we tried to book at this hotel this month,but for some reason we couldent.we eventually settled for another hotel on the island.out of curiosity we went to see the town,and decided to pass by the esmerelda hotel.we soon found out why we couldent book there.the esmerelda is no more,just a sad pile of rubble.it is all fenced off and deserted,with just an eerie silence broken by the odd gust of wind.what a sad end to a lovely hotel.i would to know the reasoning behind it,madness.

This hotel has the potential to be lovely. Ciutadella is beautiful and we would definately visit there again.

Unfortunately, the thing that let this hotel down was the food. One word - "pants". It was truely awful.

Luckily the food descriptions on labels above meant you knew what the food was - you couldn't always tell by looking. It really was that bad. On several occasions we walked in and then walked out. Hubby ate the kids nuggets and chips to keep him going. Youngest daughter survived on bread rolls. Year before we had been to another all inclusive on the island and she ate really well.

There are two restaurants, one which you have to book a table. The food in the second restaurant was much better, but really it was only adequate. It should of been like this in the other restaurant as well. We don't know why it was so different.

Ice cream and ice lollies were nice for the kids. Chocolate poffiteroles were lovely! I just should of eaten more to get me through the week!

This hotel is good if you're on a diet.

Room was nice, cleaned promptly, air con excellent. Need to improve entertainment in the evenings - a couple of good acts though.

Kids went to kids club and enjoyed themselves.

Swimming pool was nice, salt water was fine. Lots of sun beds.

The hotel was nice and clean but the food was very repetitive and many people complained but it was nice. There was only 1 restaurant open as they said it was not high season - in July!!! After many complaints they did open it but the food was just the same as the other restaurant.

I was worried about the salt water pool but it was great. The hotel was not very busy so there was plenty of room around the pool and you could always get a sunbed.

The entertainement was poor but they did have a couple of outside entertainers that were reasonable.

My boys loved the kids club and the girls who looked after them were great.

There were rumours that the hotel was being demolished in October....

Once again stayed at this hotel for 2 weeks, enjoyed it, and it is really good value for money. Don't expect the Ritz, it is a bit stuck in the 70s, so in need of modernisation, but is very clean and tidy.

We love the location, but it is good to hire a car, as it is a town more than a resort, so not for beach lovers really!. Lovely harbour to stroll along, leading to lovely unspoilt Cuidadella town center, with its narrow cobbled streets, and lovely square where regular buses line up to take you all over the island. Also you can get free bus outside hotel to Cala n Bosch, which has nice beach and harbour.

Also bike hire is free at the Esmeralda, and the air conditioning too. This hotel catered for every age and walk of life, it's not at all rowdy, no British bars, bucket n spade shops etc.

Lovely clean saltwater pools,plenty of sunbeds and chairs..

Food is more English than Spanish we thought, and although good selection, does get a bit repetative, so in second week we had a few lovely meals out down at the harbour, which as we paid the same price for all inc as some paid at other places nearby for self catering, we didn't mind..

The only grumbles are...the toaster in the restaurant at breakfast time! Very slow and has big queue, you'll find out!..and also they could do with some fly zappers too...but I can live with that and will go back here again.

kids loved it too!......

All in all...you get what you pay for!!...ps, definatly pay for a sea view, 4 euros a day, and it makes all the difference!

We stayed at the Esmaralda for two weeks. I asked for a sea view but when arrived got put into a back room there was no balcony, just a rotted window which when opened had a shear drop. As we had 2 small children this was dangerous. The room was awful!

I complained and was told that as the hotel was full that
I would have to spend one night in it and could have a sea view in the morning.

We eventually got moved at lunch time the next day. The sea view with balcony is at a small charge of 4 euros a day, it was well worth it!

The difference was like being moved from a tent to a palace!
the view was fantastic, and the room was quite spacious and very clean.

If you want a sea view state it by fax or email before you arrive, I telephoned and it wasn't recorded.

Overall the hotel was really nice, food was plentyful and varied, with small kids menu.

The pool is saltwater which none of us minded, kids were happy, it was cleaned every day.

The hotel is in a fantastic location, overlooking the mouth of the harbour, our kids loved watching the ferries and boats coming in and out.

The staff were pleasant enough, they had there own entertainment team which kept the kids happy, but not really enough entertainment for the adults.

As the hotel was full you would think there would be queues for food and drink as we were all inclusive, but we didn't have to queue at all.

We all enjoyed our stay there and would go again some time in the future.

We would recommend you hire a car to discover this beautiful island!

Just got back from the Esmeralda. This is our third visit to this hotel. As for cleanliness, helpfulness of staff,location this is excellent.

The food we thought was good although by the end of two weeks you tend to get fed up the the same old thing.

The entertainment was diabolical, one of the reasons why we have returned to the hotel so many times is the entertainment but we were very disappointed this time. A couple of times we had professional shows but the rest of the time was makeshift quizzes or competitions. A 3.30 you had to move back from the pool because water polo started with huge adults dunking and pushing in the children. Again with a little more organisation there could have been a children's then an adult game.

Only a couple of moans from us, yes we will probably return knowing that the entertainers will be moving on.

We stayed for a week in the Esmerelda and in general found this to be a pretty good hotel. The rooms are spacious and clean, but not all have a balcony and if you want a sea view you must make this clear at time of booking as we had problems with this when we arrived.

The food is ok but can be slightly repetitive. The waiting staff are very friendly and helpful in the main restaurant. But this is not the case with the bar staff who are very abrupt and seem to find serving the drinks a chore.

In general for a week the hotel is good, its ten minutes walk from the beautiful harbour with all its bars and restaurants and in a good location.

Just come home from a week in the hotel.It was our first time abroad so cant judge much.

The hotel is cleaned every day and kept that way.The food was lovely but could have been hotter but cant judge again as first time away.

There was always plenty to choose from every day of the week.The hotel is in a quiete but lovely part of the Ireland.There is always buses every hour to diffrent parts of the Ireland wich you must see.The hotel staff are always on hand to help in anyway.

The entertainment was very poor but we went at the beginning of the season so should pick up soon.

I would definitely come back to this hotel but more in the season.

Just returned from the Esmerelda, didn't expect such lovely weather for mid May! Its the beginning of the season, so hotel not very full, there was a good mixture of ages, and a few who had made return visits like we probably will!

The hotel was lovely and clean, it had just been freshly painted, although it is a bit dated..def either book a sea/pool view room or upgrade for 4 euros a night..well worth it..lovely clean pool, although its salt water, you get used to it, take your goggles!


The food was better than I expected(from reading previous reviews on here)..don't expect a la carte though, good selection at all meal times.

Our kids loved the food which was quite amazing! The only thing was the toasting machine at breakfast, it has to go round 4 times, very slowly! But it was only thing I heard people moaning about in dining room!

The drinks at the bar are good, snack bar for kids at poolside was good too! Its in quiet location, no English bars or bucket & spade shops! Which suited us fine.

A 10 min stroll up road takes you to lovely cuidadella, with its quaint cobbled streets and lovely square..or walk along the harbour to nice traditional restaurants..free bus to nearby cala n bosch from hotel where theres a nice beach and things for kids to do.

Staff were helpfull and knew their jobs, but not over friendly. Entertainment wasn't very good, but hopefully this will pick up for higher season..not too much for kids to do, but they seemed happy enough running about with new friends, football court and playground at back of hotel, and had good time!

Already looking at returning later this year, all in all its a good value for money hotel..you get what you pay for, and it was very reasonable.

Our first impression of the Esmeralda was that it looked a very nice hotel.

We got there rather late on a Friday night and were told there would be a meal waiting for us as we had missed our evening meal. We checked in and took the advice of others from this website and upgraded to a sea view room - well worth the money. If you don't you are likely to have a room overlooking the children's play area and looking directly onto other buildings or be looking at a mound of grass!!

We left our cases in reception and went through to the restaurant for our evening meal. Unfortunately, we weren't too keen on what was awaiting us!! There were plates on the tables with a slice of ham, slice of cheese and a few bits of lettuce wrapped in cling film - we decided to wait until breakfast!!

As the holiday progressed, the food appeared to get worse. It seemed to be the same food day in, day out. The soup was like water and the food wasn't very warm. We ended up living on hotdogs from the snackbar in the end.

The hotel itself was nice enough, found it to be clean, our room was nice and the view was lovely.

The staff seemed pleasant enough too.

We just had a bit of a problem with the weather and location. During our stay, it practically rained throughout, was very windy and we had a thunder and lightning storm one night. There wasn't really much to do. We couldn't go to the pool as it was too cold - not the hotel's fault, we know.

The beach looked quite nice and peaceful but rather small and there was never anyone there. We later heard that the sea at this particular spot was contaminated, how true that is, we do not know. There is a bus to a bigger beach but the weather stopped us from going. There is a nice harbour with boats coming and going but theres only so many times you can walk along the same stretch!! In our opinion, we found the location to be aimed at locals rather than tourists. There weren't too many shops about but loads of estate agents!! The only trips the hotel seemed to offer were those on a boat and we didn't fancy travelling by sea given the weather conditions!!

All in all we were rather disappointed with our holiday. There were quite a number of guests leaving the same day as us and I didn't hear one person say a good word about the place. New guests were arriving and some people were telling them to get back on their bus and go home as they wouldn't enjoy it. We heard that the hotel had been taken over by new management and since then had gone downhill as the new owner didn't seem interested, again, we don't know whether this is true or not.

We would travel back to Menorca but I think next time we will choose an area which is closer to amenities and beaches. We don't want an action packed holiday but we do want something to do whilst we are away from home.