I booked my holiday to Menorca through On The Beach and was absolutely heartbroken after booking it and reading some very horrible reviews. I have to say now please ignore any bad reviews you may read about these apartments.

There were bad reviews about...

*the apartments not being clean - the cleaner comes every 2 days, changes the sheets and towels and cleans the apartment.
*the grounds being untidy - the gardener was there EVERY day.
*the apartments being dated - unless you go to a brand new apartment block you will find the same style in every place you go.

In all I had a great holiday, lovely weather, friendly staff and only a short 5 minute walk down to the beach.

This was a last min booking, not cheap, my Wife and I and two 4 year olds all paying

The apartment's were set in a lovely pine forest which made the rooms quite dark at times. However this was not a problem as most the time was spent round the pool area.

As we went at the beginning of the season we more or less had the pool and surrounding areas to ourselves which made it lovely and peaceful.

Even though the trees do make the whole complex shady you could still sunbathe around the pool most of the day, just by following the sun around.

Or you could sunbathe on the sandy area behind the pool bar or take the 5 min walk to the beach. Contrary to other reports we did not find the supermarket on the complex to be expensive, in fact many items were cheaper than the other spar shop on "the strip".

There was no evening entertainment, think this was due to being start of season but you could go across the road to the sister hotel.

We did not do this so cannot comment on it. We tried the buffet breakfast on the first morning for Eur 6, but hasten to add we did not go back again.

The hot food did not look at all appetising, in fact its the first time I have ever seen sausages in water!!

My family and I stayed in an apartment in Son Parc. There were 5 of us altogether which ment one of us had to sleep on the sofa bed. The place was clean and the room was cleaned every two days.

The beds were quite comfortable, bathrooms were clean and refreshing, although kitchen was very poor. For the two weeks we stayed the lightbulbs and toaster broke, we reported this and they were sorted out within an hour or two.

The area is nice to look at but it is shaded quite alot due to the trees. The food at the BBQ was expensive but it was nice. Entertainment was poor for children aged between 11-16, there isn't alot to do for them.Young children would have a great time because there are clubs and mini disco's at night, adults have good entertainment in the evenings.

The staff are polite and speak good English, especially the receptionists.There is a big problem with the ants, meaning we couldn't open some of the windows due to them coming into the rooms.

My family have just returned from a ten night break at Confortel Son Park.

Unfortunately I was rather disappointed with the apartments. I knew it was set in a pine forest what I didn't realise is that you never knew if it was day or night in the room!

My eldest child wanted to have a swim in the pool even he wasn't daring enough and brave the icy water, the toddler pool was no warmer either, though I am not surprised as the whole pool ares are covered with pine trees hence no sun all year round!

The room itself was basic but clean when we arrived although they were sort of cleaned our sheets were only changed twice in ten days so we spent most nights shaking the sand out of them before we went to bed. The balcony was never swept whist we were there and towards the end there was more sand on it than on the beach!

As we went at nearly the end of season the entertainment was useless and three acts that should have been on never turned up. I was informed by the hotels children's entertainer that this was because there wasn't enough people to participate,charming!

I won't be going back!

If you have young children and want a straightforward, fairly quiet beach-and-pool based holiday then Confortel Sol Parc should fit the bill quite well. I went with my 5 year old daughter and thoroughly enjoyed it.

We travelled with First Choice and their Kids Club reps were excellent - my daughter enjoyed at least two separate two hour sessions every day where the reps properly and actively kept the kids entertained with fun and games based around a different theme every day.

The complex is set in the middle of a pine forest meaning that whole swathes (including the pool area) were in the shade for most of the day. Fine if you're paranoid about skin cancer but if you're a sun-worshipper you'll need to head for the beach.

The shade means that the pool, even at the height of summer varies in temperature from "only-just-warm-enough" to "Yikes that's cold!"

As well as the main pool there's a toddlers pool, basic sports facilities (volleyball nets etc), and a couple of children's play areas.

There's a couple of bars / eating places, a supermarket, and a souvenir shop.

Apartments are basic but perfectly adequate, and like the rest of the complex are clean and well maintained.

Our brochure described the complex as being located "beach-front". Erm, yeah, well on one of its boundaries the complex ends where the sand starts, so I suppose that's technically true. However, its a big complex and you've got a fair old trek across the dunes to get to the sea. If your apartment is at the wrong end of the complex, and you are laden with inflatables and beach towels, with young children in tow it'll take a full 15 minutes from closing your apartment door to dipping your toes in the Med. Its well worth it when you get there though - the beach is absolutely wonderful. Its clean, safe, and not too crowded even at the height of summer.

In summary then, Sol Parc is a clean, well-maintained complex fulfilling all the basic requirements, ideal for a family with young children.

All the previous comments relating to this hotel are pretty accurate: freezing cold pool, trees obscuring most of the sunlight, ant infestation, uncomfortable beds in the lounge etc. But on the plus side this was an extremely family-friendly and relaxing place to stay but definitely off-limits for party animals. There was a nice mixture of Brits, Spaniards, Italians and Germans plus the usual chavs and tattoed pond life. Rumour has it the Germans have now bought it out. First Choice were out-bid and won't be there in 2006.

Distinctly average food-wise unless you're into scoffing burgers, chips and beer every day (which many people are sadly). The restaurants out on 'the strip' fared little better with below-average paella and meat dishes. However well worth a visit is Fornells just a few miles away by bus or car which boasts a number of top-notch fish restaurants. A superb family meal with wine would set you back just 60 Euros.

Nightly entertainment at the hotel was quite good particularly from the hotel's kiddy-friendly entertainers. We bought the mini disco CD and had a good old singalong in the car on the way home from the airport!!

A lot of people were moaning about how pricey things were. A guy told me how incensed he was paying

We went to the Confortel Hotel for 1 week in July and I was a bit apprehensive because I have never been in Peak season before with my two young children, but I need not have worried because Son Parc is ideal for young families as it is not rowdy at all and everything shuts about 11.30pm.

The Hotel is very basic and quite dated but very clean as the maid came every other day with clean towels. We were upstairs and felt like we were in the trees due to the Pine Forest.

The only complaint I have about being upstairs is that there are no lifts and therefore you have to carry prams etc upstairs which is not brilliant when your child is asleep.

I thought the Pine trees were fine as they provided shelter when you came out off the hot sun and we saw staff everyday sweeping the pine needles up. The balcony that we had was quite large and the bedroom was not too bad a size.

There is a fan in the bedroom but to be honest this just circulated warm air and did nothing to cool us down, but you can hire more fans etc from reception. There is a fridge, hob, microwave and toaster in your room. There is no electric kettle but a small one that you boil on the hob which we managed with. The bathroom was very dated but clean and the shower was very powerful.

We never went around the pool as it was quite small and cold and the beach was handy. There is a walkway down to the beach which about a five minute walk going and 10 coming back!

The only problem is that half of the walkway collapsed three weeks ago and they had still not fixed it therefore half way you have to walk through the sand dune which is very hard work with a pram and coming back up hill. The beach was great and I felt very safe with my children as the water was very shallow for ages and the beach was not too large so you could keep an eye on them. When you walk down the walkway (when mended!) suggest you go right as they sea there is better and there are no rocks going into the sea.

My kids loved the complex as there were plenty of kids about and they made friends straightaway. The entertainment that they put on for the kids is excellent and they loved the mini disco. My two year old used to wake in the morning and wanted to dance again on the stage! The entertainment was also good a few of the nights for the adults.

The strip was very near by and we ate there a few nights. There are numerous bouncy castles etc here for the kids which you can easily watch whilst you have a drink. We would definitely return to Son Parc but unfortunely not to Confortel next year as we were told on numerous occasions that this has been bought out by the Germans who are turning it into an all inclusive next year.

We have jusy returned from a weeks stay at this hotel.We were allocated on arrival ,so a bit worried where we might end up.

We were delighted with our accommodation. Rooms are a bit dated,but had everything you need,even a fan in the bedroom. Pool area is very shaded,which is good for young children,but not so good for sunbathing.

The beach is just a short walk over the sand dunes.The beach is beautiful and the sea is very safe for children.Entertainment was good. Kool and the Gang,Tom Jones and an African band. Something on every night. Games are played all day,if you want to join in,Archery,pistol shooting,basketball etc.

Not much to do outside of hotel.We hired a car,and saw nearly all of the island. The walk from the hotel to Arenal is a bit of a trek,but well worth it for the view over the cliffs.

Would highly recommend this hotel. Only complaint we had was the beds in the living room were not very comfortable.

The apartment we were in was No.37 and it was fab.

My mother had to sleep on the wee pull out bed though in the living area and found it uncomfortable sometimes.

We tried the BBQ on our first night which was nice. The Hotel location is ok, we hired a car for 2 days to get a change of scenery, Mahon Market on a Saturday Morning was great and only took 20 mins to drive there.

The Hotel Staff are friendly and nice. The girls who do the Entertaining are great and listening to their accents are brill. My wee girls loved the mini disco.