Pollensa Forum - Valentin Puerto Azul Holiday Review

We've just got back (1st July 2007) and I thought I would share my rather long winded review of our holiday in pollensa and the Puerto Azul suite. (Also posted over on Holiday watchdog)

We were unlucky enough to have delays going out and only arrived at 2.30am. On arrival we had two very tired children and were immediately told to get them in bed while the guy on reception started to bring the cases up to our room. The room was clean, not lucky enough to get a ground floor pool room. The sofa bed in the lounge is not exactly comfortable but it sufficed.

My biggest criticism of this Thomson super-family hotel is the amount of stairs. It is impossible to get to any room (not ground floor) without some stairs.

Considering nearly everyone in this hotel had at least one buggy\pram this causes a great deal of inconvenience (especially with a sleeping child in a buggy). For example :- To get out of reception to our room we had to go down about 10 steps, then up another 10 steps to get to the lift. On getting out of the lift we had to go down another set of 10 steps. I even saw an elderly lady in a wheel chair with a foot in plaster hoping down a staircase (partner carrying wheel chair).

On a more positive note the army of cleaning staff worked incredibly hard to a very high standard. The food in the restaurant was also of a very high standard with a good variety. The children had their own buffet with the usual culprits fish fingers, Ravioli and chips etc. Both our children (3 & 5) found something to eat every day. I particularly enjoyed the Wednesday nights’ hot bananas, profiteroles and hot chocolate sauce. All of the cooks\waitresses were cheerful and always time for an ‘Ola Woppa’ for the kids.

The pool area is great (re-tiled this winter), but be prepared for the early morning start Dad’s. The sunbeds are locked up each night but you have to get up early to reserve your spot with a couple of chairs and towels before returning at 8.45 ish for the unlocking of the sunbeds. The spots that go first are always the ones around the smallest pool with an umberella. With a 3 year old who always had a sleep on a sunbed, they could definitely do with purchasing a few more umberellas. There always seemed to be enough sunbeds to go around and most people were sensible and not getting them for children who never used them. (Although there were a few).

The poolside activities were fairly typical although the reps worked exceptionally hard. Sparkly Steve is still trying to beat 90 for aqua-splash and whirlpool!

The kids club is exceptional. All of the kid’s activities were well planned and supervised. That 2hrs in the morning 10 till 12 (Tots club) is an excellent time for a pool side nap in the sun to recover from the early morning crawl out of bed for the sun-bed spot. All children have to be signed in and out by the parents. Both our two were unhappy to leave Silly Sarah, Rockin Rhea, Gillian Jolly and Hannah Banana. Towards the end of our stay the number of places got filled up fairly quickly and some children didn’t get places, so it’s important to get in the queue promptly.

The excursion trips are the usual expensive days out, but our biggest disappointment was the pirate show. Our coach was nearly an hour late which meant that we were the last people in. We were given the last of the food which so dried out it was inedible. We were given a table underneath the balcony in a corner of the stage which meant that we couldn’t see any of the acrobatics in the air or any of the pirate ship on the stage. I raised this with the reps on our return to the hotel and Thomson’s official response was that in addition to the 186 Euros (£135) we should have paid the additional 100 Euros (£72) for the quarterdeck and we could ‘try’ to seek compensation on our return to England. No joy so far.

If you decide to go the market in Alcudia (Excellant) by bus(Not so excellent), be prepared for the bus trip home. I would advise leaving well before the 2 o’clock finish or find somewhere to spend a good couple of hours after. The bus queues are brutal especially in the early afternoon heat. It is a mad crush to try to get on already full buses. I am surprised that a lot of children are not hurt as even little old ladies are not averse to swinging their elbows in a desperate attempt to get through the mass crush of people, to be then squeezed onto the bus like sardines. We were unfortunate to witness an actual fist fight as some-one managed to squeeze in front of someone else.

A useful tip - In the Kid Zone area in Block B, there is a swap box for all of those buckets, spades, inflatables etc. Everyone going home puts everything that can’t\won’t go in the case in there for re-use by other guests. I thought this was a great idea. The use of lilo’s etc is forbidden in the hotel rules and signs around the pool, but this is universally ignored with no repercussions.

The actual resort of Puerto Pollensa is fantastic. The hotel was 2 minutes from the sea front, which is a bar\shop lined boulevard leading onto a beautiful sandy beach. In the evening it is perfect for sitting in a bar with a jug of sangria and the children playing on the sand 10 yards in front of you. We have never been to such a family friendly resort. There are no loud hooligan or drunken yobs(just tipsy mum’s and dad’s). The atmosphere in ‘The Square’ is great (For a special treat try Mojito, the food is divine, I personally recommend their amazing Chateaubriand) .

The beaches are exceptionally clean with regular foot showers to get rid of the sand. It is possible to hire sunbeds etc. For 2 sunbeds and an umbrella it is 10 Euros (£7.20) per day.

While all of the reps worked very hard and provided a fantastic stay they let themselves and Thomson down on the last day.
The only area that the reps handled badly was lying to guests about flight delays. We were unfortunate to be coming home during the Glasgow attack. Although we were flying to Manchester we were on the same transfer coach. The Rep absolutely guaranteed that there were only minimal delays (Despite one of the team doing an airport run earlier). As soon as we pulled up at the airport another rep jumped on the coach and said that the flight had been cancelled and rescheduled for 15hrs later. They were then whisked of to a hotel in Palma. I really felt for the poor scots in their situation. If they had been kept up to date, they could have packed their suitcases etc for another overnight stay, instead of having to unpack every suitcase to find the last set of clean underwear.

To end my novel on a positive note we had a fantastic holiday and will definitely go back to Puerto Pollensa again and maybe even the Valentin Puerto Azul Suite. I hope that this will be useful to anyone thinking of going, or going soon.