Iberostar Waves Averroes — Hotel in Maghreb

NO FAKE REVIEW HERE

We are consistent users of Holiday Inn Group hotels, therefore as Iberostar were partnered with IHG it seemed a reasonable choice of hotel.

On arriving at the hotel all the staff were courteous and helpful, checking in was quick and simple, local tax to be paid on arrival, despite our room not being ready (11.40 am), but we were invited to go to the bar for a drink while we waited. This only took 30 minutes and we had our room allocated.

ROOMS On arriving at our room this is when the whole holiday took a turn for the worse. The room was very dated, the bed still needed making, the entrance door was very large and yet thin for a hotel, no soundproofing. We also had a very thin connecting door to the next room. As there is little or no insulation, we had one night where next door room was having a very loud conversation between Midnight and 3am, therefore got hardly any sleep. On a second occasion around 10pm I had to go the reception to complain about a heated argument in the next room. The connecting door was useless as a sound barrier. On top of these issues it sounded like the room above us was moving furniture every night also keeping us awake.

RESTAURANT There was a large selection of food in the restaurant, which was encouraging the first day, unfortunately this did not change each subsequent day so we had the same choice of food for the whole 14 days of our stay. The only difference in this was the food that was being freshly cooked, but this caused queues as it couldn’t be produced quick enough, cooking did not start for the first batch until the restaurant was opened. Paella was a very popular dish but this wasn’t starting to be cooked until half way through the session. We did have some paella which was ready cooked, but on tasting this it appears it was from yesterday as it was dry and the rice was stodgy and lacked any seafood. We did notice some breakfast that had been left by another guest and the scrambled egg was green. When drinks are ordered at the table a whole bottle was given instead of a glass, then half a bottle was left on the table, together with the enormous amount of food left on each table when the guests had “finished” their meal. Such a huge amount of waste being generated. There was self serve ice cream, which caused a big delay and queue at times as the ice cream cam out so hard nobody could actually scoop anything. Apart from these issues the food wasn’t seasoned much at all and was always served lukewarm, we did find a microwave to heat the food if required, but if everyone wanted it there would be a queue a mile long.Again the staff in the restaurant were excellent, always being courteous and going out of their way to ensure you had everything you needed.

BAR The bar was open from 9am every morning to serve drinks, tea and coffee. We tried the cocktails which were very sweet and syrupy, almost sickly, so we avoided them, this included the fruit juices which were unpalatable with being so sweet. Our drinks were limited basically to Mint Tea, Coffee, Diet Coke and Sprite, which we added a touch of grenadine to take away the sweetness.

SPA We thought we would pamper ourselves for a while and have a spa experience and massage to relax us, this had just the opposite effect. Started off well with a sauna, then we had to shower off ourselves, we were then covered in some sort of soap before going into the steam room, this was far to hot and made us both feel unwell. Back into another “diy” shower, then covered in a green mud and back into the steam room, which was a disgusting feeling again, far to hot, A second visit to the sauna, then a few minutes lying on a bed covered in a blanket. After 10 minutes or so we were transferred to a massage table, each in a separate room, for a massage, which we must say was a good experience.The following day we both had sore throats and a cold, put down to excess time in a steam room and a cold room for a massage.Thankfully the Spa shut down the day we left for a 6 month refurbish, so may be improved...

Review of Iberostar Hotel, Hammamet, Tunisia

We travelled to Tunisia with a group of friends and families, with most of us coming from the UK. We booked our stay at Iberostar through Booking.com and another website.

First Impressions

After a three-hour flight and a 40-minute transfer from Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport, our first impression of the hotel was disappointing due to the attitude of the receptionist.

We waited nearly an hour to check in.

Even after the long delay, our room was not properly arranged for three people, despite this being clearly stated in our booking conditions and paid for as a half-board stay.

When I requested an extra key, the receptionist refused to provide one.

However, to give a fair assessment, please read my full review to the end.

Location

Excellent location – just a 12-minute walk to the city centre.

Private beach, which was one of the best among neighbouring hotels.

Easy access to shops and restaurants nearby.

Architecture & Design

Exterior

The modern Arabic-style architecture is fabulous. The facade is well-designed, and the pool is a highlight of the outdoor and landscape design. The palm trees enhance the beauty of the surroundings.

Interior

While the spatial coordination of the interior is well-planned, the quality of the rooms is poor.

One of our room walls was damp.

At midnight, we had to close the bathroom door due to an unpleasant sewage smell.

Facilities

In-Room Amenities

Disappointing. The refrigerator was empty, with not even a bottle of water provided. We had to purchase dozens of bottles from a shop.

Uncomfortable pillows. Each of us had a pillow, but none were comfortable.

Hotel Facilities

Very good. The outdoor pool was beautiful, and the indoor pool, though small, was nice.

Multiple seating areas for relaxation.

Private beach – the best among neighbouring hotels, though the sea was not suitable for swimming at the time.

Tennis court and other recreational facilities were good.

Food & Dining

We booked half-board, which included buffet breakfast and dinner. The food was completely acceptable, but there were some annoying policies:

No complimentary water or fizzy drinks with dinner—you had to pay for them.

This was frustrating, as most hotels of this standard offer at least water at meals.

Cleanliness

Rooms: Acceptable.

Communal areas: Clean.

Beach: Not clean, which was disappointing.

Staff & Service

The receptionist who handled our check-in was unhelpful, which created a negative first impression.

However, other receptionists were much more friendly and helpful.

On other days, we spoke with different staff members, who were kind and accommodating, providing an extra key and assisting us with our requests.

We avoided asking the first receptionist for anything else after our initial experience.

Overall Experience

Despite some issues with service, in-room facilities, and the lack of essential items like water, slippers, and toothpaste, our overall experience was good.

However, if I were the management, I would remove one meal option and instead provide guests with complimentary essentials (e.g., water, slippers, and toothpaste), as these small touches greatly improve guest satisfaction.

Would I recommend this hotel? Yes, but with reservations. If they improve staff service, room quality, and include basic amenities, it could be an excellent...

We stayed at this hotel last week. After completing the Iberostar survey, I also wanted to take a moment to write a more detailed review here — including what we really liked and what we didn’t enjoy as much.

First of all, most of the staff are extremely friendly and service-minded. In particular, we’d like to thank the pool safety team, the animation crew ❤️, the restaurant waiters, the cleaning team and the housekeeping staff — all of them were wonderful.

Unfortunately, we also had a few less pleasant experiences. Some of them might be part of the local culture in Tunisia, but within the context of a hotel like Iberostar, we had hoped to be spared from that.

Our first issue happened during the airport transfer to the hotel. The ride should normally cost around €35–50, but our taxi driver started at €100. After a long and uncomfortable negotiation (even in front of the hotel entrance, while carrying our child), we managed to bring it down to €80. Of course, this was not directly the hotel’s fault, but I did expect some support from the staff who witnessed the situation. Anyway, we decided to move on and enjoy our holiday.

Sadly, the day before our departure we experienced something similar — this time inside the hotel. A lady offering henna tattoos to guests started applying one on our 4-year-old son before we had even given permission. Only when she was almost finished did she tell us it would cost 100 dinars (€30). That’s for less than 10 minutes of work — quite excessive, especially considering local prices. To compare: in Tunis, you can buy about 20 coffees for €30. After a heated discussion, we had no choice but to pay. It wasn’t about the money — we spent much more on tips and other activities — but about the feeling of being tricked through our child. It left us with a bad taste and made us feel we constantly had to keep our guard up, something we really didn’t expect to feel inside the hotel.

Those two small events unfortunately made a big difference to how we felt overall.

That said, the value for money is very good. We did choose this hotel mainly because of its price, and in that sense, it delivers.

Here’s our summary of the pros and cons:

➕ Pros:

Very friendly and helpful staff

Beautiful grounds and infrastructure

Great value for money

Tasty food

Quality bathroom products

Convenient towel service

Impressive cleanliness throughout the hotel

➖ Cons:

Feeling of insecurity at times due to pushy behavior around (and occasionally inside) the hotel

Overly aggressive tipping culture, sometimes leading to unequal treatment between guests

Room cleanliness upon arrival (we were moved to a ground-floor room — thank you — but it seemed unused for a while and was a bit musty and dusty)

Hotel itself is quite dated — functional but visibly aging

Limited daily variation at the buffet (especially in fruit and healthy options)

Few to no vegan options (no plant-based milk alternatives available)

Coffee: only one real coffee machine (often out of service), the rest was instant coffee. As a coffee lover, I found myself going outside the hotel for a proper coffee after breakfast. When available, though, the coffee was excellent.

In summary: not a bad experience at all — the hotel offers fair value for money — but there are definitely several points that could...