Iberostar Selection Kantaoui Bay

"Hotel is beautiful, with such lovely staff that couldn’t do more for us. Expect for your mini fridge/bar in your room to not be stocked daily, we arrived to our room and the mini fridge/bar hadn’t been stocked, I phoned reception, went to reception and messaged on the app for it to be restocked.. it took 1/2 days for them to do this. It then happened again, hadn’t been restocked and I had to ask multiple times. Super irritating since it’s a “5* all inclusive” We stayed in a “Double or Twin Room Balcony/Terrace (A) Sea View” but I would say it was more a partial sea view. The bed was super comfy, the room was very spacious and the A/C in the room was bliss. There are many stray (presumably) cats around, sadly we seen one of these spraying against the wall in the lobby opposite the bar area, not pleasant to see and probably not something the hotel staff would notice unless mentioned :( Main restaurant served delicious foods sometimes was a bit repetitive but so many options that you didn’t have to have the same everyday. Only downside was there wasn’t really any snacks between meals, not even between evening meal and breakfast. A 3/4* hotel we stayed a previously had snack options. Alcoholic drinks aren’t great, they taste cheap, definitely not 5* quality. The sandy beach being a stone throw away from the pools was a huge bonus however, be aware of the people walking up and down the beach trying to sell stuff, they can be super annoying. We noticed one guy walking around with a baby turtle in his hand, he’d walk up to people and almost force you to hold the turtle, take a picture on your phone of you with it, he will also force fruit and nuts into your mouth and then try to charge, when you say “no” he says “small money” and repeats this. The sea itself was full of rubbish/ a lot of seaweed bits, black areas in the sea from a load of seaweed, not very pleasant. Also highly irritating to have the hotel excursion guy constantly pressuring you to go on their trip and quad bikes, when you say you’re not interested, he just doesn’t give in and turned to my partner to say “she’s the boss”.. not ideal when you’re just trying to relax at the beach! The pools were really good, however, the adult pool needs some maintenance, there are tiles that need replacing or renewing, one of the light fittings in the pool was loose, there are also tiles that need replacing/renewing in the jacuzzi tubs that are joined to the pool. Adult only pool is salt water that burned your eyes if it got in them. However, the temperature of this pool was very refreshing on the warmer days. There is a separate pool for children. Not difficult to get a sunbed as the lifeguards are always ready to put another out for you (both beach and pool) Entertainment whilst we were there was absolute rubbish! The first night we arrived was the only night there was something worth watching. We had better entertainment at a 3/4* hotel we stayed at previously. I would highly advise against going to the town of Sousse, especially the medina area.. where the taxi drops you off is where men will stand and approach you as soon as you leave the taxi saying extremely friendly “do you remember me, from the hotel” (he was NOT from the hotel and is a imposter that has noticed the all inclusive wrist bands) and then proceeds to ask “have you been here before” when you say you haven’t, he will take you to two shops (presumably ones he has something to do with) and those shops will try to push sales on you, even if it’s things you aren’t interested in buying, they still try. When you say no to the sales, they become angry and speak their language to their shop mates. A couple we were talking to in the hotel told us they had been locked in this shop. All in all, I would not pay the £1,800+ for two people to go here again, it definitely is not worth it. There are many things that needs improving."

"We really enjoyed our stay there - exceptional services and no one asked for tips ever. I tipped some staffs when we left as they were amazing. The room were spacious and clean. Food was nice. Facilities were a bit old but not too bad. Animation was a bit boring and repetitive, but again people were nice. Overall a nice stay."

"We stayed at Iberostar Selection Kantaoui Bay for one week at the end of August, and unfortunately, one issue seriously affected our entire stay: the unbearable heat inside the hotel. The temperature was uncomfortably high not only in the corridors and lobby, but also in the restaurant and hotel bar. What was particularly disappointing was that the air conditioning in our room was practically useless. It worked more like a fan than an air conditioner and was simply unable to cool the room properly. For a 5-star hotel, especially in Tunisia during the extremely hot summer period, I find it completely unacceptable that the common areas and guest rooms cannot be kept at a comfortable temperature. There were also some surprisingly basic service issues. I have rarely seen cocktails served without a straw, and even more surprisingly, the bartenders did not properly mix or shake the cocktails before serving them. These may seem like small details, but at a 5-star resort they make a noticeable difference. The hotel has many positive aspects, but the lack of effective air conditioning and the inconsistent bar service significantly affected our experience. For us, these are issues that should be addressed urgently if the hotel wants to maintain a true 5-star standard. Unfortunately, because of these issues, we cannot say that our experience matched the standards expected from an Iberostar Selection hotel."