I booked this based on the many and extremely positive reviews online since I wanted to treat my mum to a relaxing week in Mallorca. We booked the superior suite which meant that we had our own private jacuzzi and sun beds on our terrace.
I specifically booked this hotel since it offered a twin bed set up, choose the twin bed option when booking and put an extra note that we would require twin beds (all directly via the Iberostar website). However, when we discovered after arrival that our room had a king bed, they told us that they couldn't change it that day. After a very uncomfortable night sleeping on the coach I asked again to change rooms and the process was difficult, in addition the specific staff member helping us switch rooms was plain rude.
However, except for this one person I want to applaud the staff in general for being super friendly and accommodating. We called the reception several times with a request for extra champagne glasses, towels etc and they were quick to help us out each time. Also the staff in the restaurant is cheery and prompt.
The food in the restaurant was not bad, but considering that you pay 200+ euros per person per night, I expected more than the standard tired buffet choices like pizza, pasta and salads. Highlights were:
- the seafood buffet on Tuesday evening (note that this is only once a week),
- the grilled meat selection (lamb chops and steak are delish),
- the suckling pig with crackling (also only once a week)
- the fruit selection.
However, in general the buffet theme specialities are not executed very well:
- the sushi quality was very low, it is like a cheapo supermarket pre-made sushi, the canteen at my work does better sushi,
- the Mexican night: cold tortillas and no hot sauce
- the Ceviche night: bland ceviche served luke warm
- the kebap night (really? In a hotel which advertises their gastronomy?)
Speaking of disappointments, there were two other minor things which made our stay a bit less smooth: firstly, my mum likes to watch Spanish tv (La 1) and our room had a tv in the main area which did not receive the majority of the channels. We had a technician helping but they never followed up, we were just given some random excuses e.g. the rain makes the tv unstable (a digital tv? What a joke! Why did the TV in the bed room work?)
Secondly, our room had ants and a lot of it! I told the reception but nothing was really done and you would have guessed that housekeeping would also have noted? In general, the rooms, while having a practical and good layout, they feel a bit tired.
In the end, I am probably not the target public for this hotel as I am not a big fan of package holidays, however, Iberostar Jardin Del Sol is not too bad, if they solve some of the minor problems listed above, I would consider going again if I was looking for this type of an experience. read more