After two flights and no luggage, we finally arrived at the hotel after picking up our car from Hertz in the blink of an eye.
As a reminder, here is the “replacement” itinerary for our summer vacations:
Booking
We booked a little late, at the beginning of July, as a fallback from our reluctantly cancelled trip to the USA.
We opt for Mallorca and its almost guaranteed sunshine.
Still benefiting from special rates at Marriott, I booked at the St. Regis Mardavall in Majorca, having already tested the Castillo Son Vida several times with Bertrand.
Two weeks before our arrival, I requested a Suite Night Award for the 9 nights of our stay, which was accepted for a magnificent 120 m2 Ocean One suite with sea view, excellent. Suite value: €2,300, price paid: €200.
Arrival
After many ups and downs, we arrived at the hotel by car at around 7pm for check-in.
The valet takes charge of our vehicle and our (few) luggage, and the concierge greets us at the hotel door, leading us through the lobby to the terrace, where we check in. The concierge offers to manage the luggage problem for us. We declined, but we shouldn’t have…
We entrust our passports to the receptionist, then a welcome drink, a very successful smoothie, is served along with some snacks.
Check-in takes a little while due to the formalities required by the Spanish authorities, but we enjoy the view, the sun and the warmth.
A few minutes later, the receptionist returns to let us know that everything is fine, and takes an imprint of our credit card before escorting us to our room.
Room
Hotels no longer upgrade above Suite Night Awards, so we’ll have the room allocated after using them, i.e. a magnificent Ocean One suite, located on the 5th floor of the property.
Our room was located in the west extension, offering an even more direct view of the ocean.
The suite occupies almost a third of a floor’s surface area, and its size makes it one of the largest ever occupied in a hotel.
Once through the door, you’re greeted by a large entrance (a little too large, in fact), with its own toilet (with underfloor heating), a guest closet, access to the large dressing room and the beautiful glass door to the lounge.
The lounge is huge!
On the right is a good-sized, high-quality desk, with all the right connections.
On the left is the kitchenette, almost fully equipped (all that’s missing is an oven) with full fridge, hob, utensils and cutlery. We’ll be using it several times to change restaurants in and around the hotel.
Near the balcony you’ll find a dining table for 4 to 6 people, beautifully decorated, and a well-equipped lounge with armchairs and a sofa in colors reminiscent of the ocean.
The bedroom is separated from the lounge by double doors. It’s a good-sized room, with a table for ladies to prepare and a very comfortable king-size bed.
It’s rare enough to say it, but the USB and power connections are perfect around the bed. No need to contort your body to plug in your devices.
The walk-in wardrobe is a good size, so you can settle in for 14 nights without any problems.
The bathroom is large too. It features a bathtub with whirlpool jets, a large walk-in shower, two beautiful original basins and a totally separate toilet with bidet.
In short, a super suite, ideal for our 9-night stay.
Here it is on video:
Hotel facilities
Like all good resorts, the hotel offers plenty of facilities to keep guests occupied during their stay, when they’re not exploring the island.
Kids Club
For our parent readers, a kids’ club is available to keep your little ones occupied while you sip cocktails by the pool, open from 9am to 6pm.
Swimming pools
The pool itself, or should I say the 3 main pools, overflow into each other. So perfectly blue that you want to dive in all the time.
Lifeguards are on hand from 9am to 7pm to seat you in deckchairs with comfortable mattresses.
Two towels per person and systematic disinfection of mattresses after use. At the time of our visit in August 2020, hotel occupancy was so low that only 30% of mattresses were occupied. The service is perfect, and all drinks can be ordered from the poolside and garden bars.
Spa – Wet zone
The hotel also features an Arabella spa, located on the 2nd floor.
The entire wetland area is accessible to customers free of charge. It’s very well equipped, with both an indoor and outdoor pool. A jacuzzi is also available, but a little cold for my taste (same temperature as the pool, but you’d expect a lot more from a jacuzzi).
A second area is available, with a second indoor saltwater pool, heated to 40 degrees. Very, very pleasant feeling of being in the Dead Sea.
The saltwater pool is bordered by various rooms: a Finnish sauna, a steam room, a cold room with ice and a bucket of cold water, and a pleasant saltwater steam room. Sensory showers in perfect working order complete the picture. The area is very pleasant and quiet, as it is forbidden to people under 16.
Spa treatment
We also booked a couple’s massage one morning.
We booked the day before, and received a paper confirmation in our room (admittedly a little late, on the morning of the treatment). The 50-minute massage costs €110 per person, which is expensive, but we’re in a St. Regis, with the environment that goes with it.
We arrive a few minutes before the scheduled massage time. We’re seated in the lobby to fill in the health form, a bit in the passageway. A bottle of water (not fresh) is brought to us.
Our masseuses then pick us up and take us into the room. The environment is not particularly brand new. It feels more like a Sheraton Catania than a St. Regis. The light is not dimmed. In short, not a spa atmosphere. By the way, this is an Arabella spa, not an Iridium Spa like other St. Regis properties.
The massage was excellent and our masseuses extremely professional. But at €110 for 50 minutes, you can expect an intensely relaxing experience.
Once the massage is over, a tea is brought to us in the lobby, right next to the creaking door… Not very good. I still tip the masseuses because it’s not their fault, but we won’t return.
Food options
The hotel features 3 restaurants. During our stay, 2 of the 3 restaurants, including the Michelin-starred one, remained closed due to the property’s low occupancy. The last, however, is not to be missed.
Aqua Restaurant – Dinner service
We dined many times at Aqua, the brasserie with a large terrace on the property’s first floor.
I have to say the staff are lovely. Always a few minutes to make us feel at ease every evening. Warmth with a delicate touch to preserve our privacy. Great luxury in training, undeniably.
The entire staff is trilingual: Castilian, English and German (the main foreign clientele for the hotel and the island as a whole).
The menu is quite extensive, offering a variety of pleasures for a long stay like ours.
The chef even innovates for us with succulent spaghetti with black truffles, which we ask for several times.
Don’t miss: salt-crusted sea bass and beef chateaubriand roasted to perfection. And it’s all very hearty!
It’s obviously not cheap, but not much more expensive than elsewhere in the area for a meal of this quality. To avoid: overpriced drinks.
Aqua Restaurant – Breakfast service
We had breakfast in the hotel restaurant almost every day, except for the last day when we opted for room service for convenience and speed.
The staff are also lovely, reserving our table for us every day, well insulated from families with children.
Here too, as in Verbier, an almost normal buffet awaits travelers. The difference is that a server serves you, not yourself. But the selection seems normal.
A cold drinks buffet is available, with still and sparkling water, cava and a variety of fresh juices.
A buffet of breads (low quality) and pastries is available. Several mornings I’d choose ensaïmadas, Mallorcan pastries made with cream, jam or chocolate. Delicious but high in calories.
The charcuterie and cheeses are also of fairly average quality, especially the ham, which is a shame for Spain… The local cheeses are nevertheless of good quality.
The hot buffet is better, and the kitchen just behind allows you to order whatever you like. I’ll be ordering a ham and cheese omelette almost every day, and it’ll turn out to be excellent.
Some yoghurts, mueslis and fruit are also available.
Table service is perfect for hot and cold drinks, and clearing the table almost instantaneously.
Room Service – Diner
For one evening, we decided to order some room service desserts. We weren’t very hungry, just a little room for a pastry. While my wife orders the excellent crepes suzette, I order a raspberry-pistachio parfait, originally served on a stick, like an eskimo. A bit disappointing for 12€ + room service charge.
Room service – Breakfast
On the day of our departure, we opted for a room service breakfast. As it is included in our rate, only the €7 room service charge applies.
To have a room service breakfast delivered, you need to fill in a small card that is placed on the bed at the time of turn-down service, and hung on your door before 2am.
In the morning, at exactly the right time, our breakfast is delivered by a waiter and set up on the dining table in our lounge. The set-up is impressive.
It’s good to help out, but clearly not as good as the buffet at Aqua!
Departure
At our scheduled departure time, I call the reception desk to arrange for a porter to collect our luggage and place it in the car, which is brought up from the parking lot to reception.
The bill issued is perfectly correct, and it is with sadness that we leave this hotel where we had an excellent stay.
Bottom line
Our stay was excellent in every respect. The service in this hotel is exceptional, the staff perfect. The only complaint is the spa, clearly not up to St Regis standard. Resort effect? Not sure, because many St. St. Regis have excellent spas. Anyway, it deserves a major facelift!
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