Balanzat Apartments

To set the record straight, these apartments are neither dirty, smelly or un tidy!! i was terrified of staying here after reading the reviews and had found a back up hotel!! but i cant see what all the fuss is about! We arrived at the balansat at 1am to be greeted by really helpful and cheerful staff who checked us in and had us in our rooms within 6 mins max!! The pool is clean and it can be noisy at times when there are kids around but thats kids for you!! there is a smaller pool round the back at the torremar which can be used also and tends to be quiet, There are plenty of sunbeds and the pool is NOT in the shade (as i have read in the reviews). The pool bar/cafe is open from 9.30 am til 3am sometimes later sometimes earlier, (on one occasion they actually opened at 9.15 for breakfast as we had to leave early for a day trip). The sports bar is open from 12 midnight til 4 am 5ish?!?! depending on how busy he gets, the sports bar is also not at all noisy for guest trying to sleep as i am a light sleeper and never once got woken by the noise! San Miguel on a whole is a quiet little resort with very few bars and places to eat but there are enough 3 resturants, 4 cafes and 3 bars maybe 1 or 2 more. There are also 4 shops you can buy food, drinks, smellies, gifts, well near enough anything form. The beach is very clean with a life guard which is always good as they also warn you of the jelly fish if any (which isnt really a problem in this part of ibiza once in 8 days for an hour the sign was up). One place i reccommend you visit for food and drinks is THE HAPPY FRIAR INN run by a lovely english couple Toby and Sarah and their 2 lovely children!! who are very helpful, polite and welcoming. the will go out there way to help you and serve PG Tips tea!! Do not come to San Miguel for night life because it doesnt have any but if you want a happy, welcoming and relaxing holiday then visit here, there is everything you need within a few minutes walk and i enjoyed myself so much that we are going back in October!! I recommend this place for Families, couples and anybody wanting a relaxing holiday!! LOVE YOU BALANSAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello readers. i have just got back from the balansat, puerto san miguel, having spent a chilled out week. we went AOA (allocation on arrival) and paid less than £400.00 for myself (24) and my partner (32). i thought id come on here, like i do a lot (having used reviews to book a weekend break at the santini residence in prague in nov 05!) and im suprised, shocked and annoyed with the "Balansat / San Miguel Bashing" im reading!! so its time to sort things out , and silence some "short sighted" reviews. We Arrived to the resort and were checked in quickly. It was due to be (and it was!) very warm all week, and if the previous reviewer had opened their eyes, you would have the AIR CONDITIONING ABOVE THE FRONT DOOR!!!!. at a cost of 25euros for the week (which i think for a small complex, is fair cop). The apartment, was as i expected it to be. large, clean and basic. all the ameienties need if you "really" want to cook on holiday. cleaners came round 3 times and changed towels, bins and moped bathroom floor. The balconies are huge with all of them (with the execption i believe of just one) giving a beach or a pool view. ours was the beach view and it was damn nice looking over that way with a gin before dinner. there were 3 on and they did run bar / food / reception etc... BUT each guy was allocated a role and they did muck in when the other was busy. your on holiday, why rush!!! like most holidays, We did have a couple of problems, one of which was the power kept tripping, but a simple trip the main set of fuses made by reception out back, sorted it no problem. you will probably find if you ASK NICELY for them to help , they will be more willing to sort it, rather than the all guns "england" tactic which blatently doesnt work!! i know people who have been on £2,000 - £3,500 hols who have had far more troubles than i have for less than £400.00 for two. but treat the staff like you would want to be treated. The TV, hell , i even read someone complain about the lack of english tv channels and that you had to pay for the remote!!! well No.1 - it was a 12 euro Deposit for the remote No.2 - If you want to watch tv, STAY AT HOME!!!!!! we had it for the last day and a half as i was stupid enough to get a juicy bit of dehydration through heat exopsure, or as my mrs put it. my very white body seeing sun for the first time!!! and i was quite happy recovering in front of a book , 10ltrs of water and sky news! The Hotel Menu was of cafe standard, but again, the size of the hotel didnt warrant a menu of a higher calibre. the food itself is fine, no problems there and was well priced Now for the resort. the balansat and the torremar apartments are opposite and have to compete against 2 huge and very popular all inclusive hotels, which is always tough. there are 6 cafe style places 4 Shops 3 spanish gift shops 3 Resturants (not just 1 as some disgruntalled reported added!) 1 late night bar , Ran by the legendry Tommy!. one of the resturants, is renowed to be the best fish reasutrants on the island and although it is pricey. ( our bill was 111euro but we did have 3lts of sangria!) it was the best , romantic meal we ever had and had had top serivce from a top bloke The beach WAS NOT FULL OF FAG ENDS, It was clean. The sea was clear and sunbeds were cleaned downed early every morning. yes, there is a small part where the rubbish is stored and it does pong (but i think any would at 30+ degress) but the way the spanish refuse system works is there has to be designated area's for rubbish so its not left on the streets and its readilly accessable to the bin men. so just hold your breath for a split second if its too bad for you! its an lovely , unspoilt resort in ibiza which i really hope they do not start to develop. it has it charms and tranqil feel which doesnt need spoiling with more cranes!, thats what playa den bossa is for!!!!. San Miguel it has not changed in 10 years. it does need to add some more amenities with the main one a Chemist (nearest one is up the hill 4km away). another unhappy "punter" was disgusted that there was no cashpoint and had to get a cab to get some more money!, well did they not think that they would get a better rate from the money exchange shop which takes card and there is no charge (as there are using the atm's in europe) and the hotels do exchages, but the rate is a little lower. and if i was really picky so flat pools table would be nice and Cruzcampo!! so to sum things up * If your a family, id recommend the bigger 2 hotels. * if your a couple //boys & Girls groups who want to live it large , this place isnt for you!! * If your a family who are liable to moan at everything from the resort, hotel not meeting its promise (christ , a week in ibiza, in july for less than£200.00 each????? you cant get 3 nights at a holiday inn for that!), that the sports bar didnt stop making "noise"til 3am, then for god sakes book named accom and stop your moaning!!!!!!!!!! San miguel seems to be a popular choice for allocation on arrival holidays, so keep that in mind. If you want your holiday to be a "holiday", where you can relax by the pool one min, the beach within another min. evening entertainment, (just go and watch the shows in the bigger hotels, iits an open house!) and then a night cap, then perfect sorry for it being so long, but i hope this helps and gives you a more indepth, review and based on HOW MUCH I PAID TO WHAT I GOT, I GIVE IT 4 STARS!!!!! if you prepare to go away late , on the cheap, dont expect the ritz!!! and forgive my terrible spelling, ive just written this as it comes! Richard ---Oldbury, West Midlands

This is a small, cheap self-catering apartment complex located in Puerto San Miguel (San Miguel bay) in northern Ibiza. I stayed here with my fiancée and her 16-year old daughter from 2 July to 10 July 2007. We booked through a "Late deals" website at a cost of £170 per person. Balansat was shown on the website as a three-star hotel, so naturally we thought we'd got a bit of a bargain. After a 25 minute transfer from Ibiza airport, we were checked in quickly by the night porter. However, the room we were put in had a non-functional toilet (the top of the cistern and flush handle were missing). We brought the problem to the attention of the night porter and asked to be put in another room. He was not very helpful and just told us that there were no other rooms available. We then complained to the Thompson holiday helpline, the number for which we had been given on the coach. The rep was very helpful and called the night porter at Balansat to kick up a fuss on our behalf. Suddenly, another room miraculously became available. The second room was fine, but I am disappointed that we had to kick up a stink in order to get moved. The room was clean, had all the essential furnishings and a small but adequate kitchen area with electric hob, microwave and a decent sized fridge. We were disappointed to find that there was NO AIR CON. On account of this, the apartment should have only been rated and advertised as two-star, NOT three-star. Also, the sofa in the living room and the pull-out bed underneath it were only 5 1/2 foot long and hence unsuitable for anyone over this height. The website said that one of the four beds was unsuitable for anyone over the age of 14. In actual fact, TWO out of the four beds are strictly for kids only. I would say they are suitable only for kids less than 12, as I know many 14 year olds that are over 5 1/2 feet tall. The twin adult beds in the bedroom were, however, very comfortable. The complex is badly understaffed, most likely to keep costs down. During the day there are only two guys (sometimes only one) looking after the bar, cooking the bar food AND manning reception. Reception duties seemed to take last priority and we had a long wait whenever we needed any assistance. The maids came round three times, but they cut corners badly and only empty the bins and change the towels unless nagged to do otherwise. Our sheets weren’t changed for 4 days (we had to kick up a fuss again to get this sorted) and whenever we ran out of toilet rolls we had to go and ask for more at reception. Because there is nowhere to go drinking late in PSM, clientele who want to stay up, get drunk and have a laugh have no choice but to do it at the hotel bar. The place was therefore very noisy until 4AM every night. Due to there being no air-con, we had to have the windows open to keep temperatures down in the room, so the noise was very disruptive to our sleep. On the positive side, the hotel was only 10 metres away from a lovely sandy beach, which never got too crowded. The sea was calm and lovely to swim in. Sunbeds on the beach were 4 Euros each. If you didn’t fancy the beach, there was a choice of two pools. The one in the courtyard was dominated by kids (noisy) and was also a bit dirty, but the one round the back was lovely and quiet, with plenty of Sunbeds and a nice, plush grassy area. PSM is a lovely place to chill out & sunbathe, but if you want to do anything else you have to travel further afield. Taxis were VERY expensive (27 Euro each way to Ibiza Town and a staggering 37 Euro each way for San Antonio), so we used the bus service whenever we could. Buses run to Ibiza town Mon-Sat every couple of hours and to San Antonio at 10AM & 4:15PM on Tuesdays & Thursdays only. The fare is less than 4 Euro per person. There is also a day trip to Portinatx (which has a water park and another beach) by boat for 16 Euro per Adult & less for kids. In PSM we only found two restaurants, two cafes and two bars. The fish restaurant on the beach was lovely, but expensive. The hotel does have its own restaurant, but the food wasn't that great there. There are three supermarkets in PSM, which have everything you need to self-cater. Smokers please note that there is nowhere to buy tobacco & cigarettes in PSM, so bring your own supply (or pick some up cheaply on an excursion to San Antonio or Ibiza Town). The entertainment at the hotel was aimed only at children, with the same hard-working duo of in-house entertainers on every night from 8PM to midnight. Overall, we had a good time, but the problems with the accommodation and the remote location of PSM did detract from our holiday a bit. I very much doubt that we will come back to PSM. To summarise, then: Good bits: Hotel is right on top of a lovely, quiet sandy beach. Hotel is generally clean & well-presented. One of the pools is a lovely place to relax. Bad bits: Nothing to do in PSM except sunbathe. Taking taxis elsewhere costs a fortune. No air conditioning in rooms BOTH Sofa beds unsuitable for anyone over 5 1/2 feet tall Reception/bar area badly understaffed Reception/bar staff somewhat unhelpful Hotel gets noisy - kids by day, revellers (who have nowhere else to go) by night Overall: In my opinion, coming to Puerto San Miguel, even if it’s cheap, is false economy. The remote location means spending a fortune on cabs or car hire if you want to do anything other than sunbathe and eat at the same two restaurants every night. Apartmento Balansat is a pleasant enough place to stay, but don’t expect good service. At Balansat, self-catering is exactly that. Hotel 2/5 Resort 2/5 Overall 2/5

Booked as allocated on arrival therefore knew the risks. Good sized basic rooms but bit of an ant problem in the bathroom. Some of the lights didn't work but apart from that, all clean and tidy. Very dated bar & food area, not helped by the standard of the options on offer - honestly - only go for self catering. Pool area was ok, lots of sunbeds and tables to go around however a lot of bits in the pool water itself. Small kids pool. Entertainment was stuck in the 80's - bingo, kids disco, darts, acrobatic parrots and tribute acts of Robbie Williams and Rod Stewart, however they do seem to be trying to improve. Overall, basic apartments in a quiet resort competing against 2 massive all inclusives. Only one restaurant in the resort, couple of kiosks/cafes but very clean beach. Do not pay over £200 for the priviledge.

an awful place to stay. the brochure says quiet, but it is dead, unless you visit the all inclusive across the beach. these appartments are appauling. unclean, several aspects of our room were unacceptable, ie. broken shower, toilet and hole in our wardrobe. three chairs in a four person room. also someone was sick in the pool and the cleaner just mopped it into the pool, needless to say no one went in for 24 hours. if you have children then there is not much for them to do, and the entertainment here is dreadful. sorry but this has been our poorest holiday ever, we definitely will not be returning.

We returned to the Balansat this year, booking direct with the hotel. Last year we booked with Thomson. On both occasions our apartments (in different blocks each time) were clean, spacious and yes basic, but in my opinion all apartments are and these are the best we have stayed in regards cleanliness upon arrival. We only stayed 3 nights each time and I would agree the maids only changed the bins daily, never made the beds or swept the floors, I thought this may be because we were there such a short time. Views are nice, pool areas were nice and the pools were clean and we spotted the water being checked a few times by the maintenance guy. The walkways are dark at night as they are on electricity saving switches, these are every couple of doorways, just click them down and it lights your whole way. Found the staff we encountered helpful. The resort is very quiet indeed, ideal for a few days, if your staying a week you need to get out and about by car, trip or whatever. Couple of nice places to eat. Would recommend these apartments but didn't encounter the conditions the others report.

We booked out hols to ibiza, all excited at the prospect, then got home read the reviews, wow what a crummy hole we thought, anyway we got there on a lovely sunny sunday, we checked in then on the walk over to our appartment i happened to chat a few cpls sitting by the side of the pool to ask them how there holidays were going, only to be met with glum faces and stories of the dirtyness of the hotel and loads of other scary stories, i just thought oh god the reviews were right, anyway before i say my piece id like to point out that every one of these people i spoke and every review iv read are accurate as can be, as i witnessed most of it meself in the time we was also there, pls also read a review by a lady called h-glen@tesco , we met this lady out there with her 3 kids, and there room was atrocious, so dirty and dangerous, please see her pics, anyway we went up to our room expecting to see a right pigsty, instead we were greeted to a clean appartment ,very basic but clean, yes we found the torremar to be dirty in certain corners, yes we found the food to be basic to say the least in hotel, yes we found lack of food outlets outside our appartment, yes the staff were slow to help or do things for you, but on the whole we had a fantastic holiday, we made up for all these probs by just having a great time, we went out on day trips by the local bus service to ibiza town, san antonio, es canas hippy market, and we enjoyed ourselves so much last yr that we have already booked again for this oct 06, so if anyone does want some more info please feel free to email me on vwsamba21@aol.com and ill try to answer anything you want to no as honest as i can, and if any of you are taking the plunge and going to be out there in oct this yr 06 pls come say hello to me and my family , take care and speak to in ibiza hopefully,

me and my boyfriend have just got back from staying for 2 weeks in the balansat appartments, it was absolutly revolting! As soon as we got into the room after finding our way to it up 2 flights of unlit stairs carrying 2 heavy suitcases the smell of damp and suage knocked us physically sick. The cieling above the bath was black with mould and dripped water when the people staying above us showered. Down the toilet there was a thick yellow, black layer of mould, this was not just in our toilet but also in the mostly blocked toilets in the bar/reception area. These toilets had no ventalation and smelt so bad it was unbelievable. As for the staff here, there are three men all of which are unfriendly, unwelcolming and very unpleasent. People would stand at the bar for upto 10 minutes before they would even be acknowledged. Our room was fitted with a smoke detector which i tested only to find, unsurprisingly, that it didnt even work, im sure this would be a breech of health and safety regulations! Maids only seem to be there to change the bin, they do not replace toilet roll, mop the floors, clean up or anything. They leave the new bedsheets for you to change yourself! When we complained to the maid about the smell of our bathroom she turned the shower on and off, then flushed the toilet and smiled and left the room! Im sure this has been enough information to put anybody off staying here.

We stayed half board at the Balansat Apartments. The stench from the room on arrival was unbearable. You could smell it prior to opening the door. It was impossible to sleep in the lounge due to the smell as it had made me physically sick. The bathroom had a hole in the ceiling which poured water and plasterboard every time the upstairs occupants had a shower. The bottom of the bathroom door was completely rotten and the whole room smelt of damp and sewerage. We had emailed in advance to request a second floor sea view room but when we asked to be moved we mentioned our email and was told that emails are ignored unless you book your holiday through them. We were unable to shower for 5 days for fear of the bathroom ceiling collapsing. On the 5th day the rep eventually moved us having forced her to view the room. The maids emptied the bins daily but that was it. The floors and toilets were never cleaned as this was up to us to do. Even the change of linen for the beds was just put on the end of the beds for us to make up. the half board was taken in the joining restraunt. However we were made to sit in the back and had our own scrawled hand written menu which had every evening the following: starters, tomato soup, vegetable soup, and one other dish. mains, spaghetti with Bolognese or cheese, a fish dish and a meat dish, dessert: ice cream, fruit, lemon sorbet and one other dish. The pools were filthy having never been cleaned once during our stay. We used the other hotels swimming pools which were warmer had more shallow areas and 100% cleaner. You can use their restaurant buffet for 12 euros (worth every penny) This could have been a beautiful quiet resort but the beach was spoilt by huge numbers of cigarette ends lining the sea edge. The resort can be covered in less than 10 minutes 5 minutes there and five minutes back. No water sports were available as it was too windy so it meant there was nothing to do. You do not have to pay the tour company's prices for trips as there is a fantastic small English run trip office next to the bureau de change. The guy who runs it took us in his own people carrier for the duration of our trip to Es Cana. He was friendly, a good driver and very reasonably priced.

I have just returned from staying at the Balansat formally known as the Torremar.. I can honestly say that i have never stayed anywhere that was so damp and covered in rust.. The apartment was dirty and was not cleaned after last guest had left. I am posting some pictures to show you exactly what the conditions were like. After several complaints, I was told i could be moved after paying a fee of 500 euros, which i wasnt prepared to do.