My friend and I are women in our early twenties and stayed at Hotel Alexandra, C'an Pastilla, Majorca from 7/6 - 11/6. We had a wonderful time and were very impressed with the hotel.

The exterior is beautiful, loads of colourful flowers everywhere, in pots and planted all around. They looked and smelled gorgeous, and were a lovely welcome. Right by the entrance is a fountain and a huge palm tree, which looks spectacular at night when the fairy lights that are wrapped around the entire trunk really stand out.

We were half board so dinner and breakfast were included. Meals are served as a buffet, you can go up as many times as you like. Not all of it was to our tastes but there was so much choice. I tried a little bit of everything and then got more of the things I'd liked! The desserts especially were amazing, at least ten choices. For example: several types of cake, fruit, rice pudding, blancmange, 4 ice creams/sorbets and fruit salad. There's a lot to choose at breakfast too - cold boiled and scrambled eggs, slices of ham, fruit salad, cheese, bread, pastries, croissants, biscuits, cereal, fruit and toast plus fruit juice and tea/coffee. Half board doesn't include things like bottled water and wine, but you can buy them from the waiting staff for extra at dinner. A litre of mineral water was £1.05.

Our room was spotless, on the first floor overlooking the pool and beyond that the beach and sea. It was cleaned and towels replaced every day. All the facilities worked and we had mini soaps, bath/shower gel and shampoo which were also replaced.

The beds were clean and comfortable, there was a very large wardrobe with lots of drawers and shelves, a desk, lamps and a large mirror in the main room. The balcony wasn't too small, it had a white plastic table and 2 chairs (like garden furniture), and a frosted glass screen separated us from our neighbours balconies.

The staff were great, especially the barman. I forget his name but he was friendly and chatty, and always made our cocktails with feathers, umbrellas and even sparklers once! There are loads of cocktails to choose from, average price was £2.60, and there are non alcoholic ones too. Most of the staff spoke great English and were happy to help.

I particularly enjoyed the pool which was clean and large, with floats to play with included. It was never crowded and although it's not heated, you soon get used to the temperature. My advice is get in quickly! The pool was very impressive, with little blue tiles all over and a very shallow area for the little un's that was protected by a stainless steel fence. Plenty of sunloungers and lots of outside seats and tables. There is a large cart filled with beautiful flowers, and to the right of it are 2 outside huts for the loos (separate mens and womens) with basins and mirrors, perfect for getting changed or applying sun block.

It's very close to the airport (if you look out of the window on the top floor you can see the planes landing and taking off!) but it was never too loud, certainly not enough to wake you up, and of course getting to and from the airport is very cheap! (10-15 Euros including a tip) There's a taxi rank right outside the airport exit, so unless you arrive very late/early you'll have no problem getting a cab.

C'an Pastilla is gorgeous, loads of restaurants and bars, a fantastic beach, lots of souvenir shops and a little supermarket as well. Theres also a tobacconist which is much cheaper than duty free, it's just to the right when you come out of the private exit from the hotel to the beach. Next to it is a cash point which accepted my Maestro card, and when I checked my bank statement I wasn't charged much - certainly less than a fiver.

To get to the beach you either go down some stairs by the pool and swipe your card on the reader to open the gate. This is also how you get in your hotel room, then you stick it in the little box by the door to activate the lights. The gate is locked between 8pm and 8am and weekends, so you go out the front entrance and go right.

The little beach in front of the hotel was great. There was a very mixed bunch of sun worshippers - loads of different nationalities, families, groups of older people, and a few topless women! It is separated from the road (which is very quiet, the odd car or cyclist) by a short stone wall, and there are several small ramps to get to the beach. There are many shelters which look liike giant coconut tops on sticks, a great idea if you have children or need some shade. The guys that hire out sun loungers also do massages right there on the beach! There's a string of buoys about 40m out which you can't cross as on the other side there is a marina, and if you swim too close to the line the coastguard will sound a klaxon and say something in Spanish over the loudspeaker. The beach is set in a cove, meaning the waves are very gentle - again a great place for the kids.

To see for yourself search Google Maps for "Calle De Levante Palma" and choose satellite view. Hotel Alexandra is just to the left of the green arrow, you can see the dark blue pool and red brick roof.

In our 5 days there were no big rowdy groups like you get in Magaluf for example. C'an Pastilla is 10/15 mins to Palma which is were the real nightlife is. A taxi is 15-20 Euros which is a bummer, but I'd rather that than stay in Palma which is a proper city and therefore noisy and busy. Still, even there we only found 2 nightclubs. Abraxia - not impressed, and Tito's - AMAZING! When we went a singer called Rebekka Brown was there with gold painted dancers. There were also dancers in cages suspended in the air. Upstairs is a VIP section overlooking the stage and dancefloor, and a Spanish room playing, of course, Spanish dance music, which had a glass wall so you could see the main room downstairs. It was 10 Euros to get in and you get a free drink. The drinks prices were very high - a double Vodka and coke was £7!!! We had a wicked time and came out just as the sun was rising! Getting a taxi back was a nightmare, the queues were huge and the taxis were very sparse. We got home about an hour after leaving the club. Lots of people will stop you walking along the main road in Palma at night to get you into bars and clubs, most offering a free drink.

Back at the hotel, there is a pool table where a game costs 2 Euros and a pinball machine. The bar is open till the early hours and they play music. There is evening entertainment, but it is geared to the mostly older people who stay there.

We each bought a lilo from a shop run by a lovely Northern lady on a side street by the beach. It was heavenly floating on the sea on our lilos - and a great way to get a tan! I can't remember the name of my favourite local bar, but if you are facing the little beach you head left along the road and it's on the left just after curve in the road, past the Spar minimart. They play hippy music, there's loads of candles and ornaments, low sofas and cushions on the floor, and gauzy material covering the ceiling. Very chilled and relaxing.

Checkout was at noon but our flight wasn't until 3, so we made use of the luggage store room and sunbathed by the pool right up until the last minute!

We made a very good choice here. I've read some bad reviews - nonchalant staff, bugs, dirty rooms, but we did not have any of these problems. Ok it's not luxurious but it is very cheap (worked out at £10 a day each!) and for that price it should have been a dive, but my experience was brilliant. Both the hotel and C'an Pastilla are wicked, and I shall definitely be returning just as soon as I have enough money!


Cleanliness of rooms: 95

Facilities offered: 90

Quality vs price: 100

Location/Surroundings: 90

Quality of service provided: 95

We stayed one week at this hotel and from the beginning, things were not right. Here is a list of problems we had with our room which was on the sixth floor overlooking the sea.
Floor and tub not properly cleaned, mattresses soft and unsupportive (felt springs through what little padding there was), no phonebook or instructions on how to call out or call reception, poor water pressure with constant temperature changes, and completely clogged A/C filter. On a positive note, our cleaning person was very helpful and gave us extra blankets to use as padding for the beds.

As far as the rest of the hotel goes, the food was horrible. We took half board option which includes breakfast and dinner and the only dinner we had there was the first night. After that we only went in for appetizers of fruit and even tried some desserts, but they too were subpar. The bright spot was the watermelon.

Our complaints went unheard until the manager of the tour company (we complained to them also) contacted the hotel. The threat of losing the tour operator as a customer as opposed to just us was enough to finally catch their attention.

The main positive of the hotel is its location. It's very close to the beach and about a 5 minute walk to the bus stop that takes you into Palma. The bar service was good and the pool area kept up.

Overall a sub par hotel that we would not stay in again.

As a married couples in their 50s we stayed at the hotel Alexnadra the second week in mAY 2007.
We arrived late in the evening after a late flight,although in fairness the hotel is less than 10mins from the airport. The reception staff were not helpful to say the least,but thought this was because it was late in the evening, unfortunately the disgruntled staff stayed this way for the rest of our 11 day stay. Cleanliness was a bit of a problem, cleaners made the beds and bathroom daily but it ended their. The balcony furniture was not touched throughout our stay and we had to put towels n the chairs before being able to sit on them, the same went for the funiture around the pool area, you could not sit on any of them with clean clothes on.
The buffet dining room was at times over run with french guests who were very noisy to say the least. Breakfast was ok and offered a selection of meats,fruits, and english fried breakfast. The evening meal was poor, chips with most things and usualy only one choice of meat. salad was always available as was ice creams and gateaux for dessert so I suppose you did not have to go hungry.
The location was opposite a small beach/harbour which we found Mels bar (english) which wasgreat and made for a great evening next to the sea and having a drink, in pleasant company. The hotel was full and not many children as it was not half term,the two very small lifts had trouble accommodating so many people and sometimes a lot quicker to use the stairs.

We stayed at the Alexandra because the Hotel Leo was overbooked. We stayed during the school half term holidays. The desk clerk grunted at us on arrival. First impressions were good. We were given a room on the 2nd floor which was very convenient. I was a little concerned because the balcony rail was loose. Meals were dissappointing but edible and the wine waiter ignored us throughout our stay.
What I found really strange was that there were only about 100 people staying at the hotel, of which only 7 were children. This was during the school half term holidays. The hotel capacity should be about 500 - 600 guests. Why was the hotel so empty?
During our stay I noticed that the Alexandra was a little tired and run down. The evenings entertainment was an old man playing tunes on a keyboard.