Reviews of Bonaire Aparthotel, Cala Bona, Mallorca

gibbs

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Oct 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

jomarsam

Comments:

we just got back from bonaire and had a fab time.
the apartments were spotlessly clean with a great maid service, where you can put either don not disturb if you fancy a lay in or clean my room which lets the maid know you are not in and they are able to clean without disturbing you.
on our arrival we were met by a member of staff to greet us, we stayed in block 5 and wasnt dissapointed we had a lovely veiw of the sea.
we didnt try the food at the resturant so cannot comment on it.we did eat alot at an english resturant called the rope and anchor value for money great atmosphere breakfast was either 4 euros or if your hungry like my son and hubby 5 euros for a larger one.
we would definatley reccomend this place the resort is lovely clean and the reception staff cannot do enough to help.
if you are going look forward to it you wont be dissapointed.
happy holiday!!!!!!!

Just returned home from a weeks...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mrs K Saunders

Comments:

Just returned home from a weeks stay at the Bonaire with my husband and 2 children aged 2 and 1, had a fantastic time, the entertainment reps were amazing and there was always something to do and plenty of activities for the whole family, my 2 babies went into the creche 2 hours a day and absolutly loved it, the creche girls are brilliant and got the patience of saints!! The food was great and had something different every night and the kids buffet was a fab idea and my 2 year old loved it!!! The rooms were spotless and spacious and the cleanliness and friendliness of the hotel and staff was amazing, would highly recommend this hotel and look forward to going back again

Fantastic holiday for children....

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

attadale

Comments:

Fantastic holiday for children. Entertainment is total Butlins starting at 1030am - 1130pm. We went self catering, but purchased a breakfast card for the week. I thought the breakfasts were really good, everything from fresh fruit, crepes to the full fry. It was all very consistant through the week. Dont go full board, wait till you get there and try a buffet dinner before you commit. Unlike the breakfast the quality is not quit there and its all a bit school dinners, however it was an easy option to feed the kids if you cant be bothered heading out. Our room was very clean and looked exactly as it did on the brochure...basic but fine. We did have a pool view...dont fancy a side view apartment as they get no sun or view. Loungers....if your kids can swim and you dont need near the shallow end or the little kids pool your are fine, otherwise its a 6am-7am rise for you! Oh, when you check in you can purchase a remote for the tv, this is where you also get the beech towels. Do try the local bars and restaurants, its nice to escape the Butlins madness for a bit. My kids (4 and 6) loved the evening entertainment which started at 8pm. They sat infront of the stage for hours while we enjoyed great bar service! Only downside, my son got sickness bug on last day...both ends!

We've just returned from a 2nd...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mr M Lilly

Comments:

We've just returned from a 2nd visit to the Bonaire (the 1st being a couple of years ago), and would still recommend it to anyone with kids, irrespective of ages (ours are 7 & 3).



Although the apartment was a bit dated, the rest of the amenities more than made up for it with the whole staff exuding a friendliness sometimes lacking at other resorts (Sa Coma for example).



A special well done and thanks to the Thomson crew of Awesome Ant (a very funny man and fabulous with the kids), Loopy Lou (Ant's perfect sidekick), Flipper, Jammy Dodger, Gemma and the others too numerous to mention.



The bar staff of Miguel, Pepe, Oskar, Toni & Dani (I never forget a barman's name!), also deserve a special mention for their tireless efforts.



The food in the restaurant was of a sufficient standard although the 10 minute walk into Cala Bona itself is perfect to build up that appetite.



If you haven't been to the Bonaire take our advice - go. You will not be disappointed.

Just returned from a week at the...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mr D Beach

Comments:

Just returned from a week at the Bonaire, and my kids (7 & 11) want to go back now!! We are experienced travellers, who wanted a break somewhere that ticked all the boxes when it came to a family holiday; and we found it.

Sure, there is an element of Hi-De-hi, but the Reps were so enthusiastic and talented that you soon lost any cynical opinions of the place. The energy and professionalism shown by the entertainers was fantastic. Special praise for the bar and reception staff too. My son celebrated his birthday whilst on holiday, and the Bonaire gave him (and his friends!) a very nice cake!

We went self-catering, and found the kitchenette rather small to cook anything substantial. The apartment was clean and adequately air-conditioned, and as we were above the reception, we had no noise problems. Good selection of channels on the tv for times when you weren't having fun in the pool! Could do with a supermarket a little closer though.

The comments regarding sub-beds are valid; towels appear to be on some of the beds for hours before anyone turned up to use them.

Cala Bona, and its near neighbour Cala Millor are family orientated resorts, with plenty of bars and restaurants. Smithy's in Cala Bona serves good food in a nice spot in the harbour, and if you fancy a pub quiz or karaoke, try The British Bulldog in Cala Millor.

Overall, we had a great time (you can be miserable anywhere if thats how you are), and intend to book at the Bonaire for next summer. See you there!!!!

just returned from bonarie for...

Overall Rating:

7/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mr M Edwards

Comments:

just returned from bonarie for 7th year running

will start with low points flew with monach never again treated like cattle i have a 44inch waste and could not pull the tray down to eat food as seats were so cramped,on arrival had 3 hour wait for room.second year running had to do bonaire two step in shower as cold water would stop, sending out very hot water not good for kids or sunburn.

the rooms are looking shaby and in need of a makeover cannott see much change in 7 years.

The high points are as always the staff all are exellent from the maid up to the manager reciption brilliant especialy Joe pool bar waiters and staff fantastic Miguel Osker and Pepe.

pool is always inviting (i like to get up early so sunbed only problem if you are a late riser)

Ate in resturant 3 times always something for every taste.

All resturants we ate in were fine special mention to the Tapas new this year and very good, had one bad meal in tonys 3 years ago tried again this year 18 euro steak full of fat and baked potato so cold butter would not melt stay clear.

Overall another good holiday at bonarie (used to be brilliant) but will stay away for a couple of years to see if they can refurbish to how it was in the past, would still recomend to anyone with children for holiday more 3 star than 4 now

Arrived on Sunday. Our self...

Overall Rating:

7/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mr J Wilson

Comments:

Arrived on Sunday. Our self catering apartment was unfortunately on 3rd floor so not ideal for our kids and had a serious ant problem. We managed to get a different apartment on the 1st floor with no ants by Tuesday. There was unfortunately very little work top space to prepare food in the self catring apartments and the kitchen areas could do with an overhaul.

If you want a sun bed at this complex you need to get up at 5am or you've no chance. This dimisses the myths about Germans because this hotel was all British. That's the bad points, heres the good:

Everything else was great. Hotel reception good. Waiters brilliant. Bar great. Food great (although ice creams not cheap, about 6 pound for 3) . Pool good but crowded at times. Thomson reps superb. Thomson activities superb. Entertainment superb. Would we go back ? We just might, and If not to this hotel we will definately consider a Thomson family hotel again.

We have just returned from our...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mrs A L Chapman

Comments:

We have just returned from our holiday in Cala Bona last week and I have to say we were very impressed. Not only were we blessed with good weather, our apartment was spotless and the staff were so friendly and helpful. We have 3 children aged 5, 4 and 1 and they couldn't get enough of the pool or the reps entertaining them, making it a lot easier for my husband and I. We ate out at a lot of restaurants and found them all to be more than satisfactory, meeting the needs of all our family, inlcuding our 1 year old. The only restaurant we had a tiny problem with was the Derado because my husband and I decided we'd share a paella only to find that it was rather small with very little seafood in it. Apart from that we found our holiday fantastic and we would definitely recommend it to friends and other families.

We had stayed at the Bonarie...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mrs V J Jones

Comments:

We had stayed at the Bonarie sevral years previous to this holiday and we had been suitably impressed then which was why we booked again. We arrived in the early hours of the morning all of the reception staff were extremley helpful and professional and remained so for the duration of our stay.Our room was large and very clean and a lot of attention was paid to the fact that we had stayed before namely in various pieces of litreature which was on the dining room table, because we had arrived in the early hours they had provide us with a cold plate each which was stored in the fridge this was most welcome has we had not eaten on the plane. The hotel is extremley child oriented from the large pool area to the reception its self it is very much a hotel for young famlies. The Thompson Team were exceptional, very hard working and professional from Awsome ant to Loopy Lew this team love to entertain your children and you.Cala Bona its self is a very small resort the beach is non excistent this would have been an absouloute disaster for us who are beach lovers if it wasnt for the fact that the resorts of Cala Milor and Sacoma are on your door stop in our opinon Sacoma being the best beach . A short bus or Taxi journey to Cala Milor, only a little further to Sacoma,we used Sacoma for its beach in the day and a little of Cala Milor in the night , taking a Taxi up as far as The Hotel Bonmar and walking the Promenade from there back into Cala Bona taking a few pitstops for beer and shopping as we made our way back to the Bonarie. We normaly take the self catering option but this year we opted for the Half Board option, this proved to be one of the highlights of the holiday the food at the Bonarie was Exceptional with a wide range of choice for breakfast and dinner so good was it that we are defintley booking halfboard for 2009, and we were staunch self catering people.

Enjoy V.A. Jones

Great holiday but glad we went...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mr C Williams

Comments:

Great holiday but glad we went half board as the kitchens in the apartments were quite poor. However did have a microwave which was good for warming baby's bottles.



Food good in restaurants with lots suitable for our young children. Pool area clean and tidy as was rest of the hotel area.



staff nice and friendly and wouldnt hesitate to recommend to other families

Cala Bona:
We really liked...

Overall Rating:

7/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mr M Chappell

Comments:

Cala Bona:

We really liked Cala Bona, it has a very pretty harbor and is not overdeveloped and too British. The are some very nice restaurants and the normal small shops. The supermarkets in Cala Bona are very overpriced. Luckily we had a car and found a supermarket 15 mins away which was literally half the price of the local ones and had a much better range of goods. The beach is ok but quite stony. You have to go into the sea in specific places if you want to avoid the rocks.

The Bonaire:

The aparthotel is well presented and clean throughout. The rooms are a good size and well maintained. The pools are very nice, there were a couple of climbing frames and a soft play room for under 3’s. We didn’t eat in the main restaurant but did have a couple of lunches at the central bar which were not great. The gym was reasonably well equipped but only open 8am to 3pm. We’d have been able to make more use of it if it opened in the evening when the kids were in bed and either myself or my wife could have gone out for a while.

Thomsons:

The normal Thomson activities were available and on the whole very good. The crèche cost 15 euros per 2 hr session and they were very good with our little one (22 months). They also have an evening crèche twice per week which on a Friday is 3 hrs which was nice as it was our wedding anniversary while we were there. There was also an evening club for our 4 year old so we were able to go out for a meal. The kids club ran every day apart from Thursday for 2 hours per day and is free of charge. The big problem with the kids club and crèche is capacity. You had to book your kids in every evening at 1800 for the following day’s clubs, as there were not enough places for all the kids people would start to queue at 1700. If the kids wanted to go to the kids clubs it meant one of us queuing for an hour every day if we wanted to get a place. It also made it very difficult to plan things as if we took a day trip we needed to be back for 1700 to queue for the next day or accept that kids couple not go to the clubs the day after.

There was dancing and games for the kids each evening from 2015 to 2130 which our older child enjoyed very.

Majorca:

The island seemed very nice. We spent most of our time in Cala Bona but also went to Cala Mallor, Manacor, Marineland and Aqualand. We were disappointed in Marineland but thought Aqualand was great.



Overall it was a very good holiday. I'm not sure if we would go back as we've had better for less money but this required longer flights. If we were to go back we would definately avoid high season as I think it would be just too busy.



We decided to book the apartment and flights seperately as the flight times were much better and the only thing you don't get is the transfers. As long as you book early enough the flight, apartment and a hire car can actually had for less than the price of the package and you have much better flexibility with a car.

As a family, we are seasoned...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

May 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mrs J Rees

Comments:

As a family, we are seasoned travellers to Spain and although we love all areas, we've never loved any area so much that we would go back a second time - there are too many other places to see... or so we thought! This was our first visit to Mallorca, and we went as a family of four (our two children being 3 and a half and 22 months). We all had an absolute ball! We utterly loved it. We researched all the review sites before booking for our family, and this hotel stood out head and shoulders above the rest. We couldn't fault it. The rooms were spacious, very clean and tidy, the views outstanding, everything in the room you could possibly need (including the TV had CBeebies channel! - brilliant!). All the staff were wonderful and the hotel was immaculate. We didn't end up using any of the kids clubs as we were far too busy! The walk to Cala Bona port was beautiful and we walked there each evening for dinner (thoroughly recommend Paraazzi and Milano's for Italian food they were both fantastic restaurants). You will not be disapointed booking this hotel, we loved every second of our two week stay, so much so that we have booked to go back, not only next year, but for a week in October of this year too! The very best holiday for adults and their children you could possibly wish to find.

spent a week there with the kids...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

May 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mrs S Greenayaway

Comments:

spent a week there with the kids its a fantastic property the staff were fantastic the entertainment was excellent for both us and the children, is also great to walk out into cala bona and down to cala millor there was plenty of restaurants and bars to choose from, could not fault the holiday at all for any aspect it perfect for families and we will be definatley be returning next year. fantastic!!!!

This was our first visit to...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Room Only

Date of Holiday:

Apr 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mrs Helen Longley

Comments:

This was our first visit to Mallorca. We booked a last minute deal and enjoyed every minute. We were looking for somewhere to relax and this aparthotel offered us that - fun when we wanted it and solitude also. Cala Bona is beautiful with a good range of places to eat. The sandwich shop is great to get food and go off for the day on one of the catamaran trips ( the caves are great as is the trip to the Saturday market at Cala Rajada). We were there just before the official start of the season but more cafes and restaurants were opening all the time. The hotel was great, the staff were helpful and friendly. We were a couple on our own and there were lots of families there that were enjoying themselves. We were there on a room only basis but could eat in the restaurant if needed and I have never seen such a variety of dishes each night served buffet style so you could go up as many times as you wanted. The deserts were especially nice. We would definitely return and met many people both families and couples on their own who have been returning year on year. If you are there on a self catering basis and can get to Lidl in Cala Millor it is much cheaper than shopping in the Spar shops which are expensive and have a limited range of food. It is only a short taxi ride - the cheap bottles of wine there are very drinkable. An altogether pleasant hotel and Cala Bona is peaceful and tranquil.

WOW! Just returned from two...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Self Catering

Date of Holiday:

May 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mr M Hill

Comments:

WOW! Just returned from two weeks in the Bonarie. Allthough it has so many fantastic reviews we were not sure what to expect as we got a amazing deal. But I can honestly recomend this hotel and location to everyone, although it caters for young children exceptionally well. My two, loved every minute of it - especially Tomson the dog! The pool is huge and very clean.



The weather was fantastic, although it was better than average for the time of year and the resort of Cala Bona is picturesque with plenty of bars and restaurants a few minutes walk from the hotel. Beaches around Cala bona are a bit disappointing, you have to walk to Cala Millor for a good beach, about 20 minute walk away - but watch out for the jelly fish!



The hotel we found to be a bit expensive but the food was very good and the staff couldn't do enough for you. They work very well together and make you feel very welcome. The entertainers in the day are great, especially Anthony, lucy lou and dizzy Dell - keep up the good work!



We will be returning in the future. If your considering this hotel, what are you waiting for - go for it!