Estival Islantilla

The Estival Islantilla is a hotel of contradictions. It's asthetically stunning, but at the same time, it has no atmosphere. The staff are exceptionally professional, yet seem joyless in their roles (no one smiles). The place is spotlessly clean, but shows signs of disrepair and age. Rooms are nice and spacious, but there's very little storage space. The beds are doubles (not twins like many hotels), but are about as comfortable as sleeping on rocks! There was aircon in the room, which didn't work. The balcony has an outside light, which turns of at midnight so no late night sitting outside to read when you can't sleep because of the rock hard beds. There are plenty of sunbeds, but no easy bar access from most of the poolside. The restaurant is well organised and the food is mostly good, but after a few days you realise choice is somewhat limited. The main bar has a lovely outside seating area, which is only available to sit in during mealtimes. The hotel is a complete smoking and vaping free zone, apart from a tiny section right at the far back of the hotel grounds, which has no access path. It's just a dirt area behind some trees with a few stone chairs. It's away from everything and really not easy nor convenient to get to. Definitely not accessable to those with mobility issues. One night (around 10 pm) my partner and I were sitting alone, 50+ feet from anyone, at the far back of the hotel grounds, outside. We decided to vape as it would hurt no one. Suddenly a security guard came stomping over from about 100 foot away and started shouting at us in Spanish. Fortunately, I know enough Spanish to tell him we were all alone, with literally no one else around. He replied (in Spanish) that he didn't want to suffer our vape! I mean, he was initially over 100 foot away and so was only "suffering' because he stomped over to us! I could understand if we were being inconsiderate of others or smoking, but we were vaping and literally bothering no one! I'm totally fine with the hotel being smoke and vape free, but the only concession is a hard to access dirt spot nowhere near anything except an outdoor bar that closes at 5pm. After that, you're out of luck if you want to relax with a drink and a vape. Better concessions need to be made or the travel agent (TUI) needs to be clearer about this policy when booking! The absolute worst thing is the desperate lack of atmosphere. No music by the pool. No real day time activities. Hard to access bars from the poolside and if you decide to accept all this and lay back to relax, you'll then become the constant target of kamikaze flies with no concept of fear. Constantly landing on you. Oh, and these flies bite! We ended up covered head to toe in bites. Overall, the Estival has a lot going for it, but it's ruined by badly though out policies, zero atmosphere and joyless staff. It's not been a terrible holiday, but it's also just not a place we'd recommend! You can get better for less money. After two weeks

We have never been to this part of Spain before but it won't be too long before we go back The hotel is very nice and Is in a wonderful spot, one of the first things you notice is how clean and tidy the hole area is, the locals should be proud . The promenade from the hotel into the town is around a mile and a very pleasant walk it is, the fishermen were out mending their nets most days and a great sight it was. Back to the hotel, rooms were very nice with ours having a see view and balcony to sit on in the evening. The food was excellent with themed nights throughout our stay in the main restaurant, staff are very welcoming and appreciate guests who try and speak a little Spanish when asking questions. There was plenty of choice at breakfast and if you just wanted a snack during the day there was a separate restaurant on site. Facilities on site were excellent with lifts to each of the 5 floors, signs explaining disabled guests took priority were at each lift. The outside areas were very well kept with plant and flowers giving the areas great colour. The swimming and pool areas were also very pleasant, lots of staff and activities throughout the day. I also used the gym which had adequate equipment for a decent work out to burn calories off. There is a spa on site which looked inviting but I never got the chance to use it. The bars on site serve both soft and alcoholic drinks and open till 11.30pm. The staff we met were all very pleasant and is one of the reasons we will go back, all in all a great visit, the hotel should be very proud of all their staff. There was entertainment at night but as we often play domino's and cards didn't get to see much of it. Thanks for a memorable holiday Paul and Caroline Carolan 10/08/2024.

We loved it! You have to manage your expectations, it's about 5% British and we loved that. You have to immerse yourself in the whole experience. Reception speak English as do front of house at the restaurant and everyone else you need to make the effort. It's so refreshing and getting out of your comfort zone. My daughter is a celiac and they catered for this. Food is good yes it's all inclusive but the quality is excellent. Swimming pool and the sunbeds. For such a big hotel the swimming pool is just never busy and the sunbeds are free till about 11 when they are all taken. There is no need to rush to get one. The rooms are good not massive but good enough. The beach is on the doorstep and that works and you get a big discount on the beds / umbrella if you are all-inclusive. The entertainment is just so funny, all in Spanish and again you have to get involved. Us Brits (There were 9 of us) roared the magician on and got involved in dancing. We will never forget 'SUPER MARIO' an Italian chap who could not speak English but joined in with us Brits supporting the acts! Overall its a lovely hotel and you should not be put off by the lack of English people. Embrace it.