Iberostar Selectionb Kuriat Palace (Monastir, Tunisia)

What is your Priority Club status? Platinum

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Absolutely Yes

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive? Sea view double booked and received. I checked and until the week before and still suites available. On arrival though i heard several times from the staff they were fully booked this week and almost no other rooms available.

This is our first visit to a resort and the only rate offered was All Inclusive so we thought we'd give that a try too; therefore how much of this is standard fare for other inclusive resorts i don't know.

How are the rooms?
Comfortable for a week. Big bed, long desk for tourist detritus, space for 2 suitcases, big wardrobe.
The whole stay was very well staffed at all stages - always plenty of people around, whether it was the bar, reception, entertainment, housekeeping, and mostly all engaging with guests; Friendly, talkative, and wanting to make sure that we were enjoying our stay and finding out if there was anything we needed to make our stay better (except Mr Grumpy - later). Most were probably generally happy people anyway, but perhaps also probably a (paid) condition of employment.
Welcomed on a comfy chair with a mint welcome drink and very small grass flower bouquet, verbally explained all the meals, restaurants and facilities, and invited to pay the visitor tax when ready. After full payment of the bill, our bags taken to our room and room explained.
Free soft drink minibar topped up daily and a ripe fruit plate arrived shortly after we did.
The main restaurant is used for Breakfast, lunch and dinner; the snack bar is open when the restaurant is otherwise closed but we never used it. I thought the lobby bar was quite big; all local drinks (soft/beer/wine/spirit/cocktails) are included, but also saw someone being served Bombay Sapphire without charge so who knows? We weren't bothered.
The buffets provided in the main restaurant offer a huge choice for all diets and preferences and we thought the food was excellent. Staff always on hand to clear plates or refresh drinks from the bar or asking if there is anything we wanted.
Plenty of activities are available through the day if that's your thing, or just lying by the pool or on the beach if you want. Servers often passed by taking orders for drinks which arrived promptly.
Multiple pools, with a childrens and "fun" area with slides at one end and a regular pool at the other, and a selection of chairs, beds and cabanas at either.
On arrival we were told that pool towels required a deposit of 20TND each, fine. On going to get the towels from the small shack at the far end on the first day was told i need to get a towel card from reception. Went all the way back to reception and asked for towel cards and was referred to Mr Grumpy. When i again asked for towel cards was asked for the 2x20TND deposit and i offered my room number. No. No smile, no apologetic explanation, just no. Again said i wanted to charge it to my room, No. Credit card? No. So i need Cash only? Yes. Back to our room to get my card and down the ATM in the lobby to get cash for the towels. While i'm sure there is logic there somewhere, it's a bad policy poorly enforced by the only grumpy and mono-syllabic staff member we met in our week there.
We were given red All Inclusive wristbands on arrival. When receiving our key i asked about lounge access ("StarPrestige") and was told i hadn't booked that. Explained i was a 1R Lounge Access holder and our red wristbands changed for blue without question.

How is the exec. lounge?
it's an open terrace more than a lounge. A more secluded small patio area on the end of the upper floor overlooking the regular pool for quieter relaxing with Jacuzzi, cabanas and beds, an attendant and a very small selection of self-serve snacks and drinks. We went a couple of times at busy pool times.

What was good and what was bad?
good
Food - good varied choice, plentiful and good quality
purified water throughout the resort, and plenty of chilled water fountains throughout for filling the provided carafes in each room.
minibar with soft drinks refilled daily, coffee machine and bath robes.
big bar and seating options both inside and out.
Staff. Friendly, helpful, personally engaging and always around. Special mentions to Rashida in Housekeeping, Mohamed in the bar, and Saiid and Houda in the restaurant.

bad
A lot of information was provided as soon as we arrived but that seemed all. We did get a printed A4 with restaurant information but it missed a lot so difficult to remember it all - a QR code in the room would do it.
The bath towels were comparatively thin and small. Bigger, fluffier bath sheets would have been more in keeping.
Only 7 hangers in the wardrobe. For a couple staying a week with a smart casual evening dress code (which most seemed to ignore), there's not a lot of hanging options.
No Iron in the room, available only on request
Under car security check on arrival left MrsFr feeling worried about safety in the area. While i don't know the precise risks i do wonder if it may be a bit of security theatre to improve some rating. Outside the hotel in nearby towns we felt perfectly safe.
I thought it must be at least 10 years old as it was starting to look a little tatty around the edges. Then i saw 2019 on a panel in the lift...

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
We paid 160/night for 2, flexible and All Inclusive. Considering the F+B available i think that was good value, although considering we barely left the resort the whole stay it could have been in pretty much any location and difficult to compare to "local costs". I would have no problems going back but would be interested to see if the same resort standards were available at other I* properties.