Hotel Audax Spa & Wellness Centre, Cala Galdana

...our family stayed at the hotel Gavilanes in Cala Galdana, Menorca. However The prices were getting high and we decided to try another 4 star hotel in the area.
The Hotel Audax is right opposite the beautiful beach, across a small road. It has 244 rooms over 7 floors with 4 lifts. From the outside it looks lika a typical spanish 4 star hotel. However inside the reception is bright and cheerful with local art pieces dotted about. The first ...
...often be at at another hotel the following night.
Restaurant: They have two restaurants, both buffet but one has 'show cooking' where a chef cooks fish or meat to order. To be honest I only ever used the main self service one and I only went in twice. The food on offer was not great, it tended to be cold and tasteless and there was little choice, usually a couple of meat dishes, some fish, limited salad dishes and cold pasta. I admit I am ... more

For the last few years our family stayed at the hotel Gavilanes in Cala Galdana, Menorca. However The prices were getting high and we decided to try another 4 star hotel in the area.
The Hotel Audax is right opposite the beautiful beach, across a small road. It has 244 rooms over 7 floors with 4 lifts. From the outside it looks lika a typical spanish 4 star hotel. However inside the reception is bright and cheerful with local art pieces dotted about. The first problem I had was at check in at the reception. I had booked two twin rooms on the same floor, but was told that the rooms were three floors apart and one was a double. They did try and make amends and said that they could move us the next day, but as we were only there for a week we decided to stay put.
The rooms: Unusually for spanish hotels the corridors to the rooms were carpeted and our rooms all had rugs, which was very cosy. I had a pool facing room with a great view (usually you have to pay a high supplement for this) but my son had a road view (not so pretty). So if I was staying again I would pay the supplement. They were quite small but had plenty of wardrobe space, a small furnished balcony, air conditioning and a mini bar with an assortment of drinks and chocolate which were not too expensive. It also had a large TV with BBC1 and 2 and ITV.If I was honest the rooms looked a little tired and dated but as I didn't intend to stay in them for long I wasn't that bothered. In the brochure it says rooms have 2 or 3 beds, you could not have fitted an extra bed in my room, unless you climbed over it.
Bathrooms: Here was a problem. The first night we had no water for an hour and after a frantic call to reception, it did come on although we had to run around under the shower to get wet. I thought this might have been a one time problem but it was not. The pressure was awful. Again the bathroom looked as if it could do with a revamp.
Bar: The terrace is a beautiful place to sit and have a drink during the day or evening, it overlooks the bay and is waiter service, if you can attract their attention. The indoor bar is quite nice, very large, plenty of tables but terrible service. I got so fed up with trying to order a drink and then waiting for ages and then trying to pay that we started to meet up in town and drink there. The prices are typically more expensive than the local bars, but I would have forgiven that if they had served us quickly. They do have live music most nights, it was average, but all the hotels seem to share these groups as they will often be at at another hotel the following night.
Restaurant: They have two restaurants, both buffet but one has 'show cooking' where a chef cooks fish or meat to order. To be honest I only ever used the main self service one and I only went in twice. The food on offer was not great, it tended to be cold and tasteless and there was little choice, usually a couple of meat dishes, some fish, limited salad dishes and cold pasta. I admit I am a fussy eater and didn't really intend to eat in there much, I prefer the local restaurants so that we can take our time. The waiters were slow at clearing the tables but the wine waiters were around all the time! Breakfast didn't inspire either, can anyone explain why some hotels use powdered orange juice? There were the usual cereals, tinned fruit, bread, cheese, salami and a hot buffet with eggs etc.
The Pool: This is fantastic. The whole of the pool area is well thought out. The pool is large with a waterfall area at one end and no inflatables are allowed. Not to worry, there is a seperate childrens pool and area on the upper level. There are lots and lots of sunbeds, brollys and tables, I never saw anyone having to reserve seating as there were plenty to go round. There were also plenty of staff around this area, either in the pool bar, or just offering guests free snacks and the odd free drink, there was also a lifeguard on duty every day. Again the view from the pool area is stunning as it is actually upstairs on a terrace.
The hotel also has a spa and wellness centre with an indoor pool and sauna I didn't use it as it was hot enough outside. The centre does facials, waxing and other treatments and it costs around 20 euros to use the indoor facilities without treatments. I had a look inside and it did look lovely. This part is new.
Overall It's not too bad, I would go back but probably bed and breakfast. It is dated but slightly quirky and if they would wake their staff up now and again it would help. As I mentioned it is in a great position, Cala Galdana is a very hilly small resort and some of the apartments and hotels are up steep hills. The Audax is right in the centre and seconds from the beach, no nasty hills when it is 30 degrees, I would recommend it for that reason alone, but it is clean, the pool is great, the staff, when awake, are friendly and they did give us a bottle of local champagne to take home. It is for these reasons that I have given it a 'good' rating.
We travelled with Portland holidays, but I believe that Direct Holidays also travel here and that other companies, such as Open holidays do short flexi breaks. We paid about £600 per person which was good for what we had been quoted at other hotels.
The resort is beautiful, with a sheltered clean safe beach, ideal for children some very good local restaurants and very friendly people. There are no nightclubs and entertainment stops at 12, but you can sit in the restaurants or hotel bars after this.
We went in August which is a busy time, but Galdana itself is not too big so it wasn't too crowded. One word of advice though, the Menorcans use this beach at the weekends and the car park is full by 9.00 am.

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