The twenty plus years of the DA tennis party from Kent – Canterbury, Walmer, Thornbury, Sodbury & more sees a ‘by invitation’ cohort of 40 or so tennistas with some non-playing partners descend on the Beach Club hotel down the road from Cala Ratjada at Font de sa Cala.
- Having been given flight out and back dates by the organisers, you will have booked the flights yourself, with it being easy enough to extend the trip at your own preference but you’d reassemble at the airport for the group to travel together.
- Typically on arrival at Palma airport the Coach Driver will be waiting in the terminal at Exit 4 for a Bristol flight and a Gatwick flight. It takes about 75 minutes to get to the hotel.
- Of course this depends on flight times, but the return coach 2024 left the Beach Club at 07:00 for Bristol flight, 08:45 for Gatwick
- Trust me but the hotel is a bargain payable direct when you arrive to the hotel, the Beach Club, Font de sa Cala. Ideally this is paid in euros rather than credit card as it shares the benefit we get in a great deal without the card company leeching their percentage off the booking.
- There was also a pre-payment of approx €60 for tips and transfer. Great idea as this saves collecting/chasing during your trip. The tips go to the hotel staff who look after us all very well. It’s a good idea to make sure you get the chance to buy the folk organising tennis a coffee/beer. If you want to travel independently of course do so, but don’t embarrass yourself and ask for discounts, the group idea keeps costs down for everyone. If you don’t like this philosophy the trip isn’t for you.
- We’ll all have the UK Global Health Insurance card
Tennis – after all that’s what you’re here for
- Everyone is asked to bring a can of new balls
- Tennis runs on 6 clay courts towards the back of the hotel complex from 10 until 12. You may end up sitting out a 30 minute session, but the doubles matches are allocated as far as possible so you get to play with everybody, with mixed doubles and all ladies/gents as appears to be the taste. It’s tough for anyone to get this fair/correct or whatever word you choose, so at points a suggestion to sort yourselves a game gives the organiser a break and is a chance to play with folks you haven’t managed to match up with.
- If you are bothered about only playing with a certain standard then the group is probably not something you’ll enjoy. As a newcomer I’d describe the standard as “intermediate to decent, and leave your ego at home”, as always complimenting good play and effort and enjoying some banter between points.
- The clay surface can be awkward as the bounce can be erratic, and anything that catches a line could well test even the most accomplished reactions.
- If you book an afternoon court for €15 per hour (2024) you’ll probably prefer the ‘show courts’ nearer the hotel as they are truer.
- If you are unfamiliar with clay, bookings finish with a sweep of the courts, so allow 5 minutes as a courtesy to anyone following.
Things to do that aren’t tennis:
- Walks from the hotel. The walk to Cala Ratjada is just 5km, approx 1 hour, along the road and then cut in to walk along the coast track/promenade. You need to take the furthest turning to the seafront, but once there it’s a breeze. A bus can take you there and back hourlyish
- For buses it’s easiest to pay by tapping IN and tapping OUT with a contactless card, if up to 5 of you travel together on the same card you get a fair discount. So boop 5 times in, boop 5 times out is the rule. If you forget you pay 0.30, but there’s no reason you should suffer
- There are places to hire bicycles, electric and otherwise, but one of us chose to go for days out on a posh machine.
- Padel Tennis at 16 ph just up the road 400m or so at the sport club na Taconera. Bats /Rackets at e5 each and Balls available. Great alternative to afternoon tennis especially as an introduction to the game. Take someone who knows some of the basics, but it’s really just small tennis with walls. Only one bounce; you can ‘boast’ off the glass but if it hits a wall before bouncing it’s OUT!
- Taxis to various locations, but suggest Arta as one place to visit e20 (2025). With one group setting off for a second week’s holiday the Taxi from Cala Ratjada to Cala D’or was €69, and then from Cala D’or to the airport €75. Cala D’or is lively with 6 picturesque coves as beaches.
- in 2024 the visit coincided with the Capdepera medieval market weekend, which is worth a visit, with food and trinket stores galore and live music
- Capdepera in any case has a citadel and is worth an afternoon explore, accessible 10 minutes away by bus or taxi.
- BTW if you see the town Felanitx, it’s pronounced Felanich. Yes your eyes deceive you where the x and the i are found 🙂
- Thanks go to one of our party who used his encyclopaedia of quiz questions to test us on monopoly and assassinations which was great fun as a cerebral rather than the physical exercise.
Hotel facilities and such
- There is a small supermarket literally facing the hotel back entrance, closed around 1.30 to 4 or so, which has most things you may need,
- The rooms have a small fridge without an ice compartment, but there is no kettle, which of course you can bring yourself packed with your tennis socks of course to use the space. The rooms all have a balcony, but may not be sun facing if you want to wash & dry those socks before you return with your kettle.
- The half board price includes a huge buffet breakfast from 8 until 10.30 with some GF cereals and bread provided, but they seem to go unless you are quick/early. Fresh fruit is always available. Dinner is similarly a buffet from 19:00 to 21:00. The dining room has seats reserved for the party. Of course it’s up to you who you sit with, Free wine or beer is provided and the service is first class.
- There are two bars/restaurants on site for lunch which does pizzas, tortilla, salads and a fair selection of hot food, and there is also food at the beach restaurant 100m away which is popular but not altogether quiet and there’s Roberto’s bar next door which does an excellent hot chocolate, which you may want to follow with a bandy.
- The hotel next to the beach has a ‘sky bar’ open from 19:00 worth a visit, but not for teas/coffee, ah well, suppose you have to neck another cocktail/Erdinger as the fancy takes you. The bar is not open if it’s windy or inclement.
- There seems to be a laundry machine you can use
- You can/should get a preloaded card from the hotel which you use for buying food and drink which gets you a 10% discount, so worth the effort. You pre-load the card and the hotel reimburses you if you haven’t used the balance when you leave. You don’t get money off the tennis though.
- The hotel has a well equipped gym and of course swimming pools and various cycles are available for hire.
- Oh. There’s nightly cabaret entertainment at 21:30, Abba, Queen you know the sort of thing; good crowd pleasing entertainment.
Pretty much the same in 2025 but we were taught some new lessons here
