For our final couple of days on Minorca, we again used Thomson last minute deals to get this apartment which is fairly close to the airport. We booked it as a studio, so were quite pleasantly surprised that we were allocated a one bedroom apartment, although it was so small I think that this was the studio, just with an enclosed bedroom.

Siesta Mar is a very large apartment complex separated by a road. It was full of English package tourists as you would expect and was quite basic but clean.

The very small bedroom had a ceiling fan and a fairly comfortable bed with very cheap and thin pillows. The small lounge is as you see it - a table and 3 chairs and an uncomfortable sofa which could serve as a bed for a third person, although I'd hate to sleep on it.

The small adjoining kitchen had the basics - unusually a cooker but no microwave - and a full size fridge. There was an iron and ironing board, a brush and shovel and that's about it. Again (why?) no dishcloth or washing up liquid were supplied.

The one redeeming feature about the apartment was the very large and private balcony which ran the width of the apartment and was about 4 meters wide, with a table and chair setting and a large clothes airer. The resort had 2 coin operated washing machines, I forget the price but remember that it was totally outrageous. There was a small (given the size of the complex) swimming pool, a couple of water slides which the children seemed to enjoy and some organized activities, although we didn't look into them too much. Guests fell into two distinct groups - families and groups of 4+ who seemed to be there for the cheap grog and partied well into the small hours. Internet access was available in the resort and slightly cheaper outside. As with everywhere we went apart from the main town, there wasn't even the slightest sniff of a wireless signal.

Calla en Porter is another one road in-one road out resort area, depending on an infrequent bus service to get anywhere. There is a very pretty bay with a small beach which can be reached if you're up for a steep walk. There are lots of small supermarkets, cheaper than some of the resorts we visited but more expensive than in less isolated areas. There are also plenty of restaurants (which we thought were a bit expensive compared to the rest of the island) and cafe's (which were more reasonably priced) - bring a hearty appetite, because everywhere serves obscene amounts of food on massive plates.

RANT WARNING One restaurant that caught our attention was a steak or rib place, with a sign informing everyone that they "pay staff peanuts" and if you get good service you should leave a tip. Is this Europe or America? This is so inappropriate for an area which caters to English tourists (for the non-English out there, quite simply, we DON'T tip - it's degrading to both parties and not the done thing). I know we're not alone in saying we wouldn't give our business to anyone who boasts that they don't pay their staff very much. Needless to say, they weren't doing much trade. Rant over.

Overall, Siesta Mar did us for a couple of days, but to be honest I don't think we'd like to stay there for any longer.