Going myself to Palma 5th to the 10th so interested as well, will be a city break mainly but intending to go and see our favourite summer haunts to see how they look in winter.

Same here, got a great deal from the RIU Playa Park but intend to spend most of our time in Palma, might do Soller again as well.

Rob

Hi Voyger79

We returned from the Riu Playa Park on 6th November and had a fab week. The hotel and staff were great, we found the food choices slightly repetetive compared to other all inclusives we have stayed at but never the less the quality could not be faulted and the staff were fantastic with our two year old!!
The only downside really was that there was no car park which meant we had to park a couple of blocks away some evenings but that was about it.

Hope you have a fab time!

Hi MSC,

Thanks for that, its only 3 weeks away now, we are going for a long weekend (Thur-Mon) arnt driving and leaving the kids to be spoiled by thier granparents (the kids are looking forward to it more than we are!). Its been a while (25 years) since I was in Playa de Palma but Ive been to the island loads in the last few years. Thanks for letting me know about the hotel, we picked it because it was good value and only 20 mins from the airport. We plan on eating out a couple of times so hopefully we wont have a problem with the menu.

Thanks for replying again, we really appreciate everybodys comments here as since we have been members we havnt made a bad choice on accomodation or resort.

Rob

Hi Rob

I'm very green eyed! I would love to be going back to Majorca just me and the hubby for a few days, but alas its not meant to be just yet!

I imagine Playa de Palma may have changed alot in 25 years, it is VERY German orientated now but we never found that a problem, infact i think the Germans sometimes have higher expectations than the British and this generally leads to better standards. The sea front is pretty much pedestrian only now and it was a lovely walk in both directions in the day and after dinner, although many of the bars are either closed or only open on a wknd there were still a few open. (more open if you head towards Arenal, left rather than towards Palma on the right). The only downside is the 'looky looky men' but a stern 'no thanks' usually got rid of them.

The Riu P/P was about 95% German guests when we arrived but i would say by the end of the week it would have been about 60% German 40% British - i think thats mainly to do with the web deals.

Just a few things that may or may not help you.....

If you havent already i would contact the hotel and ask for a sea view room on the 6th or 7th floor - the sea views any lower will be restricted and the views really are fantastic you could see right over to the port in Palma and the cruise ships coming and going was a lovely sight, they dont charge for a sea view its just a case of luck if you get one but they do go out of their way to meet requests.

Dinner is on two sittings 6.00 and 7.30, the 6.00pm sitting seemed to be the much busier, but you do get allocated a table for the duration of your stay, there are lots of buffet lines and drinks stations (self service beer and wine!!) but there is often a queue. They are constantly bringing out fresh food though.

If you are in need of an ATM there is one just a few yards down the road from the hotel, head right out of the main entrance down the hill and it is on the right hand side amongst the first few shops.

The vending machines in the hotel are VERY expensive, 1 Euro 50 cents for a 500ml bottle of water, a litre was 79 cents in a shop down the road! Also avoid the chocolate in them, i had a desparate need for a sugar fix one night and my hubby got me a kit kat that whilst it wasnt out of date had gone very soggy!! A few people commented on the machines...

There is no hotel shop and we found that there was no where close by to get English newspapers so if you do want one i wouldnt bother going in search!! Also, (i assume because its out of season) the shops by the hotel were shut by 8pm, and the ones along the front didnt seem to reopen after the siesta time.

There are notices EVERYWHERE about not taking drinks to your rooms but we never had a problem we just brought the glasses back down each time.

The roads around the hotel are very narrow with cars parked both sides so when you come to leave for the airport give yourself a bit of extra time when calling a taxi, we sat for over 20 minutes one morning whilst a TUI bus dropped people off at a hotel and then couldnt get into the road it needed till someone had moved their car!!! We were told its a common occurence!

Oh and if you want cheap booze or cigs to take home its worth a trip into Magalluf, we only went for a nose really and were surprised to find that alot of it was closed down but there are still the odd few shops open and they are much cheaper than the ones in PDP or the airport....

Hope you dont think i'm rambling but figured if you are only there for a few days it might help.

Hope the weather is as good for you....

Hi MSC,

Thanks for all the info, its the first time in 3 years we have managed a break without the kids so Im really looking forward to it. I dont mind the German influence at all, have done Palma Nova a couple of times recently and am looking forward to the change.

The hotel sounds great, I will let you know how we get on when we come back, we have done a couple of all inclusives in Salou and so am used to having to queue from time to time but hopefully as its nowout of season the hotel may be quieter.

Thaks again for posting.

Rob

The Christmas lights in Palma are really very special and shopping for Christmas presents will be a joy. Tito's nighclub on Paseo Maratimo is stylish, hedonistic and friendly. With luck the temperature will hover around 16 degrees and you should enjoy sunny blue skies. There are some fabulous restaurants to try but remember people tend to eat later than in the UK. Have a great time!

Only returned home on Tuesday but the temp in Palma on Monday about noon was 25deg near to the train / bus station, one of the best sights in Magaluf was locals wearing t-shirts and shorts during the day then woolies at night.

Hi,

Thanks very much for all your help, will try Titos, its been ages since we have been able to just wonder around Palma and we are both really looking forward to it.

Will let you know how we get on when we get back.

Rob

Got back last night and had a great time, the weather has broken for Winter it seems as the temperatures had dropped from what it had been the week before from what the papers were saying; over 5 days we had 2 days of rain and the other 3 were glorious sunshine with the odd spot of cloud where you could happily walk round in t-shirts when it was sunny but I would say not shorts.

We drove some 800km over the 5 days mostly to see the places we love in Summer in Winter ie stood in a howling rain storm on the edge of Cala Pi and drove to Cala D'or to see just how dead a place can be with all the shops, cafe's etc bubble-wrapped till next season, though we did manage to have Tapas in Cala D'or sat outside with another English couple at the one place open all year round.

The highlight though was a night out in Palma Christmas shopping, forget New York! Palma at Xmas is absolutely lovely, the lights are gorgeous and very stylish; Lots of Spanish familes wandering round even after 10pm enjoying the evening, lots of those little back alleys festooned with lights and packed with shoppers. After several hours just enjoying the walk round Palma we ate at the Block House and had easily the best Steak I've ever had, comes highly recommended.

We're already planning a return next Christmas to Palma.

Cant wait to go.We are off on the 18th for 11 nights and staying in Cala Millor.

Thanks everybody, we go out on Thursday and now cant wait.
Rob

Just got back, Palma at christmas was fantastic, the lights were brilliant and the markets great fun.

Weather was ok with 2 really good days and 2 ok, if you get the chance go on the tour bus, it takes about 1 hour 30 mins to go around and you also get headphones for the commentry, you can jump on and off as many times as you like and it stopsat all the good pleaes like the catherdral, castle, spanish village etc. It costs 13 euros for a 24 hour pass.

So for a short break I would definatly reccomend it.