Occidental Menorca

It took us a long time to decide where to take our 4 year old daughter on her first holiday abroad and we are so glad we chose this hotel! We arrived on the 7th Sep for 10 nights. Originally we booked H/B but on realising what we were then paying for lunch elsewhere in Punta Prima/drinks and snacks throughout the day, and that we enjoyed the food in the hotel, we decided to upgrade to A/I about 3 or 4 days in and actually saved a lot of money. Room: We booked a family room and it was extremely spacious with 2x twin beds in separate areas, one bathroom and one shower room, 2 fridges, 2 safes etc. It was the perfect size for all of us and allowed my daughter to go to bed early and undisturbed while we stayed up in the other room. Two sets of sliding doors separated the rooms but we didn’t even have to close them over and she slept soundly. We were on the first floor and while we didn’t need to use the lift as we didn’t have a buggy, it was very handy for her little legs. I had requested a kettle in advance with Thomas Cook and that + tea, coffee and sugar were there on arrival, so thank you for that! Lots of wardrobe space for both folded and hanging clothes, lots of space under the sink for your toiletries and also mini toiletries (shampoo, condition, body wash, body lotion) all supplied by the hotel. Lots of people mentioning that the soundproofing is bad but it honestly didn’t bother us at all, it’s no less quiet than any other hotel I have stayed at, including other 4* and 5* hotels. Clothes horse on the balcony was really handy. Free WiFi throughout the hotel worked really well and was consistent. I can’t praise the housekeeping staff enough. The housekeeper we had most days was wonderful. Our daughter talked about her all that time and by the end of the holiday she had learned to reciprocate calling her ‘guapa’ ☺️ Room cleaned to a high standard every day, towels replaced, floors swept and mopped, bathrooms thoroughly cleaned, beds made perfectly. The housekeeper even propped up my daughter’s toys in different cute places every morning - really what more could you ask for? I hope she got our thank you note. Cleanliness overall in the hotel is really excellent, I didn’t see anything dirty including pools and surrounding. I also noticed that the entire outdoor areas were jet washed in the mornings. Food: We all enjoyed the food. So much variety and both the main restaurant and outside Italian terrace were great (Rosy is amazing!) New items to surprise us all the time, meal timings were perfect and really convenient, plates and cutlery were always clean. None of us have allergies so I can’t speak for that but we thought the labelling was in general good. The main indoor restaurant was well air conditioned and the outside terrace was wonderful at night. We didn’t have any issues with people smoking near us as there are clearly marked sections therefore we sat in non smoking. The cats didn’t bother us at all, we didn’t feed them as per the sign but we did see some other guests who couldn’t resist! I believe the pools are all saltwater, really refreshing and cool, really pleasant to swim in. The kid’s splash pool at the other side of the hotel is where we spent most of our time. Always loads of sun loungers/umbrellas available (no sun bed wars) and no one leaving their towels to claim their lounger. The slides and toys are all in good condition and the area is very safe and enclosed. There are both stairs and a ramp from the upper area down to the kid’s pool. Playparks are great. The bouncy castles have seen better days but they worked just fine and we weren’t on them much. The hammocks dotted around in secret shaded areas are amazing. For the adults the smaller pool in this section of the hotel next to a whirlpool was our favourite, generally quiet and very peaceful. The entertainment, especially for the kids, was second to none really. We didn’t know what to expect as we had never been on this type of holiday before, but all I can say is that my daughter had the time of her life. We went to the mini disco every night (music, dancing, games, Barcy mascots) followed by nights such as a circus, flamenco. Really really good. The entertainment staff were amazing. The mini disco was on at a really convenient time right after dinner, and nicely fills that space where slightly older kids aren’t quite ready to go to bed yet and need to burn off their after dinner energy. Well organised! Lots of great things to do during the day (aqua gym, morning stretching, pool games etc). My partner took part in pool basketball, but next time we would like to do more! The main point that made this SO enjoyable were all the staff. Everyone sort of felt like a friend, remembered our daughter’s name, always said hello or chatted to us/her. The restaurant staff worked their butts off every day, as did bar/entertainment staff and the rest. The photographer was amazing, so good with the kids and we got some beautiful photos printed from our stay. Overall the 5 stars I have given is more than deserved and I only have one point to make: We didn’t plan on putting our daughter into the kid’s club to stay alone, but after having spent an hour in there with her, she asked to go back the following day by herself. We signed her in for maybe an hour and a half and just stayed by the pool next to the kid’s club. When we picked her up, she was sitting on her own and the ladies were around the corner, totally out of sight looking at their phones. When asked if anyone played with her she said no. The kid’s club is totally enclosed with a locked gate so quite safe, but I felt very bad that she had been sitting on her own the entire time when she could have just been with us. Therefore we didn’t go back to kid’s club. I’m not sure if this is the norm but it would have been nice for the ladies to interact with the kids? Apart from that, thank you so much for a wonderful family holiday.

Great hotel for kids of all ages, we went middle of Sep, nice time for young kids, plenty of families with kids around the same age. Great pool area, play areas etc to keep them entertained during the day and then the mini disco at night! Staff were all friendly and helpful! Hotel itself is clean and well maintained. Our room was a good size, cleaned every day and towels replaced etc. Good variety and quality of food at meal times! Great holiday here and would definitely recommend! Thank you!

I fully enjoyed my stay with family at this hotel. There are plenty of pools and especially the Family pool area for the children was excellent. Very clean hotel and rooms with very comfy beds. Maids cleaned the room everyday to excellent standard. Restaurant excellent food. Bar excellent beer and white wine.

A nice hotel in a small quite town. The staff are very friendly and helpful, the rooms are clean and have all you need (unless you need a v powerful hair dryer my wife said!) Lots of pool space and safe places for children to play. Decent evening entertainment. The dinning room and hot plates can become crowded at peak times, in particular when we had a rainy day. The food is fine but could be warmer and the menu selection is a little repetitive.

The Good - Reception staff are excellent, friendly and helpful. The animation team are the best I have ever seen, funny games around the pool, excellent water games in the pool like polo, basket ball etc. Top grade classes for exercise / yoga / dancing, all done with great team spirit and without bullying people into taking part. Cleaning - The cleaner did a great job in our room and the all of the public areas were spotless and well maintained. Not So Good - The food in the main restaurant was very hit and miss, my advice would to be to head to the fresh cooked station in the inside restaurant and try and eat from there or use the excellent fresh pasta / pizza station on the outside terrace (but be prepared for a long wait at times). Breakfast has a really good selection of items and again eggs / omelettes / pancakes cooked at the fresh counter. The one thing the inside or outside really needs is a small adults only section where you can eat away from the restless screaming of children / babies (not the kids fault ) Rooms - pool side rooms can be very noisy all day and right up until the shows end at night, however some of the rooms away from the pool have awful views, it really is whatever you feel suits you best. (The reception staff will always try to help) Tourist tax !! - our 12 night holiday cost us 66 euro in taxes - you pay on check in at reception. Adults pool was always full of kids despite them having use of the main pool, a splash pool and an fantastic family mini water park within the complex. The bad - outside bar is not great, surly staff (with the exception of a few) who cherry pick who to service first. if you are all inclusive expect to be bottom of the pecking order. Although All Inclusive guess are entitles to branded drinks unless you ask for a "Smirnoff " or a "Ballantine's" by name you are given the cheap imitation stuff. One of the worse and appalling things about the outside bar area is the food buffet laid out for the "all inclusive" guests, burgers, hot dogs, onion rings, chips etc, all left out in the open under nets for HOURS (oh yes we did time it !) HOWEVER paying guesses ordered at the counter, had their table made up with place mats and cutlery and had fresh food from the kitchen served to them at the table. On no account eat from this buffet as you will have no idea how long it has been sitting there. The smoking! Oh my word, apart from the main inside restaurant and the show room there is no escape from it ! Every outside space was full of smokers or vapours. There is no no smoking areas at the bar or around the pool, I am not exaggerating, it was awful.