Barceló Illetas Albatros — Hotel in Calvià

We have just spent 1 night at this stunning hotel celebrating my wife's birthday. It is an absolute gem. The reception team did everything possible to make my wife's birthday very special and memorable. We booked a partial sea view and was offered the closest room to the sea front to make the most of our room package. The room was spotless and had everything you needed to be very comfortable but after seeing the stunning sea views on offer, we decided to upgrade to a full sea view and it was so worth the extra. Room 402 had a huge comfy bed with the best pillows ever! The bathroom is part of the bedroom with frosted glass doors to the large shower and toilet. I want to point out, the doors are glass but not see through! We didnt feel like our privacy was compromised at all.|A coffee machine, with as many pods as you like, was a nice addition. Theres a mini fridge full of drinks but we made space in it for our own water and beer. The room also had some other nice touches, just in case you'd forgotten something! ... Bathrobe and slippers, toothpaste and toothbrush, sewing kit, shoe shine, tissues, hair comb, razor and ear buds! The sun shines on the sea view balcony pretty much morning til evening. If you can stretch your budget, a sea view room really does have a jaw dropping view. We actually left our curtains open at bedtime to make sure we didn't miss the sunrise.|We used the pool area for an hour which was very clean but because our visit was during November we didn't get in the pools. Towels are available from the daytime restaurant. We visited the spa for an hour too and enjoyed the hot tub, steam room and sauna. |Now to the restaurant..... We had such a great dining experience both evening and breakfast. In the evening, we were greeted by a very friendly member of the team with a miniature jug of sangria. Another nice touch! Seated by the window. The hotel had kindly put a bottle of bubbly and a birthday muffin in our room for my wife. We took the bubbly to the restaurant and enjoyed it with our meal. A Free bottle of water was also brought automatically to our table. |We thoroughly enjoyed 6 mini courses of tasty food. Started with a very fresh salad, secondly blue cheese pizza, third course of majorcan soup (chicken with potatoes) then we enjoyed the fresh show cooking of pork kebabs (freshly cooked fish and chicken was also available) followed by course 5 of roast pork (melted in our mouths) with delicious roast potatoes and green vegetables and finished with a trio of ice creams and a chocolate brownie. There was so much more to chose from but we simply couldn't fit it all in. All of the food was beautifully presented and so tasty.|Breakfast was just as good.. We tucked into most things in small quantities but the highlights for us were fresh fruit smoothies, an orange press to make your very own fresh orange juice, fresh honeycomb, made to order egg omelettes and pancakes, cava, all varieties of cereals with nuts and dried fruit, fresh fruit with yoghurt, yoghurt with fruit and muesli in mini pots, a huge bread selection and finally the usual hot food offerings of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and beans. We didn't have hot drinks so can't comment on those.|Thank you for making our visit so very special. We most certainly...

We stayed in Barcelo in Dominican Republic and we are really happy with the brand in general since then. We chose the Barcelo Illetas Albatros due to this experience. Due to the low season, there were some small hiccups with the service we received but it was a comfortable stay after all.

Here is a detailed evaluation of specifics:

Welcome: We arrived around 8 p.m. and we were welcomed at the reception. The reception staff usually stays at the back and come out if you are waiting for service but overall they are quick and welcoming. There was no mention of My Barcelo benefits which made us think that the hotel is not paying attention to it at all. (e.g., there was no free water in the room).

The room: The bed is really really comfortable. I would want that bed in my apartment. The room is also very clean with nice high quality towels. The mini bar is filled up but there was no mention of the pricing apart from the QR code. I thought the sweets were free and ate before I realised the pricing. Also the curtains in the room were a bit dirty and needs to be changed a bit more often.

There were some issues regarding the room though. There was a garlic/toilet mixed smell coming from the bathroom after our 2nd night. The ventilation in the room wasn't great and the A/C was only heating and not cooling (due to winter season I guess). So we requested a room change.

The hotel interiors: Really clean everywhere you go. It offers everything you would need on a city break or even a summer holiday (however we were there in winter season and couldn't use the outdoor pool or private beach). The private beach area could use some care since it is quite dangerous to walk around there with slippery rocks and stuff.

Restaurant: The food is good and fresh. They have omelettes freshly made for you in the mornings and grills in the evenings. The salad buffet is a bit limited and the food gets redundant after 4 days+nights eating there but overall happy with the friendly service and healthy good quality food.

Location: We rented a car to see around the island so the location wasn't a concern. But there isn't much to do if you don't have a car and it is winter season. The bus service to Palma is quite frequent though. The parking is not free at the hotel but the nearby free car park just worked great if you don't mind climbing up the stairs from there to the hotel.

Overall: Had a good stay. There are some minor hick-ups but we felt...

Were do I begin? on first impression the hotel looks the part, and in fairness it is very nice, however relaxing it was not for us! Our room was situated on a busy bus route every 10 minutes in both directions and next to the nearby residential bins and we were awoken every morning at 6am, as they emptied the bins, we were offered an alternative room, WITHOUT a balcony and so declined having paid for a balcony. That evening we ventured into their Sky bar two girls were supposedly serving but spent the evening talking, instead of one taking orders and one making drinks we were ignored for 20 mins and left, we never returned and spent every evening at the Bon Sol hotel nearby were we have booked for next year.We complained the following morning and were offered two miniature bottles of Gin and a free drink voucher for their Sky bar, these we left in the room when we left! on two occasions our towels were not replaced and on one occasion our sheets not changed. We ventured into their Blue restaurant our meals arrived two steaks one rare the other well done but were mixed up and once cutting into them my wife and I had to swop meals! cutlery arrived 5 minutes after our meal, and there is no salt and pepper on tables! Similar service at poolside during the day wrong meals arrive then no cutlery, the waiter at one point saying ,"I KNOW, I KNOW" as we asked again for cutlery. Poolside does not appear to be cleaned as we ate by the pool with cigarette ends around us from previous days. So as you can imagine our holiday experience which cost in excess of £2,000 was very stressful it was however pleasant as we spent the majority of it at the nearby Bon Sol hotel. oh and do not expect to get showered if you have a late flight home the hotel has no facilities to shower when fully occupied and you vacate your room at 12 noon. If you go away for just the sunshine and you can get over these minor problems in a hotel full of twenty somethings then hey it's for you. We however work very hard all year and expect to have a stress free pampered holiday, this hotel for us did not do it. So if your booked here take note ,no entertainment other than their Sky bar and expensive drinks, we went to the neighboring hotels for evening entertainment and lower priced drinks and exceptional and outstanding customer service which saved...