Babalu Apartments

2 readers found this review helpful

Well having read various reviews I was a little apprehensive to the condition and also as I had only paid £465 for 2 weeks for TWO of us including flights so we were definitely not expecting the Ritz.
So we opened the apartment door and.......... well tatty round the edges, cracks in furniture, wobbly legs, scruffy painting, bulbs didn't work. Basic Kitchen facilities, microwave, no kettle or toaster but adequate. Nice shower/toilet facilities and ample space in wardrobe. However fantastic balcony, huge even with table chairs and two sun beds, superb pool area and pool bar and good variety of meals and cheap as well. Dave the bar owner great character, crap shows but good for a laugh, weekly BBQ and fancy dress.
Linen only changed once and cleaning abit hit and miss with more misses than hits oh and a lift that decided when and where it stopped.
But don't let the above put you off, for what I paid had a fantastic holiday, so relaxing, friendly staff and sad to leave this morning.

5 readers found this review helpful

just returned from weeks break-definately not long enough.babalu appts great.largest balcony ever had.maid service excellent.everything for kids, which means adults have plenty of space in own pools. first time ever had microwave in room-very handy. knew there was no kettle so packed our own but they are available to hire for 10 euros a week.10 min walk to beach but short cut down steps easy-even with a pushchair, but need to taxi back.bus stop outside appts to go down into town.supermarket opposite and has everything you need.really fresh bread daily and good fruit and veg. chinese restaurant next to supermarket excellent value-had a doggy bag and enough for next day.will book this again next year(ash cloud permitting). perfect for two ladies who just wanted to rest with library books. nightlife available if you want to go find it, but not on our doorstep-nice and peaceful.

4 readers found this review helpful

the babalu apartments were really good defo goin bk next year went for 1 week wasnt long enough lol if you go try out the barbacoa club amazing u will really like it, the pools were really good n big, the entrtainment was good the people were really nice even dave lol narr u will love dave really hes the entertainer guy who works at the pub which is at the babalu the weather was really hot hot hot, the apartments were really clean n had clean bedding all the time the only 1 problem there was was there wasnt a kettle n toaster but u could higher them and get ure money bk when ure levin but didnt bother us that much as we prefer to drink beer out lol which is really cheap and the food was brillient and tasty. u will really enjoy the babalu my family all went with me and they all booked it again for october and we r goin next october aswell. mint holiday

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10 readers found this review helpful

My partner and I stayed at the Babalu from 22 May for two weeks. On arrival at 4 am we were gutted to find we were on the ground floor, but got into bed as we were shattered! First thing in the morning I went to reception to ask to move to a higher floor (better view/more sun) The initial reponse was no and a bit frosty but when I said i would be happy tp pay for cleaning of our ground floor room to be moved, for 30 euros we were moved to the third floor which was stunning! From then on we had a good rapport with the hotel staff, they couldn't be more friendly.
The room itself is spacious and clean, lovely view and as previous reviews state the balconies are massive!! we spent loads time out there sunbathing on our lilo's reading our books!
The food at the pool bar is really nice, freshly cooked. There is a half prrice happy hour 12 til one at lunchtime on beers which are great to cool doen in the sun!
The lack of kettle wasn't a problem, we used a saucepan to boil water for tea but the cups were a bit small but i bought some cute cat mugs the first day for two euros so that was good! That leads me onto the cats.....I ADORE cats, have 4 at home. So the wild cats wandering around really don't bother me, in fact I loved it and had frequent ones visit me by the pool to eat cat biscuits i bought from the shop! BUT - if not a cat lover, don't leave any food out as they will eat anything and won't think twice about jumping thru the window to pinch it!! (ha ha clever kitties!!)
The Europa centre is so close and good places to watch football/whatever sport is on. We went to the Barbacoa everyday as became friendly with one of the barmen, great chap called Kris and we are still in touch now which is nice. great food, reasonable prices, fun entertainment (albeit a tad cheesy) and Kris makes the best cocktails ever, his Mojitos are ledgendary!
We didn't really bother going to the bottom or the beach apart from once or twice, the babalu is calm, quiet and relaxing, which is exactly what we were looking for. In fact so good we are booked again for another two weeks on 15th May this year!! Highly recommended. Nicky and Rob, aged 28 and 37 x

3 readers found this review helpful

we have just returned from 14 days here and had a fantastic time, i would definately go back again, the only thing that would have made the accomodation better would have been to have a kettle and toaster supplied in the room, as i think when booking a self catering holiday these should be there for you. The room was very clean, and had clean towels and bedding regulary. The privately owned bar was excellent, Dave and the staff were a good laugh, and the entertainment was good too. Overall one of the best holidays we have had. it was brill.

20 readers found this review helpful

Me and my partner had a short week break in October of 2009 at the Babalu apartments.
I have been to Puerto Rico 4 times previously to this time and this apartment twice before.
I'll just keep going back and i'll tell you why.
Firstly the weather - Consistently hitting 30°C no problem throughout the day which is fantastic considering October time.
The room was very clean and practical along with a large sized balcony over looking the sea/pool area south facing. Plenty of room for the two of us.
The poolside bar was definately the highlight of the entire holiday. Food served there was great value for money along with drinks. Happy hour is on every single night. Activities for all are present at night. The food was very good along with very good prices which beat any resturants.
Bingo which was comical, Singers, Comedians, a variety of animal shows are on 6 nights in the week I think it was. The bar staff are very friendly along with the main entertainer Dave. Fantastic guy who really brings a spark to the holiday. Pop down one night and witness one of his evenings and you won't regret it.
The location of the Babalu isn't as bad as the brochures make it out to be. You hear alot of steep hills to climb to get anywhere which is false due to cheap taxis. The Europa center is about a 2 - 5 minute walk away from the Babalu. At the Europa, there are all types of bars, resturants, a supermarket and arcades. A place to eat is very easy to find ranging from Italian to Chinese to fish and chips.
There are two local beaches both no longer than 5 mionutes in a taxi...and both costing no more than 3 euros in a taxi.
A trip to Mogan on a market day is quite nice...Again very cheap to get there. I prefer the ferry from Puerto Rico port for a very reasonable price. It's a nice 30 minute relaxing trip.
Finally
It's a package suitable for all ages and groups from families to couples.
Will definately be going back there in early 2010 and again in Oct 2010.
3* Apartment means great price.
5* Entertainment mean value for money.

7 readers found this review helpful

I got back from Babalu yesterday morning,
I had an absolutely brilliant time there. Weather was in the 30's every day we had no rain whatsoever.
Is a short walk from the Europa centre.. couple of decent restaurants/bars but going down to puerto rico itself was better. The 2 main bars we went to were harleys (absolutely brilliant there) and joker (kinda empty but good club).
The apartments themselves were ok the TV didnt work and the shower was tempremental but once you got used to it it was fine. The beds were 2 singles pushed togethor which arent that nice if you're out there with someone. Also had 400 cigarettes stolen so keep your valuables locked up!!!!!
There were 3 pools which were all different sizes. The entertainment could not have been better!! Dave was the life and soul of this place, There were different entertainers every night and I got to hold snakes iguanas and all sorts of birds. Some of the singers werent too great but there was 1 black called greg who was brilliant!! Dave put on the shows and was always cracking jokes and somehow.. I ended up with the nickname DelBoy!! Just coz I was the only southerner there!! He was a great laugh and I thoroughly enjoyed his company, told us the best places to eat/drink etc. Even offered to take us to town one night but got stuck in tenerife which was a shame. On our last night he made a point of telling people and we actually won his comedy bingo twice in one night!!!
Overall this was probably the best holiday I've been on and I put it solely down to the quality of entertainment!!!
Del Boy and Raquel!!!

5 readers found this review helpful

we stopped at the babalu for 14 night at the begining of august.we found the room basic but with everything you needed to make your stay comfortable.we were in room 405 and we got the sun on the balconey all day.the room was cleaned every other day.the pool was just fantastic good for adult and the kids.the pool bar serve excellent snacks and local beer 180 euros a pint.we found dave the entertainer a nice easy going funny bloke,his barbque was excelent value for money,he put on entertainment most nights which was good.his daily games of football were great for the kids and adults alike.it was just a short walk away across the road to all the bars and restaurants although very close but not noisy.excellent meals and large portions at most of the restaurants but our favourite was the el toro very nice food, easy going friendly people.for a drink i would recomend biblos bar good music and friendly staff.the beaches are a nice 20 minute walk away downhill we found these to be excellent one of them man made but lovely white sand and nice clear waters.i would recomend a taxi back 3 to 4 euros well worth it walked back a couple of times i would not recomend this tho especialy if you are elderly or have kids with you.the only negative thing was the time share idiots and some of the electrical shop owners down by the harbour trying to pull you into there shops.we had a great holiday and will be going back to the babalu again

5 readers found this review helpful

Just back from a week at Babalu and had a great time! The apartment was cleaned just about everyday and towels changed regularly. On arrival the man on reception seemed a bit of a grump but it was 6 am, apart from that one occasion he was very nice. If you are going to stay by the pool you will have to be up early to get a lounger, even at 7.30 many were already taken by towels. The pool bar was ok we didnt use it that much as we made breakfast/lunch. The food was reasonably priced but soft drinks and alcohol were very expensive at least 4 euros!! exception being a pint of beer which was 1.80 and everyone seemed to be drinking it. They have 2 happy hours one a lunch time but only on certain drinks and the other was at 8.30pm on all drinks but very few people were around at this time unless they were staying for the entertainment. Dave the entertainment man was ok, he organised football and water polo games most days, personally not my cup of tea. The supermarket joined to Babalu was pricey go to the hyperdino in the europa centre.
The apartments have a great view although if we went back again we would probably stay somewhere down at the main commercial centre as this is where we ate and spent most of our evenings. Would recommend the Niza apartments very basic apartments but super location less than 5 mins to the beach and the centre, stayed there last year. The hill is ok to walk down great views, only takes about 15-20 mins and a taxi back up was never more than 3.70 euros.
Most places were ok price wise for a meal but the drinks really bump up your bill! There is a great wee bar called M&M down at the centre next to the Highlander. It was packed every night with British people due to the fact that nearly all beers were 1 euro, vodka 2 euros and cider was roughly the same!! Got to be the cheapest bar in the whole resort!! Went there every night and it was the same faces, everyone was really nice.

3 readers found this review helpful

Accomodation spotless pools great entertainment good when on it was a shame more people did not use the poolside bar more in the evening as the entertainment was based on how many people were there Dave the entertainments manager was great, overall very good holiday.