Playa Bella Apartments

"We stayed here recently for our summer holiday with a 13 and 9 year old. The pool is decent size however may be over crowded in the peak of summer. We didnt have to scramble for sunbeds at all which is great. There are two bar and food options by the pool and one at the top which is a bit cheaper called the optimist, we tended to have breakfast there most days. Drinks and ice creams around the pool certainly add up as there is no all inclusive option. The hotel rooms are large and modern with great air-conditioning and fans. Easy space for 4 people without being over crowded. Reception was ok though I little bland and not particularly friendly on arrival. You have to pay tourist tax which was about €30. The area itself is nice with lots of options for food and entertainment. The prices in the shops are daylight robbery compared to a lot of spainish destinations especially fresh fruit and anything dairy seems to be 5 times the cost of UK. And evening meal put for a family of four with a drink each tended to cost around €60-80 per night."

"We have just returned from a 10 night stay at the Playa Bella. Myself, my husband and two children - 19 and 10, stayed in a one bedroom apartment. The room A one bedroom apartment is not big enough for a family of 4. It is 2 rooms, the main room with a small kitchenette, table and a sofa bed with a pull out trundle for the second bed. Once the trundle is out you cannot move around the room. My children did say that their beds were comfortable. The second room has two single beds pushed together to make a double and were comfortable and the bathroom is in the bedroom. We had a shower, sink and toilet in our bathroom. We had no issues with the temperature of the shower. The aircon was brilliant and you can leave it on when you’re out of the room so when you get back from being out in the sun it’s lovely and cool. The ceiling fans were also very good. The room was clean and housekeeping came every other day however one night a large cockroach ran across the floor and under the kitchen unit which freaked my children out, especially the one sleeping on the trundle. After a quick google it suggested that we request to move rooms and the room should be deep cleaned, especially as we were on the third floor. I went down to reception and informed the man there and he said would send someone up with bug spray. I told him my children were uncomfortable to sleep in there and he shrugged at me. Maintenance did come up and sprayed under the kitchen counter and we sealed it up. As it was only our second night and it was late we didn’t want to ruin the holiday we said we would give the benefit of the doubt but if we saw another one we would escalate it with Jet2. We didn’t see another one in our room thankfully. The highlight of our room was definitely the view from the balcony, it looked out across the sea so we felt we hit the jackpot as others were overlooking the derelict building or the street. The pool and restaurant The huge plus was that there were no sunbed wars. We managed to get a sunbed or chair at various points during the day. Only one morning I was up early so went down to get a good spot at 9am when they opened the pool but you don’t need to do this. There were not enough parasols to go round and some people were very greedy with them, one family had 4 parasols to 5 beds and then left them unused for hours on end. When it was windy the parasols also flew and I saw one hit a man. If that was a small child it could’ve been very dangerous. The parasols either need to be fixed down, weighted or airated. The pool area was clean and there was a lifeguard on duty who was very good. You are not allowed inflatables in the pool other than armbands or small rings for little children but this was positive as the pool got very busy and wasn’t that big. The main pool is very deep, 2m in the main part. The small circular pool was great for small children and for sunbathing in and my 10 year old enjoyed the slides. One downside was the lack of entertainment going on, no aqua aerobics or pool games that we’re used to in other hotels. We ate breakfast in La Bahia twice and it was really nice, a little pricey for us (€50 for breakfast for 4 of us) and we had an evening meal in the Playa Bella restaurant. The food was nice but I did find it expensive compared to neighbouring restaurants. I agree with other reviews that you get better service and the kids had more attention from staff if you were well known to them. We went to the entertainment three times, the Elton John guy was boring, the quiz show was a great laugh but the sax and DJ duo were amazing! It does get busy though and all tables were taken. There is a sewage smell that you get the odd waft of from the blue sewage pump room on the beach when sat outside in the Playa Bella restaurant when there’s a breeze. It’s not terrible but it’s there. We saw a lot of cockroaches around the pool area and around the restaurant and communal areas. Location The location was perfect for us. Far enough from the main area of San Antonio for a family but close enough to go when we wanted. The water taxi is €5 and top tip - go on it when the sun is setting and you get the best views of the sunsetting in the sea. Local boat cruises were charging around €80 each! We caught the bus back which was about €2 and stops right outside the hotel. San Antonio was great, we loved the Ibiza Rocks Bar - food and drinks were really nice and we were surprised at how reasonably priced it was. Food and drinks in the hotel were more expensive than a lot of places we went to in San Antonio. There are a few shops and supermarkets dotted about, we found Spar the best value supermarket, walk past the derelict building and it’s just past there. There were lots of souvenir type shops dotted about. We also took the bus to old town Ibiza and Dalt Vila which is a must!! It was so pretty there and the marina is lovely. We caught a taxi back and it was €25 for a 30 min journey which I thought was really reasonable. There were a handful of restaurants near the apartments, our favourites were Johnny’s (the smash burger and chips were unreal) and the highlight of our holiday Kumharas. You get sunset views, street food vendors, live DJs, lovely family friendly. Much cheaper than Cafe Mambo and in my opinion just a better vibe for a family. The beef burrito was to die for. The beach outside the hotel isn’t particularly nice, the sand is covered with sticks and the water is very rocky and lots of sticks in there. My son and husband did go in for a swim but it’s not somewhere to go for a beach day. Reggae Reggae beach - less than a 10 minute walk, white sand, clear water, no sewage smell!! The slide was so cool, 6 goes €5 (cash only) and the lady running it was so lovely. We ate in Freedom there and it was lovely. Top tip - 2 adults sharing a kids pizza and portion of chips is a cheap way of doing lunch, we didn’t want a huge lunch but it was more than enough. We went to Cala Bassa beach and when they say it is busy they weren’t lying. Definitely go early. I’ve never seen anything like it, it’s literally towel next to towel. The beach club was beautiful but so expensive. The beach and sea was unreal though and we had a great time. Take cash with you there’s a guy selling drinks from a cooler, a bottle of beer was €3. The people selling sunglasses and hair braids did get a bit annoying. Getting a taxi back was tricky but luckily the bus came and we managed to get a seat. You have no signal there so check bus times before you go. All in all we had a great time and we would stay at Playa Bella again but would definitely go for a 2 bed apartment for the four of us and would look into half board as I did find the restaurants expensive. We spoke to some people who say they go there every year which I personally didn’t get as it we found it nice but nothing special."

"Stayed at Playa Bella during August for 10 nights as a family of 5 (2Ad 3Ch aged 16,12,11). Arrived around 6.30pm and check in was smooth, lovely reception staff that were very helpful. We were allocated apartment 723 (Block 7, Floor 2) with a partial sea view. This was a 2 bed apartment with an additional sofa bed. The apartment had a modern feel and was really spacious. It was equipped with a 2 ring hob, fridge (with freezer section), microwave, toaster, kettle, cutlery, utensils, plates and cups. Also supplied was dish clothes, tea towel and washing up liquid. Also a huge dining table with 5 chairs. We were advised housekeeping would be every two days and were provided with fresh towels each visit. There was a sweeping brush for use inbetween housekeeping if required. The balcony was big, all 5 of us could sit out, but there was only 2 chairs so we had to use the dining chairs which wasnt an issue. We hired the safe key which was charged at about €20 I think for the entire stay. You had to hire an iron with a €10 deposit for 24 hours, we found this a little frustrating and think an iron should be standard in all rooms. You can hire beach towels €10 deposit per towel with a €2.50 charge for the whole stay if needed. Location was spot on for us, it is right on the beach, where you can hire pedalo's for €15 for 30 mins. There was a slight smell when on the beach, but it was not a clear sewerage smell, sometimes it smelt of sea weed. This really was not an issue at all. There are restaurants mainly when you turn left out of the hotel. Supermarkets are everywhere, Suma (6 min walk to the right) was the cheapest we found. The water taxi is a 5 min walk costing €5 each across to San Antonio. Its defo a lovely experience and comes every 30 mins. If you choose to walk round to San Antonio it takes around 50 mins. We used the bus to come back to the hotel which took 14 mins and cost €1.70pp. This was a really easy service and I just navigated using google maps. The bus was contactless or cash and change was also given. We ate in various restaurants including Kumharas with an amazing sunset, Georges Peppermint Cafe, Es Pueto, Kebab Star, El Patio, La Cantina Portmany, and also the hotel restaurants. We never had a bad meal, prices were similar to UK. All portion sizes were huge! We visited Bam Bu Ku for the family rave which was a really good atmosphere and also did there poolside paradise party. This was quite costly but a good day. The pool is open 9am -7pm. There are plenty of sunbeds available, the terrace opens at 8.30 but if you want a sunbed poolside you cant access till 9, this is also when the parasols become available. There are no sunbed wars, most days there was still availability around 11/12 but if you want a specific spot you need to be there at 9 really. The parasols also went quickly too. The deep end is extremely deep at 2m so the shallower end did get quite busy but was never a problem. You aren't allowed lilo's but small rings were allowed. There was a lifeguard present every day. The splash park is lovely for upto 12 years old, we liked to sit by it as occassionly you'd get a slight spray of water with the wind! The hotel staff are wonderful, we had breakfast in La Bahia twice and had evening meals in Playa Bella restaurant twice. The staff were great with the kids and always really accommodating... the food was lush! The evening entertainment always got busy. It is typical holiday entertainment such as comedian, singers, quiz night which starts around 9.15pm with a mini disco before. It was interactive and got everyone involved which was great. There is a kids club for 5-12 years Mon- Fri but we never used this. We felt this hotel lacked activites throughout the day compared to other self catering hotels we have visited before such as darts, aqua aerobics, foam party, pool games. Overall we had an amazing holiday and would definately return in the future."