Sign of the times

The summer season used to traditionally start on April 1 but the majority of the resorts I visited still appear to be closed. Some bars and restaurants are open but the majority are still closed. Sun-bed beaches concessions have still not been awarded and I was quite amazed to see that showers were not working on Palmanova beach and the toilets were still closed even though Easter Monday could be termed as a great day for the beach. It was the same story in Puerto Pollensa although there were more tourists about and the port did appear to be open for business. I can´t understand why beach concessions are awarded so late. They are important because whichever company wins the contract is responsible for the upkeep of the beach. The majority of hotels which are open are offering all-inclusive packages, in some cases at a cut price rate because of the small number of foreign tourists. I stayed in a hotel in Pollensa, which has been popular with British tourists for many years, but on this occasion 80 percent of the people in the hotel were Majorcan. The waiting staff did not appear to be too impressed by the fact that the majority of hotel guests were on all-inclusive holidays. Pollensa and Palmanova are two of many favourite resorts on the island. It is a pity that they did not appear to be prepared for the summer season. It is a sad state of affairs that the season now starts in May and finishes in early September.