Son Bou has the biggest beach, with a reasonable selection of hotels & restaurants.

Cala'N Bosch has more to do but not the same quality of beach (it's two are nice but not "as" nice)

Cala Galdana may well be the best bet. good beach, a bit more to do than son bou & some respected hotels.

Definately Cala'n Bosch
Something for everyone, still keeping the typical Menorcan quiet resort feel. Has a small marina with some excellent bars and restaurants. The beach is lovely very safe and shallow with beautiful white sand and clear sea. The area is also very flat so easy to get around and with an excellent bus service you can travel anywhere. There are lots of nice hotels and apartments in the resort to suit every budget. One of the nicest resorts i have been to- you cannot go wrong! Enjoy!!

Hi Paul

I would agree that Calan Bosch would suit. There is plenty to do for the kids - amusements, bouncy castles, trampolines and a water park within walking distance. The Marina is shaped like a horseshoe and comes alive at night (although low key with one or two pubs opening until the small hours and no nightclubs). Plenty of restaurants to cater for all tastes and budgets and you can visit a different one each night if so wished. The two beaches are lovely and relatively safe for children with pedaloes etc to hire on them. A good selection of shops and supermarkets. A good bus route into Cuitadella if not hiring a car.

There are a good selection of apartments and villas to suit all and most cater for all the family providing entertainment.

Sarah

Thanks for the replies....

The resort calan de bosch looks like the resort we will stay in.

Therefore, can anyone recommend a 4 or 5 star hotel which is central to the resort and offers either All Inclusive or Half Board basis.
The hotel also needs to be child friendly.

Having looked in the brochures, we do like a hotel called "GRUPOTEL CLUB TURQUESA MAR" which is listed in the Thomson premier collection which is a new listed hotel.

A week in summer 08, AI is roughly £630 per adult for 1 week.

Does anyone know if this hotel is for Germans!!!!!

As its left to me to find the hotel and location, the last thing I want to do is book all my family into a hotel full of germans...

Also, we have agreed between two dates, either beginning of June or beginning of September, which time would you recommend...

Thanks for your input..

Paul

I haven't stayed in the particular hotel you mentioned but a few years ago I did stay at another Grupotel property 'Tamariscos' apartments in cala'n bosch. This property, I felt, was geared up mainly for German tourists and I think after reading reviews on several of their other properties I think that this maybe the case with others also. I think the hotel you're considering is fairly new so there doesn't appear to be many reviews.

I would say though, part of the appeal, in my opinion of Cala'n Bosch is the fact that there are so many lovely restaurants to dine out at around the marina area. Have you considered the self catering option? I know you mentioned that you have a wide age range travelling with you, the resort is very compact and easy to get around so don't think this would cause a problem for any of your party. The last time I went our group age ranged from 2 to 60 and we all had a great time.

I've booked to go next year to Paradise Club apartments in CNB which appear to have something for everyone and have got some great reviews and I know are in a really convenient location right by the marina. They also have a restaurant on site that you can use and just pay a set price as and when you want. Also Casas del Lago have some really good reviews, I remember from my last visit these are very well situated too.

Hope this helps, but whatever you decide, have a great holiday!

I've read that this hotel is actually in son xoriguer not sure how close this is to Cala n Bosch.........Have also read that it is 90% German so you may want to look elsewhere.

you can view some of the locations on this link - http://www.islas.co.uk/bosch_map.htm I found that site very useful for reading up on my recent visit. Son Xouriger is about 10 minutes walk from the Lago (marina) but if other nationalities bother you, the whole island may not be for you as there are plenty of Italians & Germans around, but I find them to be more polite than most of our own countryfolk can be.

I agree with Hyper that there is a good cross section of nationalities in Calan Bosch and that they are all polite and friendly. I think the mix of people make it a lovely place to visit. Not too, dare I say, British.

The Casas Del Lago Apartments are ideal. They are located directly opposite the beach and look across the Marina. We stayed here in 2006 and it was one of the best holidays we have ever had.

The Calan Bosch Hotel is an all inclusive but some of the reviews arent too favourable. I have also read reports for the Marinda Gardens and ROC Lago Park and both of these have good reviews. You can find half board accommodation but I would agree that self catering is a good option. There are plenty of restaurants that cater for all tastes and all welcome children who have their own menus, high chairs if required and a lollipop after their meals (which was a definate bonus for my daughter that year ).

Wherever you choose, Calan Bosch is lovely and I would not hesitate to recommend it.

Sarah

Thanks for the replies so far....

Hyper - other nationalities don`t bother me the slightest, its just that being a new hotel for 2008 for thompson, i dont want to be in a hotel with 200 germans and only 10 English, we stayed in RIU Hotel in the canaries one year and there were germans jumping the que and a few blowing their noses as loud as possible when we were in the resaurant, very bad filthy manners

We want a hotel with a good selection of nationalities and as stated before, close to the marina, good entertainment, child friendly, good food.....Are we asking too much

Any more suggestions welcome..

Oh yes, is the water shallow from the beach into the sea?

the water is extremely shallow. You can go a good 20-30 metres out walking (or I could anyway and i'm only short)

Arenal d'en Castell has a nice beach and enough to support holidaymakers who don't wish to hire a car. About a dozen or so bars/restaurants.

The paradise club does have some good reviews..

On booking holidays in Majorca, is it best to book with the well known high street travel agents, ie, First Choice, or is there a independant travel agent for Menorca, or the hotel direct.

Cheers

Where you flying from Paulie as it's prob cheaper to do it yourself? What dates also.

I know there's a large party of you but it still can be done.

Sorry Paulie, is it Majorca or Menorca you're interested in booking?

nicjw - sorry it is menorca not majorca as indicated in my last message.

We will be flying from BIRMINGHAM.

We have 2 dates in mind, but are undecided at the moment.

Dates are,

Fri 6 June 08 or,
Fri 5 Sept 08

Based on some staying for 7 and others staying for 14 nights

Our party involves 8 adults, 3 children and 1 infant, the other family members are sorting out there own booking.

cheers

Hi Paul

With regards DIY or booking through tour op I did lots of research myself before I booked next years hol to see which was cheaper.

If you are interested in the Paradise Club I know that for me it was cheaper to book through the tour op but think this may have been because I needed to book school hol time. The only tour op these apartments are available through is Mytravel group - I booked through Direct Holidays but due to the amendments being made to Birmingham flights you can no longer book through them at the moment although they are available through Mytravel (not sure about your dates though).

As mentioned I looked at DIY and these apts were not coming up as available on sites like Travel Republic and Alpha Rooms but I did manage to get prices through the hotels website http://www.marhotels.com. It also has more up to date photos showing the refurbished rooms.

Coincidentally I was looking at flights myself for 6th June from Bham in the hope if I can find something cheap enough I'll get a 2nd holiday next year! Flymonarch I think came up the cheapest.

Hope this info helps.

Nic

Hi

When it comes to booking it without using a tour operator it all comes down to the flights. If you can get cheap flights then it is worth doing it yourself. I have found that when I book early or late season I can get the cheap flights but during the summer I have used a tour operator. Of course if you book very early the scheduled flights will still be cheap. However, we tend to book late, like 4 weeks to two dasys ahead. Last year I keep an eye on the prices for a long time before I booked independently with Travel Republic and flights with Thomson about four weeks before we left late May. I then noticed that the prices with the tour operators seemed less expensive in November but later increased again until they became real Late Deals. This year I will probably book early as we are meeting up with friends who cannot be as flexible as we can be. For you there might be some cheap flights left but if you want to book it independently and aren't flexible don't wait too long.

Have just checked the mar website and it doesn't seem to be working.

Try visitmenorca.com as prices for Paradise Club and others are coming up on there. Only giving half board prices for Paradise Club though.

Sorry the link is http://www.visitmenorca.com