"We have just spent a week here. This is not a five star hotel. The staff are five star but the rooms are dated and the food is canteen style. We were fortunate to have some nice weather and we enjoyed sitting outside by the pool. I can imagine it is lovely in the summer. We didn’t pay a king’s ransom for this trip. We found something to eat each day. The area is dead in Winter. There are a few shops open. The beach is awful. I understand there is little point in cleaning it in the winter but the beaches in Sousse are nicer. I don’t think the investment has been made for this area. It could be lovely. Sadly, I will be going to Sousse or Djerba next time. I love Tunisia and we had a nice time anyway.
Positives:
The staff. Medhi in the restaurant, Nabil in the bar. The two animation guys are superb too. The staff make this place tbh. They are always pleasant, ask how you are and are welcoming.
The bar area is nice. There are comfy seats to chill out in. They bring you olives, cheese and nuts to have with your drinks. There isn’t a cocktail list as such but they will make you a cocktail like a mojito if asked. The Tunisian restaurant and coffee bar were not open when we were here.
The pools are lovely. Too cold for now, of course but in the high season, it would be lovely. Looks like there are plenty of umbrellas and chairs stacked up.
Mohammed offers a trip to a Berber farm. We enjoyed that. We saw wonderful views of Soussse, Hammemet, Sidi Bou Said from the top of the hills. He genuinely seems to care about you having a good experience. He is a nice guy and can sort out the trips.
Rooms are cleaned daily. We tuned the tv to be able to watch YouTube.
The fresh show cooking is lovely. Pasta, panini at lunch, fresh pancakes and Tunisian donuts for breakfast. My partner loved the potatoes and scrambled eggs. I don’t eat eggs but they did look good.
Negatives:
Other guests. Smoking in the enclosed bar area. It is illegal but tolerated in Tunisia. Staff told me it is allowed in this area. I have a sinus condition that means I can’t tolerate it. I think it would be better if it was in the area below the bar. The smokers sadly have no concept of the impact of their cigarettes on others. I know we are coming at this from a European perspective but it is time to eliminate cigarettes from public places globally.
The behaviour of children. I work with kids, really like kids, have an older son but I brought him up to not annoy others. When I say annoy, I mean put their health and safety at risk. Children are allowed to run around, play on the stairs, walk along balcony areas where they can fall, around the pool without am adult. I
Do understand the cultural parenting differences but a child is going to be hurt. I saw one bump into a lady carrying hot drinks. My heart is in my mouth when I see the children playing on the stairs. I don’t blame the kids at all. They are kids and want to explore but the adult supervision by their parents is woeful and these children are out of sight of their parents. This is not every child, of course. The hotel really should nicely suggest that children should be supervised at all times. It should not be up to the staff to babysit. The noise levels with kids running around and screaming makes eating in the restaurant unpleasant.
The restaurant needs more serving spoons, more spoons, butter to go either the bread, to serve juice in glasses rather than paper cups (not five star). I have to ask for more spoons and butter regularly. The lack of serving spoons means that some guests use their hands to handle food, sometimes putting the food back. Today a lady dropped a pain au chocolat on the floor, picked it up and put it back on the tray, then handled the croisssnts with her own hands. Could they also have more labels out. The meat is often un identifiable in the tagines and stews. Everyday there is a veal stew. Many don’t eat veal as we consider it cruel. Last night I made a sandwich, as there was mostly fish, which I don’t eat. My personal choice but sometimes the variety is lacking. There is always salad, bread, tagine, stew and some form of pasta. The lasagne is nice.
The indoor pool is nice. It needs a clean inside and out. The steps are also in need of being cemented in more. I slipped on them getting out, they are too close to the wall.
The spa staff stalk you. No means no and I used to hide, but they would ambush you coming out of the restaurant. The prices are no cheaper than the basics at home.
This hotel has real potential. It needs a bit of an overhaul. Tea and coffee making facilities in the room would be nice, a renewal of the air con too. The furniture is a bit dated too. The beds are very comfy though. The restaurant is what it is. Every hotel struggles with this. I hope the little suggestions help. We loved the soup by the way. The area needs investment too. It is lovely outside of the hotel at the marina and we had a lovely view from our room. The animation activities were not as available largely due to a lack of guest participation but the team are superb and enthusiastic. My partner loved playing pétanque. The evening entertainment was fun when they had karaoke and the mini disco for the kids. There was some good live music but it needed to be less ‘background’ and more active at times. We met some lovely new friends here and that made it great. In all, we enjoyed our time. We were able to relax and have a quiet time. We even caught some sun. It was value for money, as we really didn’t pay a lot for what we got.
Tip for first timers, the airport is awful. Staff are rude, mostly nothing is open for the late evening flights and the food costs are extortionate. Take snacks until you get on the plane."
