Iberostar Selection Albufera Park

Great hotel, clean and comfortable. We went with two kids under 7 and there was so much to do everyday, hard to get bored.

The food in the Buffett is great, rotation across the evening and lunch. There are a few places to eat so you are spoilt for choice.

The rooms are clean and cleaned daily with enough space to sleep more than 4.

The pools, activities and entertainment were amazing, Adrian (Poland) is funny and a great guy, he made us all laugh a lot.

Lastly the staff are such hard workers and nothing was too much for them.

I’d rebook and stay without a second thought.

Family holiday with 2 children under 5 and it was great. Hotel must be edging toward that 5th Star v soon. Multiple well kept pools, range of restaurants, amazing kids club, coffee shop, barista made drinks, ice cream shop, lovely beach w direct access, space to relax always, wide range of entertainment including specialist workshops, fitness classes. Made us question the cost when paying for that famous Greek brand with I, when you have it all here. Lovely staff and hassle free service, whole family felt in good company and came back refreshed.

Pretty Good, could be great. Good points:

• clean.
• fantastic staff across the board.
• good room size and fantastic air conditioning.
• rooftop pool is superb. Just less than a metre deep so our 7 & 5 year olds could stand up. Never felt too busy, incredible views, lifeguard at all times, self service to beer, wines, fizz and soft drinks. Our favourite spot during our stay.
• animation/entertainment team fantastic with kids and put on some really fun evening shows for the whole family to enjoy.
• the Spanish and Greek restaurant food was lovely.
• bellboy helped us with our luggage as we had 8 cases to shift around the hotel. Super polite and friendly.
• on the beach, although no designated area or hotel sun-beds. 20 euros to hire two and a parasol for the day.
• housekeeping service is fantastic. Beds made, room cleaned, rubbish removed and fresh towels every day.
• 24 hour star cafe on the playa side came to our rescue multiple times. Lovely sandwiches, cookies and drinks.
• 30 second walk to a supermarket.
• fresh, filtered cold water station on every floor.
• clearly laid out activity/entertainment schedule via hotel app.
• the kids club was superb. Our two daughters used it 3/4 times during our 10 night stay and loved it. They even got to be in one of the evening shows on the main stage. Staff were so good with all the kids.
• indoor pool was nice for a quiet hour or two away from the madness of the main outside areas.

Things we felt could be improved:

• buffet restaurants very samey. The apple juice felt artificial in flavour and our kids wouldn’t drink it. Normally love AJ. Felt chaotic at times, having to manoeuvre and squeeze past people constantly. Staff perhaps overly keen to take away plates and cups once empty.
• main pool area felt super busy! A little chaotic at times and very slippy in all places. The pool with the bouncy pillow was chaos. Wouldn’t be surprised to hear of multiple injuries as too busy and not properly policed.
• cocktails were rubbish. Mainly pre-made from what we saw and didn’t taste great.
• not a lot within walking distance when considering the 35 degree heat in August. Plenty of other hotels much closer to the centre.
• bedroom pillows are terrible. Super uncomfortable and offer very little support.
• can only book restaurants once checked in. We booked on day one and first available slot in any of the 4 bookable restaurants was 6 days later. Noticed that when we did eat at them, there were multiple tables free throughout our dining experience.
• Albufera Park and Albufera Playa essentially operate as one hotel with all facilities/services open to guests of both.
• usual sun bed warriors leaving towels for hours. In the end we just started throwing them off as hotel did nothing.
• onsite laundry room doesn’t have anywhere near enough machines for guests from both the park and playa hotels. 3/4 washing machines and 2 driers. Clothes left in for hours after cycle complete. In the end we had to just take them out and leave on top of the machine so we could use it.

Overall, We really enjoyed our stay as a family of four. Would we go back? Probably, but not for 10 nights.