Estival Isla Cristina

Recent Reviews: 1202

• User:dave66672

  Trip type: Couples

  Great break if you like the Spanish way of life. No 1 euro pints around here. No English bars around.

  24 Apr 2026

  This review is based on an April one week break from Liverpool via EasyJet, in a junior suite with pool view. Cost about £480 on half board basis.Location:Although we didn’t book a private transfer the inbound transfer was just for us. Took about 70 minutes. The return transfer picked up in Tavira as well and took about 85 minutes. The hotel is 2 minutes from the beach, 15 minutes from Lidl and about 30 minutes into Isla Christina along the beach. As we were out of season not many places to eat locally, do think about going half board. The EasyJet supplement was on £4 extra per day half board. Bus station 20 minutes away. The room:Spotlessly clean, two TVs (only one English channel though), but we took a now TV stick which allowed us to watch all English TV channels if using a roaming mobile signal. Kettle and microwave provided along with big fridge. Aircon okay once you worked out how to use is (see the photo which gave us best result). Cool in living room but not so great in bedroom. Free safe. Food:Okay, only complaint is it’s not always that hot but microwaves are provided. It caters for Spanish taste, which is fine by me. Griddled fish and meat every night. Salad bar really good. Cheapest wine 10 euros, not bad quality. If you like liver and onions this is the place for you.Drink:No rip off prices here. Small beer 3.2 euros, white coffee 2.4 euros. Happy hour , two gin and tonics 8 euros FOR BOTH (between 19.00 and 20.30) 1.5 litres of bottled water 2.5 euros.Atomsphere:Entertainment was on 3 nights while we were there, the Spaniard’s do know how to party.Tips:Cruise around port very good, 14 euros including prawns and glass of wine.One hour free bike hire which can be extended cheaply.Do go to Islantilla, much nicer resort IMO. Get the 11.20 bus from bus station. About 1.5 euros single and walk back a long beach (took 1.5 hours but lovely walk) if you can. All in all a great break, staff really nice. The total opposite of Benidorm thank god.

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• User:rachelmendham

  Trip type: Couples

  Quiet hotel in beautiful location

  25 Oct 2025

  A lovely, quiet hotel. spent a week here relaxing in this beautiful location. we were lucky to have a corner room on 4th floor. 427. was spacious and was given all the necessary kitchen things when we asked. room had balcony which had sun by 11am and all afternoon into the evening. had a side Seaview and looked down on pool. Also had superb view of the evening entertainment. breakfast was plentiful with lots of choice. dinner was very repetitive but edible. seems OK if you like pork/ turkey or pizza. lots of choice of salad, desserts were delicious. staff were friendly and helpful. animation staff were amazing. I regularly joined daily aqua aerobics. both staff were fun, friendly and the man even jumped in the pool to join in when teaching. he was fun and really made the class so enjoyable and he was so entertaining. There was regular events to entertain guests throughout the day. The pool is clean and a lovely size. it was warm and heated. there is a lifeguard but he disappeared for about 2 hours, 2-4pm for I presume lunch. the hotel was so close to the beach. it was a shame there were no sunbeds allocated for the hotel guests to use, like nearby hotels do. Hotel provide beach towels so we sat on those. There was 3 bars/ restaurants 5 mins from hotel all serving fish/spanish food. No burger chips here. it was a pleasant change and so glad wasn't English food in sight. neither was there many English people around at all. again was a pleasant change. supermarket 15 min walk and is closed Sundays, as we sadly found out when we walked down to find it closed. visited the market on Sunday. sadly didn't find any shops to browse around. only found 2 shops that sold a bit of everything. Halloween, household, clothes, make up, anything you can buy at temu/tiktok etc. on our leaving day we asked for late check out but the hotel was booked so we used facilities and used the bookable shower room. when checked out we were given leaving bag- fruits and bottle of water for our journey. Nice touch. maids all lovely and rooms cleaned well. overall a lovely stay. a few little touches needed, paintwork needs to be repainted. clean windows on lift. paving steps to road to beach need to be redone as uneven and a bit of a trip hazard. sunbeds needed on beach that guests from hotel can use at discounted price. RRPP Estival Isla Cristina, Otros at Estival Isla Cristina, responded to this review Thank you very much for taking the time to share such a detailed description of your stay. We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed your break at our hotel, especially the peaceful surroundings, the comfort of your room, the proximity to the beach and the entertainment activities. Our team, both at reception and in catering, housekeeping and entertainment, works hard to make every guest feel at home, so your kind words are a great motivation.We sincerely appreciate your constructive comments on some areas for improvement. We have taken note of your observations on the variety of the menu, maintenance and outdoor facilities so that we can continue to improve our services. We are also delighted that you appreciated the small details, such as the departure gift, which we prepare with care for our guests.It will be our pleasure to welcome you back to Estival Isla Cristina and offer you an even more complete experience on your next visit.With our best wishes,Hotel Estival Isla Cristina

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• User:michael m

  Trip type: Couples

  Fantastic

  22 Oct 2025

  Me and my wife booked to stay here in early October, and before we arrived were a little apprehensive about the lack of English reviews and were wondering if we had made the right decision.We landed in Faroe airport and transfer was in a small minibus with just 3 other couple's and took just over an hour.Check in was quick and we were given a room on the second floor, we had emailed previously for a high floor as possible so were a little disappointed, our room 235 was overlooking the side road leading to the beach and the view was a little uninspiring, but the room was great, Kitchen diner style and suited us fine. Television had only one English speaking channel which weirdly enough was French news, but we had packed our Firestick and luckily the TV had the appropriate sockets.Our experience after checking in I have to say just got better and better, the food was the best we've experienced in a European hotel and staff were all great.The pool area was great and had no feral kids or parents causing chaos it was a joy to relax by. as was the Bar area.Entertainment on the evening was a bit hit and miss, and was probably down to the late season, sometimes nothing on and then something would be on with no prior notice.We enjoyed many walks on the beach to islantilla a four hour round trip and into Isla Cristina about an hour round trip and can recommend both, all though be careful walking around Isla Cristina because there is Dog poo everywhere and I mean everywhere, there's a lidl 15 minutes walk from hotel and was great for stocking the fridge.We did the isla cristina boat trip with shrimp and wine, it was just under 2 hours for 14 euros each, we considered it a bargain, also did the guided tour of seville which was fantastic.This is a totally different holiday to your Benidorm or magaluf, it's more traditional Spanish and was probably the best holiday in Europe we have done, don't be worried about the lack of English restaurants or bars near by, we survived on our basic Spanish skills and would definitely return.It was my wife's birthday whilst there and she got treated to cake and cava, so thank you for that she really appreciated it.I have to mention that we are both nature lovers and the area of Isla Cristina is just astonishing, if it's a true Spanish experience you're after this is for you, if it's the Red lion and Sunday roast type holiday you're after

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• User:thomasbR4417PQ

  Trip type: Couples

  A welcoming, clean and spacious hotel.

  19 Oct 2025

  My wife and I stayed at the Estival hotel in Isla Cristina for 7 days in October 2025. We had a fantastic time staying here. The rooms are large, with balconies and air-conditioning. They are kept exceptionally clean by the room staff visiting daily. The dining room is buffet style, with lots of different variety and choices for meals. We had the bed and breakfast deal, but did have lunch and evening meals at the hotel, with the extra meals being inexpensive. All the staff were very friendly and welcoming, and made us feel at home. The pool area and bar were very clean, and spacious, with lots of sun loungers to choose from. The bar serves a huge variety of drinks, and a selection of meals during the day, again its very well priced. There is also activities such as a pool table, table football, and table tennis, as well as a selection of arcade games. The hotel also has access to a fully equipped gym, which I believe you pay a small daily fee to use. The bar area also had entertainment acts on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, with local singers and DJ's performing.The hotel is located a 5 minute walk to a golden sandy beach, which was never busy during our stay.The hotel is located on the edge of Isla Cristina, and a taxi would be advised to get into the center of the town, although we did walk back from the port and it took us approximately 30 minutes. There are quite a few restaurants and a Lidl supermarket within a 15 minute walk from the hotel.We really enjoyed our stay in the Estival hotel, and would recommend it to anyone. We went late in the season, and it was fairly quiet, I would expect it to be much busier in the summer, but the hotel is fantastic gem. RRPP Estival Isla Cristina, Otros at Estival Isla Cristina, responded to this review Dear Thomas,Thank you very much for your wonderful review. We are delighted to hear that you and your wife enjoyed your stay, our rooms, facilities, and the friendly service of our team. It’s great to know you appreciated the pool, bar, dining options, and nearby beach.We hope to welcome you both back soon for another fantastic stay at Estival Isla Cristina.Warm regards,The Estival Isla Cristina Team

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• User:MrsGabrielle

  Trip type: Couples

  Wonderful!

  04 Oct 2025

  We had a lovely holiday at this lovely, friendly hotel. Everything about it was wonderful, good rooms, comfortable beds, good choice of food, lovely pool area but the friendliness of the staff there really makes it worthwhile. It was my husband’s birthday during our stay and they surprised us with a bottle of cava and some cake which was delivered to our room. Unfortunately my husband was ill during our stay and taken to hospital and the reception staff, especially Sonia and Flor, could not do enough to help us out. They were so kind and caring, as was Ana in the restaurant who brightened our mealtimes with her friendly smile. We enjoyed some beautiful walks during our stay to Ayamonte, around the salt pans to La Redondela and to La Antilla and Lepe, so if you are keen walkers, this is a marvellous base. We took the bus to Huelva for a day which was also worth seeing. We could not recommend this hotel highly enough. RRPP Estival Isla Cristina, Otros at Estival Isla Cristina, responded to this review Dear Mrs GabrielleReceiving your comment has been a gift for our entire team. Thank you very much for taking the time to share such a comprehensive and, above all, heartfelt review.We are delighted that you highlighted the friendliness of our staff as the main highlight of your stay. We know that comfortable rooms, good food choices and a lovely pool area are important, but human warmth is what really defines us.We are thrilled to read how your husband's birthday celebration was a special moment, and we are glad to have contributed with that little detail of cava and cake.We deeply regret the difficult health situation you experienced, and we sincerely hope that your husband has now fully recovered. We would like to express our pride in the actions of our reception team, and especially Sonia and Flor. In times of need, our staff will always strive to offer the utmost support. We will pass on a special thank you to them and to Ana from the restaurant, whose smile and attention made your meals more enjoyable.Thank you also for highlighting the location for hiking and recommending walks around Ayamonte and the salt flats. This is wonderful advice for future guests!Comments such as yours confirm that our efforts and dedication to service are invaluable. We sincerely hope that on your next visit, your only concern will be to enjoy yourselves.Warm regardsEstival Isla Cristina Team

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