worrying times in pp - Page 10

Rangers1 · #**136** 09-10-2009, 18:41

I have been shopping around for car hire and we had cheap gar hire this year but i will have a bet with you ,you wont get a months car hire next august for that price so as you say, you amy well need to do your research etc any good tips with websites for car hire?

Rab · #**137** 09-10-2009, 19:57

I think the amount of people missing the op's point is staggering. The regular posters on here are probably in the main middle-class, middle-England type of people who have found a wee bit of paradise that is different fron other parts of majorca. They are working, have a few bob and are happy to pay a wee bit over the odds for their wee shot of paradise. THIS IS NOT A CRITICISM.

It is the newcomers to this wonderul town that I feel arent seeing the best it has to offer. They have scrimped and saved despite hard times to come to a place reccomended to them and they are dissulusioned. All they do is compare the prices of food/drink/taxis to other resorts, they compare the prices of essentials in the Caprabo/Spar to the prices in their local Asda and none of it stacks up. They leave the resort skint despite trying to budget, fed-up and vowing "never again".

Like any business PP cant really on its old/trusted customers. It has to reach out to new customers and embrace them when they come. If it doesnt there are loads of other similar resorts be it in Portugal, Turkey etc. who will.

smg · #**138** 09-10-2009, 22:04

I "am working, have a few bob, & am happy to pay a wee bit over the odds for my wee shot of paradise" BUT after many years of going to PP 2009 was a real shocker - £4k for a week in May, with no real ambience due to lack of people, little entertainment in restaurants, no life to speak of on Pine Walk or in the Square, an intrusive road that no-one used, no public loos open, and faced with for 2010 : 25% increase in villa rental, similar on flights with reduced frequency, God knows what with car hire, euro @ parity, ( OK, that's Brown's fault, not PP's ) I'm afraid it's somewhere else for us next year.

Not an enticing prospect, but an economic & ambient necessity.

What say the PP businesses? - an oft-heard cry, but with seemingly little response.

CathB · #**139** 12-10-2009, 20:46

have just returned from a week in PP and yes, things are changing there and not always for the better.Talking to friends who are in buisiness there and they were saying that there are many front line bars and shops closing due to very high rentals and overheads and lack of tourists this year.I agree about the supermarkets..We do not have a car therefore shop in the port so the first big shopping trip is usualy Eroski (the old Caprabo)..but beware of being overcharged.My friend and I double checked prices of a number of items where it was not clear which product was on special offer (i even checked the barcodes on the products against the displayed price )to ensure that I was selecting the right thing ..at the checkout the goods are quickly scanned and you are in a hurry to pack them up so I did not notice but when I got back to the apartment and checked my receipt I found I had been overcharged on several things - by about 6 euros in total !!! - and yes Rab I am working but I do not like being ripped off and I am not willing to pay over the odds for goods or poor service anywhere
However the good far outweighs the bad and PP still the place for me...Roll on April next year (and July too

)

pescador2009 · #**140** 12-10-2009, 23:14

Most surprised at 'smg' comments - see above.
I was also in PP end of May / then into June (10 nights in all).
Also working.... etc., etc., and willing to pay a bit over the odds for a bit of 'Paradise' (just walk down to the I'lla D'or, have a beer and look across the bay... that's Paradise).
I did find ambience, I did find people around (or enough for my liking anyway), didn't look for entertainment but certainly enjoyed the restaurants (yes... everyone I went in, but I/we did choose carefully), plenty of life on the Pine Walk (just sit with a coffee at the Miramar and people-watch, plenty walking by), lots of of life in the Square on Market Day (Wednesday) and of an evening (people-watching again... people eating, people drinking at Boney's, etc., etc., children playing). Very quiet in the Square on my
8a.m. walk... wonderful, just a few locals around going about their domestic duties, quite Mallorcian in fact.
The 'intrusive road' makes a wonderful short cut on the way to Alcudia and all points south-east and keeps lots of traffic off the coast road (town centre, past the Marina towards Llenaire, etc.) it really does work and will be used more and more as time goes by, believe me.
I don't know how big his/her party was for £4K so early in the season, seems a lot for a week. We (two of us/three of us for five days) had an excellent two bedroomed apartment with large sunny balcony just a couple of mins. back from the Pine Walk and the sea, hired a car (Hertz... always a quality vehicle with very low mileage), ate out seven nights out of our ten, at O'Lume, Stay, Tango, La Llonja, Trio, Brisa Marina, Miramar. Ate in three times, fresh whole Sea Bass from Eroski twice, Medallions of Pork etc. the other... complete with starters, sweet, bottle (or two) of wine, etc., etc.
Overall cost including flights from "up north" just under £2.5K
Already priced up a similar holiday for next year (but not yet booked), it looks like about £3K an overall increase of some 20%. Is it worth it or should we go somewhere else??
Well... there are many places in PP and Pollensa town I haven't eaten at yet, even though I have been to PP on many occasions. It is still civilised (unless you look for the worst all the time). La Victoria, Formentor, Lluc, Campanet, Palma, a trip on the train, tram to Soller, walking in the mountains, a bit of birdwatching at Albufiera (think I've spelt that wrong!!), just chilling out on the beach. Oh yes.... and that walk to the I'lla D'or mid afternoon for a nice cooooool beer! Yes, it is worth booking again for my little bit of PARADISE. Roll on 2010.

sws97sdg · #**141** 13-10-2009, 08:21

Great post pescador2009, agree with everything you say

shotokan · #**142** 13-10-2009, 09:24

Nice post Pescador... you had me salivating over your culinery exploits!

In summary I think a level of complacency exists at two levels...

1. Local restos/bars/etc. who refuse to price flexibly according to wider economic reality has resulted in many tourists who do not know the area (or haven't been on this forum) being ripped off.

2. Quite a few regular visitors who have seen 'standards slip' as PP has inevitably become a little more commercialised. However many such folks may find it very hard to find an equivalent blend of scenery, culture, beaches, climate, shops, etc etc. when they do try elsewhere. Familiarity can breed complacency.

The views of such visitors on this forum are therefore easy to understand, but your post hits the nail on the head... it's still 'got it' for me!

...flying back out for a long weekend on Friday...couldn't wait any longer and I just came back last month!

Smiddy · #**143** 13-10-2009, 11:43

I'm i the only one who thinks this thread is now getting a bit wearisome? Peoples opinions are always welcome, as is constructive critisism, people complain about prices, yet they fork out 4 grand for a villa in May

no offence intended but, who's faults that?

PP has it's fault's, but as i've said before, there's a severe world recession on and goodness knows how it's going end, it effects every aspect of our lives, yes, including our holidays! PP has always been that bit more expensive, i for one am happy to pay a bit extra to keep it a little bit exclusive, cheaper "beer and burgers" and everything that goes with it = nightmare senario.

I do not get "ripped off" i do not allow myself to be "ripped of" anywhere! But i do know the difference between a Mini and a Rolls Royce.

pollensafan · #**144** 13-10-2009, 14:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smiddy

I'm i the only one who thinks this thread is now getting a bit wearisome? Peoples opinions are always welcome, as is constructive critisism, people complain about prices, yet they fork out 4 grand for a villa in May

no offence intended but, who's faults that?

PP has it's fault's, but as i've said before, there's a severe world recession on and goodness knows how it's going end, it effects every aspect of our lives, yes, including our holidays! PP has always been that bit more expensive, i for one am happy to pay a bit extra to keep it a little bit exclusive, cheaper "beer and burgers" and everything that goes with it = nightmare senario.

I do not get "ripped off" i do not allow myself to be "ripped of" anywhere! But i do know the difference between a Mini and a Rolls Royce.

Smiddy, Sorry to hear that you are finding the thread wearisome. May i offer some advice to help you with that problem. Stop reading it. As for the remark " Cheap beer +burgers= nightmare scenario, it never ceases to amaze me how folk take things to the extreme. As i've already said i don't recall it being like magaluf before the prices were hiked out of all proportion so why would a reduction make it so . As for you not being ripped off thats wonderfull to hear but not everyone is as perfect as you and a lot of folk that do have a bad experience will not return. One thing is certain, things will have to change. Anyone who thinks pp will tick along with the level of custom that they experienced this year is going to be in for a very rude awakening

ray · #**145** 13-10-2009, 15:07

pp has been a prosperous holiday resort from the late fifties and i have no doubt it will continue to be one into the future.There are a lot more Germans and Russians coming here now and they seem happy with what they get for what they pay, also the French tour buses seem to be increasing again. I like the beaches quieter and i like not having to book restaurants-it is true though that there is an element in the mallorcan community who think the British will keep coming and keep paying just like before whether it be for food, drink or accommodation-The biggest problem for the British is that the pound is down about 30% against the euro when it had been about 66p to the euro for years.as an aside the supermarkets in mallorca are cheapere than theyve ever been

JH02JLH · #**146** 13-10-2009, 15:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by pollensafan

Smiddy, Sorry to hear that you are finding the thread wearisome. May i offer some advice to help you with that problem. Stop reading it. As for the remark " Cheap beer +burgers= nightmare scenario, it never ceases to amaze me how folk take things to the extreme. As i've already said i don't recall it being like magaluf before the prices were hiked out of all proportion so why would a reduction make it so . As for you not being ripped off thats wonderfull to hear but not everyone is as perfect as you and a lot of folk that do have a bad experience will not return. One thing is certain, things will have to change. Anyone who thinks pp will tick along with the level of custom that they experienced this year is going to be in for a very rude awakening

Can we keep to the topic without resorting to making personal remarks, please.

Thanks
Jane

pollensa · #**147** 13-10-2009, 17:08

It's a shame the personal comments are starting as this has been a very good thread so perhaps it has run its course.

Running both the website & visiting PP for personal reasons, I can see it from both sides.

Personally, although I feel a little despondant when I first arrive - PP does look rather tired & run-down, especially when I'm tired after travelling (!) but that soon dissipates after a few hours... and I remember why I love it. And we do know where to eat, shop etc. but we've been visiting for over 20 years.

But I completely empathise with new visitors especially in these hard times who don't know where the good value places are & have had to contend with the ridiculous car hire rates this year. As mentioned elsewhere those of you who read the forum are actually in a minority, I'm afraid to say. Part of our income is based on commission from actual holiday bookings and although the number of actual visitors to the main web site is only slightly down this year the actual conversion rate (people actually BOOKING) is currently down 30%. Those who are booking are tending to book hotels with the major operators and are therefore on half-board.

At the moment there is little sign of improvement. We won't really know if it will pick up in 2010 until January (the big holiday booking month).

Watch this space & I'll let you know!

joelise80 · #**148** 13-10-2009, 18:12

We have managed to get to PP 3 times in the last year - a one week break with our teenagers and 2 Monday to Friday breaks on our own. With cheap flights and booking an apartment through this site we have managed to keep costs down. It is the rising cost of car hire and the full empty return policy on petrol that has swayed our decision to try Cyprus next year. We shall probably squeeze in a short break to PP as we try to live like at home doing a big supermarket shop and just eating out on an evening so I get to leave the kitchen.

Times are tough for everyone and I am happy to pay a bit more to visit somewhere we love and think of as a second home but I can not bear to feel 'ripped off' with some parts of our precious holiday.

Disorderly · #**149** 13-10-2009, 23:13

I must say I'm not comfortable with the idea that this thread is "getting personal". I have a lot of sympathy with what Smiddy says but, in the end, market forces dictate.

Personally, I prefer the PP of 15 years ago, and I have found a change over time of the type of visitor and some of the establishments catering for them. If PP is pricier, and less crowded, and less attractive to budget buyers then I for one am more than happy to pay for the privilege.

Before you jump on me.....I'm not being "snobby" - I just don't like "kiss me quick" resorts and cheap does not equate to value, if you are looking for the traditional attractions of PP.

Anyway, after years of being a commited PPdofile, I have since tried a number of alternatives, and will seek holidays elsewhere, but my family's main holiday will continue to be in PP for as long as it does not become too cheap and tacky.

Duncan

whaleywanderer · #**150** 14-10-2009, 10:53

I think the danger is that if the front line restaurants/shops are priced out of the market, due to huge rents and dwindling sales, the only establishments that will have the capital to replace them will be the likes of McDonalds and other large organizations that we all dread.

Lets hope that PP will not go the way of other beautiful resorts that have been spoilt over the years.