This was our second visit to Mallorca in as many years. We booked the Nixe Palace as it was said to be one of the few 5* hotels on the island and supposedly within a few minutes of Palma which it is on a motorcycle.
The hotel itself was OK, very much business orientated but trying to fill the rooms with tourists. We had a sea view room on the 8th floor which was clean and tidy with modern decoration/style. The balcony was fine though didn’t get any sun at all and you also had to put up with wafts of second hand smoke from neighbouring rooms – the no smoking room policy obviously does not extend to the outdoors.
Breakfast was OK but thought the matre de was a little rude and unhelpful (we asked for a cereal bowl and got growled at for disturbing him – not my job attitude). We thought breakfast was a little expensive at 42 euros for the two of us.
The really disappointing part was the hotel location. A good 1hr walk into central Palma (the Cathedral). We are not averse to walking but that is somewhat contrary to the “close to Palma” description given by the hotel. The hotel is situated in Playa Major which has the feel of an area that may have been popular about 15 years ago. Being honest it was scruffy, litter on the streets, dog dirt on the pavements, derelict properties, building work nearby, etc. We really struggled to find anywhere decent to eat. CalaNova restaurant on the little harbour was probably the best option but on a 7 night vacation you can’t do it every day – twice a day!! There was a restaurant opposite the hotel Casa Tauro which offered average food but hospitality from the owner that was second to none and more than made up for what was on the plate. If you like Italian food, kebabs and burgers then you’ll be spoilt for choice (we’ve never seen so many Italian restaurants in such a small place as this). We wanted TAPAS and Paella, we did find Paella but nowhere that offered TAPAS – odd considering you’re in Spain?
Overall 4* max hotel, 1* location.
Last year we went to Cala d’Or (Sol Melia Boutique Hotel) which was fantastic and would highly recommend that hotel and area. We hired a motorcycle and went across to Cala d’Or to escape the Nixe for the day and reconfirmed that Cala d’Or is far nicer and much more to offer two people that like long lazy lunches and good friendly service.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend?
no way!
I recommend this hotel for:
An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for:
An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, People with disabilities, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I selected this hotel as a top choice for:
Great food / Wine