A STAY AT THE LUXURIOUS PORTIXOL HOTEL IN PALMA

A few weeks back we woke bleary eyed in Bristol and rolled out of bed at 3am to catch a flight to the sunny island of Mallorca nestled in the Mediterranean sea and check into the luxurious Portixol Hotel, with i-escape with Kids. As a child I used to holiday on the north-western coats of this Balearic Isle, and have fond memories exploring cobbled stone pathways shaded with beautiful palms with my parents so I was excited to return. 

Apart from the mad last minute dash for the gate I was quite impressed at how smooth it all went and how good F was during the flight considering how early it was. We arrived at Palma Airport and immediately felt our shoulders relax as the balmy 28 degrees washed over us and we managed to grab a taxi outside the airport – most of which have child booster seats in the boot – and made our way to the beautiful Portixol Hotel.

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Where the coastal promenade meets the harbours edge, stands a striking white retreat facing out to sea, and although we were three hours early the staff could not have been more accommodating, allowing us access to the spa changing rooms to freshen up, keep our cases and even show us to the breakfast buffet for a little elevenses. Our stomachs growled as we saw the range of fresh fruits, cereals, breads, pastries, cheeses and meats, not to mention the yummy poached eggs!

On seeing the aqua blue pool facing the restaurant, F was desperate to swim but *mama fail alert* as I had somehow forgotten to pack any bathing trunks for him, so we decided to take the 15 minute stroll along the promenade into Palma centre to the shop that has everything before returning to the poolside.



The hotel is a mix of nautical luxury meets Scandinavian chic with a hint of 1950's design, from the clustered copper lights above the dining tables to the mustard covered chairs, marble floors and art collection this place oozes style, it felt like such a treat staying here with my little family. Our room on the the fourth floor with panoramic sea views was light and spacious, with a super comfy double bed and a pull out sofa bed for F, and it was great to see little details such as waffle bathrobes, eco toiletries,  bottles of water and chocolates brought in each day *cue F eating all the chocolate*

During this time I was nine weeks pregnant and suffering from exhaustion so I knew that I wanted to camp out by the pool and take it slow. There were quite a few other guests but with the layout of the hotel it never once felt overcrowded and we got to chat with quite a few families there with their young children, and F was grateful for kiddos to play with in the pool.

As a treat I booked myself in for a Facial Light treatment for €75 at the hotel's spa situated on the ground floor, and spent an hour having my skin soothed, hydrated and cleansed which was pure bliss while Paul spent the hour splashing in the pool with F, turns out we have a true water baby!

We ate lunch at the pool from the bar menu which is reasonably priced and comes with a view of the Med which you can't beat, and the service could not be faulted. All the staff loved F and happily brought out chocolate milkshakes for him to enjoy. I was most excited to try out the Restaurant after reading many good things online and I certainly wasn't disappointed. Although it was more than we would usually spend on eating out, the beetroot starter and Sea Bass with sautéed book-choy, asparagus and daikan puree was delicious and the only thing that would have made it better was F's mood, as the lack of sleep finally caught up with him and a full scale meltdown ensued. Rightly or wrongly it was nothing a dessert bribe couldn't fix before taking him up to bed. 

The hotel offers baby listening monitors for your rooms or a babysitter if you book ahead, although I was worried about the Juliette balcony door and windows not having child locks so decided to let F stay up late with us during our stay. There is also free use of the hotel's bikes which come with a kid seat, we found this perfect for exploring the local area safely as there are separate cycle paths in both directions, if you've ever seen me on a bike then you'll know how funny this day out was – more on this in another post!

Overall we found the hotel a stylish place to stay with kids and an oasis of calm, there were even guests booking their next stay on leaving the hotel as they had enjoyed it so much. It's definitely got a thumbs up from us and we'd definitely recommend it as a great place to stay.

*We're grateful to have stayed as guests of the Portixol Hotel with i-escape with kids for purpose of this review. All words and opinion are 100% my own.