Barcelo Fuerteventura Thalasso Spa

3 readers found this review helpful

Just got back today and thought we would do what we have never done before; ie do one of these reviews. The hotel is very good but with it being so big, the catering is a bit like a canteen. There is no atmosphere as they are having to move so many bodies through so fast. The food was fine and the service was ok. Because they are in a hurry the waiters cannot get to know the clients and so no relationship is established. That is the downside of all inclusive I suppose. The rooms were great and clean as long as your view was not blocked by a tree. The fact that the painters worked around the restaurant as people were eating was not good and the smell when they started painting the presscrete around the pool was offputting.
Overall though the stay was very good and good value. The main problem for many was what was on the all inclusive. For the first couple of days most people were lost as to what was included ans what was not, That was what should have been explained by the Thomson rep. We went to the meeting on the first morning and all she did was catalogue all the trips you could buy from her at special rates. We never saw her again until we were outside the hotel waiting for the coach to take us back to the airport. Any info such as baggage storage, checkout times, etc we got from other tour operator reps. Without that information you could end up with a big bill when you came to check out as some did!

6 readers found this review helpful

my daughter and husband and children stayed at the barcello for christmas we stayed in a cheaper hotel , they had first rate food we know because we joined them a couple of times . on christmas day there was achurch service in the hotel and father christmas can for the kiddies by the pool with his helpers and a real donkey the presents the children got was really good like cuddly toys for babies enfants had differant and older children got water pistol the large ones, other hotels gave alolly pop ,the grown ups had two bottle of champage in the fridge put in there room and a complament drink when there arrived. this hotel was a four star and the best we have seen can,t wait to join our children this christmas there the resort is so clean and allwalk ways as someone who disabled this resort was perfect and only ten mins from airport so taxi was easy to get to well worth visiting

8 readers found this review helpful

Just returned from a 7 day all inclusive package booked with First Choice.
This was our 2nd stay at Barcelo and things had changed in many areas.
Rooms had not changed and were comfy and spacious all though some parts were looking a bit tired and the maid service was not that good - they visitied everyday but didn't spend too long in each room !
Due to time of arrival we didn't get down to the restaurant until 9.10pm and there was not much left - but at least we didn't have to queue !!!!
Food was OK but we have had better and the queue for a table was a joke - not what you would expect from a 4+ star hotel (1st Choice Ratings - not ours).
Entertainment was varied with some good and some not so good - the biggest problem was trying to get a seat either in the theatre area or in the bar area.
All inclusive had strange times and rules to follow that no one told you about when checking in.
Although there was plenty of beds around both pools it was hard to get a couple after 10 am - even with the hotel guide saying beds cannot be reserved there were plenty that just sat there with towels on all day. I know this isn't the hotels fault but I am sure it would not take long to police it so offenders get the message.
Steam room/turkish bath was still not working.
There were plenty of extra costs to be charged......safe in room-deposit and daily charge, beach towels - deposit and charge for changing them, drinks after 11 pm etc.....
All in all a nice hotel that, in our opinion, has had its day. Furniture in the bar was looking tatty, the coridors were looking tired and the sun beds had certainly seen better days !The majority of the staff were friendly but some did seem to get out of bed the wrong side on some days.
Unfortunately this will be our last trip to the Barcelo Fuerteventure.............

4 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from a weeks holiday at the Barcalo Fuerteventura thalasso spar.We booked this from the description given and was really looking foward to a first class hotel as it was supposed to be 4star plus.
However we are very dissapointed with what we found.
The Hotel was ok, but it was very tired looking and was in need of some decorations throughout. Our room was fine but again very dated and allthough clean there were rust marks in the bath and the general decoration was poor.We stayed half board but most in the hotel were in fact fully inclusive and i think the hotel suffers from this .Paper cups etc littered the pool area which we did not see cleaned at all, the whole time we stayed thier. The sunbeds and tables were not washed down either.
Remember this is supposed to be a 4 star plus hotel.
There is entertainment each night but do not expect top class shows much of them are the hotel entertainment staff miming to shows, and although they are ok its easy to say they are not great. And as an all inclusive hotel it was hard to get a drink at the bar.The resturant was clean and the food was ok but not very apealing after a few days as the choice was the same every day.
The resort was very nice but quiet the beach looked lovely but no one used it while we were thier, and the bars and resturants were empty in the evening and most complained that the fully inclusive hotels were causing a lot of damage to thier trade.
Do not be put off going if you like to eat and drink as much as you like , but do not expect a 4 star plus hotel more like a 3 star.

19 readers found this review helpful

In general this hotel was good, as with all holidays there were good and bad points. The staff in the hotel were excellent, very helpful, nothing was too much trouble. The rooms were good, cleaned daily, (leave your towels in the bath if you want them changing)If you can choose which block of the hotel you stay in, try and get into block 3 either middle or top floors for the best views of the sea. A slight niggly fault in the room was the Television, it's advertised as having sattelite channels, which is fine if your german as 99 per cent of them are german channels, there are two english speaking channels, BBC World News and CNN.
The food in the hotel is adequate, it's edible and cooked well, but it's very repetitive, by the end of our 7 night stay we were eating out, as we were bored with the food.
There are 3 pools, one kiddies pool and two large ones, one of which is (supposedly!) heated.
The largest dissapointment of the holiday was the Spa, which is not attached to the hotel, it's a short walk from it. We've stayed in a Barcelo Hotel in Tenerife before and the Spa there is far superior. This Spa, has an outdoor saltwater pool, which is very cold, some seating, but not enough, and indoors is just a series of small pools, which are different temperatures, there was also a steamroom, but i've seen more steam come out of my kettle. The Sauna was not working at the time we were there.
The gym is fine, the equipment is a little dated, but most of the equipment works fine.
The area that the hotel is in, Caletta, is very quiet, there's not a lot to do here, but, one pub we can strongly recommend is "The Trafalger" they serve great food and are very friendly.
Overall we had a lovely holiday, but if your coming here for the spa facilities don't bother, if on the other hand, you just want to chill out, read a good book and enjoy simple food, this is the place for you.

10 readers found this review helpful

just returned from weeks holiday six adults and three children,had a fantastic time hotel great,staff friendly food good.would definately go back a quiet resort but good entertainment at hotel with great kids team.Right on beach but their is a nicer beach about 15 mins walk away just head towards sheraton hotel ,well worth the walk.

11 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from 7 days at this hotel and had a wonderful time. The food choice and quality was excellent, all the staff were friendly and helpful, the evening entertainment was fantastic as was the location. We would recommend this hotel to anyone! We hired a car from Tropic, directly opposite the hotel - much cheaoer than through the rep.

6 readers found this review helpful

Stayed at this hotel 08/11 to 15/11 2008. Wonderful friendly atmosphere, pool fantastic, room very clean and spacious LET DOWN BADLY BY THE FOOD! Ok (food) for the the first couple/three days but boring, bland and mostly luke-warm. All looked very impressive but just no taste (bit like a really spectacular looking christmas present with bows and twirly ribbon, then after admiring it for a bit, looking inside and finding a cheap gift from pound shop!) Also not long enough to eat - rush in, jump up, get grated carrot, melon, grated beetroot, bit of tomato or luke-warm packet soup in fancy bowl with ladle - sit down, eat - get up - queue for hot cooked 'meat' (chop or something?) gather luke-warm carrots, beans, fancy something with sauce (luke-warm) - sit, quick, get up, get ice-cream (hurrah, ice cold!) or alternatively try fancy cakes - no; like eating space-ship food - no taste here AT ALL!
Also a couple of tips for the Island - we were husband/wife and two boys aged 4 and 8 years:-
DON'T Hire a car - very expensive and not much to see. DON'T go on the sea-lion trip thingy - 70 euros to watch an empty fish tank, touch a flat sea creature, sit on a 'submarine' - very dodgy this bit and makes you feel very sick and then the finale - spend 5 minutes watching 'Harley the sea lion' blow bubbles in the water and jump for a fish - THESE PEOPLE MUST BE RUBBING THEIR FLIPPERS WITH GLEE AT ALL US BRITS PAYING THIS SORT OF MONEY FOR THIS SORT OF SPECTACLE - should be about 5 euros each.. DON'T go to mini golf in hotel - shabby and rubbish..DO GO TO cafe, right of hotel, past the Irish bar - they do fab crepes (HOT AND FRESH!) fresh cappuccinos with real milk, lovely beer in beautifulglasses and the ultimate - EXCELLENT BANANA MILKSHAKES WITH REAL BANANAS - Despite the signage it really is brilliant this place - a little gem and the staff are amazing - definite best value for money - wonderful. DO go past sea-lion rip-off, I mean show thing, walking on the prom bit where a mini-golf is on left hand side - reasonably priced and really picturesque..
We did have a great holiday and staff in hotel were lovely, specially head waiter man who my son really thought was 'cool' but for the price did expect more in terms of food - THANK YOU!

1 reader found this review helpful

Beautiful hotel, excellent facillities, rooms really spacious, very clean.
Would go back in a second if it wasnt for the food. Same things every night, no variety, and definately not up to the standard for the rest of the hotel. Very poor.

6 readers found this review helpful

We visited the Barcelo for 2 weeks on Half Board Basis. We were a bit concerned about all the negative reviews but needn't have worried. The rooms were cleaned every day (including Sundays), the rooms were really big (and we had a 2 year old with us) and the bed was massive. The children also get a double sofa bed all to themselves which is great.
The food was no problem either, plenty of choice and was always hot and replaced regularly. The staff couldn't do enough for you and were great with the children. The pool was always quite empty and plenty of sunbeds free.
The beach even though man made was good and clean and great for the kids. Caleta De Fuste is a quiet resort (it does say this in the brochure) but there is enough shops/bars/restaurants etc to provide you with what you want. If want cheaper nappies and food head up to the EuroSpar at the Atlantico Centre (by The Sheraton) it is much cheaper there than the local supermarkets.
Would definitely think about returning to the Barcelo in the future.