Iberostar Selection Royal El Mansour

Our second time at this hotel. Location is good, right on the beach, but a fairly long transfer from the airport. A nice vibe at the hotel.... lots of areas to lounge and spread out internally and externally depending on what you are looking for. Rooms are ok - however on this visit - our bed was awful, the springs on one side had collapsed, and so being far less heavy than my husband i slept on that side, and even i struggled not to feel like i was going to roll out of the bed, and my 1 pillow was so thick and like concrete! I came away from the 2 week break with bad, neck, shoulder pain - we reported to reception 3 times and nothing was done about it! Very disappointing to be honest! The maid was great - kept the room very clean and always left beautiful towel displays! We had to ask for coffee top ups several times though to just have a cuppa when returning in the afternoon! We didnt need to do this last year, we had to also ask for water top up and toilet roll! Our room was a sea view located on the 3rd floor and whilst it was opposite the lift, we experienced no noise disturbance! Amenities are brilliant - pools are plentiful - however i wish 'adults' could swim into the early evening when it is quiet and you can do a proper swim, but this isn't allowed! What i would say is all the pools are freezing cold! so cold! Aqua gym is good fun! The quad biking experience which we booked via the hotel was great this year! really worth doing, and we did the parasailing which was good too! Thew new pilates studio is great and he paddle court is a grerat addition! I do however wish the hotel would do more to offer genuine Tunisian experiences in Mahdia to see more of the local vibe and what is on offer in the town! We booked a 2 days Sahara desert tour through Easyjet - it is worth the money and allot of packed in and it is so worth it to experience the Desert etc - but be prepared for allot of time on a coach and a basic 4 star hotel for the overnight stop, but it is worth doing! Just be prepared! Food is fantastic, so ,much to offer and the staff cannot be more helpful. For me as a vegan there is allot to choose from! I did however struggle with the flies this time when eating outside, but this isn't something they can do much about - and in the snack bar some of the food is not covered and the amount of flies on the food is quite off putting! The chefs, the waiting staff, the kitchen staff are out of this world! Adyen in particular could not do enough for us - he is an absolute gem and he really does deserve a massive credit and shout out- the most attentive and caring person i have ever come across in hospitality! He made our 12th wedding anniversary very special! Thank you....Mohammhed Ali (Dali) was also brilliant, always looked after us! The waiting staff do such long hours and they are always smiling! There was 1 waiter who always works mainly outside, who was always coughing and spluttering which was a little off putting! sorry! The hotel has 2 photographers - a more mature gentleman, who is very quiet and discreet, but was on one occasion a little pushy - and we would say bordering rude! The younger photographer Hassim was great a real charmer, and not pushy - however what i would say is that if you are - as we did going to get some photos taken, make sure you know what you are signing up to before you get your photos done! Cost wise, volume wise and the kind of photos you get! some of the poses are a tad cheesy and certainly not something you would do at home! But we embraced the occasion and the photos came out well, but if truth be told we just wanted a few natural looking photos on the beach and the grounds, we really didn't want the cheesy poses... we also found that the price was not cheap and the tone and vibe with the photographer changed once the money was involved! That was a little off putting again.... it's a shame to be honest as it took the edge off of the experience, and made us just want to finish the exchange/dealing. The poolside waiting staff are very attentive again, and always keeping you topped up with refreshments which is fab, and again cannot give a big enough shout out to Abdullah who has been our main poolside waiter for the both visits! Always smiling and always cheerful! Poolside areas are very clean and well maintained! The entertainment staff this year had changed allot from our visit last year, although a few were the same. but what i would say is much better this year, less hassling and on your case, and less pushy for your involvement, and some of the entertainment on offer is worth signing up to, they too work hard, and its not easy trying to get people involved in things! They do a good job! Well done team! All in all - the hotel is good! A few recommendations - in peak season - they could consider maybe asking you when you book to select a preferred dining time i.e. 6-7 or 7-8 or 8-9 as it does get very busy and noisy and therefore dinner can be a bit stressy - although Adyen took that away for us and many other guests. Adyen educated me on some of the traditional Tunisian food that i liked and would always choose, which was really interesting and greatly appreciated! Again he is just so good! Maybe make sure the food in the snack bar is covered! The new pilates studio gets booked quick, maybe an early morning pilates class outside would be popular! Hopefully this review helps! I would defo recommend this hotel! The facilities are good and the staff are some of the best!

We had a wonderful short break in Tunisia as a group of 16, celebrating two birthdays and two anniversaries. The hotel is lovely, very clean and a manageable size, with a great location and three swimming pools. The food was delicious, always fresh, and a real highlight of our stay. We spent most of our time by the sea. The wide, sandy beach is beautiful, with plenty of sunshine, no stones and shallow water that deepens gradually—perfect for children. A special thank you to the guest relations team for making our celebrations so memorable. They looked after us very well and surprised us with some lovely treats. The chef also arranged a lovely table for our celebration, and the food was excellent. The staff were always smiling, polite and welcoming. Drinks were served quickly, the cocktails were delicious, and we appreciated being able to change our beach towels whenever we needed to. The main downside was the transfer from the airport, which took around two hours. The entertainment could also have been stronger, but it wasn’t a priority for us and didn’t spoil our holiday. Would we return? Absolutely! This was our second stay at an Iberostar hotel, and we loved it. A lovely hotel, excellent service and wonderful staff. Thank you for a memorable holiday!

The overall experience was ok. I had a nice few days. All staff are lovely, we were lucky with the weather and the hotel is very clean. Location wise, there isn’t much to do around the area which is obviously no fault of the hotel. The restaurant u can book is only 1 per visit and it’s a fixed menu and you don’t get told what you’re having, they just plonk it on the table for you to figure out. It’s a change from the buffet food but nothing amazing. We don’t drink so can’t comment on the alcohol. Another bad point was they have nextflix on the tv controller but it doesn’t actually work. Really minimal problem but if you wanted a few hours in your room, don’t expect to get apps on your tv even if they are on the remote. The entertainment was ok. Something to do in the evenings but again, certainly not the best I’ve seen.

We have just spent the best 10 days in this beautiful resort. Definitely 5 star service! The hotel is immaculate, the staff are so lovely, polite, friendly and nothing is too much trouble. The entertainment staff are engaging and funny. The shows and entertainment on offer every day and night are well worth a watch. Our room was clean and comfortable with the best view of the pools and the beach. The bedding and towels were changed daily and the towel creations made by Abir were so clever. The beach was immaculate, cleaned every morning and again the staff were lovely. Overall this is the best holiday we have ever had, we are already looking to book for next September.

The location being on the beachfront is beautiful and this part of the beach well maintained, We didn’t venture far, after the transfer in we didn’t feel comfortable going outside the hotel so not so great if you want to explore in my opinion. Atmosphere was alright in the hotel, nothing special, the entertainment is poor, on our last night there was a singer who was good though. Rooms are huge, beds are really comfortable and room cleaned every day. Aircon was much needed at times. It’s a shower over bath, the bath is very deep meaning a big step over into the bath, fresh towels daily too. Happy to have paid what I did for the room alone. The food is typical all inclusive and always something available to eat, snack bar has a reasonable amount of choice too. Staff are all very friendly and work hard, found them selective chatting only to those who tipped them well, with the exclusion of Rim who was worked off her feet in the busy bar area but always with a smile, Alex was lovely telling us he worked for Iberostar in another part of Tunisia and having some great chat, but was the only one who chatted with ourselves. The pools very clean and lifeguard always on watch, Seen other reviews before visiting regarding the outdated rooms they are a little I would never rate this a 5 star, I’ve visited Iberostar in other countries and found the quality much better than here. The transfer time into here would put me off visiting again it was 3 hours on way in and 2 and a half on way back to airport.