Steigenberger Marhaba Thalasso Hammamet

The hotel and staff were wonderful. The spa, excellent value for money, most of our party had a second. The whole place never felt over-busy or over-crowded, despite, I was told, it being a fairly full house. Rooms: Can't fault them, but note that the "bungalows" are more up to date with SmartTV and USB sockets. Other rooms, only English channel BBC News. Had no affect for us but thought others might be interested. (not trying to claim any "don't watch TV" vibes, that's what my laptop was for, see VPN comment below). Air conditioning was perfect, especially given the privileged position tourism is in during the power supply issues, Food: This is a seafood lovers paradise, and if I were I would rate it 5*. However, I'm not, and the non-seafood range was smaller and more repetitive, 3*. Again, this is a "me" issue for not liking seafood and booking a holiday in Tunisia :). Mentioned for others' benefit. The Thursday barbecue on the beach was, for me, the best food of the week and the entertainment fun. It was a wonderful last dinner, and the staff should be commended for setting it up so well Pools: Not really a pool person when the sea is right there. But nice for a dip. Never too crowded. Only comment is that 18:00 seems very early to kick people out, many people just sitting in the pool, keeping cool all having to get out. You could keep the main pool open a little longer. Sea/Beach: First of all, never a shortage of sunbeds or parasols at any time of the day, and a hotel bar just a few steps away. However, the sea itself: A string of buoys keep swimmers quite close to the shore. I know this is to avoid collision with Jet Skis etc, but more space would have been appreciated. If you plan on snorkelling, you will see small fish, but that's about all. Especially as the sand slope is very gradual, and you can walk to about 2/3s of the way to the buoys. There were a couple of days where they put up a red flags due to some waves, but if you're a confident swimmer in waves you can just walk 30m to the right to the next area of beach. (not saying you should, just that you could). However, on the last day, there were so many jelly fish in the water that even without touching them, my skin, and others, would itch. These jelly fish would just leave any annoying sting, similar to a mosquito, but someone with scyphophobia it did mean I couldn't go in the last couple of days. Tours: We only did two. The catamaran, the local one not the booze cruise one; which was very relaxing. The crew were great. The stop for swimming was, for me, hampered by the same jelly fish phobia. And a day trip to Carthage and ending at the Bardo National Museum which is one of the most stunning collections of Roman mosaics I've ever seen. Certainly worth the trip. Notes: The WiFi is good, with many repeaters, even down the beach. A couple of drop-offs here and then, but short lived. Bearing in mind the power supply issues in Tunisia, it's a solid connection. If you need to use a VPN, change to OpenVPN / TCP Remember to change back when home If you go outside the hotel, grab a bottle of water first, ideally remember to bring some stay-cool water bottles with you before setting off. The bar area downstairs is spacious, never crowded and has an elegance to it. Take your time to enjoy a drink there, but mind the step! Tip well, tours and hotel staff. You can't take Dinars outside Tunisia, so make sure you don't get too much out. You can change it at the airport, but you need your ATM receipt and the rate is not great. However, despite what you might be told, there are quite a few shops, and a coffee /pastry bar, land side to spend your last Dinars. Lastly, if you have any interest in the history of Tunisia and Carthage, read the Wikipedia page on the History of Tunisia before you go. It will make any tours so much more interesting.

Lovely lovely hotel very clean and multiple food options went all inclusive. The hotel grounds are very nice and the entertainment for adult adults was plentiful. kids staff were great but there was a lack of children so didn’t do much. The entertainment team were very friendly and charming. Thanks for a wonderful stay. The snack buffet later in the afternoon was limited with choice which was the only downfall in my opinion as a coincided with our little ones normalevening time of food there was only some sandwiches and pizza available most of the time but the staff done their best to accommodate us

Stayed for 1 week as a party of 11. We had a bungalow the room was very large and spacious with decent size bathroom, ample wardrobe space, kettle and fridge plenty of replenished drinks. Nice stay There was a small sofa and 2 decent sized sofa beds in the bottom separate area. The outside patio wasn’t the best just a very small area off the pathway/grass with small table and chairs, no privacy. A few things l found odd the poor quality brown toilet paper was in a wall dispenser and one night we ran out during night as it hadn’t been refilled! Same for handwash these small but important! things should be checked also the room phone didn’t work all week despite reporting this 3 times it didn’t get sorted which was annoying as then had to keep trekking to reception for any requests. The pool areas are really lovely one pool was salt water with nice swim up bar. The beach is beautiful lovely warm sea although quite a lot of jellyfish. The sunbed scenario is ridiculous if you don’t get up at 6am to get one then by 7am there’s none available. The food was really decent and displayed beautifully in the restaurants although as in all AI hotels it was rather chaotic. Our last night Thursday was Gala dinner all bbq set up at the bottom pool near beach it looked gorgeous the tables were done beautifully and there was a huge selection of food. The entertainment is terrible! it needs improving but as a party of 11 we made our own! There is nothing around the hotel taxi to the Medina takes about 15 minutes and costs around £5. The staff we encountered were all polite and helpful and overall we enjoyed our stay

Just returned from this hotel family of 11. The hotel itself is beautiful and the staff can’t do enough for you. The rooms are cleaned daily with fresh towels along with the fridge stocked up with water and soft drinks. The sunbeds round the pool are very comfy however there isint enough beds, people get up extra early to reserve them this should be stopped. They have 2 pools the main big one is salt water which my little one didn’t like at all saying it “stings” and the other pool was quite small and not big enough for everyone who was in there. The kids club was a major let down and quite frankly a safety concern. I visited once with my child, the door was wide open and I was able to walk straight through out into the garden at the back where my nephew was already there playing. I could have been anyone approaching him and confident I could have left with him without the one girl on shift noticing. She wasn’t English but did speak alittle, I voiced my concerns about the safety and she didn’t think it was a problem. No security, locked doors etc very alarming! I did not leave my child there and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I hope the hotel reads this and looks into it for safeguarding issues. Along with the staff there are other salesmen working in the hotel who are very pushy and annoying, trying to sell boat trips etc and they don’t take no for an answer not pleasant when you are trying to enjoy your holiday. Once you’ve said no Thankyou that should be it but no it’s the same people keep approaching you again and again everyday. (Apart from the lovely man who organised the quad biking he was no bother I must add). The food was nice and had a good variety however there wasn’t much for the kids, in other hotels they’ve always had a kids section. The little ones struggled with meal times due to this. There isint much around the hotel, however I would definitely recommend the quad biking it was brilliant. Only £40 including transfers and you have 2 private guides and stop for soft drinks. That was definitely our best day. The hotel has a private beach with lovely soft white sand however you have to run or make sure you have shoes as it’s that hot it burns your feet. We couldn’t go into the sea due to all the jellyfish down there I’ve seen nothing like it (see attached pics). The local beer was good along with the wine! Cocktails and other drinks nice aswell.

Lovely hotel, great food, fab pool. And the entertainment were amazing, particularly Eva, Adam and Maria Thankyou for a great holiday