Ikos Mallorca in April with a toddler? Questions....

[Holidayseeker1]

I'm considering a late April break to Ikos Porto Petro (Mallorca) with my almost 3 year old. We really need an easy, lazy break urgently but is this a silly choice?

It's relatively cheap as it's early in season and I assume weather wont be amazing - but hoping it will be around 20C so pleasant to sit outside at midday, and I understand the pools are heated? DH's scottish genes dont get on well with hot weather and sunbathing so we wont be feel we're missing out on that...

I've never done high end AI before but on our other holidays with toddler we've not achieved much most days beyond a potter into the village for the playground, so this seems ideal an location from that perspective, without the hanger-induced arguments about where to eat? I know it's spread out and hilly but that is fine.

Am not sure if I'm just falling for the ikos hype - but I do love good food and staying somewhere nicer than my own house, and early season could be a good way to test the waters?

But I have many questions and would welcome answers from anyone who's been either at that time of year or with a toddler...

• If you've been with a toddler, what does a typical day look like? Is it just eat/nap/swim and repeat?
• Generally, is everything open in April on the site? What can little ones do on a rainy day?
• Is there anything nice to see in porto petro? Can you hop on a bus somewhere interesting for a few hours?
• DD has been potty trained since 2 - is it ok to take her into all pools? Will take reusable swim nappies anyway as we have them, but is this strictly monitored?
• I read they're about to open a splash pad at PP but suspect wont be available in April. What's the kids/shallow pool situation?
• What are the bed options for toddler in a junior suite? At home she has a floorbed and frequently chooses to flop onto the floor instead (toddlers!) so I'm wary of a proper bed. We have an airbed we used last time we travelled - should we bring that?
• Is Deluxe worth it? We won't want champagne/not knowledgeable on wines but I do care about spirits not being nasty! We wouldn't do the dinner on the beach (I think it's adults only) and happy to eat dinner in the buffet restaurant sometimes. The massage and free transfers would be of use but not sure worth £500+?
• What is room service like for nap / early bedtime scenarios? (tho we'd shift the day later to keep DD up with us till about 9). How do you order things and do they turn up promptly?
• What are 'garden view junior suites' like - do they have a pleasant view even if not of the sea? Or is it just a view of a hedge opposite?
• Do people ever get free/discounted room upgrades or is it better to pick the one we really want when booking?
• What are the beaches like - could a toddler happily play in the sand/paddle even if it's not swimming temp? (I'm thinking like my childhood holidays in northumberland on the beach in a jumper and cagoule?)
• Finally (sorry!) - what are the child seats like on ikos transfers? We use an ERF seat at home and I'm not keen on her finding out forward facing is possible - but seems like it's not in the spirit of a no-faff holiday to bring that with us?

I can answer a couple of these but I don't go to ikos with kids and I haven't been to Porto petro.

Free room upgrades are rare, especially for a first timer.

You don't need deluxe to get decent drinks. The wines and spirits are all excellent on non deluxe.

You might be better asking the other questions on the Ikos Porto Petro FB page.

I can help a bit with some of these - I went to Porto Petro last year although my DD was 9 months at the time so very much baby rather than toddler. We are going back this year though as we loved it so much! We went in June and are going at roughly the same time again this year so I can't comment on what it's like in the spring - but I am definitely expecting the days to be a combination of swim/eat/nap as you describe.

• There isn't a huge amount in Porto Petro itself, although it's pleasant enough to walk to. The nearest big town is Cala d'Or - the hotel ran a shuttle service to get there when I was visiting, not sure if that operates in the spring or not. Your stay also includes a day's use of a car so you can head out and do your own thing one day too.

• No monitoring at all of swim nappies being worn in pools - I think guests are just trusted to be sensible.

• There are two shallow pools for little ones at the Beach Club and Sa Torre areas. You can also take them in the other pools in those areas as long as you're happy to swim with them/hold them as needed.

• We weighed up booking deluxe this time but decided it's not worth the extra - the rooms are lovely as they are and the food and drink is all of really high quality. You can eat in all of the restaurants (including the deluxe one) during your stay.

• We got a small upgrade on our first visit - booked a garden view junior suite and got a pool view. So I'm not sure what the garden view is like as we never actually stayed in it! No reason to suppose they won't be pleasant though. We've booked a garden view again, let's see if we get lucky again with the upgrade...

• The beaches are nice, very sheltered, and would be fine for playing on even if not swimming.

Hope that's helpful. 😊

The weather should be nice, but it can be a bit showery at the end of March. It gets more reliable as the month of April wears on.

Portopetro is a small unspoiled fishing village with a few second homes but no other hotel in the town other than a small "hostal" (two-star place with no pool) and not much in the way of touristy shops etc. So the Ikos sticks out a bit. When it opened, local people were not happy as there was music around the pool at all hours that wasn't confined to the hotel. Apparently one of the Ikos dining options (not sure if this is "Deluxe", though) is a voucher for a local restaurant, some of which are quite nice - if it lets you have the catch of the day at La Caracola then that would be a treat.

The beach is small (half the size of a football pitch maybe) and public. Again the Ikos gets into a bit of trouble here, by putting sunbeds on it when they are not really entitled to. Legally anyone can sit on them and certainly anyone can put their towel three feet from them. In practice in April you should be OK, and with a toddler it probably doesn't matter that there are no facilities on the beach itself.

I know that there is at least one heated pool, but you might want to ask about the temperature and the exact operating period. Some hotels with heated pools don't start heating them in the first half of April because it would use too much energy to get the water to an acceptable temperature if it's still going down to 10° overnight. I assume there's an indoor pool in the spa area, but there may be age restrictions on that. The sea will be about 16-17°.

If you walk about 1km from the Ikos you will come to the bus stop. From here you can get into Cala d'Or (a fairly brash resort town with all the tat shops, Full English Breakfast easily available, etc) or to the inland town of Campos, where you can change for Palma (which is really easy since the buses are synchronised). Palma is definitely worth the day out.

Overall I'm not sure that the extra luxury of the Ikos justifies the price, unless you really want the slightly isolated location of Portopetro. Brands like Gran Melia or Iberostar Selection are pretty high-end and usually quite a lot cheaper.