Hotel Palia Puerto del Sol in Cala d'Or

Honest Review: Unsafe, Unhygienic, Discriminatory inaccessible Hotel Palia Puerto del Sol, Cala d’Or, Mallorca This is the most disappointing and unsafe holiday I’ve ever experienced. I would strongly advise against booking this hotel, especially if you have dietary needs, mobility issues, or care about hygiene and basic safety. The hotel failed on every fundamental level — and I ended up ill with vomiting and diarrhoea, which I believe was directly linked to how the pool hygiene was handled. First Impressions When we arrived, the hotel looked okay on the surface. But within minutes, we saw signs of poor organisation and unfair treatment. Only one staff member was checking people in, and even though several guests were waiting, a Spanish couple were allowed to jump the queue and were checked in first. This set the tone for what felt like preferential treatment for certain guests throughout our stay. ⸻ ️ Rooms & Accessibility Our apartment was very dated, with uneven wooden flooring that felt unsafe — especially for me, as I have a mobility disability. The bathroom had no floor mat, making it very slippery. Although the room was cleaned daily, it was far from safe or accessible. I saw several elderly or disabled guests also struggling with the layout and stairs. The hotel is not suitable for guests with mobility needs. There are stairs everywhere, and steep pathways and although there’s one lift to the restaurant, staff repeatedly turned it off about a hour before mealtimes had finished, my opinion was they were not wanting people to go down to restaurant near closing time this forced elderly and disabled guests to use steep stairs. ️ Food & Hygiene: Dangerous Standards Food was one of the worst parts of this stay. Breakfast was always poor — burnt sausages, sloppy eggs, cold beans, and frozen-in-the-middle hash browns. The fryer oil was black, clearly not changed in days. I saw chefs handling food with bare hands, including one cooking churros in the same filthy oil just used for sausages. There were no allergen labels or ingredient signs anywhere — a huge problem, as my son is dairy-free and I have Crohn’s disease. Because of this, we had to eat at the nearby marina at extra cost, some days I just ate bread and crisp which isn’t acceptable. I raised the issue of cold and inedible food with the manager. His response? “I eat here and I like it.” No apology, no action, and my complaint wasn’t logged. I also saw multiple guests reheating their food in a microwave, which speaks volumes about the kitchen standards. ⸻ Serious Health Incident After Pool Contamination I personally witnessed faeces in the pool, and immediately reported it to staff. Shockingly, it took them over 40 minutes to act. Guests were left swimming in it, and staff seemed unconcerned. The next day I saw a staff member cleaning scum from the side of the pool while people were still in the water — again, completely inappropriate. Two days later, I became unwell