Barcelo Formentor - Pollensa, Spain 

We undertook a sneak review of the hotel last week- just to check if things had changed at all since we last stayed there 9 months ago. I have to say that whilst the beach bars have sharpened up their act and are managed by a friendly group of staff, this to be frank is an amazingly overpriced hotel. Thankfully the ancient rooms are to be replaced in phases over the coming months. However, the forthcoming renovation of this once grand hotel should include a complete reappraisal of standards. During our recent stay we found the rooms to be inadequate, and the food verging on the appalling. My wifes fish was raw in the centre when served, which is fine for certain dishes like sushi, tuna etc, but not for something described as oven baked! We also met with indifference when we brought this to the attention of staff- so the end result was a refusal to pay for inedible food. If you have deep pockets for drinks, the poolside area is a bonus- but we had intended that we would stay by the sea on the reserved sunbeds as part of our visit. However, no one likes to pay the same rate(30 euros for two) as charged to passing day visitors. Needless to say the hotel is being more frequently visited by Russians in search of kudos and bling. Good to see they have money to throw away! One to avoid for a number of reasons for the time being- fingers crossed for the future......