Helya Beach Resort

The food tasted and looked disgusting, and seemed to be made from the cheapest ingredients. We planned to stay for a week, but checked out after just one night. We looked at four rooms and only one was in more or less acceptable shape. The floors were so dirty they looked as if they hadn’t been cleaned for years, and one room had mould, as shown in the photo. The sink wouldn’t drain, and the bathroom had deep dirt too. This is definitely not a 4-star hotel. It feels more like a 2-star place. Run!

The beach is shallow for a long way, so it’s fine for children, and the water is warm. The rooms are a little dirty but manageable. The bigger nuisance on the beach is people leaving towels to hold their spots. In the evenings there’s a party for kids, with the speakers turned all the way up. If your room faces the beach, you’ll probably be facing the stage too, so there’s no sleeping until 10 PM. Each day after 6 PM, people are cleared out of the pool and disinfectant is thrown in. You can imagine why. It’s all-inclusive, but people still fight over the food. I don’t know why they do that, but that’s how it is here. Someone took the rubber swimming tube for kids from outside our door. The receptionist said nothing had been found, but when I checked with the cleaner, she said she’d found it and thought someone had left it at the bar. Be very careful, they lie and deceive. The receptionist told me maintenance had been in my room that morning and fixed the leaking air conditioning. I’d only reported the problem that afternoon.

The location is great, with one of the best beaches I’ve ever visited. The rooms are spacious and clean, and there are entertaining activities for kids. The staff are generally friendly and welcoming. My mum is over 80, and the lift not working in the afternoons was a nightmare for her. At dinner, I politely asked a staff member to clean my table, but he seemed to have an issue with certain nationalities. He kept saying, “In Tunisia we do this and that.” When I showed him that the table was still dirty, he answered sarcastically, “I am blind.” I asked how he could work if he was blind, and he said, “We work in Tunisia even when we are blind.” I felt humiliated and embarrassed. I only wanted to relax and enjoy the stay, and had hoped to leave positive feedback. I’ll attach a photo of him so he can be spoken to about treating visitors.

The location right by the beachfront is great, and we had a good holiday, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The food is basic, as are the drinks. Soft drinks come in small cardboard cups. We’re a family of four, but for a few days they kept giving us pillows and towels for three, so I had to ask repeatedly. The barman wanted tips for “better” service and even asked me to get his dinner once.