Club Cala Romani

My sister had been pestering me to come on holiday here with her and her family for a few years now, and last year they even managed to convince my mum and dad to go with them. My dad was the hardest to convince but even he gave in. Well... they loved it so much they planned to go again the same year and then twice this year!!!
Finally I agreed to go too. But, I would have to save hard even though it was not expensive. I am on a tight budget, so decided that as they were going in June when my son was taking his GCSEs, I would just take my youngest daughter (aged 9). It cost me 610 euros for one week, all inclusive. (I think that’s about £485)
We booked our flights online through flights4less.com and the insurance through Sainsburys Bank. Now all we had to do was save for the hotel. My sister books the rooms/apartments direct through the manageress as they are not in any brochures over here. (They can also be booked via teletext and some newspapers.) This gives us more time to save as we don’t have to pay until we get there. We opted for the all-inclusive option.
We were picked up from the airport by friendly smiling taxi drivers (this was included in the price, so pre-booked by the Hotel).
The large reception area was spotless and inviting. The smiling receptionists were Spanish but spoke passable English and probably other languages, as there were French, Dutch, German and Belgium visitors there that I know of. On payment of our bill, we were handed a folder with details of rules and regulations, meal times etc. It was a friendly atmosphere, everyone saying hello to each other as we walked around.
As my daughter and myself were only going for a week and the others were staying for a fortnight, we could not share an apartment with them. So we had a room in the hotel to ourselves.
We had 2 single beds, a small dressing table, a built in cupboard/wardrobe (which had a safety deposit box in, which you could pay to use if needed), and a bathroom with shower over the bath, and a balcony, which overlooked both the hills and the swimming pool below. We were on the first of 5 floors. There were 4 lifts as well as stairs.
The shops are 2 minutes walk away. There is also a bus service if you wish to go to the main town, Manorca. The small beach is also walking distance, about 10-15 minutes. This does get quite crowded though. There were a few stalls in the grounds each day from about 10am as well as a hotel shop selling various gifts, lilos, bathing suits etc. A lady came every day except Thursday to braid hair. She charged 16 euros to put 2 coloured braids in my daughter’s long hair, and 20 euros to do a half-head braid on myself.
You can try haggling with these people apparently!
In the grounds there was a large swimming pool, divided in two for older and younger swimmers, plus a separate smaller pool for babies and toddlers. A lifeguard was patrolling these areas from 10am to 6pm daily. Officially if he pool was open from 10am - 8pm, but there were often people in there before and after those times. Large plastic loungers were available for use all around the pool. We always 'bagged' ours early, so as to get some in the area we wanted to be! There was also a small park which had it’s own paddling pool for the young uns as well as a sand pit.
There were activities throughout the day for all ages. These included darts, shooting, archery, giant Connect 4, French bowls and various other activities. These are announced over the tannoy to remind you of what’s on next and where to meet the entertainment member/s who were taking that particular activity. There were also entertainments in the evenings starting with a children’s disco from 8-9pm. (More on the entertainments later!)
FOOD
There was always salad - lettuce, raw onion, pickled onions, beetroot, grated carrot, ham, luncheon meat etc. The drinks machines supplied us with apple juice, orange squash, mixed fruit squash or plain water, all nicely chilled. There were also red and white wine dispensers for those of us who liked a tipple with our meal.
Breakfast started at 8am - 10am. There were various cereals, yoghurts, fresh and tinned fruit, a large selection of breads, rolls and a few cakes as well as a variety of cooked food. The cooked food usually consisted of bacon, eggs in some form or other, chips, hash browns, tomatoes (fried), sausages (hot dog or normal), mushrooms, and the like. There were toasters available around the room, plus butter, jam or marmalade.
Lunch was at 1pm - 2:30pm. There were usually at least 2 types of cooked meat, fish of some sort, some veg and some kind of potato or two (chips and roast, for example).There was always a good selection for dessert too, -trifle, choc or strawberry mousse, gateaux, tinned pears or peaches, yoghurts, small tubs of ice cream, jelly etc.
Dinner was from 7pm - 9:30pm. This was usually similar in some ways to the lunch. There were 2 types of cooked meat and some kind of fish, veg ( broccoli, peas n carrots etc.), but as well as potatoes there was rice and pasta and sometimes pizza too. Some days there was also paella, and yes that’s real Spanish paella with mussels, shrimps and octopus meat!!! There was also a similar but varied selection of desserts.
Snacks - The snack bar was open in between meal times in case you missed the main meal or get peckish in between times. Opening times for the snack bar - 10:30am - 12:30, 3pm - 6pm, 9pm - 11pm. The snack bar had some cooked food and salad, as well as fresh fruit, rolls and a drinks machine.
You were not allowed to enter the restaurant or snack bar in only swimwear (or have bare feet), so remember to have shorts and t-shirt or similar to slip on over the top! Also clothes must be dry, for safety reasons.
DRINK
There were two bars, one in the Club/entertainments room and one by the pool. If you were an all inclusive resident then you were issued with a photo pass on arrival, for using to get your drinks and ice cream tubs free! You also showed this at lunch and dinner times.
Bar opening times
Pool Bar - 10am - 7:45pm
Club Bar - 7:45pm - midnight.
ENTERTAINMENTS
Minidisco every evening 8-9pm
Certificates and Gold Medal Presentations at 9:30pm
International and Guests shows at 10pm, incl. cabarets, Mr. & Miss Cala Romani, Ideal Couple and 5 International shows.
After 9pm the children are requested to only go on the dance floor if accompanied by the parents, for safety reasons. Guests are encouraged to join in the shows!
Certificates are awarded daily for winning or taking part in various activities and Gold medals are awarded for winning tournaments (i.e. darts, archery, Connect4 etc) or getting 10 certificates!
The mister Cala Romani competition is hilarious as guests are asked to do various activities like dancing to various different types of music, party piece (which could be anything they like) and various other things! There are also chances to perform on stage in Star Turn (I think that’s what it was called), where you can show off your singing, dancing or whatever! They usually end this show with a performance by all participants in the show, adults and children, usually a song like ‘‘we are the World'! Very moving. I’m a shy person, but was determined to take part. So, I did! We practiced for two days. The entertainments staff joined in and had to fit their rehearsals in between their other activities. There were comedy sketches as well as wonderful singing. I found this the highlight of the week! The schedule is run two weekly, so you only see half if you’re there for just a week like us.
My daughter cried her eyes out when we had to go home, and I felt like joining her. If you join in the activities you soon make friends with other guests and the staff.
Some of you may have heard that there was a health problem here one year (2000). I would like to comment that this was not as bad as the press made out and some guests exaggerated the problem just to get compensation or a free holiday! My sister was there that year so she knows. She saw people holding their children over the swimming pool pretending they were being sick! Believe me if it had been that bad she would not have been back every year since then. (She too has children.) Yes, there obviously was a problem that year, but it has been resolved. The whole area was completely spotless and cleaned/washed daily.
I personally cannot wait to go back there next summer and neither can my daughter. My son (16) is also looking forward to coming with us next year after seeing the photo’s and hearing me raving on about it.
Do not forget to take a high factor sun cream out with you, especially if you have children or are fair skinned. I took factor 30 and under. You may need higher for babies and toddlers, as well as hats or headscarves.
Enjoy!!!

The food was repetitive and of bad quality, the room staff rifled through our belongings. The security is awful! Rooms are tatty and dirty, the pools need repairing. Customer service was non-existent. There are much better hotels in this resort we stayed in one the year before. Overall I would not recommend this hotel to anyone especially if they are taking children.