Amy Adejokun
Section editor
Overlooking the superb and vast Jandia beach, one of Fuerteventura's most beautiful beaches, the Ibérostar Playa Gaviotas is a quality and an all-inclusive hotel. A hotel with all-round amenities (swimming pools, a health spa, a gym, numerous sports apparatus), which are suitable for all the family.
The Ibérostar Playa Gaviotas is located one mile from the sea resort of Jandia and 2 mi north of the village of Morro Jable, south-east from Fuerteventura, on the very beautiful beach of Jandia. For the transfer from the airport, located 55 mi north, allow 70 minutes.
The 322 sq ft rooms of the Ibérostar Palace Fuerteventura are pleasant and well-equipped. They are accessible via lovely 'lush green' corridors, decorated with tropical plants and rocks. The tiled white walls of the rooms are adorned with pretty paintings, and in the room there are two separate beds, a desk, a sofa-bed, a green wooden round table, an armchair, a satellite television with 26 channels, a safe with an electronic code (£10.50 a week), a fridge, a telephone and individual air-conditioning. You will be able to put your things away in large closets, fitted with mirrors just as large. A terrace furnished with a green plastic table, two armchairs and a washing line offers a beautiful view over the swimming pool and the sea. The dimly lit bathroom includes a bath tub fitted with a handle and a flexible shower, (the water flow is rather weak), a bidet, a toilet, a hair-dryer, a bathrobe, a magnifying mirror and hospitality products.
Pleasantly decorated in shades of blue, the suites benefit from a large terrace with two deckchairs and a parasol, as well as a lounge area separated from the bedroom by a sliding door.
Opened in 1999, the complex consists of an 8-storey, pale sandy coloured building, housing 375 rooms, including 20 suites. The semi-circular design of the building makes it possible for there to be a view of the sea from every angle. The complex is surrounded by a lovely tropical garden, with trees and plants labelled with a sign, indicating their country of origin. The leisure area is structured around two swimming pools and a third one for children, all of it part of a vast panoramic solarium terrace, with a beautiful view of the vast and splendid Jandia beach. Open for swimming from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and 5 ft deep, the pool area is nicely designed with a wooden bridge, rocks and plants. Well placed on the panoramic terrace, the whirlpool bath offers a beautiful view of Jandia beach. The solarium area includes showers, deckchairs, parasols and towels, which are available at the reception for a £8.80 deposit. Open from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm and from 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm, the Zen Thai Health Spa is located in the neighbouring Ibérostar Fuerteventura. It includes a large heated swimming pool in which you can do aquatic circuits, with bubble baths and hydro-massage jets, six sensation showers, a very hot and fragrant Turkish bath with a star-filled, colour-changing ceiling, a whirlpool bath, two well-heated saunas (in contrast to some other saunas...), changing rooms, a large superior fitness room with the latest apparatus and massage parlours together with beauty and hair-dressing salons. We absolutely loved the Dead Sea ultra-salted pool in which you can float while reading your newspaper or simply take a nap! Be careful not to swallow any water! Programme: massages, aquatic circuits, à la carte treatments, yoga or even meditation.
Meals are served at the main buffet restaurant Atlantico. Breakfast is served from 8:00 am to 10.30 am, lunch from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm and dinner from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm in the summer and from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm in the winter. The buffet, of good quality and varied, offers international and local cuisine with show cooking. The opportunity for you to taste the famous papas (Canarian potatoes) served with the inevitable mojo sauce. The tomatoes are tasty, unlike the ones we have in our supermarkets. A gourmet menu is served once a week. For breakfast, you can enjoy freshly squeezed fruit juice, and hot chocolate lovers will have to make do with tea and coffee. The hall gets crowded and it is not always possible to get a table. You can try the à la carte Mexican restaurant Aventura, on Tuesdays and Fridays (from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm in the winter and 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm in the summer), but remember to book a table the day before, as it has a maximum capacity of 90 guests. The buffet hall can accommodate 500 guests. The swimming pool bar Oasis serves snacks (beef burgers, chips, pizza, salad) from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. The panoramic terrace of the Corona bar, covered and sheltered from the wind, boasts a beautiful bird's eye view of Jandia beach. It is a nice place to have pre-dinner drinks in a musical ambiance, and to return to after dinner for a self-service cup of coffee and whipped cream. You can enjoy your favourite cocktails from 10:30 am to 1:00 am: the dance floor gets lively from 9:30 pm onwards. To watch the shows, go down to the lounge bar Sotavento, open from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm. The show begins at about 9:45 pm.
A flight of stairs followed by a wooden footbridge takes you directly to the vast, fine sand, clear water beach of Jandia, overlooked by the majestic lighthouse which can be seen to the right. Showers, deckchairs and parasols are available. Keep in mind: it is particularly windy on the beach, there are waves and currents, however, it is supervised (10:00 am to 5:00 pm) and a flag indicates the level of danger for swimming. The beach is quiet and is not disturbed by motorised activities such as jet skis, which are strictly forbidden. There is a water sports and scuba diving centre.
The staff at Ibérostar Playa Gaviotas are efficient, considerate, present, in short, very professional: service is impeccable in the restaurant as well as at the bar, in the entertainment hall and at reception. The hotel has free parking. Health enthusiasts will be delighted with the Zen Thaï Health Spa (located in the neighbouring Ibérostar Fuerteventura Park); children will enjoy the mini-club, which offers a host of activities; and sports lovers will be thrilled with the superior fitness room thanks to the many sports activities available. Particularly remarkable is the multi-sports pitch (shared by the three adjacent Ibérostar hotels) and the squash court. A member of the Spanish chain Ibérostar, the Playa Gaviotas offers its guests the opportunity to use the neighbouring beauty and hair-dressing salon at Ibérostar Palace Fuerteventura. Animal lovers will be delighted to see all the cats strolling around the place, as well as the 12 tortoises that you can observe in the artificial river flowing by the swimming pool or even the multi-coloured budgies from Australia, which are unfortunately locked up in their cage. Avoid feeding all these animals.
Accommodation tip
Families can ask to be accommodated in one of the 24 connecting rooms or in the family rooms, which are larger and adapted for couples with children. For those wishing for even more luxury, a suite can be hired.
(free)
massage, beauty salon, sauna, stretching, keep fit, spa
tennis, gym, aqua gym, aerobics, football, volleyball, beach volley, basketball, golf, sailing, dance, step, bums and tums, archery, squash, water-polo, fitness, sports
Zaz L.
L'hôtel PLAYA GAVIOTAS est un hôtel en forme de bateau de croisière, face à la mer. Tout est très bien, pas de mauvaise surprise !
Très bonne animation, jour et nuit. Restauration impeccable. Face à la mer. Très propre.
Beaucoup de vent. Animations en toutes les langues mais pas en français.
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