Occidental Cala Viñas

When I was looking at reviews of this hotel I was a little concerned, so I'm mainly writing this review to counter-act some of the overly-negative reviews I read prior to coming. My husband and I (both 33) and our 9 month old baby have had a wonderful week here. The staff are brill, the drinker generous and the food better than we had expected. Many of the bad reviews say the food is rubbish, but I think that they either were hoping for more beige food or just don't like trying new things. As someone who is keen on healthy meals, I loved that everyday there were plenty of grilled meats, salads and cooked veg available, alongside the indulgence of nuggets, fries and desserts. We joined in with some of the evening entertainment which was fun, but not really our thing. Having a room in block B was great for convinience to the restaurant and pool, but also meant the noise of the music late into the night. This may annoy some more than others. With a baby, we generally enjoyed getting to hear it without having to leave the room. Baby friendly - lots of highchairs, cot set up with sheets on arrival, slopes/lift access to all areas, staff wanting and willing to engage with babies/children. No apparent restrictions on baby with float in pools. Excellent children's pool. We're already looking at coming back next year with our extended family! The hotel had a major revamp in 2022 so I would take any reviews from before then with a pinch of salt. And assume any bad comments on food after that are from people who just don't want to try something new.

Spacious and clean room, extendable sofa, good quality mattress, I slept very well. Raymond and Ciccio do a very good job of entertaining the guests. The food, on the other hand, disappointed me, you don't have many options, and besides the fact that you don't have options, it has no taste, no spices, nothing. As a tip, I would suggest you to improve this aspect. Overall, the staff was respectful and helpful.

Stayed mid august as a family of 5. This hotel is situated in a peaceful little cove no more than a 20 minute walk to Magaluf. We were very lucky to get a partial sea view room with a huge terrace in one of the quieter blocks so we were never bothered by any noise. The rooms were lovely and cleaned daily. The fridge had bottles of water which we refilled from the several water fountains dotted around. The 2 pools were great, a quieter one for relaxing and the main pool if you wanted to engage in water aerobics etc. plenty of sun beds (we swapped around to choose shade or sunbathing) and a fab little beach from which you could swim around the cove, snorkelling with the beautiful fish. The restaurant was great, very busy but with tons of choice, and the staff were great finding us tables (tricky sometimes with 5 people) All the staff were super helpful and kind and did a wonderful job as the hotel was very busy. We didn’t bother with the animation evening but we could hear and see that people were having a great time. Instead we would sit by the pool or beach and enjoy the peace and warm nights. Not sure why people are so negative, this is fab hotel who work hard to manage a lot of guests. I don’t know what people’s expectations are but I found the food very tasty and replenished quickly, staff would always try to help, and if you want more excitement it’s a quick taxi to Magaluf (not my type of place). Can highly recommend booking the kayaking with Dom (the most incredible experience) but beware when hiring a car as I had to chase the company for my deposit. Would definitely return for another holiday ❤️

Terrible hotel, what a disappointment. Room ok. Situation . . . Captured. Beach needed cleaning. Food poor. Constant noise from 10.30am till 6pm. Understaffed. Constant queues for drinks. Reception staff uninterested and non-comittal. Need a taxi to get anywhere. The three restaurants at the top of a monumental flight of stairs rarely open. Visited 17-26 May. One bright spark, Ana the client experience manager . . . Poor girl. Not 4* in a million years.

Other food options such as vegan/halal should be prepared. Some staff were abrupt and stand off attitude. Favouritism with some customers were given

We visited as 4 friends for a half term break. Only about a 25 minute transfer from Palma airport. We was pretty impressed with the hotel and couldn’t really fault it. •The hotel was really clean. That includes all areas, pool, restaurant, rooms etc. •The rooms were really big and spacious for the two of us, we requested two rooms next to each other and this was accommodated for us. Lovely pool/sea views. •Two nice size pools, plenty of sun beds available all day. The hotel overlooked the beach and was nice to take drinks down and chill in the afternoon. •Nice choice of drinks and cocktails available. •Food was goodish.. we was only there for 3 days but I think if we were there for 7-14 days it may be a bit repetitive. Breakfast was nice and lots of choice. Snack bar round the pool if you didn’t fancy going to the restaurant. Choices of toasties, burgers, hot dogs crisps etc. •Walked into Magaluf one night (20 minute stroll), it was fine for us but was very hilly in places. Was only €7 in a cab if people Didn’t want the walk. •Would definitely return for a short break and can’t really think of any negatives that would put me off.

We have just returned from an absolutely brilliant family holiday to Occidental Cala Vinas! The scenery around the hotel is stunning and we were lucky enough to have been upgraded to a Seaview room which was beautiful to wake up to each morning. The small cove of beach at the hotel itself is lovely and the pool area looks out to the sea which makes laying around it very relaxing! The entertainment staff are fantastic and really made the holiday for us. Ciccio, Carlos and Raymond kept us all entertained around the pool each day and really made us feel welcome and involved! They were fantastic with the children, as were the two lady's that managed the kids club and evening party dances. We are missing them all already! The food was what you would imagine for all inclusive, but we could always find something nice to eat. Some nights it was better than others but all in all it was lovely, always hot and the restaurant staff were accommodating to us having a large table as we were in a big group. Snack bar was always well stocked and drinks selection was great. Lovely wine in the evening from the bar and we won alot of bottles of Cava participating in various activities which was also very enjoyable! There is not much atall to do around the hotel, it is very secluded. This didn't really bother us as it is very easy to get a taxi into Palmanova. Overall we really enjoyed our stay here and would definitely come back again!

1st Family Holiday with 4 children 1st and foremost the entertainment us brilliant, the staff, Raymond,Andrea, Santana, Ciccio (there is another girl and I didn't get her name) are fantastic, they remember the kids names, give nicknames to the parents, build a fantastic relationships. Adults and Children's activities provided throughout the day, really opens conversations throughout the hotel, we made so many friends! Evening Entertainment by staff is also amazing, do not know how they find the time for the routines etc but it's really good, adult humour is in there too! It was my sons 6th birthday while away, the canteen staff brought him a cakes and fruit platter which was lovely 😍 5* for the entertainment staff!!!!! The bar staff, day and night are lovely, can have a natter with them, they all work crazy hours and always find time for chit chat whilst serving if you make effort with them 2! Management! My daughter split her chin on our 2nd day, the staff were great, interpreted to the medics who came to sort her and they provided us with information and sterri strips to keep on top of! The management who was there checked in on her in the rest of our holiday to ensure she was OK! Which she was and still enjoyed the holiday regardless of her injury! Food. I found the food to be great, loads of choice, meats, fish. veg, rice, pasta, fruit etc! The kids loved the hotdogs and burgers for snacks and unlimited ice cream! I have 2 celiac children, which was a little hard as at 1st I had 2 second guess what was OK, I did ask reception for ingredients list but didn't get this! However when I asked a staff member in the morning they did bring a plate of schar, bread, biscuits, cornflakes and muffin, I ended up taking a best guest at the buffet, with meats and rice. Hotel The hotel is really clean, they keep into of this well, toilets regularly cleaned. Hint, there aren't only 2 by the canteen, they are also by the top pool and the downstairs spa! The horizontal rails on the balcony did worry me with having kids but they are on a slant, I did just keep my eye on kids for climbing anyway though. Also the top terrace has plant pots next to the balcony area, 1 of my kids went to stand on and I quickly told them no, if staff take anything from this I'd say move them from the balcony edge! Local travel! You can get reception to order a taxi for €5 to magaluf, however we walked the approx 20 mins a few times just to have a wander! It wasn't hard to find if you use the steps next to the hotel opposite this hotel across the beach (takes a while if you go from reception) All in all we had the best time and left wishing we was there longer! The staff really made our holiday amazing... I'd definitely recommend this holiday!! XXXX

Keeping it to the point, the hotel is nice and I did enjoy my holiday but in real need of improvement in areas - They don’t like you hanging towels on your balcony but give you no laundry rails to air your swimwear and towels this is an impractical rule - Described as family friendly and lots of children here. Food lovely for adults, lots of salads and fresh fish & meats but barely any children’s food options, just pasta every night such a shame. Most children are fussy especially SEN children. Other parents/holiday makers were also really disappointed with the lack of child friendly meal options. Please improve this. Berrys like strawberry’s and blueberries would also be great for the children. - glass panels around the hotel have sharp edges and some are broken, concerning especially having young children around - pool rules - floats - we bought a tiny blow up body board/lilo for my infant, picture shown it is tiny, the “supervisor” told us we couldn’t use it, “hoop only” this is barbaric it was a children’s float not an adult lilo, but they’ll quite happily let people smoke around the pool ! Please make your rules make sense…..One of the supervisors approach was really quite rude it is very obvious he dislikes tourists. There was lots of head shaking from him and tutting not just at use at others as well, it made things uncomfortable when we had come to relax. On the other hand There were two other pool supervisors who were friendly and had a nice approach. - Block 3 - Really Noisy at night x3 nights no sleep due to an alarm being triggered in the pool bar on x3 occasions gone midnight, not great if you want to put your children to bed earlier than midnight we also had one issue where the noise went on until 3am not the hotels fault - drunk holiday makers being inconsiderate to others. They sent security and they turned the music off but continued to drink and be rowdy right below our balcony till 3am….. room doors also slam, they need soft close. The rooms need better sound proofing I have never experienced so much noise before. We asked to be moved higher up in the hope it would be quieter but reception told us they were full, ironically you could still book to stay at the hotel online? ? ? I will give good feedback where it is due so here are the positives - entertainers/entertainment was absolutely fantastic, excellent for both adults and children, staff are so lovely ! ***** - Pools brilliant for adults and children and we didn’t struggle getting sunbeds the main pool has a great vibe all day thanks to the entertainment staff - Beach right next to the hotel, what a luxury, the sea was so gorgeous to swim in, the beach has a lovey children’s park and beach bar - Spa - Gym - Alcohol options are pretty good for all inclusive, excellent choice of wines, cocktails and spirits - Stunning senary - Like I said the foods really nice for adults fresh meats, salad and fruit everyday - Cleanliness very good in the hotel If you