Torralbenc, a Small Luxury Hotel of the World

Whilst I have been unable to travel I wanted to leave a review around the service offered and in particular by Ernest. I had many needs and questions due to my health and Ernest went out of his way each time to accommodate my requests. Ernest is a credit to the property - thank you.

I recently had a disappointing experience at this restaurant, which was quite surprising given its reputation and the lovely setting. My sister and I made a reservation for two at 8:45 pm. Upon arrival, we discovered that our reservation was mistakenly made for the bar instead of the main restaurant. The hostess, who greeted us with a less-than-welcoming attitude, seemed unwilling or unable to assist in transferring our reservation to the main dining area, despite it being nearly 40% empty, likely due to the end of the season. We were asked to sit aside while she supposedly checked on availability. However, it quickly became apparent that she made no effort to find us a table. To expedite the process, we decided to make a new reservation online, noting that there were plenty of tables available. When I mentioned this to the hostess, she responded in a rather dismissive and unhelpful manner, telling us we could do as we pleased—book online or wait. This left us feeling confused and frustrated, leading us to ask for the manager. Instead of the actual manager, another staff member arrived and promptly seated us, while the hostess continued to deny the events and provoke us further. It was a shocking experience, especially for a place with such a beautiful garden and, from what I’ve heard, an excellent kitchen. To add to the disappointment, the actual manager later took our food order but did so in a manner that lacked friendliness, which made us wonder if this behavior might be a reflection of the overall management style. As someone who has been visiting the island for over a decade and owns a property here, I’ve never encountered such poor service. It’s a shame, as the setting is lovely, but this place clearly has issues that need to be addressed. I won’t be returning and would recommend trying one of the other charming fincas or restaurants nearby instead.

First impressions were excellent; beautiful gardens and pool area, total tranquillity, friendly receptionist, welcome drink on the terrace. However on being shown to the room we were hugely disappointed. Although large and spacious it seemed damp and was cold (even though it was 25° outside). We had to ask for a heater! The furniture on the terrace (which overlooked a few olive trees and what I can only describe as a pile of rubble) was old and damp, you certainly wouldn’t want to sit on it with or without a pretty view. We ate in the restaurant in the evening after an aperitif in the garden. A nice touch would be to put candles on the tables in the garden. Once in the restaurant we were absolutely ignored for a while until someone finally came to show us to our table. The service started out being good but then became sporadic. Finesse was certainly lacking in a restaurant of this standard. We were left to pour our own wine, the food was not of a quality one would expect of an establishment at this level, there were no finger bowls to cleanse hands after de-shelling prawns, coffee was not offered and by the end we felt somewhat cheated. On the whole a rather disappointing stay.