Hello all, sorry if i seem quiet the last few days, have lots of exams at college and its hard to fi...
Hello all, sorry if i seem quiet the last few days, have lots of exams at college and its hard to find time, but I will catch up with you all and dnt worry I havnt left again lol x
Member since:02.10.2005
Reviews:83
Members who trust:163
The Holiday we went for and how we come across it………
Early June of this year, me and my very close friend Sarah decided we wanted to book a holiday. We wanted to go within the next few days, so last minute deals were not hard to find, especially on the teletext or internet which was our normal method of finding a holiday bargain. Although Teletext seemed to be coming up with the most bargains at this point so we stuck with them.
Me and Sarah always liked Majorca, and knew that this was the area we would like to visit again, but maybe this time in a different resort rather than Palma or Magaluf which we had stayed at many times recently. After half a days browsing through the different holidays on Teletext, the resort of Alcudia seemed to be the most viable option for us. We phoned First Choice, which were the company offering this package on teletext, and to our surprise they had a fully inclusive holiday to Alcudia for 7 nights at the Hotel Jupiter/Saturno for £315 per person……..If a hand had appeared magically out of the telephone me and Sarah would have bitten it off, but lets just say we accepted the holiday graciously.
So now with our holiday booked, and feeling very satisfied with the bargain we just found, it was time to find the hotel we had just booked to stay in on the internet, and read any review on it if there were any………And that's when we began to panic!
The Panic…………
We found our hotel with ease on the internet, along with quite a few reviews, with the most recent one being written a year ago. The hotel looked lovely, and rather grand. But reading through the many reviews written by previous guests who had stayed there, mine and Sarah's hearts fell to the floor and we were no longer feeling so proud of ourselves at finding this bargain. Every review had something they complained about or didn't like, most complaints were about the rooms being rather less than satisfactory. To be fair, all reviews did say the facilities were brilliant and could not be faltered, just food, room and some staff complaints. However, me and Sarah were desperate for a holiday, so we had to brush this aside and just see for ourselves, and not let what we just read dampen our spirits even more. *It is here that I will point out that this review will be based solely on what I thought of the hotel and not what I read others thought of it.
About the hotels:
The Hotels are full inclusive, and based around family fun. The whole complex has three very large hotels situated on it, The Jupiter, Mars and Saturno. All hotels have there own dining area and lounges but you are free to use the other hotels dining and other facilities
if you so wish, it does not matter which hotel you are situated in. The complex is represented by Club Mac entertainments, which are family friendly based, and will keep you entertained through your stay. I have been in all three hotels and used most of there facilities, especially the dining rooms. So here is an overview of what I thought: Food and Dining:-
No matter what time of day you wanted to eat, there was always a great selection of good food available, weather it be breakfast, dinner or evening meal. The dining rooms in each hotel were all large, and had enough seating for everyone. Only once did I ever see people queuing to enter the dining rooms, but the queue went down rather quickly. The dining rooms were all very clean and well manned. No sooner did someone leave the dining hall, a waiter/waitress cleaned the table and set it up for the next diner. The rooms were well spaced out, and everything was easy to get too with no fuss.
Breakfast, apart from the many selection of cereals that were on offer, you had the choice of beans, eggs (either scrambled, boiled, poached or fried), toast (toasted or fried), cooked ham, sausages, mushrooms , potatoes wedges, bacon, the occasional black pudding, a selection of cheeses and cold meat such as ham slices. Fresh cold drinks always available, like orange, pineapple, mango and applejuices. And also tea and coffee like you would expect. The breakfasts were always lovely, I liked most things they had to offer, and if there were something's that I didn't like it would have been what I wouldn't have eaten at home anyway. Lunch and Evening Meals:- So much selection at both of these meal times which were hardly repetitive, it would be impossible for me to remember everything and to list them down. But both meal times catered for everyone. You always had on offer your classic fries, pizzas, burgers or anything else that you would normally eat at home, but if you wanted to be adventurous, there selection of seafood, meat, poultry, pastry, salad and pasta dishes would I'm sure, more than take your fancy. I really enjoyed the lasagnes and various fish they had. Also there meat was brilliant, I enjoyed the chicken which they cooked in many different ways to suit everyone's tastes, such as grilled or cooked with lemon or barbecue sauce. Also they cooked it while you waited if you wanted something more fresh, rather than helping yourselves off a buffet, something I had not previously seen in another dining room before. I honestly thought there was a good selection at both meal times, with enough there to suit everyone. All those I had the pleasure of meeting that holiday thought the same as I did.
Failing all that, if you did not feel hungry or did not want to dine at the set times, you could grab a snack, weather it be fries, pizzas or burgers, anytime of the day, from the many snack bars on the complex. Beakfast times were 8am- 10.30am Lunch times were 12.30pm - 3pm Evening meal times were 6pm - 9.30pm
Staff
The hotel staff their selves were very friendly and would do there up most to cater for your every need professionally and as quickly as possible. On one occasion me and Sarah had lost a bag in a Taxi, which had our passports in, we explained the situation to the receptionist who then spent most of her day ringing the various taxi firms until our bag was found and brought back to the hotel, needless to say I recommended to the manger she should get a pay rise, she was wonderful. And the same could be said for most of the other staff there, only once did I think someone was not very helpful, and that was our First Choice holiday rep, who at the time didn't seem to know his head from his ar…...arm! But as for the hotel staff…Marvellous!
Entertainment
The entertainment for a complex this size was out of this world, and one of the main qualities I think this hotel complex had going for them. The Club Mac reps will endeavour to entertain you all day long. They organise many activities through the day if you do not fancy lying in the sun. The activities through the day can be anything like archery, water polo, darts, football, rifle shooting, and much more. The reps will always join in the fun with you, and make it as enjoyable as possible. They arrange certificates for the winners, and will become your children's best friends guaranteed. All of them are well loved there. For the much younger ones they have a kids club, where they will take your little ones away from you for a while and let you relax while they run riot around the play areas they have. And then, if your Club Mac reps haven't already entertained you enough, they will put on a marvellous show for you on the evening times, each night for a two week period being a different show, so its not repetitive. Whilst I was there I had the pleasure of meeting a few of the reps, Georgio, Gavin, and Andy, who were always a good laugh to be around and on the night time shows were hilarious. I watched them perform in shows like 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show', 'Grease' and 'Sister Act', and it was fabulous entertainment. They do also arrange more professional acts, like tribute bands to such artists like Shania Twain, The Pretenders, Elvis, Madonna, Robbie Williams and many more. Also comedians, puppeteers and professional dancers. There are three stages with different shows going on simultaneously, so you are even spoilt for choice in what you watch.
The Hotel Facilities
There
Pictures of Hotels Jupiter and Saturno, Alcudia
the hotel lobby
are 7 swimming pools for adults and children on the complex, two of them being rather large, they also have spacious gardens which are well looked after around the complex. Snack bars are situated all around the complex if you fancy a drink or snack at anytime through the day. There is a store with various articles on sale, including clothing, sun lotions and creams, gifts, food etc. They have a children's village on the complex, with a variety of games, mini train, pirates and a mini disco, inflatable, face painting and more. General information desks are found in each hotel lobby manned by your holiday rep should you have one. They will tell you about day excursions, show you whets on offers, or sort out any problems or queries you might have. The receptions also offer you a 24 hour money exchange and medical service. The toilets and wash rooms are situated in every hotel lobby, and they are cleaned every so often through the day. I myself always found them to be clean and pleasant. The sun beds are free and plentiful, you also have a tennis court, crazy golf course and volleyball area. The facilities were so good, you hardly ever had to venture away from the hotel for anything. The rooms.
Now although I myself stayed in the Saturno, I was thinking of visiting the other rooms in the different hotels for purpose with this review, lucky for me I did make a few friends there and this was possible. All standard rooms have two king size beds, TV, phone, balconies (above first floor), air conditioning, safety deposit box (for hire) and wardrobes which have plenty of space. The bathrooms are clean and spacious with both bath tub and shower facilities. Bigger rooms are available if you have more in your party, which will normally consist of bunk beds.
The room me and Sarah shared was clean and tidy, with everything we wanted. The bed linen was clean and changed everyday without a problem. The rooms was also cleaned everyday. The rooms in the Saturno are very standard, and to be honest there is not much special about them. But this did not bother us as we were not going to spend much time in our rooms anyway, but I did feel that the rooms could be due for a good upgrade. Saturno being the oldest of the three hotels, I did look at my friends rooms in both the Jupiter and Mars hotels. There's were a little better and more modernised. I also heard that the hotel have been upgrading in the last year with a lot of refurbishments going on, and Saturno was the next on the list. So to conclude the rooms, I didn't think they were anything really special, but certainly not a huge disappointment. They were clean, tidy, and air conditioning worked a treat, what else do you want from a room where you sleep?
The Location of the Hotel
The hotel is some 10- 15 minute walk away from the beech and Alcudia resort town centre, however the hotel have a free bus which takes you to the beach every half hour, which runs from 8am in the morning until late at night. You do have a few pubs (quite a few which are English) and karaoke bars a short walk way from the hotel also. There are tobacco shop and various other supermarkets can be found on that same strip. Also just across from the hotels is a very large water park, which is about 16 euros to enter and very popular with families. Your club reps will be able to make this cheaper for you if you do decide to visit the park.
What I thought Of the Club Mac Hotels…..
After spending a week at the hotel Jupiter/Saturno, in the glorious sunshine, expecting the worst weak ever after reading what I read before my holiday, I was pleasantly surprised. It was nothing like what it had been made out to be. Not only was this holiday one of the best holidays I had ever been on, I don't think I have witnessed a hotel yet that can beat this ones facilities, it really did have everything. The Hotel staff and entertainment staff were fantastic. Neither me or Sarah, or the friends we had met there, who in age, ranged from 12-58, were ever bored! There was plenty for all to do. Going back to the reviews I had read before I went on holiday, I must say I can not believe some people, who in my view would be better off staying at home. Some off the things I have seen written about the wrongs of this complex are just unbelievably not true, and sounded like all they did was sit and complain the whole of their holiday. People have wrote that this complex is too over crowded and too noisy and that they wanted something quiet, and my personal response to this was that they obviously did not read up on the holiday properly as it is a family fun holiday which is not meant to be a quiet oasis. This hotel is very large and holds lots of people, so its never going to as quiet as some might like. And although it is a very large complex, I felt everything was well catered for it.
The rooms as I have said previously, may need some upgrade, but only in the Saturno hotel. However, this is a little blemish on the hotels behalf as everything else I feel is top notch. Everything is easy to access in the hotel, and they do cater well for the less able.
I myself have already booked a return visit for next year along with two further families that we had met there. I enjoyed my stay at this hotel, and very much look forward to my next visit. Although my holiday here was on a late booking and only cost me £315 pound, I would have paid double that for this sort of holiday.
I would recommend this hotel complex for families with either young children or teenagers. Couples young or old will also like the hotel. However, I would not recommend this to young single sex parties as they may find the surrounding area not lively enough for them, and the fact that this is mainly catered for family fun.
There have been plenty of bad reviews of this hotel complex, but I believe them to be 'moaning murtels' who wine about anything. This is a great complex, every year lots of guests enjoy it and return, and I am now one of them guests who can't wait to go again.
Thanks for reading. Dempsey x
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
sounds wonderful!! another one of your exceptional travel reviews!
DJGraham 23.10.2006 16:44
Another great review. I stayed at the same hotel a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.
sazy 12.10.2006 11:48
Great review with loads of detail. Never been to Majorca before, mostly been to the Canaries but looks like this might be a good alternative. Hope you had a nice holiday! ~ sarah.
CLUB MAC is a perfect choice for an All Inclusive family break All our restaurants offer ... more
buffets for breakfast lunch and dinner Dining is a full experience with our thematic corners; vegetarian dishes show cooking and naturally special children menu...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Aug 31st, 2006
exceptional by (41%):
very helpful by (59%):
