"We’ve just returned from a 10 night stay at the Protur Bonamar in Cala Bona. This is a lovely modern hotel situated perfectly on the seafront close to shops, restaurants and bars. The location is perfect for those wanting an evening stroll after dinner without being noisy.
Other positives are the friendliness of all staff (Reception, waiters in the restaurant, Housekeeping & bar staff), cleanliness of the rooms, facilities in the rooms and large pool area with a plentiful supply of sunbeds of different types. Reserving sunbeds is not allowed under hotel rules but as happens in the vast majority of hotels this is not enforced. The Bali beds and those uncovered beds with mattresses were the first to be reserved understandably even though most of these were fully visible from people passing on the promenade. No privacy but this didn’t put people off using them which is good.
There was entertainment from around 10.30am to afternoon with a variety of activities hosted by the energetic and delightful host, Natalie. If you don’t want to take part then you don’t need to but its an open invitation if you do.
The evening entertainment, again hosted by Natalie, began with bingo at 9.15pm. Some might think this is out dated but the concentration of those playing was something else to see. Silence was maintained with enthusiasm even by those not playing. Quite funny to observe but not offensive in any way for non-players such as us. The singing acts beginning at 9.30pm were fantastic. I can’t remember the names (Sorry!) but they were a joy to watch and sing along with.
As with every hotel there are some not so good points. Being awoken at around
6.45am every morning by a mechanical clanging on the roof above our room was annoying. It sounded like a vent opening and it is in desperate need of maintenance. We stayed in room 414 with sea view. Well worth the extra compared to room with a garden or street view.
The hotel boasts wi-fi throughout the hotel. From our experience the signal is patchy and is some areas such as around the pool the signal was very poor despite two signal boosters being installed above the terrace area. This was reported to Reception but my comments were dismissed immediately on the basis no one else has reported a problem. A more understanding approach to a complaint was needed and had there been this comment wouldn’t have been included in the review. Every problem has to be reported with the first complaint and being dismissive of this is poor service.
The last point to mention is the restaurant. Breakfast was great with a good choice of warm and cold food. You can sit anywhere including outside if you choose. In the evening a “sitting” system is in operation. With the first sitting from 6.30pm until 7.45pm and the second from 8.15pm until 9.30pm. At the first evening meal on your arrival you have to decide which sitting you want for the duration of your stay and you are allocated a table. I’m sure people could ask to change the sitting for a specific day but after observing people do this it did seem to cause a minor level of frustration with the restaurant staff trying to find an available table. Think of the arrangement for school dinners and you’ll understand. There seemed to be a sufficient number of tables throughout the restaurant to not operate this system and it wasn’t clear why they did.
Drinks are served at your table with a receipt provided. This is taken to a till for payment when you leave the restaurant. A queue can build up from around 7.15pm with people wanting to pay meaning a waiter may be taken from their duties of clearing tables. This can mean dirty plates are allowed to accumulate on tables of people finishing one course and moving onto the next. Far from ideal and not good service in a 4* hotel.
The choice of food was good with the highlights being the salad and cold food counter, two flavours of soups and a well-stocked dessert counter. The hot food we found to be not quite as good both in terms of variety and quality but we did find something to eat most nights.
One last point is how payment for drinks is made. The primary choice offered by waiting staff in restaurant and bar is cash, then credit card and lastly adding to the room bill. This may be an approach across all Protur hotels but seems very outdated especially when some people chose the cash option which added to delays serving other guests. Think of people with a bag of change trying to find the right amount to pay their bill with the delays this can create. I didn’t ask in the hotel about this approach but as someone who charges everything to the room to settle up on checking out I found it frustrating. It’s worth noting every room has a 400 euro credit limit given when you check in.
To sum up and consider the question if we would visit this hotel again, we’re undecided. The sitting approach to evening meal was frustrating and took away the flexibility to eat our evening meal when it’s convenient for us rather the hotel. Also the payment methods introduced delays which would be removed if charging to the room was the only option offered."
