Afamia Hotel Resort Latakia

The beach water felt cut off from the sea by an artificial barrier, so I didn’t get the waves I like swimming in. The pool was closed during my stay, with staff saying it would open in July, even though summer in Syria starts in early June. I wouldn’t return for that reason. The resort’s design also isn’t handicap friendly, and its entrance only fits one car, so you have to wait for loading or unloading instead of going around it. I’m not sure it meets Syrian standards either. The property was rated 4-5 stars, but to me it felt closer to 2-3. The room was clean and average, not luxurious. Internet was painfully slow, and each part of the resort had a different Wi-Fi network, so I had to reconnect whenever I moved between my room, lobby, restaurant, and beach. It felt like dial-up. Breakfast was included but very average, and coffee cost extra. Service from the staff was excellent. Coffee arrived in the room in about five minutes, and four cleaners worked through the room in under ten minutes, very systematically. I also have to give them credit for getting the beach back up by noon after a rare category 1 storm, said to be the first in 150 years. It had hit at 3 AM and destroyed the beach tents and chairs. Please see the picture.

I complained about the noise from a private party above our room, and they said they’d try to turn it down. Nothing changed. The music shook the walls until 3:30 AM, so the stay was a nightmare. The room was old and uncomfortable, and the price was far too high for what it was. I’d rate it two stars personally, nowhere near a five-star hotel.

The shoreline was spotless, with clear water, soft yellow sand, no weeds, and no jellyfish. It’s a peaceful, beautiful resort for a family or friends’ holiday. I stayed seven days and would recommend visiting.

The view is amazing, but the service let us down. There were four of us in the sweat room, yet we got just two towels and two blankets. The pool was also empty and closed. They blamed the cold, though it was 30°C. Still, the place was brilliant.