What is going on? This summer, one minute we are told that Mallorca is heaving, the next that visitor numbers have fallen, particularly in restaurants and hotels. In Soller, there’s even more polemic with some locals grumbling about the sheer volume of traffic entering the valley, while others say car parks are empty.
Meanwhile, headlines scream that restaurant staff are being laid off or sent on holiday because of low numbers dining out across the island. Well, as I’m skedaddling around the island currently, visiting hotels of all varieties as well as restaurants, let me tell you that I am seeing very full hotels, so much so that in some it’s impossible to view even one bedroom in some resorts.
As regards restaurants, those with gold-plated reputations and that are focused on offering excellent service and fare seem to be flying high. In Soller, the likes of upmarket Kingfisher, Agapanto, and Groenk in Fornalutx and Deya, are teeming with visitors and mostly require reservations, while firm family favourites such as Albatros, Pizzeria del Porto and Café Soller continue to draw the crowds. I dined at deluxe Merchants restaurant in the old town of Palma on Saturday night and every single table was taken both inside, and on the beautiful interior patio. The service, ambience and fare was superb.
What does seem to be happening is that those restaurants that used to offer value-for-money, reasonable quality options have raised their prices to the roof. This has made visitors understandably wary and look for cheaper alternatives. And what are those? I met two British couples in our port last week who told me that they’ve given up on expensive dinners in Soller. They felt the prices had become insanely high for the fare offered. Instead, they have big breakfasts at their hotels, get a cheap menu del día or snack on the hoof at lunchtime, and in the evening, either have a takeaway or ‘picnic’ on their hotel balconies, or on the beach. They buy a bottle of plonk and beers and a large bag of ice from Eroski, and save a fortune.
Of course, this isn’t a great recipe for ailing restaurants locally, but the owners need to buck up their ideas, and start to woo reluctant clients back with fair prices and better quality dishes and service. Holidaymakers are savvy and won’t be duped. As the idiom goes: If you give customers low quality fare at absurd prices, they’ll always vote with their feet.