IFA Interclub Atlantic Hotel

8 readers found this review helpful

Myself and 3 other friends stayed at the Interclub Atlantic hotel in San Agustin for a week from 29th June - 7th July 2009. This was our first holiday away together after finishing studying for our Alevels so we felt like we needed a holiday.
At first i was a bit aprehensive and didn't know what to expect as we had never organised a holiday before and didn't know what to expect from Gran Canaria and the hotel. It took us a while to decide on what we wanted from our holiday but in the end decided we wanted somewhere to relax during the day and then go out for a few nights.
On arrival at the hotel, first impressions were good. The man at the reception was lovely and very welcoming, we arrived early hours in the morning so just really wanted to get into bed. We got into the room and it was pretty basic and a little tired looking but it was clean.
The breakfast was lovely, a wide variety and i think it was well suited to everyone. Reading a few other comments and people saying it wasn't 'english' enough has annoyed me a bit because you were in Gran Canaria, the food will be continental!The food was always nice at lunch and dinner, slightly repetative or lunch and dinner but there was so much to choose from that you could have something different if you chose to do so. The salad bar was nice, something nice and refreshing to eat at lunch time.
On the first full day we decided to explore the hotel and see where everything was and then we spent the rest of the day by the pool. The pools were lovely, really clean and lots of places to sit. We also took a walk down the the spar shop at the bottom of the hill, really easy to find but a little bit of a walk back up the hill but the views of the sea make up for it.
In the evening we ventured out on the thomas cook bar crawl, it cost 10 euros and was ok. We went round a few of the best bars/clubs in the area of playa del ingles in the Kasbah. E.g. pacha, china white, hippodrome. We would get a taxi from the hotel to drop us off at Kasbah and would cost 4 euros but slightly extra after midnight. You would have to get a taxi, it would be too far to walk. On one evening we decided to eat out rather than in the hotel and went to El Rancho opposite Kasbah. Its a mexican place and was absolutely lovely, great food and great service. After that we went next door for cocktails, can't remember what the cocktail bar was called but its right next to El Rancho, again opposite Kasbah! Huge cocktails for reasonable prices, a nice place to relax with a cocktail, listen to the music and chat.
One day we also did the boat trip to Puerto de mogan to spot the dolphins on the way and then look round the market in puerto de mogan. You must do this as it is one of the most beautiful places, we stopped to have a bite to eat in a little restaurant right on the harbour, was fantastic. The only problem was the boat trip and it was very choppy and caused some sea sickness but seeing the wild dolphins compensated for the sickness.
At the hotel we ventured into Bora Bora the night club in the hotel for a couple of nights, was a nice place to relax and have a dance if you want to, i would have preffered to spend a few more nights in Bora Bora. We also went up to the terrace on most night to have a drink and a chat before going out to Kasbah. We also found the entertainment reps extremely friendly and became friends with a couple of them. They are very helpful and very welcoming and they work extremely hard. They are also quite happy to come out at night with you and go to a few bars and clubs.
The only down side to the hotel and the holiday was the cockroaches, we did get a cockroach in our room one night, managed to get it out but then it came back the next night but we eventually got rid of it and we used one of the top bed sheet covers to create a sort of draft excluder to stuff under the front door as there was a gap which we thought they may have come in from, we also made sure that when we left the room we shut the balcony doors and vents, after doing this we didn't get anymore cockroaches. This may put you off from the hotel but they are common over there and until my trip over there i had never experienced one before but don't let this put you off as that honestly was the only bad thing about the whole holiday and hotel. We did think we would have air con in the rooms and i think it would have been useful to have but at the time that we went it was hot but bareable and once you were in bed you would cool down.
We went to the beach on one day but didn't stay for too long, we got to the beach by going to the steps, coming back up was a little bit of struggle but we kept stopping and just admiring the views. However going down to the beach in the evening is lovely, there was a constant cool breeze and was just nice to sit and relax whilst watching the sea.
I would defianetly recommend this hotel for all ages, we are in our late teens and thouroughly enjoyed it, however if you are looking for a clubbing holiday i would suggest staying in Playa del ingles as san agustin is slightly more quieter and more chilled. Could not fault anything about this hotel, we are considering going back to the same place, same hotel next summer.
Excellent Holiday

5 readers found this review helpful

Well after 2 weeks at the Interclub I can honestly say I have never felt so chilled and relaxed.
The staff were very friendly and the army of cleaners worked so hard to keep the place spotless.
The rooms were spacious and comfortable, a little on the warm side at night especially during the brief heatwave and stong winds when the temperatures reached nearly 50deg but if you kept the curtains drawn, the door shut and opened the side vents you got a little air and it was bearable.
For a 3 star hotel the food was very good, a little too much Pork some evenings though but still plenty of choice. Breakfast had a good selection of breads, cereals, fresh fruit and sausages, 3 types of eggs, beans and bacon, not the type of full english we are used too but it is the Canary Islands after all!!!!
The pools were great, if you wanted shade you styed in the gardens with a few secinds walk to the pool, if you wanted sun you stayed the pool.
A must is to walk to the viewpoint at the back of the hotel, the views are amazing, one adnatage of the hotel being on a hill. The local beach was great but would advise not to take the steps but to walk down the road then cut accross the dry river bed.
The only complaint we had was the nightclub. for the majority of the holiday it didn't bother us and you didn't notice it was there, however on the last few nights it did get noisy and I hate to say the only language we could hear was English, once again the Brits let us down.
I shall miss the Cocktail game and the animation teams 'Tequila Boom Boom' dance.
A great holiday and have recommended the resort to family and friends

7 readers found this review helpful

Just got back from a two week stay the IFA Inter Club Atlantic and have never felt so exhausted and pleased to be home. Arrived at the 27th July 2009 and first impressions was a very nice hotel!! This did not last for very long they put us in a tired looking room on the 2nd floor near the reception with no lifts I have a 3-year old and a 1-year old this meant a trek-up 2 flights of stairs with push chairs bags and children every time we had to venture out of the room.
The room was positioned over looking the sea, which I initially thought of as great but impossible to sleep with the window open due to the extreme noise of the coaches and traffic passing through the night. We stayed during the heat wave and initially booked thinking that we had air-conditioning, what a mistake!! temperatures during the night were a balmy 40C and during the day 50C, the room was like an oven we talked to other holidays makers about the air conditioning units they had hired and they said that it was a complete waste of time and money also the fans that can be hired from the hotel are useless, this meant it was impossible to sleep due to the temperature and noise. Some guests even tried to sleep in the kiddie’s pool.
The only air conditioning in the hotel is in the restaurant and reception area which had been turned-off, (possibly due to running costs although not confirmed!!) there was no escape from the heat. Many guests at the time were complaining that they could not eat in those temperatures and the restaurant was full of flies as all the windows were open.
Many guests were requesting with their rep to be transferred or even go home.
The hotel is situated on top of a very, very steep hill, which is virtually impossible to walk-up, even if you are fit and with a 3-year old and push chair, you have to walk down and get a taxi back just to get water etc. There is nothing in the local vicinity no shops etc they are a 15-minnute walk away.
The food at lunch and dinner was just adequate nothing special but the breakfast was absolutely useless mainly cakes, bread, poor sausages, fatty bacon and 3-types of eggs there were no omelettes, hash browns, fried tomatoes, mushrooms etc they seem to cater for the continental palette.
On a good note the entertainment was reasonable and the swimming pools are excellent. We are well travelled and have stayed in many 3, 4 & 5 star hotels over the years and this is one of the worst. I definitely will not be returning to the IFA Interclub Atlantic even at the prices they are charging I will be paying a little bit extra for an all inclusive to ensure a better standard of hotel, cuisine, location, accessibility and facilities.
Don’t believe the other reports that give it 10/10 if you do you may be disappointed.

4 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from a lovely week at Interclub - what can we say, the hotel was very clean, the rooms were cleaned daily with fresh bedding and towels, the food was of a high standard, a little repetative but enjoyable, the animation team worked extremely well the only draw back was there wasnt much for the children to do between 12 and 4. the resort itself is out of the way and you have to travel by taxi or bus - taxi to san augstin is around 3/4 euro which is very reasonable. No need to get up early to put your towels on the sun beds there are lots of loungers, find loungers with shade as you will need it. Al in all I would give this hotel a 9/10.

4 readers found this review helpful

We booked 4 weeks before we travelled and paid £400 each. The price on the TC website had gone up and down almost daily it seemed and ranged from £760 to £850 for two. The week before we travelled it was available for £650.
We are a couple without kids, in our thirties and forties. We love our food, but not any old slop, have healthy appetites and would consider ourselves 'buffet champions' back home. Both fit and love walking.
Transfer took approx 20 mins and was first drop-off. TIP: check the meal times appropriate to your holiday before you go so that you are aware when you arrive. Don't dawdle around before and after check-in as you might be right in the middle of a food service, the clock is ticking. If you miss it you don't get it back and will have to wait until the next service that day. Check in can be slow as you each have to fill out a small check-in form that asks for passport numbers and personal details. It's not the easiest form to follow, especially after a lot of travelling so be ready. You'll get wrist banded at this point too.
We were in a ground floor family room which was spacious, with a walk in wardrobe area, two single beds pushed together with a further bed in the 'lounge' type area ( privacy curtain seperates). TV is OK if you really want to keep up to date with news (channel 10) but you have to pay for majority of channels and deposit for remote control if you want the luxury. Room smelled of cig smoke, but this faded after a few hours.
The grounds are lovely, plenty of grassed areas and sun loungers with shady trees if you need them. There are a couple of outside bars, one by the pool (didn't use this one). The top bar has help yourself draight lager (very drinkable), fizzy drinks, water, juices and wine. Spirits are available from the bartender.
The restaurant next to Reception again has help yourself drink areas dotted around the place. There are Three main Service areas for food, all side by side. The first is Italian with a couple of fresh large rectangular sliced pizza, and three pasta choices and sauces. The next is the main area with choices of fish, cooked meats, grilled meats (chef cooking at the station), chips, potatoes, veg.(Steak, pork, lamb, beef, chicken...all mostly very tender). Chinese station opened at night and had noodles, stir fry veg, rice, stir fry meat. LOVELY ! Mealtimes for us (Winter) was Bfast 8-10am, Lunch 1-3pm, Dinner 6-9pm, though they will change shortly to Summer times. We couldn't fault the food at all. Breakfast: scrambled eggs, fried eggs, saus, fatty bacon, cereals, lovely fresh fruit (oranges are beautiful and easy to peel), breads, cold meats. TIP do some toast and make a saus and egg sarny Mmmmm or try a roll with the choc paste (like Nutella). TIP, only put on your plate what you KNOW you can eat. The number of people hoarding food and then subsequently wasting most of it is absolutely shameful, so don't do it. Eat what's on your plate and then go back for more, simple, there's plenty. Food quality was really good and we loved it. Don't know what some people expect, but our standards are certainly not low and we were more than happy here. Two weeks here would start being repetitive, but that can happen anywhere (we usually do quiet Greek Islands).
We tried to get out for a walk for a couple of hours after breakfast each day to keep the circulation going and work up an appetite. You can walk down the 180 steps (great views) to the sea front or follow the road down past the Spar shop. Walked along the paved sea front to Maspelomas dunes which took around an hour each way I think, but I wasn't really counting.
Hardworking young Animation team provide entertainment for kids though the day and at night generally some mimed musical numbers, Mamma Mia, Broadway selection etc. The Teatro bar in this area has cocktails and spirits served bartender. The spirits measures are generally massive so be warned !! ALL staff are very friendly, smile, tidy plates away very quickly and are very polite....so be prepared to say Hola and gracias....make the effort back. Tell the Chefs if you liked their food too, they really appreciate it.
Visitors here are predominantly German with a smattering of Czech, Polish, Italians. Nice cosmopolitan atmosphere here...and we really liked it, and much prefer that.
Highly recommended !!

1 reader found this review helpful

I have just returned with a party of 16. We went there for our first 'all inclusive' holiday with great trepidation. Needn't have worried.
Hotel was clean and rooms were spacious.[ no hairdryer in rooms] The grounds of the hotel and pool areas were delightful and offered different settings to suit your mood.
The food was of good quality and lots of choice. The drinks were ok and plentiful but would have prefered an option to upgrade and pay to get 'Branded' drinks.
The Entertainment was supplied by what can only be described as a FANTASTIC YOUNG TEAM of young men and women who worked all hours to keep the throngs entertained DAY & NIGHT.
WELL DONE to you all, you made our holiday fun and we thank you for all your hard work.
Appreciated by us.[ hope the Hotel management think the same]
Special thanks to Georgia and Emily.
We would have left the hotel at night to venture into Town, but you kept us there for nightly shows that were very professional.
The hotel is a bit isolated and away from everything but taxis are very cheap.
The hotel reps were a bit of a disappointment as they couldn't book or give info on golf and never came back with info, so we walked to the Buenaventura to get rates etc.[ were there last year]
Also the pick up from hotel was over 50 mins late due to a carnival that seemed to surprise everyone there even though it was organised on a yearly basis. We had to source a rep over phone to enquire where the bus was. Not a good customer care attitude. Very miffed that we were annoyed at the wait. We would have been prepared to leave earlier to miss the traffic of the carnival.
Thomas Cook planes are seated for anyone under 5 foot and I think seats were added to make this 4 and a half hour journey, total hell for passengers.
Been on Globespan and Ryanair recently and they offer better leg room. THINK PLEASE TOUR OPERATORS. not everything is down to money.
Recommend this hotel.

We booked this holiday two days prior before going, so it was a last minute deal. We booked though thompsons, flying with Thomas cook, It was for 5nights, 6 days, all inclusive, two adults, costing £230 each.
I'm 22, my partner is 23, we had a brilliant time. We arrived with the transfers, we were hte first drop off, about a 20 minute journey from the airport. It took a while to get booked in, our room was beautiful, there is a tv but you have to pay to use it and there is only one british channel anyway, i think this was sky news, we didnt pay to use it.
There are 3 pools, one is a kids pool, one is heated, but it didnt seem much warmer than the other pool, still, it was so hot, it was nice to get into cool water.
The snacks arn't served all day like it says, theres toasties and hotdogs at 11, and cake at 4, drinks are from 1030am-11pm, its only 2 drinks at a time.
The food was lovly, a lot of people moan about it on here, but at the end of the day its a 3star hotel and its cheap, you cant expect indian cuisine, what they did serve up was lovly, a fantastic choice, always pizza, chips, fish, a meat, two soups, chinese, salad, a veg option, 3 pasta options, ice cream, cakes, fruit, bread, i could go on, theres definetly something for everyone.
The entertainment was ok, again, what can you expect for the price of the hotel, it was good though, the staff all seemed to have fun doing the performences they put on, one night it was mamma mia, then saturday night fever, the only drawback, which cant be helped, is that they have to go through everything in english, spanish, french, german, polish, swedish, itialin lol. bingo gets quite difficult to follow, but this cant really be helped as it is a multi-national hotel.
There is a spar about a 5 minute walk from the hotel, the daily mirror is 2euros lol.the beach is about a 10 minute walk away, we went once, it was lovly, not a great deal to do there though.
This is the best holiday we have ever had, weve been to a few of the canarys and would say gran canaria was by far the best, we went on this last minute deal purly to relax, and that is all we did, lay about the pool all day, this hotel is great for that. if you want more of an entertainment week away its probably not the best place to go.
We dont have any children, but there was a lot tehre for children to do, a park, a kids pool, kiddies club, parrot show.
Have a fab time, we would definetly return.
o btw, the reason i didnt give this a 10 is for the pure reason, we left on the sunday at 4am, and they made us pay for our room to keep on at 12 midday saturday, so even though we didnt leave until the sunday, they were going to chuck us out on the saturday, we had to pay 20 euros for that, and 12euros each to keep being all inclusive so we could eat and drink. That was a pain, as we were unaware this would happen, so if they had let us keep the room and be all inclusive until the day we actually left i would have given a ten to this review.

We have just returned from one weeks all-inclusive holiday at Interclub Atlantic. We travelled as a party of 5, 4 adults and a very active 2 year old.We had 2 separate rooms and despite booking them together the rooms were in opposite blocks. We booked our own taxi-link from the airport so we were there in about 20 minutes.The reception staff were very polite and helpful and our rooms were clean and spacious. Clean towels were provided every day by the lovely cleaning ladies.The food was an excellent surprise. It was fresh, well presented and catered for all tastes.Beer, wine ,water and soft drinks and fresh juices were available all day as was tea and coffee. The snack bar served hot dogs ,toasted sandwiches and cakes in the afternoon.The entertainment (or animation) team were fantastic. They worked very hard to find something for everyone but also left you to lap up the sun if you wished.The grounds were lush and green and very well tended. The large pool area ( 2 Plus a kiddies heated pool ) was immaculate with a lifeguard in attendance. So much to do within the complex but if you ventured out a trusty Spar supermarket was just down the road as was access to the beach. A 5 euro taxi however took you to Maspalomas beach with more going on and much nicer sand. My grandson was very impressed with PANCHY club for the kids. The team organised theme days for the kids, face painting. balloon faces and all sorts of fun.The midweekmini disco was entertaining and the kids (of varios nationalities) enjoyed it.Overall this was excellent value for money and we would all be delighted to return.

We went beginning of March . We paid £440 each for all inclusive icluding flights and transferfrom our local airport. The rooms were tidy and large , and the garden kept beautifully. The food was repetitive but so much of it you rarely had a repeat meal... as long as you were adventurous.
The entertainment staff were great although the shows redefined cheesy. It is a little like Blackpool, get a beer in your hand and put your kiss me kwik hat on and give in to it. I just wish I could get the club's song out of my head, its killing me.
Overall great, I can guarantee you the did not make a penny out of us to which my waistline and liver are testament. A
As for the moaners on the site, you get what you pay for , stop griping or stick your hands deeper into your pockets and pay up for the Seychelles

1 reader found this review helpful

after reading some of the reviews on here and other sites i was worried about going to this hotel, there were 4 of us going for 2 week and the 2nd week my family were coming out for a wedding 33 of us in total, our 1st week was ok but we didnt stay in the hotel much we went into playa de ingles apart from 1 night after dinner we sat down and got a few drinks when 11 oclock came alot of people went to bed but we thiiught it would be ok to finish our drinks but the staff made us feel uncomfortable by tidying up around us and going to take our drinks so we thought it would be best to just go but as we got up 2 go 1 member of staff shouted at us because we left our drinks and another shook his head and spoke in a different language. on the saturday night when my family came they had trouble in reception because they had not sorted out rooms for everyone after that was all sorted on the sunday there is not alot to do as activities go and at night there is a duet which was ok but everything stops prompt at 11 as a big party we thought we could sit in the entertainment area finish our drinks and have a good laugh but we were all kicked out because they wanted to clean up so we all sat outside at the smoking area then we all got told 3 times to be quiet and we were not very loud to begin with just having a laugh and talking to other people on holiday, then the hotel got security and he was very intimidating putting on leather gloves and pushing members of the party which i think is out of order because we were not harming anyone. as for through the day around the pool it was fine until we started playing with the ball in the pool the lifeguard got management to have a word which we would have understood if the pool was full and we were being stupid but we were just passing it and we were also the only people in the pool. if you deside to go on any excursions i would advise you to take your own food because the packed lunches arent very good you get a roll with ham and cheese in a bottole of water cakes and an apple. we went on an excursion to loro parque which was a really good day but we were up at half 6 in the morning and had to see someone at reception when we got there the receptionist was asleep in a chair and he ignored us. the food was good but like someone else said there is alot of pork and if your not a fan its not very good i also think the food is very repetative and by the end of the week you never want to see pasta ships or noodles again. the good thing about this holiday was that it wasnt far to go if you wanted out of the complex and there was alot of us there its a lovely walk into playa de ingles just becarful off people trying to sell you things there were 3 wery big african women seem nice at 1st then they tie something on your wrist and expect you to pay they are very very intimidating the couple we were with only had 6 euros and the woman was not happy at all my boyfriend only had a 2 euro note and she said he could have 10 change and she took it out of his hand and walked away so becarful.