Whala!Isabela

“Good hotel in a great location ”

We booked a last minute getaway and spent 5 nights here. As soon as you walk into the hotel grounds you notice how clean this hotel is. Always looked and smelt clean. We luckily had a pool view room, rooms are small struggled with not enough hangers and anywhere to put the suitcases..we ended up p… more

We booked a last minute getaway and spent 5 nights here. As soon as you walk into the hotel grounds you notice how clean this hotel is. Always looked and smelt clean. We luckily had a pool view room, rooms are small struggled with not enough hangers and anywhere to put the suitcases..we ended up putting them on the balcony. Kettle with some fruit tea and black tea but no coffee or milk. Our room had a bath which was slippy and I did worry every time I got in and out. Shower was awful. Rooms were made up every day and towels changed. We stayed all inclusive, lots of extras, Safe was €3.5 a day which we though was expensive. Pool towels €10 deposit. Cups €1. No option to upgrade to premium spirits/cocktails which was a shame. All inclusive guess cocktail are awful, watered down and from a machine. Paying guest got full size glasses even round the pool which I found strange. Staff we encounter were all lovely and pleasant. Food is good not always as hot as I'd like but it literally was the same every day. You expect breakfast to be the same but the grill area had the same thing every lunch and evening meal. Lunch would be noodle veg paella evening rice paella some times fish mostly veg. 2 pasta and 2 sauces. A chicken, pork, potato and 2 fish. Other dishes where veal, lasnage, pizza veg. Salad and cheese. Desserts were jelly and angel delight mixtures some cake and ice-cream. One night I managed to get the only crème brulée of the week. We went out 2 night as too repetitive. We did miss the mexican night. Dining room was very cramped. Snacks were none existent unless you paid for them. We stayed in a 3 star hotels in the summer that provided a good selection of snacks during the day. (Nachos, hot dogs, fruit salad, salads, pastries and sandwiches.) Pool area lovely and relaxing, no smoking which was such a plus for us. There was some chilled out music some days but not others. Not sure who thought white sunbeds were a good idea. Bali beds are such a waste, taked up useful sun bed space as there didn't always seem to be enough. To be honest most are in the shade for several hours so I wouldn't have booked one. 1 couple used 1 on our last day. Maybe a reduction for all inclusive guest would encourage more people to use them? Pool bar was always busy and only 1 member of staff. A simply solution would be to put on a self service coffee machine, soft drinks and water for people to help themselves keeping the bar free for alcoholic drinks. This would also solve the no drinks till 11am rule they have. No entertainment what's so ever. A nice live artist singing would make a huge difference in the evening. Hotel is in a lovely area opposite the beach and lots of restaurants and cafes nearby. The Irish bar attached is run by the hotel, we got a Guinness and vodka €16 no live acts as advised. There was a few issues while we were there, the roof of the restaurant had a leak and was covered with a sheet and staples. It narrowly missed me when It collapsed during the evening service. There was also a power cut one breakfast time and the smaller lift often didn't work, they were filtering water out of it one day which I found very alarming. We did enjoy our stay it was very relaxing. We would probably return but only on a bed and breakfast basis.

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“Nice hotel, great location”

Lovely hotel in a great location just behind the beach. Rooms are good, comfortable beds and cleaning is of a good standard. The pool area is also really nice, lots of sun beds so no need to fight for a spot, poolside bar area and really nice communal areas in and outdoors. Wine on tap at 2 euro… more

Lovely hotel in a great location just behind the beach. Rooms are good, comfortable beds and cleaning is of a good standard. The pool area is also really nice, lots of sun beds so no need to fight for a spot, poolside bar area and really nice communal areas in and outdoors. Wine on tap at 2 euros, by the glass from bottle 5 euros but very small measures given in the restaurant, buy your wine at the bar and then take through with you. Breakfasts were good, no shortage of anything however, evening meals were perfectly acceptable but not inspiring and a little bland, a little more variety and something with more taste would make this hotel a 5. That said, we would return. Connected to great bar, Irish Soul, advertised as an Irish bar but really nice and great friendly staff.

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“Very enjoyable stay.”

We booked a 2 week Bed and Breakfast stay at the Whala Isabella and on the whole enjoyed it and would return. The hotel was in a great position, very close to beach, restaurants, bars and bus stop. The hotel is spotlessly clean and the staff were all very good. Our room was compact but nicely desi… more

We booked a 2 week Bed and Breakfast stay at the Whala Isabella and on the whole enjoyed it and would return. The hotel was in a great position, very close to beach, restaurants, bars and bus stop. The hotel is spotlessly clean and the staff were all very good. Our room was compact but nicely designed and comfortable, though I would say the over bath shower could have been better. It was hard to adjust height of the shower and to keep shower head in the bracket. A non slip surface on the bath and handrail to aid getting in and out would be useful. The pool was small but well maintained and opened from 9 am until 7pm. The lower level sun terrace was nice and felt comfortable especially as most people did not smoke around the pool. It wasn’t clear whether that was actually a rule or simply due to mainly considerate guests. The upper terrace was a bit crowded and many beds became overshadowed by the large Bali beds which were not being used due to the additional cost. It is a shame that a greed for money is impacting on the experience of other guests because of the waste of space. I was impressed that there was access via a lift for disabled guests. I notice background music had been added in reaction to previous reviews but at least it was fairly innocuous. It might be better to have periods where it is completely quiet too. Breakfast was incredible so much choice and variety only criticism was coffee from 2 machines which resulted in a bit of a wait for a cup of froth. I found the only way to get a black coffee that tasted of coffee was 2 shots expresso plus half a cup of hot water! Apologies to those in the queue behind me 🙏. The downside for our holiday was arriving to be told that there had been a glitch in the booking system and having to go to another hotel for our first night. This was made worse by being sent to a hotel where the water was turned off for planned maintenance from 9am till 12 noon the next morning across the entire building! We decamped from there fairly quickly and we’re glad to find working facilities in the WhalaIsabela. It did however mean we wasted more than half a day of our holiday. We saw that this was not an isolated occurrence and was happening to quite a few others who had to stay in other hotels for a night. We were compensated by the hotel by being given all inclusive for that day, 2 days use of Balibeds and a bottle of cava. We prefer not going all inclusive when we holiday and I have to say that preference remains. Lunch and dinner were OK but nothing to write home about and I can only echo the criticism of the second class citizen feel of serving drinks in smaller glasses etc. It took me back too very early days of package holidays when we were accidentally served the wrong dessert on a half board deal in Italy. The plates were whisked away again portion cut in half then returned😩 We only used the Bali bed for one day and whilst it was very comfortable it had tightly fixed covers not curtains so it was impossible to control shade and sun levels. We weren’t told that the ticket included 2 glasses of cava and some fruit so thanks to the lifeguard for clarifying that. Thanks to all the staff at the WhalaIsabela for a very enjoyable stay the criticism is meant constructively.😀

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“Hotel lovely all inclusive terrible”

Arrived Friday 4th at 11am, we could not check in until 2pm however they gave us our all inclusive wristbands therefore we could have drinks and food which was great. I had emailed the week before requesting a pool view (booked direct with the hotel) and was advised they would try and accommodat… more

Arrived Friday 4th at 11am, we could not check in until 2pm however they gave us our all inclusive wristbands therefore we could have drinks and food which was great. I had emailed the week before requesting a pool view (booked direct with the hotel) and was advised they would try and accommodate me. When we eventually got in to the room we had the worst view ever, the white brick wall which has already been posted, no big deal as we were not planning on staying in the room. Rooms are small, after reading reviews on here, we done the same as another traveller and put the cases in the balcony. The shower was the worst shower and surly has not just been installed in a newly refurbished hotel, you had to run about the bath to get wet. There was a fridge in the room and the air con was great and like the rest off the hotel it was spotlessly clean. We have ate in the restaurant a few times and have found the food lovely, the staff are really nice. For me and the reason for the 3 stars is the all inclusive offering, I have stayed in numerous all inclusive hotels in Santa ponsa and the all inclusive offering in a 2 star was far superior to here. The most annoying thing for me was not being aloud a drink in the bar at night in a proper glass, plastic cup only. This only applies to all inclusive customers, I don’t think they realise we did not pay the same as someone self catering we have paid extra so to be treated differently is not acceptable. Not much on the alcohol menu either, my partner drinks vodka and tomato Juice, tomatoe juice not included, i drink baileys , no local equivalent available on the all inclusive. There is an app that shows there are snacks available but no idea where you get theses, no ice cream or ice lolly’s advertised for people who are all Inclusive. There was no entertainment which made the hotel feel like apartments, you have to go out every night therefore a waste paying for all Inclusive. I have been to reception to ask for the manager to explain that i was unhappy and make them aware that its not a great all inclusive, been a few times and now told no manager until Wednesday. This could be a great hotel as its lovely, managers don’t seem to be listening to reviews on here, it’s the same comments being posted all the time I would not return to this hotel due to the all inclusive and no magers available to speak with to voice you concerns.

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