PHOTO | Artist's impression of BH Mallorca complex
Well, it was bound to happen sometime - Mags is getting a make-over. There have been some exciting and frankly enormous new developments during 2014, and in the new year BH Mallorca can proudly announce its arrival on the island of Mallorca, the Balearic big sister to Ibiza. BH Mallorca is a hotel with some seriously sweet additions, including open air stage, beach club, massive pool and a water park, all of which are included in an enticing package deal.
The outdoor stage area seems to be styled closely on the hugely successful Ushuaïa Ibiza model, with a large stage, crowd area and outdoor pool, all overlooked by several storeys of BH's hotel rooms. Twice a week throughout summer massive names from the electronic music scene will perform amidst a circus of lights, lasers and other slick production tools. The BH team vows eclecticism, but you can expect the focus to be on big EDM artists, catering to the young party crowd that already frequents the island.
There will also be an Island Beach Club in the hotel complex, where you can spend all day lounging around the pool, soaking up the sun in a day party atmosphere, with a DJ always on hand to provide the beats. Our favourite addition, however, has got to be the adults-only water park, which includes a grand total of nine water slides ("white knuckle" they say, but we'll be the judge of that), a wave pool and three jacuzzis. Brilliant.
Another appealing aspect is the all-in-one package deal on offer. Guests will have unlimited access to all three areas included in their stay, with food and drinks also included between 11am and 8pm. Not that we expect you to stay in the hotel the entire time, but having this option will save you money, make it easier to plan, as you know and pay for all the costs up front, and is especially appealing to the lazy amongst us, for whom this new, sunny, all-inclusive hotel complex must surely be holiday-porn.
BH has taken over the site previously occupied by Mallorca Rocks which, it must be admitted, could be a bit of a loss for the area's live music scene. Let's hope BH brings in some live artists as well DJs to maintain the musical diversity which is crucial to the Balearics' identity. At the very least, it's a sign of a welcome image make-over for Magaluf, an area of natural beauty with plenty to offer tourists, but which has in the past suffered from a negative 'Brits On Tour' image in the media.
We fired a few questions at BH Mallorca's creative director Rob Seaman, to find out more about the new holiday complex...
PHOTO | Rob Seaman, BH Mallorca creative director
We know you're planning big artists for BH Mallorca, but is there a more specific music policy? What demographic are you targeting your bookings at, or is it about being as eclectic as possible?
"Our music policy is quite simple: we want to appeal to as many people as possible. I see a lot of people knocking the whole EDM scene saying it's too commercial but the more successful artists become the more people are always going to knock them down, unfortunately it's a natural reaction that happens these days whether it be in music, sport or just famous people in general! We also have to be aware we're in Magaluf where people come to party so trying to be too ‘underground' in our music strategy just wouldn't work."
Can you reveal or hint at any names for us?
"We will start to announce names in the next week or so you'll have to wait a little while. All I can say is we have had a fantastic response from all artists we have approached which is very exciting for year one!"
The all-inclusive package is a pretty mammoth deal, why have you chosen to market the hotel in this way?
"To be honest it wasn't the first thing we thought of when we started to plan the project. We want to offer the ultimate experience for young people so they have everything they want to enjoy an amazing time. Nearly all the other hotels in Magaluf offer all-inclusive and when we spoke with our partners in the travel industry they all told us this is what our clients always ask for."
"That said, our focus isn't on offering all-inclusive as our major selling point. We have an amazing waterpark in the complex as well as Magaluf's coolest new Beach Club so although the whole package includes your food and drink there is much more to do to fill your days. We see it as a compliment to all the other daytime activities on offer. We also will only operate the all-inclusive between 11-8, so people can still go out and enjoy all the other bars and restaurants in the resort every evening. We also feel they won't only stay in the Hotel even during the hours of 11-8; Magaluf has an amazing beach and a great selection of bars and restaurants which I'm sure everyone will want to see!"
Are your plans bigger than BH Mallorca? Is this a step in a new direction for the island itself?
"As well as BH Mallorca we are also taking over two other units for Summer 2015. We have the Club B (formerly Fiesta Sahara) and Club B Apartments (formerly Magamar) which we will give a refresh for next summer with a view to a complete refurbishment of both units for the summer of 2016. We'll see how BH does for this summer before deciding what we do with them and also we'll ask our clients what they would like, as their opinions are the ones that matter!"
"Magaluf has (obviously) had some really bad press over the last couple of years and it's important everyone involved in tourism within the resort tries to realise that everything they do reflects on the resort itself, not just their own short term plans."
What is the feeling amongst locals regarding this huge new project?
"We have had really positive feedback on the island so far. We're spending a lot of money on promoting Magaluf in the UK and all over Europe and, as I said before, this is really important for the resort as a whole. Young people will always want to drink when they are on holiday but it's our intention to offer them something more than that. Once we are open it's very important for us to invite locals down to see the project and how we want to keep Magaluf as an important destination for young people in years to come!"
More details:
WORDS | Jordan Smith
PHOTO | Artist's view of main arena
