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July 2011
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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.
And in keeping with modern technology, we now have a Blog with all the latest news, a Flikr photo gallery, and a Facebook page for people to follow.
The Resort
Camp de Mar is on the south-west coast of Mallorca, about 40 minutes drive along a 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 (H10 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. The private villa complex - Las Perlas - was bulit by Taylor-Woodrow on the outskirts of the village near the golf course and other complexes are under construction or near completion. 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 are: The Gran Camp de Mar - has been refurbished and is no longer part of the Riu group. It is also an all-inclusive for some guests; The Playa (Grupotel); and the all-inclusive Lido Palace (H10 Group). These hotels are all situated around the beach... the Playa is practically on it! All 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, and is now open to non-English guests too.
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. Further out is the Holiday Property Bond (HPB) complex La Reserva de Biniorella
Shops & Local Markets
The resort is fully open from early May to near the end of October. The main road into Camp de Mar heads down to the seafront in between the bigger hotels. Here you will find the Kiosco, which is just like your local newsagent; a Lacoste shop; Traveller Boutique - a costume jewellers with some very pretty pieces; Banca March with cashpoint machine - so draw out your Euros here; car hire and day trips from Autos de la Gala Blas - call Fernando on 971 235 656; and several shops selling holiday items. Various other shops, including a useful pharmacy and two supermarkets, are dotted around the Playa hotel and the doctor's surgery (Tel. 971 894 484) is next to the Villa Real hotel.
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 handbags' offered by some stallholders may not be what they seem.
  
Bars & Restaurants
There are a number of restaurants, cafes and bars around the resort. 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 upmarket food, the Flor de Sal restaurant can be found adjacent to the Bahia Aparthotel. For more info on some of these, see this review by Pam & Roger Fearn.
Local Transport
Every year there is some change to the travel services. This year, the English version of the island's travel website is back for all bus, train and tube timetables and services. For convenience, you can download the timetable for the local Bus 102 here. This route serves the resort from its single stop, so make sure you know which way it is going. The 102 transaBus is air-conditioned and runs between Port D'Andratx and Palma via Andratx, Paguera and Santa Ponça. The market special SM2 to Andratx on Wednesday is no longer listed on the timetable but still runs.
There are plenty of taxis for hire: the local Radio Taxi Andratx - Tel. 971 13 63 98 - will take you to the nearby resorts of Paguera (shops, bars and restaurants) and Port D'Andratx (yacht clubs, marina, etc.) for around 7 Euros. Note that higher prices are charged at night. Taxi travel to Palma is more expensive at around 36 Euros. East of Camp de Mar, Radio Taxi Calvia can be used - Tel. 971 68 09 70 - for travelling back to the resort from Paguera, Santa Ponsa, Magaluf etc.
 You can book trips on the boats that visit the resort from the lady who sits at her little 'stall' near the tourist information office. She offers a 2 hour tour East to Paguera and Santa Ponsa or a 5 hour trip West to Dragonera Island, both reasonably priced. Note that the tour boats no longer stop at the island, but have moved to a jetty in front of the Gran Hotel.
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 are from the UK and Germany with Russian visitors now also staying. 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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