With rooms starting at less than £180, mum of two Hannah Britt reveals how this under the radar Balearic hotel should be firmly on your bucket list
The pool at the Hilton Mallorca Galatzo was a real hit with Hannah’s family
As a family who love to travel, when I find a good deal I just have to share it. And this is one I simply cannot keep to myself. Mallorca is super popular with Brits, we flock there in our thousands year on year. With good reason, of course – it’s gorgeous, the beaches are flawless and there are plenty of things to do for all ages from water parks to markets to nightlife. There are hotels catering to all tastes too. But it’s the Hilton Mallorca Galatzo I’m going to talk about today. Because you need to add it to your family holiday bucket list right now…
DEALS TO BE HAD
Let’s start with the price, shall we? Rooms at the HMG start from just €207 per night, which works out at just less than £180. For that you get a Superior Lateral Sea View room, which comes with a king bed, room for a cot, floor-to-ceiling windows and a Balearic style design.
A recent revamp has seen decor throughout the accommodation updated and it’s all very swish indeed – modern, stylish, super clean and well considered. All rooms have a balcony with some variation of a sea view.
Rooms are modern, recently refurbished, well considered and clean
MEGA LOCATION
The Hilton Mallorca Galatzo is ideally located for exploration and ease. 20 minutes by car gets you to the airport, or to Palma de Mallorca for a day of shopping or sightseeing. The hotel is sat atop a hill with a gorgeous view looking down over Costa de la Calma, and a complimentary daily shuttle takes guests down to the beaches and eateries below. Taxis are easy to summon too, and cost just a few Euros to do the same.
The marinas of Andratz and Puerto Portals and the beaches of Peguera are a must. Or, for the intrepid, white sands, hiking trails and Insta-worthy landscape moments are less than 2km away on foot.
The view from the hotel is gorgeous
PLENTY TO DO ON SITE
If you fancy wiling away a day at the hotel, there’s lots to keep the whole family busy, with an indoor pool, outdoor pool, spa and tennis facilities to enjoy. The pool area was particularly lovely from a family point of view as there was a large shallow area, plus a fenced off baby pool. Towering palm and pine trees provided much welcomed dappled shade throughout the day.
There’s a beautifully bright and well-equipped kids’ club too, which offers fun for 4 to 14 year olds and provides games, crafting, soft play and more.
The kids club can be enjoyed by children from age 4 to age 14
DELICIOUS FOOD
Breakfast at La Cocina is busy but ordered, with lots of choice from porridge and cereals to fruit, baked treats and full-English options like eggs, sausage, bacon and beans. Freshly made pancakes and omelettes were a nice touch and very popular, especially with my children. The same restaurant does a popular buffet for dinner too.
Elsewhere, the Alma bar was comfy and chic, serving ice cold cava and tasty tapas – the garlic prawns, padron peppers and iberico ham were delightful. There was a children’s menu too, and the staff couldn’t have been more welcoming.
But my favourite eatery at HMG was the Paradis Pool Bar. The food was really good here, with mouthwatering poke bowls and pizza to munch. Cocktails, too, were moreish and well made.
The Alma Bar, where tapas and ice cold cava are served aplenty
Generally speaking, it’s a grand time to be a Republican in the nation’s capital.
President Trump is redecorating the White House in his gold-plated image. The GOP controls both houses of Congress. Two-thirds of the Supreme Court was appointed by Republican presidents.
In California, the outlook for the GOP is far bleaker. The party hasn’t elected a statewide candidate in almost two decades; Democrats hold a nearly 2-to-1 voter registration edge and have supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature.
That’s long been the story for a state party stuck in the shadows in a deep-blue coastal state.
Will O’Neill, chairman, Republican Party of Orange County, Mark Mueser, Dhillon Law Group, Shawn Steel, RNC National Committeeman, Garrett Fahy, chair, Republican National Lawyers Association, and California State Assembly member David Tangipa during the Redistricting Lawfare in 2025 session at the California GOP Convention in Garden Grove, CA on Saturday, September 6, 2025.
(Eric Thayer / For The Times)
However, amid a sea of “Trump 2028” T-shirts, red MAGA hats and sequined Americana-themed accessories, California Republicans had a brief reprieve from minority status this weekend at their fall convention in Orange County.
Members of the California GOP — often a fractious horde — were energized and united by their opposition to Proposition 50, the ballot measure crafted by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic leaders to redraw the state’s congressional districts to counter gerrymandering efforts in GOP-led states. Newsom accused Republicans of trying to “rig” the 2026 election at Trump’s behest to keep control of Congress.
Voters will decide its fate in a Nov. 4 special election and receive mail ballots roughly four weeks prior.
“Only one thing really matters. We’ve gotten people in the same room on this issue that hated each other for 20 years, probably for good reasons, based on ego,” said Shawn Steel, one of California’s three members of the Republican National Committee and the chairman of the party’s anti-Proposition 50 campaign, on Saturday. “But those days are over, at least for the next 58 days. … This is more than just unity. It’s survival.”
If approved, Proposition 50 could cost Republicans five seats in the closely divided U.S. House of Representatives and determine control of Congress during Trump’s final two years in office.
More than $40 million has already poured into campaigns supporting and opposing the effort, according to reports of large donations filed with the secretary of state’s office through Saturday.
Spending has been evident as glossy pamphlets opposing the effort landed in voters’ mailboxes even before lawmakers voted to put Proposition 50 on the ballot. This weekend, ads supporting the measure aired during the football game between the University of Michigan and the University of Oklahoma.
At the state GOP convention, which drew 1,143 registered delegates, alternates and guests to the Hyatt Regency in Garden Grove, this priority was evident.
Republican candidates running for governor next year would normally be focused on building support among donors and activists less than a year before the primary. But they foregrounded their opposition to Proposition 50 during the convention.
“I’m supposed to say every time I start talking, the No. 1 most important thing that we can talk about right now is ‘No on 50,’” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, said Saturday as he addressed the Log Cabin Republicans meeting. “So every conversation that you have with people has to begin with ‘No on 50.’ So you say, ‘No on 50. Oh, how are you doing?’”
Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton are the two most prominent Republican candidates in the crowded race to succeed Newsom, who will be termed out in 2026.
The walls of the convention hotel were lined with posters opposing the redistricting ballot measure, alongside typical campaign fliers, rhinestone MAGA broaches and pro-Trump merchandise such as T-shirts bearing his visage that read “Daddy’s Back!” and calling for his election to an unconstitutional third term in 2028.
Though California Republicans last elected statewide candidates in 2006, they have had greater success on ballot measures. Since 2010, the party has been victorious in more than 60% of the propositions it took a position on, according to data compiled by the state GOP.
“We need you to be involved. This is a dire situation,” state Assemblyman David Tangipa (R-Fresno) told a packed ballroom of party activists.
The California GOP Convention in Garden Grove, CA on Saturday, September 6, 2025. (Eric Thayer / For The Times)
Attendees of the Redistricting Lawfare in 2025 session at the California GOP Convention in Garden Grove. (Eric Thayer / For The Times)
Tangipa urged the crowd to reach out to their friends and neighbors with a simple message that is not centered on redistricting, the esoteric process of redrawing congressional districts that typically occurs once every decade following the U.S. census to account for population shifts.
“It’s too hard to talk about redistricting. You know, most people want to get a beer, hang out with their family, go to work, spend time,” he said. “You need to talk to the Republicans [and ask] one question: Does Gov. Newsom and the legislative body in Sacramento deserve more power?”
“No!” the crowd roared.
Should the measure pass, lawyers would challenge the new lines in federal court the next day, attorney and former GOP candidate Mark Meuser said during a separate redistricting panel.
But rather than rely on the courts, panelists hoped to defeat the measure at the ballot box, outlining various messaging strategies for attendees to adopt. Voter outreach trainings took place during the convention, and similar virtual classes were scheduled to begin Monday.
Even with the heavy focus on the redistricting ballot measure, gubernatorial candidates were also skittering around the convention, speaking to various caucuses, greeting delegates in the hallways and holding private meetings.
More than 80 people have signaled their intent to run for governor next year, according to the secretary of state’s office, though some have since dropped out.
Despite being rivals who both hope to win one of the top two spots in the June primary and move on to the November 2026 general election, Bianco and Hilton amicably chatted, a two-man show throughout some of the convention.
Hilton, after posing alongside Bianco at the California MAGA gathering on Friday, argued that the number of Californians who supported Trump in the 2024 election shows that there is a pathway for a Republican to be elected governor next year.
Pointing to glittery gold block letters that spelled MAGA, he said he wanted to swap the first A for a U, so that the acronym stood for “the most useless governor in America, Gavin Newsom.”
“The worst record of any state, the highest unemployment, the highest poverty, the highest taxes, the highest gas prices,” Hilton said. “If we can’t rip these people apart, then we don’t deserve to be here. They’re going to be asking for another four years. They don’t deserve another four minutes.”
California gubernatorial candidate Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco speaks at the California GOP Convention in Garden Grove.
(Eric Thayer / For The Times)
At a Saturday gathering of roughly 60 delegates from the conservative northern swath of California, Bianco said he would never say a bad word about his Republican opponents. But, he argued, he was the only candidate who could win the election because of his ability to siphon off Democratic votes because of his law enforcement bona fides.
“Democrats want their kids safe. They want their businesses safe. They want their neighborhoods safe. And they can say, ‘I’ll vote for public safety.’ They’re not even going to say I’m voting for a Republican,” Bianco promised.
As he raised his hands to the crowd with a grin, Bianco’s closely cropped high-and-tight haircut and handlebar mustache instantly telegraphed his law enforcement background, even though his badge and holstered pistol were hidden beneath a gray blazer.
Later, after Bianco addressed a crowd of Central Coast delegates sporting more cowboy hats and fewer button-down shirts, Hilton walked to the front of the room and spoke in his clipped British accent about how another attendee had promised to take him pig hunting.
California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton speaks at the California GOP Convention in Garden Grove.
(Eric Thayer / For The Times)
“We weren’t talking about police officers, I want to make that clear!” a man yelled from the crowd.
“Exactly,” Hilton continued, explaining how his family had a salami business in Hungary and he had gotten his hands plenty dirty in the past, “doing every aspect of making sausage, including killing the pigs.”
We checked in to this popular central London hotel to see why it’s so popular – with celebrities and ‘regular’ travellers alike – and discovered spacious rooms and amazing views
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Lots of celebrities have stayed at this big central London hotel(Image: London Hilton on Park Lane)
First impressions when you enter London Hilton on Park Lane, on the edge of Hyde Park, are certainly grand ones, with a glitzy lobby filled with velvet sofas and human-sized bouquets of fresh flowers to greet you.
Despite this clearly being a big corporate hotel (there was at least one conference going on when we stayed), the service is super friendly and personal, from the welcome at reception to the cute note from housekeeping on our pillow with the turn down. Lots of guests were obviously repeat visitors, and staff greeted them – and first-timers like us – like old friends. We’re told Academy Award-winning actor Susan Sarandon recently stayed here, as did Maura Higgins to get ready before this year’s TV BAFTAs.
The London Hilton on Park Lane makes a grand first impression(Image: London Hilton on Park Lane)
The rooms at London Hilton on Park Lane
We were lucky enough to be put in the recently refurbished Executive Park Lane Suite, a huge space on the 25th floor featuring a lounge area, separate bedroom and dressing room, and incredible views out over Hyde Park, with the Serpentine twinkling in the middle. We were particularly taken by the window seat and super-comfy bed, and the large marble bathroom with two sinks, separate bath and shower, and Molton Brown toiletries. If your budget stretches to it, it’s a real luxury to have so much space in the city centre, and feels like London’s version of a luxury apartment in New York City, overlooking Central Park.
One big perk for those staying in an Executive Room or any of the 56 suites is access to the hotel’s Executive Lounge, where breakfast is served in the mornings, and drinks and snacks between 5pm-7pm in the evenings – and there’s a wide selection, with no limits on the wines, beers, soft drinks and snacks. You could basically dine out here if you so wished.
We stayed in one of the recently refurbished Executive Park Lane Suites(Image: London Hilton on Park Lane)
The food atLondon Hilton on Park Lane
Instead, however, we headed downstairs for dinner at the hotel’s Park Corner Brasserie, a modern British eatery serving elevated classics. Although not a huge number of options for vegetarians, we loved our cabbage and sweetcorn frittata, and there were loads of grill dishes to choose from. Our personal highlight came at the end of the meal with a trio of creme brulées, each one more delicious than the last.
Park Corner Brasserie serves modern British dishes(Image: London Hilton on Park Lane)
How much does it cost to stay atLondon Hilton on Park Lane?
For a stay that costs a little less, take a look at Citizen M’s four London hotels, which start from £208.80 per night, or browse hundreds of other options on Booking.com.
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SACRAMENTO — In a largely courteous gathering of half a dozen of California’s top gubernatorial candidates, four Democrats and two Republicans agreed that despite the state boasting one of the world’s largest economies, too many of its residents are suffering because of the affordability crisis in the state.
Their strategies on how to improve the state’s economy, however, largely embraced the divergent views of their respective political parties as they discussed housing costs, high-speed rail, tariffs, climate change and homelessness on Wednesday evening at the first bipartisan event in the 2026 race to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“Californians are innovators. They are builders, they are designers, they are creators, and that is the reason that we have the fourth largest economy in the world,” said former Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat from Irvine. “But businesses and workers are being held back by the same thing. It is too expensive to do things here. It is too expensive to raise a family. It is too expensive to run a business.”
Conservative commentator Steve Hilton, a Republican, argued that state leaders need to end the “stranglehold” of unions, lawyers and climate change activists on California policy.
“I’ve been traveling this state. Everywhere I go, it’s the same story, this heartbreaking word that I get from every business I meet, every family is in such a struggle in California,” he said, with a raspy voice that he explained immediately upon taking the stage was caused by a sore throat.
At the forum were former Rep. Katie Porter, top row from left, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former legislative leader Toni Atkins; former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, bottom row from left, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and conservative commentator Steve Hilton.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The candidates spoke to about 800 people at a California Chamber of Commerce dinner during the 80-minute panel at the convention center in Sacramento. The chamber’s decision on whom to invite to the forum was based on which ones were leaders in public opinion surveys and fundraising. Making the cut were former Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, Hilton, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Porter and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra was also invited to participate in the forum but had a scheduling conflict.
The sharpest exchange of the evening was between Kounalakis, a Democrat, and Bianco, a Republican.
After the candidates were asked about President Trump’s erratic tariff policies, Kounalakis cited her experience working for her father’s real estate company as she criticized Bianco for arguing for a wait-and-see approach toward the president’s undulating plans.
“You’re not a businessman, you’re a government employee,” she said to Bianco. “You’ve got a pension, you’re going to do just fine. Small businesses are suffering from this, and it’s only going to get worse, and it’s driven, by the way, it is driven by Donald Trump’s vindictiveness toward countries he doesn’t like, countries he wants to annex, or states he doesn’t like, people he doesn’t like. This is hurting California, hurting our people, and it’s only going to make things worse, until we can get him out of the White House.”
Bianco countered that Kounalakis and the other Democratic gubernatorial candidates are directly responsible for the economic woes facing Californians because they have an “unquenchable thirst” for money to fund their liberal agenda.
“I just feel like I’m in ‘The Twilight Zone.’ I have a billionaire telling me that my 32 years of public service is OK for my retirement,” he said. “It’s taxes and regulations that are driving every single thing in California up. We pay the highest taxes, we pay the highest gas, we pay the highest housing, we pay the highest energy.”
The Democrats onstage, though largely agreeing about policy, sought to differentiate themselves. The sharpest divide was about whether to raise the minimum wage. On Monday, labor advocates in Los Angeles proposed raising it in Los Angeles County.
Atkins reflected most of her fellow Democrats’ views, saying that while she wanted to see higher wages for workers, “now is not the time.” Villaraigosa said that while he believes in a higher minimum wage, “we can’t just keep raising the minimum wage.”
Kounalakis, though, said not increasing the minimum wage would be inhumane.
“I think we should be working for that number, yes, I do,” she said. “You want to throw poor people under the bus.”
California’s high cost of living is a pressing concern among the state’s voters, and the issue is expected to play a major role in the 2026 governor’s race.
Nearly half feel worse off now compared with last year, and more than half felt less hopeful about their economic well-being, according to a poll released in May by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies that was co-sponsored by The Times.
Nearly exactly a year before the gubernatorial primary next year, the event was the first time Democratic and Republican candidates have shared a stage. It was also the first time GOP candidates Bianco and Hilton have appeared together.
Although the state’s leftward electoral tilt makes it challenging for a Republican to win the race — Californians last elected GOP politicians to statewide office in 2006 — Bianco and Hilton are battling to win one of the top two spots in next year’s primary election.
The pair expressed similar views about broadly ending liberal policies, such as stopping the state’s high-speed rail project and reducing environmental restrictions such as the state’s climate-change efforts that they argue have increased costs while having no meaningful effect on the consumption of fossil fuels.
A crucial question is whether Trump, whom both Bianco and Hilton fully support, will eventually endorse one of the Republican candidates.
The gubernatorial candidates, some of whom have been running more than a year, have largely focused on fundraising since entering the race. But the contest to replace Newsom is growing more public and heated, as seen at last weekend’s California Democratic Party convention. Several of the party’s candidates scurried around the Anaheim convention center, trying to curry favor with the state’s most liberal activists while also drawing contrasts with their rivals.
But the Democratic field is partially frozen as former Vice President Kamala Harris weighs entering the race, a decision she is expected to make by the end of the summer. Harris’ name did not come up during the forum.
There were a handful of light moments.
Porter expressed a common concern among the state’s residents when they talk about the cost of living in the state.
“What really keeps me up at night, why I’m running for governor, is whether my children are going to be able to afford to live here, whether they’re going to ever get off my couch and have their own home,” she said.
