In my 3 previous trips to Magaluf I’d not stepped foot in this bar before, no reason why, just a place we’d not ventured to.

This year we agreed to try some new places, Red Lion being one of them and I must admit it seems as though we’d missed out! This place was off the hook!!  Bigger inside than what it looks from the outside.

Probably the biggest bar in Magaluf! It was busy every time we went in!  The music was very good, DJ played a good mixture of tunes which not only had the dance floor jumping, the whole club seemed to be one big dance floor if I’m honest!  Best bar of 2010 for me along with Chaplins. Red Lion probably wins it due its consistency in high numbers.

Most people visiting Magaluf are always interested to know what it is like each year and those that are new just need to know which hotels to stay at and places to visit.

Thanks to our buzzing forum we often get members leaving reviews after they Magaluf holiday and this particular review l feel gives a really good insight. So take a read through and feel free to leave any questions or comments.

www.magalufuncovered.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=37963

Rating:

I admit it, I’m getting on a bit, and so are my mates.

Phones, you see, to us are for ringing each other. We don’t have full blown conversations over text and we’ve not a clue what Raspberry Messenger is. If we do send a text, it’s consists of “Pub at 8?”, and the reply is usually “Aye go on then”. Every so often, we’ll send a random, one word insult.

Which is why, when you’re on your jollies with 11 of your closest friends, you need a local. Just like you have at home. Somewhere to meet your mates and have a couple of sharpeners whilst you’re waiting for the vain ones, somewhere to take in the totty, and somewhere you’ll be greated like an old mate when you walk in, where they’ll start pouring your favoured tipple before you even utter a word.

Somewhere the female bar staff will get their boobies out for you. Sorry did I say that aloud? Last time I looked, that never happened in the Stag, back in Wigan, but it sure as hell happened last time I was in Lush Bar!

You see, we’d been going in all week, doing exactly as I said above, meeting there before progressing down the strip. The owner, who’s name I can’t recall sadly, (but who recognised us from the year before, and several years prior) realised that it was our last night, and got all the barmaids to give us a flash of their breasts. Good man.

Lush is one of the few bars that opens for longer than just the traditional peak season, though I understand it’s not open all year round. It was a colleague’s 40th birthday a few years ago and he managed to get – I’m not kidding – FIFTY people over there for a weekend in early March. Lush was open then – the shot sellers were notable by their absence, but they put the Super League on for us. So, some brownie points there, then.

Speaking of Super League and shot sellers – in 2008, my mate and I were trying to remember the words to a Wigan Warriors chant, so I texted another mate, who was at home, for a reminder. He duly complied but asked for, in return, a picture of “you and Joe biting a fat bird’s arse”. In the same breath, Lauren, the principle shot seller that year came by – I have to say, she was in no way shape or form fat, but we asked her to pose for the picture anyway. Up went the skirt, and Joe and I sank our teeth in!

And that’s the beauty of Lush – the staff are like your mates for the week. The bar itself only looks tiny when you walk in, but go towards the back, down the steps, there is another big bar area, so there’s plenty room.

Our favourite bit, though was the external terrace, which makes the place ideal any time of day or night. During the day, it’s a nice, relaxed place to be; warm but in the shade. At night, it’s a fabulous TVP.

TVP? Sorry – that stands for ‘Totty Vantage Point.” Given Lush’s position on near the top of the strip, and close to hotels and other bars, you could be forgiven for wondering why the hell Magaluf has a lap dancing bar. If you want to see beautiful people – just sit in Lush for an hour or two.

Another selling point is that the drinks are not badly priced. Depending on who served me, I paid between 2 and 2.5 euro on a pint of the local lager, which is as good as, if not better, than the pisswater we get at home. A vodka and mixer is about the same price, I’m reliably informed. Either way, much cheaper than further down the strip.

The downside is that it’s very much a moderate ‘bar’. It’s no Chaplins’ or Revolution, for instance. It’s very much somewhere to start or end your night, or have a drink during the day. But that’s its’ charm. It’s not big or banging, it’s just a good, friendly bar,with friendly people who possess a sense of fun and a sense of humour, without being dickheads.

And I’m sure, people of all ages, not just us thirtysomethings, appreciate that.

Rating:

Right, firstly a confession.

I spent the entire stay at the Vista Nova hotel cursing that big hill that leads up to it. You know the one; it starts between Poco Loco’s and the green bank; (Banca March?) they’ve put steps on it now, with banister rails and everything, but when we stayed there, the hill was pretty much a dirt track, so you couldn’t even crawl up it. So, walking up it, PROPERLY knackered you out.

But that’s nothing – last year, we stayed at the Torrenova Playa. Now THAT’S a bloody hill. I swear blind I lost a stone when I stayed there, so in many ways, I wish I’d stayed there a month.

So back to the Vista Nova, then, where the hill leading up to it is, when compared to the other one, like walking up the stairs at home. The other hill makes you realise just what a good location the Vista Nova is in.

My review is probably slightly out of date because we stayed there about three or four years ago now, but unless they’ve moved a few walls or taken some floors down or replaced the lift with some parachute packs, then not much will have changed.

Now seeing as this is a hotel, and not an apartment block, we could only get two in a room. There were six of us, so that meant having three rooms – great if you’re intent on bringing a bird back every night because it’s only one mate that you have to foist on someone else, but it’s not so good for facilitating lads’ camaraderie, not helped by the fact that our party’s rooms were all on different floors.

The rooms are a bit small as well, which is OK for us lads, because ‘getting ready’ consists of a shower and a squirt of Lynx, but for the girlies, it might get a bit, er, intimate. Well, I presume so – obviously I can’t be sure, so if any girls want to invite me to do an observant review on their endeavours to get ready in this rather confined space, for the purpose of any updates to this review then feel free to PM me, and I’ll visit you. Ahem.

On the upside, there was a telly, and air conditioning, the latter of which in my opinion is an absolute must in a place like Magaluf. The views are nothing to write home for, unless you like looking at Poco Locos’ roof or a massive satellite dish, but some rooms overlook the pool.

And it has to be said, the pool area is rather good – the pool itself is a good size, there are plenty of loungers, a bar, and direct access to the restaurant. You can stay half or full board, and I presume you could, if you wanted to, stay ‘room only’. Half board is ample though, but my advice would be to treat ‘breakfast’ like you would the kebab shop after your night out, as they really do serve at proper breakfast time, between 7 and 10am, as opposed to Magaluf breakfast time.

My mates did exactly that – and got a right good scran upon returning from Boomerang’s. There they were, staggering all over the place and stinking of ale, whilst mums and dads are getting their kids’ breakfasts ready.

And this can be a bone of contention for some. Personally, we were OK with having families around, but I’m not convinced that the families were OK with us – a bunch of six 30-ish blokes chucking a rugby ball around whilst supping ale and swearing. That said, we made friends with a few families – maybe that just illustrates the type of family that likes to take their holidays in central Magaluf?

Either way, it’s very well located for pretty much everything including a supermarket, which is located opposite the cul-de-sac where the main entrance to the hotel is. You certainly can’t moan about the distance from the beach, or from the bars and restaurants. The hotel is fairly prominent, and yet there is little noise intrusion from the action that is so close by.

Would I stay there again? Bloody right, I would. We didn’t pay silly money for it, it wasn’t overly noisy, the food was adequate, and it was close to everything.

The hill? Pah – what hill?

Rating:

Arrived 1pm on the Wednesday afternoon, Nice and hot without a cloud in the sky

Hotel i’ve been to before, although its now changed hands and there’s a new lady called Ann who is very nice and polite, She was very helpful getting us all on the same floor and next to each other, her son (I believe it is) Toni was also great to talk to about football. There’s LOADS of VERY useful info on the Notice boards letting you know what’s closed and what’s not, taxis info etc etc.. A very nice touch!

Room: Nice and basic, we had 2 balcony’s and a nice room very clean and tidy, maids came 3 times in our stay! Changed towels made beds and cleaned out all rubbish! We left valuables about and they weren’t even moved! Which is very good! Showers were hot all day along! No waiting for hot water!

Pool Side: Clean and tidy, more than enough sun bed thingys! And seats, pool was nice and refreshing also! Tom browns right next to it for a drink, €5 – 2x bottled Beer.

Rating:
Kensington apartments are spotless, cheap, clean and very central being located at the top of the strip just around the corner. The nearest beach is just 50 metres away. The apartments are also situated above a supermarket that sells everything you could possibly need.
The owners are Spanish and speak little English but they are very friendly and helpful once you manage to communicate with them! They do live in the apartments and tolerate a lot as we were quite rowdy in the early hours of the morning being 10 of us, all arriving home at different times and nothing was ever said to us.
We stayed for 5 nights and our rooms were cleaned once which wasn’t too bad. There is a safe deposit box which was 10 euros per room and we never had any security problems regarding room and box.The little kitchen has all the basic things you usually get i.e. kettle, plates, cups, utensils etc.
If I had to mention a downside it would be that being located above the supermarket it does get a little noisy around 7am with deliveries which doesn’t help when you arrive home at 6am. Also there is no air con for the height of summer but at the prices they charge you pay for what you get.
I would definitely recommend these apartments if you are looking for somewhere clean, cheap and just somewhere to rest your head between partying.

Rating:

Hotel Florida is situated very close to all the bars and clubs, but you have to walk up and down the big hill every day which gets can get quite annoying. The hotel had a lot of Spanish and Swiss people staying there. The hotel was posh, food was nice and if you want to go for a lads holiday l fully recommend Magaluf!