El Mouradi Hammamet

I’ve been coming back to El Mouradi Hammamet for years, both before and after COVID, and the warm welcome keeps bringing me back. The rooms are clean and elegant, and the stay is comfortable. There’s a lovely range of high-quality food, especially the fresh seafood and grilled fish, alongside Tunisian and international dishes. The seaside setting is great, the atmosphere is calm, and the service is friendly. I highly recommend it for a relaxing stay. Nour Arous Professional Painter International coordinator

The staff were kind, which I can’t fault. The bathroom was in fair condition, but the bedroom was in poor shape. The mattresses were worn, the cabinet was broken, and the old, stained floor covering and bedsheets looked dirty even though the room itself wasn’t. At check-in, some guests were charged too much for the residence tax. They got the extra money back after complaining, but it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

For the price, this is a good hotel. Reception welcomed me kindly and gave me a sea-view room with a warm smile. The room was comfortable and had a nice balcony, and nearly all the staff were pleasant and helpful. My disappointment was with the restaurant managers, not the waiters. The waiters worked hard and gave excellent service, while the managers seemed rude and unprofessional. More than once, including when I asked for water, they brushed me off as if it wasn’t their responsibility while standing around chatting. They also seemed disrespectful to their own team. Managers should set an example and put guests first. The restaurant management needs serious improvement.

The people working here were the best part. Restaurant, reception, and bar staff were pleasant and attentive, and the animation team worked hard too. But don’t expect European 4 or 5 star standards. The grand frontage hides a hotel that feels worn and dated behind the scenes. Holiday Gems advertised it as 5 star, which is a lie. The hotel’s own site says 4 star, but I’d rate it 3 by European standards. We booked because the website showed several restaurants and indoor pools. Only one restaurant was open, with no à la carte dinner as described for one night each week, and both indoor pools were closed for renovation. On a rainy day, we’d hoped to swim indoors. The site should say when facilities are closed or seasonal. We wouldn’t have booked had we known about the restaurant, pool, and room condition. The pictures show restaurants we couldn’t use because they were closed. This feels like false advertising and is unfair to customers. Wi-Fi barely worked outside reception, and even by the pool it only reached the side nearer reception. It didn’t work in our room at all. The food was okay, but there was no butter, only margarine. Afternoon snacks were ice cream, crepes, or the same spicy chopped chicken salad sandwich each day. There were no chips or fries at meals for children. Our child with special needs only eats those, but reception spoke to the chef and arranged a plate for lunch and dinner, which was a relief. Don’t be shy about asking if that’s all your child will eat. I’m diabetic, and Coke Zero was available with meals, but the pool bar had no sugar-free drinks or water, only alcohol, coffee, and sugary juices. I could only find sugar-free options in the restaurant and some indoor bars. Our room looked clean at first, but there was dirt under the bed and a pin in the carpet that could have hurt someone. Cleaners came on the days we asked and made the bed. Still, there were many shabby, damaged spots: bath enamel peeling, cracked tiles, badly patched bathroom repairs, and damaged walls. The toilet seat crack pinched our skin, but after we told staff, someone replaced it. The bath plug also went missing after cleaning, and reception brought another one. The bathroom looked like a 2 star hotel. The sliding balcony door wouldn’t lock because its handle and mechanism were broken. The bath enamel was coming off, and we found the toilet seat crack painful. There was no Wi-Fi in the room, and the connection failed. I understand the owners may be recovering from the hard time during COVID, when tourists weren’t coming and investment may have been difficult. Still, they should lower the star rating so people know what standard to expect. The shabby areas behind the impressive front let down the whole hotel.