Sindbad

This will be long but I want to be fair. This hotel is advertised as 5* and we booked through Easyjet holidays. It is NOT 5* and I have no idea how the reviews are so good and it has such a high score on trip advisor, I think I'll have to review my reliance on tripadvisor as independent. This hotel is 3* at a stretch. The first room we were given was very small, had twin beds (we requested a double) and literally had an awful smell. We immediately went to the manager and complained and were shown another room. This room had a double bed and was much bigger and didn't smell. We were told this was the only other room available so we took it. Thankfully we could change rooms. Unfortunately the shower tiles were dirty and the room was so dated and old fashioned. The floor tiles were also questionable in their cleanliness with the grouting being grubby and coming out. We booked a sea view double room with terrace or balcony. Despite being told by the manager and general manager this was one of the best rooms and requested repeatedly by visitors, you couldn't see the sea from the room itself and on the terrance you could barely see it standing and not at all sitting. Fair enough, it faced the sea so technically was a sea view room. Unfortunately the terrace was unusable, it was dirty, covered in leaves and ants, this included the umbrella and table and chairs. They were everywhere. I realise it is a garden hotel so surrounded by gardens but I've lived abroad in hot countries and you can prevent ants on the terraces etc. Despite repeated requests to clear/spray the terrace so we could use it, these requests were ignored. I think they did sweep one day but not very well. They did put a table cloth on the table. The general manager told us that he used 4 companies for pest control and it wasn't a problem. It was a problem for us as we like to sit on our balcony or terrace after dinner and enjoy the sea view, this was not possible as we couldn't see the sea and there were ants everywhere. I got 13 bites the first night sitting there for an hour, never sat there again. There was a wedding the day we arrived and a letter saying there would be loud music from 10pm to 3am. Luckily I'm a good sleeper and it didn't affect me so much, but other couples we spoke to couldn't sleep at all and my partner struggled to sleep. The hotel said there was minimal disruption, despite the fact the pool was out of use all afternoon. But in fairness there is another pool and a beach area, although the beach area was packed with outside visitors so couldn't get a bed. The beach front was lovely, but unfortunately it is used by others not just hotel guests so at week-ends it was impossible to get a bed unless you got there at the crack of dawn. The safe in the room was broken so we had to keep our valuables with us. This was reported. The reception counter was very dirty on arrival and throughout our stay so that was an indicator on arrival. Plus the reception staff did not even acknowledge us for a good while when we arrived, they were busy with the wedding guests I can only assume. The seats and tables around the pool bar/restaurant area were dirty and covered in leaves. We did sit and have a beer there one day but couldn't find a clean table despite it being empty. The shower in our room was mouldy, black and unkempt. There are 5* facilities as in there are 3 pools and a gym and it's beachfront. But they are very questionable and that's being generous. If you wanted to use the indoor pool (we didn't) it was closed off with tape all week. The tiles on the infinity pool were so dirty and falling off that I wouldn't swim in it. The gym was a room off one of the pools, tiny (that's OK if it has the equipment), not air conditioned (in 32 degree heat) and the machinery was so old it was rusty. We are that sad couple that likes to go to the gym before breakfast or in the afternoon if not out and about. We had breakfast and dinner included in our holiday, first time we've done this. The dining room was like a school canteen, blinds were falling off and broken, it was buffet and a bbq meat or fish every evening. Sounds great, but the food was mediocre, but we were fed every night and it had a good mix of food. I ended up mostly eating pizza and salads. The food always looked good, but everything was disappointing when tasted, tough meat, cold chips etc, (other than the baklava which was delicious). Nice fruit, melon and dates etc. The fish was good. There was a good choice but it wasn't up to scratch for a 5* hotel. There were flies all over the dining room/canteen. The food displays had little fans above a lot of them to keep the flies off so obviously known. I went to get some food one evening and came back and my wine glass (full glass) with a very large fly in it, the waiter took the glass and poured me a fresh glass from our bottle but never offered to get me another glass to replace the one he took away. Our transfer coach to the hotel was a large shared coach which was air conditioned. Our transfer back to the aiport was a 10 seater (including the 2 front seats) which was dirty, not airconditioned (in 32 degree heat) and we were literally 10 people squashed in every seat. We have been on 2 other Easyjet holidays in the past 12 months which were both 5* hotels and they were 5* and lived up to expectations, this was terrible. FYI the others were in Agios Nikolaus Crete (Intercontinental Hotel) and Agadir Morocco (The View Hotel, highly recommend). As I said it may have technically had the facilities to make it 5* as in the pools and gym etc but absolutely they were run down other than the gardens which they seemed particularly proud of. On the plus side, the gardens were nice, it's right on the beach which is lovely, small area but sandy, and the sea was a beautiful temperature and a joy to swim in. This hotel is so dated it belongs in the 90s. Having said all that, I could not fault the staff in the restaurant or housekeeping. The manager and general manager were another matter and seemed exasperated because we complained and told us that lots of people love the hotel and the gardens and did we expect a high rise building, did we not investigate the hotel before we came, it's great because of its well kept gardens!). You can't sleep in a well kept garden nor could we sit in the well kept gardens. The hotel had no soul, was grubby and dated. There were 2 old guys singing with a keyboard every night in the bar area, I felt sorry for them as there was nobody around, so they were singing to themselves. Another night there was a Russian dance troupe who came and danced for an hour at the pool area, literally laughable, they were terrible. ( I don't book hotels that do entertainment for a reason). But having said that I felt sorry for them too as there were probaly about 6 people there. No atmosphere at all in the hotel. But as I said the staff in the canteen/main restaurant are amazing, so welcoming and lovely and nothing is too much trouble. I think that is just the Tunisian way, the people are lovely. We spoke to several other couples there throughout the week and all said that they complained about their rooms and several other things, this was without us asking, we wanted to put it aside for the week and try to enjoy what we could. Sorry to say this was not an acceptable holiday and I have NO idea how this is so highly rated on Tripadvisor. Strangely, the housekeeper and restaurant staff asked us to rate it on tripadvisor and please give them 5 stars not less as it was really important. They were quite insistent. I said I would rate it when I get home and ensure that his rating was good but I can't say the same for the rest of the hotel or the facilities. Not sure if I can respond to questions on this but happy to do so if anyone wants any details. Go ahead and book if you want a nice getaway but don't expect 5*, this is 3* at a push. Hammament is a nice place and we could walk to the town and there was a small supermarket nearby. It is in old Hammamet thankfully and not yasmine Hammamet which is full of tacky tourist bars (Rovers Return) and is a purpose built tourist area. This hotel is a good location and has a good cultural centre with small ampitheatre and roman house within walking distance. It's also nice to walk into the town, it's not too touristy which is good. I've tried to upload videos showing the ants all over the umbrella and terrace but it won't accept it. Nor will it accept a video of a terrace area with broken planks (one of which gave way under me walking on it). My advice, look elsewhere if you want 5*, but if you're happy with basic rooms and poor upkeep but just want somewhere on the beach and in a good area, go ahead. I think we had 5* expectations and were bitterly disappointed. If you made it through this review, well done!

Ok, firstly this is a stunning hotel, the gardens, decor, position on the beach is all wonderful. We had a few issues with our room and in hindsight we should have just made a bit more fuss earlier on, things will get sorted out but you do need to be persistent. We noticed a smell like sewage in our room coming from the air conditioning unit, it wasn't there all the time but when it did come through it was awful. After waking up on the second night by the smell we complained and after a few delays we were moved to the room next door. Almost immediately hammering and drilling started up and we assumed this must be someone fixing the air conditioning but it went on for another two days, starting at 9am and going on until late afternoon. We complained about this and Mr Mohamed got straight on the phone to someone, shouted at them for about 5 minutes in front of us and then said it should now be sorted! No noise after that. Last issue was that in our new room there started to be a strong smell of oil or petrol again coming through the air conditioning! Again we complained and were offered a complimentary lunch in the beach restaurant. Finally the smell went. The beach is very narrow with a few rows of sunbeds. There seems to be a huge number of staff at the beach but not doing very much. Whenever we went down to get a sunbed we were ignored and when I ordered a drink it never appeared. We ended up helping ourselves to sunbeds and towels and taking our own drinks from the local shop. The sea is stunning, so clear, you can see the bottom even with the water up to your shoulders. I bought a snorkel and there are lots of fish, just two types but lots of them. Also there were amazing blue barrel jellyfish, apparently these only give a very mild sting but best to keep your distance. Also lovely are the swallows flying low over the water. There is a pool near the beach but we didn't go in this as it felt a bit public, right in the middle of the tables and chairs where people are eating. For me, the nicest area is the pool directly behind reception. It was always calm and quiet, very attentive gentleman putting out sunbeds and towels and moving on any rowdy children! The area is paved with a lovely smooth stone, like soapstone which was so nice to feel on bare feet. This area also doubles as a seating area for Le Chiraz restaurant at night and we had some pudding and wine here one evening by the pool in the company of a little cat. Excellent staff. We went breakfast only. It was ok, I would say there's a wide selection. One morning I had to spit the fruit salad out as it was fermenting so who knows how long that had been sitting around. Also there were lots of flies, they were trying to keep them off with fans and in the heat they are always a problem but maybe more food needs to be covered. The restaurant with the breakfast is very impressive with a big domed ceiling or you can sit outside. We were a bit surprised to be met outside breakfast on our first morning by a guy trying to sell us a quad bike excursion, I wasn't prepared for this actually inside the hotel but if you aren't interested just be firm. I booked a session in the spa, Ramsey who sits in the reception area helped me decide what to have with and suggested a hamman bubble bath. I was imagining a bubble bath with scented oils and petals floating by candlelight but not quite! I was greeted by Monia who thankfully was a little bossy as I had no idea what to do. Started with 10 minutes in the steam room, then lying on a plastic covered table and being soaped and scrubbed all over even my hair, then being showered down. Certainly exhilarating and I felt very clean! Then she took me to a room where i had a mint tea and then had an amazing massage with warm sesame oil - apparently ideal if you're very stressed. Was really great, unhurried, definitely worth it. Cost around £50 for everything and I was there about 2 hours. A little bit of pressure selling at the end in reception, again you need to be firm. I did end up buying some honey face scrub that smells amazing. Other things - saw someone else's advice to take a kettle. Very important if like me you live on tea. Took my own teabags and ended up buying a mug as nothing in room. I bought something that looked like semi skimmed milk from a local shop which the shopkeeper seemed to think was very amusing. When I looked it up it is some kind of fermented milk which is important in Tunisian cooking. I'm afraid I didn't try it but got used to having black tea. There are local shops quite a long walk from the hotel. One to the right is closer but more expensive, to the left there is a small shop and good supermarket. Do be very careful crossing the road. It is really busy and the pedestrian crossings do not mean anything so don't expect people to stop. Also of course, cars are driving on the right. Also the pavements are pretty rough, you need to watch where you are walking. It was nice to walk around and see some life outside the hotel but once we had discovered the taxis we always used these. They are everywhere, just flag them down and agree a price before you get in. To the old medina we paid 10 dinar to Yasmine Hammamet it was 15. Don't drink the water, even for cleaning your teeth. The old medina is an experience that brought me close to tears. It looks such an interesting place but you can't take a step without being hassled and before you know it you're in a bidding war over some tat you wouldn't look at twice at home. We did a bit of haggling but I found the whole thing horribly intense and stressful. My partner who is a wheeler dealer at home and abroad quite enjoyed it. Walking around the back of the medina was beautiful, there were hundreds of swifts in the old walls and also a peaceful cemetery. We didn't go in but can see over the wall at the beautiful tiles, trees and cats lazing about. There was also some interesting shops in the streets away from the medina, many with fixed prices. Overall I was very interested by Tunisia, definitely worth visiting and very beautiful.

Had lovely spacious room with terrace, Food was amazing, was buffet for breakfast and dinner, had very good choice and was different each night, also did have a’ la carte menu one night. The staff can’t do enough for you special mention to Walid and Mohamed in restaurant all staff are so friendly. The hotel is very tranquil surrounded by beautiful gardens with 2 great pools and plenty of bars our favourite was the Moon bar, Pub Bar 19 was also very good. The beach is beautiful, the hotel is very clean and beautifully maintained will definitely be going back again.

Staff really friendly , couldn’t do more for you! Food excellent, can not fault! Restaurant really lovely. Hudedh was our server and was fabulous! Thank you for making our time enjoyable and unforgettable!

I stayed here in June 2026. The hotel facilities are wonderful, clean, modern. A wide selection of food is available via the buffet, and prices are very reasonable. The hotel spa, swimming pools, and beach access is great too. The service is top notch and my server for the week, (Hafadah) was absolutely amazing.