| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
nora birch from uxbridge middx travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
first choice
on a friends holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2008 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location |  | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: Myself and my best chose to stay at the Phencia Hotel.Holiday dates from the 7th May to 14th May. I cannot praise the hotel enough, It was spotless,our room was cleaned everyday, and they made our beds..what a treat!! There was a variety of food, but after a while it did get a tad boring.
The hotel is a bit out of the way, but taxis are very cheap, so wasnt a problem.
The staff,were freindly and worked very hard. We did give our cleaner 20 dinars at the end of the week, wasnt much to us, around £8.00 but a lot to him,as they dont earn very much in regard to wages over there.
Entertaiment wasnt great,they did put a show on every night,but you couldnt smoke in there,as there were children around, so was a no no for us.
Our rep Jo from first choice was amazing, so knowledgable and a really nice person.
Want to go back, was a lovely holiday,,although the weather unusually was terrible and we only had one day of real sunshine.
Would def go back and stay there again. A lovely hotel and a lovely country
Click here for more information on this hotel, resort and region
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Niamh from Newcastle travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
thomsons
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 11 2007 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location |  | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: My friend stayed for one week on an all inclusive holiday. This has been a superb holiday and I would definitely reccomend the hotel to anyone and will probally go back in the future.
The hotel was very clean and on days when we were wanting a lie in, if you put the do not distirb sign on the door they always came back later on in the afternoon. The dining rooms and pool areas were always spotless.
This hotel is probally best suited to people who dont want to do too much! Taxis arent exspensive and are easy to get, but it can be a bit intimidating to wander out of the hotel because we were two females on our own.
We really enjoyed the entertainment, although because of the time of year, the disco etc was never really too busy. Staff will always try and get you involved, but will leave you alone if you arent wanting to take part. The entertainment team will always take time to stop and talk to you through out the day.
I would definetely reccommend this hotel to anyone and would definitely go back.
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kaylee from leigh,gtr manchester travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2007 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Excellent hotel! travelled with my boyfriend for my 21st and it was an amazing holiday, very glad now that we booked for 2 weeks!
The hotel is very big, both inside and the pool area, everything was open spaced which i liked. The hotel is very clean and all through the day there are cleaners emptying the bins by the pool.
FOOD- food was very good, im quite fussy anyway but my botyfriend loved it, the cakes were delicious!we had spoke to a few people who had been before however and they said the food had gone a bit down hill.
ROOMS- rooms are lovely and clean, quite basic but really nice, our bathroom was lovely and the room was cleaned everyday. We were in 4001 and had a gorgeous sea view, amazing!
BEACH- Beach is really nice and clean, we often went for walks on the beach and the sea was the best sea i have been in.
STAFF- Staff were very friendly, the only reason they are not freindly is if your not friendly to them! i read some reviews before we went and many said the staff were awful but we had no issues whatso ever, really friendly and helpful.it was my 21st while we were there and my boyfriend was conspiring with reception to bring some champagne and flowers to the room, he said that they were so helpful, i also got a birthday cake at dinner which was complimentry from the hotel which i thought was nice, it even had my name on it!
ENTERTAINMENT-Cannot fault the entertainment team one bit, they are excellent! mido, sam, chicho, james, franco, lolitta, rio, micheal jackson, they are the best, they all speak 6-8 languages fluently and interact with anyone weather its the elderly, young or kids. we got quite friendly with them and thouroghly enjoyed our daily games of waterpolo with the entertainment team. Entertainment at night was also good, sometimes not so good but you really cant fault them for trying, they work long days 6 days a week and try their best. They really are one of the best entertainment teams i have seen. Theres also many activites in the day to keep you occupied.
TIPPING- tippin really is at your discretion, you DONT have to tip but it really does go a long way, at the end of the day the people in the hotel earn a pittence ( about £120 a month!) so a few extra quid from our pockets is genuinlely appreciated and it is true that if you do tip you will get looked after. Dont tip all the time though! we tipped the bar every other night and we always made sure they saw us. The waiter we tipped once at the end and we tipped the cleaner once (10 dinar each, bout 4 quid) we also tipped the porter, i actually went to tip the porter on arrival and he originally didnt want it explaining that it is his job! he didnt need much pursuasion though!
This hotel really is nice and we really enjoyed our stay, its the perfect hotel for both couples and families. Would definitley go back again.
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Mags Sergent from Northants travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
Eclipse
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2007 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This was a really lovely hotel, very clean and staff constantly working to keep it that way throughout the day and evening.
We thought the food was great, my only complaint would be breakfast, I dont really want salad for breakfast but I still managed to have toast, cereal or croissants and jams, so I certainly didn't go without.
The location was a bit out of the way but to be honest that suited us fine but if you want to be in a busy area then maybe not suitable, however a taxi into Hammamet or Yasmine was only £2, if you want a bit of a change.
The hotel staff were very helpful and very friendly too. We tipped our waiter at the beginning of the holiday. We gave him 20 dinar (about £8). You dont have to do this and its not expected but he couldn't do enough for us, we had wine chilling in an ice bucket and chilled glasses every evening.
The entertainment wasn't great but it was fun and lighthearted. At the end of the day the animation team work very long hours and they do there best, so we were fine with it and would pop in for an hour and then return to the bar.
We will definitely go back here next year. It was great value for money and we had a very relaxing holiday which is what we wanted.
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karenppp from North Wales travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
panaroma
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 11 2006 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We asked for sea view and adjoining rooms. We got the wonderful sea view but no adjoining room but the staff did say we had the best rooms in the hotel. Right on the top and a wonderful view. My other party and room was only 5 doors away so not a problem.
Room and hotel was always clean and fresh smelling. What is the smell?
Food was alway hot and tastes lovely. However the snack bar times said 2.30 -6 and it was always closed earlier. It also states there was another snack bar open after teatime, never found it so did not go down very well with the kids who had munchies after disco. So don't rely on the timing find out for yourself. It is a free for all buffet and be-warned certain rude people push in etc.
The entertainment staff were funny and always made my kids feel welcome and made us laugh.
Hotel was right on the beach and this part was always clean. If you when to the left pasted Les orangers there was broken glass so be-warned. If you walked up the passage way through to Le hammamet hotel you come to some great shops and no hassle really.
Food was great alway a good variety however if you have fussy kids then be prepared. My son ate chips,pizza and pancakes and the odd plate of mild spag bol. Also if you go to the African dream night you do have meal served but its not really kid friendly so say you are veggy and they will give you chips and veg or take your own food for the fussy eaters. Great night you have to go!
Comparing to the waiter service we had in Les oranger last year we were disappointed as the waiters in the lounge were to and far between and we had to go to the bar. Some of the staff were rude and abrupt but the nice staff out weighed the bad. The bell boy who takes your cases was cross because we only gave him 2 dinars. We did feel obliged to tip to save rude staff later on. There was a hotel photographer who is always taking pic and sells them every night.
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Emma from R eading travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
Thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2006 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel was extremely clean. Some staff were extremely rude and arrogant. We were shouted at in the middle of the restaurant for not sitting at our allocated table -Which we were not told about!!!
We were given no information about where the restaurant, snack bar etc were and did not find the mini golf course until our last day - Although it wasn't worth finding anyway!!
Saw a rat by the pool. Reported it to reception and was told 'Rats? Of course we have rats!'This came as a shock as it was not in the brochure!! He also said that the cats should keep the rats away!! Great answer!!
Rep was never around to talk to when needed. Although when we did have a problem we called the 24 hour helpline and they were very helpful.
We were told that one of the pools were heated but they were too cold to get into! When we asked where the heated pool was they said it is only heated in the high season - Why? when the weather is hotter then?!!!
We were one of very few English people which made it difficult to meet new people! Food was very average. Breakfast was very poor, we only ate breakfast once and decided we'd rather starve until lunch. Lunch was a bit hit or miss. They either had the same thing everyday (which is ok when we found something we liked!) or they changed it suddenly and then there was nothing we liked at all. There was always siomething that we would eat but lunch and dinner were very alike.
We were told by our rep at the welcome meeting that it was perfectly safe and not intimidating to leave the hotel. When we went on a trip we got talking to a family and they said that they were locked in a shop by some locals until they agreed to buy something from their shop!! Doesn't sound nice to me!!
Entertainment was pretty much non existant...Take something to do while you are there!!
I think we may have gone at the wrong time of year as there was nothing going on that was stated in the brochure...Which would have been fine but the reason we booked this hotel was for all the activities & entertainement advertised that weren't going on while we were there!!
All was not bad as some staff were lovely. Very friendly. Unfortunately the bad parts outweigh the good.
We would never go back to Tunisia.
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Katie Largent from Apperley Bridge travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2006 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel food became a little repetitive by the end of our two week stay. The a la carte restaurant made a nice change. Staff very efficient set table if you went for another plate of food. Drinks were always topped up.
Only complaint about location was transfer time to and from the airport.
The staff were exceptional especially the entertainment staff. very polite and answered any questions you had.
Hotel was very clean. Pool was clean was cleaned everyday.
Didn’t really watch the entertainment on an evening but when we walked passed it did look very good.
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Danielle from London travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This was our first holiday together it was lovely. We relaxed with the all-inclusive cocktails by the pool.
The food was great, we loved the fresh pasta. The rooms were a little on the small side but nothing to complain about. This holiday will live on in our memories forever. Beautiful hotel... Tunisia is one of the best places to visit.
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D Bentley from bristol uk travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Very clean hotel, staff very good, beach wonderful as is the food and activities.
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sally from suffolk travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2006 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location |  | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We had a wonderful holiday at this hotel, the staff were all very friendly towards us. the pools were great and the sea was what can I say.... if we went to Tunisia again we would go to this hotel again the down side was the evening entertainment was terrible.
It was rather a long ride from the airport that was the only thing that would put you off really.
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John from Chatham travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
Panorama
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2006 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I had read previous reports of this hotel so was a little aware of some things, what was not mentioned before and indeed was not in the tour brochure, is the fact that there are two accomodation wings on the beach side of the hotel, these have approx 37 to 40 steps up and down three to six times a day.
There are no lifts in these wings and are totally unsuitable for anybody with any infermity, or have children in buggies.They should request accomodation in the main hotel.
The breakfast bar has most of its doors open to the outside and is therefore the breakfast bar for all of the birds also, I have sat and watched birds sit on serving trays of bread and cakes and feed at will, and then sometimes leave a thank you on the guests seats.yuk!!
On the day we left the main restuarant was closed at lunchtime and you had to use the breakfast snack bar, or the open sided beach barbecue by the restuarant.We had no problems with staff or getting service at the bars, some guests attitude to the staff may contribute to some of the aforementioned problems.
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Sara and Anthony from Peterborough travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
Panorama
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel was always spotless, rooms cleaned later if you wanted a lie in.
Food was great, even for a vegetarian like me, lots of local dishes - only thing was pizza which was served every lunchtime, which if there was only meat otherwise I was a bit stumped!
The hotel was about 10 minutes from hammamet in taxi - worth a visit, but in the local proximity were bars which due to early season were empty!
All of the staff were polite and very pleasant - the staff in the evening dining room were especially good and we never sat down without our water and wine waiting for us!
We would love to return here, its ideal for a total battery recharge.
Only complaint really is that the sunbeds are all reserved by 0830 and its a nightmare to get one around the pool after 0900!
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Cazz from Milton Keynes travelled to Phenicia 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 Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We have just returned from a one-week stay at the Phenicia. We have previously stayed at other Iberostar hotels and were very disappointed with our stay at this one.
The rooms were ok, if a little basic, and the public areas were clean and comfortable. The most disappointing aspect was the food which was severely lacking in variety and choice.
My partner has an intolerance to mushrooms, so ignoring all selections with added mushrooms, his dinner one evening consisted of roast rabbit and chips which though I laughed at the time, I feel is a bit poor in a 4* hotel!! There were plentiful supplies of chips but no buffet for children though there was an area where spaghetti/pasta/sauces was cooked for you and all the children seemed to eat from here causing long queues.
The entertainment was poor and mostly was provided by audience participation i.e. karaoke. Pool areas were ok and were very clean. We met many people who returned to the hotel 2 or 3 times a year but we felt it just wasn't us. It reminded me of Butlins but with plenty of sunshine.
We felt very relieved we hadn't
a) taken our children with us on this holiday as there
would have been little for them to do.
b) booked for two weeks.
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Carol L from Doncaster travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
My Travel
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2006 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We went to this hotel expecting a fantastic holiday. To say we were disappointed is an understatement. The staff were rude and arrogant, especially after we upgraded to all inclusive on our second day. We were ignored by waiters and bar staff and only got any help with anything when we did it through our holiday rep. The hotel was clean and the pool area and beach beautiful. The food was delicious and plenty of variety. The entertainment was poor but the team did try. We went at the start of the Easter holidays and were therefore very surprised that at 6pm the covers went on the swimming pool and the tennis courts were locked. Seating in the main bar/reception area is very uncomfortable and other than the entertainment bar, this is the only place where you can sit and have a drink and try to relax.
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Aimee from London travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
Thompson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2006 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We have just got back, had the best holiday ever. The hotel was beautiful, loved every minute of it.
The bar staff can be a little unfriendly towards the all-inclusive guests.
The food was out of this world. I think whoever wants a romantic holiday for two in the warm weather.... Go here... were going to book again.
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Malone from Belfast travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
Panorama
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 01 2006 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This is a lovely hotel. The food is excellent and the staff in the restaurant an abolute joy. The bar staff can be a little unfriendly.
There's a great indoor pool which is much needed at this time of year. There was virtually no entertainment but that was mainly due to the lack of interest shown by the guests.
There seem to be very few children at this time of year and because of this the kids club was not available but the staff really show an interest in the children.
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The Moore Family from Surrey travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 12 2005 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The Hotel was much more then we expected.
Immaculate with stylish furniture.Entertainment staff we marvellously committed and put on live shows most evenings which were unintentionally hilarious, bless them.
Food was extremely varied, fresh and delicious.Spend a hour getting your bearings around the hotel as the signage is non existant.
Bar staff were a little unfriendly towards all inclusive guests, less likely to recieve a tip, we presumed.Hotel was in an excellent central location with beautifully kept indoor and outdoor pools.
Horse riding at the hotel was a little scary as the staff at the stables didn't speak english and the horses were a bit too frisky for beginners.
Rooms were perfect and cleaned daily. Would highly recommend for great value for money. We had four teenages with us and they were never bored.
Extras at the hotel,tennis,horse riding,saunas,beauty treatments etc are extremely cheap.
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HAZELWOOD FAMILY from NR HITCHIN travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
med hotels
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 12 2005 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We were moved to this hotel after complaining about our previous hotel in a word fantastic this is a great hotel very clean right on the beach the staff were great to all of us nothing was a problem. My children loved the food and the staff I can not praise it enough.
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steve Woods from Colchester travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
Pamoroma
on a couples holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2005 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: All inclucive was agreat option because you did not have to carry money around with you. With this option you also received a free mattress for your sun bed.
The hotal was very clean alround the room maids were excellent the swimming pool areas was very clean and the gardens where well kept up the beach was also very clean there was a manager going around 3 times a day checking on the areas.
The hotel food was very good you had many choices from vegs to salads and many meat dishes their was adffirent menu eash day.
The staff was very friendly they could not do enough for you the mangaers with in the resort was very friendly and they spent time with you making sure your holiday went well.
The enertainment team was good and they again was very helpful and always had a smile, they tryed to get every body to take part in something and if you said no they left you alone.
We went with some friends and we made some new friend out their who also came from our area and we all said we would go back to the hotel because it was a excellent resort and the staff was so friendly.
We are booking for next year.
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Sandy and Irene Keldie from Kirkwall travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2005 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed in the Iberostar Phenica,it was super very clean, staff could not been better at making you feel welcome.
The hotel pool area was not crowded and well looked after.Food was ok ,plenty to choose from but a bit over cooked.
The entertainment team tried very hard.
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Tara from London travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2005 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Arrived at the hotel at just gone midnight and checked in ok, however we were starving and thirsty and no-one offered us a drink or any food or even said the bars are still open! They also did not tell us where our rooms were. I think we were supposed to wait in a long line for one porter to take us to our rooms, I don't think so, we'd been travelling for hours and didn't want anymore queues and waiting around!! So we made our own way.
There are absolutely no directions in the hotel as to where, breakfast, dinner, pools, gym, massage, bars......anything was. The staff directions were quite useless, it took us a week to find the snack bar! So we just followed the crowds into breakfast the first day and the pushing and shoving commenced! Breakfast was the same everyday and the crepes were underdone. With regards to dinner, the pushing and shoving continued, the food was ok but was the same beef and chicken dishes all the time, just called something different!! Huge issue with sharing a table as well.
Extremeley annoyed by the fact that all the activities (mini-golf, table tennis, putting green, tennis etc) are not free even though brochure stated they were. Most upset with paying for the mini golf when the course is total rubbish, is covered in weeds and cracks. The entertainment staff bless them tried very hard but the entertainment was very poor and the disco always finished way earlier than advertised due to the fact no one was there!
The pools and the beach are absolutely lovely and we got a lounger everyday, although again had to pay for it! Also, the sea was warmer than the pool! The sea was so clear, not a sight of seaweed. The hammam was excellent and would certainly recommend it BUT steer well clear of the massage, it was only 10 minutes, if that, long!!
There are plenty of bars and the drinks are what you would expect, although I found the AI guests were served quicker than the HB guests. I loved the moorish cafe until some tunisian guy jumped on me and we couldn't get him off. Ths staff in the cafe encouraged him and even when the security guard walked in nothing was done. I complained and never did find out the outcome. Needless to say, I couldn't go back in there.
The hotel had a very high standard of cleanliness, in all areas including the rooms. The rooms were cleaned every day. They were a decent sized room and a lovely bathroom, lack of drawspace should be looked at though! We had an amazing seaview from our room, however suffered as it was above the disco (not good if you are trying to get an early night because you are on the safari trip the next day!!) Would not have given up the view for anything though
All in all I had a good holiday but there were gripes about the hotel.
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carry & will from manchester travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2005 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: just got back frim Iberostar Phenicia, this was our second visit to an Iberostar and we were not dissappointed.
Hotel is very impressive, clean and the people are so friendly and efficient.
The hotel is located just out of the resort centre but it only costs £1.50 to get to the medina and there are few local bars about 10 minutes down the road.
We were all inclusive and it was worth it as drinks in the hotel were pricey, Food was good breakfast was european style, pancakes, omlettes, sausages, meats cheese and breads including criossants, pain au chocolat etc and some fruit, lunch dinner and snacks were very good always something different and lots to choose from, your are given a specific table for lunch and dinner but this was ok for us as we went with friends and you have your own waiter on hand to serve you drinks and see to anything you need.
Massages are cheap £12.50 for full body! Good too!
Entertainment was good and varied and the staff really tried hard to put on a good show even if sometimes it wasnt to everyones liking but we enjoyed it.
You are not expected to tip and we noticed not a lot of people dont tip.There is only one bar that is not open to all inclusive guests but you can pay to have drinks in there just as you can pay to have a meal in the a la carte restaurant which we did and it was well worth the money.
would go here again, was lovely...
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margaret/ian/sylvia from appleby travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
thompson
on a friends holiday.
There were 3 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2005 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We arrived at 1am looking forward to getting settled in for a long leisurely holiday to be met with yes we have a double room for you, but not a single room (as booked) for Sylvia. They suggested we went to our room and they would find a single room at another hotel. As you can imagine this was not acceptable so they got our rep along and she sorted everything out within 1/2 hour. The hotel had overbooked and couldn’t do anything.
We spent a lovely week at Riu Oceana where we will return
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dorian and maria jones from westbury wilts travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2004 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Although we arrived at midnight we were asked if we would like to dine, the courtesy that was offered was a breath of fresh air, even when we asked to be moved from our allotted room to a room with a view, there were no questions asked.
Did not like the idea of having to share a table for meals but when we complained another table was found. The food was typically European, and was not on all evenings too special and also quite cold.
Be aware at the end of September the air con goes off for the season and whilst we were there the temp was still in the 30s so our rep purchased a fan for us, no hassle there either.
The entertainment was dire, really dire, so take a good book or games to play
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Corinne Redwood & Chris Leighton from Nottingham travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
Airtours
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2004 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We chose the Iberostar Phenicia because it looked like a good quality 4 star hotel in all the brochures and even had a ‘Gold’ or ‘Finesse’ rating in some of them. We certainly weren’t disappointed.
The public areas indoors are all bright, clean and spacious with lots of seating areas and are well air-conditioned.
Outdoors, the pool areas are well maintained with an adequate number of sunbeds – although the mattresses are charged at a dinar each for half-board guests.
We were given a room on the third floor at the front of the hotel with a view of the mountains (also a view of the service blocks for the Sheraton next door, but that wasn’t a problem). The rooms were nicely decorated with a good size bathroom and air-conditioning. You can get CNN and BBC World on the TV plus some very cheesy Tunisian Music channels. The mini-bar was locked when we arrived – you just have to ask reception and it will be unlocked for you. The safe in the room cost 6 dinar to hire for the week (about 3 quid) – just pay at the cashier’s desk and then show the receipt to one of the main reception staff and someone will come up to your room and show you how to use it. The only criticism I would have of the room is that there were only 10 hangers and not that much shelf space – so take some of your own if you think you’ll need them.
Breakfast is served in a room overlooking the swimming pool from 6-10am. You just find a free table and then go and help yourself. The sausages don’t look like British bangers but my boyfriend liked them enough to have a couple every day. You get all the normal things that you’d expect (bread, meats, cheese, and cereal) along with croissants, pain-au-chocolate and even pancakes on some days.
Dinner is served from 7-9 in the main restaurant. When you get there on your first night, you have to wait at the door for the head waiter to show you to your table. We were slightly shocked to be shown to a table where someone else was already sitting. It turned out that you are allocated the same table for each night of your stay – so it was lucky that we got on OK with our fellow table-mates!
Dinner is also a buffet service with drinks ordered from your waiter. It cost 1.8 dinar for just under a litre of water. The food was very nice, especially the puddings, but if we were to be picky then I would say that the choice was not as good as we have had in similar hotels in other countries. We also ate lunch there on our last day as our coach back to the airport was leaving before dinner. We were less impressed with the choice at lunch and so were happy that we had not decided to pay the extra for all-inclusive.
There is a souvenir shop in the basement of the hotel, which sells mainly fixed price goods. You don’t get hassled there and the prices for postcards were the same as in the shops in resort. They also sell stamps (the post box is next to reception). You can change money at the cashier’s desk in reception at most times during the day. We found it especially useful to change a few notes into coins for tips and taxis before going out each day.
There are a number of bars in the hotel but we stuck to the ‘Carillion’, which has comfy leather seats and a sparkly ceiling. A pint of lager and a half bottle of wine cost 17 dinar (£8.50) – not cheap, but a nice atmosphere and easier than going out to look for a bar. (The only bar we did go out to was the British bar, which was ok but a bit quiet. It’s about a 10 min walk from the hotel – turn left out of the entrance and keep walking).
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Marie Sandland from Dublin travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
Panorama
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We booked this hotel because we wanted a cheap and cheerful holiday this year, but we were amazed at what a high standard the hotel set.
The food was excellent, I was surprised as I'm usualy not a fan of buffet-style restaurants. We had the same waiter every night, Aroud, he was lovely. The maitre d' type fella and the chef were really nice and friendly and would often chat to us. The food was so good, we only ate out twice - Sidi Slim's in town (excellent choice of fish, and steaks and other meat too) and in the a la carte restaurant in the hotel. We had 2 bottles of (decent) wine and 3 courses and it came to about €50.
The beer is nice enough, though a bit gassy. The house wine is sweet, but you soon get used to it!
The staff are so friendly and helpful, and have a good sense of humour.
The entertainment wasn't my cup of tea, but then I just like to sit in the bar and have a few beers. I'm not into watching the staff act out various musicals.
My only gripe was that there weren't many couples our age and it was more geared to families. But I would definitely recommend this hotel and would definitely go again.
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Greenwood from Cannock, Staffs travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
Panorama
on a friends holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The rooms have enormous beds and were spotless. However, the mini bar is locked as this is an extra but did mention this in the brochure.
The facilities at the hotel were above excellent. The pools were spotless, there was always someone cleaning and testing them.
There were three pools and never seemed crowded.
The beach was out of this world, it was definitely the best in the area. As all inclusive you were provided with a lounger and cushion with umbrella by both sea and pool.
The food - I'm not saying it was good, but we got up most mornings at 6.00 a.m. for our first breakfast, and did not seem to stop eating all day.
The main restaurant was excellent; we had our own waiter who treated us like royalty. Once again the food was top class (especially the desserts).
The only negative side was we found that we noticed that all-inclusive holiday makers definitely got shorter measures on their drinks compared to paying customers. However, after a couple nights we find if you handed the waiter or bar staff a few dinar this changed.
The entertainment at the hotel was not brilliant, but you had to give the entertainment staff full marks for effort.
However, we did notice that children were well looked after and seem to idolise the entertainment staff.
We feel that this hotel is suitable for both couples and families.
However, we do wish that children are kept out of the adult only pool as we found that people took young babies into it without nappies and no-one stopped them. There were plenty of other pools for them to use.
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Theteacher2004 from Liverpool travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
Panorama
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2004 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Room: We had a room on the 4th Floor, what a view! You can see the 2 pools, the beach and the rest of Hammamet. The room had to single beds pushed together. The room was cleaned every day and the AC was adequate.
Food: Excellent, buffet which changes every night or a la carte (Pay extra)We paid £25 for 2 courses and wine. If you are half board you only pay for your drinks with dinner.
Drink: Good, beer is a bit gassy, but ok if you like Pilsner. Shorts are expensive, but with a dinar tip you get a monster measure. There is a beach bar, lobby bar, American bar (Classy) and an entertainment room, which is a bit like Butlins (Where the shows are)
Money: If you're all inclusive you can only go to certain bars and restaurants, but it does seem to give good value. You change money at the hotel and it is the same rate where ever you go in Tunisia. There is no comission charged, so we changed money as and when we needed it. Remember though that any money you need to change back can only be done at the Bank at the Airport on the way home and they charge 3% comission. It's £1 for a snicker in the hotel, but cheaper in the supermarket down the road.
Tips: Tipping really does go a long way, but talking to the staff goes further. We tipped 1 dinar (Approx 45p) a round of drinks and 2 dinars with our food. We tipped the cleaner 5 dinars twice during our stay.
Language: In the Hotel everyone speaks English, but they also speak; Arabic, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Portuguese! Outside the hotel a little french will go a long way.
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DEREK AND LORRAINE HUNT from KINGS LYNN NORFOLK travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
PANORAMA
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2004 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We have booked today 9th October 2004 for June next year this will be our 4th visit and quite honestly we will probably go there every year in the future, everything was of the highest standard but we think their biggest asset is the friendliness of all the staff nothing is to much bother, from the porters who greet you every time they see you up to the senior management the all give you their undivided attention
I would recommended this hotel to anybody can’t wait to get back there next June
Excellent swimming pools (2) and probably the cleanest private hotel beach in Tunisia
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Dawn Franklin from Cannock travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
Panorama
on a friends holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 4 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2004 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed in the Phencia hotel for 2 weeks, it was the best holiday i have ever had. The staff are so friendly, they cannot do enough for you. The food is excellent, so much choice and the lunchtime snack bar is inexpensive. The drinks are excellent value and they also keep you supplied with crisps and nuts as long as you are drinking at their bar. The pool bar has a small jacuzzi pool, this is very relaxing just to sit in and chill.We tended to go down into Hammemet at night as the hotel entertainment is very basic. There is a disco but we never saw more than 20 people in it. The local bars vary a lot in price and standards. You just have to try them and once you find one you like stay there! The downside to going down town at night is the flower people - all night men are trying to sell you jasmine, this smells very strong. Taxis are very cheap but the drivers are a bit manic (it costs £1.50 to go down into the town)
If you are thinking of going to the markets or medinas to barter, I recommend that you visit a fixed price shop first to get an idea of the prices because we went to the market and thought we had a load of bargains till we visited the fixed price shop and saw we had been ripped off.
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Natasha and Brian from Wolverhampton travelled to Phenicia Hotel with
Olympic
on a couples holiday.
There were 1 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2004 |
rated the Phenicia Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We chose to stay all inclusive in the Phenicia having stayed in an Iberostar hotel elsewhere previously.
This should be a top quality hotel but short fallings abound. Take extra money if you’re going "all in" room service and mini bar are extra as are the alternative bars and restaurants. There are no tea making facilities in the room meaning you must ring room service and be charged.
Meals are of the buffet type and vary little and choice is sparse. Sharing tables with other guests is the norm as is signing for drinks (no wrist bands).
Entertainment is basic to say the least although staff are very friendly and will strive to help.
We also had to buy toilet rolls as the maid did not leave any on numerous occasions even though complaints were made. That said cleanliness on the whole was above average.
The hotel seemed to cater mainly for golfers using the nearby courses, families where few.
We shall not be visiting again.
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