Iberostar Suites Hotel Islantilla

We stayed at this great hotel for 10 days with our 3 year old daughter. Booking direct with the hotel, arranging our own flights and hire car was still several hundred euros cheaper than with a holiday company. It is a large, very clean, modern hotel. For the price we paid we couldn't believe the quality. The rooms were huge. We opted for half board and we were very impressed with the food. Lots of choice, lots of Spanish dishes which we enjoyed, also excellent for little ones. We didn't venture much out of the hotel as it had everything there. A great spa (60 euros for the most amazing Thai massage), fantastic kids club (my daughter stills talks about the staff now) and entertainment if you wanted it every evening. (It wasn't tacky!) There isn't much to do outside of the hotel but there is a commercial centre with a choice of half a dozen restaurants about a 5 minute walk away. If you need a complete rest and just want to do 'nothing' on your holiday this is the place to go. Not the place if you want loads of bars and tourists. I would love to go back and I have recommended it to my friends with young chldren.

Me and my husband have just returned from our 6-day break in Islantilla. We picked the Iberostar particularly because it offered very good rates and large rooms. Our overall impression was excellent because: 1. The hotel is exactly what we expected it to be - spotlessly clean with large, spacious and modern rooms and bright airy public areas 3. The pool is huge with plenty of sunbeds and the pool area being constantly cleaned! The indoor pool with jacuzzi were well maintained and there was even a selection of complimentary soft drinks and juices provided. The Thai Zen Centre was not overly busy, but the staff were very helpful to answer any queries + the prices looked very good value (starting from about 45 EUR for a 60 min treatment) 4. There was plenty of choice of food in the buffet restaurant (we were on half-board basis and for the money we spent, the food was brilliant, although I wouldn't probably go all-inclusive, unless I was holidaying with children) 5. The reception staff, the waiters and the animation team went out of their way to please everyone (the hotel shows were well prepared and varied, targeted to various types of clients - children, adults, the Spanish or the British and other holidaymakers. Everyone could find something that suited them - bingo, fantasy show, mini disco, flamenco show, acrobats/magicians or Rio Carnival extravaganza.) On our arrival we had a slight problem with the safe in our room and called the reception and it was fixed within minutes. I would recommend this hotel as a good value for relaxing break and definitely to families with children. Especially if you are not into 'fish-and-chippie' type of holidays and want to feel like you are holidaying in Spain. (Yes, there are a lot of Spanish families with children, but we didn't mind their company at all as they were all extremely friendly and made the hotel lively at times which was a nice change. The evening shows wouldn't be the same withouth the Spaniards as they all got up and danced and really enjoyed themselves.) Also, a visit to Seville which is about 140 km away from Islantilla is a must! It's a wonderful city and we plan to go back in autumn.

Islantilla : this is mainly a Spanish resort unlike say the Algarve or the Costas further East. It is perfectly fine although no major tourist attractions nearby. Great if you want a relaxing beach holiday but not if you want to do lots of sightseeing or shopping. Hotel backs onto a golf course but didn't visit it. Hotel : Large business / holiday hotel. Many young families. Friendly, clean, pleasant. The room: we stayed in a family suite during April 2007. The suite actually consisted of two good sized double rooms each with ensuite bathroom and one with a lounge area. Overall, very pleased with quality of room and amount of space. Rest of hotel : Large, built over 5 storeys overlooking a large central lobby/atrium. Airy and open feel to it but as a result can also be noisy. Outside Pool : The outdoor pools were fine but very cold! Plenty of sun loungers and well served by the bar. Spa : we used the indoor pool. No supervision but otherwise more than adequate although not luxourious. My wife had a few treatments - reasonable value but staff a little disorganised, nothing to write home about. Still, good to have access to the facility. Good quality gym available also. Food : we went half board so had breakfast and dinners at the hotel. Format is help-youself buffet. We are vegetarian and the vegetarian selection was very limited and unimagnative. There was a lot of variety otherwise but quality of food adequate not great. Large desert selection. Unfortunately, no nearby restaurants. General : We went before the start of the main summer season so hotel was a little quiet. There is meant to evening entertainment but there was only one show in the week we were there. But the show was actually excellent. Beach : Fabulous. The hotel is one block away from the beach itself but it is only a short (about 5 mins) walk down a wide walkway. Beach is clean and wide and was not at all crowded. Would stay at this hotel again.

We went 12 people there to stay for a weekend. From Start, the hotel seems to be nice and perfect, all is clean and the staff is not bad, but so cold. For a 4 star hotel, rooms are huge, but without details, no cleanex, no shaving machine and shampoo or soap included. Bathroom nice, but very damaged and not repaired. For 2 days. They sell Spa like a big spa, and it´s a place of 20 square meters with a pool, a jacuzzi, 2 saunas and turkish bath, all without lights inside, we stayed in the dark. There was 6 showers with water therapy but they only worked 3 of them. No instructions of how the showers worked and the staff in the Spa. Staff normally there don´t smile, so seriuos. Rest rooms with billard and ping-pong table (without balls, we ask for them and they didn´t have balls...) Final recommendation: It doesn´t worth the price, is not in front of the beach and without details.

Just returned from a week's 'all inclusive' at the Iberostar Suites. To be as brief as possible. The hotel, its rooms, reception, pool, etc. were all to a very high standard. Spotlessly clean, well maintained. The staff, from reception to dining room to bar, were all, without exception, friendly, helpful and pleasant. Not too much English spoken, but not a problem. The only vague disappointment was the food, which we found repetitive and boring. The selections weren't refreshed often enough, hence some choices were dry and messy. However, the good points far out-weighed the bad. Well worth a visit!

We have just returned home 20th August from a two week stay half board at this hotel and would like to say it has a very high standard of cleanliness, probably due to it only being opened two years. The decor is spotless and in tip-top condition. Everyone at this hotel is friendly and obliging and nothing is too much trouble. We actually reported a fault in our bedroom on the morning and when we returned in the afternoon it had been rectified. The rooms are spacious and cleaned every day, you could have your towels changed every day if you wished, but not necessary. We did not use the mini bar but used the fridge to store our own drinks. The drinks in the hotel are quite pricey (as per usual in hotels) so we drank at the bar on the promenade (the one with the white tent-like roof) Coffee there was one euro per cup and delicious. The walk to the beach takes ten minutes maximum and for 9 euros 50 you get two beds with mattresses plus a parasol. The commercial centre which is approx. 15 minutes walk away has lots of restaurants and designer shops, which are quite expensive, allthough they always seem to have 20 -50% reductions. If you need to use the supermarket use the one up the other end of town, as its much quiter and the staff are much more friendlier. The entertainment in the hotel was poor, mainly duo's singing along to backing tapes or the animators miming to "Grease" or whatever. My only grouch would be the food. The breakfasts were fantastic, loads to choose from, but the dinners were a bit repetitive and mostly luke-warm. The dishes were not clearly marked so it was difficult to know what was what. Also the vegetarian food was very poor, unless you wanted to eat salads every evening. This is the third Iberostar we have stayed at in consecutive years and I have to say the food does let this hotel down. (This is my own personal opi nion.) My husband is a meat eater and found the selection to be very good. This hotel is excellent value for money and I cannot find any fault with the resort.

We returned from this hotel on 22nd July 2006 and really enjoyed the holiday. We were there for two weeks and there were two adults and a child age 4. The rooms (junior suites) are spacious with excellent air con. and also a dining table and chairs along with a sofa bed. There is a TV but mainly spanish channels apart from CNN. Very clean. There is no coffee / tea making facilities in the room so bring a mini kettle and also a travel iron is required. The rooms are cleaned daily to a high standard. There are family suites which are basically two junior suites next to each other (with connecting door). The food is excellent and there is loads of choice, again mainly spanish, the whole hotel is geared for Spanish guests and not many speak English. There is a Childrens club and the entertainment staff are all really nice and lots of fun. My daughter has cried quite a few times since we got back as she is missing them so that says alot, she has also learnt quite a lot of Spanish! The evening entertainment is varied from flamenco dancers to brazilian dancers and some nights there are shows put on by the entertainments team. You need to get in early to claim a seat as there are more guests than chairs in the room where the shows are. The beach is not so near as the brochure says (Thomas Cook Finesse) and the atlantic is very temperamental so we only went twice. This was the only aspect I was disappointed with as it is a blue flag beach and I had envisaged a more child friendly beach and the sea was just too rough. Local shops are a 15 min walk away (feels longer in the heat!) and in the other direction there is a mini fun fair for the under 5's. Not much for teenagers to do at all and would be at risk from getting bored in my opinion. If you don't fancy staying in the resort a car would be recommended. All in all it was a wonderful holiday and I would stay in this chain of hotels again without hesitation. It really does deserve it's 4 stars. PS Hello to everyone we met there in July 2006 !

We travelled to Islantilla with our 4 1/2 year old who wanted to be somewhere around other kids, rather than an an apartment. It was great for her and there were a number of English speaking kids around and also the Kids Club was run by a girl who spoke excellent English. The small pool is very safe for kids and the main pool has plenty space for the kids to get confidence. The kids also have a mini disco in the evening and then there is a family show at 10 daily - which is varied and well done often by external performers. I can agree totally with the comments in the review from 24/1/06 regarding the Spanish culture of the whole area- which was great. It is also worth walking c1km (or tourist train in evening) into La Antilla, which is totally Spanish, but buzzing at midnight and worth keeping the kids up late- as the locals seem to do. It was amazing to hear some Brits complaining that it was not what they expected and they wanted somewhere more British- well with c80% Spanish and c10% German, they are never going to get this- but it is a great escape from the typical destinations in Spain. Food is great and lots of fish/ pasta an meats- but also pizza, sausages and even chicken nuggets for kids - we did not get bored in 2 weeks as chioce was extensive. It is essential to have a car, even just to visit places within a few miles, as you need to get out and see they local area. The local beaches are great, but it is worth driving to even quieter ones- they never get busy. Also, there is a waterpark at Cartaya (15km), which is great and cheap- there were no other Brits when we went. Hueva is not really worth a trip, as it is functional but not exciting and hard work in 35+deg with kids. The all inclusive option is not worth it unless you are drinking all day and there was no evidence of this with anyone- families and couples. Hotel prices are relatively high and it is much cheaper to get lunch locally, than at the hotel. Even with very minimal Spanish we managed to get excellent tapas in very Spanish bars and the locals are very helpful. Most hotel staff can speak some English and the reception team were great. We cannot fault the service. In the peak season there is a shortage of sun beds and you have to get up c8-8.30 to get pole position, but the beach is only 5 mins away and you can hire loungers. Our advice is go there soon - we hope it will not change and the Spanish are trying to keep the culture. There is no need to book a package via an agent, as flight to Faro and 1 hr drive and easy to find. Also, it is worth paying for a pool view. Enjoy! We did and plan to go back.

We visited this hotel in late September/early October 2005 - had 2 weeks of perfect weather - clear blue skies, sunshine and around 25C. Resort of Islantilla is very quiet and relaxing with a beautiful sandy Blue Flag beach - just the sort of place we like. It was extremely clean, with just four 4/5* hotels and lots of beautiful apartments and villas, all very tastefully built and landscaped. We hired a car for 1 week and visited the surrounding areas (including Seville) which are really nice and very Spanish (or Portuguese!! if you choose to go across the border). There is one shopping centre about a 10 minute easy walk from the hotel, either down the tree lined avenue or along the promenade. This has a supermarket and some very nice designer type shops, not cheap, but less expensive than UK prices for equivalent quality. There are also several cafes and restaurants (which looked nice, but which we did not sample as we were on the All Inclusive option at the hotel) and a cinema, but although English/American films are shown, they are dubbed in Spanish. There are 2 other similar shopping centres due to open shortly, one at the other end of the town, and one up near the Golf Course. Not many people speak English which we liked - it gave me the opportunity to practice my Spanish - but they were very friendly just the same. The hotel is excellent - staff are very friendly and helpful. My partner had forgotten to take the adapter for his shaver and when we asked at Reception where we could get one, the Receptionist said it might be difficult to find one in Islantilla itself, so she brought hers from home than evening and lent it to us! The rooms are quite large and have good facilities - nice bathroom, with bath and shower - lounge area, fridge, plenty of cupboards, although the wardrobe space is very cramped for 2 people, and does not cater for dresses!! The beds were very comfortable and everything was very clean. There were also plenty of lights in the room, which is usually not the case in most hotels! The balcony overlooked the pool area, but rooms not overlooking the pool seemed to have pleasant views as well. The only criticism I would have of the rooms (apart from the wardrobe space!) is that the decor was very modern and functional which looked a bit cold, but that is only my personal taste. The food was very good! Lots of choice for all meals, which were all buffet style. At breakfast you could have your eggs and bacon cooked exactly as you wanted, pancakes, cold buffet, cereals, fresh fruit, and lots of nice different types of breads, rolls and pastries. Lunch and dinner had choice of soups, extensive hors d'oeuvres and salads along with hot dishes, and always fish or meat grilled as you wanted, good variety cheese board, sweets and gorgeous fresh fruit. We liked the fact that the food was very Spanish and did not particularly cater for the English. I overheard some other guests complaining about this, so if you DON'T want to sample real Spanish food, this is not the place for you!! On the All Inclusive option all drinks (house wine, beer, water, soft drinks, tea, coffee and ALL alcoholic drinks and cocktails) were included. As the hotel is new, the pool area was still a bit barren in terms of landscaping and gardens. Palm trees and shrubs have been planted, but have not grown much as yet, but this will change I'm sure. However, there were always plenty of sunbeds (no need to get up early to reserve them!) and the pool was large and clean. The 2 snack bars were good and provided nice areas to sit and relax. The Animation team were pretty poor for daytime activities, but that did not bother us. The entertainment at night was reasonably good - a couple of excellent and unusual dance shows, a good traditional and a more modern type flamenco, and a couple of different duos who played and sang for dancing. It was very Spanish which, again, we liked! If you want a quiet, relaxing holiday, and to feel like you are really in Spain, you would enjoy this hotel and resort. If you want to be with a lot of English people in a place with a lot of night life and shops, eat English food, and expect everyone to be able to speak English, then this is definitely NOT the place for you! In fact, please stay away, so that Islantilla does not become just another one of the Costas!!!

First of all the resort - compact:4 hotels: lots of apartment buildings: loads of parked cars: commercial centre with shops, bars & restaurants: lovely beach: 90% Spanish visitors: family orientated: English not widely spoken so make sure you take lessons or have a good phrase book! The hotel only opened in May this year - not all facilities are available i.e. gym/spa area, although you can use those at the hotel across the road. Food very good - excellent choice at each meal and always things that our kids would eat. We were "all inclusive" - help youself to soft drinks/beer/wine/ice cream and from the bar, international, not just local brands available. Entertainment geared towards Spanish guests, with evening animation shows. Our children joined the kids club and had a great time, although there is little to keep teenagers occupied. Most of the staff speak little English, but are friendly and helpful. There are limited grounds, so the pool area gets very busy, although there are plentiful sunloungers. All in all a good hotel, which will get better when all facilities are open and it gets more established. We would definatley return to this hotel and resort, but probably hire a car next time.