Iberostar Grand Salomé

Had been to the Anthelia before with family, but this time went for the Salome, just my wife and myself. Checkin good, Manager Kim introduced herself, as did Butler (Alex) and other staff. After a couple of small hiccups over breakfast, it was soon sorted out, both satisfactorily and quickly. That was the only query, other than that the whole holiday was superb. We stayed in a garden room, access directly to pool. The whole complex is spotless, our Suite/Room beautiful, well decorated and large, lovely bed and separate lounge. The pool bar staff brilliant, the food lovely. Basically had a great time, totally relaxed in a lovely hotel with nice people and atmosphere. Staff were excellent, and managed well by Kim. Would have no hesitation in returning, which we will in March. One thing which was totally appreciated, having a late flight, a room was found for us with ALL facilitys, at no extra charge, that for us is a first.

Our 8th visit and almost immediately there was an air of change. Cost cutting was evident and although the staff were as usual very pleasant (as we had always come to expect) there just wasn???t enough. Lots of niggly problems this year, having to ask more than once, not getting or completely forgotten requests, having to clean own coffee cups as not changed, old papers and rubbish not removed from room, main restaurant not as creative as the past, food bordering on the mondane. Was asked whether we would come back.......first time ever not sure.....first time ever we are ready to go home....never thought I would be saying that.

This was our first visit since the renovations and we took our four grown up daughters with us to show them how beautiful the hotel is. They were blown away from start to finish. Check in (and out) was managed perfectly by Kim, setting a relaxing tone for the rest of the week. We were given 3 consequetive rooms which made things so much easier for us all. The rooms are beautifully done, the bed provided a perfect sleep and our daughters took advantage of the pillow menu! Plenty of sockets including usb sockets which was great. There???s also a charge point in the safe. Not only do you have a decent hairdryer which is not fixed to the wall but there are hair straighteners in every room. There???s a neat mini ironing board too for use on the bed. Cute. We were on the third floor with wonderful big balconies which included a double day bed and table and chairs. The lounge was spacious as was the bedroom with tv in both rooms. The bathroom had 2 sinks with separate toilet and shower. There was a small issue when showering that the drain in the toilet floor bubbled and smelt foul but we just avoided the toilet when showering haha. I don???t know if this is the same in all the rooms. We all made use of the spa baths at some point too. Housekeeping are fantastic; you never actually see them. They are in and out in a flash, beds freshly changed and turned down at night. The rooms were spotless. I like the idea of the wish list note pads in the room; tip - leave it by the coffee as the butler is more likely to see it. Worked well. There is so much light and space around the hotel that it???s a pleasure to go from one area to another. The pool has been renewed and we loved the new jacuzzi beds. The water was so warm. What a fabulous view over the beach. No problem getting a sun bed during September and there were 6 of us. The sun beds are so comfortable too with plenty of fresh towels. We slept in until 9. We had breakfast in the adult only section but helped ourselves from the main buffet most mornings. There was always a table for 6 available. I???m not a big breakfast person but my daughter had 4 breakfasts most mornings! At lunchtime we went to the pool restaurant for the first few days but the menu was a little limited to suit all of our tastes, including one vegetarian. In previous years they have been happy to go off menu but this was not the case this time which was a shame as I used to have a tuna salad for lunch, not an obscure choice when it???s offered daily in the buffet, but had to go to Barbacoa resultant for this. Not a big deal as there is another restaurant. In retrospect this was a good thing because we???d never used the Barbacoa restaurant before and it was wonderful. Giuseppe in particular deserves a mention as he was so friendly and funny. Great atmosphere too. We would eat here in the future if we come again although food is delicious in all the restaurants. Zeus continues to offer the most amazing buffet we have experienced and service is also fabulous. The chefs in here are truly amazing. There was always something for everyone and food is quickly replenished and kept spotless. We ate once at Portofino in the evening, not such a great experience. We had booked but there was no table laid for us and they struggled to find the booking until we pointed it out. Not a major issue but the service was not over welcoming. My husband asked for an ash tray and the girl pointed ???over there??? for him to get one which may not seem like much but compared to the usual service she was miserable on more than one occasion. We also visited Poseidon which is not my style of food but we wanted the girls to experience each of the restaurants. Everyone enjoyed the food but my daughter knocked a glass onto the floor which shattered. Despite pointing it out 4 times to the waiter he continued to crunch in the glass when serving us and the glass remained when we left, probably walking glass along the footpaths. Just very surprising and not what we???d expect from any restaurant really. That being said, we were more than happy in the buffet restaurant. We used to have a daily ice cream at the pool but they didn???t stock the freezer so you had to go the main pool at Anthelia. We just made a detour after lunch to pick up an ice cream. The bar is a lovely place to spend a few hours, most of the staff are great, particularly the gin magician whose name I didn???t get. He is amazing and will relish making you a cocktail if he???s working. We have a great video of him in action. Richard works tirelessly around the pool and in the restaurant. I can???t believe he has buzzers to respond to now - poor chap - but he does it with a smile and always has time to chat to everyone, remembering us from previous years too. I enjoyed my frozen margueritas. Our girls made full use of the spa which was free, including the freezing plunge pool, and they all had a massage (not free) which they said was wonderful. Kim made a point every day of speaking to each guest personally which was appreciated. We were very grateful that she was able to accommodate any requests we had put in before arriving which again meant our stay was so relaxing. As someone else mentioned in a review there were a few cut backs, most of which we agreed with; no plastic bottles of water, towels not changed mid morning, toiletries in large bottles, paper straws etc. Well done Iberostar. Maybe rethink the toilet roll though which was not good? This was probably the last holiday where we???ll have our girls to ourselves and we all enjoyed making the memories in this beautiful hotel. We???re so glad we brought them here. Thank you to Kim and all the staff who welcomed us during our special week. We loved it!