Iberostar Waves Gaviotas Park

Fint opphold, god service, ok renhold, hotellet er fint men bærer preg av å være eldre, fikk info av resepsjonen om at dem skal pusse opp hotellet siste kvartal i 2023. Mat buffen var bra og god service av servitørene.

This is a happy hotel. The hotel is very well managed. On reception Eleena gave us a great welcome, while Lorenzo is so gentlemanly and speaks good English. The hotel is very clean. Our room was cleaned each day to a very good standard, our corridor was under Nadia who was very friendly and very efficient. The buffet restaurant is excellent. The many waiters and chefs all take great care with their service, head waiter Damian was always quick to find us a good table, the ebullient and friendly, chef Barri is highly skilled and a good example of the hotel's special quality as is the quiet, maestro, chef Ali. Taking a holiday in early November has its risks in terms of possible storms. When the rain came the staff were ready to entertain the children indoors, bravo! You do need to be fit to holiday here, there are a lot of steps! The hotel does have a good system of lifts so you can avoid many of the stairs but at busy times you have to queue amongst families with small children and their pushchairs. I prefer to use the stairs myself. We enjoyed taking evening drinks in the well appointed bar, which was run smoothly and well by Gorge during our stay. He was so friendly and helpful - he even provided his own weather report for us, which proved to be spot on. Ana and Francisco also made sure we had everything we needed, all in all the pre-dinner drinks time was made very pleasant. If you need anything, keep an eye out for Franciska as nothing's too much trouble for her. Her English is fluent. We found her exceptionally helpful. The hotel has a very good system for providing guests with fresh drinking water. There are water stations near all the rooms where you can choose cool, sparkling etc. This is environmentally friendly which is an added bonus. Finally, there was always a queue for Teresa's omelettes at breakfast. I liked the way she cooked the omlette on both sides before folding it. Her omelette was perfect every time - made me think that Gabriel the chef in 'Emily in Paris' would certainly hire her, if he could!

Upon arrival, check-in was as smooth and professional as you'd expect from a 4-star resort - quick, efficient, no complaints there. We were feeling optimistic… right up until the receptionist cheerfully informed us this was a “family hotel.” No big deal, we thought. But by “family,” they specifically mean “families with toddlers under five.” Everywhere. In every direction. At all times. Realisation dawned we actually thought we had booked the slightly more “couple-y” hotel next door, presumably to lure confused couples like us. But, bags down, sandals on - we committed. Then the receptionist hit us with a curveball: if we accepted alternate-day room cleaning we could have a free one-off use of the mini-bar and a free safe (normally €5). Wait, what? Look, I don't know about you, but when I book an all-inclusive holiday, I want to be pampered, not to suddenly find myself in an Airbnb situation. Isn’t the whole point of AI resorts to be looked after? There’s also a €30 deposit for each pool towel and you can only change towels every other day because nothing says luxury like towel-rationing. Or as I like to call it "environmental guilt with a side order of soggy towel". Now, let me be clear: I love kids. I have kids. My kids are grown up now, so I know the drill. But this place? Kids at the buffet, in the pool, arriving from a slide in the lobby and landing at your feet, screeching down the hallways, and occasionally invading your personal space with a plastic flamingo float. At one point I genuinely wondered if adults were allowed to be there unaccompanied. To be fair, the hotel rolls out the red carpet for little ones - endless entertainment, cute, teeny-tiny sun loungers made for hobbits, and more activities than I could ever count (or survive). It’s basically toddler heave - like Disney World, but with cheaper dining and more unpredictable noise levels. And credit where it’s due: the hotel was spotlessly clean, our junior suite (read: slightly larger-than-average room with a sofa) was very modern and comfortable, with a sunless balcony overlooking a beautifully curated collection of parked hire cars (our bad - we didn’t opt for the pool-view room). The beds were comfortable and it was fairly quiet barring the odd toddler shriek from the corridor. The room had a kettle, a water jug, and two glasses… but no coffee, tea, or cups. If this was supposed to be a minimalist art installation it'd be called ‘Regret and Hot Water'. The wristband room keys worked flawlessly though - no pockets, no demagnetising, no awkwardness. The staff were friendly and efficient, and the food was excellent with meats freshly grilled to order and a huge range of options. Shoutout to the South African duo who brought the bar to life one night - faces that hadn’t smiled all week were suddenly beaming, hands were clapping, and a few guests attempted moves that would make a disco ball blush. ‘Fireball’ has now unofficially become my personal theme song. There w