Zafiro Menorca

Seems from all the reviews that I am only person who didn’t enjoy themselves here. It’s now been a while since I visited. I’ve been putting off replying as I really didn’t enjoy my time here. Appreciating that it easy to remember all the bad things when filling out these reviews, I thought giving time to settle, I can see for me that a lot of little things that annoyed me, rather than one major one which made me not enjoy myself. I was very much looking forward to coming to this hotel. Average of 4.5 on tripadvisor, all very positive reviews. My main concern is that there is a road running up the middle. I was aware of this but little has been made to make it secure. At one point there is a walkable gap between the small gate and the hedge. Service: Nothing wrong here although not as smiley and helpful as I have experienced at other Zafiro hotels. Was quiet offended by one of kids staff made a joke at the medal games which was offensive to Scottish people in my opinion. I appreciate the person was only repeating what was said my someone else but I don’t pay good money to be pretty much insulted. We do note that Mar Castro was amazing service and excellent with the kids. I wasn’t asked if I had a good time when leaving (I would have mentioned my concerns at that time if asked). Accommodation: Pretty good here. One of my complaints with other Zafiro hotels is they could do with a lick of paint in the rooms and they found the paint brush here. In good condition. Not as roomy inside as other zafiro hotels but made up for the balcony being a good shape and size. All I would say is the sliding door into the bedroom is very squeaky. Not sure how you are meant to open/close it without waking your young children. Be aware the travel cot in your room is a paid extra for this hotel chain. We have been caught out before. Food: Very hit and miss. On the first day there were flies on the bread. Experienced fairly burnt pizza which I felt was embarrassing to serve. Some excellent meals. When they get it right, my word they get it right. The pool bar for lunch was pretty good. Only a single drinks machine in the restaurant, meant a lot of waiting for cold drinks. Drinks: Not as good as normal. Cocktails were pretty poor compared to what we are used to at zafiro hotels. Vodka was good for a local supply. They have a slushy machine for the kids which is also good. Facilities: The usual you would expect, pool, gym, etc. Kids pirate ship has seen better days but maybe that’s the effect the hotel is going for. Didn’t appear that way. There was an annoying step at the kids pool I kept tripping on to get to the back row sunbeds. Could be marked to highlight this. Many a snubbed toe here. Kids club: Saw enough at the first medal games to decide to was better not to leave my kids there. I saw a girl in a zafiro numbered vest walk away unnoticed and came back for a drink a couple minutes later. The same girl did the same thing about 10 minutes later and only to be noticed she wasn’t there when it was her turn to play. My feeling is there wasn’t much genuine interest in the kids apart from one person. This appeared to be just a job rather than real enjoyment and care which I have experienced in other zafiro hotels. There was one person on the entertainments team who I would describe as having unsuitable behaviour to around kids. They should consider themselves as role models in a way. I’ll stop there but there was other things about this that annoyed me. Maybe it was end of season blues. Entertainment: Hit and miss like usual. Abba tribute was very good. Another act had a guy who juggled a lot……very hit and miss. There was an issue with the sound system which was intermitting and very annoying. Would I go back? To this hotel, no despite nothing major going wrong. To another Zafiro hotel, probably would.

Had a lovely family week, the staff work really hard and most are very friendly and helpful, the reception staff were lovely. The food was decent, the pool bar being our preferred option on a lunchtime. As it was the last week of the season the buffet got smaller each day and items that were available every day at the start of the holiday (such as strawberries and peaches) weren't available at the end and sometimes we were told, no sorry there is no chocolate milk left and the ice cream selection was small but that did get rectified. I understand that the hotel is closing and may not want to waste food but we should still be able to order food/drink listed in the menus. The room was comfortable and quiet. Entertainment was ok and it was nice to have a play area and bouncy castle by the bar area. The kids loved the bubble in the pool and joined in many of the kids clubs activities and games, the staff were great with them although the sports games were sometimes taken too seriously with children being shouted at for not trying hard enough or making mistakes in what should be a fun game and perhaps one they had never played before. The indoor pool was a bit too cold and the steam room wasn't working which was a shame as we had a few bad days weather and the outdoor pools were very cold but it didn't stop the kids going in them. The inside entertainment area wasn't great when it was raining as you couldn't see the acts for 3 nights as there wasn't a stage area and it was very small. Our children are 10 and 8 and I would say the hotel is better suited to younger children. Overall we had a great relaxing holiday and would probably return if got another good deal.