"We spent the last week of the summer holidays here - 26th Aug - 2nd Sept 26.
My 10-year-old daughter has coeliac disease so needs a strict gluten-free diet. I'm going to do a general review and then specific gluten-free/coeliac traveller review underneath.
GENERAL REVIEW:
We had an absolutely fantastic holiday here! We are a family of 4 with 10-year-old twin girls, and it was perfect for our age. Nobody got sick or anything, and we were in and out of the pools constantly.
The pools were great, lots of choice and variety. We were able to get 2-4 sun loungers every day with no real problems. The pools were mostly quite clean, though the floor area around were a bit grubby at times due to people walking around. I'd just ensure that you wear sliders/flip flops in the vicinity. The pools are busy but there are always quieter spots you can find. The only pool that sometimes got intolerably busy was the athletics pool because it would sometimes have a polo match on which took up half the pool. There is a hidden gem of a pool right up at the top which is nice and quiet. Pay 20 euros deposit for the towels and you can get a fresh one every day.
The beach on the resort was okay, good to have there but there's not really anywhere to put your stuff. On windier days it's gross with loads of seaweed but on sunny days it's nice. The main issue was that it was just full of rubbish. Rather than hang out on the beach, if you want to go in the sea you'd be best to set up camp at the main pool and then go down for a swim in the sea if you fancy it.
Cala Borgit is a short walk away, 5 minutes from the top pool, and it's absolutely gorgeous. Highly recommend going there.
Our room was great. It was clean and well-maintained, and the cleaning staff came every day to clean it for you. The air-con worked well, it wasn't really cold but it was cool enough to sleep with no problems (and I am someone who hates sleeping in the heat). We were in block 42 and we found it was well-located. 5 minute walk if that to the restaurant and entertainment.
The staff were absolutely fantastic and the entertainment was great. There was always something to do and the evenings were lots of fun. One day, we were chilling by the pool and they came round with coconuts for everyone (the adults could have theirs topped with rum) which was a lovely touch.
My girls didn't really use the kids club but it did seem quite chaotic and if your child is prone to running off I definitely wouldn't be using it! however, they did put on a lot of great activities for the kids.
The food was great, the restaurants were mega busy but well-managed. I'm a vegetarian and I was never short of options (other than at the beach restaraunt).
Overall, it was a brilliant holiday. This place is not a luxury resort by any means but they do a brilliant job in my opinion.
GLUTEN-FREE/ COELIAC SPECIFIC REVIEW:
Overall, I'd say this hotel was great for gluten-free, particularly for adults. My daughter did feel like she had to miss out on quite a lot of stuff, and whilst adults would be more accepting of this she was really upset on the first couple of days.
The restaurant staff were absolutely fantastic. When we arrived, the manager spoke to us and brought us over to a lead chef who gave us some information. Some of the staff didn't speak great English; however, learning a few phrases such as sin gluten meant we were all able to understand each other well!
Every restaurant is a buffet and allergens are clearly labelled. However, with it being a buffet, there's a huge cross-contamination risk. Even just people using the tongs and putting stuff on their own plates with gluten on. However, if you ask the staff, they will make you fresh versions of anything. The staff were also vigilant with regularly clearing food and bringing fresh dishes over.
One issue we found was that it was hard to know what was actually available. For example, at breakfast we asked for gluten-free breakfast, and sometimes they brought a pain au chocolat, sometimes a croissant, sometimes a cake. It wasn't particularly consistent. Towards the end I decided to ask if they could make pancakes for breakfast and they replied "of course!" My daughter was delighted... But if we hadn't have asked, we'd never have known it was an option.
As I said, staff were always friendly and accommodating; however, as many other reviews mention, the restaurants are SO busy. It's a bit difficult to get a chef's attention as they're always busy, however we always managed eventually. We found that avoiding busy times was the best idea - for example with breakfast, if you go before 8.30 it's not too busy. That's when we felt comfortable to ask for the pancakes as we knew someone would have time to make them. Even in busy times they made sure they were accomomdating us, the head chef actually brought my daughter's food directly to her table some evenings!
We tried all of the restaurants and I'd definitely say your best bet would be the main restaurant for options. The other restaurants weren't quite as well-equipped.
Outside the restaurants, you'll struggle with gluten-free stuff. None of the food trucks have gluten-free options at all. The ice cream shop was a big disappointment, they only had one gluten-free ice cream option and no cones or anything.
The staff outside of the restaurant don't really understand gluten-free that well. For example, we asked if the slushies were GF and were told they weren't. However, I went back and asked to see the ingredients and there was no gluten in there at all... it just didn't explicitly say 'gluten free' on it. There is also a nice chocolate milkshake that we were told wasn't gluten free, however I wouldn't be sure that this was true either.
Overall, I think it's a really good hotel for coeliacs and the restaraunt staff are fantastic. Just be prepared that certain things won't be available to you.
Thank you Iberostar team for making us feel so welcome :)"
