Sol Gavilanes Hotel – my review
If you’re in need of a quiet, relaxing break in a beautiful location that is only a short haul-flight from the UK, look no further.
The four-star Sol Gavilanes Hotel sits right on the beach at Cala Galdana, a horseshoe-shaped bay on the south-west coast of Menorca. It has recently been refurbished and featured live entertainment in the evening in the lounge adjoining the eighth-floor lobby or on the terrace (not so good if you were on one of the adjoining floors and hoped to get an early night). The shop on the ground floor sold groceries, drinks and newspapers; it was ideal for buying a lunchtime snack. The lush gardens behind the hotel included a swimming pool and a small aviary for budgerigars.
Our first-floor superior double room was reasonably spacious and included a balcony, spacious, spotlessly clean bathroom (the water was always piping hot) and a large fitted wardrobe that contained a safe for valuables. It also included a sofabed, fridge – ideal for chilling bottled water – and TV that included access to popular British TV channels. The double bed comprised two large single beds next to each other rather than a double mattress. The mattresses were firm, as they tend to be on the continent. Free wifi is not available.
The hotel provided meals at two buffet restaurants, one indoors and the other outside on the floor above. There is also a waiter-service restaurant but it was closed when we stayed earlier this month. Dinner, served between 6.30 and 9.30pm, enabled us to sample a wide range of dishes during our stay, from local cheese and charcuterie, through salads and fish to steaks and chops griddled to order. We tended to eat later to avoid the early-evening rush; tables for two next to the windows were unsurprisingly popular.
Different themes prevailed each night, such as regional specialities, Mexican or Chinese. Oddly for a Menorcan hotel, there was an Italian corner, where a chef would flambé vegetables in hot oil before adding them to pasta over which you would pour your choice of sauce. Desserts tended to be small pastries; fresh fruit, sorbets and ice cream were also available. The waiters were quite happy to save our bottle of wine for a second night.
Breakfast followed a similar format. My wife and I enjoyed eating on the terrace despite the dining tables being jammed very close together. Everything you would expect from a hotel catering en masse for multinational visitors was available: cereal; fresh fruit; yoghurt; pastries; cold ham and cheese; and cooked breakfasts. Although different from English bacon, I liked the local smoked variety; the sausages, alas, were frankfurter-style and looked unappealing. We did, however, enjoy a glass of Cava to end the meal!
I first stayed at the Sol Gavilanes Hotel over 20 years ago and wondered before our arrival how Cala Galdana itself would have changed in the meantime; not much, thankfully, is the short answer. Although it is certainly bigger than it used to be, it certainly hasn’t sprawled up the road out of the village and there appeared to be very few developments that fell derelict when the Spanish property market collapsed a few years ago. The sea front – we had no real need to venture beyond it – looked clean, tidy and very well-kept; we were impressed that seaweed brought ashore in storms just before our arrival was collected from the waterline by tractor early in the morning a couple of days later. There is a marina and two other large hotels in the bay, plus a few seaside shops, restaurant and cafés; if you’re looking for the Menorcan Faliraki, this isn’t it.
The beach sells itself as an attraction in holiday brochures: fine, white sand and very shallow, crystal-clear water that shelves into a turquoise sea. Much as we liked it, however, we liked Cala Mitjana even better. A mile over the headland along the Cami des Cavalls, a path that is stony and steep in places, it was smaller, quieter and, with no adjacent café, houses or car park, gave a real sense of getting away from it all. Like Cala Galdana, its waters were clear and gave way to an even deeper turquoise when viewed from above. I enjoy snorkelling and sea caves on the eastern side of the bay made for interesting swimming.
We made one excursion during our stay, to Ciutadella, the island’s historic capital. It boasts an attractive natural harbour, a compact cathedral and a town hall, the architecture of which looked rather Moorish in inspiration. The 25-minute local bus ride cost €2.75 each way. A couple of hours felt long enough to get a flavour of it.
As with our holiday in Sardinia last year, we booked through Thomson found their organisation to be very professional. We flew from Gatwick but discovered after we booked that flights were available from Bournemouth, much closer to where we live, along with many other regional airports.
Overall, then, we would strongly recommend the Sol Gavilanes hotel as a destination if you are looking for a relaxing beach holiday. The hotel was excellent, the location gorgeous and, with temperatures in early October more typical for those of early September, the weather was very kind to us.
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