"On arrival at the hotel we were impressed with the luxury decor around reception, grand chairs, large paintings and mirrors, dramatic light fittings etc. We were greeted by the reception staff who checked us in, asked us to take a seat while she processed our details and a bar tender brought us some welcome drinks. Within a few minutes we were advised that our room would be available in approximately 10 minutes, which we were pleasantly surprised at due to arriving at the hotel around 10:30am (significantly earlier than the 3pm check in time). We paid the local room tax and headed to our Star Prestige room on the top floor.
Our room (458) was at the back of the hotel facing the gardens. It was a spacious room with a very large bed but the mattress was extremely firm. The decor in the room was of a good standard but did have some signs of wear and tear but nothing that would spoil your holiday. There was a good sized dressing table with good lighting for getting ready and a mini bar stocked daily (this could be a Star Prestige perk) with water, soft drinks and a couple of beers. Our balcony faced into the gardens which was typically very quiet, except for a couple of nights when the neighbouring hotel had very late night entertainment on, when we could hear loud music until the early hours. We didn’t mind this too much and actually enjoyed a mini disco on the balcony but for some this could be disruptive.
The food was of a good standard, always hot with plenty of choice, we were there for 13 nights and didn’t find it repetitive. For breakfast there was always hot cooked items including eggs cooked freshly several ways omelettes were my particular favourite, lots of fresh bread options, cereals, meats & cheeses as well as fresh fruits, yogurt and pastries. Lunch and dinner, there is everything from simple basics such as pizza (made fresh every day), chips, pasta and salads, freshly cooked meat options (lamb chops, quail, turkey skewers etc) to more exotic choices including Tunisian influences, shell fish, themed options (such as kebabs or sushi) etc. As well as lots of delicate desserts, pastries, fruit and rich flavoured ice creams. There is also 2 themed restaurants an Italian and a Tunisian, we tried both and had a great experience at both. Great food, good service and a lovely experience to be waited on and try the set menu they had selected. The staff put on an amazing themed Halloween night, with a spooky entrance to the restaurant, food displays, decorations and a Halloween dance show.
The snack bar also had a good selection for out of hours service and was a nice quiet alternative to the busy restaurant upstairs
Entertainment was available but wasn’t ‘in your face’ there was a day time programme advertised on a tv screen outside the main restaurant and the entertainment team would be around the pool at 10am and 3pm to gather people for activities but they were never pushy. On an evening there was usually 2 options, a solo musician (either singer, pianist, saxophonist etc) in the bar area then a more high octane activity either in the amphitheater or in the conference room (weather dependent as Oct/Nov is the end of season) there was karaoke, a music quiz, external shows and shows put on by the entertainment team as well as a beach party/disco with fire breathers. There is also a kids club, we didn’t travel with children this time so had no use for this but in my opinion there are many other hotels including other Iberostar, that better cater for kids with water slides and more activities etc than this one does.
Star Prestige would be a top tip from us, it’s not a huge amount more but the upgraded room with robes and access to the roof top terrace and ground floor private area with hot tubs and specific bar service area are a lovely little luxury addition to your holiday. Mohamed in the roof top terrace makes the best cappuccino and is very welcoming.
There’s a few small shops and a ‘salon’ on site, the gift shop is a little over priced compared to shops in sousse but you save on the taxi fare. I visited the barber in the salon for hair cut and beard trim cost me £15 and was a very skilled barber
Another top tip would be don’t be afraid to go out of the hotel to explore, we visited:
1. Hard Rock Cafe, only a 10/15 minute walk away serving great cocktails & burgers and they have live music on most weekends.
2. El Kantoue Marina, only a 10/15 minute walk away, lovely harbour/marina area with a few shops and bars/restaurants.
3. Sousse madina, a 15/20 minute taxi ride (costing 20/25 TDN approx £5/£7 each way). Lots of shops, a mosque, traditional Tunisian cuisine and a market on certain days. It can be busy and traders can be pushy but a firm ‘no!’ usually does the trick.
What would we improve or change…?
1. There was nightly cocktails set out but we kept missing this as no times were displayed and it seemed to finish early.
2. No visibility of spa treatments and prices without asking, it would be good to have a list in the room
3. The amphitheatre is a bit disconnected from the hotel and on our first night we didn’t know where everyone had gone, some better signage and/or a hotel map available in the room so you can get your bearings could be really helpful
Stand out staff that went above and beyond.
Mohamed in star prestige looked after us and everyone on the roof top terrace with drinks and smiles and knew what we wanted even before we did every day.
Restaurant waiter Rodchi? Look after us on the outside terrace of main restaurant getting to know our routine then brought us desserts spoons before we’d even come back with them and always made sure we had a table and even making a special table decoration for our last night
Alex from animation always smiling and always made effort to talk to us and not been pushy like some can
Anmera? On door security very helpful and a warm welcome smile every time we saw her, gave good advice about taxis and prices. These staff are a credit to the company and made our stay even better, all the staff were very warm and friendly. A smile goes a long way"
