We stayed here for a week in July 2011 and were very satisfied. The hotel is quite small and a bit unusual in design as it is a converted bishop's palace.
Our top-floor room was spacious, tastefully furnished, comfortable, and clean, with a private balcony and fantastic mountain view. The balconies are west-facing, so they can become a bit of a sweat lodge on summer evenings when most people like to sit out. Perhaps September would be a better bet from this point of view. The only minus point was the intermittent nature of the hot water, especially during peak early evening demand.
The pool is on the small side but the poolside area is pleasant and clean, and suspiciously insect-free. Even though the hotel was fairly full, there were always sun loungers available (some broken ones). Owing to the relatively small space, a family group with kids can make a big splash and disturb the general calm. This is not really a hotel for younger kids.
We didn't eat in the restaurant - it seemed a bit pricey and out of the way for the evenings. It was always dead when we came back. A highlight though was the copious breakfast buffet - always fresh bread, home-made marmalade (available for sale), some local ham or cheese and delicious freshly squeezed Soller orange juice. Northern European as well as Spanish tastes are well catered for.
The staff are polite and businesslike without being over-friendly. They didn't do anything about the hot water problem other than smile.
Soller is a picturesque old town with good transport links to the beach, to Palma, and to other parts of the island. It's also a good base for walks. Can't understand why anyone would want to hire a car here - Soller does suffer from traffic congestion in the summer.
All in all we had a great holiday and would definitely recommend this hotel, especially to couples.
- Cal Bisbe Soller
- Cal Bisbe Hotel Soller
