IBEROSTAR Bouganville Playa

First time staying here after being recommended this hotel, hotel room was clean and tidy, had a cot put into our room ready for arrival which was good as we arrived late/early hours. Rooms tidied daily and fresh towels too which was very good. Rooms are a little dated and could do with a freshen up but they are fit for purpose. Wardrobe space was quite big too and a free safe inside too.

We only had an issue with the room on the last night when we found cockroaches running across the floor, we were unable to catch them and move them as they went behind the fridge. Called reception who sent someone up to see if they could get to them, they weren’t able too, said they would return to the room with supplies and never returned. We ended up blocking all open spaces behind the fridge with towels to trap the cockroaches behind there as it was 23:30 at this point and nobody had returned & baby was asleep.

Communal areas in the hotel are clean and tidy. Lifts are a huge issue in this hotel, the amount of times we had to carry our pushchair up & down stairs as there are only 4 lifts for the whole hotel. Nobody makes space for pushchairs or I dread to imagine a disabled guest! Luckily we were on the 2nd floor so not too many floors to get down to get to reception but if we wanted to get to the restaurant or pool you have another 2-3 flights of stairs to get down. At peak times you can be waiting quite a while for a lift.

Food was ok… your typical all inclusive foods, we did opt to eat out a lot due to this. The pool bar is good, lots of different drinks to help yourself too and they do a lovely frozen strawberry daiquiri & a mojito which we liked. The snack bar pizzas were very good & the gluten free muffins were also nice.

The pools could do with some maintenance, lots of missing tiles in and around the pool. The towels on sun loungers by 6:30am is a joke, this needs sorting out as you can never get a lounger by 10am! We noticed towels being left all day for people to come and collect them at 3-4pm after not using them which is ridiculous. The hotel entertainment team were good with activities in and around the pool, we enjoyed the volleyball & water polo! The photographers were really great too, we had some pictures taken by them of our baby which was really nice.

Area outside around the hotel isn’t fantastic, lots of people offering you drugs when walking out of the gates near the pool. This was daily. Lots of people on mobility scooters and e-scooters on the paths which is quite unnerving when you are pushing a pushchair and they are papping horns trying to get you to move out the way. This seems to be a huge thing everywhere in Costa adeje/las americas.

The staff at the hotel were all very lovely, especially in the restaurant! The 2 ladies on the pool bar could be quite rude but everyone else was really polite and friendly.

Overall, I don’t think I’d return to this hotel purely because of the lift situation and the extra guests we had in our room.

Overall, our stay was okay, but we left feeling that the hotel didn’t offer good value for the price.

The location is decent, but it’s extremely noisy. Every night there was loud karaoke and music from the Star Bar until around midnight. Better soundproofing on the balcony doors would make a huge difference.

Breakfast was acceptable, but certainly not the best we’ve had in a hotel in Tenerife. There was enough choice, but nothing particularly stood out.

We stayed on a bed and breakfast basis, and the biggest disappointment was the food situation at lunchtime. Our son is a very fussy eater, and we simply wanted to buy something basic like a portion of fries from the pool bar. We were told this wasn’t possible unless we purchased the all-inclusive snack bar pass, which cost €19 per person per day (or €15 per person per day if booked for multiple days). As far as we understood, everyone in the room had to buy it. We found this very frustrating and unnecessary. It felt more like a money-making exercise than good customer service. Every other hotel we’ve stayed in has allowed guests to purchase individual food items from the pool bar.

The rooms are dated, with old wallpaper, limited storage space, and bedding that could definitely be improved. The bathroom also felt quite grubby, and the floors never seemed properly clean, even after housekeeping had been.

On the positive side, the pool area is excellent. Our child loved the slides and the 2 bigger pools, and this was definitely the highlight of our stay.

Unfortunately, despite the good pool facilities, we don’t feel the hotel is worth the money. There are plenty of better hotels in Tenerife offering a much better overall experience for a similar price.

Rooms – 5/5 The rooms are clean, comfortable, and well air-conditioned. The beds were comfortable, and while the rooms are fairly standard, they have everything you need. A nice touch was the chilled filtered water station just outside our room. The TV offered mostly Spanish channels with one or two English channels, which is pretty standard abroad.

Pools & Activities – 2.5/5 The pools and children's splash area are fantastic. They're clean, well maintained, and there are plenty of activities to keep kids entertained. We visited just before the summer holidays, so the pools never felt overcrowded. Unfortunately, the biggest issue with this hotel is the sunbed situation. The hotel has rules against reserving loungers, but these simply aren't enforced. By 7am, most loungers already had towels on them, yet many remained empty for hours while guests were nowhere to be seen—some seemingly disappearing for most of the day. The staff did nothing about it, which became incredibly frustrating. For many guests, this will genuinely affect their holiday, and it's one of the biggest reasons this hotel falls short.

Evening Entertainment – 3/5 The evening entertainment was enjoyable, with a good mix of live bands, children's shows, pool parties, and family-friendly performances. There was something for everyone, and the quality was good. The downside is that everything finishes around 10:30pm. After that, the atmosphere disappears completely, with only the indoor bar remaining open. It would be nice if there were more entertainment or somewhere with a bit of evening atmosphere for guests who want to stay out later. Reception & Check-in – 4/5 The reception staff were generally friendly and helpful throughout our stay. However, our holiday didn't get off to the best start. We were told we'd received a room upgrade, only to discover we'd been given exactly the room we'd originally booked. It seemed like a strange thing to say and unnecessarily raised our expectations before immediately disappointing us. It's a small issue in the grand scheme of things, but it did tarnish our first impression of the hotel. The Elevators... Without doubt, the biggest design flaw of this hotel is the lifts. There are only four main elevators serving what feels like well over a thousand guests across 13 floors. Waiting 10–15 minutes for a lift wasn't unusual, especially during busy periods. When one finally arrived, it was often packed, hot, and stopped on nearly every floor. On several occasions I spent around eight minutes inside a lift before giving up and taking the stairs instead. It became one of the most frustrating parts of the entire holiday.

Overall – 3.5/5 Overall, Iberostar Waves Bouganville Playa is a good family hotel with excellent food, fantastic pools, and a brilliant location. However, poor management of the sunbed situation and the painfully slow lift system significantly impacted our experience. Had the hotel enforced its own sunbed policy, I would probably have rated it between 4 and 4.5 stars. Sadly, because these issues affected our holiday every single day, I can't rate it any higher. Would I return? Probably not. We visit Tenerife regularly, and we've stayed in cheaper hotels that offered a better overall experience. That said, if great food and excellent pool facilities are your priorities, this hotel still has plenty going for it.