Iberostar Waves Club Cala Barca

“Great family hotel”

We stayed for 8 nights from 20th September 2024. We are a family of 4 (two children, aged 8 & 11). Read all the mixed reviews but we had a great holiday and thought the hotel was excellent for the price. The site is massive and depending where your room is, the main complex can be a 5-10 minute w… more

We stayed for 8 nights from 20th September 2024. We are a family of 4 (two children, aged 8 & 11). Read all the mixed reviews but we had a great holiday and thought the hotel was excellent for the price. The site is massive and depending where your room is, the main complex can be a 5-10 minute walk including a few hills and steps - particularly difficult for pushchairs and wheelchair users. We were block 45 and it took 5 minutes to the main restaurant but we had a pool and snack bar outside our block. Food is of a really high standard for an all inclusive. Four restaurants, two snack bars and food trucks. Mexican restaurant at lunch is great. The snack bars and food trucks offer burgers, chicken, chips, hot dogs and panini’s. Beach restaurant is a bbq theme however we felt the food was not very warm. Main restaurant had theme nights and we enjoyed the sushi and fresh fish night. They always serve salad, pizza, pasta, cheese, ham and freshly cooked fish/meat. Breakfast has a great selection and omelette made to order. With a fussy 8 year old, there was always something to choose. The pools are great, nine in total and all a good size. We spent most time around the Olympic pool as that was close to the kids splash area and activities. Day activities were constant - beer pong, water polo, football, volleyball, shooting and fitness classes. We also had a free trial in the pool of scuba diving, with a lovely instructor and his friend, this was brilliant. Night time entertainment was good, different show each night and a Kahoot quiz followed by music. The silent disco was our favourite. All the entertainment team staff are brilliant. They work so hard. Lots of places for drinks; some free pour, others bar service. We went end of September and the hotel was busy but fine, no issues with queues or sun-beds. On site beach and lovely sandy beach 1.2km walk through a national park definitely worth a visit. In summary positives far out weigh any negatives and can’t ask for much more from an all inclusive holiday.

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“A holiday to remember!”

Have read a lot of reviews on this hotel before booking, and in the end took the plunge and booked. First thing I’d note is those with young children should consider a private transfer, I did this and the drive was around 40 minutes, some family took the transfer and this was around 2 hours by co… more

Have read a lot of reviews on this hotel before booking, and in the end took the plunge and booked. First thing I’d note is those with young children should consider a private transfer, I did this and the drive was around 40 minutes, some family took the transfer and this was around 2 hours by coach, so certainly a note for those with young kids. I want to try and cover some areas others have previously raised concerns about: Food: fantastic, we had no issues, there are 4 restaurants, the best for me was the beach, it’s quiet, and allows for a much more relaxed dinning experience (booking needed). The Mexican is also a great shout. Outside of this are 3 snack vans with pasta, hot dogs, nuggets, chips, paninis, cakes and an ice cream stand, so you’ll never be without. Eat until you can’t eat anymore. Rooms: the basic family room is what we booked, this was block 33, which is a little bit tucked out of the way, but not a game changer, it’s also worth noting the site team offer a buggy service if you call reception, which we used a couple of times for the kids. I did find the room basic, However I was sold a “basic family room” so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that I was given what I booked. Entertainment: each family will make their own choices on their kids bed time, the main shows started at 9pm - we had a 2 year old and 7 year old who both loved it. The shows always have a bench on the front row for the little ones, and the entertainment team are on hand to help the kids have as much fun as possible. It’s also got a wide variety, something different every night. For me the standout has to be the on site team, every member of the team made my kids feel so welcome every chance they got, from high fives to getting them involved with games, and just simply recognising the kids and saying hello. From reception, to the restaurant team, lifeguards, entertainment - they all work so hard, and I hope they know the difference they make to peoples holidays. A big big thank you for an amazing holiday to everyone at Iberostar - this was one none of us will forget in a hurry!

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“Lovely family holiday”

We had such a fantastic week at Iberostar and would definitely return. Me, husband and 3 year old were given a warm welcome at check in, though were told we were booked into the furthest away accommodation. Room wasn’t available until 3pm but we could store our luggage and have lunch. When we go… more

We had such a fantastic week at Iberostar and would definitely return. Me, husband and 3 year old were given a warm welcome at check in, though were told we were booked into the furthest away accommodation. Room wasn’t available until 3pm but we could store our luggage and have lunch. When we got to our room we were so far away from the reception/main pool areas. I walked back to reception to request an upgrade and paid an extra €30 a night to be closer to the action. Once that was sorted our holiday ran so smoothly. Our accommodation (in block 42) was clean and spacious. If you have mobility problems, or a pram, or you’re even forgetful and always need to go back to get something, you’re better to be in blocks 40 or 50 than where we were initially booked into. Food was brilliant, a great range of fresh fruit, made to order omelettes and the Mexican restaurant at lunch added to the variety. All of the restaurants were noisy but staff were great at clearing tables - it was never relaxing but when is a holiday with kids ever that? The kids pools were excellent and the staff do nice things like hand out Coronas for the parents and calippos for the kids! The food trucks are a nice touch, though the staff could have been a bit happier. If you have older children around 7 and up I think this resort is ideal. Older teens are likely to get bored and couples travelling without kids may prefer somewhere less manic and noisy, especially at mealtimes We dined at the beach restaurant which made a nice change and the BBQ meat and fish was delicious. Rooms were clean and serviced every day. Small updates would be good, a decent hairdryer, more sockets for charging and streaming to the TV are all things I’d expect from a leading hotel chain We took the bus to Cala D’Or one day for a change of scene which I’d recommend. Buses were every ten mins and aside from the resort, I don’t know if the area has very much to offer. The airport transfer took around 45-60 mins, again worth noting if you have young kids/babies.

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“Pretty are, lots to do, but quite compact resort”

After reading some of the reviews, we were pleasantly surprised by the hotel. We arrived around 12 and our room wasn’t ready. We had to wait till 230, so we got some lunch and found some sunbeds. Our room was in block 44. We liked it as a bit quieter but still only 5 mins walk from main restaurant… more

After reading some of the reviews, we were pleasantly surprised by the hotel. We arrived around 12 and our room wasn’t ready. We had to wait till 230, so we got some lunch and found some sunbeds. Our room was in block 44. We liked it as a bit quieter but still only 5 mins walk from main restaurant. Our garden family room had 1 bedroom and bathroom, with a separate room with 2 single beds (sofa beds)for the kids. Only 1 sofa bed had been made up on arrival. But after a couple of prompts, housekeeping made up the 2nd bed. The room was clean but the one issue was that unless you really slammed the door it reopened. I woke at 3am one night and our door was wide open. It was 3euros a day for a safe, unless you selected eco cleaning option to have the room cleaned alternate days. There were hardly any power sockets so recommend you take a 4-way extension lead if you want to charge multiple devices. We had 2 teenagers (18,16) and felt the hotel was mainly aimed at younger children. Or maybe it was just the time of year. It felt like you were packed in round the pools. The beach is a public beach so there are no sun loungers there. And it’s a bit rocky so beach shoes are a god idea. I love to swim laps. The pools were a bit manic. We felt it would have been nice to have 1 pool which was adults only. The only time of day you can do laps is when the athletic pool opens at 0830. It’s not lifeguarded at this time, so you can sw laps. From 10am lifeguards arrive and there isn’t rooms to swim. The pool by block 44 closed at 6 and you are asked to vacate the pool. This feels too early. And the bar also closed at this time. Also, it would be good if people could remember not to take glasses to the pool. We liked the food. There was a good choice and it was nice to go to different restaurants for a change of scene. Mexican, seafood, sushi, fresh fish. We went to the Beach House one evening and had BBQ. We didn’t feel this was very special when it’s such a lovely location. Would have been nicer to be an a la carte restaurant. The drinks were ok. But cocktails were premixed so disappointing. It’s good to have an insulated water bottle/cup. Breakfast was my favourite meal with lovely freshly cooked omelettes, fresh orange juice and smoothies. My main complaint about the food would be the desserts … they were delicious and I just couldn’t resist them! The entertainment team were great. Whilst we were there, they organised a triathlon. This was great fun and all those that took part really enjoyed it. I loved the fit jumping with Lucia and Pola. There were lots of sporting activities to chose from with Aqua gym, yoga, spinning , football, beach volleyball etc. So plenty to keep you entertained during the day. At night, a quiz took place before the main entertainment. There isn’t much space to watch the shows. People reserve their seats to watch very early, but if you sit on the steps you can usually find a spot. Most of the shows were good fun. It was great to see the entertainment team putting on a show one night. It was our first time in Mallorca. We found the local area really pretty. There are several coves within walking distance of the hotel. Cala Mondrago was the nicest. I swam there early one morning and even swam with a stingray. Lots of trails to walk when the temperature drops. We took a taxi to Cala D’or (10 euros), which seems lively. We went to a couple of the beaches which were really nice but so busy! We enjoyed our 10 days here but we probably wouldn’t return to this hotel as we’d prefer some adult only space.

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