On Palma’s most beautiful beach the way has been paved to make it desirable not only for holiday makers but also for residents.
It seems that the times when the ‘Palma Beach’ stood only for cheap tourism belong to the past. A year ago Palma’s city government founded the initiative ‘Palma Beach’ in order to upgrade the area and change it into an attractive destination for 365 days of the year.
In order to get closer to the goal of becoming an internationally popular ‘Urban Beach Destination‘ – similar to Barcelona or Miami – around 40 companies work hand-in-hand and include hotels, restaurants, cafes, and an ever-growing number of businesses and shops. Encouraged above all are high-quality offers in the areas of culture, leisure, gastronomy, nature, and especially sports including beach volleyball tournaments, surfing events, running etc. The fact is that many business people around the so-called Schinckenstrasse have realised that their present business model has only a limited future.
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Palma’s new urban beach destination
Hoteliers in particular are investing millions in improving their hotels – today there are four 5-star hotels and fourty seven 4-star hotels on the Playa. They are true temples of luxury, such as the new 5-star hotel Llaut Palace with its breathtaking views over the bay from its roof-terrace restaurant Katagi-Blau, very popular ever since its opening.
Much too beautiful for cheap tourism – the Playa de Palma with its long beaches right at Palma’s door is geographically a prime location.
Strolling along the beach promenade it is already noticeable that the shops and boutiques are becoming higher-quality, and the bars and restaurants ever more stylish – ie. everything is more modern, chic and higher-grade. Even the once famous/infamous Ballermann beach bar has been renamed ‘Beach Club Six’. Like the other Balnearios it is now really attractive and inviting. It should also not be forgotten that, in recent years, a lot of work has gone into improving wheelchair access to the beach and the surrounding area.
A bay with much quality of life and potential
Not only holidaymakers and locals profit from the general upgrading, the area around the Playa de Palma is also in demand by residents who live permanently on the island as a second residence. Porta Mallorquina franchise partner Barbara de Matos confirms this trend:
„The area has risen immensely in value, not only is the quality of the tourism going up but the Playa is becoming increasingly more popular“.
The manager of the in Mallorca-south office in Llucmajor can confirm that the season here begins earlier and includes many sports enthusiasts, particularly cyclists.
At the same time families with (smaller) children are also returning to the Playa whereas the mass-tourism is clearly declining. De Matos even talks of the Playa becoming the „new Portixol“, but still offering many possibilities for different tastes and requirements – contrary to the real Portixol, where the waiting lists for a property on the beach are continuously getting longer.
Ample former holiday apartments with sea views are for sale on the Playa, partly due to the uncertain legal situation regarding holiday rentals.
„Porta Mallorquina also has numerous high-quality houses on the first sea line on offer, and also very beautiful, excellently-renovated older objects“, says Barbara de Matos.
The Porta Mallorquina office manager, a well-known face due to her charming appearances in the German VOX-TV series ‘Mieten, kaufen, wohnen’, also reports that even in Arenal itself more and more renovation is being carried out, especially around the harbour of Arenal, where the Club Nautic S’Arenal is a further big plus-point: Here internationally recognised sailing regattas are held, and the German national sailing team uses the facilities for training in the winter months. Above all, many wonderful watersports possibilities are offered here including sailing, kajak and stand-up paddle, with corresponding (multilingual) courses not only in summer but also in the winter months.
The Playa de Palma is still relatively favourably priced, but according to market experts that will change within the next five years.
The sailing club also provides a very active social scene and is a very popular meeting place for German boat owners and sailors and German is often to be heard. The Harbour restaurant is popular with both locals and holidaymakers, as is the large saltwater swimming pool which is open to everyone.
Good infrastructure for residents.
Something very interesting for families with school children is the Eurocampus, a German international school but one which is visited by children from all over the world. The Eurocampus German School is a real success : As partner-school with the Deutsche Schule Barcelona it is the only German foreign school in Mallorca which is entitled, by the permanent international conference of ministers for culture, to offer not only the high school and secondary school qualifications but also Abitur (Baccalaureate/A levels).
A short time ago the school, which also has a kindergarden, was forced to move from Palma to Arenal due to lack of space and is now situated on a spacious site called Porciuncula. According to the school director Gabriele Fritsch the new location even offers possibilities to expand. Not only the extensive sports facilities are very popular with the children, but also the fact that Mallorca’s newest climbing park is also on the same site.
Perfect connections to Palma and the rest of the island
There are, however, many more attractions and amenities for both children and adults: Palma’s large aquarium is on the Playa, diverse sport and green areas are available, bicycle rental, a large choice of restaurants, supermarkets and shops of all descriptions are at hand and much more. Even horse-riding can be found in the area. The biggest advantage of living on the Playa with its proximity to Palma and the airport, both of which can be comfortably reached by bus or road, should also not be forgotten.