El Pinar Apartments

The hotel itself is nothing special, but ideal for our five night stay in Cala Llonga. But what a view! We had a superior room with sea view, with an amazing panoramic view of the entire resort and cove. Whilst it's nice to have sun, I don't like being in the full glare of it, so the north-facing aspect of our balcony was perfect for me. We briefly tried the TV in the room, but for once we couldn't find a single English-speaking channel, so families with children or TV lovers may find it a bit limiting. But then again, if you're on holiday why are you watching TV? What does knock the score down on this room is the very strong damp smell in the wardrobes. So strong that we were worried it would make our clothes smell. I think they have a problem with damp or ventilation somewhere and it's not pleasant. The location of the hotel is ideal; right by the beach (literally), so only a five minute walk round the beach into the centre of the resort. The hotel's bar is open to the public and serves food at most times of the day. It's nothing special, but the location overlooking the cove makes for a good place to eat, drink and relax. As our trip was near the end of October, everything starts to close down for winter. At times we were lucky to find evening food and entertainment as the resort got progressively quieter; one week later an we would have probably struggled to find anything open. Even the bus service at this time of year is vastly reduced, so the easiest (and most enjoyable) way to get to other resorts or Ibiza Town is on the shuttle ferry from the opposite side of the cove. The hotel pool is round the back (away from the sea), so catches the full warmth of the sun. Considering the time of year, and how quiet it was I was amazed that guests were still bagging sun loungers round the pool. Really?!

Stayed here for a week at the end of October. When we arrived at the apartment and opened the door it smelt a bit damp, but once we had opened the doors and let the air circulate it was better. However whenever we left the apartment and returned the smell was there again. We felt the smell was starting to transfer to our clothes so that’s why we didn’t score this apartment higher. We booked a superior sea view one bedroom apartment and the view was stunning from our balcony. The apartment was spacious, clean and the bed was comfortable. The furnishings are a bit dated and it could probably do with a refurb, however it was extremely good value for the price we paid. El Pinar is in an excellent location, next to the beach and very close to all the bars and restaurants. There is a bar/restaurant attached to the apartments and the food and drinks here were very well priced and we used it quite a lot during our stay. The staff at the El Pinar were very helpful and friendly and booked us a taxi to the airport on our last day. Cala Llonga is a lovely resort, however as it was the end of October a lot of the restaurants were closing. We did find a few that were still open though and overall had a lovely holiday.