Hotel Bonanza Park — Hotel in Calvià

We have just spent an absolutely wonderful week at this beautiful hotel. It was everything we were hoping for. The hotel is in a lovely quiet area (if you want lots of restaurants & bars, this is not the place for you). There are a few mini-markets and a handful of restaurants dotted about, but other than that, it is just other hotels. You can hop on a bus to Palma from right outside the hotel. The number 4 bus goes into Palma every 15 minutes or so for €2 per person and takes about 20 minutes. Palma is a beautiful city, so I recommend you do this at least once.||||The hotel is kept very clean by a team of hard-working staff. We were in a garden bungalow (2 adults & 1 teenager) and it was just the right size for us, with a good sized bathroom and a beautiful view out to the bay. The rooms are cleaned every day. The swimming pools are lovely – the upper one is by the pool bar (which isn’t too badly priced and the food we had (toasties, nachos, pizzas) were very good) and the lower one has a little pool attached to the main one for little people, or just to sit in. There isn’t a huge amount to do for children (no organised entertainment – so again, if this is what you are looking for, you need to stay elsewhere). The hotel also has mini-golf, tennis courts, pool table, if you want a little activity to do whilst you are there. The staff were all very knowledgeable and very helpful.||||There are a couple of little beaches nearby, but they were completely packed (we were there in the first week of the summer holidays) and most of the beach is taken up with sunbeds which you have to pay to use. It was too busy for my liking, but we did go down later one afternoon (it was still packed) to have a quick dip in the sea and a cocktail from the beach bar (€10 for a porn star martini and it was packed with alcohol!)||||Food: we stayed on a half-board basis (and I thoroughly recommend doing this). Breakfast was from 7.30 to 10.30 and is a help-yourself buffet. There is so much to choose from and the drinks are all included (they even have Prosecco out on Saturdays & Sundays). You can eat inside or outside on the terrace. The staff work very hard to keep everything topped up and to keep your table clean. We loved the breakfast! The evening meal is in the sister hotel over the road and we found this to be absolutely brilliant. Again, it is a help-yourself buffet and there is so much food to choose from. The pudding selection was absolute heaven! We felt the choice was very good (different options each evening throughout the week) and we found the food to always be served hot. The views of the bay from the window tables are absolutely beautiful and you can watch the cruise ships make their way back out of Palma. The drinks are not included, so they are billed to your room and you pay at the end of your stay, when you check out. We tended to get a bottle of water (€3 each). The waiting staff work hard so that you enjoy your meal – our waiter Wilson was absolutely wonderful!||||There isn’t a lot going on in the evenings, which didn’t worry me. The sister hotel over the road had a band on at 9.15pm every evening for an hour or so, down at the pool bar. We would go and have one cocktail (around €11 each – but were very nice – especially the strawberry margarita!) and watch and sing along. People were getting taxis into Palma (or Magaluf!!) from the hotel, but we were happy with a quiet drink at the hotel over the road.||||If you want a relaxing holiday in a beautiful setting with lots of food, then this is the place for you. I would go back in a heartbeat as I loved every minute of our...

Summary: Abysmal service Bad location Bad room Good breakfast

My experience at this hotel has been just plain bad and I want to warn anyone looking to stay here.

Let’s get the negative out of the way first. We stayed in a room with ‘partial sea view’ and you should indeed be alarmed by the vague language used. ‘Partial’ is certainly technically true but let’s just say there wasn’t a whole lot of sea to be seen. Next the room itself. It looks more or less like the one pictured but what they did not show was the mold on the wall behind the curtain, the bad smell of the room, the just absolutely awful smell of the pillows (about 10cm thick so prepare your neck) and the blankets, the bad mattress, and the just general bad finish of the room (misaligned flooring, cracks in the walls, beds that feel like they are gonna fall apart anytime and so on).

Now at this point we were disappointed with the room but the worst was yet to come. Day two of we discovered that the sliding door to the terrace (our room was on the ground floor) simply did not lock, the locking mechanism was broken. We went to the reception and told them exactly this, they assured us a technician would come and fix it, okay sounds great we went on with our day. In the evening we came back, the door was still broken. A mistake surely. Next morning we went the reception again, when we told them the situation, this time the manager made an appearance. Instead of providing basic service, the manager decided to essentially laugh at us right in our face. The person told us: the door is meant to be like that, a lot of guests tell us this, but it is locked and cannot be opened from the outside. Sure, so the locking mechanism is broken but it ‘will be locked from the outside’. We went back to the room to make a video to show the manager, of course it could be opened from the outside just as easily. When we went to show the video, the manager finally seemed to understand the situation and assured us a technician would fix it. When we complained that they already sent a technician and that our valuables has been lying there out in the open the manager told us ‘to use the safe’. So, as soon as a safe is present in a hotel room the door should not lock it seems. Of course we would have used the safe but it did not work so there is that. Someone more cynical than me might start to think it sort of looks like a setup, but make of that what you will. We went out for the day and when we came back in the evening, you guessed it, the door was still not fixed. At this point we decided not to bother anymore and just try to get a refund. What a joke. When we left the hotel, the manager asked us how our stay was with a big smile on their face, again just laughing at us it seems.

Next, one evening coming back, our front door this time, was open. Not a creak, visible very open. The cleaning staff forget to close it. A mistake can happen of course but in a different hotel this would be enough for an upgraded room or some other compensation, not here though. When we told the person at the reception, barely any apology came out.

Then there is the neighbourhood. Let’s just say it is the worst neighbourhood we have seen on the island. Completely deserted, ugly, nothing to do. Not pleasant at all. If you are staying here, you should be looking to spend as much time away from the hotel and its neighbourhood as possible. Also, if you do not want to pay for parking, prepare to walk 10 minutes to the nearest free parking.

As for the positives: the breakfast was...

Warm welcome from Eva the manager from the moment we arrived until we left she was always very helpful. Every hotel needs a manager like this.|Suitable for couples and older people. No facilities for children. Excellent tennis courts, table tennis and pitch and putt.|Fabulous team, especially Mari (housekeeping), Laura ( pool bar), Camila and Gaby ( reception) , Joseph ( bar) and Kelly (breakfast). |Breakfast has everything you need and you can choose to eat out on the terrace and people watch. Lovely fresh fruit, continental choices or cooked breakfast. You are not going to get English bacon.|Very clean, rooms could do with more drawers and perhaps the hotel should consider that towels do not need changing every day. Plenty of hangers, fridge annd toiletries replaced daily, Excellent view from the balcony and easy access to the pool from floor two.|Two relaxing pools, upper area has music and is next to the pool bar. Lower pool is quieter. Large portions and freshly cooked.|We went half board . Dinner served in sister hotel. Strict dress code of long trousers for men although scruffy jeans are accepted tailored shorts are not. Women can wear what they like.Fancy international canteen with table linens. Food served warm not hot. Themed nights. If you just want to eat it is fine but if food is an important part of your holiday you will be disappointed. . Expect to pay or sign immediately for any drinks. No tea or cofffee. Small water 3 euros. As soon as you put your cutlery down your plates will be removed. Convenient especially as there are few local restaurants. You should always be able to find something to eat and the food is well presented at the start of service. They want you in and out as quickly as possible as there are often queues.|Plenty of beds at pool, these are in need of replacement as they are not very comfortable some really sag. More parasols needed on lower pool.|There are some lovely beaches nearby, limited restaurants and other facilities. Excellent bus service into Palma although the return buses are very crowded.|This is good value for money - for those who complain where else would you find such good value at this price. Clean friendly and comfortable. If you want more, pay the extra money and stay across the road in the sister hotel, which is busier, more crowded, although the facilities are shared all except the pools.|Great place for a short break. I would return. My rating is based on value for money, a comfortable and...