Improve Puerto Pollensa
 

Hi everyone, I work in a multi-service company, from real estate to concierge and in our team we are always trying to come up with new ideas to improve the port and what services would be apreciated. I thought it would be a good idead to actually ask everyone wo comes to visit us here in Puerto Pollensa what you think. Any ideas you think that our company could take on to make peoples stays more enjoyable, or simply something you would like to see upon your visit to PP.

Looking forward to seeing some good ideas!

Nick

Nick, what a great idea!
Just a quick basic to get the ball rolling.
Keep a check on too many touristy items appearing, ie, too many noisy arcades with noisy machines - emphasis on too many here, not none!
Keeping with the loved rustic approach of some crafts around, but again not too many!
Noticed a few people commenting on doggy poo this year! Cleaners? Bins?
Are these the sort of suggestions you are looking for Nick?:rolleyes:

Free band concerts in the square or on the front most nights would be a good draw, like the Pan Pipers on market days.

Excellent idea Nick, i think Public Toilets would be very high on the list. Do you have any influence with the council.;)

No more Irish/Aussie/naff bars - leave them to Magaluf and let's get back to some authentic Mallorcan bars/cafes.

Make car drivers keep away from drop kerbs, crossings etc. Its a nuisance when you are in a wheelchair and you have to go further down the road just to get a space to cross. Other than that everything else was great.:p

Nick

I presume you're looking for ideas which your company could take a commercial interest in? I see you are primarily a property organisation so it might be helpful to us if you could give some clues as to what markets you are looking to expand into.

I'll then have a think when I'm over next month. If I come up with something useful, I assume the standard 5% "finders fee" will apply?

John

Lol @ harters, I did think that myself, we are being asked to do Nick’s blue sky thinking for him. Perhaps he has been asked to come up with some ideas for an upcoming meeting. Only joking Nick, great thread, already been good replies, especially about the dog mess problem, did seem worst this year, what about some of the bikes they have in Paris which go around cleaning up the mess in the night. Toilets also, how can they continue to keep the new ones on the beach closed, if they are that desperate I will take on the contract to look after them for the council. Also the promenade is starting to look tired and is breaking up in places, I presume they are waiting until they close the road on the front and do it then. Also the idea about entertainment in the evening is a good idea, if they are going to move on all the sellers and buskers, they should replace it with something else, like licensed entertainers and maybe music in the square some nights. Hope this helps Nick. :)

Can I suggest, that as mentioned above, you are looking for ways that your company can be involved and/or can be promoted, why not look at areas that have been raised on this forum such as street cleaning, craft/cultural activities, opening the closed loos etc. & see if your company could sponsor these sorts of areas & improve links between local businesses & the council - if that is possible in Pollensa.

e.g. street cleaners with your advertising on them etc. :cool:

Thanks all, great ideas. We have got a good influence on the the council at the moment, i meet the mayer every other week about a project square we are trying to have made in front of our office and get rid of an extremely dirty area. So definately will be forwarding these ideas on to him and seeing what realistic posibilities there are of getting them fixed. I dont want to seem like im using anyone so if you feel that way, simply dont reply to the thread, I grew up in and love Puerto Pollensa so i am keen to improve wherever i can. And if it can benefit our company then all the better.

Nick

I didnt take it you were trying to "use" folk. My post was entirely serious - well, perhaps not the final sentence (I'll settle for 2.5%).

John

I agree with some of the previous comments especially about the bars and shops. etc and the dog poo...it was worse than ever.
Can i also add...
Public toilets,showers on the beach.
Can something be done about the Beach beds...they were later than ever being put out this year and are now 11 euros for the day (2 beds & a shade)...they are getting very expensive.I also think it awful that they charge full price even if you get there at say 2pm.The state on some of the beds were awful too.Some of them were ripped and so saggy that they could not be used.it doesnt help I know that the kids play on them at night (and most of these were locals)

Nick

Thank you for taking the time to ask this question. It is much appreciated. I think, like most folk, I am interested in keep the character of PP in which ever way is possible.

Things that might improve the experience? Possibly something like a restaurant booking service. This would be particularly useful in winter months as actually knowing where is open is quite a skill in itself! I think things, like this, that actually make the resort more accessible in the winter season, would sit well with the Balearics aim of making the island a choice all year round. Something which wouldn't interest me personally but I am sure has some mileage in this context is golf and cycling.

I will keep thinking!

Sharon

Somebosy mentioned earlier showers on the beach which I see this year have been removed. I have no idea why but they were of great benefit in washung the sand from your feet on leaving the beach.

Could they be brought back?

I would love to see an accessible beach. I know that you could get down to the sea at one point but it would be a lot better if they had a "decking" area so that wheelchair users could actually sunbathe on the beach. We have previously gone to Tenerife and they have a great accessible beach. It only needs to have access from the promenade onto a wooden area so that wheelchairs dont have to go onto the sand.

More great points that i will pass on to the Council. Sharohn mentioned a restaurant booking service. We already handle that from our offcie under our Concierge section. Please PM Nick for details.

Thanks everyone for your input.

I had a meeting with the mayor today, and mentioned a few points i had read about on the forum, especially the dog poo situation. He said that he is aware of the situation, and has not been able to distribute cleaners out due to the fiestas in old town which have basically not stopped since the end of july. But people should start seeing a difference soon, as most of the big fiestas are over, therefore the council cleaners are once again available.

Nick

Thanks for taking these matters forward.

Regards

Sharon

Nick,

Great thread & although I started another thread on the rubbish & poo situation I do feel it is a major issue.
I love PP & have been twice a year for the last 6 years. I have also championed PP to anyone in the UK that would listen. On my last visit (last week in july & 1st in Aug 2008) the rubbish situation was a disgrace. I stayed in a private apartment in Boquer & at the bottom of the road just behind the Pine Walk & adjacent to the cut through to the beach stood 3 large bins. These bins were not emptied for 6 days & over that period grew the biggest rubbish mountain ever. It quickly expanded and blew around the streets for days. It was a disgrace. In other posts on this site people claim there are no issues with rubbish outside the Oro Playa - when anyone who was there at the time would clearly say there was.
Secondly - most UK dog walkers now clean up after their dogs - but clearly PP dog owners dont share our good habbits. The dog poo this year was everywhere!!
We go to PP because we love PP for what it is - but this year was a shock!!

Suggestions
 

Could we ensure "Mr Tex Mex" is prevented from opening any more restaurants on the front? Two's more than enough. (Rumour has it there's a 3rd in the offing).

Ways to improve PP
 

Yes, thanks to Nick for posting this thread in the first place. Much appreciated.

It's good to know that some of the feedback given on the forum might find its way to the right people.

Certainly agree with the last post from Smiddy about not allowing any more Tex Mex on the front. Please, no more of them!

Maybe the dog poo situation could be dealt with by encouraging owners to use pooper-scoopers and to deposit the poo in special bins like we do in the UK and as happens in many other countries? Maybe installing some notices, advising/educating dog owners to do this might be a good way to start - plus some special bins for it all to go in.

After the initial outlay on bins and notices, the Council wouldn't have to use labour-intensive methods of street cleaners all of the time then. Hopefully a bit of people-power and an appeal for civic pride might just do the trick.

To quote Paul Weller. "The public gets what the public wants".

Unfortunately the popularity of Tex-Mex and Bonys suggests that the public is certainly getting what the public wants.

Anybody been to Cala D'Or?

Please keep on topic. This was a genuine request to ask for suggestions for improvement.

Pollensa, I think Smiddy genuinely thinks that PP would be improved if there were less Tex-Mex's. I agree.

Surely if any place gets flooded with too many of the one chain/type then the place becomes disadvantaged. No?

Well said Rab. Sorry, Pollensa, but I really don't think that the comments that offended you were very far off post. Just genuinely held views.

I wasn't actually offended & I understand that people may want to pass on to the mayor that they don't want any more Tex Mex places on the front. I'm just wary of the thread turning into another discussion of the Tex Mex as opposed to what people geuinely want to see done to improve PP.

Personally, I think it is worth passing on to the council that while a lot of resources have been spent this year on restricting market traders & stalls along the front & builders of sand castles, this does not actually put tourists off (in fact they enjoy them) as much as dirty streets, unemptied bins & lack of toilet facilities on the beach.

Another meeting on saturday morning, More points to pass on. I will also find out how last weeks points have come on, and what the plan is.

Hi Nick, thank you for the update and i am looking forward to hearing all about the meeting on Saturday. :)

Hi Nick-don't let them get away with the all the fiestas excuse-I have visited in ALL months of the year and the dog poo has always been an issue!

When in PP it's a case of Bodger the Dodger-but at least in the summer the sun has a quick drying effect so at least walking home in the the dark it's more of a crunch than a...well you get my drift.Joking apart it's disgusting and in my opinion getting worse-needs sorting pronto.

Bodge

Pollensa, I totally agree with you that seafront stalls and sand castles are universally popular and add something to the resort and the negative aspets you highlight need addresssing.

I also feel, personally, that going away to "foreign parts" should allow us to enjoy the local culture, customs and cuisine, and it disappoints me when market forces demand the stuff many of us hoped to leave behind in the UK.

So let's resist more "fast food" and keep plugging the good local restaurants with the excellent posts on this site.

Yep, you're right......I'm going off post again. SORRY!!!

I do agree entirely that particularly in PP, which is dependent on tourism, the council should listen to those who are interested in the Mallorcan aspects of the port. & again on a personal note, publishing the dates of the PP fiesta well in advance & the program in other languages, apart from Catalan, would also be very useful. We have to get it translated into English (by Ann from HIPP) every year.

improve puerto pollensa
 

Nick, you seem to have the ear of the mayor. How do you get to see him and does he speak english. My own opinion is to stop the Magaluf type pubs opening in the port, the police dont seem to care about the noise at night.
gpm

He speaks a little english, but only as much as most mallorquins in Pollensa. I meet with him on a regular basis because the company i work for are going to reform a dusty dirty gravel patch into a nice little square and we meet him every week or so to sort out planning and materials, etc.

Nick that sounds very interesting!! Can you tell us where the dusty dirty gravel patch is?

Is it the one near Los Z where they are doing the nature walk by La Gola bridge? Or is top secret at the moment? ;)

Debs

Haha, its in the old town, its not huge, but it does make that part of town lood horrible.

opposite the Pharmacy.

Thanks Nick!

Shame, it would have been nice to have had a little square by the new nature trail...although for slightly selfish reasons as it's near our apartment so would have added to the area :)

Perhaps in your next planning session with the mayor............???!!! ;)


Debs

Hi all
I would love to see some renovation as opposed to dull modern new builds. Not wanting to rattle any cages as I am a builder myself, I live here and understand costing issues etc. but I am fed up of seeing Cell Block H type buildings springing up away from Bellresguard and creeping insidiously into other parts of the port and the old town. Having lived once for a few years in the old town, it's been nice to see some of the hostals taking this approach conserving the feel of the old town. Surely with the grants available from the gobern balear and the consell insular, more could be done? Anyway don't bother the mayor with this, as money to be made will always talk louder than "patrimonio cultural", I just wondered what others felt?

It would be nice to see the sand sculputures back and also the entertainers on the Pine Walk of an evening. Another great loss for us for the last few years as been Mr Helados on his motorcycle coming along the Pine Walk twice a day with his lovely ice creams. We were told when he retired the council wouldnt grant anyone else the licence, could this be something that could be looked at.

Sorry slightly off topic but havent seen Mr Helados (sorry know thats not his realy name) in the hut lately does anyone know if he is ok was such a nice jolly man.

Just thought of something else but it may have nothing to do with the Mayor but it would be nice to see Katys Bar (on the Pine Walk) reopened next year looked very sad being all closed up.