Marhaba Palace

We had such a wonderful holiday. Your hotel is stunning and all of your staff are so kind and helpful. We truly felt spoiled for the whole of our 10 days stay with you. Our room was extremely comfortable with a lovely view of the pools and the beach. We could not fault the food that was on offer in the restaurant or the beach bar and ate more than we should have done. We loved the waiter service around the pool and were never without a drink whilst we relaxed. We decided to have a foot spa with Youseef and thoroughly enjoyed it. A totally relaxing 10 days spent around the pool and by the private beach. The entertainment program was on offer throughout the day and night but you were never pushed into taking part. The waiters and cleaners work exceptionally hard all day to ensure you have the perfect stay so a little tip doesn't go amiss. A lot of guests seemed to leave their manners at home and were rude to the staff so remember a please, thank you and how are you costs nothing but is received with gratitude. We will definitely be back and have recommended the hotel to all our families and friends.

If you're after a 5* holiday, look no further. By far the best holiday experience we've ever had. From the amazing Amination team, to the most friendly and attentive staff. Marhaba Palace has it all. Soft music and the scent of lillies in the beautifully presented reception area. I celebrated my big birthday whilst we were there, and was greeted with decorations, staff singing and X2 homemade birthday cakes! the beach is beautiful, the room was stunning and we had a boat trip to a secluded desert island. Here you could swim with the fish in the turquoise sea. The food was absolutely outstanding and anything but samey after a whole week. A beautiful A La Carte restaurant, main restaurant and further dining at the beach. Not to mention the swim up bar. I could honestly write a book of how amazing this place is, but should leave it for you to give it a go yourselves. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

"Ants kept appearing in the room systematically. This is not a one-off incident — the problem also recurs in other reviews by guests of this hotel. A five-star establishment should not have basic problems with pest control and disinfection. Safety hazards: furniture and umbrellas on the terrace were not secured during strong winds, which created a real risk of them tipping over and causing injury. The staff tried to counteract the effects of the storm in an uncoordinated manner. A damaged elevator panel (a fallen button for the 3rd floor) with exposed wires was only repaired on the second day — the elevator was not taken out of service. The door handle in the corridor had peeling chrome coating with sharp edges — it was easy to cut your hand. Cracked and falling terrace tiles posed a risk of tripping and cutting. Similar comments about sunken and loose tiles by the pool appear in other reviews. Sun loungers in individual cabanas were broken and unfit for use. Water loungers with disintegrating backrests were falling apart. Terrace tiles cracked and falling off — years of neglect in the maintenance of the property are visible. Gastronomy — All Inclusive at a very low level. Dinners were divided into two shifts. Guests in the second shift found about 1/3 of the dishes already unavailable at the buffet, and the shortages were not replenished. This is not organization — it is a reduction in quality for some guests. Dishes were not replenished on an ongoing basis. Some dishes were undercooked or underheated, practically without seasoning. Tableware and dishes were not washed properly — a water glass served by a waiter had traces of lipstick. I confirm the comments made by other guests about the need to improve the cleanliness of dishes and the quality of food — which confirms that the problem is not isolated. Discriminatory treatment of Poles. Both during meals and in everyday service, the worse treatment of Polish guests was clearly noticeable. Longer waiting times, less attention from staff. Poles make up a large group among the guests, and yet the service leaves much to be desired. Music from the entertainment area played until 1:00 a.m., making normal sleep impossible. The problem is known and appears in other reviews."

What follows is my honest opinion of the hotel, I am not benefiting from this review. During the first week of our 2 week stay, Tunisia received extreme heat weather warnings and there were reports that locals had little/ no water. The hotel was operating normally so it was unsubstantiated, but may explain a substandard service in my review. On arrival, the grounds were welcoming. We arrived at ca 1115 and were told a room would be available at 2pm. Given that residents have to vacate by 12pm that seemed fair. We went to the bar and had a couple of drinks, a great start, the staff were welcoming and helpful. Went for a walk round the grounds, be careful, the tiled flooring is very slippery when wet. So have appropriate footwear to hand. ( i had trainers on and slipped, i had no trouble when wearing sliders).The hotel isn't that big which was nice, there was plenty of space on the terraces/restaurant despite it being full. WIFI (5 out of 5) 2 WiFi options are available, the secure one is the best and performed without fail around the entire resort. ROOM (3 out of 5) Typically Tunisian design but not the modern design on the tui website. We paid extra for the sea view, which was nice. There was no towel robes or slippers as advertised. Room was a bit dated but was pleasant. The air con was excellent. Bathroom quite nice, although the sink was cracked and the floor had 5 cracked tiles. There was a walk in shower and separate W/C. The shower temperature control seems to have a mind of its own, alternating between hot/cold. Pressure wasn't great either. 3 beds were squeezed in to the room. On day 1, we asked about removing the extra bed. On day 2 it hadn't been removed,so we stood it up on the balcony. It didn't detract the sea view which was excellent. On day 10 we returned from our evening meal to find that the bed had been removed, however, the room door had been left open (anyone could have walked in, thankfully we used the safe, but it was disappointing) we went to reception where we voiced our complaint. They were apologetic, thankfully, no harm done. The room has only 1 bedside socket (other sockets are in the room) but we needed sockets at both sides (medical equipment). At reception, we enquired about provision of an additional socket A maintenance chap visited immediately and fitted an extension cable which ran across the room, he said he would return 2 days later for a better solution. It was not ideal but we made do. He didn't return. TV had 1 English channel (news), i auto tuned for new channels several times to no avail. Just as well we bought the firestick which worked faultlessly. The socket is away from the TV so you do need a USB male/ female extension cable. 1.5m should suffice. ROOM CLEANING (3 out of 5) The bare minimum was done for the first 10 days, until we completed a hotel survey. Cleaning did improve after this point to the level we should have had from the start. FOOD (3.5 out of 5) Food is adequate and there's plenty of choice. The biggest gripe is food temperature which is below average. Food was often tepid at best despite new trays/platters being provided. Recommend the 'Asiatique' at the evening buffet, it's a separate bench where a fresh stir fry dish is cooked for you. A plus point was that you're given a table which you use for the evening meal for the duration of your stay. Our waiter, Mohamed was excellent. He is a real coup for the hotel... .This is the first hotel I've been to where a minimum dress attire is not required. Saw men in vest tops and sports shorts for the evening meal, personally, I think this was a shame. I can't ignore a few aspects of food hygiene though. I saw several restaurant staff handling/cooking food and then using their phones. People were not using the towel to handle /cut bread. On several occasions, the bread towel wasn't even there. Some people were handling food/fruit with their bare hands despite utensils being available. A la carte restaurant...... didn't try it, seemed shut whenever we passed. GYM (5 out of 5) One word, excellent! A good range of free weights, benches, weight machines and the latest cardio equipment is on offer. All in excellent condition and well maintained. Open 9am to 5pm every day. SPA (2 out of 5) Booked the 50 min aruvedejic massage, (deep full body massage) , i was left disappointed. The masseur kept checking the time during the treatment, treatment was not as good as I've had at other spas. It was more of a relaxing massage than a deep tissue one. FOOT FISH SPA (5 out of 5) A definite plus point in the complex. Youseff is great and thoroughly dedicated and professional in the service he provides. We were there 90 mins and we came away with ' new ' feet . POOL AREAS (4.5 out of 5) The pool areas and grounds are clean and well maintained. Caution: The Tiling was very slippery when wet. Plenty of sunbeds, mattresses are brought to you. Pool towels are available, 20 dinar deposit and can be changed daily. BEACH BAR (2 out of 5) The beach bar, is an alternative to dining in the restaurant at lunchtime, but it provided pretty much the same food every day. BEACH (4 out of 5) Clean, plenty of sun beds. Police officers guard the beach area but you don't notice them. There is a roped area in the sea for swimmers, safeguarding them from interaction with other water sports activities. ENTERTAINMENT /ANIMATION / KIDS CLUB (2.5/5) Not one for partaking in activities during the day but this hotel is the first I've been to where a daily program isnt announced at the start of the day over the tannoy. 10 days in i did find it displayed on a wall on an A4 sheet of paper so for the first few days, we had little idea what was going on. Granted, we soon gathered it's pretty much the same program each day. There's water polo twice a day, water aerobics twice a day, then darts or archery but that was it, football, archery and darts. During the first week, The animation team were visible by their absence and that was fine by me but it might be an issue for those who want to be occupied. On day 6, one member came to chat briefly. He wanted to do a review (on my phone), on my behalf. I declined as I said I was doing one, he pretty much walked away, frustrated that he couldn't do a review and 'sing his own praises'.... quite annoying! I think he was called Marwen, he was training to be an electrician, it was the only time I saw him throughout our 2 week stay. The animation team were much better in our second week. There is a dedicated 'kids club' /building near the pool, again no announcements for kids. This was late August and there appeared to be barely any kids there. Probably because there was nothing happening for kids. If you want activities for kids, I would not recommend this hotel/ animation. In the evening, the animation team had a bigger presence but only if you're on the terrace. Evening entertainment is a rolling program , same shows so if you're here for 2 weeks you get to see the same shows twice. We didn't bother with the evening entertainment but we heard it wasn't up to much from other people. BARS /DRINKS (3.5 out of 5) All bars offer the same drinks, the cocktails all use some premixed juice drink to accompany the alcohol base. These premixers seem to be diluted juice concentrates as opposed to fresh juice. STAFF /TIPPING/ WAGES (4 out of 5) All the bar , restaurant and maintenance are fantastic. They are a real credit to the hotel. It was unbelievably hot (48-50C) when we were here, staff did occasionally do waiter service around the pool areas to their credit but we are more used to a more regular service. This is a comment, not a criticism, given the circumstances. The fact that they were working at all in these conditions was quite remarkable and highly commended. We tipped a few waiters per day (10 dinar each approx £2.60), which they greatly appreciated. They work long hours, they have to as the wages are very poor and so rely heavily on tips. HOTEL SURVEY You get to complete a hotel survey during your evening meal. Ours happened on day 10, funnily enough once we completed, food temperature and room cleaning did improve but it was disappointing. FINALLY We've been to 5 or 6 4* hotels in Tunisia and we discussed whether we would return to any of them... would we return? If I'd been asked after 1 week of our holiday, i would have said no, but the second week was better, so we would give it the benefit of a return trip. In my opinion, it's not a 4* hotel, even by Tunisia standards. If you've never been to Tunisia 4* hotel you may think this was quite nice , however, we have had better....

Great hotel , good food animation team are fabulous doudy and Samuel were so friendly , we joined in all the games and they made it so much fun . Would recommend , no fighting for beds and servers so helpful. Even when it rained they made the most of it 👍❤️