Port Soller - Esplendido Hotel
Summer 2008
Frank's view 
'judge by the price list, not the spin'
Port Soller is on the up. The Dubai based Jumeirah Group are building a 120 room 5 star hotel which is due to open in early 2010.
Esplendido is the incumbent luxury hotel in Port Soller, but Jumeirah have nothing to fear. Whilst the newcomer will no doubt be Al Fayed Harrods style opulence, the Esplendido is Ikea.
The Esplendido has a superb location in the middle of the bay looking out to sea and directly at the fabulous Mallorcan sunset. The hotel was built in 1954 and has recently been renovated by a Swedish family. The minimalist Scandinavian approach to décor is evident throughout, but the finishing is not good. They were clearly not firm with their building contractor on the snagging list.
The room rates say it all, with prices starting at not much more than €100 for a garden room, but beware – a garden room is effectively in the basement at the back of the hotel and enjoys very minimal natural light.
The larger rooms at the front of the hotel with private terrace enjoy a magnificent view of the Port but they’re not luxurious. This is really a 3 star hotel, in a good position, aspiring to greater status.
The restaurant claims to offer ‘ the last word in fresh Mediterranean and international cuisine’. The chef tries with a menu which includes sashimi. Thai curry mussels, crab and filet steak. Unfortunately he doesn’t pull it off. The curry sauce with the mussels would have benefited massively from the addition of fresh pineapple, as we once experienced at The Cliff in Barbados, and the wok vegetables, noodles with prawn or chicken took me back to student days.
The prices reflect the quality. Starters were around €11, the wok prawns, €16, and grilled tuna, €24. However, the vino blanco, Roura, at €22 was good value.
Esplendido Hotel
Port Soller
Mallorca
+34 971 63 18 50
http://www.esplendidohotel.com
Esplendido is the incumbent luxury hotel in Port Soller, but Jumeirah have nothing to fear. Whilst the newcomer will no doubt be Al Fayed Harrods style opulence, the Esplendido is Ikea.
The Esplendido has a superb location in the middle of the bay looking out to sea and directly at the fabulous Mallorcan sunset. The hotel was built in 1954 and has recently been renovated by a Swedish family. The minimalist Scandinavian approach to décor is evident throughout, but the finishing is not good. They were clearly not firm with their building contractor on the snagging list.
The room rates say it all, with prices starting at not much more than €100 for a garden room, but beware – a garden room is effectively in the basement at the back of the hotel and enjoys very minimal natural light.
The larger rooms at the front of the hotel with private terrace enjoy a magnificent view of the Port but they’re not luxurious. This is really a 3 star hotel, in a good position, aspiring to greater status.
The restaurant claims to offer ‘ the last word in fresh Mediterranean and international cuisine’. The chef tries with a menu which includes sashimi. Thai curry mussels, crab and filet steak. Unfortunately he doesn’t pull it off. The curry sauce with the mussels would have benefited massively from the addition of fresh pineapple, as we once experienced at The Cliff in Barbados, and the wok vegetables, noodles with prawn or chicken took me back to student days.
The prices reflect the quality. Starters were around €11, the wok prawns, €16, and grilled tuna, €24. However, the vino blanco, Roura, at €22 was good value.
Esplendido Hotel
Port Soller
Mallorca
+34 971 63 18 50
http://www.esplendidohotel.com
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
