rated the Bahia Azul Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: We were dropped off at the Floriana Resort, just across a very quiet side road from the Bahia Azul. Booking in was very quick and the staff were very informative and helpful. We did see one family being taken to the Bahia Azul by golf buggy but we walked, it is literally a minutes walk!
We were on the first floor and had a one bedroomed apartment and a studio right next to each other.
The apartment and studio were both very spacious in my opinion. Our apartment had a nice living area with a kitchenette, complete with microwave and kettle (but this took ages to boil so it was quicker to use the microwave.) However, the microwave was more then 5 feet from the ground and so you had to be very careful when removing hot drinks from it. The fridge had a small freezer compartment which worked efficiently. Even tea towels were provided and these were replaced each time the maid came in. The bedroom and living area each had plenty of drawer and hanging space with hangers provided. The two beds in the bedroom were huge! The bathroom was very clean with a nice shower and even a hand soap dispenser. All of the towels and linen were spotlessly clean, and the pillows were obviously freshly laundered. We did find that there was no mirror in the bedroom, just one in the bathroom and one in the main living area. Unfortunately, the sockets in the main living area were some way from the mirror, but again a minor thing. There was a big safe in the room which could be hired at the Floriana reception for 14 euros a week with a refundable deposit. The great thing was that you made up your own code for the electronic safe and so there was no key to worry about losing! The apartment was thoroughly cleaned each day apart from Saturday and Wednesday in our case, and towels were replaced on these days too if you desired, the linen was replaced half way though our stay. Plenty of loo rolls! There was always plenty of hot water. One thing we did not have in the kitchen was a pair of scissors which we could have done with but we improvised with nail clippers! The balcony was of a nice size and we even had a clothes airer provided, although the studio did not have one. I should imagine that just about all apartments had a pool view, although a small amount, including ours, had the view obscured by tall trees, but this was a minor thing. The air-conditioning worked very efficiently, and blew into the main living area and the bedroom, although we did not need to use it a lot of the time, the apartment tended to stay quite cool. The front door went to the outside rather than to a corridoor and I think this kept it cooler. We had a key card along with another card which could be left in the electric slot had we wanted to leave the air-con or lights on when we were out, but the studio did not have the extra card.
The pool was very nice, clean and not too deep in parts for non swimmers. It gently sloped to the deeper part. There was also a childrens pool. The pool bar was very nice with friendly staff, and English music was played all of the time, but not too loudly. The pool bar snacks were very nice, and fairly priced. There was a pool table. Inflatables were allowed into the pool. Unfortunately, although it was requested that no sunbeds be reserved before 9am, it was necessary to get up somewhat earlier to make sure that you had somewhere to lie for the day. They could have done with maybe a dozen or so more beds. The ones they did have were very comfortable!
We did not use the Floriana facilities, although there seemed to be plenty to do over there. We found that it did seem geared up more to the German holidaymaker, this showed also with the tv in our apartment, the only English speaking programmes we had were Eurosport and CNN, the rest were either German or Spanish, but mostly German. It is a shame that as the Bahia Azul was only for English Guests, we did not have more English speaking channels tuned in. Still, you don't go on holiday to watch tv, do you? Although it is nice to have it on for background noise when you are getting ready in the evening. We only saw the Thomson rep once, to book Pirates, and she was very nice and helpful. There was no entertainment at the Bahia Azul when we were there, but that was no problem, as we could have easily gone over the road if we wanted to. The atmosphere around the pool was very relaxed.
The grounds were well cared for, and it was very quiet at night, but the complex was in a very nice residential area, and it felt very safe. The surrounding streets were very clean.
We found our way to the main shops and beach by coming down the steps by the pool table (opposite the Floriana) and turning right for a short way crossing the roads. At the roundabout we turned left and just a short walk took us to the beach. Just before you come across a Spar shop, which we used, however, we found the next Spar, just a short way further on the right, by the sea, a bit cheaper. There was a large supermaket called BIP which was a lot cheaper, this was by Sandancers, and the London Inn. If you turn left at the sea a pleasant walk will take you to the harbour area. Turn right at the sea and this will take you through Cala Bona and eventually to Cala Millor. We found the beach at Cala Bona to be nothing special, it was very sea-weedy and stoney, but a short walk along (about 10 minutes) finds you on a much nicer stretch of beach. It was very clean. We only walked as far as the lifeguards, here we found a break in the seaweed!
At the harbour area we ate at Smithys on the corner, good food, and Janet and Johns. Janet and Johns was a little bit dearer than some other restaurants but very nice food, and worth the short wait. One tip, try not to sit at the table inside by the toilets! Further up from Smithys, next to Papparrazi (which seemed to be very popular) was a lovely restaurant called El Senor Gato, which has only recently opened. This was our favourite restaurant, the food was superb.
Along the main Cala Bona beach front we ate at Donkey's Rest, very nice, and the Pizzeria close to it, which was also very nice. Cala Bona is quite laid back and come 10-11pm a lot of the shops were shut, so do your shopping before eating dinner!
Something very nice was that there were no restaurant staff hassling you to go into their restarant as you find in some holiday resorts, nor were there any looky-looky men. The man who sells red roses along the sea front only charged 3 euros for a beautiful flower, but he wasn't at all pushy.
We hired a six seater bike from the harbour area, which was great fun but very tiring so an hour was enough. There are a lot of bikes (some with motors!) on the prom so you need to keep your wits about you!
We went and saw Pirates, what a fabulous night, well worth the money in my opinion. We booked though Thomsons, and this ensured a Thomsons rep on the coach and going on an English speaking night. Be prepared for a bit of a wait though when you get there before they open the doors, it was very hot in the queue.
We thought that Cala Bona and the Bahia Azul was a good choice and would stay there again.
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bill &joan from howdon travelled to Bahia Azul Apartments with
thompson
on a singles holiday.
