Pirates Village Santa Ponsa | Jet 2 Holidays Review

We stayed at Pirates Village during the first week of October in 2018. The holiday was to celebrate my brother's 30th birthday (and first holiday abroad in 5 years!) plus it was my toddler nephew's first holiday abroad.

We travelled in term time as it's the only time Mark could get off work. Steve and Harry stayed at home for this trip (I'm not planning on taking Harry out of Secondary school to go on holiday) and I took Heidi and Jack out of school for the trip (I don't mind taking kids out of Primary School to go on holiday for 5 days).

My mam also came along with us so there were 6 of us in total. Pirates Village is such a fun hotel for kids and definitely a place I'd recommend to visit with children in Spain. 

Pirates Village Exterior

We booked two apartments - myself, my mam, Heidi (9) and Jack (7) in one and my brother Mark and Evan (3) in another.

The total holiday cost was around £2700 for the 6 of us when booked with Jet2 Holidays - this was for two self-catering apartments, flights, luggage and transfers.

We did price booking direct and I believe there are some bargains to be had but in this instance, booking separately wasn't too much more expensive and I liked booking it all together so we could spread the cost.

Pirates Village Santa Ponsa - Accommodation

Pirates Village Santa Ponsa is a 3* hotel. We paid extra to book a ground floor terrace room which made a huge difference to our holiday and I'd definitely recommend doing the same - especially if you're travelling as part of a group.

Terrace rooms have their own private garden, sun loungers and table and chairs and like all rooms here, face onto the pool. It was lush not having to 'reserve' a lounger and being able to use our own toilet, pop in for drinks and generally have a bit of personal space.

In the evening, the kids could chill out and watch TV together in one room at night while the grown-ups had a drink and enjoyed the entertainment outside. Our terrace really made the holiday for us.

Heidi and Jack don't need direct supervision around the pool so I was able to spend my days in relative peace and quiet on our terrace.

There's a lockable gate from your terrace to the pool. You can email the hotel prior to your stay and request a specific room but it's not guaranteed.

52 and 53 are fantastic as you can see the evening entertainment from here, they get the sun for most of the day and they are very close to the bar and pool.

Terrace room private sunbeds 

View from terrace room (52 and 53)

Apartments have one main bedroom with a huge bed which would easily sleep one adult and two children, a dressing table and wardrobe. There is no air-conditioning in the bedroom so this is something to consider if you're planning a trip in the height of summer.

Main Bedroom

Main Bedroom

Bathroom

Our bathroom was clean and functional and the living room has a pull-out sofa bed with a trundle bed underneath. If there are 5 of you in a room, an additional put-up bed can be provided. The kitchen area is small but had everything we needed for a comfortable stay.

We aren't the type to cook full meals on holiday (I much prefer eating out or snacking/preparing salads) but I imagine you'd manage just fine if you needed to.

The living area does have air conditioning (available for no additional charge) and there's a TV too - there are even some UK kids channels on there.

Your apartment is given the once-over by the cleaners each day. Not to the highest standard but it was clean enough.

Living and Kitchen Area

Dining table out to terrace

TV Stations 

The rooms are all pirate-themed and whilst definitely not the largest or highest quality place I've ever stayed, we had no complaints whatsoever and thought the standard was at the very top end of 3*.

The theming continues throughout the hotel and everywhere from the exterior to the restaurant is pirate themed - the hotel is really thoughtfully designed and finished to a good standard. We especially loved the astro turf around the pool which was a billion times better than tiles.

Hotel Walls

Pirate-themed All-Inclusive Restaurant

Hotel facilities & FREE kids club

The hotel is pretty small compared to what I am used to but the facilities are pretty good. The pools, in particular, are fantastic and I have written a whole post dedicated to the pool area here.

There's a pool for everyone with slides, toddler splash pools, deeper pools for jumping and swimming and more. As well as the outdoor pools there's a small sports area where games are organised and a games room with pool tables and arcade machines (small charge).

What really set this hotel apart for us though was the Kids Club.

Poolside Water Fights

Kids Club is FREE and available each day. No pre-booking is required and you simply turn up at any time and drop-in. Children aged 3+ can use the facilities and you can check out a timetable of what's on through the week at the reception.

 Kids club is super secure and there is lots and lots of indoor and outdoor space. The staff here are lovely, English-speaking and Jack and Heidi could honestly not get enough.

The procedure for signing children in is the same each time - when you drop the kids off, you fill out their details on a form and leave your contact details. If there are any issues or your child wants to leave, staff will ring you and if they can't get hold of you they'll make an announcement over the hotel tannoy system.

 Jack and Heidi wanted to stay longer and longer each day and sometimes I'd go and pick them up and they refused to leave and wanted to stay longer! If your children are in kids club over lunchtime, they get a free lunch too - score!

Main pool 

By the end of the week we had a little routine, we'd all play in the pool in the morning then my brother and Evan would have some chill time or go to the park in the afternoon, Heidi and Jack would go into kids club and myself and my mam would sunbathe/read/sit in the bar.

It's a hard life!

For me this holiday provided the absolute perfect balance of fun, family time and relaxation.

All inclusive beer

Activities in kids club included trampolining, movie afternoons, pizza making, crafts, computer games, sports, games and more.

Pirates Village Santa Ponsa - Hotel entertainment

The hotel is pirate themed and activities and entertainment are heavily focussed on this. Most evenings there's some kind of theatrical show on the stage at 9pm and they all follow the same kind storyline.

The shows aren't exactly west-end standard but they are definitely lots of fun. Expect sword fighting, fire-breathing, acrobats, dancing and more. Peter Pan, Pirate Wedding and the Parrot Show were our favourites.

There's also a mini-disco each night at around 8pm. Most of the kids loved playing together in the evenings and running around the (fenced off) pool with their new friends in pirate costumes.

Mini Disco

Daytime entertainment is also fab with regular poolside games, water fights and challenges. Head-pirate Alex really made the kids' day and is like the extra member of your family whose purpose is to wind the kids up into a frenzy and just have lots of fun.

Pirates Attack Show

Pirates Attack - walking the plank

Each Sunday afternoon the main pool is closed and taken over by the big Pirates Attack show. This lasts for a couple of hours and is fantastic.

Expect cannons, pirates (and parents) walking the plank, explosions, music, dancing and drama. The pirates mingle amongst the hotel guests and some of them are pretty naughty stealing pints and inflatables!

They get their comeuppance in the end though. This show really was a highlight for the kids.

Santa Ponsa - a mixed bag for us 

If I'm completely honest, Santa Ponsa was a bit of a mixed bag for us. Pirates Village is perfectly located in a quiet area of town and surrounded by Spanish tapas bars (plus there's a fab Spanish bakery and large supermarket next door).

It's a 5-minute easy walk to the beautiful beach and harbour which is lined with gorgeous restaurants and a lovely place for an evening stroll. I'm pleased we stayed in this part of Santa Ponsa as it was definitely my cup of tea and I'd be happy to return.

The part I wasn't so keen on was the main strip (around a 10-15 minute walk away) which was lined with cheap bars and kind of reminded me of Benidorm. Not my kind of family holiday I'm afraid.

If you stay at Pirates Village you can easily avoid the main strip and still have a fab time or equally, if you like lively bars and nightlife, you can easily access it too.

Santa Ponsa harbour and beach

Saying that, Santa Ponsa is very child-friendly. The beach is small and beautiful with golden sands and calm turquoise seas, there are lots of child-friendly restaurants to choose from (check out my top recommendations here), there's a play park across the road and a short walk away from the hotel and there are plenty of options for things to do including crazy golf and inflatable parks within easy reach.

For those who like a challenge, you can climb Santa Ponsa's famous 600 steps and you will be rewarded with glorious views. My mam and Heidi got up early to do this one morning and were very proud of themselves.

There are also various boat trips and watersports to try too. Again, all of the restaurants are extremely family-friendly with even the finest ones having soft plays and playgrounds built in.

Play park near hotel 

Play park near hotel 

Crazy golf in Santa Ponsa

Kids rides in Santa Ponsa

Santa Ponsa sunset

View from the top of the 600 steps - thanks to my mam for the photo! 

Day trips can be booked via travel agents in Santa Ponsa or via the hotel reception and include lots of water and theme parks. We opted to visit Palma Aquarium and had a lovely day there (you can read our review of Palma Aquarium here).

Palma Aquarium

All inclusive upgrade - is it worth it?

I do think that all-inclusive has its place and if I am staying in a big 5* resort where they have lots of dining options, I will be happy but if its a 3* hotel with only one buffet restaurant, I can guarantee I wouldn't be able to eat here all week no matter how good it is.

I like variety and I find buffet-style restaurants with kids to not be the most enjoyable of experiences. Saying that though, all-inclusive definitely has its perks and the promise of unlimited beer and ice cream is often too much to ignore.

Pirates Village offers self-catering and all-inclusive options and you can upgrade to all inclusive on the last 3 (or more) days of your holiday with your check out day being included for free.

Blockhouse Steak Restaurant

Blockhouse Steak Restaurant

The cost to upgrade to all inclusive in 2018 was 38 euros per adult and 25 euros per child (so for me it was 88 euros per day). We upgraded for the final half of our holiday and for us, all inclusive just wasn't worth it.

When we were self-catering, we dined in one of the nicer restaurants in Santa Ponsa in the evening and my bill including drinks was usually 40 euros for 1 adult and 2 kids (you could do this a lot cheaper - we dined in the pricier restaurants).

Breakfast usually set me back around 6 euros from the bakery next door and the kids had a free lunch at kids club each day. I'd drink cans of beer and grab a salad or tapas for lunch from the supermarket which would be around 6-7 euros and the kids would drink cartons of juice which again was only a couple of euros.

After dinner, a proper cocktail and a beer from the bar would be around 10 euros and then we'd head back to our terrace for beers from our fridge.

So I was spending around 65-70 euros per day when I was self-catering and this was not scrimping on anything and eating things like steak when we were dining out.

If you calculate the savings for a full week,  I'd save 126 euros by staying self-catering AND I'd enjoy it more as I love eating out at different places.

All inclusive starter station

However, all-inclusive does have its place and I understand its convenience can be a real selling point. The all-inclusive option at Pirates Village was actually fantastic and I certainly had no issues with the food and drinks available. Here's a peek at some of the options available:

Breakfast (main restaurant) - fresh pancakes and omelettes, toast, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, juice, bacon, sausage, beans, tomatoes, eggs, yoghurts, fruit, cereal

Lunch and dinner (main restaurant) - Seabass, fajitas, roast of the day, pork chops, vegetables, lasagne, pasta, pizza, calamari, prawns, chicken skewers, steak, soup, salad, chicken tray bake, cakes, ice cream, jelly, profiteroles, cheeses, bread.

Snack bar - you could order fries, toasties and onion rings etc... from the poolside snack bar during the day or pay extra for things like hot dogs.

Children's buffet - there was always a children's buffet with options such as spaghetti, chicken nuggets, chips, sausage etc....

All inclusive snack bar lunch

I noticed that the food labelling was really good and guests with food intolerances were well catered for with chefs talking to them about what they could and could not eat.

The only issue I had with the food was that it wasn't always piping hot. This always happens when it's buffet style and you are constantly up and down with your kids and there was only one time that my food was actually cold so I just asked the chef to make something fresh which wasn't a problem.

You can help yourself to ice cream, slush, beer, wine and hot drinks through the day with all-inclusive and order pre-made cocktails and spirits from the bar.

I wasn't keen on the wine and the cocktails were pretty weak but the beer was very drinkable (and is available in pretty big glasses rather than thimbles which is often the case). To read more about the food options available, check out my friend Lindsay's post here. 

All inclusive cocktail

In a nutshell - the all-inclusive upgrade was convenient and perfectly adequate but I like eating out too much and don't think I'd go for this option again.

Pirates Village Santa Ponsa - is it for you? 

Pirates Village is very 'full-on' and very pirat-ey (is that even a word). There is lots of entertainment, a big pool-scene and things to do. It's definitely somewhere to consider if you're looking for a lively family holiday.

I think if Harry (aged 12) had have been with us, he would have found the entertainment to be a bit babyish if I'm honest. He'd have really enjoyed the pool scene though.

Heidi (9) and Jack (7) were the perfect age for this hotel and they had the time of their lives - they joined in with kids club and the activities and loved the pool and unlimited slush when we were all inclusive.

The hotel is ideal for families with children aged 4-10 years old and for families with kids who will happily visit kids club as having some peace and quiet was also a huge selling point for me. Older kids will still enjoy this hotel, but the entertainment might be a little young for them. 

Water slides

If you have younger children like Evan, they'll love it too. Evan really enjoyed the mini disco, the pirate shows and having a room with a terrace and lockable gate was a godsend. Evan didn't use kids club but it was nice to have the option if that's something you'd go for. 

Pirates Village could be for you if you're a foodie but I would recommend dining out rather than staying all-inclusive and it could also be for you if you're looking for a nice family holiday in Majorca as it's a nice base to explore and in a lovely location. The airport transfers were under an hour too. 

We loved our holiday at Pirates Village Santa Ponsa and if your kids love pirates, they'll love it here too. Management were always very visable and asking if everything was ok and the staff seemed to genuinely care that you had a great time. You can find out more and book Pirates Village via Jet 2 Holidays here or book directly with the hotel here. 

Disclosure - we paid for our own holiday. 

Before you leave, check out these related posts:

• Pirate Pools and Mermaid Swimming Lessons at Pirates Village 
• 3 of our favourite child-friendly restaurants in Santa Ponsa
• Visiting Palma Aquarium from Santa Ponsa
• Which is the best resort in Majorca for your family holiday?

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