Never go here

i read reviews before i went but didnt think it would be that bad dont go food was horrable it was always cold couldnt get to it for germans if you were german or french you got a table in dinning room english had to wait . the entertmeant was in german also in building half a mile off free bar so you had to pay for drinks no english music even in mini disco pop was flat water warm bar staff rude we were all ill with bad guts rooms were ok not 4 star i cried i was so board dont go it is worse than you think if you are going for 2 weeks god help you people were paying to come home early never meet anyone with good word for place if you want sun dont need to eat and drink and go to bed at 7pm its the place for you dont go its bad bad bad

Never again!

Bad start to the hol. On arrival at midnight we were placed in what can only be descibed as Slave Quarters! This was block M - beware! After complaining pf the unhygenic, dirty, unmaintained menzel we were placed in we were asked to return to reception the following morning after which we were transferred to another room. Thankfully the lady at reception was very obliging. The new room was better, however, the fridge was not working. Talking of the fridge or what is classed as the 'minibar' - there was in fact no drinks in the minibar. You have to fill it yourself if you so wish.

COMPLEX - very nice big pools and a lovely expanse of beach once they had cleared away the washed up seaweed. At times it can be difficult finding a sunbed due to the Germans getting up at the crack opf dawn and reserving them all!

FOOD - three out of the four of us ended up having stomach complaints. The food was barely warm. If it had been then I would have rated the food highly as it was enjoyable. The waiter we had was very firendly - a real cheeky chappy. Wine was in abundance. Unfortunately though out of the three/four restaurants this was the only one that was open daily for all inclusive.

DRINKS - Again out of the three/four bars there was only ever one open. This meant long queues when wanting a drink and then when you did get a drink they served it in tiny glasses. Tip - get several drinks at once!

STAFF - Courteous. However, this was the first season for Brits comming into the hotel. Not may could speak English. However, if you can converse in German or French you'll be fine.

DJERBA - the hotel is confined within its own complex and outside of this complex there is literally nothing. In the whole two weeks we were there we only ventured out once to Midoun for half a day. Taxis are very cheap at only £1.50 for a 15 minute ride. Midoun had everything a shopper in Tunisia would expect - a lot of repetitive leather, pottery and designer copies.

WEATHER - Gorgeous at around about 31degreesC.

OVERALL, I would not recommend coming to neither Djerba or this hotel. If you're wanting a totally lazy holiday then it could be OK but it is desolate. Having arrived back in England I feel cheated as my two weeks annual holiday, I feel has been wasted.

Holiday makers - Beware!

We arrived at the hotel about midnight and the hotel staff looked puzzled as they didn't appear to have any rooms allocated to us. Anyway, due to the late hour, they gave us some keys and then our nightmare holiday started. The rooms were dreadful so we returned to Reception and they asked us to sleep in the rooms that night and return to Reception the next morning. Next morning we returned to Reception and were given alternative rooms but still not we had actually booked but these were marginally better. 99% of the time the food in the hotel was either luke warm or stone cold - a serious health problem asking to happen - I am sure you will agree. The soft drinks at the bar were usually flat and if you would be very lucky you got a full cup of hot coffee from time to time. We returned after 2 weeks on our all inclusive holiday in Djerba but sorry, never again. At the start of our second week I started to become ill and on the day of our return home, I wasn't sure how and if I would be able to travel home as I was feeling so bad. Even 10 days later and back home, I am stil having problems and am currently having medical treatment and tests to identify what I had picked up whilst on our holiday - so beware - although the hotel public areas appeared OK, the rooms and eating areas have alot to be desired. Also, if you can't speak French or German, then pick somewhere else to go, as unfortunately English is not a recognized language in Djerba or indeed the hotel - best stick to Spain!!!!

We must have been lucky!

Ok, yes a 3 star and the food was ok. But for 300 quid AI you pay for what you get. We payed the extra for Menzel, which was a 3 storey room off the beach with sea views and had a roof terrace.

The bedding was clean and changed every other day. The room was cleaned every day and towels(no grey towels) were changed as often as we wanted.

Yes there was ants. But you are in North Africa! We had a few that trotted in under the door from the gardens, but they were found only in the lobby of our Menzel. Never had any in the bed. They were very large ants, but were more scarred of us than we were of them.

Yes the security issue for the jewish pilgrimage was off putting as you realise that you have become a target. We should have been informed off this when we booked.

If you were prepared to make the effort with the staff, they did try to converse with you. Yes some staff need to visit the resorts on mainland Tunisia to see how much better the hotels are run for the British market.

The pool areas, which are vast are cleaned and washed down every day, we were there early and there was plenty of loungers and areas to relax in. After a few days we tended to use the freshwater pool near the beach/pier, although there was not an AI bar here so had to keep going to the main pool for drinks.

Entertainment - don't bother. They perform in a room with about 50 chairs so unless you arrive early you will not get a seat.

We ate a lot of food from the buffet but did not go down with a tummy bug. There is also a very good A La Carte which needs to be booked and is not part of the AI, but the food is fantastic. Reccomend the Chateauxbriand!

Not true that there is nowhere to visit. For a £1 taxi ride, you can go to Midoun where there is the market for your souveniers and trips out for the usual excursions for camel trekking, quad biking etc.

We admit that a week was just enough, but had fantastic weather and a good time for £300.

P.S. Getting in and out of the airport was the quickest and easiest we have ever experienced.

Food was horrible and staff was unhelpful

I stayed there one week with my son. I booked a suite but when we arrived it was not available and we had to wait 3 more night in a regular room before getting the suite. The suit was nice actually, 2 spacious rooms, 2 tv sets, nice bathroom and a very nice ocean view.

The worst was the food. I stayed on an all inclusive basis but the buffets were all day same (or almost) with (old) veal and turkey... The staff at the restaurant was rude and unfriendly. You really have to beg them to clean the table.

The price was cheap (82 € for the suite for 2 pax) but what you get is what you paid for, that is very poor food and drinks.

I was really happy to leave and I shall never get there again.

What a let down!

Our holiday was very hyped up by the travel agents, who said it was a beautiful paradise island of white sands and palm trees! Well there were plenty of Palm trees, but the beaches were filthy. This hotel looked fine from the outside and is a nice building but the inside was very run down including the rooms which were not cleaned properly, the towels were supposed to be clean every day, but were a greyish colour and very tatty, and were taken from the room while we were having breakfast and not returned until late in the evening. We had to telephone reception twice for clean towels and for our room to be cleaned. There is really nothing to do around the hotel so unless you book any organised trips you are stuck in the hotel. We booked a trip out one night but it was cancelled! The worst thing was the food, it was disgusting and most of the time is was warmed up food from either lunch time or the previous evening meal. I ended up in bed for 2 days with a dodgy stomach and at the end of the holiday I had lost half a stone. Most of the time we just ate french bread and croissants in the morning. Even the salads looked a bit worse for wear and the lettuce was always brown round the edges. The pools were nice if you could manage to get a sun lounger. The staff were very rude and didnt understand english very well, and in the dining room the tables were never cleared so we often had to remove the dirty crockery ourselves efore we could eat. This hotel should not be a 4 star. It should probably be rated as a two star. We will not be returning to this hotel, and probably not to the island.

Worst holiday ever

me, my wife and two year old son stayed at melia menzel 6th may until 20th may 2006, without doubt the worst holiday experience in my life, absolutley ridiculous arrival time, was around 1.30a.m, there was nothing open, unable to get anything to drink, we were told by other guests the next day that they had found an open resteraunt, but the hotel never bothered telling the english guests, got to the room an hour after arriving to find only 2 beds and a tiny cot, too small for my son, was an hour and half later they brought the bed, missed breakfast next day as were so tired, lunch was varied but very undercooked, next couple of days were not too bad other than the food, which was the same every day, about 3 day after we got there, they brought an airport security machine in to the reception, when asked reception staff

were not very helpful at all, found out off the rep, there was a jewish pilgrimage for 2 weeks in may every year, and they all stayed in this hotel and the extra security was for there protection as the was a bombing 4 years ago, 2am in the morning we recieved three phone calls from reception, an hanging up without saying anything, when went to reception it was full of the jewish contingent, the music was blurring which you could hear from the room, asked reception about phone, was virtually ignored, as they told me they dont speak english,

the music went on until at least 4am, keeping my family awake, as people were shouting down the corridors and banging doors until about 5am, spoke to rachid (panorama rep) he apoligised

and told us they will all be gone by the wednesday, (they were still there after we got home,

every night for the remainder of the holiday, was the same thing, the security was increasing by the day, two helicopter patrols a day, armed guards patrolling the whole hotel, being searched everytime we went outside from reception, it really made me angry when they took my childs blanket off him when he asleep in his pram so they could check under it, this happened another five times, the bar and resteraunt staff were obnoxious, and practically ignored the english guests, everytime i got a drinks i was told if i didnt take my cups back they would not serve me anymore, and they would serve other guests who

spoke german, my wife was sick for a few days, we believe it was from the chicken in the main resteraunt, other guest had complained of being ill after eating it,

we were there for two weeks, first few days were bearable, but the rest was a complete nightmare,

at night the only bar that was all inclusive was the top bar so it meant either going up an down the stairs or buying drinks, as the entertainment was either downstairs or in the disco at the other end of the hotel,

i will be writing another review soon, along with the photos we have of the hotel,

(the piles of rotting seaweed on the beach, the security guards, helicopter flyovers,

the hundreds of dead fish at the top end of the beach, and have contact details of other people suffering from the same problems we were having,

will also be informing my solicitor as my insurance would of been void if anything had happened, i would not advise anyone to stay at this hotel, as you will not enjoy it

Dont Bother Staying Here

We arrived very late at this Hotel by the time we arrived which never really helped matters. There were no complimentary drinks upon arrival even though we were all thirsty and no bars open at this time. We got taken to our room but only to discover they had taken us to the incorrect room, so had to find our own way around this huge hotel very exhausted at this point. Maid service was ok however on many occasions we had dirty sheets which had been used. The towels were clean everyday but collected very ealy and not delievered to us until late. The Reception staff were very unhelpful and rude, also the staff in the Resturants were very arrogrant and paid more attention to the German & French people that were there. As for the food that was disgusting, they never catered for the English!!! not much variety either. I also picked up a sickness bug for 2 days and never really eat much after then. I have managed to loose 3lbs in this week, so thats one good thing out of it.

The pools were good but the outdoor were very cold as these were salt water. You could not go into the sea becasue of the rocks and also the Seaweed piled on the beach which smelt revolting.

We have been very disaponited in this ' 4 star hotel', we would not give this a 4 star rating at all, and would not return to this hotel. however weather brilliant!!!

Hotel should be avoided by english guests

The majority of staff, reception, waiting or maids do not understand english. The rooms were cosmetically cleaned daily but only hoovered once in a weeks stay. The balcony was never washed or cleaned. The towels were collected every morning at 9.00AM but the replacements were not delivered until after6.00PM

The food choice was very poor and lacking in varfiety, with a lack of fresh salads and very limited sweets. Fresh fruit was limited to occasional oranges. The waiting staff very totally uninterested and it was often difficult to get a table relaid. The plates were rarely cleared from the tables between coarses and drinks ,supposidly included difficult to actually obtain.

The hotel is large with beautifull gardens and a very extensive beach front with white sand.Unfortunateley we were unable to get into the sea or sit near the waters edge because of the large amount of piled wrotting seaweed all along lenghth of beach. The ideal home for flies, large ants and odours of rotting vegitation.

No alternative resturants bars or shops anywhere near hotel only a tiny supermarket(with excellent helpfull staff)

Hotel needs radical shake up to achieve any star rating. Our worst holiday anywhere in the world,hotel from hell.

Hotel review

Having been to quite a few hotels worldwide including this chain of hotels in recent years, we were generally disappointed with the hotel accomodation for the following reasons:

-hotel rather tatty and needs refurbishment

-allocated Menzil room had mould around taps and rust stains in bath; sink and shower taps not working.

-unable to plug in mini fridge as no electric socket available

-bed linen appeared unchanged on arrival - hair on sheets; likewise towels that had toothpaste on them; all bedding and towels very worn

-no beach towels, towels removed from bedroom at 09.30, room not made up until after 4.30 PM so no clean towels available all day even when requested from staff

-reception staff, including duty manager appeared to us unhelpful and unfriendly

-food rather boring and lacking in imagination; very short on fruit and there was an additional charge for fresh orange juice at breakfast