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 Sunny Says there
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| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
carol anderson from fife travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2008 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff |  | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: we arrived after a long delay and were checked in and given key to room fairly quickly. the hotel was clean throughout with a maid coming round every day and offering to just change your towels if you weren't wanting room cleaned. the hotel was in a quiet area but in beautiful, spacious grounds with direct access onto a private beach complete with beach bar and water sports. a few sellers trying their best on the beach but a firm no was enough for them to leave you in peace. we were all ill for approximately 8 days of our holiday as were numerous other people we spoke to not sure what caused this and the hotel were quick to bring in health officers to source the problem. i must admit we didn't enjoy the food in the restaurant yes there was plenty of choice, but it was almost the same every day (beef stew was on the menu every day), my son wasn't overly impressed with the kids menu of mashed potato, pasta and pasta sauce, but we realise that it must be difficult to cater for so many different nationalities and we enjoyed the poolside snack bar for kebabs, pizza, rolls, salad etc. the animation team were out of this world and to be honest with you we felt that they made the hotel what it is, they worked so very hard and always took time to stop and speak to you. their shows were great especially Grease which had us all singing and dancing along. special thanks to Midou, Kelly (who my son feel in love with), Lisa, Hassan, Zizzo, Didi, Sam, Bobo, Mami, Chico, and the rest of the animation team. also the staff in the restuarant who were all attentive without being overpowering and took an interest when they heard we had been unwell, sending cold bottles of water up to our room. you simply must go on the quad bikes with Walid who calls everyone chicken legs it cost approx £22 for my husband and son and they were away for over 3 hours. walid is great and is always round about the hotel and takes the time to speak to you. Camel man, Latif, was my favourite by far and his freindly banter with walid had us in stitches on many occassions. the camel ride was an experience(not as bad as we thought) and again we were away for approx 3 hours. i feel that the tour operators should mention in the brouchure that the hotel caters mainly for german and french clients. we wouldn't visit this hotel again because we like to try a new country every year although many people have been visiting the hotel for many years.
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Ang & Tony from Birmingham travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Teletext Holidays
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2008 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: My husband,son,grandson and I stayed at the Dar Khayum in June. We had no idea what the hotel would be like, and to be honest, wasn't expecting anything fantastic because we'd booked it last minute and got the holiday at a really cheap price.
The hotel could probably do with a coat of paint but, honestly, thats the only fault we could think of! The food was brilliant. My grandson, who's aged 8, obviously wanted the usual kiddy food, chips, mashed potato, pizza, chicken nuggets etc. My son is more into pasta type meals. My husband loves meat meals and is willing to try anything unusual and I am a vegetarian! We must be the family from hell to cater for but we were so impressed by the variety of food. No complaints what so ever.
We have stopped in many hotels in many countries. Some of them have been 5* and some of them 4*. We have enjoyed some and not others but I can honestly say that if you want a 4* type of holiday but only want to pay 3* prices go the the Dar Khayum! We will certainly be going back again and again.
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Vikki from Bradford travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2008 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location |  | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Me, my boyfriend and my son have just spent another 2 fantastic weeks at Dar Khayam. We love this place so much, it's hardly changed since last year, although there's 2 new members of the animation team Ibrahim and Simo who are both really good. Cant understand why people complain about this place, they must be miserable and dont know how to enjoy themselves. The rooms are quite basic but it's only a 3 star and who wants to spend all holiday in their room? The drinks are slightly watered down but not that much. The food is really nice and the chef who sings to you is so funny. They do different specialities at each meal. Our waiter was brilliant, he even took Conor to get a special Camel pancake from the chef one morning. They love kids so much there and everywhere you go people are really friendly and helpful. The pool bar staff will bring your drinks to you and mostly were really friendly and nice. The Animation team are the best ever, Midou (hello from my son Conor - Midou was fantastic with him and so kind, Conor loved him and the place wont be the same without him), Sam (he's amazing with the kids, so much patience), Nagui (who is so funny and made me do water aerobics every day, his Arabic lessons are a good laugh), Didi who's really funny spesh when dressed as a woman!, Ibrahim, Simo, Rio and Bobo. Kelly and Sheryl are both lovely and Conor followed them everywhere, he misses them lots. They all work so hard with hardly any time off at all, dont know how they do it. The shows are ace, they're so funny, me and Conor were in a couple of them. We'll miss doing the dances on stage every night and round the pool and also the games round the pool, mini disco and bingo! Camel Man's still there, the same as ever, and the camel trip's definitely worth going on. Beach is lovely, the weather was red hot and indoor pool is nice and warm. The water slides at the Omar Khayam are really good too, cant believe we didnt find them last year! Met some lovely people there and cant wait to go back again
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jan and rick from muswell hill london travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
sunset
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2008 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We arrived om 28th may, reception staff on arrival was very friendly, the area was spotless. Place looked lovely clean cool and fresh. We was all inclusive, and i was very surprised at the quailty of the food!! It was very impressive.
We stayed for 2 weeks and each day there was so much choices. You had everthing there for everyone. The main resturant opened at 6am, the snack bar which served all kinds of food again, opened up at 10am. Then all day you had food on the go. So what ever time you wanted something to eat, there was no problems. Food 10 out of 10!!
Pool area, clean which plenty of tables and sunbeds.
Enterainment was out of this wolrd!! The animation group started at 10am and went on until gone midnight, kids loved them. Evening was fun as well, each night was a different show.for adults and kids.
Right on the beach, with plenty of water sports, and all free!! sun beds free, but if you want the mattress , that was 2D a day or 10D a week.
That is the cheapest I found anywhere.
Location from the medina was only a taxi ride away, costing 5D which is only £2.50.
I can honestly say, that I could not fault this hotel, we have decided to go back next year, as we did do some of the trips, but there was a lot more to do.
All staff so helpful and freindly.
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Sadie Kemp from Penicuik travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Sunset Holidays
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 11 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel was very clean, apart from sometimes the toilets got a bit manky, but I think that was the fault of the guests not the staff.
The food was lovely although I would of liked more fruit on the menu but this was maybe due to the time of year we went.
The location was great for travelling to the two nearest towns although there was not alot near the hotel because it was winter the surrounding water parks etc were closed. We found that when you went to the more touristy areas such as medinas you had to be prepared to put up with alot of people saying 'come in my shop' or another favourite was 'how much for this in your country?' and 'I know you, I work in your hotel!' So be prepared!
Also be prepared to barter, dont allow yourself to be riped off as they will usually give a ridiculously high price first and expect to be knocked down. This happened alot in Nabeul and Hammamet, although there are fixed price shops ans supermarkets that give you an idea of prices. If you walk a little out of the touristy areas you can get food and drinks alot cheaper although prices are great anyway.
We got a bus to zaghouan,about 30KM west of Hammamet I would highly recommend a visit to this pretty village which has a beautiful roman ruin called the temple des eaux, a spring that used to provide water for carthage. There was none of the hastle you get in the more touristy areas.
The staff could not of been any better, all were helpful, friendly and curtious. The entertainment team were really good and provided activities throughout the day and evening. We even went out to a bar in the neighbouring town with them and they made sure that we got back safely to the hotel afterwards.
The entertainment was a little less than you would get in the summer but stil enough to prevent any of us from getting bored.
Highly recommend a visit to this hotel and to the beautiful country of Tunisia.
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Dale from Pickering travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 6 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This was our second visit to this Hotel and today I have booked for next year. The hotel is a three star, but good value for money. rooms are adequate with all facilities, we spent 1 hour late afternoon in the room, and sleeping, thats all we were in it. Rooms was kept clean, towels changed every day and sheets changed regularly.
The food in the restaurant is really good, with fresh dishes cooked every day in front of you by the chefs.Every morning there are boiled eggs and a choice of either omelette or scrambled or fried on alternate days, if you pile everything on your plate each day at every meal time the food will be samey, if you pick food as at home a different meal each time, the food is good.
Alcohol is limited on selection, although the lager with lemonade was quite nice, didnt really bother too much with that side of things.
Snack bar has improved this year, with food being served by waiters.
Pool and gardens, kept incredibly clean and tidy.
Flies........this makes me laugh, tell me anywhere you can go with no flies!! oh and guess what, we had a cockroach in our room, didnt know you got thoses in foreign countries, so instead of alerting the authorities, we got a glass and put him outside.......problem solved.
Staff were brilliant and helpful.
area around hotel is really nice, a few shops etc, yes you get hassled, but at least they give their service, how many times do you get ignored in shops in England.
Water slides were great fun, all bought rubber rings and had a great time, people complained about the life guards not watching the children.....isnt that what parents are supposed to do?
Beach is beautiful and sea really clean, weather was fantastic.
We did suffer with stomach upsets, however drinking nothing but water until it went, 24hrs, did the job, however people were being told to drink coke.which prolongs the runs, because of the sugar.
We reckon our dodgy stomachs were due to too much sun and not enough water as it was very hot. No ear aches at all and my daughter has a very sensitive ear.
One of the main downsides of the holiday were the amount of children allowed to run riot during the bingo and entertainment, its a family hotel, fine, but after the childrens mini disco, children should be removed from the stage, to let older children and adults enjoy the show, animation team have so much patience they should be given medals.
entertainment team are fantastic, spent a bit of time with them this year and they are all great and work so hard.
Market in Nabeul is worth a visit, pirate ship booked by the man in the hotel was so worth the money, brilliant, even saw dolphins, and the crew were such fun, did the camels again with latif, and paragliding with Imed all fab.
Ladies toilets sometimes were gross, these toilets were cleaned a few times a day, but the state that some people left them in was disgusting, I feel sorry for the staff, people should clean their own mess up.
Anyway, a good value holiday, nice food, the staff and tunisian people make the place, cant wait to go back.
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Debbie & Andrew from Monmouthshire travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: The food was very repetative, after us both having stomach upsets we stuck to soup, bread rolls and salad.One good thing is you are allocated a table in the restaurant and that is yours for your stay, but a bit close for comfort if you have somebody sitting next to you, there is no airconditioning in the restaurant. Breakfast- the juices taste like powdered sherbet with water, tea and coffee ok. Boiled eggs are always available, only somedays fried eggs, omelette or pancakes, doughnuts are supposed to be nice. The usual tomatoes, beans, sausages, etc. toast and croissants. Lunch was the same nearly every other day, there was a different dish at the frying station of meat. Boiled potatoes, different veg, and chips. Evening meal basically the same, their soups are ok though. We ate out twice in the restaurant opposite Royal Nozha that was nice food. Pool area was not washed down early enough in the morning. The maids do keep your room clean,the last two days pouring rain came under our room door and soaked along the one side of the bed. plenty of little ants in the room,and flies would always get in. The gardeners were covering the grounds with manure and it smelt terrible for a week. There were too many flies around the pool area so we always went to the beach. The hotel is on the beach and has a few shops 2min walk to the left and 20mins walk to the right which is a bit tidier. Hotel staff are ok didnt have much to do with them actually. We didnt see any of the entertainment - minidisco first then bingo at 9 ,then show at 10, can be a bit noisy we stayed in room 1345 and the sound seemed to carry when the show was at the outside stage, but who cares you're on holiday. We would not visit this hotel again ,it is definately cheap 3* ,families seem to enjoy it, but if you are use to 4* you do notice a difference ,we are sticking to 4* from now on. This holiday gave us the weather and we brought home a nice tan which was the main reason for going. Nothing really spoilt it for us but we would chose better accomodation in the future.
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Amiee from UK travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed at the Dar Khayam hotel for 2 weeks and it was BRILLIANT!
Our room got cleaned every morning,clean towels,clean bed sheets and everything.
The food was great loads of choices.
Our room included- 1 Bathroom with shower,2 single beds and a bunkbed,tv,wardrope(big),phone and a Balcony with a view of the sea.
It was all Inclusive. Staff were really friendly and helpfull.
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Pat from Yorkshire travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Cosmos
on a 18-30s holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: We were looking forward to our first holiday together and I have to say it was a disaster!!!
The accomodation has to be the worst I have stayed in.
We were dumped at the hotel only to find that we were a long way away from the main complex and in actual fact next to the pool of the sister hotel (this did have the advantage of being quiet though but we couldn't get our "all inclusive" drinks here. It wasn't cleaned properly and after 5 days I had to find the housekeeper to complain.I have never stayed in a room so basic.
Ear infections were common so we spent 3 days at the doctors!
The evening entertainment was awful and although the kids enjoyed their disco obviously they only have one record as we knew exactly what tune came next.(therees only so much of that you can take!) I suppose the team did what they could with limited resources.
Other guests complained of ants in the room, luckily we didn't have them.
We were both bored as this hotel is definatly geared up for noisy family holidays and not couples who want to relax. The only thing missing were the "Red Coats" and Hi De Hi !!!
We will definatly not be visiting this hotel again.
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mags from stoke on trent travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
sunset
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: we enjoed this holiday very much
rooms were a great size for 2ad and 1ch enough storage for us. Cleanliness of the room was ok they did the basics and it is only a 3* beds were done with pretty flowers and fancy folding which our 10 yr appreciated. I would have prefered them to sweep and mop the floor but it was fine.
The food I thought was just about adequate but hubby and daughter thought was better. I'm a kitchen manager and can't help but ask if I can look in the kitchens, which they let me do without any qualms, they were very well managed and vey clean ( I don't think that they expected me to open all fridges, freezers and cupboards to look. but didn't mind )
Staff ranged from good to excellent a couple of them really went out of their way to make it special. Day time bar staff were fantastic so were reception staff, who were very helpful.
Day time entertainments were great lots of things to join in if you wish but they would leave you alone if you said 'no'
The biggest thumbs up has to go to Princess Ali the kids club rep who somehow got our 10 yr old ( oh my god I'm not a baby !!) to join in and have the best holiday of her life.
Hence, even though it's basic ( and very cheap!) we've booked to go back next year.
A happy child makes for happy parents
All in all a fantastic family holiday
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gavin from hailsham travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
sunset/thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: We have just returned from this hotel having spent 2 excellant weeks here.
Hotel very clean,maids came evry day
The food was good but veggies will struggle.Breakfasts were ok, the fresh doughnuts were great.Lunch and evening meals ok but in a 2 week stay may get a bit boring.There are a few resturants near by, Les Terrace a good French one opposite the aqua park and quite cheap 106 dinar(£42) for 4 3 coarse meals.
Location not bad, shops and resturants nearby
Staff were good, the animation team were excellant trying thier hardest to make sure everybody had a good time.Entertainment at nights not to bad some variety only so much of mini disco you can take.
I recommend the quad bike and camel trips with Quad man and Camel man, the Arabian feast at night is good
paracending and jet skis well worth ago.
We as a family really enjoyed ourselves and would possibly return at some stage
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Donna from Rugeley Staffs travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: After reading all the reviews on here i was very optismisitc going to this hotel.
Many people say the food is limited. This is not true. Althought some of the food is repeated there is always something different to try. There is lots of choices if potatoes etc Mashed, chips, roasted and fried and there is beef, chicken, fish and pork. There are also a choice of salad, watermelon, melon, apples, peaches a great choice of cakes and ice cream and that's just in the day. In the morning there is cereal, toast, ommlette, pancakes, doughnuts, bread and a choice of toppings. There is also and out door bar serving all kinds of food like pizza and kebebs during the day. As for drinks there is a wide variety of alcoholic drinks as well as tea, coffee, fizzy water, coke, fanta, bottled water, boga (lemonade) strawberry juice, apple juice and lemon juice.
must say the Entertainment team are simply the best. They worked hard all week during our stay to make sure we were enjoying ourselves. As well as the shows they put on every night such as the mini disco for the children, the childrens cabaret and the wide selection of sketches and west end productions they also entertain you during the day with belly dancing, water polo, football, games galore, basketball, vollyball and much more. Well done Kelly, Lisa, Deborah, Sam, And Didi Miduo, Hassen, kimo, mimi, sam and naghui. (Entertainment Team).
The pools are great there are two in the Dar Khayam and if you walk about 200 metres to the omar kahaym there are two more and a great selection of water slides as well all for free, but if you want a dink you have to buy it here, we used to have a drink then walk over for an hour and go back.
Now for the bad things alot of ear infections going around and Bad bellies, so i suggest you take some meds with you just incase.
Bingo is like playing the Eurovision song contest they only do it for 1 line but take ages its in about 6 languages. (does get kinda boring)
If you want a sunbed by the pool with shade you have to get up at 6am to ensure you get one. this did kind of annoy us. Also dont just go reserve a bed you have to stay with it, because the cleaners move them all back when they clean at 7.30ish.
On the whole we had a great holiday, Tunisia was great and its very hot, it was 40s-50s every day. (take sun lotion with you very expensive there). I would go back to this hotel again.
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Priya from Essex travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a couples holiday.
There were 3 adults and more than 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Omg i loved Dar khayam hotel! in my experience its the best place i've visited! I cried when i came back home because i wanted to go back so badly! i felt so bored when i came back!
Well, i'll start off with the animation team. I thought they were great and done some fab dancin.I sort of had a crush on 1 of the dancers called Kimo. And everyone knew including the waiters and KIMO! it was dead embarrassin! i thought they worked really hard making up plays and dancin and i enjoyed it all! other people that i liked were Mimi,Didi and Gaston. I didnt really like Kelly, she seemed a bit rude but all of them were great at their job.
Now, i'll talk about the waiters. They were jokes! i think without them my holiday would be soooo borin! they were really nice but they could flirt a lot. Soo many say to you i love you and i really like you! they even ask you to go to the beach party with them or have coffee. But it was funny because they were scared of the chief so they had to be careful. But they did make my holiday even more exciting as we used to tease them and joke about with them alot!
At first the food was pretty good and it wasnt all just tunisian food. But i only got bored with the food as they made the same thing everyday but they had a different speciality each day. However i really miss their food now and i regret complainin!
I always looked forward to night time as the animation team done the mini dosco at first then a group dance. After that they done bingo and then either performed dances or done comedy shows. After they finshed there was another group dance and then just music which people could dance to. I loved getting involved in the group dance it was good fun. And the music that came on after was good too and i loved it when i got to dance with kimo!! at daytime they done aqua aerobics n belly dancin and other kids games. i didnt get invovled in that but im sure it was great fun too.
our hotel room wasnt too bad. we got clean towels and toilet rolls everyday and new blankets. the cleaners were really nice and friendly to talk to.
overall i'd love to visit this hotel but within the end of this year (there's more chance of kimo being there, he's only there for 3 months!!)
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Paul from Essex travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Sunset / Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel is rated as a three star hotel and it is exactly that - nothing more and nothing less.
Cleanliness:
Maybe things have changed since some of the earlier reports but we didn't have any problems. Our rooms were cleaned every day, new towels, clean sheets, plenty of loo rolls and a quick sweep around. The maid even left flowers on the pillows some days.
Every morning the pool area was hosed down and swept and always looked tidy at the start of the day. The staff were constantly collecting empty cups and plates throughout the day, so it was never untidy. Of course, some people just leave their empties lying around and when the wind picks up they got blown about.
Some other reviews taked about ants in the room. The only time we had a problem was when a drink was spilled and we must have missed a bit when cleaning it up. When we came back at night there were loads of ants. But once we mopped up the rest the problem was gone.
Hotel Food:
I would describe the food as typical all-inclusive food. It's never going to win any awards but we always found something to eat that we liked. There was always chicken and at least one other type of meat. Rice and chips were always available. Ali the chef always had a special that was usually pretty good - grilled chicken, grilled fish, chicken curry, a chili dish, cous-cous etc. The poolside snack bar did a great chicken kebab type sandwich every lunch time but I din't try this until the last few days - shame as they were really good.
Drinks:
Again, typical all inclusive. All drinks are served in hard plastic cups/beakers. Some people moaned about this but I think it's the right thing to do as the bar is next to the pool. At least there was no danger of seeing kids slice their feet open on broken glass. And if you think the drinks are too small - ask for two, the staff never say no. The beer was good and the gin and tonic tasted good to me. Some people moaned it was not good but if you want Gordon's Gin or Fosters then don't go on a 3 star all inclusive holiday.
Location:
I suppose it depends what you're looking for, but for a family I thought the location was brilliant. You are right on the beach, so you can switch between the pool and the beach to suit your mood. We had quite a few windy days when we were there, so we didn't sit on the beach then. But when the wind died down the beach was great. Plenty of beds and umbrellas on the beach and all free of charge (you pay for a padded matress if you want - 60p per day). The gardens between the main hotel and the beach were very nice and just gave the hotel a nice feel. Showers are right next to the beach, so it is easy to get rid of the sand. Beach hut on the beach that has free soft drinks. The kayaks and pedalos are included in the all-inclusive deal which was great - we used them loads of times.
The pool could get a bit busy. If you wanted an umbrella then you needed to reserve your sun beds by 7.30. But if you weren't bothered about an umbrella then there were always beds available. We never had a problem finding somewhere to sit or lay down.
The sister hotel next door has a pool with about 6 water slides and you can use it as well as the main hotel pool. This is good but there is no all-inclusive bar there. But if you have younger kids they'll love it.
The hotel is a long way out of the main town - but there are shops and restaurants nearby. The kids went to the bowling alley with new friends and said it was great.
Hammamet is a long way from the airport and this hotel is at the end of the drop off run. Transfer from the airport was 1 hour 50. The coach back to the airport took 2 hours 15.
Hotel Staff:
They were really good. We wanted to change rooms so that we could have rooms next to each other. We had to ask twice, but they moved us with no arguments. We ended up with two rooms right on the beach - great views but a bit noisy at night.
Our waiter was really nice. Always willing to have a chat and tell you what was going on with the other guests! Bar staff were efficient if not always the most friendly (maybe I din't tip them enough?!) but the amount of drinks they had to serve they didn't get much chance to chat with you. The porter was very friendly and helpful and always said hello and had a chat.
You will meet Latif the Camel Man! Whilst he is not hotel staff he is always there trying to sign people up for his camel rides. Resistance is futile - he will get you to go on the trip, so just say yes! To be honest it is a great trip and great value for money. He is a real character and is always joking with the guests. He even climbed the tallest palm tree for an £80 bet. He's definitely part of the Dar Khayam experience!
Entertainment:
The animation team are what make the difference in this hotel. Most of them work so hard and really try to make sure you enjoy yourself. Gaston and Didi stood out for us but for the younger kids Sam just worked so hard and was always smiling. If you make the effort to join in the games (mid-morning boules is a great way to spend an hour in the sun having a laugh) then they make more of an effort to chat to you and involve you. The "it's a knockout" game they organised was great fun and everyone around the pool either took part or cheered along.
The evening entertainment wasn't brillinat - usual format. Kid's disco, bingo followed by a show. They had a few good dancers but no singers. The comedy show was good fun. But we met some nice people and you make your own entertainment.
Noise:
The biggest drawback for us was the noise. Rooms overlooking the beach (we were 20 meters from the beach) look great BUT are noisy. The beach bar usually went on til about 1.30 or 2am and it plays really loud thumping music. So take some ear plugs.
At 6am people start getting up and the inside of the hotel is like an echo chamber. So a family going downstairs having a conversation (some nationalities can't help shouting!) can seem really loud when you're trying to sleep.
Having said that, it didn't spoil the holiday for us. By the end of the second week we were all so tired we could sleep through anything!
So long as you're happy to get a three star hotel and holiday for the money you paid you'll have a great time here. If you want top notch food and five star facilities then you will have to look elsewhere.
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Rachel from Liverpool travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Well...where to begin!! I'll start with the staff who were (mostly) very helpful & friendly!!
The catering and table staff were always willing to help or get stuff for us.
The entertainment staff were quite friendly too.... especially sam who seemed to enjoy the 'gown-up' football games on the beach after the kids had played.
First choice reps: 'naked' sharon in hotel (ask her...see what she says), 'princess' ali, and our trip rep Debbie were all VERY friendly and helpful, theyre all lovely women and Debbie actually speaks the language too.
The beach is gorgeous and only about 2 mins from the hotel block which was great we didn't bother with the pool as there were too many kids so just hit the beach instead!
Also we didn't realise quite how far away from the town centre i was until we were getting dropped off!
On the downside though, the room was AWFUL!! We had ants in our room and I had to complain to reception 4 times!! and in the end they just gave ME the insecticide and told me to do it myself!!
This was my 2nd visit to Hammamet and although I loved the trips and the place I will NOT be visiting this hotel again unless they clean up their act!!
| | |
scouse from burnley travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: first visited in 2004 fantastic time 2007 second visit absolutly awful hotel room dirty, no daily clean towels or toilet roll no water to shower hotel its self dirt in certain areas smelt of cats bitten by a flee in a corridor, thomas cook reps did not chat once to me some of the staff we had known from our first visit it was nice to see them but the rest wasnt so friendly quite arrogant, restraunt plates dirty flies all over the food no attempt was made 2 keep it covered (bad belly time for every one but no toilet paper)food was borin dull bland horrible yuk,the table staff you would find them hide behind a post drinking beer the beer and spirits them selfs where watered down the first week of the holiday underage children where getting drunk and being sick everywhere hotel had gave the same coloured wrist bands 2 children and adults big mistake police where called in ,watch out for the beach bar doulbled the prices the animation team my god they where to bad to be true they the show area most nights they where really bad ,but sam nigui amd mimi where very nice people mimi was picke on by the other to girls in the animation team kelly and debbie, didi was ok by found walkin past us 1 night holding hands with walid witch was ok no probs i would not recommemd this hotel to any body sorry in my opion the hotel has gone down in standards witch is a shame ps where ever you are bob,coco,nino,mario and the rest of the guys this hotel needs you
| | |
roinson from northeast travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
thomascook
on a singles holiday.
There were 6 adults and more than 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: we were a party of 18 from 12 upwards , ILL was not the words (not only OUR only family was ill ) OR broken legs arms ,food was the same day in day out mash chips 14 days&night , if you have kids under 8 kids club is ok for 1 hour a night .
water polo played 3 times a day ,(men) they love to dress as women .beach club doubled the price of the drinks the 2nd week we were there
cleaners were great very nice
drink is made out of figs so you will go to the loo lots if you are going to tunisia go to jamisin
taxis are like the big dipper, red lights mean the same as green GO
| | |
Martin from Hartlepool travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a friends holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotels food was not up to much as it seemed to be the same meals day in day out.
The hotel was not very clean even though the cleaners did their job properly but there were mice running around in the bedrooms.
The location is great if you are one who likes to shop as their are many shops around.
The hotel staff where not up to much as they mainly only cared how much work they had to do and were quite bigheaded.
The entertainment was ruined night in night out by two of the animation team. Mimi was a grat member of the animation team and had no problem intergrateing with the guests.
I would not visit the hotel again as there is not alot of entertainment on offer through the day unless you are a small child and the entertainment on the night is only good sometimes.
| | |
Flintoft from Guisborough England travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a friends holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We were in a party of 10 adults. We had a lovely relaxing holiday. The hotel was quite basic, but the rooms were cleaned daily and the food was of a very good standard. We all agreed that we wood certainly return again to this good value hotel.
| | |
dorli2712 from Vienna travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Friends
on a singles holiday.
There were 3 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: It was my second stay at this hotel and i will visit it in August again! I'm really looking forward to it!
The food was fantastic and the rooms too! The waiters were also very nice and were always looking that everything is ok!
There are some new animation team members: Jimmy, Zizu, and Walid and the old: Nagui, Didi, Midou and Deborah
they are all fantastic and I miss them!
Last but not least tommy! He is a very nice man!!
I´m looking forward to see all of them again! :-)
See you in August!
| | |
Paul from Sutton travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas cook
on a couples holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I had read the reviews before we left and as always, there was a mixed bag, but the general consensus was that the food was poor but the entertainment team and staff were good. I totally agree with the comments about the staff and the entertainment team, they are great fun and very obliging, and in the main all the Tunisians we encountered were friendly and happy people. The "looky,looky" guys can get a little tiresome but with a firm "no thank you", left us alone and smiled once they realised we weren't in the market for a carpet or a toy camel.
The food was ok and certainly better than we expected after reading the reviews, you just have to adapt to their perception of meals. For example breakfast was the usual mix of toast, cereal, yogurt and doughnuts, but don't be surprised if u find salads and cold cous cous as well. If you are looking for a full English, you'll be disappointed, but we enjoyed most of our meals, it can get a bit "samey", but tell me an all-inclusive that doesn't. I must say if you are lucky enough to get Mahmoud as your waiter, every meal will be a pleasant experience.
The alcoholic drinks were awful, the glasses smelt of pastiche (aniseed), the beer was so watered down that you'd need at least 10 glasses to feel any effect at all, and the spirits are also extremely weak. They ran out of vodka, whiskey, gin and rum, on 3 occasions at 9p.m. a full 3 hours before the bar shut, and if you feel like a brandy/coffee night cap, forget it there was never any brandy. We also didn't like the fact that if you wanted to pay for a decent wine or spirit they didn't have any alternative to the local brews.
Our rooms were basic but pleasant enough (try and get the cottages if you can, they are less noisy at night), but if, like us you have a room that gets no sun during the day they get a little damp, and even our clothes started to get that musky damp smell after being in the wardrobe for a week. The biggest gripe was that they changed the towels every day, which is good thing, but they take them at 9 a.m. but don't return with clean ones until 4p.m. so if you fancy showering off the beach in the afternoon there is no towels.
Also can we suggest you carry some tissues or toilet roll into the bar/lounge in the evening, because every evening the toilets ran out of toilet tissue and when you complained the reception looked at you as if you were an alien.
All in all these small but niggly things made this holiday one of the worst winter breaks we have had.
Finally if you fancy a 5 minute walk and enjoy a game or two of 10 pin bowling there is a small place (6 lanes) down the road that is spot on, we had 2 bottles of good wine, 4 pints of Stella and 2 games (4 people) for 100 Dinah (approx £45),the music is good and the friendly and fun-loving staff make this a good night out, also there is an a.t.m. next door if you need one.
Paul
| | |
May from Liverpool travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
My Travel
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 02 2007 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel was only about a quarter full. The food was the usual all inclusive very greasy and mostly the same stews etc every day, the deserts were great though. Nearly every night the bar run out of some drink or other mostly diet coke, which was all I could drink as I am diabetic god knows what it would be like if the hotel was full. While we were there someone went over to reception and complained bitterly about them running out of whisky every night and guess what a bottle appeared.
The entertainment was awful all they wanted was your money to play bingo. They did put a film on some nights but turned it off halfway through to play bingo but after we complained bitterly they eventually put the film back on. The facilities mentioned on the beach pedalows etc did not exist I know it was February but the weather was lovely.
The indoor pool was really warm but there are no changing rooms so you have to try and get dried around the pool with everyone watching or walk through the hotel wet.
The maids took the towels each day at 9am but didn't return them until the afternoon but they never brushed the floor once in the 2 weeks we were there.
The rep we had was useless she was only going to be there for 8 weeks and was more interested in how many boyfriends she could get, she knew nothing about Tunisia and told us she was only there to get a tan before she went of to work in Spain. When we asked about the bus she said what bus, but if you walk out of the front gate straight ahead to the main road there is a bus stop there going to Hammamet or in the other direction Nebul, the bus fare is coppers. We went to Tunis for the day on the bus and it only cost us about £1.50 return.
We enjoyed our holiday because of the company we got in with no thanks to the hotel, and definitely no thanks to the rep.
| | |
Robyn from Wolverhampton travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
co op travel
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This hotel was brilliant, loved every minute of it! Fell in love with the people and the surroundings! Couldn't of asked for a better holiday!
Entertainment team were out of this world, something for everyone! DIDI was amazing! Don't be fooled, they are the same with every girl! Blondes especially! Loved them all... didi gaston sam titi nagi and midu! x
Quad biking is a no no, me and my sister both came off and injured ourselves, the men didn't know what to do and were more worried about the bikes than the fact me sister broke her arm!
| | |
Hannah from North Yorkshire travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Sunset
on a family holiday.
There were 6 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Me and my family stayed at Dar Khayam for two weeks and loved it-we have booked to go back next October.
The hotel was basic, but nice, always clean and the staff are so friendly, so if there is a problem wiht something, they are always willing to help.
The food was really nice and there is plenty of choice if you're fussy.
The hotel is near a few shops. The owners are really nice- a bit pushy, but if you say no, they get the hint!
Me and my step sister (18&16) were warned about the men in Tunisia. They are known for being quite pushy and forward. Well, they are quite full on, but not scarey, again, tell them no and they will get the hint!
ENTERTAINMENT- This made the holiday! They are all so nice and me and my step sister got to know Midou and Didi really well!
| | |
aimee from north yorkshire travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
sunset
on a family holiday.
There were 6 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel cleanliness, the hotel was very clean and tidy no problems with that, the maids work very hard and are very friendly we left her a tip as they work very hard for little money.
Hotel food, food was really nice plenty of choice and all very nice I liked all the food and am a very fussy eater!.
Hotel location, hotel on the beach, beach really clean and sandy(no stones)watersports great Imed and Amir (2 who worked with the watersports) very nice plenty of shops really good.
Hotel staff, really polite and helpful waiters constantly collecting empty glasses. waiters really friendly got to konw one really well and am still in contact with him now!!!
Entertainment, entertainment on a night was the best part of the day for me and my sister, really funny and they work so hard but they do a really good job and are amazing dancers especially gaston who is really nice!
Me and my sister got on with a few in particular who we really miss as we got on better than anyone being similar ages to them(16&18) but we are also in contact with them and have already booked to go back next year.
Well done Gaston,Didi,Midou,titi,nagui,sam,rio,tommy,deborah and the guy who does the lighting.
well done we were definitley entertained!!!
overall we loved it,it was an amazing holiday for all ages the best weve ever had and we cant wait to return in 2007.
also we would recomend buying the animation CD only 14d so thats about £6, really good CD to remember Tunisia by!!!!.
| | |
Nadine from Yorkshire travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Sunset
on a family holiday.
There were 6 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Flights fine and transfer smooth. On arrival rooms allocated as requested and bottles of water given. First impressions, really nice. Rooms are basic, but even with a set of bunkbeds in, were spacious enough, apart from sleeping we were hardley in them. Word of advice, put anything valuble away, they had a safe but forgot to put their little girls purse in when they went on the Saharah trip, sixty pounds was taken. We had no problems though, I left all sorts lying around, maid was lovely, room clean and beds decorated with flowers. left a tip at the end.
Restaurant was nice, clean and waiter was efficient (left a tip) food was plentiful, if you can't find something you like, you must be really fussy. Dishes cooked fresh in front of you each breakfast, lunch and evening meal. Veal stew..very nice, I don't eat chips, but they do have them. No complaints.
Snack bar....lots of flies as mentioned..but what do you expect outside? bars fine, Vodka etc, very weak. Red wine nice, Pastis certainly not watered down, quite strong.
Entertainment team work very hard, and make you laugh, they never stop, well done lads. Fantastic dancers.
Beach really lovely, weather fantastic.
Great holiday. We paid £500 per adult and felt it was value for money, booked already to go back next year, would highly recommend to anyone, wanting a cheap holiday in lovely surroundings and really lovely people. Did the camel ride with Latif, very good value, will do it again, Sahara trip and Arabian feast, also a trip to Yasmine Hammamet, which I enjoyed the Medina, but glad I was not staying in that area, very false, no tradition.
Had a massage at the hotel by Hashem, very good, if surroundings and organisation not a little bit strange, well worth the money though.
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kimberley lyman from goldthorpe travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
thompsons
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and more than 6 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel was spot on very clean staff was polite and helpful.
Food was fine just a bit repetetive.
Entertainment was fantastic for kids.
Just the location there is nothing close you need a taxi to go anywhere. You are 2 minutes away from the beach.
| | |
Janet from Motherwell travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
thomas cook
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This hotel is a 3* hotel but I would say more like 2*. The hotel is about 20 yrs old and looks it every thing is old and shabby looking, gardens are over grown it's that bad you can't look over the balcony in the room for over grown bushes and that is on the second floor!
Rooms were not cleaned very well, towels were put over balcony to dry and hung back up in toilet to use again.
Food was the same every meal time, drinks were in plastic cups, so think twice about going here I won't be back.
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tracey from warrington travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel was very clean, the cleaners came and made the beds and a quick clean daily, but the floors where never sweep at all while we were there 2 weeks.
Thought the food was terrible, my husband lost a stone as he only ate approx 3 times in the restaurant. We ate out most of the time.
The staff were good kept the kids entertained.
Location was a long way from the resort of Hamamett, nearby was some shops all selling the same stuff ,but it wasn't pleasent trying to shop as you couldn't look in peace to much hassle.
Some of the staff were over friendly with the young girls. You have to be careful also as some of the children were given the orange wristband which is for adults and they were being served alcohol.
Would not visit this hotel again or Tunisia
| | |
doris from vienna travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
its
on a singles holiday.
There were 6 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I stayed in Dar Khayam in August! and I loved it soo much!
The hotel was clean and our cleaning lady very nice and very helpful when we needed something!
Some say that the food is repetentive but I liked it and the buffet was so extensive that I found every time something new I liked to taste....
So now I had to enthuse about the animation team! they are fantastic! they had a very hard job and don't earn much mony! but they are always friendly and helful! The team really made our holiday and was always up for a laugh.
A special thanks to Didi, who make my holidays unforgettable!
See you next year.
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Laura from Cambridgeshire travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 6 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel was very clean and tidy and the rooms were made up very well everyday. There was a lot of chice of food each day but it did get quite repetitive and even the waiter told me he hated the food there! The hotel is right on the beach which is lovely and has shops and cafes right next door. The staff were absolutley amazing and the entertainement was great. Made a great friendship with Titi-one of the Animation team and have spoken to him regularly since returning home.He was great fun along with the rest of the team who all make you feel very welcome. Some of the waiters were a bit TOO friendly with me and my friend (both 18 yr old girls) but once told no, they backed off abit which was much better. Me and my friend are already planning to go back after christmas so that tells you that it was pretty good!
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Jooles from Brighton travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Sunset
on a family holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel was very clean through out and the maids were very helpful. Waiters constantly collecting empty cups, ashtrays etc.
Well this is the one thing that lets the hotel down, veal or beef stew was served up every lunch and diner time. Although there was also a pasta dish, salad, soup and chicken most days after a week the same old choice got very repeative. But there was no need to go hungry plenty of everything and you could also eat at the poolside snack bar.
The hotel is set just back from the beach, the grounds lead right on to it. It will cost you about £3.00 to get a taxi to Nabeul or Hammamet. Just outside there is a selection of shops and a choice of restuarants and a small bowling alley - this was good fun.
All the staff were excellent (including our rep Mark)and would do anything they could to help.
Entertainment team work really hard, but its not my cup of tea, saying that the children really enjoyed it and took part in a number of shows and the games during the day. A special thank you to Sam the children's entertainer he was a star. Did not use the Thomas Cook kids club.
Went out for a couple of meals which were very good value at under £10 a head. Went on the horses/camels with Latfi and enjoyed the pirate boat trip. Take your own teabags and I did find the white wine undrinkable.Yes I would return its very good value for money.
| | |
ah from durham travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
tc
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Not any good too far from the town centre and no personal service
| | |
Nick K from Crawley travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Sunset
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Bedrooms were basic but clean. Generally the Hotel and grounds were well kept.
The food was OK considering the hotel had to cater for many nationalities. Stores of food were quickly replaced.
Pool was small but as Hotel on beach was not too crowded.
Beach activities were very good with free pedaloes / kiakacs and small cost for motorised watersports.
Staff and entertainment were fantastic. Always willing to help and were very enthusiastic, especially with the Kids who had a great time.
| | |
Chloe and Jo from Birmingham travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We loved every minute of this holiday.
The hotel was clean the food was nice always with plenty of choice.
The beach was great with lots of water sports all at a low price if not free.
Entertainment staff were outstanding. Sam the children's entertainer was so lovely my son cried when he had to leave him behind. They all kept us entertained day and night.
| | |
michelle from dalkeith travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 5 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We went on a family holiday to this hotel - it was great. The food did get a bit boring but the hotel staff entertainment made up for that. All the kids were crying when we left they all wanted to stay - me too..lol
we are all toing back this year in Oct for 2 weeks - we can't wait.
| | |
justjay & family from Down south travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas cook
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Booked this hotel on the ok of a friend of ours who visited in May, and we we're in no way disappointed, especially as friend went out of season and we went 1st week of kids summer holiday, but still no complaints what so ever!!!
Board... ok we went AI, and from someone who only has to drink water in a different town to get a dodgy belly this has got to be the 1st time ever I have not had a bad belly whilst on holiday, was I careful? No not really, ate what everyone else was eating we are in Tunisia after all, or what I thought looked ok, what was pretty much the lot. Only made brekkie the once not so impressed with that and yes lunch and dinner on AI are the same but if you eat around the pool for lunch problem solved! Drink... seen this here a lot, yes they are served in small plastic glasses, enough for a shot and mixer but heard a lot of people moaning it ain't like a pint! with the heat out there a pint would be warm before it was finished..Also now and then the sea breeze blows up and whilst we we're there I saw many Glasses(plastic) hit the deck, thank heavens for plastic is all I can say, don't want to spend my holiday in Hospital or looking for a DR!!!
Basically You can't got far wrong for the money here AI, you ain't going to hungry unless your the fussiest person going....
Hotel Cleanliness... WOW... Where we we're in the bungalow's they we're top, I did hear people complaining, but I can not at all, they were even cleaning the walkways at 6am !!!
Location... Fine for what we wanted as we wanted nothing, but there is nothing local... at all!!!
If you wan't to be in it, don't book here, but if your looking for a no hassle weeks chill out and you ain't worried about leaving your hotel for you £ you won't go far wrong.
Staff...Brilliant attentive, caring, friendly, seen lots of posts saying differently but we had no probs, maybe something to do with tipping? who know's. My look on tipping is (from someone who know's what tipping means to tipping reliant trades) 'To Insure Proper Service' 'TIPS' wish people would remember this! So Tip well and early into your holiday, not at the end, it's always worked for me, how's someone who's been waiting on you all week meant to know if your going to give them tip wise, don't tip no more then normally do maybe play it 1/2 and 1/2 this way they just get to see something up front!!!I think It's fair..
Entertainment.. Just want to 1st say seen on different sites about the music playing for hours and you can hear it bla bla..., it's actually from the the hotel next door least it was when we we're there, and it really was not that bad every night for 7 days I planned to see/hear what time it finished so I could report back and I was asleep before it ended ... so no it's not that bad a kinda of disco lullaby!!!
*S*A*M* I know we are not meant to mention name's but wow, what a guy in charge of the kid's and kids entertainment, this guy deserves a knighthood, he spends 10 hours a day looking after everyones kids, no worries here he's a gem really. Our 10 yr old even took part in he's day time stuff and the evening show...
Would I go again...Oh yeah, even though it's a long transfer and there ain't nothing local it don't matter.
If you've booked and your worried don't! If your thinking about booking do it! And if you didn't like it maybe try Blackpool next summer!
| | |
J.A. GRAHAM from FARNHAM travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
SUNSET
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The Dar Khayam hotel is a clean and simple three star hotel.
Rooms are basic and bathrooms sizes very small. Food is the biggest problem in this hotel, repetitive menus, stews, chicken with a million bones, potatoes, veg's etc etc always the same.... in short, very poor and boring.
Swimming pool is like any oversize bath and not really big enough for numbers of guests whilst a multi-language warning about placing towels on sun-loungers to reserve them, stating towels would be removed.
It was still a case of to beat others, to get an umbrella poolside, one has to get up in the middle of the night.
Be aware of the beach disco most evenings until approx 0230 hrs, and the thump thump of heavy beat/bass music rattling through your pillow...
Entertainment crew are all men ? Except the belly dancer... whose major efforts are to sell you bingo tickets or DVDs, Cd's.
As for entertainment, its the same routine day in, day out. Indeed monkeys could be trained to do better.
overall, the hotel is a flop... be warned..
| | |
Megan from Cumbria travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
cant remember
on a friends holiday.
There were 1 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Before I went on this holiday I really didnt want to go. It turned out to be the BEST holiday ever. I went with my mum and my mate and stayed there for 2 weeks.
The rooms were really clean and so was the rest of the hotel, which was really nice and had loads of fit lads in. It was about 20 minutes in a taxi to all the nightlife and if u go there youve gta go 2 latinos its brilliant. I am only 16 but even I thought the food was good even though you got the same all the time.
For the people who didnt like this hotel I think they should take that stick out of there bum and get real.
It is hard to get drunk but there loads of alcohol to choose from so its not bad.
The beach was absoluteli gorjuss. We went paragliding which was good and many other things.
The best part of the holiday was the animation team and the Ihmed. They all work like 24/7 and make you laugh. The best group of boys you can ever meet. So did I, Gaston, Midou, Hassan, Shaggi, Nagui, Titi and all the others if you are reading this im coming back next year :D... x
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T Roy from Portland travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: A Lovely hotel all be it rooms are rather small but served the purpose of a bed for the night. Very clean cannot fault them on that. Food was good and certainly something for everyone and my family are fussy. Maybe too many bones in the chicken stews etc but all in all great quality and plenty of it. Entertainers were very funny and the kids loved them all, they certainly made you welcome.
Will certainly be back. One of the best holidays we have had. Be warned though if you like tea or coffee when you wake up take a travel kettle with you that is the only thing I missed.
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Sam from Hammamet travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas Good
on a friends holiday.
There were 6 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: *Edit review removed as this was posted from resort. To ensure that our reviews are unbiased we do not allow posts from the country where the accommodation is situated. If you are on holiday then please resubmit your review on your return.*
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Beard family from Gloucester travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: Fell in love with the country and the people, if you have any doubts about going here, get rid of them! The hotel is lovely and at first impression on entering i was impressed, spacious and bright with marble flooring. The room? yes it was basic but most importantly it was clean, very clean because believe me i checked for dust etc and there was none. Beds, wardrobes, bathroom with good shower, what more do you need? good thick heavy curtains, air conditioning that works well, why people have compained is beyond me. Any problems are dealt with very quickly, when we arrived we found a crack in the glass of the balcony door, it was fixed imediately. Also we had a problem with our loo, again it was fixed immediately, we were then offered a courtesy room on the day of our departure because we had had a couple of problems. We were due to leave hotel at 6pm, we had a room until we left and could also use all facilities including having meals etc right up until we left. Other all inclusive places i have been this had not been the case, often, even if you are not leaving till the evening we have had to stop using all facilities by 10am on day of departure, this was not the case at Dar Kayham.
The food is lovely but the only downside is that yes, it can get a little repetitive but trust me, you won't starve! The deserts and cakes are amazing, ice cream always available including sorbets which were very refreshing, the waiters are attentive and polite, table cloths always clean and on our last evening we were delighted to find a candle and fresh flowers waiting for us at dinner.
The entertainment staff, truly an inspiration, boundless energy, always a smile with a genuine love for kids. They work hard week in week out and they really do make this hotel and your holiday what it is, non stop fun if you want it, relaxing if you prefer. Plenty of fun and frolics on offer but no hassle if you say no and just wanna chill out.
Tunisia as a country and its people are great, there are the odd few pushy shop sellers but with a little confidence on your part they can be dealt with by using a firm 'no'. Majority however are genuinly friendly and just trying to make a living and feed their family, this is overall a very poor country.
The hotel and beach setting is idylic, plam trees, lovely gardens that lead to white sandy beach and sparkiling blue sea. Hotel has private beach area and sea is safe for kids with netting few hundred yards out to prevent anything nasty getting up to the bathing area. Water sports good prices and when my boys who are 13, went out to do paragliding and jet skiing they were accompanied both times by an instructor so i felt that safety was being overseen and was pleased they were not just left to do these things unaided. Pedaloes, kayaks and catamarans (again with instructor) were free as part of the all inclusive package. Water aerobics was on every day at the hotel plus normal aerobics and there is a lovely fully equipped gym which is also free for guests on all inclusive.
Made friends with a lot of the other guests, everyone is just so relaxed and friendly and its great. We didn't have very good weather when we were there, it was ok but could have been better so we are looking out for a late deal later in the year and hope to go back very very soon. I didn't want to leave!
Final word goes to the reps, Sue and Mark. Last time we went with Thomas Cook we thought the rep was rubbish, these guys restored our faith and more besides. They are professional, approachable, friendly and always available every day at the hotel, they take the time to chat with you and will do anything they can to help make your stay a good one. So if you are reading this you guys "hiya from the Beards and Burnistons in room 1109 and 1108, we hope to see you later in the season!"
I know i have written a lot but i felt so strongly about needing to do so beacuse i almost cancelled this holiday after the bad reviews i had read from previous guests. I know we are all different and have our own opinions but i truly feel that many of the bad comments are not justified, maybe they were at the time but not now. Go to this hotel and you will love it as much as we did, honestly!
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mick jones from wolverhampton travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
thomas cook
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: Dar Khyam in Hammamet - Tunisia.
We found the hotel to be spotlessly clean and maintained cleanliness throughout our stay.
There was nothing wrong with the quality of the food however after 2 weeks we were becoming fed up of it unlike Luke (aged 11) who became a pasta freak eating it twice a day for 14 days.
Location was excellent with our own private beach, staff and entertainment could not be asked more off well worth 6 out of 5 and we will definitley return to this hotel sooner rather than later special mentions go to the efforts of Rio , Hassan , Chagui , Midou , Didi , Titi , Ishlam , gaston , sam and last but not least Nagi these guys made our holiday and their boss Mekram who with 2 friends ferried 10 guests including myself to Tunis to watch the host country play an international fixture v uruguay !!!
Thats making someone feel welcome in their country.
The reviews I read on this site concerning this hotel led me to ring Thomas Cook to tell them I was not going to go on this holiday and was prepared to lose 50% of what I had paid, thankfully Sonia managed to convince me to go and it turned into the best holiday we have ever had it really was that good.
However be prepared for the man who offers a free trip to Hammamet Medina on behalf of the hotel !!! Be warned that you end up in a carpet factory facing a hard sell attitude that is difficult to avoid buying one, we were warned and heeded the advice...I suggest you read and take in the last sentence and look forward to a fantastic holiday, because thats what your going to have at the Dar Khyam.
Make sure you go on Camelmans trip he is a real star and it is a great experience.
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louise from nottingham travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
sunset
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: The hotel resort is a beautiful place, we had no faults regards the hotel.
The only problem was the food as it is all inclusive. There wasnt much choice and you could tell the food was reheated from previous day!
If you like rabbit stew at lunch then this is the place for you.
Other than the food being really really poor we couldnt fault the hotel or the staff who was brillient!
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Emma McTaggart from Dalry travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: I have just returned from this hotel, with my partner. We both had the best holiday ever.
The hotel is clean, the entertainment staff, Chaigu,(This guy is an all round entertainer and performer), Midou,(This guy is great just wish he would stop whistling), Gaston, (You should see this guy dance), Didi, Titi,(What can i say, what a pair), Hassan,(Good guy), Rio, (This guy is like Mr bean on red bull), and Sam, (This guy is great, always entertaining, great with the kids, dresses as a clown every night, for the Mini Disco). These guys are amazing, they have so much energy and make the whole place so much fun. These guys work 13hour days, 7days a week and only get 2weeks off a year if they are lucky. for 300dinar a month, about £30 a week. These guys are some team, always entertaining, dancing, playing games and performing cabaret shows at night. They are the best bunch of guys I've ever met, very talented, they also speak about 5 languages each. Every show they do is great, very funny, most enjoyable. You should see their faces if you give them a tip, or a present, it is great, they appreciate it so much.
The hotel is very clean, the maids are amazing, they put flowers on your bed for you.
The bars are ok, The inside bar was quite dusty, but I think that is just because the bar manager they have is rubbish, he is one lazy guy, the bar staff are great, they do a great job, for all the poor drink they serve. Don't get me wrong, you can get drunk, but the drink is very weak, think the vodka was about 5%Abv. The beer is pretty strong tasting, but a wee dash of lemonade sorts that. Just a shame beer is served in 1/3pint plastic beakers. Joe, the bar man out at the pool bar, is so funny, always singing, very pleasant.
Now, the food. Well, what can I say, it is ok, edible, ok for the first few days, then it gets boring. We were there for 2 weeks, and the first 4 days it was great, then they stopped changing it for the rest of the holiday. Think I had chicken (very bony), for 5 nights in a row. If you fancy a good place to eat out, go out the hotel, take a left and walk down about 100meteres and there a great little cafe, they do amazing sandwiches, and the shop next door is the best shop, you don't get hassle to but, he always gives you the lowest price he can, better than any other shop.
Do not go in the shops further down on the left of the road, theses guys are nasty, they come across all nice, then force you to buy things, the ciggies they sell are fake (make sure when you buy fags, they are not made in Turkey, they all fake, make you're you get ones with the blue ticket on them and Arabic writing). Watch out, as you have to pass them to go to the cash machine, so they no you got money on the way back past them, I advise you to cross over the road to pass these shops. Don't worry, you not missing anything in them, it all the same as the shops out to the right of the hotel, but the ones down the road to the right, are much better.
Those, bad shops down to the left are owned by Latif, the camel mans brothers. Latif is cool, but don't think his brothers are like him. Don't let them give you things however hard they try, cos they expect you to pay for them next time they see you. They have been known to go up to the hotel with a gang of lads, to get money from you if you don't go back with money, So BE WARNED.
Latif the camel man is cool, his camel trip is worth every penny, great half day out. Make sure you take a few Dinar with you, cos you can buy a drink at the top of the hill. You need it. Watch out for the Henna Tattoo`s you can get done on this trip, there was a lot of people who reacted with it, and it bunt their legs.
The beach and water sports are great at the hotel, all non motorised ones, wind surfing, pedelos, kayaks, sailing boats, are all free from the hotel. Motorised sports, jet skis, para gliding, speed boats, water skiing, banana boat, tubes, are all from 10-35dinar, about £15 and under.
Tunisia itself, is a pretty messy country, the whole country is a building site, but in the towns and hotel, it is great.
The gardens of the hotel are amazing.
Food, drink and taxis are so cheap, you can eat out for less than £3. There is a restaurant directly across from the hotel, do not go there, they rip you off, they over charge you, and add things on to your bill. We had a ludicrous bill given to us. When we argued with the manager about it, a whole load of Tunisians appeared, so we had to pay for the whole bill which was full of things we didn't order, plus they robbed another 65dinar of our group. Just trust me, don't go there. Ant other place to eat, is amazing, very cheap and very tasty.
On a whole, it is a great place to go, very good. Have already booked to go back in October. Would recommend it to families and couples, it not really a place for young people looking for a party holiday.
It well worth the money and the hotel is great, it has all been cleaned up in the last year, so don't let all the bad reviews from the last few years put you off, they are not true anymore.
Hope you all have a great time, which i know you will, just watch out for the places I told you about, and you will have an amazing time.
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David Munro from Ayrshire travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
Thomas Cook
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2006 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: I have just returned from Tunisia, staying at the Dar Khayam. What a wonderful place. I have been abroad a few times, visiting a good selection of countrys. This had to have been one of the best holidays yet.
Dont let all the silly bad reports put you off going to the Dar Khayam, it is great.
It is NOT Spain, Tunisia is classed as a third world country, so things will be a little different. It is a wonderful country with lots to see and do, all for realy cheep prices. The people, locals and hotel staff, are all friendly, happy and helpful.
To all the people who have written in complaining about the clenliness, I only have one thing to say, " Get a LIFE."
Yes, it can be a little dusty at times, but it only takes a sec, and the hotel staff are there cleaning. The whole country, is built on sand, so a little dust is to be expected. I take it that all these complainers are the kind of people who iron their socks.
It is a great place, great culture, beats the pants off spain and the usual brittish holidays.
The food was great, no Greasy English food, just pure home cooked, fresh produce.
It is great to go to a country, where you know your money is helping to improve things for them and your money is not beeing squeezed from you, to feed some fat cats pockets.
I recommend the whole Tunisian expirience to anyone, we went for 2 weeks and were never boured.
The only think I have to warn you about, is to keep your hands on your money at all times, a few people i know have been there and been robbed, but we were took care, and never had a single bit of bother.
Hope you all have as much fun as I did. Dave
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Miller from Basildon travelled to Dar Khayam Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 6 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 11 2005 | rated the Dar Khayam Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | |
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