Cala n Blanes, Binimar

disaster the worst place i have ever stayed .and i am not fussy i grew up on a poor council estate in Leeds this place was a joke i have sent this e mail to thomas cook and are awaiting there reply A total disaster from start to finish.

We booked this holiday because our three-year-old grandson has autism and cannot sit for a long time so we chose a holiday with a short flight, approximately two-and-a-half hours. We would have loved to have gone to The Canaries where my wife and I have an apartment but a four-and-a-half hour flight was out of the question for our grandchild.

DISASTER NUMBER ONE

We were told that a plane had broken down in Belfast and the part to fix it was in Manchester and we had to take it to Belfast and refuel. We eventually got on our coach at 12.47 GMT some six hours and 15 minutes later. So much for the short flight. Unbelievable. Please explain how this could possibly happen.

When we arrived at the Binimar the room was very basic, no tv etc, in fact, it is fair to say that in all the years of travelling, it was the worst room I have ever had the misfortune to stay in. I asked at the reception to be moved but they said all the rooms were of the same standard and I could be moved to two rooms below from the rooms we had been allocated, 408/410 to downstairs rooms 401 and 403 - the same low standards. I decided to make the best of things and stay where we were.

DISASTER NUMBER TWO

On Saturday the rooms were infested with ants, thousands of them. My bedside cabinet top was so full of ants you could not see the top, they were everywhere. In the bed, on clothes, etc. I went to reception to complain and they sent a man to spray them which killed them. An hour later we were infested again. Once more I went to reception who sent another man who sprayed them and also painted some liquid around the perimeter of the building walls. That night they were back everywhere, crawling on my grandchildren when they were sleeping. Please put yourself in my position and imagine how you would feel.

The next morning I went to see Damian, the rep, to inform him of the problem. I even took him to one side away from the other guests so they could not hear, as I am a very polite person. He provided me with some ant spray and said he could not do anything because it was Sunday but assured me on Monday he would see the reservation manager and get us some more rooms.

DISASTER NUMBER THREE

Both myself and my pensioner wife had been up all night spraying the ants every hour to stop them crawling over our sleeping grandchildren, you must admit this is no way to spend a holiday.

DISASTER NUMBER FOUR

The next day I went to see Damian to get my new room. He told me to go to reception and they had got me room 401 and 403. Great, I thought, I can move rooms and try and make the best of a bad holiday.

DISASTER NUMBER FIVE

The reception told me they knew of no such thing and room 401 and 403 were taken and that they had no rooms to offer me. I went back to see Damian and told him what had happened. He said he was going to do a welcome meeting and that he would sort it out later. I told him I needed it sorting immediately and he said I have ants, I just spray them. At this point I lost my temper, bearing in mind I am a 50-plus man in ill health. I swore at him and told him I needed a room now. He ran off shouting - if you swear at me I am no longer your representative, I want nothing to do with you. I was amazed and so were several other people who told me so during the rest of the holiday. I had to go back to the reception and stand my ground, reluctantly they gave me two more rooms, making me feel as if I was the villain in all this. Damian never asked if we were okay and turned his head to one side every time he saw me, totally unprofessional and unacceptable.

On top of all this the food was almost inedible, the queues were a nightmare. I am not the only one to think this as on my return I have read the terrible review on Trip Adviser etc and only wish I had read them before I went.

I am an easy-going person who never complains but I have been so badly treated on this holiday I feel I have been cheated and let down. I could hear loads and loads of guests complaining about numerous things and surely you must have a catalogue of complaints about The Binamar. It can't be doing your company any good letting people down like this.

The good points. All the staff were very helpful and friendly. The girls in the creche and Kids Club were absolutely brilliant and the entertainment staff the best I have ever seen so please get rid of this outdated hotel from your brochure.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

The pick-up time was 8.25am, so no time for breakfast. In fairness they did lay on a Continental breakfast from 7am but we did not have time for this. We were not worried about this as we would be at the airport for 10am and decided we could have a Burger King and that it would be the best meal we would have had all week. The pick-up coach arrived at 9.05 and we arrived at the airport at 10.30 and queued up until 12.15. We had to go straight to our plane, no duty free and no lunch/dinner. We sat on the plane and set off at 12.45 - another six hours to get home. My grandson was beside himself.

The only guilty thing I did on this holiday was to swear at Damian but my grandson needs to be protected from ants crawling over him while sleeping and I need to protect him and if it involves swearing at Damian then I would do it again.

This is nothing compared to the injustices my family and I have had to put up with.

I feel so strong about this incident and will not rest until a satisfactory outcome has been reached. I do hope that you can resolve this matter without my having to take further action.

I await your response.

Thank you.

Michael

Leeds

We found the holiday wonderful. 3 pools made the whole place seem much less busy than it actually was. The entertainment team were fantastic and we've still got The Court of King Caractucus spinning around in our heads. We'd definately go back. Having chosen all inclusive option we were very pleased overall with the food choice - particularly breakfast and lunch. The dinner options were sometimes a little limited but we were very reassured to notice that the hotel staff ate in the restaurant as well. Having travelled without children for the first time, it was very reassuring also to notice that the staff dealt swiftly with over exhuberant children in a firm but fair way - consequence, no screaming, arkward children. Very very good.

Apartments were very clean. The resort was very nice, situated around 3 pools. The third pool (The Tennis Pool) had a supreme view of the beautiful sea. Nice town, good restaurants and bars.

Very nice. I would go back for another stay, without making the mistake of paying for a trip. The apartments were extremely clean, which was very nice. The resort was pleasant. We enjoyed our stay.

My holiday to Binimar, Cala n Blanes in Menorca was an all round fantastic holiday. It was the best holiday I have been on, and I will be back next year.

Cala n Blanes, Binimar - We had a good time at Binimar, but could have been better. At the welcome meeting the rep proudly announced the rep desk was manned nearly all/every day, then we only saw him again 3 times in 2 weeks. He may have been around but when we needed help getting a dentist, we had to rely on the reception, local medical centre, the local buses and taxis and our biggest help was the hyper car rental lady who drew us maps and answered our questions. She also told us where the nearest chemist was.

The entertainment was excellent however I was very disappointed that the entertainment staff put on the same 'school daze' and 'variety show' two weeks running. Also the mini disco game was awful, the same game in 7 different guises (corners) where children are 'out' and excluded from remainder of game. Also you could clearly see the 'seeing' staff telling the 'blind' staff who to call 'out' and they seemed biased - one girl won 3 times in our fortnight. This isn't sour grapes as our girl won once but it was very disappointing that they had to interfer with lady luck.

The apartment had a few little faults but was basically large and clean however we didn't use the cooker. Plenty of clean towels but floor not swept often - don't bring beach sand in on your shoes or you will regret it.

We also found it annoying the way the entertainment staff had to plug the sale of CD/Toys. After paying for the dentist (the E11 form does not cover dental) we then were on a tight budget and had to say NO to our 2 kids every night - an added stress!

My kids loved the Dizzy club but I am really surprised as they seemed to be crayoning every day and that's not my boys sort of thing! All the Dizzy club staff were lovely. Pleased it was free if booked from Airtours book but was caught out on the Friday as both sessions were 'special' so a charge was made. We spent 20Euro the first Friday and the second week we kept the kids with us at the pool/activities. Be careful letting littleuns play kids football as if there aren't enough kids the parents join in and both of mine ended up in tears as they didn't get a go! It was very rough/competitive dads, etc.

The pools are all fantastic although people did put towels on sunbeds before breakfast. You could always get a sun bed but the whole time we were there we didn't get any sunshades.

The food was fine for adults but my fussy 3yo had donuts and banana for breakfast everyday and chips and chocolate ice cream for evening meal every day.

The actual location is closer to Cuitadella than expected, 7 Euro taxi into town if you want to get away from the pizzeria/gift shop area of Cala en Forcat.

I would recommend this for people with children only, and you must love hoilday camps or you will be disappointed. There is no escape and the evening entertainment is outside and bellows out on its loudspeakers until 11pm every night. No early nights unless you are deaf. Don't forget the bingo and quiz after the mini disco and before the night's show. It was very very British!

I stayed at the Binimar in August this year, I really enjoyed myself. The entertainment was superb and there was plenty to do. It's a really great place for families; my child never once moaned everything was brill!!!

Cala 'N Blanes Binimar - We found the area very expensive the average price for three main courses in most bars was around 25-35 euros, like most of Menorca you`ll find a hire car a must but avoid "autos ciutadella" based inside the local Spar shop like the plague!!!! Cars were suspect to say the least and although on the face of it, it looked cheap and it turned out to be one of the most expensive.

Cala en Blanes is Blackpool with the sun!