Iberostar Selection Montenegro

"We stayed at Iberostar for 10 nights in mid-July. We knew this was a brand-new hotel that had opened later than planned, and Guest Relations explained it was still in its soft launch phase, so we expected some teething problems. The hotel has plenty of potential, but at present it doesn't quite meet the 5-star standard it advertises. There was also still some ongoing work taking place in parts of the hotel. Check-in was excellent, with a warm welcome, a complimentary drink and a refreshing towel. Staff throughout the hotel were friendly, approachable and genuinely eager to help. The views are breathtaking, but the hotel itself still feels unfinished. Many areas feel quite clinical, with plain white walls and minimal décor, which is quite different from the promotional images. Our room was spacious, the shower had excellent water pressure, the air conditioning worked brilliantly, and connecting to the Wi-Fi was quick and reliable. However, there were stains on the ceiling from a previous air-conditioning leak. Guest Relations immediately offered to repaint it during our stay, but we declined as we didn't want the smell of fresh paint. There were also several maintenance and housekeeping issues. The shower door scraped along the floor and didn't close properly, while the shower occasionally overflowed due to poor drainage. Housekeeping was inconsistent, with different things missed on different days, such as the sink or toilet not being cleaned. We also had to contact reception after our toilet roll wasn't replaced, and a bathrobe removed by housekeeping was never returned despite requesting a replacement. The in-room amenities were also basic for a 5-star hotel, with items such as shower caps and cotton pads not provided. The food was good overall, with plenty of choice at the start of our holiday, although after 10 days it became repetitive, with pork and beef featuring heavily. Restaurant staff were friendly but still finding their feet, so drink service was often slow and, on several mornings, nobody came to take our order for hot drinks. Allocating staff to specific sections would make service more consistent. For an all-inclusive resort, the dining options also felt limited, with only the buffet and Italian restaurant available. While it was nice that the Italian could be visited as often as we liked, the quality was inconsistent, with some dishes arriving cold. Its location beside the pool also meant it lacked the atmosphere expected from a speciality restaurant. The buffet would also benefit from clearer food labelling, and the decorative umbrellas around the outdoor dining area looked attractive but provided very little shade. The pool was probably the biggest disappointment. Even during what appeared to be a reduced-capacity soft launch, it felt too small for the size of the hotel, with too few sun loungers packed closely together. The loungers themselves also didn't seem fit for purpose, as we saw several collapse beneath guests. More concerning was the lack of visible lifeguards when this happened. On several occasions, two or three lifeguards were sitting inside the indoor pool area talking or using their phones rather than supervising outside. Iberostar should provide better shaded areas so lifeguards can remain outdoors and properly monitor the pool. One thing we overlooked when booking was that this is very much a family-focused hotel. We booked it as part of an easyJet package holiday and, although we knew it wasn't adults only, we underestimated just how child-orientated it would be, with constant entertainment, kids' clubs, inflatables and children's music throughout the day. We've stayed in other hotels that welcome children without it affecting our experience, but this holiday reminded us that we'll book adults-only accommodation in future. This isn't a criticism of the hotel—just something for other couples to be aware of. The pool bar was good but became very busy, resulting in long queues. The staff worked incredibly hard, but it would benefit from additional team members. The nearby pool toilets also had no facilities for drying hands. The lifts also need attention. One regularly failed to open properly, and on several occasions we had to pull the doors apart to get out. The lift system is also inefficient, with only a single call button on each floor rather than separate up and down buttons, often resulting in unnecessary journeys and longer waits. There was also a lack of information regarding checkout and our transfer, meaning we had to seek this out ourselves. In other hotels we've stayed at in Montenegro, this information has been provided the day before by phone call or a note left in the room. This review isn't intended to put future guests off staying here. The hotel has stunning views, friendly staff and plenty of potential, but there are still several areas that need attention before it can genuinely be considered a 5-star hotel."

"We recently stayed for a week all inclusive flying with Jet2. Pros: Hotel is ABSOLUTELY beautiful, stunning views! Room was perfect for us, yes no finishing touches but it’s all new and nice. We loved the large full length balcony doors onto the balcony. Air conditioning was brilliant. Shower room was great. The drinks were the highlight for me! You name it that pretty much have it, made well, served in nice glasses, even the pool bars plastic glasses made a drink feel special. Food hit the spot most days, we noticed the last few days the lids were left on the food and more heat lamps appeared, I couldn’t pick the spoon up at one point it was so hot! Topping up food can be an issue but if you ask they sort this quickly. The staff, certain areas work HARD, the pool bar guys are constantly working, it’s relentless for them, sadly mostly because not enough staff behind the bar. Cons: The hotel villas are not finished, yes if you’re at the pool and the restaurant you won’t hear much, however we were in a villa and the work was outside our balcony everyday. The last day by the beach to the left it was horrific! I know people could say we could have moved away however this had been our spot for a week and it was peaceful and most beds were taken. Room - we had no sign for the door so each day the cleaner woke us by knocking on the door. Nowhere to dry clothes, I’m sure this could be easily fixed. We picked up English teabags from them buffet as they were never left in the room. The room also doesn’t have milk, you have to ask for this at the bar. At one point I was asked to get in a queue of 8 people all ordering cocktails, all being made by one person just to get a small jug of milk that should be in the room. Room service - doesn’t exist. Kids club was too much for us, the hotels needs to realise not everyone staying are here with children. Don’t get me wrong the kids paying in the pool is not an issue, specially when the kids play area wasn’t much for them. However the kids club banging out heads shoulders knees and toes at 5 o’clock around the pool when your stilling round the pool bar having a relaxing drink was a big no from me. One evening they had a DJ on playing chilled sunset tunes, he finished after an hour then the kids club arrived banging out kids songs, makes no sense. It’s seems the service in the buffet is none existent if you turn up half an hour before closing, the staff are all about cleaning up and no one seems to be designated to areas, unless your outside, that looked like it was covered well. Again, if you stop someone they are happy to help and they are lovely, it’s just inexperience. The hotel has no trips, you’d need to organise this yourself, we tried to do this however not much goes from this area so everything was booked up. I’d advise booking in advance. Overall we did love our stay, although if I paid the price I heard some had paid for what is meant to be a 5 star hotel I’d be slightly disappointed. Improvements are taking place so there is great hope however it’s not at full capacity, I’m not sure how that will turn out!"

"We have just returned from a week’s stay at Iberostar Selection Montenegro, and unfortunately, while the hotel has plenty of potential, it is nowhere near the standard I would expect from a five-star Iberostar property. The hotel itself is modern, clean and well maintained, and many of the staff work incredibly hard. However, there are numerous operational issues that significantly impacted our stay. The biggest concern was food safety. During one lunch service I witnessed a chef handling raw beef with gloved hands before moving straight to the fish grill, serving salmon, handing me my plate and continuing to cook without changing his gloves. When I challenged him, he told me he “hadn’t touched the fish”, demonstrating a worrying lack of understanding of basic cross-contamination principles. Within minutes I also watched another chef allow a guest to taste yoghurt directly from a spoon before placing that same spoon back into large tubs of yoghurt that would be served to other guests. I reported both incidents directly to the General Manager via email with no reply as these are not minor issues—they are fundamental food safety standards. Unfortunately, the food itself was also disappointing. Throughout the week, popular items regularly ran out and often weren’t replenished (including burrata, mozzarella, beef carpaccio in the al la carte and natural/Greek yoghurt at breakfast). Lunch dishes frequently reappeared at dinner, food was often only lukewarm, and overall the quality and flavour were well below what I’d expect from a five-star all-inclusive resort. Food labels were poor - eg just saying ‘local sausage’ without stating the meat in it. There were also numerous areas where the hotel simply doesn’t feel finished: * Large unfinished holes in the gym floor near the treadmills, creating an obvious trip hazard. * No mirrors in the gym. * No paper towels or hand-drying facilities in public toilets such as those by the gym and pool. * Bedrooms feel very sparse, with little decoration, no hooks for hanging towels or swimwear, and generally lacking the finishing touches expected of a premium hotel. Mockups far from reality. * No evening turndown service or towel refresh. * No basic toiletries such as toothbrushes or other emergency amenities. * No snacks in the room despite being all-inclusive. * No room service, despite it being listed in the hotel app. * The app does not allow restaurant bookings despite suggesting that it should. * No concierge or assistance for arranging local excursions. Kids pool surrounded by extractors from the kitchen wafting out strong grease/cooking smells. The pool area was another disappointment. The sun loungers are basic plastic loungers rather than the much more comfortable style shown in many promotional photographs. There is no poolside waiter service, and the bars regularly have long queues. Even when several staff were behind the bar, often only one person was actually serving, making the process unnecessarily slow. I do wonder how the hotel would cope at full occupancy. The hot tubs were also poorly managed. On arrival they were only around 20°C and unusable as hot tubs. Each day they became progressively hotter until, by our final day, they reached around 41°C, which was actually too hot to sit in comfortably. No assistance when you call - we were just told they don’t heat up at all! One area that particularly concerned me was safety and requires urgent attention. The beach and pool lifeguards were often away from the lifeguard tower and appeared to spend much of the time on his phone, positioned where he would struggle to observe swimmers effectively. During our stay, I also did not see lifeguards supervising the indoor pool or children’s pool. Perhaps there are scheduled patrols that we happened to miss, but the visible supervision appeared inadequate for a family resort. Service throughout the hotel was mixed. Reception staff (Johan and Kritesh at housekeeping were excellent) and the bar teams were genuinely friendly and did their best despite clearly being stretched. The Star Camp team also deserve recognition—they were excellent, particularly for younger children (I’d say ideal up to around age seven). However, some of the restaurant service lacked the polish and attention to detail expected from a five-star hotel. The frustrating part is that this hotel could be excellent. It is modern, attractive and very clean, and the staff are clearly trying. However, it feels like a hotel that has opened before its operations have fully matured. There are simply too many basic service failures, too many missing amenities, and some genuinely concerning food safety and safety issues. At present, I would rate this as a good four-star hotel rather than a five-star resort. I sincerely hope management take guest feedback seriously because, with improvements, this property has the potential to become something much better."