Iberostar Selection Sabila

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

3155 reviews

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  A taste of paradise

  Great hotel. We stayed for a week All Inclusive and we’re very impressed with the variety and quality of the food and drink available. The staff are a credit to the hotel. I enjoyed a session at the gym in the mornings (which had a good selection of equipment to suit all) and a swim in the Freeform pool later in the day. The room was comfortable and cleaned daily. Perfect week of winter sunshine in great surroundings.

  Jan 18, 2025
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  5 Stars, If you can afford it

  When you stay at a hotel, especially on vacation, the ultimate question is or has to be "would you stay here again?" After a week at Iberostar Selection Sábila, Tenerife, let me answer that question for you. I'll break it down to categories. 1. Location - The Location of this hotel is great. Perfect even. It is situated directly on the beach, with access to shops and nightlife in spitting distance. The nearest taxi rank is less than 2 minutes away, while the hotel is also situated a very short drive or taxi ride away from the Siam Mall, Siam Park, the Monkey Park and about 25 minutes from the airport. Points Awarded: 1 Star 2. Rooms - My other half & I paid extra when booking to have a sea view room and it was worth every penny. The rooms are a good size, and very clean. They aren't anything mind-blowing, but the bed and facilities in the room will be more than suitable for a week away. I'd definitely recommend paying for the view as the other rooms opposite faced out onto the strip, which may not have been as nice to wake up to. We did have a problem with the battery on the door failing on the last night, which was fixed quickly and the TV's do not work, but fortunately we weren't there to watch TV. Points Awarded: 1 Star 3. Service / Staff - The service and staff at Sabila cannot really be faulted, especially the chefs and the waiting staff. Everyone was polite and friendly and nothing was too much trouble. However, the service was perhaps too good; when we arrived after a day of travelling and a 4 hour plane, we were immediately welcomed with what can only be described as an upsell... This continued throughout the holiday which I will detail more below. Points Awarded: Half a Star 4. Food: Breakfast is poor. Lunch is okay until you realise that a lot of it is leftovers from dinner the night before. Dinner is sublime. Dinner is where the food steals the show at Sabila. One other problem that lies within dinner Is the queueing system and clientele. Breakfast in particular is a free for all, with no system in place at all, and arrogant people pushing their way in because they can't wait two minutes for a piece of toast. Points Awarded: Half A Star 5. Board/Upselling/Hidden Extras We booked all inclusive but as mentioned above, when we arrived we were immediately up sold to. We were told if we pay an extra 90 Euros a night, we could have access to "star prestige" rooms. Essentially these rooms were on the 5th and 6th floor that gave you a sea view (we already had) and access to a rooftop pool. Along with this you had access to white sunbeds (slightly bigger) and a sectioned off dining area in the restaurant with a view of the pool (which made no sense as it was nicer to sit outside). Bear in mind this was within less than 5 minutes of arriving to the hotel. We then asked if we could get something to eat and were told we could go to the snack bar which was 50% off despite booking all inclusive. The only thing included outside of the three meals, were drinks, ice cream and ready salted crisps. I have no idea what kind of deal the hotel has with Jet2 but the point of all inclusive is exactly that, not to be on a set schedule with select things and then everything else you have to pay for. This goes for the Gourmet Market restaurant attached to the hotel too. You are given a free voucher for one meal there, and if you go there again it's 50% off, please do not be fooled. It is EXACTLY the same food that you get at the hotel restaurant. Points Lost: 1 Star 6. Pool / Bar Area The Pool and Bar Area is nice with plenty of sunbeds. However, the pool is pretty shallow all the way through. I'm 6ft and could comfortably stand up at every point of the pool, despite the pool map indicating that the depth was much more than it actually is. The pool is saltwater so if that bothers you , then maybe don't use it. The bars were serviceable. There is one information board by the pool area which will be hard to spot as it is hidden behind a concrete pillar. You also cannot use lilos or dingies in the pool. It's just a bit boring. There is also a gym which we didn't use and a spa. The spa will set you back 95 euros per person (another upsell) but that does give you access to a different smaller pool in a sectioned off area. No points Lost or Gained. Summary: Ultimately the Sabila is not the 5 star hotel it claims to be. While it did not spoil our time in Tenerife, in part thanks to the waiting staff and the sea views, the hotel has too many flaws to make me want to stay again. From the constant selling tactics, to the mediocre pool area, and diabolical breakfast food, a 5 star hotel should be 5 stars for everyone that's already paid for it, not for those that can afford it to be otherwise well joke is on you. After paying 3k for a holiday that included this hotel, ultimately between Sabila and Jet2 we did not get the experience that we paid for (unless we wanted to keep paying more). Ultimately it is the main reason that we would not rush back or choose to stay here again. 2 stars.

  Jan 17, 2025
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  Perfect sunny week in January

  Booked very last minute with ba holidays Staff were excellent throughout Pool entertainment very good, Michael Jackson, saxophonist and a band Location was brilliant, we went b&b and many many bars and restaurants on doorstep Evening entertainment included a great Tina Turner and Elton John tribute acts Not a cloud in the sky for whole week and 23*, perfect January week

  Jan 17, 2025
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  Excellent hotel

  My wife and I are just back after a week long stay at the Sabila hotel (7th to 14th). This was our first stay at the hotel and resort. I would say the hotel definitely deserves its Jet2 five star rating. We were both very impressed with all aspects of the hotel, accommodation, staff efficiency and friendliness, cleanliness of hotel the pool area, dining area and choice of food at breakfast (we were B&B only). We had paid extra for a beach and pool view (room 385) which was south facing and had a great view of both. Could not fault this hotel and would recommend it to anyone.

  Jan 16, 2025
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  Very close to a 5/5

  We stayed for 2 weeks over New Year and our first impression of the hotel was very positive, the hotel looks great, the reception staff were very friendly and it was just a pleasant check in experience. I thought the room was nice, bright and very clean, although it was on the small side. The room was too warm and turning down the temperature on the air conditioning didn’t seem to do much, this was an issue at night when trying to sleep as I couldn’t open the balcony door because of the noise from outside the hotel. We went on a b&b basis and found the breakfast to be of a very good standard, plenty of choice and the staff were very attentive. The pool area is very nice and clean, the bar staff are again very friendly and well organised, the staff will occasionally hand out free ice-creams or cava, which is a nice touch, however during the first 10 days of our holiday it felt a little crowded and getting a sunbed was difficult unless you are willing to go down very early to put a towel down, it definitely feels that too much space is allocated to prestige guests, I understand they have paid extra and therefore will get extra but I don’t feel this should be at the detriment to ‘ normal ‘ guests who certainly haven’t paid a small amount of money to stay here either. At night we used the gourmet market a couple of times and enjoyed it, the food was good and there was plenty to choose from. I found the main bar ok , the layout, with the bar upstairs and the entertainment downstairs hidden behind pillars is very strange, again the staff at the bar are excellent and very friendly, although the consistency of the cocktails isn’t great depending on who is making them. It’s far too bright in the main bar and once the entertainment is finished there is no music playing (even just some quiet background music would be nice) so it very much has the feel of a canteen. Overall the hotel is a very nice place too stay and in a great location, I just felt there were too many small negatives to warrant a 5/5, the staff absolutely make this hotel what it is and they can’t be faulted

  Jan 16, 2025