TUI BLUE Insula Alba

This was our second visit to Insula Alba and it did not disappoint! We had a great room with a sea and pool view which was kept scrupulously clean by the amazing housekeeping team. The food was excellent - particularly the main restaurant (buffet style) and the Culinarium - which served local Cretan dishes. All guests are entitled to one meal there per stay, along with a meal at the Pizza/Pasta restaurant. Both are situated beautifully - the former looking out onto the sea and the latter on the terrace. Fantastic views of the sunset from both. All staff are very friendly and helpful, particularly in the restaurants. You can have lunch in the main restaurant or have a tasty snack from the Culinarium. You can also get afternoon snacks from here. There were just enough sun beds while we were there - but you need to be out by about 10.30 to get one, or leave it until later in the afternoon. Some double sun beds have shades above, and the lower ones have umbrellas. The garden area around the pool is large and attractive, and the front ‘row’ looks onto the sea. There are rooms which are swim up, but we weren’t in one of those so can’t comment. It’s a relaxed holiday in the main - there is entertainment every night but we chose to sit on our balcony and enjoy it from there as the pool bar, although great, is lacking in seating, and if you are later eating you are unlikely to get a seat there unless you want to sit on a sunbed. This is perhaps one of the only small disadvantages of the hotel. The day time activities are second to none. We had a brilliant fitness instructor, Anna, who was not only good at leading the classes, but also had great interpersonal skills. We really enjoyed our time with her, and took part in every aqua aerobics class, morning yoga and morning Pilates on the outdoor fitness platform. Anna was definitely one of the highlights of the holiday! She encouraged us to try different things too! My only negative feedback would be around smoking. Smoking is permitted in all the outside areas, including the balconies, and that put us off at times. For instance, when we were sitting on our balcony we were unfortunate enough to have a smoker next to us, and that made sitting out unpleasant to say the least. There was also (ironically) smoking allowed on the seats next to the fitness platform, and next to the table where we were eating in the Pizza/Pasta restaurant. If smoking could be confined to one area in the hotel away from others my review for this hotel would be 100% positive. You could also end up on a sunbed next to a smoker, which was not a good experience. At one of our favourite hotels in Mallorca, smoking is confined to a small area so most guests are not troubled by it. Other than that, I would absolutely recommend this hotel to couples. In our first week there were mainly people our age range - 50, 60 say, whilst in our second week (beginning of July) there were more younger couples there, and it did get a bit rowdy at times in the Pool Bar, and the language became not what I like to hear. But we could walk away from that so it didn’t spoil the visit.

We have just returned from an 11-night stay at TUI Blue Insula Alba, and this is a difficult review to write because the staff are genuinely the hotel's greatest asset. Firstly, a huge thank you to every member of staff who worked so hard to make our holiday enjoyable. From the moment we arrived, we were treated with kindness, professionalism and genuine warmth. They really do make you feel like a valued guest. We were delighted to see familiar faces from our previous visit, especially Manos and his fantastic bar team. We also had the pleasure of meeting other members of staff, including Costa and his team at the evening pool bar, along with Ireni and Irene in the snack restaurant, who were all wonderful. Every member of staff deserves recognition for their friendliness, professionalism and hard work. The hotel manager also deserves praise. He seemed to be everywhere at once, constantly checking on guests, greeting everyone with a smile and ensuring things were running smoothly. His dedication to the hotel certainly doesn't go unnoticed. This was actually our second visit. Two years ago we stayed for one week on half board before upgrading to all inclusive because we loved the atmosphere around the pool bar, the afternoon quizzes, the entertainment and the social side of the hotel. At that time, being one of the fewer all-inclusive guests meant the bars felt less busy, the service felt more personal and there was much more interaction between guests and staff. The afternoon quizzes were a real highlight, bringing people together and making it easy to get to know other guests. We also really missed the casino night, which was one of our favourite evenings during our previous stay. Unfortunately, the atmosphere now feels very different since the hotel became fully all inclusive for everyone. With so many more guests using the bars and facilities, it has inevitably lost some of that relaxed, personal feel that made our first visit so memorable. The hotel itself remains beautifully clean, well maintained and in a fantastic beachfront location with easy access to local shops and restaurants. Our room was comfortable and cleaned to a very high standard every day. We stayed in a first-floor double room overlooking the private swim-up rooms. Personally, I was pleased we hadn't paid extra for one of these rooms. There appeared to be very little privacy, with guests overlooking each other's terraces and rooms, and there was no meaningful view beyond them. Where the holiday fell short was the food and overall dining experience. For a hotel marketed as five-star, we expected much more. The desserts were consistently excellent, but the main buffet became repetitive and lacked the quality and variety we remembered from our previous stay. The themed evenings were particularly disappointing. White Night consisted simply of a member of staff greeting guests in a white shirt, with no themed atmosphere or special decorations in the restaurant. Gala Night offered a complimentary glass of Prosecco on arrival, but little else felt different. Fish Night included grilled salmon and fish stew, both dishes that had already been available on other evenings. The carvery station also felt like a missed opportunity. Positioned at the very end of the buffet after the vegetarian section, many guests had already chosen their meals before reaching it. It also lacked the presentation and theatre you would normally expect from a five-star hotel. A simple rearrangement of the buffet and a more attractive presentation could make a significant difference. The two à la carte restaurants were absolutely outstanding and by far the best meals of our holiday. It was disappointing, however, that during an 11-night stay we were only permitted one visit to each restaurant. Guests staying one week receive exactly the same allocation, which doesn't seem particularly fair for longer stays. Other changes from our previous visit were also noticeable. Previously, glass bottled water was served at the table in an ice bucket, whereas guests now collect water themselves from dispensers. Soft drinks, particularly lemonade and Sprite, tasted more like soda water, making them disappointing both on their own and as mixers. The snack restaurant was another disappointment. On our previous visit it was somewhere we genuinely enjoyed eating, whereas this time the food quality was poor, very canteen-like and offered little variety. What surprised us most was that lunch was served in disposable cardboard takeaway-style trays rather than on proper plates. For a hotel marketed as five-star, this took away from the dining experience and made it feel more like a fast-food outlet than a quality restaurant. Entertainment was also much weaker than we remembered. Everything was centred around the main pool bar, and unless you secured a seat early there was nowhere comfortable to watch. Many guests were left either standing or sitting on damp sunbeds from earlier in the day. We also felt the hotel lacked comfortable lounge areas where guests could simply relax with a coffee or drink during the day or evening. One small point regarding the room was the pillows, which were extremely flat. I appreciate I could have requested additional pillows, but it was noticeable enough that I ended up using the chair cushions underneath them for extra support. Finally, guests should also be aware of the additional costs. During our 11-night stay, the environmental tax (formerly the tourist tax) added approximately £165 to the cost of our holiday. While we appreciate this is a government charge rather than something imposed by the hotel, it is still a significant additional expense that guests should be aware of when budgeting for their stay. Overall, we left feeling disappointed, not because of the staff—they were exceptional—but because the hotel itself no longer delivers the five-star experience we remembered. The move to fully all inclusive appears to have had a noticeable impact on the food, atmosphere and overall guest experience. Sadly, despite having such wonderful memories of our first stay, we would not choose to return in its current format. That is genuinely disappointing for us to say because we wanted to love this holiday just as much as our previous one. We sincerely hope the hotel takes feedback like this on board, as the foundations are all there. With such an outstanding team of staff, TUI Blue Insula Alba has the potential to become the exceptional hotel we once experienced.

Stayed here for 2 weeks in June with friends to celebrate my husbands 60th birthday. Had a great 2 weeks, Manos in the pool bar really made our holiday, he’s an asset to the hotel, he has a knack of getting everyone talking to each other & to be honest there’s not enough words to describe how entertaining he is, Norman is also worthy of a shout out, he never stops behind the bar, Jemma kept us entertained in the evenings which brings me onto the evening entertainment, there’s no where near enough seats for everyone, some might not mind sitting on sunbeds but they’re not really comfortable to sit for a whole evening. Food was good, the hotel was clean throughout, rooms were cleaned to a high standard each day (Thankyou Maria) mini bar should have been restocked each day but wasn’t, the day we arrived we found the toilet seat was loose, we reported it on our way to dinner & by the time we went back to the room it had been replaced with a new one. One of the handrails into the pool was also quite loose & got replaced the day before we came home. The pool was very cold but had started to warm up by the middle of our 2nd week. Eleni’s bar in the village is worth a visit, mama who runs it is hilarious. Had a meal at Sirtaki also in the village which was very nice.

Room - Room is good, lovely comfy bed, nice shower with both an overhead drencher and a handheld head, wall-set handsoap, shampoo and conditioner, two big sinks. TV automatically comes on and starts with the hotel adverts every time you leave and enter the room which doesnt sound like a big thing but actually becomes increasingly annoying, I recommend unplugging it at the wall. There is only one plug available for use, so bring a plug splitter if you want to charge two phones at the same time, and the plug isn't anywhere near the bed, so bring a battery pack if you want to charge your phone by the bed (e.g. if you have a phone alarm set). Mini fridge filled daily with free coke, Fanta, beer, little wine bottle. Air con isn't amazing but it is sufficient for high-20s June (dont know how it would cope in the 30s), but has to be manually turned back on every time you open and close the patio door (most places it just turns off and then turns back on again when the doors closed, but not here, so you can't, for example, go sit outside while it cools the room). Private pool room has its own bali bed, which is lovely, and obv the pool is a cool addition. You get two pool towels in your wardrobe, and these are changed by housekeeping as needed. If you're using yours when they come round, they still leave a fresh pair - somehow we ended up with 5 of them at one point. Hotel - Around the place is nice and modern. Theres a bit of the hard sell for spa treatments etc at the beginning, but everyone's really friendly, many of them remember who you are. The room service teams are friendly and do a good job with the rooms. There seems to always be some stretching/tai chi/step-arobics/whatever occurring in the little platform in the middle of the hotel grounds. The chairs around the bars are comfy enough, and the sunbeds (esp the wavy ones) are comfy. Arrival and departure - arrival was ok, it was a fair transfer over 1hr because the hotel was last-but-one of the drop-offs, the restaurant was still open even in the wee hours, so was able to grab a drink and snack. For Departure, the "courtesy get-ready" slot isnt a private space, you just get guided to the spa's changing rooms which are open-access showering spaces/locker room with not much space or place to, for example, open a suitcase to get a change of clothing etc. Food and drinks - food is good, the selection within the main restaurant is about what youd expect and gets a bit samey after a few days, but the quality is great, esp pizza, gyros and the desserts. Lunch snacks are also served in the culinarium by the pool bar, serving a little of different things. Culinarium evening a la-carte is booked through the Tui Blue app. It was ok, you pick your main and they bring a bit of all the meze to start and a selection of desserts at the end. The main was nice, different, and well presented, the meze was also good, dessert was basically a selection from the AI buffet desserts. Get a booking to coincide with sunset and a window table. Theres a good selection of drinks in the 2 bars, and its clear which are in the all inclusive and which arent. Bar teams seem friendly to patrons and even to each other (which is nice to see), pool bar is livelier and the piano bar above the main restaurant is quiet. The world cup was on when we went, and they showed the games at the pool bar, which is where most of the evening entertainment was. The entertainment was not great, and not awful. Location - its right next to a shop (they say "supermarket" but its just one of those shops you get in every resort around the world, selling flipflops, playing cards, random souvenirs, inflatables, etc), and several bars and restaurants are 2 or 3 mins walk away. Theres no "beach" per se, just some shale then the ocean, which also has rocks all along it. Turn left out of the hotel (onto beach promenade) and 15 mins you're at Aposelemis Beach with fantastic sunset and turtles (!!). Turn right and theres some nice seafront eateries for nighttime cocktails. Theres a road train which stops by the hotel (well, just in front of the "supermarket") but avoid that at all costs. Taxis are £13-£16 to Hersonissos, circa £27-£30 to Malia, circa £40 to Heraklion or Knossos.

This is a great hotel for couples and families with older kids (16+). If you want hustle and bustle with nightlife then you may want somewhere different but if you want good food, great service and the odd night out in one of the adjacent towns then this is the place. The bar staff are amongst the best we’ve ever experienced and Manos in particular is a fantastic host behind the bar remembering what you drink and keeping you replenished throughout the day. Always worth tipping for great service. The food is typical all inclusive so can be a little repetitive but you can eat in the culinarium or pasta/pizza restaurant, that or eat in a local restaurant for something different. We opted for a Mexican restaurant in Hersonissos Which had a lovely view. Plenty of trips to go on, we decided to do the palace of Knossos which broke the holiday up nicely and went snorkelling in the adjacent sea where there were plenty of fish to look at. The TUI reps were fantastic with Jemma looking after us when we went to a local bar to watch the England game until 6 in the morning. We did get to see a sunrise however so together with the win made it worthwhile. The bar Eleni’s does extra cold Guinness on draft if you need a fix. We met some great people on both weeks which always makes the holiday. We stayed in a duplex with our daughter and it provided ample room and the aircon is top notch which is needed after a hot day out. We met a few who had swim ups and in the main regretted it as the idea sounds good but you don’t necessarily get the sun all day and being locked away you miss meeting people around the pool. I’m an early riser and was down at the pool by 8-8:30 and could pretty much get a sunbed anywhere, in fact as long as you were down by 9:30-10 you would get a sunbed no problem although it did get busier in the first week of July so that could change as the hotels fills up. Great hotel overall and would highly recommend.