Insotel Cala Mandia Resort

What a fantastic place . This is our first family holiday abroad bringing our 4 year old princess away. And we couldn’t have asked for a better place to visit. From start to finish it’s been amazing. The room was lovely with a mega view of the pool. Plenty of room for us all. The food was unreal and a great variety daily. The staff were exceptional. They couldn’t do enough for us, so professional and friendly. We’ve had the most wonderful stay and will certainly be coming back here again.

If you’re looking for a hotel that has a great choice of water activities for children, this is it. If you’re looking for anything else…don’t bother coming here. The check in service was awful. I had messaged the hotel via, email, Facebook, instagram & head office email to request a cot and bed rail. We arrived at 00.00 and when I’d mentioned this request to the ‘night manager’ he’d said he hasn’t seen the request, and as I’d not received a confirmation email - I was to blame. Once we got into room, there was no cot, spoke to night porter who handed a travel cot and sheets - I had to make the bed myself, a lovely surprise after a long day of travelling. Our first day - we couldn’t get back into room after breakfast, 2 visits to reception to have access card reset, it was actually the electronic door lock fault & we had to wait 45 minutes for a technician to come and fix… we had a 9month old with dirty nappy & a 3yo to keep amused. Kettle requested at 10am to make baby milk, 2.5 hours later still no kettle. Called reception again - finally received 3 hours after initial request. Gym - no aircon, no water, one working treadmill with a tear/ cut on the belt (huge trip hazard - see pics !) no working bikes. Most of the baby chairs are broken so if you have a young baby - make sure you check the straps/clips. Breakfast Buffet food is cold, even the hot food. Scrambled egg is made from ready made packaged food. Repetitive. Children’s food - don’t expect any healthy options. Pancakes and churros in the morning. Pizza, burger or hotdog in evening. If booking an a la carte - children’s menu is limited, especially at south restaurant. Be prepared for confrontation by the buffet bouncers who try to stop you from taking food to the a la cartes for children. If you want a good choice of dining / experience - catch a taxi / train / bus to Porto Cristo…better still, stay somewhere else. We did raise each issue with the reception, each time they told us to talk to Guest relations. He is aware of issues but I feel that the general public, who are considering booking this hotel should also be aware. To sum this hotel up Pools 5/5 Entertainment for children 5/5 Service 2/5 Housekeeping 1/5 Buffet Service 1/5 Surf Restaurant 0/5 (unless you like tasteless, uncooked pasta) Fifties 4/5 (burgers and hot dogs - can’t really go wrong) South Restaurant 3/5 (no children’s options & menu items available weren’t as displayed on menu)

The positives: The waterpark is amazing! Absolutely perfect for young children. Some big slides plus a smaller pirate ship. This is a massive plus for this hotel and is the main reason I’ve scored it average. The room was really modern and lovely. The site is by a beautiful beach and other nearby coves. Short taxi to Porto cristo. Good locations for the caves of drach. Good mini disco Samina on reception is lovely The negatives: The food is not good. The drinks are equally poor. Bland and unpleasant food and drink. This is the main reason I’ve scored it down and wouldn’t return. There’s a very silly system where you have to walk upto area b information centre to pay a deposit for towels. The deposit can only be pain on credit card. Stupid- why not just allow that deposit to be payed at check in rather than trecking to another area of the hotel and then back to your room to put your credit card away. Obviously nobody’s going to leave their credit card at the side of the pool so there’s no other option. Because it’s such a big site it’s unlikely that your room is anywhere near site b information centre. It sounds like an insignificant complaint but it’s actually just silly in 36 degrees heat with two small children to do this just to get a towel. Reception just said ‘this is what we’ve also done with clients’…. Just because you’ve always done this, doesn’t make it any less silly! Can only change towels 3 times in 1 week- expect daily changes in a 4* hotel.

Great trip so far, would recommend. Staff and facilities first class. No mad dash for subbed in the morning. Damia on reception was a real star

Second time visiting as a family - there were 13 of us ranging in age from 64 to 18 months. There is something here for everyone. Brilliant place. Clean, tidy, safe and friendly environment. Food is fantastic.

The most incredible family holiday with the most amazing staff, everyone was friendly and helpful the kids staff are just incredible and we loved all the choice of food, entertainment and facilities! Could not fault!