Hotel Review – Son Caliu Hotel Palmanova, Mallorca

Son Caliu Hotel provided the accommodations for my first trip to Mallorca, Spain.  It wasn’t my first choice actually.  I had my eye on a nice apartment in Palma, the capital, but the room was gone when I was ready to book it.  Other accommodations meeting my criteria for price, features and location were not available in the city.  Perusing hotel booking sites for other hotels near Palma, I found Hotel Son Caliu, a 4-star + hotel located on a beach in Palmanova.  It looked nice and the price was in my range.  It was a bit of a gamble, but turned out well.

Double Standard Room

To fit my price range I booked the cheapest room in the house, a Double Standard Room.  The price was just under $100 before tax.  I almost always book the cheapest room when staying at hotels.  Status in frequent guest programs usually means getting an upgrade from the type of room booked.  If the hotel is part of the Hyatt, Hilton or IHG ( Holiday Inn group) chains, at check in I’ll be upgraded to the best available room.  If the hotel is a property in the Marriott group, upgrades include standard suites.

Son Caliu is not affiliated with any hotel group where I have status.  I paid for the cheapest room, and I got the cheapest room.  The “double bed” is created by pushing two twin beds together.  Bedding is made separately for each bed so are really only sleeping on a twin bed.

This room is slightly smaller than standard 4-star hotel rooms in North America.  Still, it accommodates two guests easily.  Room size was more than adequate for me.

A good selection of Spanish and international channels is available on the LCD TV.  This city view room has a small balcony that overlooks a loading dock.  The sound of an early morning garbage trucks was my wake-up alarm.  There are reasons why certain rooms are cheaper.

The bath is oversized compared to the room and features a large walk-in shower.

The minibar is well stocked.  Prices are lower than in many hotels.

Other room features include free WiFi, bathrobe and slippers, 24-hour room service, and laundry service.

Dining

The hotel has one restaurant, a terrace cafe, and several bars.  I enjoyed the breakfast buffet in Biniagual Restaurant each morning as it was included in the room rate.  For diner, the restaurant serves a buffet and a la carte options.  The buffet is 20€, a cost that is very competitive with restaurants in the surrounding area.  Breakfast and the evening buffet were very good.

This pleasant woman prepared egg dishes in the morning and manned the grill and carving station in the evening.  She always encouraged seconds.  I obliged.

Champagne is included with the breakfast buffet.

Common Areas

Hotel Son Caliu provides abundant seating in several very homey common areas.  Guests can relax or work in comfort and quiet.

Several times I used the area below for sitting with my laptop and working, catching  up on email and browsing the internet.

Other Features

The Spa Oasis is the pride and joy of Hotel Son Caliu.  The spa holds seven treatment rooms for an array of massages, relaxing rituals, and beauty treatments.  Other spa facilities are an indoor pool with a whirlpool, fully equipped fitness center, sauna, steam baths, laconium (Roman thermae), and an ice fountain.

Gardens and a free form pool occupy the hotel grounds.

The pool leads to Son Caliu Beach where guests may enjoy various activities and watersports.

This hotel has a large cycling center.  Mallorca is apparently a Mecca for road cyclists, and Son Caliu caters to them with a large cycling center.  The center seems to provide everything cycling enthusiasts might need.

Location

Hotel Son Caliu is in a great location on Son Caliu Beach about 1 km from the center of Palmanova.  Palmanova is a seaside town full of restaurants and shops to cater to any tourist.  It is only a 10 – 15 minute walk from the hotel.

Other shops and restaurants are in the immediate area.  The street adjacent to the hotel offers several small restaurants and shops.

Public transportation is also close.  The bus to Palma stops at a pharmacy that is  three minutes from the hotel by foot.  Buses run frequently.  The schedule is posted.  The fare is just a couple of euros.

Staff

Every member of the staff I interacted with was outstanding.  I had many questions because I’d never stayed at the hotel, knew nothing of the immediate area, and little about Mallorca.  The staff responded to each question in English with helpful information to answer them or to suggest alternatives to consider.

The best example of their helpfulness was the last day of the stay.  My flight was leaving late in the evening.  Checkout time was noon.  I asked about delaying checkout and even paying a day rate to leave around 19:00.  Surprisingly, the clerk allowed me to checkout at 19:00 and didn’t charge anything.  I don’t get a break like that staying at chain hotels where I’m an elite member of the frequent guest program.

Overall Impression

I was very satisfied with Hotel Son Caliu.  It had everything I was looking for and more — a reasonable room rate for the area and hotel type, proximity to restaurants, shops and public transportation, an extensive breakfast buffet (with champagne), a good and competitively priced dinner buffet, a beach, and an accommodating staff.