Paradisus Palma Real Golf & Spa Resort

Amazing facilities, spa, pools, beaches. Amazing value for money with all the good food options and quality of drinks. The spa staff was incredible; the daily activities and itinerary cruise-style was great. If you are CELIAC or have gluten allergy, BEWARE. My partner has celiac disease and multiple staff members did not even know what gluten was. They tried their best but the staff is simply not trained well enough and they will make mistakes with cross-contamination. Several staff members confused gluten with dairy. I myself do not have any health or dietary restrictions and so for me personally I had an great experience there but my girlfriend has celiac disease and we had a hard time getting safe food for her. Hard situation because in a location like this, we did not have food alternatives, she got cross-contaminated several times during our 5-night stay. If you are celiac or have a gluten allergy or intolerance, AVOID TOKIMEKU hibachi restaurant on property at all costs! The most reliable restaurants for gluten safety were mescalzone and sante.

This wasn’t our first stay at a Paradisus resort—we have also stayed at the Paradisus in Cancun—so we came into this trip with a certain level of expectation. The property itself is absolutely beautiful. The open-air lobby facing the ocean, with the constant breeze coming through, reminded me of some of the beautiful resorts on the Big Island of Hawaii. Unfortunately, as beautiful as the hotel is, it falls short in several important areas, especially service and food. We reserved a two-bedroom swim-up suite, which apparently is one of the best room categories at the hotel. When we made the reservation, and again when we spoke with the hotel before arrival, we were told that one bedroom would have a king bed and the second bedroom would have two single beds. When we arrived, however, both bedrooms had two single beds. When we brought it up, we were simply told that this was the only room available. The service around the swim-up pool was basically nonexistent. If you wanted towels, you had to go find the towel attendant—if you could find him—or simply go back to your room and get them yourself. If you wanted drinks, you had to walk to another area to get them. No one came around to remove used or dirty towels either; you were expected to return them yourself. For what is supposed to be one of the hotel’s premium room experiences, this was very strange and disappointing. From a service standpoint, the hotel seems very understaffed, and many of the employees who are working appear unhappy and uninterested in helping. At times, especially around the buffet, there seem to be plenty of employees walking around, yet it is surprisingly difficult to get any service. Breakfast and lunch service at the buffet were consistently poor and became even worse when they moved breakfast to Flora. One morning we sat there for almost 20 minutes, asked for tea and coffee, and nothing ever came. Eventually, we just got up and left. This was particularly disappointing because we were tipping staff throughout our stay and really tried to show our appreciation. The food quality at the buffet was also very disappointing. The specialty restaurants were definitely better, so for dinner I strongly recommend making reservations in advance. My wife tried to make reservations every day except for two nights, and almost every time we went to the reservation desk we were told that “the system wasn’t working,” which became very frustrating. Of the specialty restaurants, we really enjoyed Mina, the steakhouse, and Blue Agave, the Mexican restaurant. Unfortunately, Flora and Mascalzone, the Italian restaurant, were very disappointing. After our dinner at Mascalzone, my son became very sick with what appeared to be food poisoning, which obviously made that experience even worse. I would also be careful when booking excursions through Otium, the tour company represented at the desk inside the hotel. Make sure you understand exactly what you are purchasing, how payment works, and who is actually operating the tour. We booked parasailing through Otium, and when we arrived we were suddenly told that payment had to be made in cash. We had to find an ATM, withdraw money, deal with the exchange rate, and then discovered that we were being handed off from one group to another before finally reaching the boat that actually operated the parasailing. The whole process felt unnecessarily complicated and poorly explained. That being said, Otium also arranged a private ATV tour for our family, and that experience was very good, so not everything we booked through them was a disappointment. Overall, we made the best of our stay and had a fun family vacation. We just returned, and there were certainly some great moments. Unfortunately, this is a hotel that has all the potential to be a true 5-star resort—the property, location, and rooms are beautiful—but the level of service, food quality, and overall operation simply do not function at a 5-star level. With better management, staffing, and attention to service, this could be an exceptional resort.

My experience was for four days. On arriving at the security gates to the main building, I was in awe of the beauty. The architecture was stunning. My spacious room was oceanfront/balcony including sitting area, footed tub, shower, separate toilet, beverage cooler, safe. Other amenities included beach bag with towel and footwear. There were several restaurants to choose from but was not pleased with the food quality.

Johancel fun service in the pool

I had the best experience on this trip. The entertainment and hospitality were amazing especially the entertainment specialist Victor and Jose