Mallorca

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Real Madrid score twice in two minutes against Mallorca as they come from behind to maintain winning La Liga start.

Real Madrid claimed a third straight La Liga victory, with a 2-1 triumph over Real Mallorca, to continue their perfect start to the campaign.

Arda Guler and Vinicius Junior scored in quick succession for Los Blancos on Saturday, after Mallorca’s Vedat Muriqi opened the scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

Xabi Alonso’s Madrid also had three more goals ruled out as they continued to improve following the coach’s arrival at the start of the summer.

After competing in the Club World Cup this summer and not having much of a preseason, winning all their games before the first international break is an impressive feat for Alonso.

The former Bayer Leverkusen coach brought Vinicius Junior and Trent Alexander-Arnold back into the starting lineup, after both began last weekend’s win at Real Oviedo on the bench.

Kylian Mbappe, who has started the season in fine form with three league goals, thought he had broken the deadlock early on after a fine pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold, but was judged to be offside.

Mallorca took a surprise lead after 18 minutes, when Vedat Muriqi used his shoulder to divert a corner past Thibaut Courtois.

It was the first goal Madrid had conceded in La Liga this season after two clean sheets in their opening victories.

Alonso’s side responded with two goals in under two minutes.

Dean Huijsen headed Alvaro Carreras’s cross into the 6-yard box for Arda Guler to nod home in the 37th minute.

With Mallorca rocking, Vinicius surged into space before breaking into the box and scuffing a finish into the bottom corner.

Mbappe could have extended Madrid’s lead before the break, but nudged wide from close range after Guler’s drive was deflected into his path.

The Frenchman struck moments later, but was again offside, and the goal was ruled out.

Bright summer signing Franco Mastantuono fired narrowly over, early in the second half, on the 18-year-old’s first Santiago Bernabeu start, during which he showed few nerves.

The Argentinian attacker was involved in Madrid’s third disallowed goal of the night, after some superb footwork in the box, before he forced Roman into a save, and Guler eventually turned home.

However, the Turkish playmaker was judged to have handled the ball before striking, and the goal was ruled out, upsetting Madrid fans.

Carreras produced a spectacular goal-line clearance to keep out Samu Costa’s thumped effort to safety, as Mallorca sniffed for an equaliser.

Under Alonso’s predecessor, Carlo Ancelotti, Madrid were not always able to close games out, but after that scare, they showed a good level of control in the final stages to keep Mallorca at arm’s length.

On Sunday, champions Barcelona visit Rayo Vallecano, looking to match Madrid on three wins from three. Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao could also do the same should they beat Celta Vigo and Real Betis, respectively.

Who: Real Madrid vs Mallorca
What: Spanish La Liga
Where: Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain
When: Saturday, August 30 at 9:30pm (19:30 GMT)

How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 6:30pm (16:30 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream.

Real Madrid sit joint-top of La Liga with four other teams after winning both of their opening matches, setting up Saturday’s clash with struggling Mallorca, who are 16th with one point from two games.

It is Real manager Xabi Alonso’s first season in charge at Santiago Bernabeu, so the former Los Blancos midfielder has a spotlight focused tightly on him, especially given the side’s limp FIFA Club World Cup exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look a closer look at a clash that Alonso’s Madrid will be fully expected to win against struggling Mallorca.

What are Real Madrid’s results in La Liga this season?

The record La Liga winners opened the new domestic Spanish season with a 1-0 win against Osasuna, thanks to Kylian Mbappe’s penalty. The Madrid-based club stormed to a 3-0 win against Real Oviedo in their second game.

How have Mallorca fared in La Liga this season?

Mallorca have been handed a tough start with the trip to Madrid coming only two games after a meeting with Barcelona in their season opener.

The Catalan club emerged victorious with a 3-0 win. Mateu Morey then saved the islanders from back-to-back defeats with an 87th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 home draw with Celta Vigo.

Will Vinicius Junior start for Real Madrid?

Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso doubled down on his decision to leave Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior out of his starting lineup, insisting every player must fight for their place despite the FIFA world player of the year’s heroics off the bench.

The move paid off last Sunday as Vinicius came on as a substitute to help Real Madrid win 3-0 at Oviedo, providing an assist for Mbappe’s second goal before netting himself.

When asked about the impact of benching such a high-profile player, Alonso remained unfazed.

“In the dressing room, the key thing is that everyone is willing to contribute, whether on the pitch or off it,” he told a news conference on Friday. “Really believing in this is fundamental. And here, everyone does.”

The Real Madrid boss heaped praise on the Brazilian’s response. “I’m very happy with Vini. Against Oviedo, he showed that he can have a big impact coming off the bench. We’re just getting started … and he’s going to be crucial.”

Is Rodrygo available for transfer from Real Madrid?

Alonso has also backed Rodrygo, who replaced Vinicius on the left wing for his first start since their Club World Cup clash against Al Hilal in June.

The Brazilian forward has been heavily linked with a move away from the Spanish giants since the arrival of Alonso, but appears to be playing his way into the new coach’s plans.

“He has performed at his best in different positions. He has played as a 9 and even a 10. But I think the left wing is a very good position for him,” Alonso said.

However, the Spaniard did not disclose whether Rodrygo would start ahead of Vinicius again this weekend.

“It wouldn’t be very smart of me to tell you what I’m going to do, put him as a starter or on the left wing again,” he said with a laugh. “We’ll see.”

Head-to-head

This is the 50th meeting between the clubs, with Real Madrid winning on 29 occasions, while Mallorca have emerged victorious from 13 of the encounters.

Mallorca have not beaten Los Blancos in five matches, losing four of those games.

Their last win at Santiago Bernabeu came in May 2009, when the home side were on a run of five defeats to end that La Liga campaign, resulting in a finish nine points behind champions Barcelona.

Real Madrid team news

Alonso remains without the services of Jude Bellingham, Endrick, Ferland Mendy and Eduardo Camavinga, who are all injured.

Mallorca team news

Vedat Muriqi and Manu Morlanes return from suspensions.

Pablo Torre arrived from Real Madrid’s fierce rivals, Barcelona, earlier this year, and is expected to start in the number 10 position.

Real Madrid predicted starting lineup

Courtois; Carvajal, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras; Valverde, Tchouameni, Guler; Mastantuono, Mbappe, Vinicius

Mallorca predicted starting lineup

Roman; Kumbulla, Raillo, Valjent; Morlanes, Darder, Lato, Mojica; Torre; Muriqi, Asano

Lamine Yamal and Raphinha both find the net in Barcelona’s 3-0 La Liga win at Mallorca, who had two players sent off.

Barcelona began the defence of its La Liga title with a comfortable 3-0 win at Mallorca, scoring early and taking advantage of two first-half red cards for the hosts.

Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, who led Barcelona’s prolific attack last season, needed only seven minutes to impress again on Saturday. Yamal’s curling cross found Raphinha by the far post, and the Brazil forward headed in from close range.

Ferran Torres’s shot from outside the area in the 23rd was a goal that drew complaints from Mallorca because one of its players was on the ground after being hit by the ball in the head in the buildup.

Some Mallorca players stopped playing after their teammate went down, but the referee allowed play to continue. Mallorca immediately complained after Ferran scored.

The host went a man down 10 minutes later when Manu Morlanes was sent off for a second yellow card for fouling Yamal on the run. His first yellow was for protesting Barcelona’s second goal.

The second red card in the 39th came from Mallorca striker Vedat Muriqi hitting the head of Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García with his left foot while reaching up for a high ball. The referee changed the card from yellow to red after a video review.

Yamal made it 3-0 in second-half stoppage time by hitting the top corner.

Barcelona, which won the league last season after scoring 102 goals, was without veteran striker Robert Lewandowski because of an injury. Newly signed forward Marcus Rashford went in as a substitute in the 69th.

New Barcelona goalkeeper García did not have to work much in his Barcelona debut after being signed in the offseason in a transfer from city rival Espanyol.

Regular starting goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is out after undergoing lower back surgery, and García started ahead of Wojciech Szczesny and Iñaki Peña, who replaced Ter Stegen last season.

Later Saturday, Valencia hosted Real Sociedad and promoted Levante visited Alaves.

On Friday, Rayo Vallecano won at Girona 3-1, and Villarreal defeated promoted Oviedo 2-0.

Atletico Madrid is at Espanyol on Sunday, while Real Madrid hosts Osasuna on Tuesday.

Who: Mallorca vs Barcelona
What: Spanish La Liga
Where: Estadi Mallorca Son Moix in Mallorca, Spain
When: Saturday at 7:30pm (17:30 GMT)

How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 4:30pm (15:30 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream.

Barcelona begin their defence of their La Liga title on Saturday after flying to the island of Mallorca.

The Catalan club disposed of their fierce rivals and winners of the previous year’s title, Real Madrid, on all fronts last season.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the first major match of the new La Liga season and what clues there may be as to whether Barca will give Real a glimpse of hope in the title race this time around.

How dominant were Barcelona last season?

The Catalan club is coming off one of its best seasons in years, having won the league, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup. It also went deep in the Champions League, reaching the semifinals for the first time since 2019.

How big a role will Marcus Rashford play at Barcelona?

In its second year under coach Hansi Flick, the Catalan club will try to add to its success from last season by boosting its squad with Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United. He will be teaming up with Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski in an attacking front that was one of the best in Europe last season.

It led the scoring charts both in the Spanish league – with more than 100 goals – and in the Champions League.

With Lewandowski set to miss the start of the new season, Rashford will vie with Ferran Torres for a place in Barca’s attack.

After Rashford fell down the pecking order at Old Trafford, his move to Barcelona presents a huge chance to rebuild his career.

What other changes have Barcelona made?

Leaving the team are veteran defender Inigo Martínez, who has signed with Saudi club Al-Nassr, and Ansu Fati, who went on loan to Monaco after not playing much last season.

How many La Liga titles have Barcelona won?

Last season’s title was Barcelona’s 28th trophy lift in La Liga. Real Madrid are the record winners with 36 victories to their name.

Has Mallorca ever beaten Barcelona?

Yes. The Spanish islanders have won 17 of their 75 meetings. Barca, however, have won 44 of the encounters.

Where did Mallorca finish last season?

Mallorca squeezed into the top half of La Liga last season with a 10th-placed finish.

Only one team had a worse home record among the top 12 teams last season after Mallorca recorded only seven wins in 19 league matches in front of their own crowd. Six of those games resulted in defeats.

What happened the last time Barcelona met Mallorca?

Barca narrowly beat Mallorca 1-0 at home in their last meeting in April. Dani Olmo scored the only goal in the first minute of the second half to settle the La Liga match.

The corresponding fixture resulted in a 5-1 win for Barca with Raphinha netting twice.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick’s prematch thoughts

“We are working hard to face this new season. Winning three titles last year is not the end – it’s a continuation. We will give everything this year.

“Lamine Yamal still has room to improve. I like what I’m seeing. He’s training very well, with and without the ball, defending and pressing.”

Head-to-head

Mallorca have not defeated Barcelona since May 2009 – a 2-1 home win in an end-of-season affair in La Liga.

Barca, meanwhile, have won 14 of their last 15 matches against Mallorca in all competitions.

Mallorca team news

Pablo Maffeo will be heavily missed in defence due to a hamstring injury.

Pablo Torre is set to start against his former side, having joined from Barcelona in the summer window. Spain Under-21 international Mateo Joseph is also in line to feature, having joined on loan from Leeds United.

Omar Mascarell has a suspension hanging over from last season after his booking in the final game of the last La Liga campaign.

Barcelona team news

The Catalan club starts the season without veteran goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen because of surgery for lower back problems.

The goalkeeper was at odds with the club about his recovery time. He was provisionally stripped of his captaincy for refusing to sign a medical report about the injury, but he and the club eventually reached an agreement that restored his role as captain.

Veteran striker Lewandowski also isn’t expected to play early in the new campaign because of a muscle issue. Rashford’s registration after his loan from Manchester United has proved problematic, similar to the financial issues that held up Dani Olmo’s participation last season.

Mallorca predicted starting lineup

Greif; Morey, Lopez, Raillo, Lato; Sanchez, Costa, Torre, Darder; Muriqi, Joseph

Barcelona predicted starting lineup

Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Balde; de Jong, Pedri, Olmo; Lamine Yamal, Torres, Raphinha

Defending champions Real Madrid come from behind to beat Mallorca and keep La Liga title defence alive.

Jacobo Ramon scored deep into stoppage time as Real Madrid rallied to beat Mallorca 2-1 and delay Barcelona’s title celebration.

Madrid needed the victory on Wednesday to keep Barcelona from clinching its 28th league title without winning another match. The Catalan club remains four points ahead and can still lift the trophy with a win at city rival Espanyol on Thursday.

Mallorca took the lead with a goal by Martin Valjent in the 11th minute and stayed ahead until Kylian Mbappe beat a couple of defenders to equalise in the 68th.

Ramon netted the go-ahead goal from inside the area five minutes into injury time, preventing Barcelona from winning the title, for now.

Mbappe is still in the race to be the league’s leading scorer, arriving for Wednesday’s match with 27 goals, two more than Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski. Mbappe had a hat-trick in the loss to Barcelona on Sunday.

Barcelona virtually secured the title by coming from behind to beat Madrid 4-3 in Barcelona in the last “Clasico” of the season on Sunday. Madrid lost all four matches against Barcelona this season, being outscored 16-7. It was the first time Barcelona won every “Clasico” in a season that had at least three matches between the rivals.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti received a mostly indifferent reaction from the fans at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday after taking over the Brazil job.

The Italian was announced as Brazil’s new coach on Monday, and some Madrid fans criticised the coach for negotiating with the five-time champions with the La Liga season still under way.

There were no significant jeers or cheers when Ancelotti’s name was announced by the loudspeakers at the Bernabeu before the match, with most fans applauding and saying his name along with the announcer, following the tradition at the stadium.