| | Bp120 4089 Port El Kantaoui Tunisia, Port El Kantaoui, Tunisia
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Overall Community Rating: |   7.8 (based on 6 user reviews) |
 Marhaba Palace: brilliant by Joeboltonstoe |
| Posted 28 April 2008 about a visit in April 2008 | Overall rating: 9.3 |
our first time to tunisia
stayed at the marahaba palace and when the bus pulled in it looked brilliant.never seen so many porters in my life cases almost snatched away from you but they were great very friendly filled in our forms and off to room 616 (sixth floor) not a sea view but a magic view of the country side and if we streched our necks the sea.room very light and airy plenty of wardrobe and cupboard space,air con,tv,fridge seperate shower and netty(toilet).
this hotel is superb its massive and right on the beach
the staff are wonderful with the cleaners in our opinion the best she was wonderful.
food was good not to repedative always a good choice both breakfast and evening meal waiters look after you and nothing is too much.
entertainment was poor but it didnot spoil it too much
we would not hesitate to visit this hotel again.
This review is the opinion of a diytravel.co.uk user and not of diytravel.co.uk. |
| 2 of 2 users found this review helpful. Did this review help you? |   |
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 Marhaba Palace Reservations |
| Marhaba Palace: Outdated and Neglected by XXX XXXX |
| Posted 07 February 2006 about a visit in January 2006 | Overall rating: 5.0 |
I spent two weeks at this hotel in January 2006. Maybe I had high expectations of a 4* hotel but they were soon shattered.
The hotel has been badly neglected and the rooms are tatty although clean. Examples of tattiness are light fittings hanging off the wall, the hairdryer caught fire when operated, and the wind howled through the badly fitted windows whenever there was any wind resulting in me sitting in bed to keep warm. The food was intensely boring after a few days and the waiters are just after your dinars. The lifts were also interesting - some days they worked and other days they didn't. In fact one guest that had been there some considerable time said two of the lifts hadn't worked for weeks.
The facilities in the sport centre are equally unsatisfactory. The jacuzzi was so cold that people couldn't use it. The sauna was falling apart and the relaxing massages were far from relaxing. Having had top quality massages in Thailand the masseurs at this hotel rate as zero.
Daytime activities are zero and as a result there are hundreds of bored guests hanging around the place trying to pass the time. The changing rooms for the indoor pool were dirty and shabby plus the very dangerous slippery wet tiles made the experience of having a relaxing swim more like an assault course! The trips run by Thomson are a complete rip off, with the exception of the Sahara trips. Hassle from locals is non stop and you have to be on your guard at all times to avoid being relieved of your Tunisian Dinars.
Monastir airport is another nightmare - it takes around one and a half to two hours to get through passport control.
Travelling with Thomson I was asked about my "highlight" of this holiday - my answer would be getting myself out of this place ASAP.
This review is the opinion of a diytravel.co.uk user and not of diytravel.co.uk. |
| 4 of 9 users found this review helpful. Did this review help you? | |
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| Marhaba Palace Reservations |
| Marhaba Palace: Maharba Palace- BEaware of the Manager! by Fowlezi lao |
| Posted 15 September 2005 about a visit in July 2005 | Overall rating: 8.8 |
This hotel is located a few 100 yards from the port, whilst sitting on the beach!
First Impressions:-
When you enter this hotel, you'll notice its brilliant marble surroundings in the sitting area. You will also notice its huge Chandellier hanging from two storeys. Straight ahead of you there is the piano bar, which is a brilliant chilling bar, whilst listening to the Stevie Wonder pianist. To your left is the main restaurant, the hotel shop & the Chicha bar (Hubble Bubble pipes- Brilliant chilling out place) And to your right, there is the main reception, Pool table, breakfast room, Indoor swimming pool, Americana bar & the night club!
The Rooms:-
The rooms are air-conditioned, based on a balcony, Toilet, bathroom & bedroom. There are Televisions in the rooms, a very old, and possible broken radio & a mini fridge (To cool down your Celtia-the local larger!)
Pool/ Beach:-
The pool is shaped in the Port El Kantaoui snail, with a bridge running over it. The pool is 2.5 metres deep at maximum. The beach is just a stone throw away as well, both with their own bars.
Nightlife:-
There are 3 bars; Pool bar, piano bar & Americana, & a nightclub, all with reasonable prices. The pool bar sometimes hosts a Karoke now & again! But the nightclub is strictly over 16s, which stays open til 2am.
The Staff:-
The staff, except the manager, are all very good. . The manager I wont get started on.
Well I hope that gave you a good overview of Maharba Palce!
FOWLEZI
This review is the opinion of a diytravel.co.uk user and not of diytravel.co.uk. |
| 5 of 6 users found this review helpful. Did this review help you? | |
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| Marhaba Palace Reservations |
| Marhaba Palace: Hotel Marhaba Palace by Bob Dunn |
| Posted 22 August 2005 about a visit in July 2005 | Overall rating: 7.3 |
22/8/05 Just back from 2 weeks at the Marhaba Palace in Port El Kantoui. Smart hotel in comparison with others in the area but overall a pretty low key fortnight.
Good bits : If you travel with The Thompson group then the rep Emma is World Class and can sort most things without any fuss. She has been a rep on Tunisia for several years and knows the ropes well. There is a reps night of entertainment held at another hotel as a chargeable trip and if you book it you will find that Emma has one of the best singing voices I've ever heard in a holiday resort.
Hotel staff generally friendly and helpful. When you check in to the restaurant for your first sitting you are allocated a table and waiter for the duration of your stay. it works well 98% of the time. Meals were buffet style.
Rooms are tidy if a bit small - we were 2 adults with 11yr old child and the first room offered was a bit cramped. Emma was instrumental in arranging a move to something a bit better which was good.
Prices cheap in the local gift shops especially if you factor in the exchange rate which at the time of writing is 43p to a dinar. Like a lot of holiday places the Tunisians like a good haggle and you can achieve good value if you have a bit of front.
Good pools and the beach is seconds away - pure golden sand and chargeable but at reasonable price watersports.
Bad bits : Hotel entertainment is close to non existant especially for kids. There is no in house entertainment staff so if you rely on being kept amused during the evening forget what the hotel has to offer. There is a mini zoo, small amusement park and water park all within walking distance of the hotel but that only takes up a few hours of your time. If you take your kids to the zoo watch out for the perimiter fence which has sharp spikes right at kiddie level. Your local health and safety bod here at home would slap a closure order on the whole street, but the Tunisians don't seem to care too much bout it.
Hotel food is pretty bland and repeated often which is not good news if you are there for more than a week. Although I expect a foreign kitchen to cook using different oils and ingredients to the uk leading to a few tummy upsets I can honestly say that I had more than my fair share of loo roll. If you plan to escape to the nearest town for a quick Big Mac or KFC then dream on cos they don't exist here. Outside resturants are cheap but service is slow and portions of food small - a legacy of their french origins.
Not the hotels fault but the taxi drivers are maniacs and their cars are overall a poor standard and small ( Renault Clio as example). Avoid if you can.
Overall Holiday: Not the worst fortnight I have had by a long way but pretty disappointed after some reports I read about the Marhaba Palace. Several people return year after year. I must have missed why.
Overall Tunisia : Once you venture outside the tourist area of Port El Kantoui then its a crap hole - no kidding. The nearest large town, Sousse can only be described as a sewer with unswept roads and rotting rubbish laying around for weeks on end - hold your breath cos it stinks. Considering Tunisia has been an active tourist attraction for more than 30 years Im a bit amazed at their lack of development. Airport particularly poor if they have more than 5 flights about the same time to contend with then they just cant and dont cope. If you dont like being constantly touted for taxis, eating and tourist nick knacks then avoid Tunisia. We will !
This review is the opinion of a diytravel.co.uk user and not of diytravel.co.uk. |
| 3 of 4 users found this review helpful. Did this review help you? | |
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| Marhaba Palace Reservations |
| Marhaba Palace: NICE by Jane Fulton 1 |
| Posted 29 June 2005 about a visit in May 2005 | Overall rating: 7.0 |
we have just come back from Marhaba palace, the hotel is lovely, (pools cold) the majority of staff are very helpful but there were a couple of misery's on the door. Be careful when changing money, the chap tried to con me out of 100 dinars saying it was commission but i would not leave till he had double checked it and lo and behold the extra 100 dinars was sitting there under a piece of paper!! always get your receipt from him.
the food was ok, we were bed and breakfast so ate out at the mediterannee most nights in the port it is lovely.
rooms were clean and tidy, the only thing was there are no bars as such so you cant have a couple of cocktails before dinner, they do them in the hotel but they are nearly all orange based and very small.
the catamaran trip from the harbour is nice, the pirate ship is a rip off!!!!
nice leather goods, go to the fixed price shops we found them to be the best
as you go into the port via the arch there is a supermarket on the right ( past the tatto stall) next to that is a small off licence where you can buy wine beer and spirits!!
tunisia was ok but we wouldnt go back.
This review is the opinion of a diytravel.co.uk user and not of diytravel.co.uk. |
| 1 of 2 users found this review helpful. Did this review help you? | |
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| Marhaba Palace Reservations |
| Marhaba Palace: Lovely hotel. by Craig Bolton 1 |
| Posted 10 March 2005 about a visit in May 2005 | Overall rating: 9.5 |
I stayed here with my partner in March 2005. We're both in our early twenties.
We booked the holiday several weeks before the departure date and got a very good price on a Half board basis.
First off, I would like to advise people that the flight time is just over 2 and a half hours and not 4 hours like suggested in several Holiday brochures.
When you change from the plane to the coach for transfer, you will drive through several other places including Souse. Whilst doing so, you may have an 'oh my god' thought running through your head at the sight of some of The Hotel's but I assure you it just makes the Marhaba Palace look even better than it already is. It is a bright white hotel in a very good central location surrounded by palm trees.
Inside the hotel is very grand, everything is made of marble and they have a very nice water feature and a huge light hanging from the ceiling, it is very impressive. Another thing I did notice about the hotel was that it had very good wheel chair accessibility, with ramps placed in many places around the hotel.
The food is good quality, with a large range to choose from. Everything from Tunisian food to chips can be found.
It is served in buffet style and the opening hours are - breakfast 0600 - 0900 and dinner 1800 - 2200.
When you go into the dining area, you will be asked your room number, and then allocated a seat. Once you're seated the waiter will ask if you would like anything to drink and then you're free to eat as and when you like.
The hotel has 2 swimming pools. The indoor one was nice and warm. The only draw back was the amount of chlorine they used. The hotel also had 2 mini golf courses that cost around £3 per hour, although they were not tight on time keeping.
The rooms are clean and well kept by the maids. The maids and all the rest of the staff are very friendly. They are very willing to please and most speak very good English.
On arriving we were greeted very warmly by the staff and given a very refreshing drink.
The Hotel is literally on the beach, it has its own beach side bar that open's in the high season between may - October, and the occasional day that is hot enough in between. The sands in Tunisia are white and very fine.
Be warned, if you have a sea view room it means that because of position of the sun, you don’t actually get the sun on the balcony. So it's a choice you have to make prior to the holiday. A sea view without the sun on the balcony or the sun on the balcony without the beautiful Sea. The other views are either over looking a golf course or gardens.
The one thing that I did notice when reading the feedback from other guests was the evening entertainment was quite weak and could have been improved. During the day you can watch a few movies in the main bar on a big screen.
Although in the brochure it says that your room has satalite tv, it only actually has one English channel, which is BBC World News.
Everything in Tunisia is very cheap. They have a close currency, which means you have to take your own currency and then change in at the Bureau de change, which is next to the hotel reception when you're there. It's opening hours are from 9am-12pm and then again from 5pm-8pm. Although you can pay in sterling if you don’t have any Dinar when you first arrive.
Be warned, you can only change back a maximum of 100 Dinar back when leaving, so make sure you don’t change too much at once and get caught out by this.
When we were there a Dinar was worth about 45 pence.
Here are a few rough prices, in sterling at the hotel:
Beer - £1.10
Bottle of wine - £4.50
40cl Gin and tonic - £2.40
Cocktails - £3.00 - £3.50
The spirits and Champagne is very expensive for a bottle/shot. They sell them for about 192 Dinar, which is over £80, so make sure you buy them at The Airport.
We dinned out on a few occasions and paid no more than £5 for the both of us each meal.
The Marina is where most the action seems to take place. This can be found by exiting the main gates of the hotel and heading left. The walk should take about 10 minutes. When you're there, you will find a large amount of fixed price stalls with people trying to get you to buy things from them. I know at first this can be intimidating, especially as we don’t have anything like that here, but all it takes is a firm no thank you and then you'll be left alone. At least until the next store. Although this can be quite scary at first the people are harmless enough and just trying to make a living in a very poor country.
When haggling over a price for anything, first off don’t be pushed into something you're not sure about and just walk away, chances are that they will call you back and lower the price. Always offer about a third - half of the price they first ask for and go from there.
The local Supermarket is located next to the marina, where you can buy bottled water for about 20 pence per 1.5 litre's and various other things that you will need.
Try the Boga lemonade, it’s very nice! And remember only buy water with sealed tops!
We had the chance to visit The Sahara Desert and watch the sunset, if you also get the opportunity to do the same, then do it. It’s so amazing.
If you would like to know anything else about the surrounding area, Tunisia or The Marhaba Palace then please message me. I have many pictures of the Hotel, both inside and outside. Also of the Surrounding area. If you wish to view any let me know.
This review is the opinion of a diytravel.co.uk user and not of diytravel.co.uk. |
| 29 of 29 users found this review helpful. Did this review help you? | |
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| Marhaba Palace Reservations |
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