Hotel Club Cala Marsal

The Cala Marsal Club is located just over half a mile away from Cala Marsal beach, near the port of Porto Colom, on the south-eastern coast of Majorca. Transfer time from Palma airport, which is around 40 mi from the hotel, is a good hour by car.

This club hotel, where the clientele is 80% French, is part of the Majorca-based Colors Hotels group and is located some 900 m away from Cala Marsal beach. Free Wifi Internet access is available in the lobby, as well as four computers with USB ports where you can surf the Internet, though this doesn't exactly come cheap (85 pence for 10 minutes). The all-inclusive concept has not yet taken hold of the Cala Marsal Club, which is rather fortunate, and manifests itself in the quality of the food and beverages served. We recommend that you hire a car (which can easily be done at the reception desk) to discover the numerous coves dotted along the coastline or visit the capital city of Palma. Furthermore, the hotel has a free car park. The lounge bar is open from 8:00pm till 12:30am and has a pool table, a pinball machine, video games and slot machines. Shows are also put on here in the evening, as the room can seat 530 people. The bar in the lobby is open from 9:00am till 12:30am and has a big television screen, a smokers' room and a terrace. The hotel also boasts a children's club, a sauna (for which there is a charge) and a small gym, and don't miss the one hour rural excursion starting from right outside the hotel, which provides a welcome escape into the Majorcan countryside.

The Cala Marsal Club is housed in a rather ugly building (resembling something of a cheap housing estate) which dates back to 1975, but which was last renovated in 2006. Today, the 7 storey building houses 347 guest rooms and 3 lifts. The hotel boasts two swimming pools, a rectangular 2,3m-deep pool with a small 20 inch-deep square pool for children, and a larger, 1,8m-deep pool in the form of the figure 8 with a fountain and a wooden bridge. These are all open from 8:00am until 8:00pm and have a solarium terrace equipped with showers, deck chairs and parasols. The ambience here is rather peaceful and the entertainment kept to an unobtrusive minimum. It is also worth mentioning that no towels are provided on site, so remember to bring your own. While the children are splashing around in the 20 inch-deep pool, the grown-ups can enjoy a drink or a snack at the pool bar, which is open from 10:00am to 6:00pm, and admire the 48,000m² of grounds at the hotel, laden with flowers and planted with palm trees and bougainvilleas. Sports enthusiasts, meanwhile, might prefer a game of tennis, or perhaps squash, petanque or one of various other sports (including volleyball, basketball and football, among others) on the multi-purpose sports pitch.

The tiled guest rooms at the Cala Marsal Club, with their vibrant yellow, red and blue colour schemes (bedspread, curtains and sofa), and their white walls covered with paintings, are certainly not lacking in the charm department. They all have a desk, two single beds, a sofa bed, a large balcony furnished with two white plastic chairs, a small table and a washing-line. The balconies overlook either the sea, the garden or the swimming pool. Every room also has a small cable television with a choice of 29 channels, as well as a phone, a key-operated safe available to hire and air conditioning, though unfortunately there is no refrigerator. The bathrooms come with a bathtub fitted with a handle and a flexible shower, a toilet and welcome toiletries but no hair dryer, though these are available on request from reception.

Guests at the hotel dine in a large, bright, 650-seater room, bathed in sunlight, with large picture windows overlooking the swimming pool, that serves a varied selection of delicious dishes in the form of a buffet. Let's not forget that 80% of the guests are French and quite demanding when it comes to food! There are also many Italians here, who are traditionally more into fine dining than the English or the Germans. You'll find culinary specialties from Majorca on offer every day, and the gazpacho is particularly good. Breakfast is served from 8:00am to 10:00am, lunch from 1:00pm to 2:30pm and dinner from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, though the pool bar also serves snacks from 10:00am to 6:00pm.

Cala Marsal beach is 900 m from the hotel and is only accessible by crossing a major road. It is a relatively large, pretty cove with fine sand and turquoise waters. Well-equipped with impeccably aligned plastic deck chairs, showers and straw sunshades, and with its surrounding bars, restaurants and boutiques, you'll have everything you need for a totally laidback day on the beach. Paddle boats are also available to hire. The beach is supervised by a lifeguard and the danger level is indicated by a flag.