Hôtel Lafayette

The loose shower head holder was the only thing that bothered me. It wouldn’t stay where I put it, though I’ve run into the same issue everywhere I’ve stayed in Tunisia. If I lived there, I’d start a business fixing them in hotels! Otherwise, I was happy with Hotel Lafayette for my last night in Tunisia. I’d stayed at another hotel up the road the night before, but it was a bit rough, so I switched. The room and bed were comfortable, the staff seemed friendly enough, and the location worked well, although the streets aren’t in great shape. Breakfast had a big selection, including lots of things I couldn’t quite identify, but it was good. It’s close to the airport, and my morning ride there through inDrive cost around 8 dinars. A thumbs up from me.

I booked this place because I had an event nearby, and found it average overall. The reception girls were friendly, and breakfast was lovely with plenty of choices.

We were three friends exploring Tunisia during Ramadan. We felt happy and at home by the end, thanks to the friendly cleaner, who used Google Translate to chat with us, and the staff, who took care of us and prepared suhoor each morning. When we asked for eggs and bread, they made sure we got them. We really appreciated that. Our room was very clean, and the cleaners came every morning. There were spare blankets in the big cupboard. The mini fridge was broken, so we couldn’t keep drinks cold. There wasn’t a kettle or any cups in the room. There’s only central heat, not air conditioning. We didn’t use it and opened the windows at night for air, otherwise it got really hot and stuffy. We didn’t go jogging, even though I usually do when I travel. I don’t speak Arabic or French and didn’t want trouble, and the street conditions made me feel a little unsafe. The area seemed a bit shady to us, with run-down or closed shops. Teenagers would hang around by the hotel entrance at night, sometimes as late as midnight, and I wasn’t sure what they were doing. Most nearby shops seemed closed, perhaps they weren’t surviving. There’s a Monoprix and Carrefour about a five-minute walk away for food. At night, almost nothing is open except a small pizza place two streets over. For nightlife, La Marsa may be a better choice. If you’re Muslim, you could also try the Medina area, where there are many halal eateries in the Zitouna mosque compound. The receptionist was very friendly and tried hard to help, though communication sometimes broke down because of the language barrier. Tunisians in general were really friendly. I’d read that street vendors selling souvenirs may press you because they’re struggling, so I understood that this behavior was normal. I’d also read on Reddit that Tunisians are having a hard time. I hope conditions improve. The French influence is strong, and I think the country has a lot of tourism potential with some fine tuning. I was told it’s normal to see garbage bags blowing along the streets, though I don’t know why. We got lost one weekend morning and found a local market. It let us see what locals pay, and prices were very low, like 7DT for a kilo of strawberries. We broke our fast at Saray, the Turkish restaurant listed on Google Maps near the hotel. The taxi from the airport to the hotel was around 20DT at midnight, including a 2DT charge per bag. In the daytime, a metered taxi with two bags cost us 10DT. Taxis were much cheaper than Bolt, so we just hailed metered ones from the roadside. To get around, a ride between places cost around 20DT at most. Even Sidi Bou Said was only 12DT from the hotel. TND is subject to capital controls, so you can’t exchange it in your home country. Supermarkets take cards, which I used for small purchases to avoid dealing with coins. Taxis need coins, though. Since the rides were cheap, I sometimes rounded up and tipped, for example, paying 5DT instead of 3DT after a ride through busy streets. Tunisia and its people won us over, and it was an inexpensive place to visit. Thanks again to everyone who looked after us, especially for making suhoor each morning.

The room smelled strongly of smoke, so this place felt like a smokers' paradise. The taxi to the airport was the bigger problem: the hotel charged about five times the usual fare, saying that was because they had arranged it for me. When I opened the cab door to get out in town, the price suddenly dropped by half. It felt like a rip-off.