reserva- this is at an extra cost and not at all worth it in my opinion. If I was staying at the Safari park, I might have thought it was worth the money but we paid €46 for 2 adults and 2 children even though we were already on AI. I thought it would be far less considering we were already AI. There are only a few slides and the drinks are not as nice somehow and there was only 2-3 staff between the bar and the buffet. I don’t recommend paying the extra. There is a free splash park up across from it that you’d be better off taking your little ones to.
We rented a car from protur cars one day to drive to Palma Aquarium, it cost €85 but was still cheaper than a taxi each way. There were guys beside a car park with high vis vests on and pouches pretending that the car park was payable but I knew it wasn’t so be careful if you also drive in. There is free parking all around so don’t fall for the scam. The aquarium is stunning and well worth the visit!
Beach- 5-8 mins walk and you pay €36 for 2 bed which includes a little plastic locker on the umbrella and two drinks. It was worth it for one day but the beach was over crowded and a lot of cigarette butts and plastic rubbish in the sand. Nice to do one day but we’re sorry we didn’t rent a car for a few days and visit other beaches!
There are little boats for kids and mini golf at safari park, which you can use for free. You’ll never be bored if you stay here! It’s at the safari park so you can go and have a look and then go back to the tranquility of Vista badia!
Overall I’d come back to vista badia! I wanted to put as much detail into this review as possible to help others to make up their mind. In June it’s the right amount of busy and heat and happy staff. Might be different by August or September but definitely a place for the people who prefer a more chilled pool area and resort but with the use of other facilities at the safari park and club house, you can have a busy or quiet holiday, just as you please. You won’t be disappointed if you stay here!
Thanks to all the staff for making an amazing holiday"
