IBEROSTAR Bouganville Playa

We have just got back from our stay at the Iberostar and don't usually do reviews but felt I needed to for here from lack of aircon to finding a cockroach on our headboard. I thought I would give an insight to a Interconnected room review. (Not all inclusive)

Pros

Swimming pools were the saving grace for us. Best we've ever had in a hotel.

The Mountain View was when sat down on the balcony 😂

Cons

Aircon didn't work when we got there, technician came up to fix the issue but "fixed" one room and said the other already works. One did not blow cold air and they both were poor at blowing the air out, it was as if someone was breathing out of them. They broke 3 times whilst we were there, albeit it was only being fixed for a breath of air to come out. We spoke to reception about moving rooms but were told there aren't any others.

Cockroach found in between our bed and the headboard.

There is a cannabis shop/club in the shopping centre beneath the hotel so we kept getting smells of it through the hotel.

Reception confirmed the interconnected rooms are on the 1st floor and our balcony was above the carpark so found people smoked there which came into the room.

The drain in the bathroom smelled on certain days there was a horrible smell in there

The lifts are really poor, we waited about 10 minutes one time with 7 lifts coming to our floor full of people so we could not get a pram in.

The mini disco is scheduled for only half an hour but they tend to start 5 minutes late and the mascot comes out for the last song only. They have someone on stage dancing but they didn't really come off stage to interact with the kids.

Shower never stays consistent temperature, it's either burning your back, the correct temperature or freezing in the space of half a minute.

Plastic Shower tray wasn't fitted correctly so was bumpy and slippy for out kids.

No kettle but from what I read you can hire one. Very strange

Everything is done through the hotel app, no info leaflets when getting to the room about what number to call reception or tv information. Not even a sticker on the phone.

Simple bedding (sheets with nothing thicker) and old mattresses that they had an old topper on that didn't really do anything.

Tv was not a smart tv and when watching the World Cup on night most of the British channels froze.

In short the room was very basic with very little items in there which lets the hotel down massively, the pools saved it from being an awful time for us.

Compared to our first family holiday at an Elba hotel in fuerteventura which was a fraction of the cost for all inclusive we expected this to be better but found it to be very disappointing and would not return.

Rooms – 5/5 The rooms are clean, comfortable, and well air-conditioned. The beds were comfortable, and while the rooms are fairly standard, they have everything you need. A nice touch was the chilled filtered water station just outside our room. The TV offered mostly Spanish channels with one or two English channels, which is pretty standard abroad.

Pools & Activities – 2.5/5 The pools and children's splash area are fantastic. They're clean, well maintained, and there are plenty of activities to keep kids entertained. We visited just before the summer holidays, so the pools never felt overcrowded. Unfortunately, the biggest issue with this hotel is the sunbed situation. The hotel has rules against reserving loungers, but these simply aren't enforced. By 7am, most loungers already had towels on them, yet many remained empty for hours while guests were nowhere to be seen—some seemingly disappearing for most of the day. The staff did nothing about it, which became incredibly frustrating. For many guests, this will genuinely affect their holiday, and it's one of the biggest reasons this hotel falls short.

Evening Entertainment – 3/5 The evening entertainment was enjoyable, with a good mix of live bands, children's shows, pool parties, and family-friendly performances. There was something for everyone, and the quality was good. The downside is that everything finishes around 10:30pm. After that, the atmosphere disappears completely, with only the indoor bar remaining open. It would be nice if there were more entertainment or somewhere with a bit of evening atmosphere for guests who want to stay out later. Reception & Check-in – 4/5 The reception staff were generally friendly and helpful throughout our stay. However, our holiday didn't get off to the best start. We were told we'd received a room upgrade, only to discover we'd been given exactly the room we'd originally booked. It seemed like a strange thing to say and unnecessarily raised our expectations before immediately disappointing us. It's a small issue in the grand scheme of things, but it did tarnish our first impression of the hotel. The Elevators... Without doubt, the biggest design flaw of this hotel is the lifts. There are only four main elevators serving what feels like well over a thousand guests across 13 floors. Waiting 10–15 minutes for a lift wasn't unusual, especially during busy periods. When one finally arrived, it was often packed, hot, and stopped on nearly every floor. On several occasions I spent around eight minutes inside a lift before giving up and taking the stairs instead. It became one of the most frustrating parts of the entire holiday.

Overall – 3.5/5 Overall, Iberostar Waves Bouganville Playa is a good family hotel with excellent food, fantastic pools, and a brilliant location. However, poor management of the sunbed situation and the painfully slow lift system significantly impacted our experience. Had the hotel enforced its own sunbed policy, I would probably have rated it between 4 and 4.5 stars. Sadly, because these issues affected our holiday every single day, I can't rate it any higher. Would I return? Probably not. We visit Tenerife regularly, and we've stayed in cheaper hotels that offered a better overall experience. That said, if great food and excellent pool facilities are your priorities, this hotel still has plenty going for it.

Overall, our stay was okay, but we left feeling that the hotel didn’t offer good value for the price.

The location is decent, but it’s extremely noisy. Every night there was loud karaoke and music from the Star Bar until around midnight. Better soundproofing on the balcony doors would make a huge difference.

Breakfast was acceptable, but certainly not the best we’ve had in a hotel in Tenerife. There was enough choice, but nothing particularly stood out.

We stayed on a bed and breakfast basis, and the biggest disappointment was the food situation at lunchtime. Our son is a very fussy eater, and we simply wanted to buy something basic like a portion of fries from the pool bar. We were told this wasn’t possible unless we purchased the all-inclusive snack bar pass, which cost €19 per person per day (or €15 per person per day if booked for multiple days). As far as we understood, everyone in the room had to buy it. We found this very frustrating and unnecessary. It felt more like a money-making exercise than good customer service. Every other hotel we’ve stayed in has allowed guests to purchase individual food items from the pool bar.

The rooms are dated, with old wallpaper, limited storage space, and bedding that could definitely be improved. The bathroom also felt quite grubby, and the floors never seemed properly clean, even after housekeeping had been.

On the positive side, the pool area is excellent. Our child loved the slides and the 2 bigger pools, and this was definitely the highlight of our stay.

Unfortunately, despite the good pool facilities, we don’t feel the hotel is worth the money. There are plenty of better hotels in Tenerife offering a much better overall experience for a similar price.