Balanzat Apartments

After reading poor reviews on here I warned my husband and childen (2,8 and 9) not to expect very much. We have holidayed for the last 4 years at First Choice Holiday Villages and for any one who knows of these or have been will know they are very hard to beat when you have children. We have just returned (31 Aug 11) We were very very pleasantly suprised. Although the rooms are very basic, how much time do you really spend in them? The pools were fantastic, the childrens splash pool is totally enclosed so you can half relax knowing the little ones can't escape and end up in the adult pools! The food is ok, not gormet cuisine but anyone who has been all inclusive before should be aware of what to expect..its just ok. All staff were fantastic and friendly, especially the entertainment staff who could not do enough for you. The evening entertainment is good, people who write anything else..i'm not sure what you expect..it's holiday entertainment..not a night at the theatre. Port San Miguel yes is small but very nice there is a lovely secluded bar and beach just a short walk over the cliff tops from the main beach which is definatley worth a visit. We hired a car from the airport and would definatley recommend doing this as we managed to see alot of the island, the roads and signs are so easy to follow. All in all this was a really great family holiday and would recommend this to any family. Only one critisism would be there are no lifts so when making your booking, request a ground floor apartment. 1 other thing, I booked the flights, car and hotel through skyscanner and upgraded to all inclusive when we arrived. After chating to families that had booked through a travel agent we saved over £800 doing it ourselves..and had the freedom of seeing more of the island in the car. Es Canar has a beautiful white sand beach with a lovely sea and is only a 25 minute drive from Port San Miguel-well worth a visit.

We had a lovely stay all inclusive from 29th July - 5th Aug 2011. We were not expecting much from the poor reviews but were pleasantly surprised. The apartments were clean and bigger than pics make out. Air con was a god send, good idea to get an extra card key so u can keep air con/electric on all times for cool apartment and fridge. Only a couple of hours of the day when they are not serving food full english plus continental and cereals every morn 8.30 - 10.30, 12.30 - 2.30 hot and cold lunch, 3.30 - 5.30 bread and cakes, 7.30 - 9.30 dinner - always something decent and drinks tea coffee and bar all through. Beach is just across the road and for 4 euros 50 a sunbed all day, near enough to leave your towel on it and pop back for drinks or food brill, it was a bit pebbly in sea but still sandy enough for sandcastles!! Entertainment staff seemed lovely but as we have older kids we spent most of our time at other bar with free wifi!! 1 of the pools is 3 - 12 yrs only gutted ours were older as looked good. Only downside for some was the noise from the Irish Bar - if u have young kids would request to be as far away as possible from it xx

1 reader found this review helpful

Our 7th Holiday in Ibiza and unfortunately our worst to date,
Room was very scruffy and air con almost non existent.
Town although very picturesque just has nothing there, only 3 restaurants and 3 shops.Beach is very pebbly and sea slopes very quickly to become deep.
Pool is filthy and had a pus filled plaster which wasnt removed in 7 days
One of worst things is the drunks leaving Caseys Irish bar at 4am! they are VERY noisey, and as you have windows open as air con is rubbish you are woken up every night
We saw many cockroaches and smell from rubbish is appalling!!
AVOID this resort at all costs!
If you want quiet try Portinatx, we had brilliant stay there, or Playa den bossa definitely worth the extra!!!

Stayed here from 11th - 22nd June. Good accomodation and friendly staff. We booked for self catering however there are only about 4 restaurants in the resort, 3 of which really do not want to serve tourists, (20 min wait just to be acknowledged) and it is not cheap to eat out. After 2 days we went all inclusive which was a lot better and cheaper. The food was good, as was the entertainment.
Casey's Bar next door was an experience and well worth the late night/early morning finish.
We would definitely come here again. I just wish the locals were a bit friendlier and appreciated our attempts to speak Spanish!

loved the place, bathroom plumbing let it down, marcelious (receptionist) meets and greets you with open arms and a smile every time.

1 reader found this review helpful

A quiet location, the 3 pools were well used lacking abit of TLC but enjoyed never the less.
Surrounding areas quiet as all-inclusives didn,t venture very far.
The 3 of us, 10 yr old daughter enjoyed the complex and the beach.
Local bus service was very good and affordable to Ibiza Es Cana etc..
First impressions thought it would be to quiet, turned out to be an enjoyable relaxing and fun, enjoy your stay we certainly did.

We have just returned from a weeks self catering family holiday at the Balanzat apts and we would recommend these apts to anyone that wants a nice quiet break in a quite beautiful setting.The people that run the Balanzat apts are very friendly and will help whenever possible.The rooms are very nice and clean and the food at the apts was very good.The only downfall was that Caseys Bar can be a bit noisy if your room is close by and the disco there goes on till the early hours.Hopefully we will be returning to this resort in the very near future.

We stayed at these apartments in August 2010.We probably had one of the worst apartments on site with our balcony facing directly onto someone elses but thought we wouldn't change as the plus side it was away from the noise of caseys bar and easy access to the pools to return for drinks etc during the day. In contrast to everyone else found the staff in the Fish restaurant to be really friendly and cheerful! I think perhaps a sense of humour is required!
The beach is shingle not the stunning white sand of Portinax but still a nice bay with plenty of stunning wildlife. The staff at the Balanstat were particulary friendly and helpful and if it wasnt for the lack of restaurants in the area ( due to the arrival of All- inclusive hotels) and our room probably would have rated it higher. the plus side again being no queues for sunbeds. I went the first week of summer hols and I could lie in bed until 9.00 and still get sunbeds for a family of four.Wow!!
The entertainment was well run for a small hotel and really enjoyable. Go to this hotel if you want a total peaceful holiday, do not go if you are a person who needs lots to do.

1 reader found this review helpful

Nice part of Ibiza very quiet and relaxing, we stayed at the Balansat appartments al inclusive.

10 readers found this review helpful

We stayed at the Balansat apartments in late June. We are a couple with a one year old baby and had a one bedroom apartment. A travel cot was provided for the baby, with sheets but not a blanket which wasn't needed anyway as the weather was very warm. The apartment was basic but absolutely fine, with blackout curtains. It was clean, functional and had air con in both the living room and the bedroom. The other reviews are correct that the waiters at the seafood restaurant on the beach are unbelievably rude. On the other hand, a trip 6 miles to Santa Gertrudis is worth doing every night. There are excellent restaurants and bars there, such as Passa Temps and Cafe Macau which are much more authentic and classier than in the tiny resort of San Miquel. The children's pool is fantastic, even for babies and the noise in the evenings from neighbouring hotels is not really a problem once you're in your apartment. It's best to hire a car and visit all the lovely towns and villages such as Santa Eularia, Ibiza Town, Portinatx etc. The Hippy Markets are a lovely way to spend an afternoon too - Punta Arabi is on a Wednesday and is well worth a trip. Another great thing about the Balansat apartments is that you can park right outside and they are next to the beach, so great for a pushchair etc. (unlike the other hotels which are all up a hill). Nearby shop for necessary inflatables, buckets, spades etc and a supermarket which sells Pampers, Cow and Gate milk and food and all the other baby essentials (so don't bother taking them all!). Microwave in the apartment for warming milk/ food and sterilising. One word of warning though - many of the restaurants don't have high chairs, so be prepared to have a squirming child on you knee for most of your hols. The apartments have baths so great for babies too. Hope that helps with info for people with young babies as these things are important to know, especially as the chances are that last time you were in Ibiza you were in the clubs! We'll definitely be returning though. Enjoy!