Iberostar Club Cala Barca Hotel

We have just returned from a 16 night stay at the Cala Barca in peak season ( August ) and had a really enjoyable time. It's our second year staying at an all exclusive Iberostar resort and as a family of two teenagers and a 7 month old baby we had a wonderful time. If you want to avoid the typical British tourist this is the place for you. Despite the fact they don't unlock the sun beds until 9:30am, the sunbed dash around the main pool is amazing, with people getting up early to place towels on the floor were they want their sunbed and children on top of the lock sunbeds!!! Even on the beach I noticed on several occasions people reserving their slot with a towel!!! The beach is great and the quieter outer pools are better locations for a quiet day in the sun. The food and service is excellent, a wide choice of local dishes as well as international cuisine. The evening entertainment is excellent, if you can find a table to watch it from, although they do have an alternative stage with live music. Excellent dive centre and plenty to keep the kids happy. Really enjoyed, would recommend.

Just arrived back from Cala Barca in Cala Mondrago, Majorca. We consist of 2 adults (me, being 6 months pregnant!) 2 teenagers, one 9 year old and one 3 year old. I chose this holiday because of it's location, All-Inclusive meals and activities. I have lived in the balerics for years and spent most of my working life in travel from being an agent, cabin-crew and Holiday rep. Like most resorts there are positives and negatives about this resort. The hotel is very large, and caters mainly for the German Tourists. There are also lot's of Italian and French and I would say a handful of English people. This is perfect for you if you want to get away from the typical british holiday. The rooms we had were OK, I would say that they could do with a bit of updating but had everything you need, including sat tv. Our rooms were in a block above one of the restaurants, which at night, trying to get a toddler to sleep was awful as the kitchen staff were very loud chatting away till the early hours. If you are planning to stay out after 1-2 , then this would not bother you, however, we had a fab veiw looking down at the many pools they have and also of the beach. It is a good job they have lots of pools as I have mentioned, due to the fact that I think this hotel over caters. If you are not up queing for breakfast, lunch and dinner then make sure that you have to que up for the sun-loungers, if you don't, you won't get one at all. We only managed to get a lounger for 3 hours one day, which being pregnant found really annoying! I found the pools quite dangerous with teenagers including adults jumping in whenever they want. If you are travelling with small children, please be aware of this. They also get so over crowded and so we spent most of our days at the beach the beach is small, very rocky in places and also get's very over-crowded. Lot's of wonderful pine trees though so if you need the shade there are places for you, even the fantastic playground near the beach has plenty of shade. Lot's of steps and even though I am pregnant, did not bother me. There is lot's of things to do if you want them and activities to join in. The evening entertainment was really good and the staff worked really hard. There was a good selection of food and drink at the main restaurant. There is also other restaurants you can go to including a mexican, italian and a pizza restaurant, however, still a little all the same! You have to make sure that you book those restaurants in the morning at reception to ensure a reservation. If you want to get out and about then there are buses and 'Noddy' trains that can take you to other beaches and resorts. We spent a day in Cala Do'r and for 6 of us cost 12 euros each way. If it is cloudy, be aware that there could also be hundreds of you thinking the same way and once again, you will have to fight to get onto the train! It takes around 30 mins to get to Cala D'or which is great for shopping and taking a stroll around the marina. All in all, I did not really have a relaxing time, I felt a lot of other mothers did not take into consideration that I was pregnant and got fed-up with having to tell people to stop pushing in in que's. We did however go at a busy time and I think if you were to be there when the hotel is not so full would really have a bit more of a better time than we did. We felt safe though and did not feel too closed in. The hotel staff were there to help in anyway and really rushed off there feet. Like I have mentioned before, there are positives and neg to any holiday and even though we had a few things that bothered us, may not bother you at all. Overall a great place but out of season. Not for couples wanting to get away from it all.

i must admit after day 1 we were all for checking out but after relaxing and taking everything at face value and taking advantage of all the free activities we really enjoyed ourselves. The room was basic but hardly in it, agree the a/c could have been better. The food was of a good standard and we also ate in the bookable italian and mexican which were good. The service from the waiting staff was excellent and we really enjoyed most of the evening entertainment. The Entertainment staff worked so hard. I thought it was a bonus not having too many british folks there and thought all the varied europeans was a real plus. My two children 4 and 8 already asking to go back, they took full advantage of the free horseriding and mini golf. Didnt like the beach but the fantastic cala mandrago beach just down the road. Mind you if the sight of overweight europeans squeezed into speedos is not your thing then maybe avoid, and the queue and rush for sunbeds was pathetic in the extreme.

We are a family of 2 adults and 2 kids (aged 13 and 10) we booked the flights and hotel separately. It is a large hotel complex and the main restaurant can be busy at times - but we could always find a quiet place on a terrace. We varied our stay by eating in the Mexican and Italian restaurant on different days (must be booked in reception in the morning). We loved the beach - there is plenty of shade from pine trees plus the beach cafe is good and included in the AI. The diving school was excellent and both kids tried a scuba dive. There is also a horse riding school and their evening show was very good. All of the staff are really helpful and speak English - my teenager made friends with some German teenagers. Very few English people there – which we thought was a bonus

beware if you are an english person with teenagers - nothing against german people but this hotel had i would say 80% german people, and lots of other nationalities, hardly any english at all, which meant my 2 teenage boys felt really alone and couldnt make friends with anyone and were therefore "bored" - the rooms were ok, beds a bit uncomfortable & the air conditioning didnt work very well. the food was ok but not much choice. theres a nice small beach next to the hotel and the pools were very nice, although you had to wait until 10am before the sunbeds were unlocked & it was very stressful trying to grab a sunbed quickly with people putting their little children on top of the pile of sunbeds - it could have ended up in a punch up but luckily it didnt.... on the whole i would say its a great place if you have little children but avoid it if you are a couple with no children or have teenagers.

This was my daughters & mines 2nd holiday in just over a year! we went last year with my folks & this year we went with a friend & his 2 boys!! Thankfully the boys loved it as much as i hoped (&told them!!!!) they would!!! Most of the staff were the same as last year which was nice & they were all as friendly & polite as i remembered them to be!! The highlight again for the kids was the many pools (just couldn't get them out of them!!! which does not bother us, as it meant we got to relax!!!) & the starfriends shows of an evening!! these again were fantastic, they put alot of effort into these shows & bless their hearts they must work a 16 hour day, as must the rest of the staff, always on their feet, never complaining (unlike over here, when is we eem to do is moan about stuff!!!) never used the kids club as my daughter & the boys didn't wish to go to them! The hotel is always clean, never rubbish anywhere, the rooms are clean & tidy. Food, great, the kids lived off ice cream, but you wouldn't expect anything less frankly!! we hope to go back here next year with other friends & their daughter otherwise it will be just me & my daughter (i've turned into one of those people who go back to the same place year in year out, & i cant stand those people!!!!!!!) you should try it!!! it wont let you down! just be warned though, you are outnumbered 1 to 20 germans!!!!

We have stayed at several Iberostars. This one was NOT cut out for older children or couples or anyone traveling with people over the age of 4. I felt like I was in a day care center the entire time. Food was average. Rooms were average. Beds uncomfortable and the A/C did not work well. However, an excellent value if you want to stay and eat cheap in Mallorca.

We have just returned from a week at cala barca. Great food in the 2 restaurants. Coctail bars next to the pools were not open, prob due to weather. The water in the pools was ice-cold. We rented a car and drove around the island, a great thing to do if you get bored of only lying down and eat ;) The hotels provides a lunch box if you show them a trip/car-booking proof , to be ordered the day before. Staff was very friendly everywhere. The room was spacious, convenient, exept the 'bed' were two small sofabeds that we put together. Overall a great place, animation better then expected (i'm not a animation participator) Children have the best fun there, but anyone can enjoy it.

We were a group of 6 - 2 young children, 2 parents and 2 grandparents - and found Cala Barca to be a super location for our holiday together. Our (large) apartments were based furthest away from the central areas, so as the previous reviewer said, there was quite a stroll to the restaurant for breakfast. However, this suited us. We were in a quieter spot and there was so much (good) food on offer, that the walks were needed! Also the more central swimming pool area was quite noisy and busy, whereas the pool and paddling pool nearest us were quieter and had more green shady areas around them. As far as hotels go, this "holiday village" certainly has lots to offer in its AI package - there was a wide choice of food in the various restaurants, the beach and beach bar were lovely, the different pool areas were well maintained, there were lots of varied activities from pony-riding to diving, the animation team worked really hard for the evening entertainment of mini-disco etc. - all in all, lots to do on-site. The apartment blocks may be quite modern, but there are so may palm and pine trees, green areas and floral planting surrounding them, that they were not unattractive to walk around. By foot, we also spent a day at Cala Mondrago beach and walked down to Porto Petro. There is a mini-train or bus service to Cala D'Or too. All worth visiting. Only minor complaints were that the coffee was a bit hit and miss and there wasn't icecream available during the day, like other hotels offer. But the overall standard of food, cleanliness, facilities etc. was excellent.

My family and i really enjoyed our break here and thought it a good standard. The food and drink was great and it was our first time at all inclusive and we thought it great! The entertainment was good to and we enjoyed most shows. The down side to this acomodation was it was so huge and where you were located was really varied. We were right in the heart of things so it was useful for the pool and restaraunts ans the shops etc but quite nosiy at night. However some people we met were fed up because they had to walk around 10 minutes to get to the cental bit. My advice would be to request a central apartment!