TUI BLUE Insula Alba - Adults Only — Hotel in Municipality of Chersonissos

I visited the Insula Alba from the 5th to the 15th of September with an all-inclusive package and a swim-up suite. To set expectations, it is not a 5-star hotel, as most hotels in Greece are not. However, the Insula Alba meets most of the criteria for a 4-star rating and exceeds it in various areas.

Upon arrival, one enters a very pleasant reception area with an amazing aroma of lemongrass and tea tree. The check-in process is fast and efficient, although it lacks a welcome drink such as champagne or Prosecco.

The hotel staff then take your luggage to your room and show you in. A welcome pack is provided in the room, detailing mealtimes and the hotel's facilities, along with a map of the hotel and its grounds.

My room was clean and very good, featuring a lovely, tiled bathroom with dual sinks and a spacious walk-in shower. The shower gel, conditioner, and hand wash are made by Mugler Cologne and have a very pleasant and refreshing scent. Fresh towels for the pool and bathroom are provided and replaced regularly.

Bottled water is replenished daily, along with tea, coffee, and limited bar fridge contents. There is a safe, iron, ironing board, and a kettle with tea and coffee. A coffee pod machine would be a great addition for coffee lovers.

The room is serviced daily to a high standard by polite and friendly cleaning staff. My swim-up room was excellent, receiving sunlight from early morning until around 0900-3:00 PM. There is also a central island with sunbeds across the pool for continued sunbathing.

The hotel entertainment did not meet my preferences, as I prefer tranquillity and background music. The Piano Bar was a nice touch in the evening, offering background music or a pianist on occasion. However, bingo or card nights, in my opinion, could have been hosted elsewhere.

The Piano Bar is a rooftop bar with creative lighting, creating a chilled and romantic setting. Drinks are served by friendly and accommodating bar staff to a high standard.

The main restaurant was reasonable, with respectable drinks, including wine, for the all-inclusive package. The food was diverse and well-presented, though it became repetitive after a few days, even with themed evening meals. Breakfasts offered a good variety of choices.

The main restaurant caters to all, including tasty vegetarian dishes. I boycotted the Culinarium due to additional charges for items like hamburgers and fries, which were not included in the all-inclusive package. Lunchtime offerings were limited compared to other hotels.

I did not dine there in the evening, but friends I met said it was very good. In my opinion, the Insula Alba and other TUI Blue hotels lack restaurant variety, with only two options available. Other hotel brands offer more choices with multiple visits to each.

This was a significant factor in my decision not to go all-inclusive next year and to explore local tavernas instead.

The pool bar was the highlight of the holiday, with fantastic hospitality and banter from Koska and Mano's bar teams. The bar is well-designed, with multiple seating areas and an open plan feel. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea, with palm trees swaying in the breeze, creating a scenic and tranquil setting.

I enjoyed my mid-morning coffee at the bar, looking out at the sea and soaking up the tranquillity with chilled background music. The bar staff are excellent, remembering your drink preferences and making the best cocktails.

The hotel is well laid out but lacks security, with other holidaymakers using the hotel's facilities despite it being an adults-only venue.

The location is great, with beach-front bars and restaurants nearby. I recommend using TripAdvisor to find some fantastic places to eat.

In summary, the hotel is very good, although not 5-star – more like 4-star. The staff, however, are 5-star and make the place special. I had a great, relaxing holiday, thanks to everyone who...

I visited the Insula Alba from the 5th to the 15th of September with an all-inclusive package and a swim-up suite. To set expectations, it is not a 5-star hotel, as most hotels in Greece are not. However, the Insula Alba meets most of the criteria for a 4-star rating and exceeds it in various areas.|Upon arrival, one enters a very pleasant reception area with an amazing aroma of lemongrass and tea tree. The check-in process is fast and efficient, although it lacks a welcome drink such as champagne or Prosecco.|The hotel staff then take your luggage to your room and show you in. A welcome pack is provided in the room, detailing mealtimes and the hotel's facilities, along with a map of the hotel and its grounds.|My room was clean and very good, featuring a lovely, tiled bathroom with dual sinks and a spacious walk-in shower. The shower gel, conditioner, and hand wash are made by Mugler Cologne and have a very pleasant and refreshing scent. Fresh towels for the pool and bathroom are provided and replaced regularly.|Bottled water is replenished daily, along with tea, coffee, and limited bar fridge contents. There is a safe, iron, ironing board, and a kettle with tea and coffee. A coffee pod machine would be a great addition for coffee lovers.|The room is serviced daily to a high standard by polite and friendly cleaning staff. My swim-up room was excellent, receiving sunlight from early morning until around 0900-3:00 PM. There is also a central island with sunbeds across the pool for continued sunbathing.|The hotel entertainment did not meet my preferences, as I prefer tranquillity and background music. The Piano Bar was a nice touch in the evening, offering background music or a pianist on occasion. However, bingo or card nights, in my opinion, could have been hosted elsewhere.|The Piano Bar is a rooftop bar with creative lighting, creating a chilled and romantic setting. Drinks are served by friendly and accommodating bar staff to a high standard.|The main restaurant was reasonable, with respectable drinks, including wine, for the all-inclusive package. The food was diverse and well-presented, though it became repetitive after a few days, even with themed evening meals. Breakfasts offered a good variety of choices.|The main restaurant caters to all, including tasty vegetarian dishes. I boycotted the Culinarium due to additional charges for items like hamburgers and fries, which were not included in the all-inclusive package. Lunchtime offerings were limited compared to other hotels.|I did not dine there in the evening, but friends I met said it was very good. In my opinion, the Insula Alba and other TUI Blue hotels lack restaurant variety, with only two options available. Other hotel brands offer more choices with multiple visits to each.|This was a significant factor in my decision not to go all-inclusive next year and to explore local tavernas instead.|The pool bar was the highlight of the holiday, with fantastic hospitality and banter from Koska and Mano's bar teams. The bar is well-designed, with multiple seating areas and an open plan feel. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea, with palm trees swaying in the breeze, creating a scenic and tranquil setting.|I enjoyed my mid-morning coffee at the bar, looking out at the sea and soaking up the tranquillity with chilled background music. The bar staff are excellent, remembering your drink preferences and making the best cocktails.|The hotel is well laid out but lacks security, with other holidaymakers using the hotel's facilities despite it being an adults-only venue.|The location is great, with beach-front bars and restaurants nearby. I recommend using TripAdvisor to find some fantastic places to eat.|In summary, the hotel is very good, although not 5-star – more like 4-star. The staff, however, are 5-star and make the place special. I had a great, relaxing holiday, thanks to everyone who...

We are very fussy and there were some things not quite right but we have still had a fabulous holiday. The hotel environment, cleanliness, staff (who cannot do enough for you), the lobby and reception area, the bars, main restaurant, entertainment, TUI reps (Clare is fab), TUI trips/excursions (we did 4 and all were excellent), and the entertainment/fitness TUI reps (Amy, Jasmine, Sophia and Charlie) were all great. Using the TUI Blue App, you can book and attend/book onto whatever you want from daily programme, so there is no pushiness around the pool to join in. None of the activities are overly loud or intrusive. The live singers and saxophonists are great too. The casino night is fun and we have also enjoyed the quizzes, wine tasting, cocktail making class, shuffle board, giant Jenga, and painting in creative corner.||The food is very samey and gets boring very quickly. It cools quickly in the hot plates, so often the food is lukewarm rather than hot (meat, veg, chips), which is not ideal. You can however request for food to be cooked fresh for you (e.g. grilled beef or chicken, or eggs at breakfast) and this will always be hot. The staff try really hard to get it right, but we did not feel it was 5-star food. However, we admit to being incredibly fussy about food, especially the heat of the food, and we have been able to find things to eat at each evening meal. Breakfasts are good and there is someone there to cook you an omelette to order, with any filling you want. Again, the bacon, eggs, tomatoes and baked beans cool rapidly but you can ask for these items to be prepared for you so they will be hot, rather than take them from the hot plates. The style of available food lends itself better to lunch than dinners. That said, Nicos and Antonios are superb, and so supportive of my mum who needs a gluten-free diet for coeliac disease. They are always so attentive and ensure mum has gluten-free bread, muffins and desserts. As for the daily desserts. Only one word. Amazing! Demonstrating excellent patisserie skill and complete deliciousness. ||We did not have a swim up pool or dipping pool and although the main pool looks so inviting, it is the same depth all the way around (1.5 metres) and the steps in and out of the pool are too high up and it is very hard to get in and out. My mum only used the pool once and found it really difficult to get out. The bottom rungs of the pool ladders are not only too high but have lost their rubber cover, so mum told me her foot kept slipping off and she didn't feel safe. I am a big girl and knew I would never manage the ladder to get out and there was no other way to exit the pool so I have not swam. I hope the hotel can rectify this when they renovate next year. There is an indoor heated pool, but I would have preferred to be able to dip in the outdoor pool.||There are lots of sun beds around the pool but not enough large sun umbrellas. We had to get up early to reserve a bed or we would not get an umbrella and, being fair skinned, we could not sit out in the sun at all without shade. The hotel don't want you to reserve sun beds (and we didn't on the days when we did trips, although some people did), but an investment in more sun umbrellas would prevent the need for reserving sun beds at all. This is a rectifiable problem for the future. ||All in all, we love this hotel and staff, have met some amazing people and had a fantastic time. There is as much to do as you want, or you can just chill out and relax. We fuss pots are gutted to be leaving and, despite sounding like we are moaners, it has been a wonderful trip to this beautiful...