Hi,

We stayed at the Protur Vista Badia in June this year, all inclusive, and were very happy with it all. It is right next to the Sa Coma Playa. The different hotels on the complex are all next to/behind/infront of each other. Our apartments were lovely and clean and the staff were very friendly. There are lots of nationalities staying in the complex, we liked the Vista Badia as there was a good mix of English/German/Dutch and Spanish in it, but we heard the Safari was mainly German. We found it nice and quiet in June. We ate most of the time in our own restaurant, but also ate in the Argentinian Grill, and the BBQ restaurant. The Argentinian Grill is in La Reserve, which is the small waterpark, and the BBQ one is in the Safari Hotel. We liked the BBQ one better of the two. We never had any problems in booking the restaurants the same morning as we wanted to eat, but that may be different in busier times. Sometimes if the kids didn't fancy anything in the restaurant we had booked, they had something to eat in our own hotels restaurant after!

The complex has lots of facilities you can use. La Reserva is a small waterpark for protur guests. You do pay to go in it, and the amount depends on what board you are staying on. If you are AI it costs 9 euros each for adults and less for kids, and that includes food and drink all day. It's nice and new, and there was only a handful of people in it when we went.

You can hire bikes for free from the club house, we rode along the beach front at Sa Coma and along to S'illot on a couple of occasions which was lovely.

The complex is behind a main (but not busy) road which takes you to Cala Millor. It takes about 15 minutes to walk or you can get the bus which stops outside.

Sorry I can't give you any info on the Sa Coma Playa itself, but if you need any more info on the complex just ask!

Thanks for all that info, that's just the sort of stuff I want to know.

From looking at a google map it appears that the edge of the whole complex has the road running along it and also a road opposite that takes you down to the beach. Is this the main way down to the beach or would you walk along the road to the resort centre to get to the beach? Does this road going into the main resort have pavements on it? Probably seems like daft questions, but I am curious to know how far out the complex is from the shops etc.

I like the idea of the bikes, although i'd have thought it would be really hot to be cycling, maybe it's not so bad. Do you get cycle helmets provided?

How big is the waterpark - can you spend a day in there or is it basically just a swiming pool with some flumes?

I expect it may still be quiet(ish) at the beginning of July as I think it is only Scotland and maybe Ireland that are on holiday at that time, so hopefully it wont feel overcrowded and theremay not be such bad queues that I have heard about at the club house.

How does the restaurants actually work? Were you free to eat in the restaurants in all the hotels and therefore we'd be able to eat in the restaurant of your hotel? What type of restaurant was that one?

You maybe don't know as you were all inclusive, but do you have any idea of how much drinks cost? For example, how much would a bottle of wine be?

Sorry for all the questions, it's just good to get first hand experience so you know what you will get when you get there. (i'm the type of person that needs to know as much as possible, couldn't just go on holiday into the unkown, lol)

Thanks

what you paid for transfers.

you will be on the same flight anyway as booking a package.did you think there was another plane just for diy bookings.9/10 if you can book a flight cheap and useing different sites for hotels.you can save money.and if the flights are right you can stay for as loing as you wish.not the 7 14 days.

me i have been away for 15/16 and 18 days.useing two airlines sometimes or flying back to another airport.

I don't know if you misunderstood me there, but I just meant that we have found the Thomson flights to be the best option for us. We could obviously have looked into a completely different airline and gone for however long we wanted, but this option worked for us. I do realise that Thomson are not sending out 2 seperate planes at the same time, which is why I said it was easier than I had expected.

I've never done DIY before so the initial thought was a worry, but I just wanted to point out it's not as scary as some people may think.

i see now sorry.yes i book diy all the time.on some trips i have saving over £200.00.

I know what you mean about liking to know lots before you go - I looked up everything I could before we went! The road infront of the Vista Badia and the Sa Coma Playa is called Calle de Baledres and if you follow that along to the small roundabout to the road down to the beach (Ave de las Palmeres) It is about a 5-10 minute walk, with pavements, and shops if you cross over. You can then walk along the beach or into the resort centre. Theres also a huge supermarket a five minute walk behind the complex. It's all within walking distance even with children. A walk or bus ride to Cala Millor is worth it in the evening as there is more going on there.

With the restaurants, you are asked to use your own hotel restaurant and bar. I would think the main restaurants in each of the hotels are much the same - buffet style with a mixture of hot and cold food. The themed restaurants are the ones you book, Argentinian, BBQ, Italian and Tapas. These are dotted around the complex in and around the other hotels.

The water park is a big swimming pool with some slides at one end, and a childrens area at the other. There is a swim up bar and the outdoor restaurant. Theres lots of sun loungers around the pool. Its not like the big water parks you find, but is an alternative to the hotel pools. It seemed very new and clean. If you are not staying all inclusive or half board you may find it quite expensive for what it is. We went on a cloudy day which meant the water was freezing, so we only stayed half the day, but on a nice sunny day it would have been better especially as it was so quiet.

We didn't have helmets with the bikes, but you can ask for them.

Hope that helps!

We used to book package holidays but now we always book DIY, in June this year we booked a very cheap AI with First Choice, then found cheap flights with Monarch, total saved just over £500 for two of us. Our next holiday in October is DIY and again using Monarch for just £65 each return and only £110 for the apartment, saving roughly £200 - £250 for the two of us. Never had any problems booking with different companies, in fact we now prefer going DIY and if you get a good Insurance you should not have any problems.

Only 9 weeks then back to lovely Majorca

Big Al

Morning All!! Booked a long weekend here; just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a good room; big balcony with lots of sun? Thanks in advance.

We are on half board basis. Just wondered if you were able to take your meal at lunchtime?

Pargaluvva - Only recommendation I have is the suites, but I have not stayed here yet. From the photo's on the website these rooms look fantastic. There are 2 balconies as far as I can see, one from the lounge are and one from the bedroom. We've booked this as we have a 14 year old coming and thought it would be better to have the 2 seperate rooms this year. Best thinkg you could do is email the hotel directly and ask their opinion and ask if they can put you in a room that will catch the sun on the balcony. They take about a day to respond to emails, but they do respond.

As far as the lunches go on half borad, I have read somewhere else that you can do this, can't remember where I saw that now, so I believe you can do that, but I don't know for certain. If you find out perhaps you could let me know as that would be very handy for us. I expect when you get there, they are not going to advertise the fact, but if you ask I see no reason why they couldn't do it.

When are you going?

We are on half board basis. Just wondered if you were able to take your meal at lunchtime?

just let you know that lunch times meals cost more than evening meals.depending on hotel a few will let you swap over if say you tell them your going on a trip later.but once is fine any more they could charge you extra.or they will let you walk in eat.then come up to you for money.even though you try to say your not eating later.

best to see head waiter and not ask at desk.

i can see where your coming from.you wish to eat out at night say but not loose a meal.best thing is make sure you get up for breakfast.then make a few cobs up for lunch snacks.just keep an eye out.

Thanks for the tips djwoody, will bear it in mind. I guess hotels make their money sometimes by people not always wanting to eat there, but they are booked as half board. We're there for 11 nights, so might want a change one or two nights. Although I have read that there are a few different restaurants on the resort that you can eat at which are in the half board (or for a small charge extra), although i've read that booking them can be quite diffiuclt as you can only book on the the morning you want to eat there and you have to go to the clubhouse first thing to get a table. I don't see why you can't book in advance. Perhaps this may have changed by the time we get there.

I guess there is no harm in asking, but maybe don't expect it for every day.

8 weeks tomorrow til we leave, can't wait!

Hi Magfo. We go on the 1st July but only for 4 nights . I thought about asking the hotel for a pool view but would this be chargeable? Me and my friend like to eat out in the evening but last year the meals we had weren't anything special so we thought we would try half board. It would be nice if one day we could eat at lunchtime then have our evening meal in a lovely restaurant we found in S'illot.

Hello

Can anyone tell me if there is a dress code for mens trousers in the resturant at this hotel and the other restaurants on the complex (in the other hotels)?

Thanks

6 sleeps!!!

2 more sleeps for me! Gx

Just heard back from the hotel regarding the dress at dinner and they say it has to be long trousers. So if anyone else was wondering, there's the answer.

Pargaluvva - enjoy!!! I can't wait, the place looks brilliant and the latest trip advisor comments are all very positive.

The weather just now looks great too, just what I need to get away from the dismal scottish rain and grey cloud!

Thanks magfo. Me and my best friend are going for a long weekend Fri-Tues. Really looking forward to it and if the Trip Advisor reviews are anything to go by, we are in for a great time . Hope you enjoy yourselves too. Gx

We've just come back from the Vista Badia on the Protur complex and can highly recommend! Have some helpful tips etc if anyone is interested.....

I love the Protur resort, stayed at the Vista Badia on many occasions, however I think it has been spoilt by the introduction of All Inclusive. It used to be a tranquil place during the day, loads of space and plenty of sun beds but now more people stay on site during the day you couldnt move last time we were there. For that reason I dont think i'll go back.

I have nothing against the hotel though, it is spotlessly clean, lovely rooms, great staff (Wendy in reception especially) and if you are looking for a stay on site All Inclusive then I would recommend....just not for me anymore.