Occidental Isla Cristina

I would like to give this hotel more stars as it is clean, good value, and has a great location. Had a high room facing the street and the park across the road which was very nice with lovely soft pillows. There are two pools and all the facilities you could want. The buffet food is generally good and although the pasta was not really hot there were plenty of other choices, so easy to avoid. I was surprised that the hotel seemed very full out of season and meal times were crowded. The big drawback is the loud "entertainment" . This occurred every night and days as well, and there was no getting away from it in the hotel. The music and shouting through loudspeakers varied from mildly annoying to ear shattering. Even the Higuerita bar, furthest from the loudspeakers, was still noisy. At times it sounded as if a drug induced rave was going on! I was glad to be in a room facing away from the pool. Being on all inclusive it was very annoying not to be able to enjoy a quiet drink anywhere in the hotel. The location is great. Step outside the hotel on the beach side and you have peace and quiet, a lovely beach with boardwalks and lots of wading birds at low tide. Further away through town and across the bridge giving entry to the "island" is a Paraje Natural (nature park) of extensive mudflats and saltpans with many birds such as flamingos, spoonbills, storks and waders. . Further still you come to the Via Verde (green way) - a lovely peaceful trail which goes for many miles through the countryside. This is only a few miles away and easily reached by taxi or bike. It is possible to hire bikes from the hotel for 15 euros per day and there is a great network of flat cycle paths both within the town and along the main road out of town. Be careful to check the bike however as the first one I took had a fault and had to be exchanged before I'd gone half a mile. I was a Saga customer and the rep Chris was very helpful. Booked a trip to Seville which is well worth it. Note that if you do not go on the guided tour you get a price reduction and can have six hours there on your own. The Plaza de Espana is a must see! All in all a good location and a nice hotel apart from the noise.

We only had one night in the hotel at the beginning of the week before they closed for the winter at the end of October. We very much enjoyed our stay. The room was sizeable, and we had a very nice view over the swimming pools, the beach and the little fishing boats. Breakfast was excellent and it was very good value at 10 Euros. We were the only people at breakfast for our 45 minutes there. We used the sauna – 5 Euros per person and that was a nice treat. All the staff that we met were very nice and very professional We were not too impressed with Isla Cristina. It was a bit alarming to see the numerous locations where people had set fire to the wooden walkways to the beach as well as the fences. Perhaps it was just because it was a Monday but most of the bars, cafes and restaurants were shut. In Portugal where we live, they would have been relatively busy. There were parking spaces in the street outside the hotel. A big plus was a Mercadona supermarket very close by. We stocked up there before our return trip.

As regular travellers with SAGA I booked this late holiday at Isla Christina having never holidayed in Spain before. It was a larger hotel than we were accustomed to, but it was surprisingly friendly and personable. Our seaview room on the third floor was large, comfortable & cleaned daily. The hotel facilities including our all inclusive experience were exceptional. There was a varied menu on offer and we were somewhat surprised at some of the negative reviews we had read. Just goes to prove always go with a balanced view and enjoy the holiday experience. Whilst only there for a week we managed four trips including a Tuk-Tuk ride and Harbour Boat Trip. Everything was within easy walking distance and all in all we enjoyed our Spanish experience.

The food in the restaurant is of very poor quality Frozen calamari , pizza , frozen chips , dog fish. Not alot of choice. Inferior quality and nothing is hot Extremely disappointed. Don't book this holiday this is not 4 star.hotel 2 star at best. You have pay to use the safe £4 a day thats an outdated charge Rooms are a good standard and are kept clean

This is a well appointed hotel with clean and comfortable public areas. The rooms are comfortable and clean. The restaurant serves all meals buffet style, with a chef available to fry or heat your articlar requirements. The range and variety of food is varied and generally of good quality, particularly the fish dishes. The pool area is large, clean and safe, with plenty of loungers for the bathers and sun seekers. Other facilities for guests include a spa, fitness room, shooting range, childrens play area, games room, tv room, cinema and evening entertainment in the lobby lounge. area

The perdon who checked me in was not particularly helpful, however the person who chrcked me out was rude! I asked for a taxi to the bus station, she hesitated, then called one taxi who said he was busy, she did not adk for how long. She hung up and then tried to convince me the bus did not go where I wanted to go. I knew better, butshe thought I was wrong and eventually just walked away from me. The other person working the front desk just looked the other wsy. I had to walk with heavy suitcases for 25 minutes to the bus station and rventually I got on the bus to the place I knew it went. There were no other guests st the front desk at the time. I was treated very rudely by your employees!

Stayed here for 9 nights and thoroughly recommend it. The hotel is in an ideal location just across from the beach and the amenities nearby being in a nice town, were great with lots of walking options. The hotel is excellent, in traditional Andalusian style, and staff extremely friendly and helpful. Our room. On the 4th floor was excellent size with lovely views out to sea. There was always a great choice of quality food at the buffet restaurant. Nice hotel to relax and spend time in. Lots of activities and entertainment provided by the hotel so plenty of options. The shows at nights were excellent. Thoroughly recommend this hotel for a relaxing family holiday.

This was the first time we had gone on a SAGA holiday and we were impressed, particularly by Chris the SAGA rep who was friendly and very on the ball with any problems that anyone had. We had a third-floor room which was nice and quiet. The bed was comfortable and the pillows nice and soft. We went on three of the free trips and one which we paid for and thoroughly enjoyed them. The SAGA ones were good since we were all English so no language barriers. We made quite a few new friends which made the holiday even better. The hotel itself was very clean and the staff were lovely. The area round the hotel was not a typical tourist area which gave more of an insight into local living. The food was okay but some things did not really match up. Rice was on the menu a lot but finding something to go with it was trickier. Having said that we did not starve. As other reviewers have said some of the food was not very hot but there was a microwave available for warming it up. The soups were delicious, especially with some fresh bread. Bar staff were always friendly and obliging. Snacks were readily available in the afternoon if you needed something more to eat. I would say that the hotel is not really for youngsters looking for more excitement etc. This may change when visitors arrive in July and August though. The beach was lovely, although it was a fair walk away. When we were there the beach was being made ready for more tourists – toilets and bars were appearing which was good. Lots of Spanish families on the beach, particularly at the weekend. All in all, we really enjoyed our stay.