Blue Sea Costa Bastian

"We stayed at this hotel for seven days as a family of five and booked our holiday through On the Beach. Unfortunately, while there were some positive aspects, several issues significantly affected our overall experience. One of the main positives was that we booked two rooms with a connecting door between them. The staff opened the connecting door for us, which was extremely convenient for our family of five. We arrived at the hotel at around 9 p.m. due to the airport transfer and only just managed to have dinner before it closed at 9:30 p.m. Therefore, our first day was effectively lost. The standard of room cleaning was disappointing. Although the rooms appeared to be serviced daily, the beds were simply made and the bed linen was not changed during our stay. The floors were also cleaned very superficially, with dirt often remaining or simply being spread around. In addition, the tea and coffee supplies in the rooms were not replenished during our seven-day stay. The pool itself is suitable for children, as most of it is relatively shallow, although there is limited space for adults who want to swim properly. However, the biggest problem in the pool area was the sun loungers. From early in the morning, guests placed towels on loungers to reserve them, often leaving them unused for hours. By around 10 a.m., it was almost impossible to find a free lounger, even though many appeared to be occupied only by towels. This situation should be monitored and managed more effectively. There was also very little shade around the pool. There were no parasols, and the few shaded areas were limited and away from the pool. This meant that guests often had no choice but to spend most of the day under direct sunlight. Another inconvenience was the system for drinks and pool towels. Although the hotel is all-inclusive, guests are required to pay cash deposits for reusable cups and towels: €1 per cup and €5 per towel. These deposits are refundable when the items are returned, but guests still need to have cash available. This is inconvenient for people who mainly use card payments and do not normally carry cash. A card payment or room-account deposit system would be much more practical. The check-out arrangements were also poorly organised. We had to leave our room at 12 p.m., but our airport transfer was not until 5:45 p.m., leaving us with almost six hours to wait. The hotel advertises a luggage storage room, but in reality it was simply an open room with shelves. It was not locked or supervised, and anyone could enter and access the luggage stored there. We did not feel that this provided adequate security for guests' belongings. There was also no comfortable indoor waiting area after check-out. There were no proper sofas, comfortable seating or designated space where guests could relax while waiting for their transfer. Guests could technically continue using the pool area, but with very limited shade and few available loungers, this was not an ideal solution. Overall, the connecting rooms were a great feature for our family, but the poor standard of room cleaning, lack of replenishment of basic supplies, unmanaged reservation of loungers, lack of shade, inconvenient cash deposit system, insecure luggage storage and lack of a proper waiting area after check-out significantly affected our stay. We hope the hotel management will take these points into consideration and make improvements for future guests."

"Good points... • Hotel is spotless and our room had a lovely view. • Evening entertainment, especially the acrobats they were fantastic. Bad points... • Food choices were very limited and some things were undercooked and left a lot to be desired. Don't get me wrong there was always something you would be able to find to eat (that being chips or pasta). Breakfast and lunches were ok but the evening meal was a let down for the majority of the holiday. The dining room is huge but the food areas are tiny with limited choice. Pics shown are of their lasagna and undercooked chicken. • Dress code for eating in the restaurant = girls turning up in pyjamas to eat breakfast! • The pool area was ok. Sunbed wars are still a thing. People putting their towels on the floor before 10am in place of where they want their sunbeds to go. • Aircon in the rooms is non-existent. Ours kicked in for approximately 5 minutes and that was your lot. We heard a number of guests mention that theirs wasn't working too. Not ideal in August. We slept with balcony doors open. Shouldn't be advertised if it is not consistently working especially during main summer months. It's a massive USP for the hot months where a lot of guests are concerned. There didn't appear to be any working aircon in the public areas of the hotel. Even the ceiling fans weren't used. • We booked a family room. Definitely not big enough. Consisted of 2 large beds pushed together. No seating area / sofa bed. Ok for sharing with small children but not teenagers. This combined with the heat due to the aircon not working has resulted in poor sleep for the whole holiday. • The female rep with the dark hair was extremely rude to a young teenage girl one night which was pretty embarrassing. Asked her if she was deaf! • I think the pictures advertising the hotel should be updated with how it is at present. The outdoor sports areas (mini golf etc) need refurbishing in parts. Otherwise misleading. • Reception needs a seating area. There are no sofas for people to sit and wait for transport (especially those on night flights who can't get a late check out). Loads of space just not utilised properly. • Very small bar areas resulting in large queues. Either more staff needed or more bars needed. Unfortunately we would not visit this hotel again."

"After reading so many negative reviews, I was really anxious to stay at blue sea costa bastian especially with it being our first family holiday just myself, my husband and son. We must have stayed in a different hotel to others because we had a lovely stay! Was it 5* service? No. You get what you pay for and we have zero serious complaints. On arrival we were early but still able to leave our luggage safe and use the facilities. The room was a ground floor room and cleaned daily - floors wiped, towels replaced, beds made. On checkout (12pm) we were again able to leave our luggage and use the facilities for the entire day. The staff gave us a shower room for 30 mins to use so we could have refresh before catching our flight home which was greatly appreciated! Our little one doesn't enjoy evening entertainment as its too loud so we didnt attend any of this so can't comment. However there was a lovely girl going round the pool gathering adults and kids to play pool games (not every day). The pool was COLD. Not a problem for someone who doesn't mind a cold dip because you do acclimatise and by 3/4pm the water is warm anyway from the heat of the day. The lifeguards were abit strict we thought and we kept saying "no fun!" as a joke. No inflatables allowed! Also no parasols around the pool which was frustrating but we never had a problem getting a lounger! Loungers locked until 10am. Food was great. Very similar most days but tasty and definitely cooked with plenty of choice. If you want to sit at a table and have someone take your order, this isnt the place for you. If you dont mind serving yourself and are not expecting Michelin star food then you'll be fine. Chips and pasta every day for fussy eaters and sweets for kids in the evening! Plates cleared away as soon as you're done. The beach is a fair walk away but there is a bus stop not too far which cost us €4.20 for the 3 of us to go into costa teguise. Overall, i have no complaints and for the price we would definitely return. We must have been one of the lucky ones who had a lovely time! The cocktail of the day was an added bonus! My favourite was the pina colada and my husbands was the mojitos!"