Reviews of Alejandria Hotel, Playa De Palma, Mallorca

I went with 2 of my friends to...

Overall Rating:

2/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2007

Tour Operator:

First Choice

Submitted By:

Miss L Elsom

Comments:

I went with 2 of my friends to Hotel Alejandria on 28/7/07 - 04/8/07. The whole town of Arenal is German and Dutch & the staff around the town have made more of an effort to learn German than English!



The hotel however was very clean and so was the room itself, we were given fresh towels everyday, I think we only got clean sheets once. The chances of getting a pool view are very slim and we ended up being above a nursery which had screaming children running about every morning at 7.30am.



The hotel has more than 500 rooms however there are only about 10 sun beds around the pool...we never went in the pool once, we did however go to the beach which is only a 10-15 min walk from the hotel...AGAIN this beach is mainly a German beach. AS FOR THE FOOD IN THE HOTEL.... this was TERRIBLE! CHIPS...YES, CHIPS every morning... and sweetcorn! The breakfast buffet was swarming with flies all over the fruit and the food was very distasteful.



As for the dinner we sat in one night out of the whole week as the food looked horrible. We ate out every other night after that. Some of the staff could speak fluent German but not a word of English...which can get confusing when you are asking a question.



The hotel is in a very residential and local people area...but again is only a short 15min walk to the beachfront where there are shops and restaurants.



Overall I would not recommend this hotel to anyone and I certainly would not return.

A few things to say about this...

Overall Rating:

1/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2007

Tour Operator:

Booked Independentlyjumbo tours

Submitted By:

Mr M Tranter

Comments:

A few things to say about this hotel..



1. If your British then i'd stay away because this hotel is solely used by Germans. They are mainly the younger generation and are so noisy and disrespectful. They look at you as if you are S**T on the floor because you are British.



2. The Food in the hotel was the worst i ever experienced in my life. It was cold and they had no order or presentation whatsoever. They had no bacon or other English breakfast items. Just continental breakfast for the one and only country Germany.



3. There were 2 British families in the hotel when we stayed. We used to walk in the restaurant and take a swift exit back out. They had vegetable pie for breakfast and crisps (yes crisps)! Nothing whatsoever that we could of eaten. We could of starved for all they cared. We spent more money out of the hotel than the whole holiday cost, solely on food alone. The restaurant workers were so ignorant and it killed them to give a smile. They also raised the price of the water twice while we were there. We refused it. We expected half board meals to a standard but this was a *** hotel and stated in the review that its used by English and Germans. We went in high season June/July.



4. The reception staff were ok to an extent with only 1 English speaking receptionist. When he was not there we had to translate to our best ability, which is not right for a hotel The hotel was clean and spacious and the maids were friendly even though they were Spanish they smiled. Lastly the pool ladders are loose and a potential hazard to children.



Just a word of warning, this is the worst hotel i have ever been in my life. It should not be 3 star more like a 1 star hostel. So if you've booked up here your up for a tough ride. This hotel really spoiled our holiday. We couldn't wait to get back home for a decent meal.



The weather was lovely and hot though 32 C everyday.

I cannot stress too much the...

Overall Rating:

1/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2007

Tour Operator:

Freedom Direct

Submitted By:

Mrs M Miller

Comments:

I cannot stress too much the need to avoid this hotel.



The staff of surly and unhelpful and deny knowing English when you wish to complain. The hotel is predominantly for German tourist especially stag and same sex parties.



Noise is awful throughout the night banging doors, shouting and singing, even police visits!



The food is worse than dreadful, the hot food is not hot, and the cold food is not cold.



Breakfast on a morning was different - crisps, baked beans and sweet corn with peppers.



Evening meals were an education with scrag end of lamb. Veal? And deep fried battered broccoli.



The location of the hotel left a lot to be desired with the square outside the hotel being used and local racetrack for boy racers.



All in all a nightmare of a holiday.

The Hotel was bog standard. We...

Overall Rating:

5/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2005

Tour Operator:

Expedia

Submitted By:

Mrs J Bond

Comments:

The Hotel was bog standard. We were on our honeymoon and thought we would try our luck with asking for an upgrade, the question was quickly snapped back with "NO". The rooms were quite spacious but the bathroom was not. There was not much of a view from our balcony either.



The reception staff were not helpful, the waitresses were rude by quickly whisking our plates away the moment we had finished and the hotel was full of disrespectful Germans. Every nationality was staying at the hotel and for three days we were the only English couple.



However, it was not far a walk to the beach and if you look hard enough you can find some local English bars.



We had a day trip to Aqua City, which was really fun, and it took a 10 minute ride in a taxi to the Park from our Hotel.

My friend Sandra and I wanted a...

Overall Rating:

6/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

May 2005

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Ms M S Marchi

Comments:

My friend Sandra and I wanted a lively holiday we certainly had that, the hotel wasn’t up to much as far as guests go it was full of old German people.



However, the food was excellent and the rooms although basic for 3 star very comfortable, the night life was great most of our time spent in the Queen Vic British bar Dave and Mike made sure we had a great laugh they really make you feel like you want to go back, the beachcomber bar next door also British also very friendly and relaxed atmosphere.



The beach was spotless and the views magnificent we enjoyed ourselves so much we are returning in Sept cant wait to see everyone again and have a few more laughs Queen Vic def worth a visit while on your hols, they also do a very good and efficient taxi service.

We made the mistake of going to...

Overall Rating:

5/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Feb 2005

Tour Operator:

Holiday City

Submitted By:

Mrs J Moon

Comments:

We made the mistake of going to this hotel in February which is when the Spanish government pay for the Spanish pensioners to go on holiday, the hotel was full of OAP’s, they are the most ignorant set of people I have ever met, they don’t believe in manners, they confront you in the restaurant demanding that you are seated on their table, we were moved to another table the first evening, no matter where you sat you got the same confrontation, I ensured after this happening twice that we got the head waiter to seat us, and still got hassled by the dreaded OAP’s.



The hotel itself is clean, the food is ok most days although chips for breakfast!! The staff some not all were friendly and helpful, the location is five minute walk to the beach, the entertainment was all for the Spanish 50/50 dancing!! Card games!! Even the tannoy announcements were in Spanish and German no English, and no English info on the notice boards.



It cost us 20 euros for a taxi from the airport to the hotel, but only cost 10 euros on the return journey as we found a good British bar whom organises lifts to and from the airport the bar is called the sportsman its on the beach front and you get a very warm friendly welcome. Would not use this hotel again especially out of season.

An awful experience! Wrong...

Overall Rating:

1/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Oct 2004

Tour Operator:

Lastminute

Submitted By:

Mrs J Jones

Comments:

An awful experience! Wrong rooms allocated on arrival. The hotel was almost entirely populated by Spanish and German old age pensioners.



From the first evening there was overwhelming, disgusting odour of sewers emanating from our room. On going down to reception to report this, we were told that “it would go”. It didn’t.



The restaurant boasts a fine restaurant with international cuisine, which turned out to be overcooked, soggy, and rather unappetising. The staff were unfriendly and unhelpful, and because we were half-board were apparently not entitled to a clean table, although the tables were beautifully set with clean linen, glassware and cutlery( apparently these were only for full-board guests). We ordered a bottle of wine, but were given no choice it was just plonked down pre-opened in front of us. It was hard to say what this wine was. We thought it had probably been refilled from the leftovers of previously opened bottles.



One rather unpleasant incident involved us being moved from a “set table” mid meal to an unset dirty table. We were almost frogmarched round the restaurant until the headwaiter found a recently vacated table.



The games room although large and well furnished had only one game in it - and part of that was missing.



The evening entertainment consisted of some rather dubious “couples” games and a card of bingo. Totally unsuitable for children. Riveting stuff.



We couldn’t even drown our sorrows, the bar closed at 11.30



So, unless you are a geriatric teetotaller with no taste buds and a masochistic wish to be humiliated, steer well clear.

On first arriving at this hotel...

Overall Rating:

4/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2004

Tour Operator:

Holiday City

Submitted By:

Mrs V Partington

Comments:

On first arriving at this hotel we thought it would be a good holiday as the hotel looked clean and the food on the first night was good. However, this soon changed as we realised that this hotel catered predominately for the German tourists.



We had chips with every meal, breakfast included. They must think that the English only eat chips! There were spicy sausages at practically every meal and the soup consisted of a basic stock with different types of pasta added every night. The maid service was practically non-existent on our floor.




We had to ask to have our sheets changed (although we were told they would be changed at least twice a week).




El Arenal caters mainly for the German tourists and we would not recommend it for English tourists.




Anyone looking to book this hotel should be aware that if they are on the pool side of the hotel, there is a certain amount of traffic noise throughout the day and night. The beach however was very good, it was clean and the sea was perfect.

When I booked this holiday I...

Overall Rating:

2/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2004

Tour Operator:

2 Can Travel

Submitted By:

Mrs C D Snell

Comments:

When I booked this holiday I asked for a 3 -4* hotel this was not even a 3*, which it claims it was, plus I was not told it was mainly a German resort with only about 6 British bars on the whole resort. Because there were six, of us, we made the best of it but the resort or the hotel is not somewhere I would recommend as the hotel staff and the German tourists were very ignorant and we were made to feel total outcasts. In addition, it stated that the beach was a short walk down a path about 300mtrs away there was no path and it was more like 1200mtrs along the road.

The Alejandria Hotel was...

Overall Rating:

4/10

Board Basis:

Full Board

Date of Holiday:

Mar 2004

Tour Operator:

Airtours

Submitted By:

Mrs M Clugston

Comments:

The Alejandria Hotel was spotless maid came in every morning we were not told that it was a hotel for Spanish pensioners none of the notice boards were in English and only 2 other English speaking couples were at the hotel, twice when we were 1/2 way through our dinner they came and took our plates to another table as they said the tables we were at were booked, it was so embarrassing I was in tears, we complained to the only rep we could find as we did not have a welcome meeting or were not told who our rep was, when we complained she said we should never have been put in this hotel as it was for Spanish and Germans as the resort was all German, you could not even buy a English magazine, the rep said she would get us moved to magaluf and would contact us in 2 hours we are still waiting 2 hear from her, we would not go on a holiday with bargain travel again as we were not told it would be like this , if we had known we would have chosen a different resort.

We decided to make our own...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

May 2003

Tour Operator:

N/A

Submitted By:

Ms J Pooley

Comments:

We decided to make our own holiday arrangements, flying with Airtours and booking the hotel separately on the Internet. Our family holiday had to cater for ages ranging from 12 to 81, a tall order indeed! We took a taxi from the airport, cost 15 euros, including the driver’s tip.

The Alejandria hotel is an older hotel and is more intimate than the larger modern hotels. It is spotlessly clean. The staff are friendly, helpful and courteous. The food is excellent. The rooms are adequate, though the bathrooms are a little small. The beds were changed twice a week and clean towels were provided daily. There is a pool table in the lounge area, a TV Room, bar, snack bar, a swimming pool and a sun terrace. Public rooms are air conditioned, as is the dining room, but not the bedrooms. There is a disco about 3 times a week from about 10 p.m.


The resort of el Arenal/Playa de Palma is well laid out with a promenade that stretches 5 kilometres from el Arenal to C'an Pastilla. There is a land train that runs along the length of the promenade. The fare is 3 euros return, which means that you can ride so far, take a walk to explore a bit and then catch a later train back, but be warned: you must use the return ticket on the day of purchase, you can’t walk back, go out the next day and then use the return part of the ticket for the journey back. Something that is not explained when you pay for the tickets. The tickets are all returns - no singles!

The beach is EU blue flag rated, with crystal clear waters, and it is well supervised by beach patrols. The resort is cosmopolitan in nature and many nationalities are represented. There are plenty of bars, discos and clubs for those that want to party the night away. There is also a 54 hole crazy golf course that can keep you occupied for a whole day!

From Arenal marina, half day and full day, boat trips round the bay of Palma can be taken.

Nearby, is Aquacity, a huge water park, with lots of green spaces in between the pools, slides and rides. There is also a petting zoo, parrot show and a typewriter museum. It is easily reached by local bus, which stops just around the corner from the hotel. Well worth a visit!


Palma, the island’s capital, is easily reached by bus, fare 1 euro each way. The cathedral is a must see. There are also some fabulous shops.

You can book excursions from the hotel, but we found it cheaper to book through Fredy tours travel agency, nearby. You pay for your tickets and they pick you up from, and return you to, your hotel. Brilliant! We did a fabulous trip that took in a leather factory, (great prices on shoes!) We visited Lluc Monastery, high in the mountains, then travelled down some hair-raising bends to la Collabra, before taking a boat to Puerto de Soller, a tram to Soller and then a train back to Palma, where the coach was waiting to take us home! It was a great day out with lots of happy memories.

We had a wonderful time and enjoyed our holiday so much, that we are doing the same again this year. We have no hesitation in recommending the hotel Alejandria to independently minded folk, but if you want to be surrounded exclusively, by British people and dine on burgers, fish and chips, you really need to be staying on the other side of Palma, in Magaluf or Palma Nova!