Iberostar Selection Diar El Andalous

Ali just now on Google 2/5 I really wanted to enjoy my stay here because Iberostar has a good reputation, but unfortunately this hotel fell well below what I would expect from a 5-STAR resort. The biggest issue was the air conditioning. We arrived to find that the AC in our room DID NOT WORK, and we ended up having to change rooms multiple times on our first night. It was incredibly stressful, caused us to miss dinner, and we didn't end up eating until around 1AM. A maintenance technician eventually had to come, open the vent and manually get the system running. I honestly don't understand why it takes all that just for the AC to work. In a hotel that advertises itself as 5 stars, functioning air conditioning should be the ABSOLUTE BARE MINIMUM, especially in Tunisia where temperatures were around 40°C. It wasn't just the rooms either. There was NO AIR CONDITIONING in the lobby or many of the indoor public areas, so every time we were inside it felt like a sauna. For such a well-known hotel chain, this was genuinely APPALLING. A hotel charging 5-star prices should not have guests sweating while sitting in the lobby. The room safe was another frustration. It kept malfunctioning and needed maintenance to reset it several times. Most hotels simply let you set your own code without having to involve staff. The minibar was also regularly left empty, and I had to call reception twice and chase it up before it was restocked. Service in general was very SLOW. Another thing that surprised me was the bathroom design. The toilet is visible from the bedroom with virtually NO PRIVACY, which is a bizarre layout. If you're travelling as a family or even with friends, be aware that you can literally see someone sitting on the toilet. The water situation was also incredibly inconvenient. There were NO BOTTLES OF STILL WATER provided in the room, so every single time you wanted a drink you had to leave your room and fill up a jug at a water dispenser. The only bottled water readily available was sparkling water, and when I asked for still water, some of the bartenders seemed reluctant to give it or had a noticeable attitude. Again, not what I'd expect from a 5-STAR HOTEL. I also had an unpleasant interaction with a staff member called Moundhar (or something similar), who claimed he was the manager when I specifically asked to speak to the manager. The whole interaction came across as unprofessional and dismissive. The food was another mixed experience. The buffet was average—not terrible, but certainly not what I'd expect from a hotel of this standard. The snack bar was much better, and the à la carte restaurant was genuinely excellent. The steak and tiramisu were delicious. To end on a positive note, the swimming pools were lovely, the beach was beautiful, and those were definitely the highlights of the holiday. Overall, there are some good aspects to this hotel, but there are simply too many basic issues for me to consider it a genuine "5-star" experience. Every hotel that markets itself as 5 stars should have FULLY FUNCTIONING AIR CONDITIONING in every room and throughout the hotel as a BARE MINIMUM, especially in a country where summer temperatures reach 40°C. It is unacceptable that such a well-known hotel chain would allow guests to stay in what felt like a SAUNA. Until these fundamental issues are addressed, I would not return. Check out other hotel options in the area for sure as someone who travels a lot and is from London.

We had such a lovely stay at this hotel. It's absolutely beautiful, and our room was spacious, comfortable, well maintained, and equipped with everything we needed. A special thank you to Layla, who cleaned our room every day and always made sure we had everything we needed, especially fresh towels. She checked in on us every morning with a smile and a friendly chat, which really made us feel welcome. The food was one of the highlights of our stay. There was a great variety, with plenty of healthy options, and we genuinely looked forward to every meal to see what was on offer next. Hamza in the restaurant was always so cheerful and had us laughing with his conversations, while Ramlya and Hitchin were incredibly attentive, always making sure we had a table whenever we needed one and keeping our glasses topped up! The beach was my favourite spot. It was peaceful, had a lovely breeze, and was where we spent most of our days. The sea was refreshing (although very salty!) and the beach was kept beautifully clean. There were also plenty of water sports and activities available for anyone wanting something a little more adventurous. The pools were great, with plenty going on throughout the day. Babuskha and the rest of the animation team brought so much energy and enthusiasm that it was hard not to get involved. Drinks and snacks were always easy to get, and Mahdi at the bar was incredibly quick with service while still taking the time to have a friendly chat. The spa became my best friend during our stay! It was so relaxing, with a great range of treatments, and the gym was also well equipped and came in handy after enjoying all the delicious food. Overall, the hotel is stunning and truly showcases Tunisian hospitality at its finest. We only had a couple of small issues. The air conditioning in our room worked really well once it got going, but the communal areas, especially the lobby, restaurant, and lounge, were very warm. After arriving in the evening in 38–40°C heat, we were hoping to cool down while checking in, but unfortunately the reception area was still extremely hot, so it wasn't the best first impression. Personally, I didn't feel the air conditioning in the communal areas was quite what I'd expect from a five-star hotel, although that may simply be normal for the climate. Like many of the other British guests we spoke to, we found the heat difficult at first. We actually spent more time in our room during the first couple of days just to enjoy the air conditioning. Once the pools and beach closed in the evening, there wasn't really anywhere cool to relax. You do adapt after a while, but it's worth mentally preparing yourself if you're not used to those temperatures. The overhead rainfall shower in our room wasn't working, so we had to use the handheld shower throughout our stay. We also would have appreciated a dedicated prayer room, especially after checking out. The staff kindly offered us the staff room outside the hotel, which we were grateful for, but having a designated prayer space within the hotel would have been more convenient and would have felt more appropriate. Finally, my biggest "complaint"—there wasn't any English Breakfast tea! There were plenty of other teas to choose from, but no proper English Breakfast. Somehow, I survived the whole week without my daily cuppa! These were only minor points and certainly didn't take away from what was a fantastic holiday. Tunisia isn't really a destination where you come to do lots of sightseeing, so if you're looking to switch off, relax, and enjoy beautiful surroundings with genuinely friendly and attentive staff, this hotel is a fantastic choice. We'd happily return and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

I recently stayed at Iberostar Selection Diar El Andalous and found the experience to be a mix of positives and areas that need improvement. There were definitely enjoyable parts of the stay. The bar staff and animation team were consistently friendly, welcoming and a real credit to the hotel. The property was clean throughout, the garden areas were nice to walk through or chill on a hammock, and the location worked well for us with many things to do nearby. I also enjoyed the spa treatments, which were reasonably priced. The night‑time entertainment was also good. Although I didn’t join in the daytime activities, there seemed to be plenty available. A few issues did impact the overall experience: * Air conditioning in the rooms, restaurants and communal areas was
extremely weak which was uncomfortable at times. * Reception staff were not very helpful; check-in felt rushed and questions often felt brushed off * Food signage in the restaurant was poor, making it difficult to know what you were choosing * Star Prestige didn't feel worth the extra cost - the rooftop area was often unmanned meaning drinks weren't available, and the hot tubs were old and not working properly * Spa pool area was very noisy with lots children, making it impossible to relax after treatments * No bottled water, it is filtered water from a machine which didn’t taste great. Overall, the hotel has some genuinely good qualities, but the number of issues meant it didn’t feel worth the money we paid.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ One of many stays, amazing staff very friendly and helpful. Will be returning ✨

BRITISH REVIEW Single parent (female) travelling with young teenager (male) Hotel rooms Beds are comfy, curtains are blackout but room is outdated and basic. Decor in need of serious modernisation and small things fixed e.g., Patio door handle hanging on by a thread, bathroom tiles grout is mouldy, marks and chips on tiles, hole in the room door where you would scan keycard to entrance the room. Marks on the room walls, hair on the floors, curtains stained, mini fridge with nothing in it. The phone and air con initially didn’t work on our arrival - but they did fix this, however air con still lacking any real coldness despite being on lowest setting it is still warm. I asked for robes and slippers which were provided but not in the room on arrival. Dust was on the water bottle in the room and there was only one cup even though two people staying in the room. No instructions on how to use the safe but they did send someone to show me after I asked. Bath towels aren’t great very thin, rough and on smaller side. Couple were stained as well you don’t expect the cleaner to have been replace dirty towels with clean but they are stained. Shower was powerful enough and they do provide shower gel, shampoo and conditioner but on arrival two were actually empty so hadn’t been refilled. Room smelt bad on arrival like sewage they said it was due to air con not working sprayed some air freshener and left. We had a room looking onto the gardens on the second floor was quiet enough as away from main area but could hear people in the hallway and the people in room/floor above moving around. Grounds Main areas are looked after but still don’t look that great to be honest, but the other parts of the hotel grounds are not well maintained, it’s very hot so plants / shrubs need watered. I went out running in the hotel grounds, round by the tennis courts / mini golf has rubble and is unsightly. Rooms do look out onto this so I was surprised the grounds were allowed to be so messy. The main entrance and main areas are ok not what you’d expect for a 5 star just average except for the grass it is very long around pool where the sunbeds are and is dirty with cigarette ends, some rubbish that remained there throughout our stay so obviously has never been tidied up by staff and a massive amount of ants. I think the hotel building in general could be doing with a spruce up i.e., painted, carpets in halls replaced, seats replaced. It’s feels like the hotel has seen better days and is beginning to look a bit tired. From the outside and the inside. Pools & sunbeds Was always able to get a sunbed (around 10.30am we would go down) however would say the sunbeds and protective covers that you lie on could be doing with being replaced soon. Broken sunbeds were in a pile at the side - didn’t look the best. Pools are busy / full especially in the morning and were hot like a bath by midday (we visited July). Showers around the poolside don’t work, showers near the beach do. Entertainment team Enjoyed the pool & beach volleyball. Wouldn’t say what’s on is advertised very well you have to know times and work out where to meet for yourself. There is a screen near the entrance of the buffet which is a guide though. It would be helpful if the entertainment team encouraged rules of volleyball e.g., moving position after each point scored as some players didn’t get opportunity to hit ball due to certain guests dominating play. Some of the entertainment team were great (mainly the men), they were really fun and made things enjoyable! Gym Used couple of times. Functioning and working as would be expected. Restaurants Can’t comment on the à la carte restaurants. Not completely satisfied with the food. The selection repeated itself daily and there were some flies on the food. Buffet felt generally small for a hotel of this size, very little real variety, often dishes would run out and not be replaced so if you ate later there was less available. Or you would approach a serving station to be told another 15 minutes while they made more. Staff would start removing the dishes five minutes before lunch or dinner was due to end to start clearing up. They didn’t clearly label what the dishes / food were or the ingredients so if you had allergies I would not recommend this hotel. Annoyingly they don’t have any soft drinks at lunch/dinner at the buffet only fizzy (coke/sprite/fanta), alcoholic or water. And the fizzy drinks are out of bottles so aren’t cold. We saw a waiter cough covering his mouth then proceed to get ice from his bucket with his hand put it in someone’s glass fill up with coke and serve it. We found that tables were never set so you had to ask the waiters for cutlery and you’d be sitting a while waiting, then once you finished they would clear your plate (eventually) taking away your cutlery but not replacing it so you’re left waiting again to get cutlery for desert or second plate. Plates were sometimes dirty as well. The length of time you have to wait on them getting you a drink is very long, multiple times we were nearly finished our meal before they brought it over. I found one of waiters quite rude we’d been sitting for just over 10 minutes with our dinner plates in front of us but no drinks or cutlery I had asked twice already so attempted to go up and get them myself to be told it’s coming and shrugged at - this happened a couple of times and I noticed other guests had the same issue with lack of drinks and cutlery. But I will say the other floor walkers, chefs and waiters were all friendly and nice. The hotel should replace its cutlery as I experienced many squint forks. Snack bar repeats what was on at breakfast and lunch at the buffet. No new food here except they do offer pancakes every evening maybe for the last hour which were nice. Beach Small section for hotel guests. The sea had waves which was fun, quite a bit of seaweed on the days I visited but generally near the swallow water once you are further out it is ok. They don’t rake the sand at the end of each day though so it felt quite dirty. Staff Very friendly and helpful. Happy to chat and remember you. General * Don’t leave coins or money out in your room unless it’s a tip as the cleaners will think it is for them and take it * There is nothing around the hotel can walk (15 mins) or taxi into Port El Kantaoui but this area had many empty restaurants/shops and felt a bit run down and sad. The was an amusement park here. * I wouldn’t feel safe walking around at night outside the hotel * Air con was not cold. The spa / gym building was the only area I found air con to actually work * It is not waiter service, they come round collecting the empty glasses at poolside and in the evening and you can order drinks then but they don’t always reappear with them * Hotel is very busy at weekends with locals, almost too busy the hotel can’t cope with the amount of guests * In the evening the bar provides popcorn and nuts if you know about this and ask for them * Taxi to waterpark and Port El Kantaoui 10 dinar. Taxi to Sousse 20 dinar * There is a bank machine in the hotel Excursions * Went Quad biking with Aqua - was good fun but after we had finished we had to wait 1h 25 mins to be collected again. This was not the hotels fault it was organised separately with a third party. But be aware if booking with them to maybe arrange your own transport back or confirm he will be picking you back up at an exact time when it finishes. I just assumed he would be there for it finishing * Medina sousse - took a taxi hotel reception helped with cost and where to get dropped off. Didn’t blow me away was ok nothing special, same things in every couple of shops. Sousse in general felt quite rough, dirty and deprived. Easy enough to locate a taxi to get back. Be aware of men at the medina saying they work at the hotel * The camel and horses do not look well cared for in comparison to other countries so we avoided these excursions * Acqua palace - a very small waterpark we went for opening at 9.30 there were no queues and we spent 1h 15 mins here. We had a good time but nothing spectacular, we’d done all the slides within 30 minutes, did some a couple of times and then left * Toilets by the pool and in the lobby are shocking feel dirty, mirrors chipped, general standard is poor e.g., taps squint, often dirty. These are my views of a traveller who is comparing our holiday to other 5 star hotels in Egypt, Turkey, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Greece, France and Spain. I personally wouldn’t return to this hotel. Be aware that the Facebook group for this hotel decline and remove any negative posts.