Iberostar Sabila

We stayed at Iberostar Selection Sábila for a week on a Bed & Breakfast basis in a Star Prestige room. During our stay we also paid the upgrade (€32.80 per person) to dine in the buffet restaurant on two evenings.

Starting with the positives, the hotel itself is modern, clean and the pool areas are very well maintained. Housekeeping did an excellent job every day, keeping our room spotless and replenishing towels. The hotel also kindly left a bottle of cava in our room for my birthday, which was a lovely gesture. The gentleman who checked us in was also very friendly and welcoming.

Unfortunately, from that point onwards the experience became rather disappointing.

Our first evening meal was Seafood Night, and this was genuinely excellent. There was a fantastic selection of fresh fish and seafood, all cooked beautifully. However, nobody showed us where the Star Prestige dining area was, so we sat in the main restaurant. When we got up to get dessert, we returned to find our table completely cleared and the glasses of wine we had purchased had been taken away, despite us not having finished it.

Our second evening was advertised as Indian Night, but it was difficult to see much of an Indian theme at all. The main attraction appeared to be duck, which had an extremely long queue. After giving up waiting, I eventually found a small Indian section further along, but it was fairly standard buffet food and nothing particularly memorable.

Breakfast was adequate, with a reasonable variety, but compared with other 5-star resorts we’ve stayed at, including Secrets Resort, Meliá and Akra Fethiye, it fell well short. It was perfectly acceptable but certainly not outstanding.

The biggest disappointment was our room location. Before travelling, I emailed the hotel specifically requesting a quiet room. Instead, we overlooked the neighbouring Hovima Costa Adeje - For Cool Adults hotel, where loud evening entertainment continued each night. If we’d wanted to listen to another hotel’s singers every evening, we would have booked there instead. This had a significant impact on what we had hoped would be a relaxing holiday.

We also struggled to see the real value of Star Prestige. While the lounge offered complimentary drinks and snacks, you couldn’t simply order a beer or cocktail from the main pool bar as part of the upgrade, which made the experience feel rather restrictive and not particularly premium.

Service throughout much of the hotel was inconsistent. The gentleman who escorted us to our room showed very little interest in explaining the Star Prestige facilities—we actually had to ask him to show us where everything was. There was very little enthusiasm or pride in what should have been an opportunity to make guests feel welcome.

The restaurant service was also frustrating at times. On two consecutive mornings our drinks order at breakfast was forgotten altogether. The overall atmosphere often felt chaotic, and it wasn’t uncommon to see guests watching videos on loudspeaker or making FaceTime calls without headphones. This kind of behaviour was never tolerated at Secrets Resort, where staff were much more proactive in maintaining a peaceful environment.

The lifts also deserve a mention—they are painfully slow, and we regularly spent several minutes waiting for one.

Finally, although this isn’t the hotel’s fault, the surrounding area behind the hotel towards Fañabé Beach and Torviscas felt neglected, with overflowing bins and a generally untidy appearance, which detracted from the overall experience.

Overall, while there are certainly some positives, we simply don’t feel Iberostar Selection Sábila lives up to its 5-star rating or the luxury, relaxing holiday it advertises. There are much better hotels at a similar price point. Sadly, we wouldn’t return and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking for a genuine five-star experience.

Fantastic experience in a beautiful hotel. 5 Star, the select experience was truly outstanding