Hotel Cal Majoral

The food was delicious, and the hotel itself has a lot going for it: a beautiful old building with modern extensions, clean and comfortable rooms, and lovely places to sit indoors. But the stay felt eerie and deeply disappointing. There were almost no guests or diners, even on a Friday night in August, and hardly any staff around. We were three people staying, plus one other guest, but only two of us had dinner that night. On arrival, a waiter seemed surprised we were expected, despite our having given a 3pm arrival time. The receptionist was lovely and doing her best, but the place felt empty. We came down at 7.30 for a drink before dinner, during the advertised 5.30-8 bar hours, and found ourselves locked in with nobody there. The water cooler was empty, there were cups and saucers but no tea or coffee facilities, and the flowers looked dead. Everything seemed shut away. We eventually spotted people by the pool, which looked like a large paddling pool, and asked where the staff were. They were the staff, and reluctantly came out to serve our drinks and dinner, which we had booked in advance. It felt as if we were an inconvenience, and I felt sorry for the staff who were trying. This seems more like a wedding or function venue than a hotel. We had been really looking forward to staying, so I'm sad it went this way. Hopefully August was just an off spell, but the whole experience was very strange.

The hotel looks great and is in a great location, but we were very disappointed with the stay. Breakfast was poor, and the bed had an uncomfortable ridge down the middle where the two beds joined. There were only two shower towels and two hair towels in the room, with no hand or foot towels. We had to use a hair towel for our hands and the other for our feet. The nearly empty gel and shampoo bottles weren't labeled, so we had no idea which was for what and just had to guess. The internet was awful. Watching a movie in the evening kept freezing, and sharing a video online took repeated attempts. We knew the connection had a low rating on the hotel's Booking.com page, but didn't expect it to be this bad. The walls were extremely thin too. We were between a family with a baby and another with a small child, so I slept with headphones and music, yet could still hear the upstairs guests moving their table. With all of these issues, it was hard to get the sense of disconnection and relaxation you'd hope for in a place out in nature, especially after paying for the basics.

We got a great night's sleep during our one-night family stay. There was no air conditioning in the bedrooms, but with the fans and doors open we didn't feel hot. The hotel was also excellent about communication and even changed my booking when I realised I'd reserved the wrong week.

I've stayed here twice now, and I definitely plan to come back. The surroundings are so quiet, with lovely spots to explore in nature. The people and service were really nice, the bed was extremely comfortable, and the food was good. I'd give it six stars if I could. Highly recommendable!