I have just got back from a weeks holiday in Majorca. Where, as you may have guessed, I stayed in the Hotel Samoa.

The TV is free, you can pay for a remote but really you can do it by yourself by getting up easily enough. It has two english channels - BBC1 and BBC2. After a certain point each night BBC1 dies which is a bit weird, but you get used to it. I'm pretty sure the sports channel is also in english, but as neither of us watch that I can't gurantee. The rest were not.

You also get a balcony and ours was fine, we had a nice view from it and I enjoyed it. It also has a table and two chairs already out there, so if you want to just go and have a sit down or use it to dry your swim clothes on you can.

The disadvantages to the room are that the walls are quite thin. As in, someone can walk past your door and you'll hear them. In some cases we thought that people knocking on the door two doors away from us were actually knocking on ours. You can hear EVERYTHING that's going on in the corridors, but not so much what's going on in the rooms next to you or above you. Because of the noise problem, you can't turn your TV up very high, but high enough for you to be able to hear it. There is also a very loud karaoke club outside and at first we didn't think we'd ever sleep as the noise travelled right in, but you get used to it and it does have to stop at a certain time. There is only one plug in the main room, so you have to make a decision as to whether you want the TV or the fan. Keeping the balcony door open keeps the room cool enough most days.

The swimming pool is a bit of a disappointment. For a hotel of that size, it's very small and often cramped and crowded. We generally went in the evening just before dinner as this was the only time we could be in there without constantly being bashed. The entertainment is...interesting. To be honest, it's somewhat annoying hearing each line in five different languages, but I can understand why they'd have to do that. One of the entertainment nights was excellent, the rest have either been average or awful! But it's free and it's something to do, you might like it. There is also crazy golf which is free and quite good. It's quite shaded by trees so you won't be passing out from the heat while you're doing it, and there's a good variety. It's not very crowded either, there was only one other group playing when we were there. You can play tennis and football etc, though there is only one court so expect to have to fight for your place.

The town is very touristy. You'll find some shops that are a bit out of the ordinary but the others tend to sell the same sort of things. It's literally across the road from the hotel so it's not a struggle to get to. If you are going with younger children you might want to check out the shops a bit before allowing them to, as sex related objects are absolutely everywhere. I was amazed. In sweet stands you'll find penis shaped lollipops, in the inflatable store there is an inflatable penis, there are DVDs for sale right in the open. I know it's funny to read and you'll probably find it amusing if you are there, but if you are going with younger children that you want to hide that from, seriously take a look around first so you know where to watch out for. The beach is only a ten minute walk or so but it's very crowded so get there early. It's very small considering the size of the town so expect to fight for a place.