Shalimar Hammamet

The shop inside the hotel has so much choice, very well kept and staff are very friendly. I bought three souvenirs and snacks for in the night. My two friends also visited the shop multiple times to buy for themselves and loved ones. Staff speak very good English.

review is about the shop (in the hotel) and its the best shop we have been to they are very very welcoming and friendly always down to haggle on price and have a laugh i RECOMMENDED TO GO WHILST YOU STAY and speak to the shopkeepers you will have a good conversation

Well… I don’t know where to begin.. we were looking forward to this holiday, 4 stars hotel and all inclusive, let me tell you guys , this is not a 4 stars hotel - we’ve been to all different stars hotels in our life but Hotel Shalimar I would say is something between 2 and 3 stars but definitely not 4. Don’t let yourself get confused. For us the worse thing in this hotel were meals. If you dont get to the restaurant early you have a problem to find a clean table, cutleries and all meals are cold. But tbf there is not enough staff to manage the whole restaurant .We both ended up with a bad stomach and diarrhoea which we still dealing with now after we got back 2 days ago. Breakfast was not too bad but lunch and dinner were horrible, I usually eat whatever I am not fussy but there was something not right with their meals they served, loads of flies round the dishes in a restaurant area. Some meat was undercooked. Beer is nice and it’s their local one. Cocktails are very basic and strong. French language is the first language there, all activities are in French. There is not many staff who do speak English. I am Polish my husband is English. On an advert it says they speak Polish too- let me tell you they don’t, it’s just basic thank you, please etc and some sayings they have mastered but they won’t solve your issues 😂. Our room was very basic but clean, clean towels every day and the housekeeper was a very lovely lady and she needs reckognising ,there is no kettle or cups if you want to make yourself a drink what I think it should be a basic thing in every hotel room. Shop sells some crisps and souvenirs, other shop sells some fake goods. There is no atm in a hotel. On the first day we got there we had a problem with a bank card, wanted to pay a tax but their terminal didn’t work , we were told to leave one passport and we can pay next day which we think was very nice. The beach is not private and the bar only serves soft drinks and water. Beach is very dirty, loads of rubbish laying around and animals droppings. Will we come back ..? It’s a no.

Despite the staff's efforts, the hotel did not meet the expectations of a 4-star hotel. Rarely have I ever felt such a strong urge to return home right after arriving at a hotel. The first three days were a struggle to convince myself that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. The receptionist barely spoke English, which made communication difficult. The food was always cold and undercooked. The only meal that was consistently good was breakfast, which was always the same but tasty, especially the pancakes with chocolate. Drinks were served based on the client. The French received full service, while the rest of us got whatever was available. Add-ons that were provided to “others” were often missing. The hotel catered mostly to the French, making it hard to understand the entertainment since everything was conducted in French. The animators were great, and the cleaners were super friendly. It’s worth recognizing them because the rooms were clean and tidy without any problems, except for ants appearing on the last day, coming from under the bathtub. The beaches were filthy – cigarette butts, animal droppings, glass – it was completely uncleaned. The lifeguard and the beach bartender were fine, although there was no alcohol available at the beach bar despite promises. Only cold drinks like cola, Fanta, Sprite, and water were served. The pool was clean, and the hotel itself was generally clean, aside from the flies in the restaurant – they were everywhere, on the ceiling and walls. If you go to this hotel, don’t look at the ceiling, or you’ll be too disgusted to eat. The tour guide and his "manager" friend, who tried to sell us trips, were very friendly until we refused. After that, they didn’t even say hello anymore. The hotel representative was also unfriendly, with a big smile for the French and indifference toward everyone else. We appreciated the shopkeeper – a really nice guy with a great approach to kids. The kids' club was open sporadically, and the playground was only open when the club was, which was rare. I won’t comment on the food since everyone has different tastes, but for children, there was almost nothing available except ice cream in the evenings. I definitely do not recommend this hotel for families with children or anyone else. It’s a waste of money. It’s better to spend a bit more and go somewhere else. Not to mention the constant diarrhea throughout the stay. You can notice the favoritism toward the French from the fact that the hotel’s rating went from 'good' to 'very good,' despite many complaints and dissatisfaction. Not recommended.

We just came back after spending some time at shamila hotel and what a shock. Staff and service is brilliant. Hotel rooms not very clean and smelt awful when you walk through the door, it was musty and disgusting. Toilet was leaking all over the floor. Complained and toilet stopped leaking but still had awful smell had to use my expensive perfume to cover it up. Meals, OMG ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING. First week we was ok a bit late going down so thought maybe that's why food was cold. Plus something to eat for lunch and tea , no change in the menu at all. Second week we went early for our meals and what a shock. Food not cooked properly, chicken not cooked and very cold. Potatoes so hard you could knock someone out with them, all food was like this. Then came the sickness and diarrhea . We had to fly home like this as well. Can you imagine how embarrassing it is for us on the plane and breaking wind was awful as the smell was disgusting. I would definitely not advise people to go there.

The rooms are very dated nothing like the photos, flies swarming on the food in the serving dishes in the dining hall , just awful, none of the food was covered, mattresses and pillows were rock hard, towels were old and not soft, really cheap rough toilet paper, small fee for the small rough beach towel, chewing gum on one mid week had to go change ,yuk, constant loud activities at the pool,, all in French, no one at reception could speak English, I think that was on purpose, so we couldn’t complain. Spa treatment very basic, did just the one and gave up, we booked the “restaurant “ the 2nd night, which was ok, samples of Tunisian food , no choice though,but at least we couldn’t see the flies, so that helped, the booze was cheap quality,asked for vodka and orange juice , got orange squash, cocktails were the pre mix -with cheap sickly sweet syrup, beer was watery, wine was ok. The food would have been ok just, except you couldn’t eat it with the amount of flies you could see landing in it. Easy single type of cheese etc, no snack bar with crisps etc, had to buy in lobby shop 3 euro per bag , no ice cream stand for kids for snacks. We had to get taxis into town for meals, town was ok nothing spectacular, we had gone to Tunisia for a de stress chilling holiday at a 4 star hotel, shalimer wouldn’t get a one star from me. Three types of activities offered, camel riding, wasn’t great,quad biking- got absolutely covered in dirt, my daughter got an eye infection, even with her sunglasses on, helmets were cracked and dirty again yuk, you don’t do it for the scenery, we bailed on the one day boat trip, heard afterwards that it was very crowded and hard to get a seat so delighted we didn’t go. If you have already booked , change you hotel , holiday from hell.