The Ibiza Twiins is a classic example of over promising and under delivering. Hi there,
my name is Kevin and I make honest and to the point narrated video tours about
hotels and flight all over the world. This is episode 124 and today we are on the idyllic
southern shore of the Spanish island of Ibiza. The full tour begins in 10 seconds.
Welcome to Ibiza. First things first I’ll allow my taxi driver to give you a tour of
the hotels’ two towers. The first one being Joy and the second being Life. I’ll explain
what that means in a minute. For now, if you’d like to know the exact rate that I
paid for this all-inclusive stay, check out the description below. But first a very quick riddle.
What do untimely pizza breaks, seagulls with will power and sponsored unbiased reviews all
have in common? None of them exist. It is impossible to give a place or a product a
fair review if the owner of the company is paying you, which is why this video is unsponsored and
you’re only going to get my own honest opinions because this hotel stay is 100% self funded.
Whether you’re researching your next trip or just daydreaming about one from the past- If you enjoy
and appreciate authentic travel content, please consider giving this channel a sub and checking
out my map-tastic Patreon in the description below. Y’all are the sponsors of this video,
so a big thanks in advance for stopping by. Ok so now we are walking into the Life building,
which is where my room was. When I got out of the taxi, it was just a lucky guess that
I ended up on the correct side. When you book your room, you’ll choose if you want a Life
room- where the style is breezy and comfortable or a Joy room, which is more modern and colorful.
Each of the buildings has a reception area as I mentioned and it’s own primary bar- in addition
to the remainder of the food and beverage venues which we will take a look at soon.
At the end of the lobby we are brought out to the central outdoor lounge area. Spread
over seven floors in the two buildings there are a total of 495 rooms- and if
you think that sounds like a lot for the size of the property, yes, yes it is.
Let’s take a look at the locations since that is one of the primary selling points here. The hotel,
which was recently renovated, is located in between the airport and the pedestrian
friendly old town. It’s just a 10-15 minute ride by taxi to either of them,
though you can also walk to the old town in under 30 minutes- which you would likely have to do
during high seasons since getting taxis in Ibiza is like trying to pull teeth from a great white.
Much of Ibiza has rocky coasts and so the beaches are not sandy beaches like you’d
see in Hawaii or Phuket, but the small marinas around the island certainly add their own charm.
While the resort is all inclusive, there is a “Foodie Truck” which sells supplemental
lunch items, in addition to the central restaurant in the Core and the buffet.
This is the primary lunch area and where the entertainment is at night.
You’ll notice the floors are wet and that’s because the entire Core
is scrubbed and hosed down each early morning and that's when I’m filming.
As we head through the Core to the Joy Reception area, let’s talk about what the hotel has going
for it. Like I mentioned, it is conveniently located and cleanliness here was truly top notch.
For the life of me I cannot find the opening date- or the reopening date when it rebranded to
The Twiins, but their Facebook page was created in June of 2019, which makes sense given the
condition of just about everything is like new. The service is good, better than I expected.
Around 30 minutes after I checked in, another guest, with a key in hand, entered my room.
He was as surprised as I was. Mistakes happen- this is a weird one but not worth a big fuss.
The speed that the reception staff fixed the situation was impressive and they even followed
up with me later in the day to explain what they think happened. Service in the restaurants was
also efficient and very warm. The low points for me was 80% about the food, lack of easy
access to the water in the morning and a few bits in the room which we will take a look at.
You just saw the Restaurant the Healthy Point, which serves salads and smoothies and such
during the day and here is the Joy Bar and El Embarcadero, the secondary Breakfast restaurant.
The primary one is open from 8:00-10:30
and this side from 9:00 until Noon. Did I mention, Ibiza and early mornings don’t mix? 13a.
The primary pool area orientated towards the water is freshly setup
each morning and despite the hotel’s efforts to prevent it,
many chairs are reserved by guests the moment that the area is opened at 9:30
and by mid afternoon it is very crowded. Keep in mind this hotel has capacity for over 1000 guest.
Alright let’s head up to my room. Through the eye opening hallway we are lead to my room 1515.
The rooms are small but functional and modern but feel a bit cheap. Things like
desks or floors feeling cheap- I really don’t mind, depending on the hotel I’m in- but beds
and linens I do care about and here, they’re as scratchy as those $3 sheets you can get at IKEA.
In fact, my stays with Melia, Iberostar, Riu, Barcelo and here all featured crappy bedding.
Surprises me that it seems so universal for Spanish chains.
The rooms had decent connectivity and upon checking in the staff gave you information about
the all inclusive inclusions, the layout of the hotel and strongly encouraged you to grab a drink
on your way up to the room. The mini bar is also included. My only other complaint about the living
area of the room is the desk, which is very low and the stubby stool which is not very low. So,
unless you have itsy bitsy thighs, you’re likely not going to be pulling your chair up too far.
The bathroom was split into thirds more or less with the walk in shower
on the left with a large vanity and basin in the middle and a toilet nook
to the right. Across
from the bathroom
was the closet and storage area, which was more than sufficient for a room
like this. Last
but definitely not least was the balcony and the refreshing view from it. Two notes
out here. First of all, while I think the Life rooms are nicer, they bake all afternoon long
with direct sun. If you’re coming here in the summer, I’d go for a room on the other side.
Second thing is the upper platform which you can see down in the Core.
That is a separate swimming pool and lounge area reserved exclusively for guests staying in suites.
Alright let’s head down to dinner, take a look at the food and I’ll talk about included drinks.
Since the buffet hours are relatively limited- open from 7:00-10:00 for dinner,
the was always a crowd waiting to get in as the doors opened,
leading us into a restaurant with the distinct ambiance of a very pleasant hospital cafeteria.
Like I mentioned, the food was the lowpoint of this property for me. The selection at dinner
was decent and probably a bit better than I was expecting- but the quality of the products and
the seasoning and cookery itself was not great at all. When I was there the first thing that popped
into my mind was a group of university guys- who don’t cook- hosting all of their families
at their dorm apartment for dinner and so they did their very best to serve up a decent meal.
It was edible- and I suppose better to be bland than salty so I’ll leave it there.
As we finish looking around, let me quickly finish my thoughts about the taxis. On the
entire island of Ibiza there’s something like 80 taxis which double during high season- that’s
still not a lot at all. There is a taxi stand in front of the hotel and after I checked out,
I needed to wait around 35 minutes for a taxi since I was seventh in line. In theory,
the hotel calls the taxis when they’re needed- but they’re always needed. Make
sure you plan enough time if you’re flying out or arrange private transportation.
For included drinks, draught beer, well and mid shelf alcohols and decent table wines were
included. Other beer bottles and higher shelf liquors were available for an extra charge-
though there was nothing too premium on offer.
After dinner was something that after reading a whole lot of reviews that mentioned it,
I was looking forward to. They put on nightly entertainment shows in the Core
and I’ll be honest, the quality of it was actually pretty good. I can’t play the music
for copyright reasons but I’ll give you a super quick clip here to give you an idea.
The next morning I headed out in search of a beautiful sunrise- and while I did find it,
it took a bit of a detour since the hotel locks the door that connects the beach walk
area to the Core until 9:30 each morning. But the walk around the hotel was certainly
worth it, with a beautiful sunrise coming up from behind the port.
Alright, we are in the home stretch and we are heading down for breakfast in the same La Sal
buffet restaurant. At this point, I think it was exactly what I was expecting. Again,
decent selection, just not the greatest quality. But the coffee was actually
very good. And with that, let me remind you in case you haven’t seen one before,
why I am committed to doing four and five star hotel and resort reviews. Four star hotels are
the ones that almost everyone truly does use. If you normally stay in three star hotels,
surely sometimes you treat yourself at a four. If you always stay at five star hotels,
surely sometimes you just want an affordable get away and a four star fits the bill.
A three star, four star or five star hotel could all score a perfect 100 on this channel,
it’s all about the experience relative to the price and how they present themselves.
All that said, let’s get into the Flip Flop Score.
I don’t think there will be any surprises. If the food was better, the experience would have been
very different, but it is what it is and you could certainly do worse. If you want to do better,
give this video a like and consider subscribing so you see my next video at the Barcelo Portinatx
on the north shore of Ibiza which I will tell you in advance, I did really enjoy.