El Mouradi Cap Mahdia

WARNING, long review The beach and Mediterranean water were beautiful, with clean water and soft sand. That was the best part of Tunisia for me. But finding a spot meant getting up around six AM and rushing to claim an umbrella and two sunbeds with a beach towel. Even then, it wasn’t guaranteed: sometimes I found my things thrown onto the nearby lawn. All I could do was confront the new “owner,” who was often aggressive, and risk having my vacation ruined. There wasn’t enough beach space for everyone, even after peak season. The pool was similar, maybe worse, with far fewer sunbeds than guests, so someone always had to stay on guard. That’s not the kind of holiday I’d dreamed about all year. The food wasn’t what I’d expect at a hotel, and similar Tunisian hotels serve much better meals. Soups were acceptable, but the main dishes were nearly the same every day: rice, potato, steamed vegetables, chicken prepared in different ways, and barbecue, mostly fish such as tuna or other fish, or sausages, sometimes turkey. The cake selection was poor, and the only fruit was grapes, peach, and sometimes apples. There was couscous with vegetables and lamb meet now and then, but you had to be quick to get the meet or you’d be left with a vege-dish. Waiters were slow, and in my opinion hygiene was unsatisfactory. They wiped tables after guests with the same fabrics they used every day. I know it’s a mass-tourism hotel, but hygiene shouldn’t be compromised. The rooms matched the rest of the hotel: old, used furniture that hadn’t been refurbished for a while. The pillow was the worst part. If you’re lucky enough to sleep without one, fine. Otherwise you’ll have to improvise somehow. As for the building, this is not a 5-star hotel at all. Perhaps it meets some formal requirements, and maybe it was top-notch in the 80s, but now it’s an old, faded building that’s lost its glory, if it ever had any. The lobby is big, but the furniture is old, sticky, and dirty. You won’t see guests hanging out there with a book, just new arrivals waiting for reception to finish their paperwork. Reception is on the third floor, so if your room is on the first floor you have to go down by stairs or elevator. Nobody tells you this at reception. The elevators are slow and often used, so avoid them if you can. There’s a typical hotel bar below reception, where you should expect a drink queue in peak season. Some little souvenir shops are mostly empty, and their prices are about 20% higher than downtown Mahdia. They’re only useful for emergency purchases like cigarettes or a sim card. The Wi-Fi in the lobby was the slowest I’ve ever connected to, not even enough for simple messaging. There’s no Wi-Fi elsewhere, so you’ll need local SIM card internet, eSim, or roaming. If you need to work online or contact family and friends, forget the provided “connectivity.” Staff were generally OK, but not very enthusiastic about their routine. Their attitude matched what I think the hotel’s real category is. Hotel rating: 2. Restaurant and food rating: 2. Beach and pool rating: 3. Rooms and accommodation rating: 3. General impression: BAD. Avoid this hotel if possible!

Everything came in a plastic cup, which was EMBARRASSING, and the hotel bar staff didn’t know how to make the drinks. The beach bar was another joke, with only beer and caffee. There’s just one restaurant, and calling it a restaurant is a laught. Lunch is served by the pool, but there’s no choice and sometimes not even a seat, just plastic tables and chairs. People fight over fries! The rooms are very dated, and this was the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed at. Its 5* rating is a joke, three stars at most.

Everything about this hotel felt neglected and low budget, from the shocking cleanliness to service below any acceptable level. We left disappointed, and based on our stay I can’t recommend it to anyone looking for a clean, comfortable, relaxing holiday. It’s nowhere near 5-star standard, and even 3 stars would be generous. The beach itself was beautiful, probably one of the best in Tunisia, and there were always enough sunbeds. At first a staff member kindly swept the sand off them and escorted us, but that “service” stopped quickly when we didn’t tip him. The evening shows and animations were embarrassing. The 6-10 person animation team tried, but most had no rhythm, let alone dance skills. The performances were awkward, forced, and boring. They didn’t enjoy it, and neither did we. It felt more like disaster tourism than entertainment. At check-in, we arrived around 1 a.m. and were given a room that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a week. The air conditioner clicked loudly, and there was a lot of outside noise. After two hours waiting, we got another room and managed to sleep for a night, but its bathroom sink leaked all over the floor and the balcony door wouldn’t lock. In the morning we had to beg for another room because they said changes were only allowed once. The third room was more usable, though still far from acceptable. The first two rooms and hallways had old carpets with a heavy, musty smell. The third had tile floors, which helped a little with the odor, but the air still felt damp and moldy. Later we found out that guests who slipped 50 euros into their passport at check-in got a decent room much faster. It felt like an open bribe system. Food quality was very inconsistent. Some days the variety was decent, but on weekends, when guest numbers doubled, dining fell apart and felt like a battlefield. Serving stations opened from both sides, but utensils were only on one. Unless you arrived at opening time, it was hard to find a clean table, and many hadn’t been properly cleared. Waiters often ignored us at lunch and dinner, so we had to get our own drinks. Many dishes were undercooked or underseasoned. At one point the restaurant became so crowded they had to block the entrance because there was no room inside. The bars struggled too, especially during evening shows. Queues were long, soft drinks were often out of stock, and the alcoholic drinks were extremely poor, worse than even the cheapest brands. At the beach bar, the beer was literally watered down. Wi-Fi only worked near reception, and even there it was practically useless. Messages barely went through, emails took several tries, video calls were impossible, and audio calls kept cutting out. Remote work wasn’t possible, and even basic communication was difficult. Most guests were local/Arab families, and their numbers rose sharply at weekends. That alone wouldn’t have bothered us, but their behavior often did. The restaurant was chaotic. One aggressive man shouted at me, but not my girlfriend, because in his eyes women don’t deserve to be spoken to, telling her she shouldn’t wear a bikini because this is a Muslim country and we should go home if we didn’t like it. Another older man argued at the beach bar because women were served before him. That kind of treatment is unacceptable at a tourist destination.

For the price, I thought it was pretty decent, and I liked the pool and beach. I visited at the beginning of September, when it was hardly crowded, so your experience may vary. For 380TND All in for a couple per night, I’d stay again, as long as I kept my expectations low, haha. The room was okay, though there wasn’t a large mattress, and there was some noise from vents outside. Nothing too disturbing for us, at least. The service was pretty good, but we didn’t have any complaints, so I can’t say how they’d handle a problem. Food variety was above average, and it was good enough. It wasn’t comparable to other 5-star hotels I’ve stayed at, but at least you won’t starve here, haha. It’s definitely not 5-star grade.