mallorca / Georgina Does

How To Enjoy Magaluf As A 20-Something

Monday, 8 August 2016

Andrew and I have recently had an amazing few days in Magaluf. Yes, I know what your thinking 'yeah amazing if you've just turned 18 but I couldn't think of anything worse at 23' well think again. Magaluf is not what you think it is anymore, done right, it can be a sophisticated, relaxing holiday and was just as good at my age, now as it was at 17 & 18 (yep, I've been 4 times now). I've done the bar crawls and booze cruises but Magaluf actually has alot more to offer, heres how we took advantage this time!

Stay at a Nice Hotel
We only went back to Magaluf again this year, because we love the ME hotel there so much, but there are actually quite a few really lovely hotels there nowadays. They seem to have done up all the old ones, leaving you with a choice of newly refurbished, sparkling clean hotels.

ME is a little pricier than the rest of Magaluf but for being so close to the strips (it's about a 5 minute walk), this hotel is about as far from the cheap, drunk Magaluf scene as you can get. Staying there seriously just made our holiday so it was totally worth it! Check out this post if you want to read more about what exactly I loved so much! I'm trying to convince Andrew we should take a trip back for my birthday in August.

Avoid The Strip
If you haven't visited the Magaluf strip, dont worry it's exactly how it looks on TV. Promoters offering free shots outside every club, drunk girls on the floor and general madness in the streets and although we did take a walk down it one evening to have a look at what was going on, its not somewhere either of us would have enjoyed going out! However, Magaluf is home to Superclub, BMC which is one of the top 5 clubs in the world (and not on the strip) and that, we do like!

For €35, you entry to the main club where the acts play - Example was on the night we went and also entry to the club downstairs which will usually have some kind of water/foam party on. You get a load of branded rubbish be it a T-shirt, a cap, a beach towel etc and best of all, free drinks inside, all night! A little tip here - the premade cocktails are pretty delicious but if you really want to get drunk you need to order a spirit and mixer #DrinkResponsibly

I've been 15+ times now and I can genuinely say, I've had an amazing time every night!

Venture Out
As much as I love Magaluf, it was nice to hop in a cab a couple of evenings and visit somewhere a little more sophisticated for dinner. We did Palma last time which cost us €20 each way and to be honest, it was a little bit boring so this time we took a trip to Port Adriano which was just a €7 ride away. We arrived just as the sun was setting to a beautiful marina full of yachts and lined lovely with restaurants! We picked the last one at the end and ordered all of the seafood! They had a live saxophone player who played all sorts of current music - there was even a lovely rendition of Love Yourself by Justin Bieber. It was all very romantic.

We also had the most incredible three course meal at the St Regis hotel with was also a €7 journey in the other direction. I wrote a full review if you want to know more about this one -definitely worth a visit though!

Pay a Little Extra
This time around, Andrew wanted extra leg room on the plane and it was a great decision, not only did we get extra leg room but the whole front of the plane was empty because no one else wanted to pay which was great! I know it was only a little thing but it gave the flight a whole extra level of luxury!

I would also say that its worth paying for a private transfer from the airport. We didn't this time but if we go back we definitely will! The coach wasn't bad, it just took a long time and for €20 more we could have been at our hotel over an hour earlier and that means and extra hour in the sun!

Lastly, as I've said before, we paid for one of the more expensive rooms at the hotel and I would do it again and again!

Switch Off & Relax
We both actually enjoy just relaxing on holiday nowadays. We tried to switch off as much as possible and just enjoy being there and I really think just having that mindset did make a difference! Andrew asked his boss to change his work password so he couldn't check his emails even if he wanted too and I was constantly reminding myself to just put down my phone and concentrate on the here and now. I sent a few tweets but I didn't check on my blog, ebay or work emails at all.

Of course we got into a little holiday routine as you do. We loved spending time in the sea so we went out, bought a rubber ring and did just that all morning, then we went for a walk and had some lunch and then back to the hotel for a drink and then the room for a rest with the door open so we could have the music from the pool! Andrew loved to just sit on our balcony, we were on the 11th floor so it was a pretty good view! Everything was slow paced and we ate and drank as much as we wanted. We had the best time and both came back feeling refreshed and rested.

Bloglovin / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / Youtube

Thursday, 4 August 2016

Our Incredible Room

We picked the Sea View Passion Suite last time and we picked it again this year because it was incredible - definitely the nicest holiday hotel we have stayed in. The suite has a big double bed but sleeps four if needed with a pull down bed which we didnt even notice! The room is open plan, very modern and huge. We loved the big white bed which happened to actually be comfortable and the TV that doubled at a mirror at the end of it - perfect lighting for selfies! I also took advantage of the bathtub which was located next to the bed, by the window looking out to the sea. Plus we both loved to sit out in the sun on our 11th floor balcony and just watch what was going on. You can only see about a third of the room in this image - there was also room for the second bed behind me, a big purple sofa to the right and a bathroom to the left!

The Pool Bar

The pool bar at the hotel do the most incredible strawberry daiquiris and I indulged in at least one a day. Granted, they are quite expensive at €16 a pop but if your like me and don't actually enjoy drinking alcohol during the day, then a virgin one tastes just pretty amazing and comes in at half the price (€8). My first one of the trip came piled high above the glass and instantly got me in the holiday mood. A few days in, I discovered they also did a passion fruit version so I would switch it up between the two, although strawberry was my favourite! Get drinking fast though as to starts to melt within seconds of arriving in the Mallorcan heat!

Location

The location of this hotel was perfect for us. Firstly, it backs on to the beach which is always a huge plus! I love going to the beach but one thing that makes it so stressful for me if the prospect of my stuff getting stolen while I'm having fun in the sea. Being where it was meant that it was easy to quickly pop back to the room afterwards to pick up our stuff and then go straight off to lunch in less than ten minutes.

It was also far enough away from the strip or any madness that you totally forgot you were even in Magaluf in the first place.

Adult Only Pool Area

There weren't many kids staying at the hotel in the first place but this little rule meant that the pool area was a really lovely, relaxing place to be at all times. No screaming, no splashing and no annoying children.

Theres a very high possibility to spotting a celebrity, or even better, a dog!

As we were leaving for dinner on our last night, we spotted a bus load of TOWIE cast arriving at the hotel - its where they stayed when they were filming The Only Way Is Mallorca! I'm pretty sure Mark and Michelle stayed there last year as well!

Apart from that, the ME chain is dog friendly and we'd often see them out at breakfast which meant it was kinda hard for me to go and stroke them. Although I was lucky one day to catch the cutest little puppy checking in with its owner at reception - much to Andrews dismay, I sat on the floor playing with it for 10 minutes before we left haha.

Bloglovin / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / Youtube

Monday, 4 July 2016

When we were in Mallorca last summer, Andrew surprised me with a 10 course dinner at the Michelin starred restaurant at the St Regis hotel. Apart from it being the best meal that we have ever had together, I instantly fell in love with the hotel and its beautiful grounds, so I was very excited to get a chance go back this year try their other restaurant. We booked it for our final evening as one last special night to finish our holiday.

This time, we arrived at the hotel at 6.30 pm which unlike last time, meant we had time to have a look around the hotel and explore the ground properly while the sun was out and then and then enjoy our meal as the sun set. It was a lovely warm evening so we were very pleased to eat dinner outside again!

We started with a glass of chilled cava and toasted to our last evening. Soon a bowl of bread arrived with aioli, olives, oil and a light tomatoy dip. I don't usually take much notice of the bread but it was so fluffy and totally delicious - I loved it most with the tomato dip!

Starters arrived, beautifully presented! I ordered prawns and risotto which was delicious. The butterflied prawns were buttery and full of flavour - they sat on a creamy mound of risotto rice. The menu said that the dish also came with a coriander sauce and I thought it was a brilliant idea that they served this sauce on the side considering how split people are on the taste. I did have a little drizzle of it which really did enhance the taste without being too overpowering.

What Andrew had ordered was so huge that I didn't realise they were actually scallops at first, they were massive and looked very appetising surrounded with lots of colour from the peas, corn and tomatoes in the dish.

The main courses arrived just as the sun started to set. I had ordered the rack of lamb and Andrew went for the Aqua grill. The lamb cut like butter and the thick sauce that came with it had an intense, rich flavour. The dish was rather big for me with seven cutlets in the portion so I ended up giving a few to Andrew. I ordered my meal with their potato puree (mash) mixed with Iberian ham. I love mash with my meat and the addition of the ham made a huge difference for the flavour and texture of the dish. I was very pleased with my choice.

Andrew also looked very pleased with his choice as a skewer of different meats on a black slate arrived at the table with a trio of sauces and a sprinkling of Himalayan pink salt on the side. Favourite was a close call between the lamb chop (a small version of what I had) and the juicy, succulent chicken but as expected from Andrew, chicken won!

We had a little break before dessert to just sit back, take in our surroundings and just enjoy being there. The restaurant was actually very busy by this point but not in a horrible hustle bustle way, even though it was full of families with young children, everyone was so calm and relaxed, chatting away and enjoying being there together. It was such a lovely atmosphere with a great ambience.

The staff were particularity lovely throughout our evening, I'd even go to say it was probably the best service we've ever encounter. Our waitress, Sandra, added that little bit extra to our evening through a perfect mix of manners, professionalism and friendliness throughout.

Now on to my favoruite part of any meal -dessert. We were already wowed with the presentation of the meal so far but this course was by far the prettiest. I had ordered the chocolate delice which was an intense, dense, rich rectangle of chocolate on a ginger crumb base. I switched the kumquat sorbet for a scoop of my favourite, raspberry, to accompany it and cleanse my mouth after every few bites. There was also some stewed kumquats, a tweel ring and a quenelle (got that from GBBO didn't I) of chocolate cream all served on a glass plate.

Andrew ordered the chocolate fondant which came lined with berries and a scoop of vanilla. It was the perfect size and as it was very light, it didn't leave him feeling overloaded with chocolate.

By the time we had finished, we had been there for three hours indulging in a thoroughly delicious meal. The food, the settings and the lovely staff meant that this is one meal that will remember for a long time!

Huge thanks to Aqua for our evening! This meal was complementary in return for this review but all thoughts are my own. As I'm sure you can tell we were pretty impressed!
Bloglovin / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / Youtube

SLIDER