A calm and quiet slice of paradise certainly wasn't what I was expecting when I came to
Ibiza. Hi There, my name is Kevin and I make honest, unsponsored and to the point narrated
video tours about resorts and flights all over the world. This is episode number 106
coming to you today from the Iberostar Selection in Ibiza. I’ve definitely got some thoughts
to share so please stick around. Welcome to Ibiza, which for a part of my audience
is likely a familiar place- but I reckon for the majority of my subscribers, it’s little
more than a place associated with late nights, partying and general debauchery. That is as
you may have guessed by now, not entirely true. If you’d like to know the exact rate
that I paid as well as my next five videos in queue for publishing and a link to all
of the travel gear that I use, please check out the description below.
This channel is as much a learning process for me as it is for anyone watching and discovering
a new brand or location and that’s why this video is being posted out of order. Tourism
on the coasts and islands of Spain has always been intriguing to me. Spain’s beaches are
for much of Europe what the Caribbean is for North Americans and I want to explore it more,
but- let’s be real for a second, I need to make sure big chunks of time and money
are invested in a sustainable way for the channel’s longevity. So, I wanted to see
how this video performs before I book an empty trip I have at the end of the year. Empty
meaning I have the starting and ending flights, but nothing in between booked yet. Checkin
is done in the bright and fresh lobby where you’ll be offered a glass of Cava before
the friendly receptionists will explain the lay of the land to you.
So, today we are at an Iberostar property, specifically an Iberostar Selection. Iberostar
is a family owned hotel group based in Mallorca with over 100 properties spread across 15
countries. Those numbers do sound familiar though since I’ve got over 100 videos published
on this channel and have filmed content in over 15 countries. I may be biased but my
suggestion is to give this video a big thumbs up and then subscribe so you can go check
out the rest of the videos. A link to my new Patreon is also in the description below.
A big thank you in advance. As we walk along the street side of the hotel
to the shoreline, let’s get back to Iberostar. They are one of many Spanish hotel brands
which have been on my radar for a while. The Selection moniker refers to their more premium
experiences- and this particular resort is Adults only. As I try to do with all reviews,
I’m going to do my best to review it from the perspective of someone who might actually
visit. From the rooms, to the service to the lounging areas to the food- resorts in this
part of the world provide a very different experience from the likes of Bali or Cancun,
for example. But, different doesn’t mean better or worse, the guests here- the vast
majority of them European as you’d expect simply have different priorities for their
vacation- and the resorts here reflect that. To put tourism in this area into perspective,
the week that I was here in August, Ibiza had a daily average of around 180 flights
per day. That same week, neighboring Palma de Mallorca had over 400 per day. To compare,
Cancun had around 330 and Phuket around 80. In front of us we can see the s’Argamassa
beach located just to the side of the hotel. Located just to the east of Mainland Spain
in the Mediterranean, Ibiza is part of the Balearic Islands, consisting of Menorca, Palma
de Mallorca and Ibiza. Our hotel is around a 30 minute drive from the airport, located
on the northeast coast of the island, where the pace is a bit slower than in the central
area of the island. This hotel was originally built in 1971 but
was completely gut renovated recently and every inch of the property, including its
229 admittedly small guest rooms, feel fully up to date.
Now we are walking from the beachside through the lower level of the hotel. Here we will
find one of the hotel’s lounges as well as a bar that’s open in the evening and
a spa and fitness center. I think one thing that surprised me the most
about Ibiza is how quiet it could be. Yes, it’s known as a legendary party island-
and it is that- but there are hundreds of hotels dotted around the island which cater
to a much more laid back traveler who may enjoy a few late nights on the town, but want
to come back to a calm and collected resort during the day.
One of the reasons these islands are of more interest to me recently- and perhaps the interest
of more Americans is because there is now finally a nonstop link between the US and
the region. A few months ago United launched a nonstop flight from Newark to Palma de Mallorca.
Now, out of the 800 or so flights to these three islands everyday, there is precisely
one to the US. Of course, many travelers may connect on their way here, but the nonstop
flight is an outsized update and has attracted a lot of attention.
On the ground floor there are a number of rooms that open out directly to this lounging
area which is for their exclusive use. As we walk up to the bar, let me mention that
there is another exclusive use area on the roof of the resort. Spanning essentially the
entire roof there is a pool and multiple lounging areas up there and is what they would consider
their club level. Entrance was strict and if I was here for an extended stay, I think
it might be worth the extra money. The Chill Out Bar opens from 7:30 until Midnight
nightly and you can see a portion of the menu here- excluding the wine list. The hotel has
multiple packages available when booking. I myself chose a half board option that included
Breakfast & Dinner. Many guests had an all Inclusive option. The included options are
indicated on the menu and for the top shelf items, All Inclusive guests get a 50% discount
on the price. The all inclusive package covers what I’d consider standard and mid-shelf
bottles. Below us is the primary pool area which is
accessible to all guests. Being an all adult property, every common space in the resort
is in some way utilized as a bar or lounge at some point throughout the day. Bar and
meal times are more structured and later here though than most North Americans would expect.
When you check in you’ll be assigned a breakfast and dinner one hour entry window, which you
can change to suit your preferences. Breakfast opened at 8:00 and dinner at 19:30, which
is early for these parts and a pleasant surprise. Walking down to the shore comes my only true
disappointment from the resort. This platform was- and supposedly will again be- the location
of the Origin Beach Soul- which to my knowledge was not part of the resort per say but was
a fully decked out beach club of sorts with a full service restaurant. If you dig through
the hotel’s photos you can see it in the background in some of them. According to the
beach club's website they are “opening soon.” I think it goes without saying that these
islands are not known for white sand beaches or anything of the sort, but that’s not
to say it’s not stunningly beautiful in just about every direction.
Here is a peak at the pool area early in the morning. This is also the spot where you’ll
get all of your drinks before the other lounges and bars open. One thing to note about tourism
in this part of the world is how seasonal it is. To a varying degree hotels in the holiday
destinations throughout Spain are only open part of the year when the weather is it’s
hottest. While most resorts in the Canary Islands and Andaluscia are open year round,
on Palma de Mallorca around 50% of the hotels close for half of the year- in Ibiza that
number raises to around 80%, which means two things. First, the shoulder seasons, meaning
around May and September are often ⅓ of the price of the peak summer season. Secondly,
you need to keep in mind that all of the businesses here need to bring in enough revenue in the
six months they’re open to stay afloat, so hotel prices during the peak summer months
do not come cheap. Next up let’s check out my room for this
stay which was a standard double room. Note that when I booked I made a note requesting
a higher floor and received the 4th floor which is the highest non-club floor. As I
walk to the room, very quickly one thing I really didn’t like about the hotel were
the elevators. Since the 5th floor was key card access only but only one of the three
elevators went up there each of the three elevators had their own call button. Half
of the guests looked at the floor indicated and called the elevator closest and the other
half called all three. So not only did they take a while to arrive, you would often stop
on every floor with no one there. There is no hiding the fact that the rooms
here are tiny- but this goes along with trying to see this resort through the targeted guests’
eyes. By the way, one pet peeve, there’s no secondary security lock and I couldn’t
figure out what the “privacy” button actually did and the AC could have been a bit stronger,
but it was battling a heatwave with high temperatures in the high 90s or around 36 celcius.
I don’t rely on online reviews for much when searching hotels, but I do think they
can show the priorities of the guests. Before writing this, I scanned around 100 reviews
and only four of them mentioned the room’s size but were still positive reviews. So,
I’m not going to knock them too much for the size. If you’re of the mindset that
hotel rooms are for sleeping and showering, then these rooms will be a-okay.
Iberostar advertises itself as the first Spanish hotel chain to completely discontinue the
use of any single use plastics and they also have a major push towards only using sustainably
sources seafood. The lack of plastics can be seen in a few places in the room. First,
there is a glass carafe which can be filled at filtered stations near the elevators, the
key cards are actually the first I’ve ever seen made of a sturdy paper material and the
toiletries are all in bulk, tamper proof containers. And sorry for the many lights in the room
that are off or are flickering. LED bulbs may be friendly for the environment, but not
so much for filming. There was a decent sized closet and an oversized
walk in shower. My only complaint about the bathroom is that during the day it absolutely
bakes in here. Since there’s no AC vent inside, I’d keep the bathroom door closed
to cool the room better, the tradeoff being obvious with the big window in the shower.
Behind the curtains is a large picture window which I appreciate was clean- a constant battle
in a climate like this- which led to a decent sized balcony. Depending on your own preferences-
you may want to request a room on this side if you value peace and quiet as the other
side overlooks the pool and bar. But, the rooms on the other side would overall be cooler
throughout the day. Last but not least, I almost forgot- actually
I did forget- there is a toilet room located just inside the main door.
When I checked in was the first time I learned that a buffet was the only option for dinner-
I was disappointed. Not only do I not really want to eat two buffets per day, but sometimes
it doesn’t make for great content. Well, hold your judgment because the buffets here
blew my expectations out of the water. For a hotel this size, I’d normally expect
a 13-14 minute video. This one is over 18 simply because of the two buffets. By the
way, if you have a half board option you can choose to have lunch instead of dinner.
In addition to all of the prepared dishes on display, there were also various cooked
to order options available including a protein station, a pasta station, stir fries and even
a raclette-like station. I think it’s safe to say that everyone, no matter preferences,
would be happy with this spread. At dinner time, they request a smart dress
code. I got away with my flip flops, but I’d say just barely.
There was also an entire leg of beef- something that I’ve personally never seen at a buffet
and wouldn’t expect outside of say Vegas. And there was enough cheese to open up a Zabars.
Desserts were good, the lemon pie being my personal choice.
One benefit of the sun setting so late is you can fully enjoy your dinner and then enjoy
the sunset after. This was my favorite time at the resort. Everyone just relaxed at dinner
or watching the sunset with a glass of Cava in hand.
The view of the sunrise from my balcony the next morning was also quite the sight. If
you enjoy quiet mornings, then Ibiza is the place for you since nothing really comes to
life until 10 or 11. Last up we’ve got the breakfast buffet the
next morning. Much needed coffee was better than expected and the buffet spread was comprehensive.
And any buffet on earth with a tortilla station is going to get full marks from me.
I think I ate like a third of the Padron Peppers. Alright so as we head into the Flip Flop Score,
what are we thinking? Overall I was pleasantly surprised by this and the other resorts I
stayed at in Ibiza. Points were lost for the size of the room, the closed beach club and
lack of amenities in the room. But the service was good, the scenery beautiful and the food
worthy of endless praise. I look forward to many more Spanish resort towns to come. If
you enjoyed this video, please give it a big thumbs up and subscribe so you can catch my
other Ibiza videos when they come out or my next video, flying from Barcelona to Madrid
on board an Air Europa dreamliner.