I tried Mytravel for December 07 any they didn`t seem to have anything either.

We're just emerging from winter, and from our perspective they all but pulled out this year, never mind next year.

I think there is a war of wills going on between the Holiday Tour Operators and the Hotels, and obviously the Hotels have the whip hand - if the Hotels close (as most of them did this year) then the Operators cannot bring people in.

EasyJet, BMI Baby, Air Berlin and several others operate throughout the year to Palma and even though most of the Hotels close, there are still Sol Hotels open through the winter, inclluding the Magalluf Park and Antillas in Magalluf and the Cala Blanca in Palma Nova - they can be booked at http://www.solmelia.com at far cheaper prices than going through the Tour Operator, leaving you only the cost of flights (at some real bargain prices) and the Taxi to and from the airport.

There are still bars and Restaurants open, and if you want a quieter holiday it's a perfect time to travel.

The weather since the end of October right the way through to and including March has been fantastic - only a handful of poor weather days, but the beggars you see on the street corners are all Bar owners!

Hope this helps

Adam

I think it is a real shame that so many of the hotels are closing during the winter months. We love Majorca in the winter - it is so quiet and beautiful and the weather is usually not too bad - certainly better than here anyway.

Last year we stayed at the Alicia in Cala Bona - the only hotel open in February - this year they stayed closed as well. We use Air Berlin - but even they cut back on the number of days they were flying from stansted to Palma in Jan/Feb. As you say there are some superb bargains to be had with flights - especially booked early - car hire is also cheap too.

I think a lot of people are looking for guaranteed sunshine and higher temperatures so look further afield - coupled with the fact that people are also far more adventurous nowadays.

If we decide to return next winter we will have to find alternative accommodation. The Sol Cala Blanca did look quite nice.

Pippa

Was in Santa Ponca 3 weeks ago and Thomson were certainly bringing people in to the town by coach. Even had a group staying where we were.

We got back from Majorca yesterday, we stayed at the Alicia Hotel in Cala Bona.
The Alicia is not opening until April next year .
There were a lot of places both Hotels and apartments closed until April.
So maybe they feel there isn't enough people going in the winter.

Unless the lost cost airlines cancel their flights then I am sure that there will be Hotels for us who like to visit Mallorca out of the main season. The Mallorcan tourist industry is desperate to encourage visitors to the island out of season and offer many free concert's, walks and cultural events.
The real beach resorts are pretty dismal in the winter months but there is far more to Mallorca. It is quite easy to make your own arrangements and perhaps this is the problem for the tour operators as more people go down this route.

I hope that Air Berlin will still operate from Stansted as Palma is a hub for onward travel to other parts of Spain and Portugal.

Dave

It looks like the Santa Lucia Hotel in Palma Nova is also closed for January and up until the 3rd week in February. As the Son Matias is also closed for refurbishment at that time Palma Nova is going to be pretty quiet. The Sol Cala Blanca looks as though it may well be open - but don't really fancy that.

If we want to go in Jan/ Feb then we may look at Santa Ponsa instead.

Hopefully the situation in Palma Nova is more because the popular (and very booked) Son Matias is having to close - perhaps the following year might be different. If not then I can see there weill not be many hotels open for us diy travellers to choose from!

Pippa

Santa Ponsa is nice. We have been 4 times just as a change fron Cala Bona. There are a good choice of quality hotels, don't know how many are open in winter. CBG