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January 2010
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Credits
Alan Edwards: Around Majorca by Bus, Train & Tram
Anfy: Java Tricks
Bob Haskett (Chester-Le-Street Whisky Club)
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Why Camp de Mar Info?
There was very little information about this excellent Mallorcan resort on the Web back in 2002 when this site was first created and now there's no end of online review sites detailing the woes and delights of holidaymakers around the world. Holiday brochures of the time also only had a few paragraphs extoling the virtues of the hotels and surroundings, but no real detail. Camp de Mar Info was inspired after our stay there and we have been back nearly every year since. If you would like to know more about Camp de Mar and the area, then hopefully we have something for you. We are independent of any hotel group or travel agency and do not have any sponsorship or axes to grind.
Over the years, this site has been expanded with articles and photographs thanks to you, the visitors, especially Bob Haskett for contributing to the Reviews pages; Roger and Pam Fearn, John Reeves and Paul Rawson for adding to the Photo Galleries - that now also include videos. In fact, we welcome submissions by visitors, so do contact us if you have a review or photos that you would like to add to this site.
The Resort
Camp de Mar is on the south-west coast of Mallorca, about 40 minutes drive along a new fast road out of the capital, Palma. The resort has one 5* hotel - the Dorint also known as Camp de Golf; three 4* hotels - Gran Camp de Mar, (Formerly The Riu Club), The Playa (Grupotel) and the Lido Palace (Cabau Group). The Villa Real and the Bahia Camp de Mar are apartment hotels rated at 3*. The rest of the resort consists of apartments, shops and villas. In fact a private villa complex - Las Perlas - has been built by Taylor-Woodrow recently on the outskirts of the village near the golf course. Camp de Mar is quiet and ideal for anyone wanting a relaxing holiday without the crowds and noise as found in Santa Ponsa or Magaluf.
The Hotels
The very exclusive golf-orientated Dorint is situated to the back of the resort, so there is a short walk to the beach. However, the majority of their guests prefer the extensive greens to the white sands of the bay. The three 4* hotels -
The Gran Camp de Mar has been refurbished and is no longer part of the Riu group. It is also an all-inclusive.
The Playa (Grupotel) and the
Lido Palace are all situated around the beach... the Playa is practically on it! All these hotels are well-appointed and offer a wide variety of facilities. The Playa and Gran Camp de Mar hotels are available through Thomson Holidays. The Playa is an exclusive Thomson Gold hotel, so does not take guests under the age of 16.
The revamped Villa Real is just off the traffic roundabout in the centre of Camp de Mar and so is again a short walk from the beach, but it is ideal as a budget hotel now offering self-catering. Up the hill, heading out of the resort towards Port Andratx, is the Bahia Camp de Mar, a collection of 64 apartments in a hotel setting that cascade down the hill to the sea. Both these are Aparthotels, hotels with self-catering facilities should you choose not to use the on-site restaurants.
Shops & Local Markets
The resort is fully open from early May to near the end of October, so the largish Spa supermarket halfway up the top of hill and the smaller Spa shop on the beach under the front of the Playa hotel are ready for business. The main road into Camp de Mar heads down to the seafront in between the main hotels. Here you will find the Kiosk, which is just like your local newsagent; a Lacoste shop; a costume jewellers with some very pretty pieces; a bank with cashpoint machine - so draw out your Euros here; car hire and day trips; bureau de change; three shops selling holiday items and an estate agent. The perfumery has closed down. A doctor's surgery (Tel. 971 894 484) and various other shops, including a useful pharmacy, are dotted around the resort and around the Playa hotel. You can also book trips on the boats that visit the resort from the lady who sits here at her little 'stall'.
The nearest market, 10~15 minutes away by bus, is on Wednesday in Andratx and is far better than Saturday's one in Palma. The best one of all is Inca, in the centre of the island, on Thursday. Don't forget to haggle and remember that the real 'leder' offered by some stallholders may not be what it seems.
For a handy directory to businesses and services on the island, pickup a copy of Baleares Little Pages from shops that advertise in it. Nearest availability is Paguera, but you can advance search the directory for other areas.
  
Bars & Restaurants
Bar Pepe (Snack Bar El Quijote) at the back of the resort came highly recommended by visitors purely for the antics of the staff - think 'Fawlty Towers'. Another recommended bar, 'The 19th Hole, was situated under the Playa towards the back of the hotel but suffered an electrical fire in September 2009 and is currently being refurbished. The Ambassador restaurant is worth going to and if you like seafood, try the restaurant on the little island (nicknamed 'Alcatraz') in the bay. It is reached by a wooden walkway across the translucent sea. For more on info these see this review by Pam & Roger Fearn.
Local Transport
Every year there is some change to the bus services. This year, there's no English version of the website, but you can download a timetable here: Bus 102 Timetable PDF. The bus service serves the resort from its single bus stop. The 102 Andratx-Palma air-conditioned transaBus runs between Port D'Andratx and Palma via Andratx, Peguera and Santa Ponsa. On Wednesdays there is a Market Special that runs a circular route: Andratx-Palma Nova-Andratx. The first bus out from Paguera gets to Camp de Mar around 9:15. Thereafter, buses are coming in from afar as Palma Nova and will be packed solid.
There are plenty of taxis for hire, the local Radio Taxi Calvia can be contacted on 971 68 09 70, and travel to the nearby resorts of Paguera (shops, bars and restaurants) and Port D'Andratx (yacht clubs, marina, etc.) work out at around 5 Euros. Note that higher prices are charged at night. Taxi travel to Palma is more expensive at 30 Euros. For more on transport see this review by Ruth & David Ward.
If you have a mobility problem, then there is a hire service for scooters and wheelchairs. Mobility Scooters Mallorca charge reasonable rates and offer a free delivery and collection service. You may also be interested in disabled assistance offered at Spanish airports - details here.
Visitors
The majority of the resort's guests were split equally between UK and German visitors. Many of the villas in and around Camp de Mar are either Spanish or German owned and some even belong to celebrities such as Tom Cruise and Michael Schumacher. A local estate agent told us that Ralph Schumaker had been looking at a local 6.2 million Euro villa, but it was too small for him! A famous ex-local was Claudia Schiffer, who moved from one villa overlooked by the Lido Palace hotel to another purpose-built one just over the hill out of sight. However, even these six acres proved not secluded enough so she's sold up to a Russian tycoon for £7.5 million and moved on.
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