"Right first off this is a 3 star hotel, that's across the board from condition of the hotel, fixtures, fittings, and food (more on that later).
Keep with the review it's long but detailed.
On arrival at Djerba the welcome at the airport is lukewarm at best, as soon as they realise you are British they look at you with distain and treat you as such.
They don't hide it either and then speak in french to a colleague who also looks at you the same way. The looks of shock from other passengers off our flight were the same.
The journey in a yellow taxi is fine, we paid 20 Dinar, make sure they are on the meter.
The area from the airport to around the hotel looks like it's been a war zone.
Piles of rubbish everywhere, ruins of houses, thank goodness the taxi drives fast.
The hotel looked fine from the outside and the lobby is well presented.
The girl on the front desk when we got there Navima or similar was very rude and abrupt when I tried to speak to her telling me "No, you go eat then come back" with a cross look on her face, not a good start.
I tried to explain that I had emailed a request to the manager Mr Anis Chemil but received no response as we were there during our wedding anniversary (adult daughter in tow). Again looked at sternly told "No, you go" and pointed to the restaurant and she then walked away, worst personal service I have ever had in a hotel just so rude, not a language barrier just simply rude.
The main restaurant is buffet and hardly anything has a description of what it is, and there's nothing around allergies as so much had nuts in like the ice cream that was apparently coffee but actually hazelnut!
The majority of the servers wear dirty whites that look like they haven't been washed in a week and never seen an iron, poor appearance standards.
Now the hygiene or lack of it.
Lads doing the pizza's never wash their hands between kneeding the dough to cutting the cooked pizza and then start again. Even splitting slices by hand then serving it 😬
At the hot cooking stations they rush cooking to get people served at all meal times, this undercook omelettes, meats, fish.
You can get a bottle of wine and take it to your table rather than keep going back up and glass decanters for the water, but as you are British this isn't done for you!
The deserts are normal All Inclusive standard, look great all totally bland in flavour, the chef needs to be bought some flavourings!
Low and behold 3 days in and the inevitable happened! All down to either the poor food or the bar staff washing glass by hand (no cloth) under a sink tap then using them. I saw this after I'd been going to the poolside bar for 3 days, absolutely unacceptable no wonder I needed medication.
There is none in the shop (so if you don't head my advice and go here take your Immodium) so I was directed to the Doctor next door who I found lying on the observation bed on his phone with his shoes on!
I told him what I needed and he gave me 3 boxes of medicine then proceeded to charge me 100 Dinar.
I paid left and googled and saw all products came to 28 Dinar I swiftly returned and he said the extra was for him as for the consultation (I told him.what I wanted) and the taxi I would have to pay for a doctor to come and go if he wasn't here!
I got a refund and left with 1 box of medicine.
Complete con and showed the standards of the hotel. The shop also has varying prices for the fake bags depending on who you are as some German ladies asked the price and they said it a different price when her husband asked.
Again ripping people off even in the shop, seems to be a theme in Tunisia!
The room was of good standard and clean extremely well I left 10D a day for the cleaner (£2.50) as they don't get paid a lot so it's nothing to me but a lot to them. You get the same cleaner so leave it on your pillow as you go to the pool. All very smiley and polite.
The pool - sunbeds are reserved with towels from around 4am I kid you not. At 0730 when we went for breakfast one morning 95% of the loungers had towels on and no one around.
Yes there are lots of Germans, French and Spanish here.
The pool is big a deep.
The pool bar is busy and serves chips, pizza and these batter rings with sugar, which my wife and daughter said were awful.
The entertainment team are amazing and keep this place going, full of energy and work hard all day and do a show at night down by the stage area, towards the beach where the boule, tennis, crazy golf, basketball court is located.
Cheesy show which is ok for what it is.
The beach is poor, full of seaweed and the water is not clear like in the pictures!
I paid extra 50 Dinar per person £12 to go up to the Prestige area (pictures attached) for a couple of days. Nice to be in a quiet area, lovely pool to cool down in waist height. Becks beer, bottles of soft drinks, coffee machine, small selection of sandwiches, fruit etc to help yourself to. Toilets actually clean.
Tall lad with shaved head served us and brought up cocktails throughout the day, very polite maybe other waiters could be this attentive and nice.
Worth the money for me, nice Bali bed to relax on and daughter had a pod for reading her book. Adults only though, thankfully.
The drinks at bars are the normal Aldi branded ones if you want a branded version you have to pay extra!
The gym was fine all we needed apart from the lad who was always in there (thin, glasses, facial hair) who was always on his phone and played his own music very loud (had to ask him to turn it down) and he was also using the equipment when we were in there, not very professional and a waste of time him being there.
Running track is up the back of the gym round to the front gate and back, sandy path, so we went out the back gate and along the road, even picked up a stray dog that followed us back, lots of looks from locals to see us running didn't look particularly friendly so we turned and went back, area not great.
I played at Djerba golf for a round, decent course, friendly buggy, set, balls, all in for 281 Dinar.
So in all not a good holiday, cleanliness of staff and hotel is poor which is why I got ill.
They are friendly to everyone but the British and this was echoed by others I spoke to so it wasn't just me.
Would we go back no, would I recommend you go, no. There's a lot better places (see my other recent reviews) you will be disappointed if you do, leave this one with the French, Spanish and Germans."
