Excellent Staff but a disappointing Hotel for this Group

Having stayed at several Riu Hotels which we have found excellent - we thought this one a little disappointing. We could not fault the Staff as they were very helpful and nothing was too much trouble, but the food although edible was very repetitive and not up to the standard of our previous Riu stays. January is not a good month to stay in Tunisia as the weather is very mixed - we had four sunny days in l4 with 3 days with heavy rain and very cold temperatures - this meant that we had to stay in the Hotel where there was very little laid on in the day time and being a good 40 minute walk into Hammamet this was restrictive. I am sure things would probably be different in the Spring or Summer. This was an all-inclusive Hotel and very good value as you could, of course, drink and eat as much as you want, but next time we will choose a half board option where we can choose a decent wine with our meals! and also use the mini bar in our room, should we so choose instead of having to go down to the bar each time we required a drink to sip on our balcony! The lobby bar did not open until late in the afternoon which meant a very long walk to the "all-inclusive" bar. We would not choose to go back to this Hotel regardless of the friendliness of the Staff and the superb animation team.

Excellent hotel

A very friendly hotel good food clean rooms good location. service was first class entertainment was good and everyone made you welcome

A relaxing holiday

We literally returned from this hotel yesterday. We (4 adults) went for a Christmas/New Year holiday and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

The hotel is a good hour and a half from Monastir airport (it would have been better flying into Tunis) but we were dropped off first! The friendly reception staff and bar manager greeted us as soon as we walked in (about 1am!) with a welcomed drink and food was waiting for us in the dining room. Our room was really comfortable, had everything you needed!

The hotel is immaculate! The cleaning and housekeeping staff work tirelessly to ensure it is kept clean and tidy! The maid folds your nightwear and blankets/sheets in different arrangements everyday! A lovely surprise when you walk in!

The staff are definitely the most friendly and welcoming people I have ever met. They always greet you with a smile and are more than willing to do anything they can to make your holiday more enjoyable! The pool guy would always find you a sun lounger with cushion and cleaned the pool everyday (although we didn't venture into it - far too cold) Dido (part of the animacion team) was a diamond and Salah (one of the reception staff) is a gem!!!

The food was outstanding! The head chef was out and about and at all sittings ensuring the food was upto scratch - fresh fish, meat, vegetables, salads, pasta dishes and desserts were available. The manager of the hotel was also at the evening sitting serving the food and checking the presentation/quality! A rare sight!

If you feel like a little pampering, then have a treatment in the Thalasso therapy centre - a full body massage and Turkish bath was fantastic and although we never tried it, the hydrotherapy pool was recommended to us to.

A few down sides:

* Tourists are few and far between in the winter months so be prepared to be hassled by the locals trying to sell you "anything" for "any price"

* The hotel is a little out of Hammamet (a good 40 mins walk) so if you like being near the town - this isn't the place for you.

* Entertainment was a little minimal at this time of year, however - a real effort was made on New Years Eve which you couldn't fault!!!

* Be warned - it is not like Spain/Greece - some locals are allowed in the hotel to try and sell you trips/henna tattoos, etc.

If you like the hustle and bustle of popular resorts then this isn't the place for you BUT if you want a relaxing hotel/beach based holiday, then this hotel is ideal! A lovely relaxing holiday was had by all of us and we were sad to leave! Would definitely return!

Great location

We stayed for a week all inclusive and went purely for a relaxing break, we didn't go on any tours and only went out of the hotel the odd time. The staff were fantatsic, very friendly, rooms clean spacious and we had a fantastic view of the sea and beach. The air con was OK, but in the height of summer may not have been enough. Beach was clean and swept every morning very early, beach sellers were kept at bay so they didn't bother you. Food was fantatsic, lovely fresh salads daily, fresh fish cooked before you. Staff constantly tidied the buffett area, 2 sittings, and busy with satisfied folk. Wine was a bit roppy but the red was the best.. Clean, airy reception with drinks in the bar before dinner, if on all inclusive, definitely be back there, a good quality hotel and worth every penny. If you want to go and chill out then this is the hotel and location, Quite a long trip from the airport. Keep some money when you go through to departures, we didn't as per the sign in the passport control area and got ripped off using sterling for a drink and snack. Watch out for the "volleyball...." shouts from the animation team, very well organised for the kids though. Pancakes and coffee were a lovely snack at 4 if you were on the later sitting for dinner!

Different to say the least

Have just returned from a weeks holiday with my husband and 12 year old son. The brochure classed this hotel as 4 star Platinum. I would rate it as a 3 star. The hotel is right on a beautiful sandy beach , however directly outside the hotel it is very run down with a few shops. The staff in the hotel are very friendly and the entertainment team work very hard and work very long hours and seem to be committed to making sure everyone enjoys themselves.

My son took part in many sporting activites and was made to feel very welcome. The evening entertainment in the hotel was a bit amateurish but again the entertaiment staff gave it 110 %. We had a large airy bedroom with plenty of storage space however the bathroom was a bit tired and could do with updating.

We decided to upgrade to all inclusive on our arrival as we felt we did not want to leave the hotel as the area did not look nice at all. It cost £205 for the 3 of us although it may have been cheaper doing this at the time of booking.

The restaurant offered a wide selection of food for dinner, all buffet service but the food was really nothing special and after a few days it all started to taste the same and it became a bity of an effort to even go for dinner !!!.

We did enjoy our break but we will not be back to Tunisia far less the Riu Park El Kebir!!

Fabulous Hotel

We stayed at this hotel as the 2nd part of our Honeymoon & loved it.

The hotel is very clean and the food is fantastic, I have never ate so much in my life. It didn't cost very much to go all inclusive and it was excellent value for money.

The maids fold your towels & PJ's into oragami and sprinkle them with flower petals which was nice to find when you returned to your airconditioned room after a red hot day at the pool.

The hotel is right on the beach and the sea is lovelly and warm, we stayed their in July and the weather at one point was 48 degrees (far too hot to stand). You can't walk around in your bikini outside the hotel like you can in the likes of Spain etc & this doesn't help when the temperature was as hot as it was when we were there. There isn't even a cool breeze, the wind blows & it's like a blow torch blowing in your face. We went on a trip to El-Jem & as I had to cover up on what felt like the hottest day of the holiday I thought I was going to die, we bought bottles of frozen water but they were defrosted within minutes. If you don't like the heat too much I would suggest going at a different time of year.

There is nothing much to do outside the hotel so you are limited to the hotels entertainment which was ok but if you are quite a young and lively type of person who likes clubbing it then this is not the destination for you. The entertainment team were brilliant though, they were really friendly and seemed to be really good with kids.

The only thing that let the holiday down was that Tunisia is quite behind Spain & Greece etc, there is not much to do & when you get offered a trip to the waterpark don't expect what you get from spain, the waterpark at Hammamet is very small and boring and quite dangerous and it is full of sleezy men waiting at the bottom of the slides for the girls bikini's to come off (which does happen). As a woman I felt very uncomfortable when I left the hotel, you do not see any Tunisian women hardly and I felt very intimidated by the men, however I did not feel like this whilst I was in the actuall hotel.

Also, if you are queezy, when you go on any trips don't look out of the window as they have animals heads hanging in the butchers window which is quite disturbing to see.

All in all though, we had a fantastic holiday. I would definately recommend this hotel, we had no faults with it at all. I don't think I would go back to Tunisia but if I could pick this hotel up and put it in Spain I would definately go back.

PS, there a lots of cute little cats who live in the flower beds inbetween the restaraunt and the pool. If you see them, sneak then some sardines from me please.

A fantastic, friendly hotel

We had travelled extensively in Europe but this was our first trip outside. The Kebir was fantastic. The rooms were lovely with much needed air conditioning, the food was very good with a good range and something for everyone.

The best thing about this hotel was the staff - waiting, bar, animation, reception, cleaning. All were very friendly and we were made very welcome. By the end of our two weeks a large number knew our names, and you never needed to feel lonely - a walk around would always produce someone to chat to.

The guy in charge of the pool area would always find you a lounger if you asked, and in the rare times when there were none spare there were always some available on the beach metres away.

I would recommend this hotel to anyone.

Go with an open mind

We did two week's at this hotel. Weather was in the 40c-45c but we like it hot. When changing money only change a little as you need it, as you can not take it out of the country and they charge you to change it back.We had an all inclusive deal and if you can get it before you go it is cheaper. Do not swim in the pool it is not cleaned that often only once in two weeks and little brown bits floated on it People that did where ill with stomach problems and the doctor was making a fotune £60+ a time for injections. The rooms are big and aircon o/k. When buying only offer a quarter of the asking price if they say no walk away and they will come after you to get a sale. There is no air con in the restaurant so it becomes very hot at meal times and the fly's come in, men have to wear long trousers at night so be warned!. There are only three shops out side the hotel so you have to go into hammamet to get anything but not much to offer there, but taxis only run at a pound and are allways about.Go with an open mind don't moan it make's the holiday longer. If you like the telly hard luck news only, if you like the papers hard luck two day's late so take your book's.Kid's seem to be looked after o/k by the animation team.Will not be going back!!!!!!!!!! Holiday for four adults.

Nice hotel but...

My husband and I have just returned from a week at this hotel.

The hotel it's self is very good, clean and it's best asset is it's staff, they really are helpful in every way:)

The rooms are in good order and kept clean(unless you get missed off the rota)

The main thing that lets this hotel down is the food, repetition of dishes was unbelievable.

If you enjoy swordfish, pasta and burgers with plenty of salad on a daily basis you will be ok. Some nights not even enough of those to go around.

The pool area is not really big enough to support the number of guests this hotel can accomodate, and sun loungers are at a premium as the majority of guests are German(so get up early to get one!!)

Drinks and food are both expensive to those not all inclusive, each per day once there) so do the upgrade before you go(it will cost you £11 per head)

This hotel also seems very popular with the older generation, so don't expect a wild holiday....

Wonderful holiday!!!

This was our first time in Tunisia after having travelled extensively.

We can't speak too highly of the hotel, all staff, accommodation, food (I'm on a diet now....it was so good!!) were excellent.

A particular mention is due for the animation team who worked hard all day offering all sorts of activities, the kids' club and the shows at night.

Although this is listed as a 4 star hotel, we would give everything 5 stars.