18 oct 2006
We chose Viva Sunrise as it was rated number 1 by Tripadvisor at the time we booked. We were not disappointed, as it was a good hotel. I will try to cover the few bad points as well as the good in the review. We booked directly with the hotel website which was an excellent deal – EUR 327 for 1 week. We booked flights from Glasgow with Thomas Cook website which were advertised as £99 per person, but with taxes and fuel surcharge were actually £576 for a family of 4.
The rooms (we had a 1 bedroom apartment) were clean and reasonably comfortable. The only negatives were that the sofa beds in the living area were not that comfortable (too soft) and the air conditioning was not very good (this was not a problem in October, so we didn’t complain, but in July it would have been different!) There is plenty of wardrobe space; TV has a variety of European channels including BBC World and Sky News. Bathroom was fine – bath and shower, all clean, plenty of hot water. Rooms are cleaned and towels changed 5 times a week.
The kitchen area was small but adequate – just two electric rings and a fridge, plus good selection of pots, pans, crockery, cutlery, etc. Lack of kettle and toaster (mentioned in previous reviews) not a major problem for us as water can be boiled in a pan, and the shop sells croissants, which is a much better option than toast!
We were located on the third floor with a view of the pool area, but not too close to the stage / entertainment, which was a good option. If a quiet room is important to you, the other side of the hotel may be the best option, although this is a family hotel and the entertainment finishes at 22:00, so noise is not a problem. Some of the rooms on the hotel side at the stage end would allow you to sit on your own balcony (and drink your own wine!) to watch the entertainment – which may also be nice for some!
The other guests in the hotel at the time we stayed were mainly Scandinavian; we understand that during the high season there are also usually a lot of Irish guests. It was a friendly atmosphere, very suited to families; the hotel staff were generally very helpful, and all spoke excellent English.
One of the main reasons we chose the hotel was the good Tripadvisor reviews for the children’s entertainment / kids club. This was really excellent. There were several activities organised right through the day, from 10:00 until 16:00. The children could join in whichever they chose, and it was all free. The staff organising the entertainment were very hard working, they made a huge effort to keep the kids busy and our kids (8 and 5) had a great time. There was also a mini-disco for the kids at 20:00 every evening – singing, dancing and a regular appearance from Bufo the kids club mascot!! Apparently in high season there is a larger team of entertainers and even more organised for the children.
The pool area was very nice, two large pools (one deep, one fairly shallow) and a small “kiddie” pool. Lifeguard was on duty most of the time. As it was end of season, there was no problem with overcrowding, but it appeared there were plenty of sunloungers and chairs to cope even if the hotel was busy. The only negative was that the pool was quite cold – again, this is probably less of a worry in July than in October! Towels for the pool can be borrowed from reception, so no need to bring them. Only a EUR 10 (per towel) deposit required, which we got back no problem. Towels can be swapped for fresh ones on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The beach is only 10 minutes away, and nice and sandy. We didn’t spend much time there however, as the pool was too nice!
We were staying on a self-catering basis, so did not try the breakfast or restaurant. We had lunch by the pool one day, and were frankly disappointed with the quality of the food, and chose to eat out of the hotel in the evenings. The quality of restaurants nearby was variable, but the Roma Steakhouse & Pizzaria at Avda. Pedro Mas y Reus was pretty good – nice home made pizzas, and the Chino Lago on the same street was a reasonable Chinese – the kids were free, although this may have been an end of season special as trade was slow! The best meal we had was tapas at a place called Sa Taverna in the old town of Alcudia – slightly more expensive than places nearer the hotel, but still not extortionate at EUR 95 for a meal for 4 + desserts and a bottle of wine.
The hotel supermarket was pretty good – a reasonable selection of food and drinks, nice freshly cooked bread – we made sandwiches for lunch most days; the shop has a good selection of cheese, ham, cold meats, etc. Prices for the food seemed reasonable compared to local shops, but alcohol seemed more expensive.
The hotel accepted both American Express and Visa cards (and I assume Mastercard, but I didn’t try). Most local shops and restaurants did not accept Amex, with the exception of the car hire place next to the hotel; most (but not all) accepted Visa.
Transport – we arranged for an airport pick up in advance (booked on the internet), which was very easy and efficient but probably not the cheapest option in hindsight. We hired a car for one day from the rental place next to the hotel – this was fine but they are not the cheapest (but it was raining and we didn’t want to walk far!) I would recommend booking at least the day before, and possibly even further in advance to get the best deal and secure your first choice of vehicle. For the cost of the airport transfers and the one day car rental, we could probably have rented a car for a week. The drive from Palma / airport to Alcudia is very easy – highway all the way, well signed. We used buses to get to Alcudia old town, which cost about EUR 4.50 for 4 people – we later discovered that a taxi cost about the same. The buses were fine however, and had we stayed longer we may have used them to travel further afield. We met people who were catching the bus the Palma, and then the shuttle bus to the airport – this would be a fairly straightforward option providing you did not have too much luggage.
We didn’t do much sightseeing, but the following were all worthwhile – Inca market (Thursday), Alcudia old town market (Sunday), Port de Pollensa and Palma.
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