Bellevue. The name has lent itself to an area. That is the mark of the significance of this hotel complex. Its 4000 plus places are also not without significance. Bellevue dominates to such an extent that for many it is Puerto Alcúdia. Its location along The Mile and its sheer volume grant it the power of the waxing and waning of the moon and the movement of the tide; it influences all around it, determining when businesses open and how successful they are. Talk to traders around The Mile as the season approaches, and Bellevue is the leitmotif, and it remains so throughout the season. One hotel, so much power; it giveth and it taketh away. It is like a town’s one-time colliery or steelworks. And talk of increased all-inclusivity threatens more of the taking away.
Bellevue has attained mythical status in that myths and rumours abound. A few years ago, it was meant to have been closing; that has been just one of the stories. It has also passed into folklore by becoming synonymous with Alcúdia or at least an Alcúdia many believe to be the only truth – more myth.
There is no halfway with Bellevue. Love or hate, heaven or hell, beauty or beast. You’re either with Bellevue or you’re against it. Opinion divides so evenly that last year I was able to point to twelve reviews, six glowing, six griping (18 June 2007). Everyone here has his or her Bellevue story, often one passed down several stages and embellished and exaggerated along the way. But when one talks to those who work there, whose stories are first-hand, there is perhaps a degree of authority. The rep who describes one of the groups of blocks as Alcatraz, the waiter who talks of the drunk teenagers and the half-hour wait for drinks at the understaffed all-inclusive bar and the resultant expletives of a disgruntled punter, while at the pay-for bar waiters are standing around twiddling their thumbs.
It is all too easy though to take these reports as gospel and the final word and to condemn Bellevue with a sneer of superciliousness. If it is that bad, why do people keep coming back? The truth is that for at least fifty per cent of visitors (if one takes those reviews as proving anything), there is no bad, only good. That those reviews could diverge so much says everything about Bellevue – it is polarity of opinion. Whether this is as a result of differing expectations, I can’t say, but for every “disgusting”, there’s an “excellent”. An issue is the extent to which the gripers are heard. The even spread of reviews does not of course mean that the pro and con camps are distributed that neatly, but there appear to be enough in the con lobby to make the management take note. Bellevue goes well beyond the perimeters of its complex; it is Alcúdia’s name that gets associated with the Bellevue experience. The hotel may dominate, but it also owes the town a responsibility of reputation.
Bellevue is hardcore holiday. It is full frontal and brazen. It is thousands of bodies and thousands of pints. Go there on a summer evening, and it is a giant fairground, a roller-coaster of noise spreading across its bars, lawns and show stage. And that is how plenty of people like it, even if it is not the only truth about Alcúdia.
QUIZ
Yesterday – Talk Talk. Today’s title – from a single by a contemporary English singer-songwriter.
Bellevue has attained mythical status in that myths and rumours abound. A few years ago, it was meant to have been closing; that has been just one of the stories. It has also passed into folklore by becoming synonymous with Alcúdia or at least an Alcúdia many believe to be the only truth – more myth.
There is no halfway with Bellevue. Love or hate, heaven or hell, beauty or beast. You’re either with Bellevue or you’re against it. Opinion divides so evenly that last year I was able to point to twelve reviews, six glowing, six griping (18 June 2007). Everyone here has his or her Bellevue story, often one passed down several stages and embellished and exaggerated along the way. But when one talks to those who work there, whose stories are first-hand, there is perhaps a degree of authority. The rep who describes one of the groups of blocks as Alcatraz, the waiter who talks of the drunk teenagers and the half-hour wait for drinks at the understaffed all-inclusive bar and the resultant expletives of a disgruntled punter, while at the pay-for bar waiters are standing around twiddling their thumbs.
It is all too easy though to take these reports as gospel and the final word and to condemn Bellevue with a sneer of superciliousness. If it is that bad, why do people keep coming back? The truth is that for at least fifty per cent of visitors (if one takes those reviews as proving anything), there is no bad, only good. That those reviews could diverge so much says everything about Bellevue – it is polarity of opinion. Whether this is as a result of differing expectations, I can’t say, but for every “disgusting”, there’s an “excellent”. An issue is the extent to which the gripers are heard. The even spread of reviews does not of course mean that the pro and con camps are distributed that neatly, but there appear to be enough in the con lobby to make the management take note. Bellevue goes well beyond the perimeters of its complex; it is Alcúdia’s name that gets associated with the Bellevue experience. The hotel may dominate, but it also owes the town a responsibility of reputation.
Bellevue is hardcore holiday. It is full frontal and brazen. It is thousands of bodies and thousands of pints. Go there on a summer evening, and it is a giant fairground, a roller-coaster of noise spreading across its bars, lawns and show stage. And that is how plenty of people like it, even if it is not the only truth about Alcúdia.
QUIZ
Yesterday – Talk Talk. Today’s title – from a single by a contemporary English singer-songwriter.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
No comments:
Post a Comment