A week in September

[RobinC]

At last I have found time to sit down and report on our week to PP in Setember 2009.

The last time we visited PP was arond 30 years ago on a day trip while we we staying in Alcudia. We were looking at booking a last minute week away, and after getting totally confused over which Greek Island to choose (the flight times were all awful) we suddenly had the brainwave of coming to PP.

We are a couple in our mid 50's and managed to book the week away without either of our kids tagging along - so we were looking forward to a peaceful week. For the previous 11 years we had been members of a timeshare club which gave us excellent accomodation, but the service charges had got too high, so we sold our points and this was our first holiday outside timeshare for 11 years.

We booked into Las Velas apartments, having read some positive reports but had some concern over the new road which is right in front of the apartments. We didn't need to worry, for the price the apartment was spacious, quiet, friendly and comfortable. Plenty of room around the pools which were never busy. We hadly noticed any noise from the new road.

Restaurants - We arrived on Tuesday September 1st, having got up at stupid o'clock so on arrival, we checked into the apartments, walked to the beach and had a quick beer and toastie in the cafe on the beach road in front of Pollensa Park - not the one on the beach, but the cafe on the corner - just what we needed.

That evening we walked into town looking at all the restaurants we had read about on this site, we ended up back near to the apartment, at Ikebana, where we thought we would try the Menu del Dia. 2 Prawn Salad starters, 1 Swordfish and 1 Canneloni for mains and and Ice cream and creme caramel for pud. 14 euros each, plus a 9E bottle of wine - total with tip 40E. Nice atmosphere, live music and as we were tired not a bad start to the week.

Wednesday found us at Simbad, following a recommendation. Very busy, and again we opted for the Menu del Dia. Little bit disappointing, but I suppose for the price it was OK. Starters Lasagne and a tomato soup - both a bit bland. Mains 1 grilled sole, 1 grilled Hake, puds - 1 apple crumble, 1 Almond Tart. Price including a bottle of wine and tip 34E cheap, good atmosphere but I had now had enough of Menu del Dias!

Thursday. Guru Starter 1 Padron Peppers which we shared, Mains - 1 Duck Confit and 1 Pork Tenderloin in bacon. 1 shared pud of biscuit nest full of apple and cream with ice cream. All of the food was really well presented, hot, tasty with good veg and the service from a young French girl called Ines was excellent. Cost with drinks and 2 bottles of wine 70E.

Friday. Bit boring but Guru again no starters this time, Mains 1 Veal Sirloin and 1 Salmon brochette, again a shared pud of chocolate brownie and ice cream - bottle of wine, 45E - again could not be faulted and we would have happily eaten here every night.

Saturday. We intended going to Nico's, however it was an England friendly football match on in the afternoon, and my wife is a very keen football fan - we are waiting for the World Cup draw before we book next years holiday as she wants to catch 2 England games - we will need to go early in the tournament before we are eliminated! The afternoon found us in Bar Bon Dia,opposite Pollensa Park hotel, stratigically seated near one of their big screens with a glass of ice cold lager in front of us. I can't even remember who we were playing, but it was a typically dull friendly game. One of the customers recommeded Restaurant Tango, away from the town centre, so as soon as the game finished, off we went in search of Tango.

A few minutes walk along the prom towards Alcudia, with the sun setting and we found ourselves in a large restaurant and bar. The owner made us feel very welcome, and despite our previous disappontment with Menu del Dias, we decided to try Tangos offering. Starters Prawn and Avocado Cocktail and Asparagus Soup, Mains- we both chose the Sea Bass which was two fillets each served with well cooked veg - still with a bit of bite -potatoes, carrots, mange touts and artichoke - everything was very well cooked.Puds - 1 Fruit cocktail and ice cream, 1 creme caramel. Total price with a bottle of wine 38E Good food, good atmosphere good value - highly recommended. It is a long time ago now, but I think this was the place where the owner had an odd habit of clicking/whistling - very strange!

Sunday, at last we got to Nicos - sat on the front watching the African acrobat/jugglers performing whilst eating a selection of tex mex - Starters Melon and Parma Ham/ Chili and Nachos, Mains we both went for Chicken Enchiladas and both went for the ice cream options for pud - a bit boring but good all the same. Couldn't fault the food or service

Monday. Every day when we walked into PP we passed Bar Torre Playa and their staff were always very pleasant, so we thought we would have a snack - Ham n Cheese Toastie and Avocado and Bacon Toastie both very good served in a pleasant location. Our last dinner and we enjoyed Guru so much we thought we would revisit. Duck Confit and Veal Sirloin for Mains and Apple Basket and Ice Cream for Pud, with wine and drinks 50E Again excellent and made an excellent end to a very relaxing week. Ines was our waitress again and she is a real asset to that business. It was noticable how much quieter the town was on the Monday night as the summer season came to an end.

We found the whole atmosphere of Puerto Pollensa to be exactly what we were looking for this year - we own a shop in a city centre high street and we have just survived the hardest conditions we have faced in 20 odd years,and at the start of the year we didn't think we would get a holiday, but things turned out much better than expected. Our daughter was taken ill as we left, so although we loved the resort and had a relaxing time, this was tempered somewhat by the constant phone calls home to our daughter - we thought she may have had swine flu, but on our return she was rushed into hospital with pneumonia! She has only just gone back to work and we are being made to feel guilty by going off and leaving her - we will probably have to bring her with us next time.

It was the little things that made the difference - no hassle from restaurant owners trying to get us to eat in their restaurants as we passed (such a pain in the Costa del Sol and on Tenerife) no problems from Looky Looky men, clean beaches, I couldn't get over how pleasant motorists were -always stopping to let us cross the road. The weather in early September was sweltering so we didn't do much more than laze about - the hot weather broke on the Saturday so we visited Pollensa old town, walked up the steps and had a light lunch in the square.

Sorry if I have gone on a bit, but writing this has brought back all the memories of a really enjoyable week - especially on a day where the wind is blowing a gale here - I thought I saw a dog that had been blown inside out earlier but it was just a rubber glove blowing along the prom in Southport!

Looking forward to our next trip - and it won't be another 30 years this time!

RobinC

 

[snowy2007]

Super report glad you had a great time I was out same week Boy did the wind blow that Thursday.

 

[sws97sdg]

What a great post RobinC, very refreshing to read how much you enjoyed PP and to hear it from a fresh perspective, thanks .

 

[Sparky]

So glad you had a good time Robin, thanks for telling us all about it.

 

[BonysLad]

Saturday. We intended going to Nico's, however it was an England friendly football match on in the afternoon, and my wife is a very keen football fan - we are waiting for the World Cup draw before we book next years holiday as she wants to catch 2 England games - we will need to go early in the tournament before we are eliminated!

Robin,

Great report , if you' re going to worry about the World Cup you had better not book to come til after Sun 11th July , when the English Lions will be in final of the 2010 World Cup. Get yourself over to PP earlier than that
and join us in JKs for the matches, that'll be the place to be . Can't wait cos it's going to be such fun, wonderful atmosphere, standing room only for the England games and when we come outside , flushed with glory, our Scottish friends will be lining the pavements slapping our backs in magnificent magnanimosity of our triumphs on the old pitch.

BonysLad

Who said the forum had gone quiet ?? Just watch the responses to this !!!

 

[JH02JLH]

Great report, Robin. It made for great reading on a cold winter's night.


But can we post the football responses in the Tapas Bar!

 

[liz d]

great report, thankyou for taking the time to write it.

 

[LK1960]

Great report Robin, I really enjoyed reading it. As has been said, it's so refreshing to read a positive trip review. Thanks for posting.

 

[kate1]

I thoroughly endorse all of the above! Great review and was interested to hear your comments on Guru, which we've never tried. Glad you had a good time and that your daughter is on the mend!

 

[whaleywanderer]

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us, it does make good reading when back here in the UK and it's dark, cold & raining! I would, however, be interested to hear how you found it now, compared to 30 years ago, what were the positives and the negatives?

I know it takes time to get around to writing these reports but once you put your fingers on the keyboard, it's hard to know when to stop typing.

Thanks again for your report.

 

[RobinC]

30 years ago, my new wife and I stayed in a large hotel block in Alcudia, but we can't remember what the hotel was called - Alcudia is certainly much more developed than it was in the 1970's - we had a trip to Alcudia for old times sake, and all we remembered were the walls on the old town, even looking at our old photos. we were unable to identify where we stayed. We didn't remember the area around the marina at all.

I only remember Puerto Pollensa as a much less developed resort than Alcudia, and we were pleased that it hasn't succumbed to the high rise hotels that blight so many resorts on the mainland. I have been surprised at looking at some of the old photos from this site as it looks a lot less developed in the 70's than I remember - I suppose it would have been 1978 when we visited last - it was certainly before we had kids, and when I had hair! Be passed through PP on the way to Cala San Vincente, and CsV doesn't appear to have changed that much, but then the large hotel - The Don Pedro is quite distinctive.

The only disappointment we had was that before we went we read all the reports here and elsewhere and intended to walk over the hills to Cala San Vincent and also to eat in a wide selection of restaurants. When we arrived it was too hot for the walks - we will have to revisit in the spring for that.We really struggled to eat as much as we would have liked too! By the end of the week, a main course and a shared sweet was enough!

Although the high rise hotels are ugly, we called into Pollensa Park on the way back to our apartment on a couple of nights and the shows we saw were very good - particularly the Flamenco show and the ABBA show, but we also enjoyed some good entertainment in the bars around Pollensa Park - not to far to walk home after a brandy or two! I don't htink I would want to stay there though - much prefer the flexibility of an apartment. The apartments Las Velas are owned by the same owners a Pollensa Park and we really couldn't fault the cleanliness or friendliness of all the staff, so presumably the large hotel has the same standards.

Sorry I can't give any more comparisons with the 70's but the resort certainly met our expectations and we shall return.

RobinC

 

[Bigandyg]

Going fishing Bonyslad or just dreaming perhaps.....

 

[pollensa]

Thanks so much for this great report. It's refreshing to hear a positive report from a new visitor. I do hope you'll carry on posting!

 

[joelise80]

Guru

It is good to read that someone else loves Guru as much as I do. Thanks for great post

 

[RobnAnna]

A satisfied customer!!! Basil Fawlty would have you stuffed !How could you have stayed away for so long?

 

[whaleywanderer]

Thanks Robin

Really enjoyed reading your comparisons and lovely to hear that you would return again. We too visited the area, staying in Alcudia, at Belle Vue apartments, roundabout 1988 and have a couple of old photo's taken from the hill (with the communication mast) looking down over Alcudia (can't really post these as I am standing right in front of the camera wearing only a bikini!!!). The change of scenery in that time is vast, there weren't many high rise hotels and the road leading to the beach (now known as 'the strip') was just a new road with only a few small shops and bars.

I would definately recommend the CSV walk after doing it for the first time this year (September). We chose a cloudy day, when it wasn't too warm, one word of advice though, treat yourself with anti mozzie spray before you go and take the bite cream with you, we were bitten quite badly. The feeling of achievement though was brilliant and an ice cold beer in CSV tasted wonderful.

Perhaps to keep us going through the winter we could have a new thread entitled 'Memories of PP'.