Gran Santa Ponsa Apartments Review

Overall Rating

Location
Cleanliness
BIG supermarket 5 mins walk away with ALL same day English newspapers

Noisy entertainment until midnight
Swimming pool was FREEZING !!
Poor childrens evening entertainment
Bar food was just burgers/hotdogs/chips/sandwiches
NEVER saw the tour rep to ask advice/book trips

The Grand Santa Ponsa Apartments are in a very good location in as much as they are 5 mins walk from a large supermarket and far enough away (about 5 mins walk) from the slightly noisier beach front. The Apartments are kept very clean and the cleaners work throughout the day. Clean towels are provided almost every day. Don't bother requesting a pool view as ALL the rooms are pool view as the apartments are in a 3 sided arrangement all facing inwards over the pool. Some of the rooms were RIGHT over the entertainment area and will keep you awake until around midnight when the entertainment stops, though as all the rooms overlook the pool area there is some unavoidable noise but the rooms furthest away will obviously be slightly quieter. We didn't think much of the "kids club" as all it is watching videos or drawing (though all is supervised). The kids entertainer was sooooooo boring. She was Spanish who spoke good English (with a Scottish accent!!!). She was fine the first night but the second night she played the SAME games and played the SAME 5 records. The following night... she played the SAME again and the next night and the next night!!! VERY repetitive. The evening entertainment was ok some nights and TERRIBLE other nights. We had a Rod Stewart act, a Flamenco dancing act, 2 comedians, a mime act, and a quiz night... which was embarrassing really as they advertise it well, but was organised badly as the woman who ran it didn't start on time, didn't explain anything and all it was was 30 questions and you put the answers on a plain piece of paper (which some people didn't put their names on... though this was one of the things she didn't remind people to do!!)

The reception staff are excellent and very helpful, though they charge E1.50 to change £100 traveller's cheques. I would go back, but would now know what to expect.

The hotel is frequented by A LOT of Irish. I would say AT LEAST 80% of residents were from Ireland with a few from the rest of England, Scotland and Wales.

Sky TV is available in the bar area, though this was a bulk standard 24"telly on a tall box in the bar.

Saturday is "chaos day" as about 90% of flights carrying people to the apartments arrive on Saturday. Maybe a good idea to arrive on the Tuesday - which seemed to be the only other day people arrived. Looking on the departures board at the end of your holiday showed flights leaving/arriving thick and fast from 06:00 am onwards.

One point to note is that the room rates they displayed were E62 in April and May and E92 in June/July and Aug. If you get a cheap flight to Palma airport (about 25 mins in a taxi) and you phoned the apartments direct (the receptionists spoke perfect English) you could do a week in say May for about 1/3 less than if you went to the travel agents. I'd SERIOUSLY consider doing that next time.

THE RESORT....

Santa Ponsa (as far as I know) is a "young" resort, in as much as it's not been around for as long (20 years ??) as some of the others (Magalluf, Palma Nova, Alcudia). There are PLENTY of places to eat including an unexpectedly large amount of Chinese restaurants!! and even includes a MacDonald's and a Burger King close to the beachfront. I would CERTAINLY recommend a place called Crocodillos, which was run by a Dutch couple. The food was FANTASTIC and quite cheap. Whenever you walked past in the evening it was always full and so tells you how popular it is. Have a look at their website (www.crocodillos.com) The beach is GLORIOUS. Large, and with plenty of sunbeds and straw parasols (ALL E1.50 each so it would cost 2 people E7.50 for the 2 sunbeds and the straw parasol). One unusual point is that there are a fair few trees !!! growing at the front of the beach which provide free shade (as opposed to paying for a parasol). The local police patrol the beach front and the paved area between the main road and the beach and there is a tourist information office close by.

Last note.. if you go to Majorca in general, you MUST go to the Pirates adventure in Palma Nova(www.piratesadventure.com). About 2 hrs of entertainment, but not much storyline as it was basically dancing and acrobats, though worth going.

Members' Comments onMark Allan's Review

• mchrlgrl on 4th Aug 2007

  I think this review the person was striving to find something,no matter how tiny,wrong with their holiday. I am a homebird if you will and panic very easily ,but I have to say we found a jewel when we holidayed at Gran Santa Ponsa resort. No need to worry bout pool view-whichever apartment you got had pool view!
  cleaners worked seemingly round the clock(and it showed)and kids entertainment? second to none! The entertainment manager has a gift with the kids and there was more than painting and videos available! They have outdoor football yard and table tennis, darts and 2 pool tables---not to mention small arcade room--the children's activities are hourly till round 5pm then evening entertainment starts round 8-30 and the entertainer never forgets any of the kids names so they don't feel left out. True the bar food was basic but nice none the less and there was an excellent pizzeria across the street not to mention very reasonable! and yes there are a lot of Irish folk holiday there but then WE know how to have craic! and behave doing it!

• aiden power on 13th Jul 2008

  We stayed there for 2 weeks in July 2008 and the kids entertainer was brilliant she does vary the music and is not soo boring and she makes an effort even with the shyest children to get them involved from making things such as chocolate pizza to clay modelling etc. also she does a kids dinner night each weds. from 7.30 to 9