Hotel Las Islas

- [ ] Waitress told us there were 30 people in the hotel. Yet they refused to upgrade us for free. - [ ] Dirty carpet in treehouse - [ ] The room (with pool) we had to leave when we downgraded was not then filled with other people! - [ ] The first day - the man at reception said there were only two empty rooms (11 & 12), yet I would imagine there are more like 35 empty rooms! - [ ] No atmosphere at dinner - 8 waitresses to 12 guests - no live music - [ ] Random library on 1st floor - [ ] One paddleboat available on main beach - surely there should be two, for couples? - [ ] No acknowledgement of our honeymoon - some hotels do features on the bed to welcome guests! - [ ] Poor cleanliness - e.g. door/bed mats that haven’t been washed, main hotel pool, mould in shower, wood is mouldy around the shower & by fridge - [ ] Cocktails tasted synthetic - room service forgot a straw! - [ ] Only 1 restaurant for dinner - [ ] So many staff - also, many can’t speak English and didn’t try to speak slowly to help you try understand! - [ ] Holes in roof of bungalow (glad it didn’t rain) - [ ] Staff - many were unfriendly, especially some of the cleaners - [ ] Left for 20 mins when we first arrived at the gate - fruit bowl on offer for guests had chickens walking all over it - [ ] Good selection of breakfast food but cheeses and hams etc. left out for hours and then blatantly used the next day - [ ] Clear plastic chairs - in rooms & beach & breakfast restaurant - fingerprints all over them - [ ] No staff member helped you onto/off the boat - weren’t offered a life jacket. No one was coordinating the return boat from the island so we waited for 20 minutes. - [ ] Poor taste - clear plastic chairs, white light up boxes - [ ] Unnecessary jacuzzis - [ ] Poo from animals on paths not cleaned up - [ ] ‘Sea view’ - restricted by dead tree limbs that need to be better maintained in places - [ ] Smelly drain when was having a shower (sulphur) - [ ] Thick, discoloured plastic glassware at the beach - [ ] Loads of beach chairs - not set out for couples - just rammed onto the space - [ ] Main courses at the main restaurants are on average about £20 but good portions. Strange they have two pages of pizzas & burgers on the menu! - [ ] Laminated menus - [ ] Party island across the water from the island playing loud music that you can hear from the beach/bedrooms - [ ] Treehouses are a novel idea but some with limited sea view, downstairs area not really used - in the shade, upstairs balcony quite small Good things: - [ ] Buggy to help with luggage - [ ] Aircon - [ ] Mosquito net & insect repellent (though bring own with DEET) - [ ] Sound of the ocean as you go to sleep - [ ] Location - [ ] Good breakfast selection - [ ] Spa & gym - [ ] Big swimming area (calm water & nice sand) - [ ] Best rooms are those with pools & they come with outdoor table & chairs - there are some that are not very private though e.g. one which overlooks the beach restaurant - [ ] Comfy beds

Totally impressive to build a hotel in the middle of a mangrove swamp! It was fascinating to stay in one of the tree top houses, and it was maintained ok. The jacuzzis dont work well, though. (So why have them)? Staff was partly nice, partly indifferent. For example our room was not ready at 15h when it was supposed to be ready!!!? House keeping did not show up as they should, seemed very disorganised. It is difficult to find your was around the huge area, the signs are misleading and the golf cars only show up sporadically. The bikes are not adjusted to the costumers, and therefore of no big use. We are Danes and used to biking a lot, but gave up on these bad bikes. Our air condition did not work well. I know this, as we had two rooms, and the other room cooled down much more easily than ours. I did not like this hotel. You are literally staying in a swamp with mosquito breeding water ponds everywhere in addition to very dense vegetation, no wind and suffocating, humid heat. Incredible to build a luxury hotel here. The location is horrible. And just to make it clear - it is not a place for snorkelling - the sea bottom is sandy with sea weed, no corals, very few fish. The same is the case for their ‘small private island’ as they call it - La Isleta. It has a diminutive beach and is absolutely not a place to snorkel!! So don’t believe any of that. Breakfast is ok, but nothing special. The dinner restaurant is equally mediocre. The barman can make good drinks 🍹, and it’s nice to sit on that upper floor to get some air. The lunch restaurant at the beach seems ok, and we got a delicious whole fried fish there 🐟 I cannot find a lot of good things to say about this place, unfortunately, and even if I was payed to stay here again, I would not do it!

It’s a long and partly bumpy ride to get there, but oh-so-worth-it when you reach this resort. The concept of treehouse accommodation is not new, but enormous thought and planning has gone into this marvelous resort, which ticks all the vacation boxes. You are perched high in the treetops, although you can also opt for a place on the beach if height is not your thing. There’s a big deck which allows you to look out, collapse on a lounger or sit at a table. The room is charmingly decorated in wood and natural materials, and has obviously been updated to add a romantic touch with 4 poster- style drapes around the bed, suspended from the ceiling woodwork. Each ‘houselet’ ( as I called them, since the word ‘ bungalow’ sounds far too mundane) is provided with bikes, and you will need them! If you are in Villa 42, which is to one side of the resort, it’s a way to go to get to breakfast and dinner. Walking is an option, (but only if you don’t mind the extreme humidity) as are the buggies which potter around and can pick you up. The lunchtime restaurant ‘Choco’ was ideally situated near to our ‘houselet’, and the view from the beach is glorious, especially at sunset. The menu is superb! In fact, the food offerings are truly delicious at all the restaurants. You can take a courtesy boat out each day to the neighboring island ‘Isleta’ where you can sit at the elegant salt pool or at the beach, and a nearby water sports company offers all manner of water entertainment, if that’s what you’re looking for. There’s a luminescent plankton tour at night, as well as snorkeling trips on offer. I loved seeing any and all wildlife ( the crabs, Diego the raccoon ( this one was so tame!), the different birds, butterflies and Iguanas. Missed out on seeing the titi monkeys, sadly). We absolutely loved this place; it’s amazingly peaceful and restorative on so many levels. The staff are all super friendly and welcoming, and even if your Spanish isn't up to it, we all happily used our translation apps if needed. If I were to suggest anything, it would be to offer guided nature walks ( subject to humidity tolerance), but that’s coming from someone who loves to learn more about the eco systems she’s visiting!

Staggeringly beautiful resort. Stayed on La Isleta—Rooms are gorgeous and very comfortable, with spacious seawater plunge pools and a beautiful vista. Birds everywhere—picking out the different birdsongs was a treat! Mangroves, dry forest, and calm seagrass covered bays. Just about everything at the hotel is made onsite with beautiful hardwood—you can even catch the in house carpenters working on furniture or making repairs. The staff is incredibly friendly and helpful—helps to speak Spanish, but most everyone speaks at least a little English so it’s no problem getting by. The menu isn’t expansive, but it’s delicious. Fresh ingredients in almost everything. The house salsa picante made right there from fresh ripe habaneros is a delight—try it with eggs or carimañolas (a cheese or meat stuffed yuca fritter). Also—no single use plastic! Everything has a very sustainable, ecologically-mindful vibe. The vehicles are all electric or bicycles. Note: this is not a place for you if you’re looking for dancing, loud music, jet skis, or otherwise having a wild time. It’s quiet, secluded, and peaceful and the hotel makes sure to keep it that way. That’s exactly what we were looking for, but if you want a more action-packed vacation, this probably isn’t the spot—although you can always leave the resort and go to town where there’s tons of bars and restaurants. This is a wonderful, magical place, and we will be returning as often as we can!

This hotel is awesome. The food is great, the wildlife is friendly, the resort is beautiful, and everyone is so kind. The food at the lunch restaurant is amazing, and it’s right on the beach so everything is fresh and the beach is warm and big so it can fit a lot of people. I personally prefer the main island because the beach is bigger and the pool is bigger, but the isleta is also great, the bar is nice, and there are peacocks and cats. Here are some tips: wear bug spray and sunscreen and put any unpackaged food in the glass dome provided or else critters will come no matter where you are. There are monkeys there which are really cool, and they appear in the mornings and so do others like we saw a black vulture on our balcony which was really cool. We did all of the excursions we could in the time period of 3 days which was really fun. We went to explore the mangroves, took a cooking class, went to isleta on a boat, … Overall this resort is great and I totally recommend this resort!