Be Live Experience Costa Palma

Service and location are equal to perfection, but the windows are discouraging the whole experience when the night comes, you can clearly hear anyone's conversation. The main issue comes from the lack of PVC isolation and sound proof technology. The hotel needs some improvements in this area. I will give it a proper 3.5/5.

Went for 3 days as a city break. The room itself was clean and we had a great view of the sea but we had a couple of problems. The door of the balcony did not close, we put our shower towels on the balcony to dry them and when we got back the roomservice took them and did not but any back. When we made our reservations, we added 2 meals and when we arrived the reservations were more expensive and did not include the meals(reservations made via booking). The name states it is adults only but there were a lot of kids, maybe because it is not in full season. If you come by car be careful and reserv a parking spot, they have only 5 (that was I was told and what I saw). The carpet on the hallway to the room had a lot of stains and the walls look like you are in a old buildingblock for the 80'. The price is interesting, if you put the price per day for a 7 night holyday and but 100euros more you can go in another country in a 5star resort with ultraallinclusive. The location itself is nice, the sea is just a few steps away. There is a mall in portopi that is 10minutes away (walking). There are restaurants and bars nearby.

Service:
Such lovely staff! Friendly, polite, attentive everywhere except one sour reception person (I heard them adressing another visitor in a rather unpleasant manner). The servers are superquick! You could barely set your fork and knife down and the plate was gone. They were also patient with my poor Spanish skills and let me practice, offering corrections. The hotel reception was very helpful regarding taxis.

The toilet in our room leaked but a maintenance person came to fix it in under 20 minutes on a Sunday!

Cleaners were very nice but unfortunately not very thorough: We ran out of soap and toilet paper and weren't restocked. There was a dead bug in the toilet and we let it be there just to check the level of cleaning and it was still there on the morning we left. Everything else but the floors (and the balcony) were well-cleaned.

There is a small luggage storage, which opened from the reception.

Room:
We had a superior seaview room on the fourth floor, about mid-building. The view was nice, but the room and especially the balcony has seen better days; the tiles are cracked and uneven, the railings are rusty and soiled by bird poop which was not cleaned during our visit. Uncomfortable, cheap plastic chairs on the balcony (we saw that some balconies are equipped with sturdier seating but we had the bad luck of getting a room with the hideous 1980s plastic chairs). Otherwise the balcony is big enough to fit a sunbed - if the hotel wanted to improve.

Bathroom:
The bathroom is open concept, so no privacy. The toilet at least is behind a door, but it is a sliding door and it doesn't keep any natural noises or odours inside. So, if you're in a relationship that's not in the natural smells zone yet, or are otherwise fussy, maybe these rooms are not for you.

Pool:
Not a big one but size matches the sister hotels. The area is peaceful without onlookers from the street. There was green growth here and there in the pool, which I didn't see getting cleaned. The usual hotel sunbed-towel-reservation rally started in the morning. You have to join the rally or be without sunbeds, which were rather dirty and some were broken. Shades were large and moveable, and the pool person assisted with them if you asked. Large pool towels are available at reception for €15 deposit. You can change the towels as often as you want - at the pool. Deposit returned upon checkout and return of towels.

Food:
We had half board. Breakfast is buffet type, and good mid-range with warm foods, some veggies, omelettes customized for you, bread, condiments, yoghurt, fruit etc. Coffee and juice is self-service.

Dinner buffet had some variation but nothing fancy. Seafood available every evening. I loved the dessert selection: I've been on HB's around Spain --  and this place had the best dessert cakes! Always tasty, variation etc.

There are a few warnings about dinner. See below for food and drinks section!

General:
Not upmarket, but a solid 3*. The neighborhood is a bit shabby.

Programme:
I was super happy that the evening program was only in the sister hotel, so we weren't bothered by loud music. You could enjoy the music from your balcony and just close the door when you had enough.

Smoking:
If you're a smoker, you're going to be happy here: there are ashtrays on the balcony and a smoking spot at the pool and the entrance. If you're a non-smoker or have lung conditions, book elsewhere. Had we known smoking on the balcony is allowed like it was still the 1990s, we wouldn't have booked. We couldn't have a single hour chilling on the balcony without having to breathe smoke because we were unlucky to be neighbours with smokers.

Would I return?
No, though it was the nicest service in any Spanish hotel I've visited so far. However, if I wanted to spend my holiday on a beach sunbed, the hotel was non-smoking and it was safe for a seafood-allergic person to have dinner at the hotel - and the balcony had comfortable balcony furniture, then yes.