Holiday Village Majorca | Our Summer Holiday Review
We love a family resort holiday, where everything we need and want is all in close reach – for a relaxed week of fun together. Yet picking where to go, when there are so many European resorts to choose from, is another matter. I always spend a lot of time researching our holiday choices, often using other families online reviews as a guide – with this in mind as there was a lot we loved, but also some we didn’t, about the Holiday Village in Majorca, here’s our review of the Protur Monte Safari Aparthotel, in Cala Millor, as a family of four visiting in 2022.
We booked our package holiday through TUI, a bit last minute really, just a couple of months before we went in August 2022. The main criteria for our summer holiday was basically ease for us adults, and lots of activities to keep our children happy. We’d had a full-on holiday to Disney Florida earlier in the year and so for our summer holiday break away, we were looking for something very relaxed, where we could just spend days around the pool with lots going on to keep our kids entertained. We are a family of four with two children (eight and ten years old at the time) and we found our holiday on the First-Choice website.
Flying with TUI 2022
First up, the travelling to get there – after hearing so many horror stories of cancellations and delays of TUI holidays, coupled with all the airport problems earlier on in 2022, I was a bit apprehensive about our journey. I’m very pleased to share though, that in fact, it was all very straightforward. We went from Gatwick, and although very busy, we got through security quickly and the flight was on time.
As it was a holiday operator going to a popular resort in the school holidays, it was as you’d expect, pretty packed, with a lot of noisy families (us being one of them) but the flight was fine. The Tui app we’d downloaded at home, was good for everything we needed, such as our boarding passes, transfer location and resort info. Once landed and bags collected, we headed out to the coaches. This is the point we found we needed to find someone from Tui to talk to, rather than use the app, as the bus info outside of the airport didn’t really match what was in the app. We were in the right place, but the bus numbers were all different, so instead they had to show us where to go.
The journey took a good hour and a half, as we had to stop at other hotels on the way, so felt a bit of a drag after the flight but it had air con and was pretty comfy, so all in all it was ok. There is also the option to book a private transfer through the app, which I think might be worth it, if you are getting in late at night, or have very little ones, as it does add quite a long time onto your journeys.
What are the Apartments Like in The Holiday Village Majorca?
I’d describe the rooms as spacious and functional. They are pretty plain and by no means feel luxurious, so I’d say a bit underwhelming for the price (they have the feel of a plain, chain hotel family room) but as a family of four the layout worked well and we had enough space.
We had a bedroom with a double bed, then a living area where the sofas turned into beds for the children. The beds were ok, but pretty hard mattresses unfortunately, although after long days spent playing in the pool, the kids always slept fine. There were TVs in both the living space and bedroom and also a little balcony outside to sit on with chairs.
The housekeeping was good. It definitely helped stem the chaos, we as a family can turn hotel rooms into very quickly! There were always fresh towels and the floors mopped daily, which was especially handy as we seemed to constantly be making them slippy from all the sun cream we were spraying.
What are the Swimming Pools Like at The Holiday Village Majorca?
On to the main attraction for us, the swimming pools. There were two big swimming pools that snaked around the resort, ending up next to each other in parts and this was where we spent most of our time. The first swimming pool you arrive at from reception, is the activity pool and this is where a lot of the organised activities happen throughout the day. There’s music playing, quizzes called out over the loud speaker and regular dancing and exercise classes – with all these, you can choose whether to get involved or carry on swimming and watch from the sides. The pool had a nice atmosphere and the age my children are, with the activities going on, it was a great space for them being able to get involved if they wanted to and also just play. (This picture of my daughter was taken pretty late in the afternoon, when the pool was quieter)
We did also find that when we went though, this pool was always very busy. You are pretty crammed in with so many people, inflatables and balls flying over you all the time, whatever time of day it is. It was fine and I’d prefer that when I’m with my boisterous children, than being at very quiet pool, where I’m then overly conscious of how noisy and splashy they are being, but I felt it was worth sharing in my review, as out of all the family resort holidays we’ve ever been on, I’ve never seen busier swimming pools. So, its something to bear in mind if a very busy swimming pool is not for you. The depth of this pool was good for the kids playing though, they could jump in, but also my eight year old could stand and chat too, while playing with her newly made friends.
The other large swimming pool next too it was deeper and also tended to be a bit quieter too. We spent a lot of time here, all enjoying playing with the giant inflatables we’d bought at the onsite shop. There’s then a small teaching swimming pool that’s also used for the swimming academy lessons and two big water splash pads that looked great for little ones to enjoy.
Each swimming pool at the Holiday Village Majorca has sun loungers around it and people tend to set up base on them for the full day. The only problem is that the majority get reserved crazy early in the morning. There are signs around the resort telling guests that they don’t allow people to reserve beds before 8am, as it’s clearly a bit of a problem.
We found out pretty early on in the holiday, that if you didn’t go out early morning you wouldn’t have anywhere to sit, so we basically joined in on the unwritten routine of what all the other families were doing. It seemed a bit mad, but actually once I’d done, it made for a nice peaceful start to the day on my own. Essentially you have to go down to the main pool area by about 7.15am if you’d like some loungers with umbrellas for your family.
You could reserve groups of them by putting towels on them, but one person had to stay sitting on them until 8am, otherwise the towels would be taken off by a member of staff. In our family, this was me and actually it was quite nice sitting reading my book with a coffee till 8am, when my husband would come and find me with the kids and we’d all go to the buffet for breakfast. (You can see how peaceful it was early on, from my picture below that I took while waiting one morning) As this is also the time the breakfast buffet opened. On the one morning we decided not to reserve beds and have a bit of lie in, it also meant the restaurant felt too busy too when we went in for our breakfast after 9, so getting out early seems a good plan for a peaceful breakfast too.
On check in, the hotel gives you one Holiday Village beach towel to use per person, that you have to put down a ten Euro deposit for. You then get this back when you return them when you leave. Something we found helpful was also packing one of our own beach towels too (preferably a brightly coloured one) that then meant we could easily distinguish which set of loungers were ours among the sea of Holiday Village towels.
Another major draw for both my children at the Holiday Village Majorca was the football academy and stage academy we’d booked in advance for them to attend. These were a set of sessions that they then did throughout the week. There are different groups, depending on age and both my children absolutely loved them.
What’s the Football Academy Like at Holiday Village Resorts?
To say my son likes football is an understatement, its his absolute world at the moment and he doesn’t go a day without playing. So being able to book the football sessions in advance when booking the holiday was brilliant and was the part of the trip he was most looking forward too, before we went.
Luckily It didn’t disappoint – Its all very simple to sort out, they have a registration meeting point by the main bar in the afternoon, that you go along to on your first day and then sign up for the specific days your child wants to go. Its also split into two age groups which was good too. Albert loved each session and it was also great for meeting and making friends. They seemed a good balance too, serious enough that they could have a good competitive game, but lots of fun with young coaches who seemed to really enjoy being with the kids, creating lots of different fun challenges to get involved in.
The only thing that I felt was a shame was that it was always right in the middle of the day. So they were playing in the 30 degree heat. Not that my son minded, but I feel it would have been better, if it was an activity they could have run early morning or evening instead.
What’s the Stage Academy Like at the Holiday Village Resorts?
We also signed my daughter up for the Holiday Village Theatre Academy and again I booked it prior to the holiday. Again once we arrived at the resort we could then choose the days she’d go at one of the box office desks.
Rose loved it. The sessions are set up as rehearsals – all working towards performing their own show at one of the evening entertainment shows towards the end of the week. Each time she went, there was a mixture of games and rehearsing for the show that they would perform, which was mainly a dancing performance to popular Disney songs alongside a few of the children also having a few lines to say.
The staff working there were all so welcoming and friendly, immediately putting my sometimes shy daughter at ease. They also get given a Stage Academy T-shirt to wear which seemed to make them all feel really part of the same club throughout the holiday. (The football academy also do the same with a training top)
A tradition my daughter also heard about that she was excited to get involved in, was that at the end of the performance, they all went round signing each others shirts at the end of the show to then keep as a memento. One of my highlights of the holiday was watching her perform in the show and seeing how proud of herself she was that she’d got involved and performed in front of so many people. I’d say its a lovely introduction for any children wanting to try out performing, as they were in such a large group learning simple routines, with then a very enthusiastic and welcoming audience to perform to on the night of the show.
Booking Kids Club Activities at Holiday Village Resorts
Despite looking at lots of the kids club options a the Holiday Village Majorca before going on holiday, the academies actually ended up being the only organised kids club activities my children did when we were at the Holiday Village in Majora.
I thought they would also be keen to do a few sessions at the kids clubs, but because they made friends at dance and football and are also now a bit older, they spent most of the rest of the time playing with them in the swimming pools. However I did go onto the first Choice Holiday Village app a few times to look at booking as my daughter wanted to see what the options were a few times. What I found, is that if you were not quick off the mark in booking when they were released, all the slots got booked up very quickly. This was a complaint I’d also heard when reading reviews prior to going away and I’d say if its something you are really keen to use regularly, you need to be quick off the mark when the slots are released.
I also heard a tip that worked for us when we used the app for booking – the slots for the next days activities get released at 6pm the evening prior. The app works better if you don’t have WiFi turned on and you need go into the page of the activity you’d like to book just before 6pm and be ready to click as soon as it turns 6pm.
The Aerial Adventure
There was one activity we did book a few times through the app and this was the aerial adventure. Both my children loved it and it was amazing seeing them face their fears and really push themselves climbing all the way round. The instructors were great too at encouraging the children and keeping the whole thing moving smoothly.
What’s the All Inclusive Food like at the Holiday Village Resorts?
Overall the food was fine and I don’t have any major complaints, but I felt for the price, it wasn’t great either. There was always plenty of it and lots of variety in the buffet restaurant to choose from, but I’d say at most its three star resort food. There was lots of choice for my fussy children to choose from and the staff were great at clearing the plates etc. but there was a lot of the same dishes each day, and it you felt very densely packed in a noisy hall.
If you’re looking for a a leisurely dinner experience with a view, enjoyed with nice wine, the I wouldn’t say this is the resort for you.
Drinks incidentally have to be collected from the self area using mini glasses, so you keep having to refill and the mediocre (at best) wine comes out of a tap! Having said all that though, it did the job, we never had to wait long, the kids loved all the different breakfast options and we were certainly never hungry.
Additional to the buffet there’s also a few la carte restaurants you book at check in. The curry house was nice, but we felt rushed and had barely finished our starters before our plates were whisked off and replaced with our mains. The Aisan buffet was ok and the same with the Italian – having these other venues was a nice break from going to the same place every evening though, and they were certainly quieter and had a calmer atmosphere too.
So that’s pretty much everything I can tell you about our Holiday Village First Choice holiday in Mallorca in Aug 2022. If you’re thinking of going and would like to know anymore, then drop your questions in the comments and I will see if I can help.
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