Hôtel Riviera Sousse Port El Kantaoui

"It needed a full refurb two seasons ago, but it's trying to last for a third." That's the short version. I went with my son as a single dad from England. We chose the hotel because it was cheap, and most reviews sounded positive. For me, though, it felt like a decent 2-star place at best, maybe scraping the bottom of 3-star. The rooms are badly dated. Our two single beds, one for me and one for my son, were hard as planks. The air con was noisy but barely cooled the room, so nights were very warm. We only found out on our departure day that they don't switch it on until mid-June. The old bath and shower had suspicious brown stains, and the toilet looked close to giving up, with cracked pipes. It was clean enough, nothing more. Some other guests mentioned changing rooms because of leaking toilets, dirty beds or sofas, and damaged floors. I didn't see those problems myself. We did have to move rooms after water started pouring through the ceiling beside the air con, and the replacement was much the same. The pool was a good size, and the slides were the best part of the holiday. They ran from 10 to 12 and 3 to 5 when I was there. There's also a decent sized shallow baby pool. Plenty of loungers were available, with padding provided if you asked or picked it up yourself. Food was mixed. The large buffet cafe had limited hot choices, usually eight trays across three counters. Staff were supposed to bring drinks, but we were lucky to get any, and they came from bottles warm and flat. My son is fussy, though he could get pizza and chips at lunch and spaghetti at the afternoon meal. Kids who prefer basic English food may not enjoy eating here. There was also a restaurant that required a booking, but it wasn't open during my June stay. The pool snack bar opened after four days and still looked almost abandoned. Once it started serving pizza, chips, and other small hot dishes, it made a big difference. There are three bars: one by the beach, one by the pool, and the main bar. A cocktail bar and nightclub bar never opened while I was there. The beach bar was basic but okay. The pool bar was barely a bar, mostly bottled drinks, with only beer on tap. The soft drinks were often warm and flat unless you got them first. The main bar had lots of sofas and nice chandeliers, but was dim and got packed at night. With few staff and no self service, the queues could reach 30 people and service was slow. About half the bar staff were nice. Most staff were friendly, but reception was hit or miss. When we arrived at 2am, they gave us a brief introduction and pointed us roughly toward the room. Staff in the main buffet were poor at bringing drinks. The Wi-Fi was awful, reached only about half the hotel, and usually didn't work. It took nearly 26 hours after arrival before I could message my family to say we were safe. Reception just kept repeating, "fixed soon". Sousse is a decent town about a 20-minute walk away, with lots of cafes and shops around a big harbour. I wouldn't recommend the hotel for anything beyond a basic holiday. If you expect a 2-star stay, you may get what you expect. It falls far short of 4-star and is long overdue for renovation.

We came back because the service is first class. Salah at the bar was fantastic, always spotting us and bringing drinks over. Mohammed Asheriff was especially kind and treated us like royalty. His service was first class, thank you, Mohammed! The food was good and always satisfying, and the lovely beach with free sunbeds was another plus. The one thing we didn't enjoy was the animation team member whistling over the music all day. Another one would bang a drum at random. It was peaceful when they went to lunch. We'll definitely be back.

The staff were all very nice and polite, and the beds were clean and comfortable. Most meals were good, with something nice to eat and drink. The hotel was lovely in general, though worn in some spots. A few things put us off returning. I tried three times to reach the beach, but the chains were rusty and locked. The shorts were seriously watered down. My advice is to taste your spirit on its own each time, then add the mixer if it hasn't been diluted. That was a big letdown for me and my partner. With all-inclusive, the drinks shouldn't be tampered with. I've been to Tunisia four times in the past two years, and this was the first place where my drinks were messed with. Usually, they were generous with the pours. We enjoyed the stay, but won't return to this particular hotel. It hasn't put us off the area or Tunisia as a value-for-money holiday destination. The entertainment was another disappointment. I was told the main hall was shut because of ramamam.

We spent seven nights at the Riviera Hotel. The rooms need renovation and aren't great, but most of the day we were outside anyway. There's a walkway to the Beach, and the food has enough variety that everyone should find something they like. The staff were the best part, especially the animation team. I'll miss the morning yoga and aqua gym. The evening show had us laughing until we cried. Greetings to all the staff ☺️