Iberostar Waves Pinos Park Hotel

The bay water was more than beautiful, and the seafood at the restaurant was extraordinary. The food was tasty too, and I liked having drinking water fountains around the hotel. Our garden room was comfortable and easy to reach with the kids. Everything was tidy, and the staff were friendly and hardworking. August did feel overcrowded, though. The pool and restaurant got really busy, the pool seemed to lose its hygiene, and the restaurant staff looked overwhelmed.

The animation crew worked really hard and seemed very motivated. The location was nice, and they clearly tried their best to make the holiday enjoyable for everyone. Service was great, with very polite, child-friendly staff. The food was delicious, especially the fresh dishes they made for breakfast and dinner.

The restaurant gets so echoey when it’s busy that you can hardly hear yourself. We visited in the last week of the season, so I can’t imagine how loud it must be in summer. Some soundproofing would make meals much more pleasant. Our room was disappointing too. There was a loud fan-like noise in the vents all night, like an engine left running. We reported it three times and were told the kitchen vents had been left on, but I doubt that explanation. We’d specifically asked for them to be turned off, yet the noise continued. The rest was well organized and well kept. The hotel is just steps from a beautiful beach, and the kids’ area is away from the main pools, which helps keep its noise separate. The staff were amazing, friendly, helpful, and patient. I think we had a short chat with about ten of them.

The food was good, and the restaurant staff were pretty good too. Jeanpe deserves a special mention. He was wonderful with our kids and a real credit to the hotel. The location above the beach is lovely, but the rest of our stay was a huge disappointment. We often stay at Iberostar hotels and are IHG members, and this one didn’t meet the mark. The hotel was in poor condition and frankly filthy. During our 10 days, nobody properly cleaned the public floors. The only time we saw anyone address them was someone passing through with a leaf blower. When we raised it, a staff member blamed the fact that it was the end of the season. What an attitude. We arrived at 1:30 in the morning. At 8 a.m. a cleaner knocked, then came into the room before I could even get out of bed. On a couple of days, the bedroom window had been left open, letting bugs in from used, dirty plate boxes outside the rooms. The sliding patio doors were also left open, even though we had money and passports in the room. There were lots of bugs, and we and many other guests got badly bitten, particularly around the children’s play area. Reception denied that anyone else had reported it, but we knew that wasn’t true from speaking with other guests, and we saw a German family report it too. The front desk staff were generally unhelpful. We complained to our tour operator, who contacted the hotel, but the hotel claimed we hadn’t spoken to them, despite us raising the issue five times. We were told to talk to Maria, who was very rude. I have no idea why she works there. Room 2216 was in bad shape. I’ve included pictures. Even the mattresses weren’t the same size, and one light was bent and seemed to have the wrong shade, since it didn’t fit. The pools were bitterly cold. We only went in once in 10 days, which was a real shame. They were also far too dirty to use on the first day.