Steigenberger Marhaba Thalasso Hammamet

It was in no way a conventional 5* hotel, it's a "tunisian 5* hotel", the stuff are 50/50, communicating with you only if you're either tunisian or giving them money, the room is big and empty, usually badly maintained, beds are very rigid and only single without even the possibility of transforming into a twin bed, the food is very basic with a minimal choice and slow serving creating lines of waiting people, outside the dining hours there is basically nothing to eat, the pools're not heated, with sand (bad cleaning), working from 10 to 18 "officially", unsupervised children everywhere, the booz is either too diluted or too concentrated, depend on your luck with the bar, there is no fresh juices or a variety of non alcoholic drinks, tea and coffee are undrinkable. The is no medical help, and they dont even help you with organising it (thank god we had a good insurance). The hotel imposes on you a ton of rules upon arrival, but none of theme are respected later on buy anyone. If you have to travel to Tunisia and want to fell kinda 5*, then maybe it's your choice, otherwise i dont recommend neither the country nor this hotel.

BON HOTEL MAIS CRAFAR QUI SE PROMENAIT AU COULOIR ET CLIMATISATION INEXISTANTE Hôtel en générale très bien mais il faut perfectionner les détails. Inadmissible voir un crafar qui courrait sur le long du couloir et avec une température chaude se faire dire qu'on a le chauffage. On est sorti de l'hôtel pour aller ailleurs. La nuit on a dormi avec la porte du balcon ouverte pour la chaleure

Overall we enjoyed our holiday there. Very friendly staff especially the restaurant waiters and barmen. The food was varied and generally very good, although sometimes could be hotter. Enjoyed freshly squeezed orange juice at breakfast and omelette made to order. The desserts were lovely. The waiters reserved a table for us each day and had wine and water ready for us. The pool area was very nice, lots of palm trees giving some shade if needed. One point to make regarding pool towels, you cannot pay deposit by card, has to be cash- 60 dinar each or £15, expensive. I would recommend taking enough £s , or you will end up with lots of Tunisian currency on the last day which you can't use. We had a bungalow near the sea, which was very nice. Lots of room and a big shower. Towels and bedding changed often. There was a fridge in room with water and soft drinks, this should have been replenished every day, but we had to ring reception a few times to get fresh water or also got some from the bar. We didn't use the beach as it was too windy, but did walk down. The beach looked ok but walking along it was awful, loads of rubbish and plastic bottles. We enjoy a walk along the beach normally, but we didn't walk far as it was horrible. The entertainment in the hotel was a bit hit and miss. Some outside entertainment which wasn't too bad, karaoke and "miss hotel" not to our taste. One night there was nothing as it was teams day off. There also needs to be some background music in the bar area when there is no other entertainment happening. Daytime entertainment seemed to be darts, aquafit, but there was no information about what times/days things were happening. It was definitely worth the money, but wouldn't go back in main season.

We are here at the moment so I thought I would write a review whilst it was all fresh in my mind. To summarise, Staff Wonderfull, all of them right down to the guy who gets your sun bed mattress. No exceptions. The reception and bar area stunning with lovely furniture and very comfortable. The restaurant brilliant, very nice comfortable furniture as well. The food is wonderful with a big choice, all cooked well and kept hot. Something for everyone including picky kids. Salad bar amazing and the sweet treats also a credit to the hard working chefs. Brilliant. The drinks are also good, the beer is particularly nice and the wine more than acceptable. The spirits are not premium but hey, they are very acceptable again and the bar staff attentive. If there is a downside, for us it is the room. We have a bungalow which I have to say is very clean and tidy with a wonderful bathroom shower area. But it is a bit tired which is a shame. We are not hard to please really but black mould on our wall (see picture) was a little concerning. Pity really because a guy with a scraper and half a tin of emulsion and an hour could have sorted it. Also the furniture is tired and the outside terrace furniture is well past its best. Having said that there seems to be some refurbishing going on of some bungalows so I’m hoping they are going to carry on and do them all. We will be more than happy to return given that it’s only 3 hours flight time and you get a nice welcome. Overall you will not be disappointed. Well done all of you.