Our family group of 7, myself, my husband, our son (aged 8), my parents, sister and niece (aged 10) booked between us three rooms for two weeks at the 3 star Hotel Clumba Mar in Ca'n Picafort, in the North East of Majorca for the last two weeks of June 06.
We chose this hotel because we liked the description of both the hotel and the resort in the Thompson's Sky Tours brochure as being quiet and family friendly as we were looking for a relaxing break and hoping to avoid being kept awake by local nightlife. We also got an excellent deal at the time of booking in January paying just under £1000 2 weeks half board for myself and my husband with our son getting a 'kids go free' place.
Our experience of the Clumba Mar and its facilities:
Arrival: We arrived shortly after 9pm and checked in. As we requested our rooms were on the top (fifth) floor, we had specified this while booking because the higher up the further away we hoped to be from any late night noise (I think you're getting the picture that we like our sleep undisturbed!). All went smoothly except the female receptionist was insistent my mother had phoned to request a fridge which she hadn't and seemed loathe to accept otherwise! After paying the 40 € each room for the security safe key (a measly 5 € of which was refundable at checkout) we were directed to the dining room where dinner was no longer served but a cold buffet was available for late arrivals.
Our Rooms: The rooms were comfortable and clean with air conditioning, although rather dated décor/furniture which is generally the case with most 3 star hotels, the paintwork looked tired and the varnish had long since peeled from the balcony door frame. The other two rooms were quite spacious with two beds each, ours was a little more cramped with three beds squeezed in but still roomy enough. With a wardrobe with drawers and hanging space, drawers in the dressing table and two bedside tables we had plenty of room for all our clothes. The bathroom comprised of toilet, sink, bath with shower above - but no
bidet, what were we to wash our feet in?? All was clean but the bath looked ancient and seemed to have been resurfaced without much success - it was very rough and pitted which wouldn't have been very good for anyone with very young children who may prefer a bath to a shower. Our balcony view was pleasant; two of our rooms could see the sea to the East and the mountains to the North. Our parents' room hadn't a sea view but they had a good view of one of the pools (handy for checking out the sun bed situation).
The Clientele: The other guests were all British, I suspect this hotel deals exclusively with British agents - Thompson's have a rep desk in reception. The age range spanned from elderly to young families, this is definitely a quiet hotel and we never saw any bother or yob element in the hotel or the resort itself.
Location: A convenient 5-10 minutes walk to the sea and promenade area, enough to be away from the main drag and associated noise. We did however get noise between 11pm to midnight every night when 'Wotsits Place' over the road had their bingo and quiz with an amplified microphone system. As my sister commented, if we could hear it on the 5th floor goodness knows how loud it must have been down there. So a real treat for hard of hearing bingo fans, and a change from counting sheep for the rest of us.
The Restaurant: The restaurant was well organised, seating was allocated at the door (which stops the free for all jostling which can happen in less ordered places) and plates were cleared promptly from tables. The breakfast buffet was of a very good standard, good choice of juices, cereals, toast, pastries and cakes, breads, yoghurts, cooked eggs, sausages, bacon etc. Also lovely coffee and choice of teas (including herbal). There were no full board bookings so no lunches. Dinner was also a buffet but we were much less impressed with that and it did not compare favourably with other 3 star hotels we have stayed in. There were salads with cold meats, a choice of hot meat (usually veal, chicken or pork) fish, vegetables (often tinned) plain pasta/potatoes which were bland and uninspiring - one night they actually served tinned ravioli. The food was never piping hot but lukewarm, and several times we saw staff tipping a new tray of food into the remainder of an old one instead of completely replacing it, which is not hygienic. I got the feeling the food budget was a very tight one. The kids buffet comprised invariably of chips, burgers, nuggets (cheap chewy kind), and fish fingers (they were grey and my not usually fussy son declined them). The desserts however were always lovely - plenty of gateau's and ice-cream, but only a small selection of fruit so not easy to get a healthy balance. There was an exception to the poor standard during the hotels one Majorca themed night when the staff donned local traditional dress and the food was typically Majorcan and delicious, if only it could have been like that every night. I've rated the food average as the breakfasts were so good, but I would rate the evening meals poor.
The Bar/lounge and entertainment: The entertainment lounge was where the evenings children's disco (our two enjoyed this); the bingo and quiz were held. It had a small stage and at 10pm there would either be a sound alike act (singing to a backing track), or a comedian. We normally caught only a bit of these acts as we didn't like to sit around the hotel in the evening when only 5 minutes walk away there is a beautiful promenade and a choice of bars with lovely sea views which are much cheaper than the hotel (the hotel bars prices were very expensive). We found if you didn't bag seats early in the evening and sit there all night you had no chance of getting one. The entertainment seemed mostly okay but it was all a bit too much 'Brits Abroad' for our liking, we prefer to know we're in another country, but then some people do like that so it is all a question of personal taste. The entertainment area was non-smoking but the adjoined lounge area (where the television is) was smoking which was unfortunately where the games machines for the children were. There was an outdoor area from the bar with plastic tables but these were cleared away earlier in the evening which is a shame as it would be nice to enjoy the warm Mediterranean evenings rather than sitting cooped up indoors, another good reason to go elsewhere in the evenings.
Family Friendly? There were the usual facilities of cots and highchairs available plus children's buffet so yes I would say this hotel was generally family friendly although there
Pictures of Hotel Clumba Mar
Hotel entrance
weren't as many specific activities for children as other hotels we have stayed in. The kids club is for the 5-11 age group which both of ours fall into; they normally enjoy kids clubs with the break it gives them from us and the chance to make new friends. They only went once to this kids club and didn't enjoy it, mostly I think they were put off by the fact it was held in the basement which had no windows and no natural light, they also complained that the toys were broken and there was nothing to do.
The Swimming Pools: Full marks here, there are two pools one attached to the hotel and one belonging to the hotel and over the road from reception. Both were clean, both had shallow areas for children and heated by the Mediterranean sun they were a delight to swim in. Getting sun beds was not a problem as long as we got down before 11am, we like to avoid the midday sun anyway - later on the pool area does get very busy. The pool over the road has a snack bar attached called the Caracas which I really do not recommend, it was far more expensive than and not as nice as other local bars. The British barman didn't even bother to put his cigarette down when he served my dad with chips. Not nice.
The staff: The restaurant staff were always courteous but the bar staff abrupt and unsmiling in their manner which did nothing to soften the blow of the overpriced drinks. The cleaning staff, who always worked very hard, were cheerful and helpful - in particular when my sons' favourite toy had been mistakenly picked up with the bedding - I spoke no Spanish and they spoke no English but we managed to sort it out between us (with much miming!) and the toy was found in the laundry basket. The reception staff were variable; we had a couple of examples of lack of organisation. Four of our group decided to book a day trip to Marineland near Palma and had already been told by the male receptionist that they took bookings for a tour company called 'No Frills' who were cheaper than the Thompson's organised trips. When they made the booking they were told by the female receptionist that the coach would pick them up outside the Clumba Mar, later when my sister was changing some currency at the desk the other female receptionist suddenly 'reminded' her that the coach would pick them up outside another hotel some distance away across a busy main road. Not happy with this idea they were considering cancelling, then as luck would have it the man from 'No Frills' arrived at the hotel at that moment and told them it was no trouble to come to the Clumba Mar to pick them up - problem solved. They had a fantastic day and they highly recommend 'No Frills', the tour guide and driver were two charming Majorcan chaps and it was quite a bit cheaper than the Thompsons trip. On two occasions two of our group booked early morning calls and twice they were let down. On the first occasion one was made 10 minutes too soon the other 10 minutes too late. Then on departure day one person received two early calls and the other received none. Fortunately we all called on each other so no one missed their coach to the airport.
Other services offered by the hotel: Hairdresser - this was detailed in the hotel spec but I never saw where this was, but I can go 2 weeks without a haircut. Doctor - The doctor calls into the hotel every day. I got very ill with a stomach virus (I could have caught this anywhere and can't blame the hotel) and was grateful for this service, although it is private so you will have to pay a fee - it was 70 € for my initial consultation.
Disabled Access: We saw quite a few people in wheelchairs in the hotel, there were two lifts and the entertainment/bar/restaurant/reception area was all on one level. There was a ramp as an alternative to the steps up to reception but this was very steep and right angled, we struggled with our suitcases so I should imagine it would be hard work with a wheelchair - probably would be fine as long as the pusher is strong enough.
Finally - The Smell: The smell deserves a category all of its own, we noticed it as soon as we checked in. It wasn't very nice; it was in reception the corridors and the rooms and varied in intensity, sometimes barely noticeable other times quite stomach wrenching. I think it was most likely the hotel drains but that's just a guess.
It was a generally clean comfortable quiet hotel and I feel a 3 rating best reflects this - although 2.5 would be a better representation. I cannot specifically recommend staying here as I would not personally return mainly due to the poor standard of the evening meals, the food is a very important aspect of a holiday to me. Normally I don't like coming home to cooking the meals but after this holiday I was relieved to enjoy my own cooking again!
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Jul 17th, 2006
exceptional by (13%):
very helpful by (88%):
