Hammamet Beach

I spent a week here in early September 2025. For the hotel itself, I’d say 3/5, but the holiday was inexpensive and the value was excellent, so I’m giving 4/5. If you expect a top five-star experience, you may be disappointed. For families with young children or anyone who isn’t looking for luxury, it’s a good option. The grounds were clean and well kept, like a large botanical garden, and there’s a small shop for essentials. Security was reliable, with guards around the clock. The staff were outstanding, always warm, quick, and polite. The food was a real plus: varied, with local dishes, meat, vegetarian options, and plenty of desserts. Every evening there was entertainment, such as shows, live music, competitions, or a disco. The beach isn’t the prettiest, but this section is among the better ones between Nabeul and Hammamet. I also liked the Shisha bar, with friendly service and a wide tobacco selection. Room cleaning was very good every day, and when we tipped, they made towel sculptures. The main building room felt old. Its bathroom door and safe were broken, and the air conditioning was noisy at night. The mattresses had only thin sheets that slid around, and there was no mattress topper, which didn’t feel hygienic. At first, some of the dining hall dishes weren’t properly clean, though that improved. Pool loungers were in such short supply that unless you claimed one early, you had no chance. I find saving them with towels selfish, and prefer hotels that remove the towels. Loungers, cushions, and tables around the pool also weren’t cleaned properly. The water was usually fine, but sometimes murky, especially in the slide pool and quiet pool. The beach could have been better maintained too. Horses on the sand may look nice, but their urine and droppings end up in the sand and water, and they’re a safety concern. There’s no beach bar. Drinks at the beach stand tasted sour and spoiled. The coffee machine by the Aquapark pool made awful coffee, probably with tap water. You’ll also need a taxi to town, since the hotel is outside Hammamet. A couple of local shopping options are about a ten-minute walk away. Scorpion Shopping Center, next to Flamingo Café, has fixed prices, a pleasant atmosphere for women, good quality goods, and great Tunisian cosmetics. Further along, Anouar Market is a cheap local supermarket. Be wary of tourist traps. Beach sellers may add up to 500%, though bargaining is normal there and it can feel like a rip-off to us. One taxi we ordered through the hotel was part of a scam: the driver called an accomplice who pretended to be a hotel cook and took us to a shop instead of the fortress. That was really disappointing, since I expected hotel-arranged taxis to be reliable. Many taxi drivers in Hammamet seem to work with street vendors and lure inexperienced tourists. It may be treated as normal in Tunisia, but to us it’s a scam. A fair fare from the hotel to Hammamet Center, by the fortress, is 15-20 dinars. Agree on the price before you get in.

The staff, especially in the restaurant, were warm and always smiling. They really tried to help, even arranging a few special foods for our baby that weren’t at the buffet. The food was decent and clean, with a reasonable choice of meat, fish, and vegetables. We found it very oily and sometimes undercooked apart from the grill, and the same meat seemed to reappear in the next meal swimming in fat. Freshness was occasionally questionable, though nothing too concerning. Coffee from the poorly maintained vending machines was terrible. That’s about where the positives end for our all-inclusive stay in a “Standard Plus” room. The rooms are badly dated and need renovation. Ours had several electrical problems, and a strong sewer smell. We learned on arrival that the shower and cabinet drain had been blocked. There’s no soundproofing. The bar DJ played loudly until 2 a.m., and if your room is nearby, good luck sleeping. Corridor noise was very noticeable too, caused partly by rude, drunk guests as well as the hotel. The pools weren’t well maintained: the outdoor ones looked dirty, while the indoor pool smelled so strongly of chlorine that it made our skin itch. It felt like they were adding too much chlorine instead of recirculating the water properly. The rest of the building also feels old and worn. Online, the hotel is sometimes listed as three stars and sometimes four. It doesn’t feel like it reaches three-star standards, aside from the reception lounge, which is the most upscale part. There was no Wi-Fi in the rooms, only at reception and in the lounge. Most guests seemed to be older people on organized senior tours, which gives the place a particular atmosphere that may not suit everyone. Housekeeping was uneven. The first cleaner did a great job for two days, then someone else took over and barely cleaned, just made the bed and left sand on the floor without vacuuming. Towels weren’t included and had to be paid for daily. Bottled water was free only with meals. Drinks at meals were limited, mostly alcohol and powdered juice, with no fresh juice or soda, and there were no drinks available on the beach. The hotel’s four-star marketing made the whole experience disappointing. It needs major upgrades and better upkeep.

The loud music carried on late into the night, which was the worst part. We were given an old room that smelled and didn’t look clean. There were stains on the sheets and pillows, and I could only hope they’d been washed. The receptionist was unpleasant, and nobody explained basics like meal times or what services were available, so we had to work it all out ourselves. I was really disappointed.

The plates, bar glasses, and pretty much everything else were dirty. No one cleaned my room or changed the bed at all, though they pretended to. This whole place was awful, and I can’t understand the high ratings. Maybe the people giving them have very low standards. I was traveling alone, and whenever I tried to sit down for a meal, staff made it a problem. They’d say a table was for French guests, or give another excuse. Once, an employee pointed to a key on the table and said, “Can’t you see there’s a key on the table? That means it’s reserved.” The hotel seems to be just for French people. The staff were rude to everyone else, the entertainers only spent time talking to the French, and at the bar French guests got proper glasses while the rest of us got plastic cups. The evening shows were in French. I wouldn’t recommend this nightmare to anyone. It isn’t worth a single zloty.