Zel Mallorca — Hotel in Calvià

This is NOT a luxury hotel. They will charge you for anything and everything they can. Our mistake was believing some recommendations that the Zel Mallorca would yield a 4-5 star experience. It is essentially a 3-star boho chic renovation of an older hotel using Rafael Nadal’s name. After just 2 years of operating, the rooms are rundown and falling apart, which likely means a lot of shortcuts were taken.

From the moment you arrive at this property, you will find the hospitality is very friendly but not always helpful.

For example, they will help you up the front stairs with your luggage, but then there is no check-in desk. The front of the hotel is essentially a retail store. You are supposed to scan a check-in barcode, which takes you to a page where you have to enter each occupant’s passport details and address. You have to pay for the entire stay upfront, and then you receive another barcode to scan at a nearby kiosk. That kiosk spits out 2 keys. There are several hosts in the lobby who can help guide you through the process, but they can’t do anything until the system shows you have paid in full. Why not just revert back to a standard front desk?

Once you make it to your room, you’ll notice that they saved a ton of money on a recent renovation by not separating your bathroom with any partitions. The glass shower is see through, giving you no privacy and if you need to use the sink or toilet in the middle of the night, your husband/wife/partner/friend will not be pleased.

Since everything is hyper casual here, you will notice the furniture is beaten up, broken or loose. None of the doors have security latches or peepholes. But that’s okay because you can literally hear everything in the hallway, in the next room and people walking upstairs. And that’s if you’re facing the sea view. If you get a street view room, you won’t hear the hallway noise because you will be inundated with street noise.

There are NO hotel services on the beach. You are paying high prices for a small pool that borders the beach. There is also a smaller adult only pool in the front of the hotel with 15-20 lounge chairs. From 1pm each day a DJ will pump out loud music to keep the party atmosphere going all day long.

The onsite restaurant is run by the Beso Beach group with pool service. Unless you’re happy sitting by the pool all day, everyday, then you will need to rent a car to explore the island. Pick one up from the airport because the local company that works with the hotel charges you by the day (9am-7pm) as opposed to a 24 hour cycle. Remember to reserve your hotel parking which costs €30 per day.

The area around the hotel is just a strip of tourist trap cafes that serve 5 different cuisines on the menu. We did discover a real gem in front of the hotel which serves amazing Italian gelato, called Corazon Helado. That’s a must visit.

When I asked for a power adapter, I was happily told that I could buy one across the street. When I asked for water, I was told I could use the mini bar app to buy it. For €800 per night, these little details do matter.

The AC failed in one of our rooms, but nobody came to fix it. The shower doors didn’t close in both rooms, leading to puddles on the bathroom floor and nobody came to fix it. When they called the night before checkout and asked about our stay, we asked for extra towels to clean up the water and they said “sure thing” but nobody showed up. I think you get...

Zel Mallorca is definitely not Zen.

If you're looking for a party hotel, this is your place. When you check in at Zel Mallorca, you also check in at Beso Beach (a club that's part of the hotel) with blasting music from noon to midnight. And by blasting music, I mean techno rave music with a hard beat at night club volume.

Unfortunately, we were looking for a relaxing and peaceful vacation by the beach, as was mentioned in the room description. But the only time we could relax and listen to the sound of the waves was after midnight.

It's a pet-friendly and kid-friendly hotel with the vibe of an adults-only party hotel. However, there's no formal reception area, just a large group of young, unqualified staff running around.

Upon arrival, we were checked in by Marcos, who couldn't answer questions about the hotel, provided incorrect information, and charged us for something that should have been included in our reservation as Gold Melia members.

Instead of a sea view, he gave us a room with a garden view, claiming it was the same category. After seeing the room, we went downstairs to request the correct one, but he said there was nothing he could do and that it was the only available room, disregarding our room type reservation. He told us to ask again tomorrow for any changes. We then asked for the manager, who reassured us that we would get a quiet room with a sea view the next day. The second room we received the next day was the room we booked, but it was clearly not the same category as the initial room; the corridors, room size, and room view were different.

We thought we could finally start our vacation 24 hours later. However, we realized our room was directly above Beso Beach. We didn't expect the music to be so loud and irritating, and the rooms were not soundproof.

If you're looking for a relaxing and peaceful vacation, reading a book on your balcony or watching a movie at night, this is not the place for you.

Ironically, they control the TV volume but not the volume of the music from Beso Beach.

I have nothing against Beso Beach—I’ve enjoyed lunch there several times at their Formentera location. However, it's different when you stay there for a week with no place to escape the noise pollution.

We recommend updating the description of the hotel and rooms on the website to promote it accurately as a party hotel.

We would like to thank Pilar, who tried to fix the situation by addressing the extra charge and refunding it after we contacted Melia. However, they attempted to overcharge us again by €200 at checkout.

A hotel without a reception or proper system simply doesn't work.

The room itself is tiny but nice, with a great frontal sea view. Unfortunately, due to poor management and constant noise pollution, we won't...

My husband and I stayed here for our honeymoon, and unfortunately, our experience was overshadowed by disappointing customer service. Leading up to our trip, communication via email was excellent, which gave me confidence that our stay would be handled with care and attentiveness - qualities that should be standard at any hotel, especially one charging premium prices. Sadly, once we arrived, that expectation was not met.

Check-In: There is no true reception area, only a staff member with an iPad. The process felt unorganized and unwelcoming from the start, which set the tone for an impersonal stay.

Room: Our room was tucked away at the very end of the hallway near an emergency exit, lacking the natural light the other rooms in the hall seemed to have. The space itself did not feel thoroughly cleaned, and housekeeping after the first night was well below standard. Only after we complained did the quality improve slightly.

Breakfast: The buffet offered variety, but the service was nearly absent. We were left to find seating ourselves, denied bar seating when the dining area was full, and had to request staff to clean dirty tables. I was also turned off after witnessing staff handle pastries with bare hands.

Dining at Beso Beach: We had our first lunch at the property’s beach restaurant, which was both overpriced and underwhelming. The paella arrived hard and grainy, and when we asked about it, the staff insisted it was “al dente.” Having enjoyed paella at other restaurants during our trip, we knew this was simply not true. They replaced it with a fish dish that was equally disappointing—bland and lacking flavor. Ironically, our least favorite meal of the trip (this one) turned out to be the most expensive.

Check-Out: Unfortunately, the lack of hospitality continued through the end of our stay. As my husband carried out some of our luggage, he was chased down by staff questioning where he was going. There was no polite farewell, no thank you, and not even a basic “How was your stay?”—something one would expect from even a modest hotel.

Overall: For a property charging 4- to 5-star rates, the service, attentiveness, and overall guest experience fell far short. A warm, welcoming atmosphere is the foundation of luxury hospitality, and this hotel did not deliver that. While the location and amenities may appeal on the surface, the lack of genuine care and basic service standards makes it difficult to justify the cost or recommend this hotel to others - especially for a once-in-a-lifetime trip like...