Marhaba Club Hotel

Our hotel: definately recommended!

by emmajocole about Marhaba Royal Salam

The service was very good, with the hotel staff always willing to help.
Upon arrival, we were sat down and brought complimetary drinks whilst our room was sorted, and we were informed of excursions and provided with a safe deposit box for only a small daily charge, which was definately worth it to have peace of mind.

The food was fantastic. We stayed half board and we found this perfect, epsecially as we noticed that the hotel served the same thing every day for lunch! The breakfast though offered a wide veriaty of foods and attempt to cater for as many nationalities as possible; even though the full english did seem to be a little neglected so if your sfter a fry up in the morning its not the place to go! A nice touch we thought though was how you could ask for omlettes and pancakes with whatever filling/topping you wanted and watch the chefs make it for you. Dinner was equally good with a good selection and a carvery section for cooked meats. Dessert was pretty much the same every night, a few cakes to choose from, ice cream and water melon. The tunisians tend to eat what ever fruit is currently in season so when we went all you could get really was watermelon!

There were 4 pools, one indoor which was clean and refreshing, and three outdoor. There is one pool in a small patio area which was always quiet and was for pure relaxation, another near the self catering appartment which was basic, but nice and clean. It had a bar and shop besides it and was where much of the evening entertainment took place, and the third pool was the largest, with slides, two bars and gorgeous landscaping.

there was a salon on site which offered massage, basic cuts, hair braiding and henna tatoos, although I did find this all to be slightly over priced.
The gym was good, although we didn't actually spend anytime there!! The hotel is set in gorgeous landscaped gardens which were very impressive and provided a cute little path down onto a sandy beach.

Sousse Tunisia

by spiralharp

"Marharba club"

This was our first holiday in Tunisia, Wasnt to sure about the choice at first , but found it to be a absolutly fantastic place , and where going back to the same hotel again in june 2004...

Sousse, Tunisia

by SWFC_Fan

"Sousse"

Sousse is the third largest city in Tunisia (after Tunis and Sfax), and is located on the east coast of the country.

The city serves as one of Tunisia's most important beach resorts, but also retains much of its past.

The medina is a fascinating, if somewhat daunting, experience with locals selling all manner of goods, and it is impossible to avoid haggling with them!

Climbing the ribat for a panorama view of the city is an absolute must!

Sousse - Tunisia!

by emmajocole

"Days 1-2... what the hell am I doing here?!"

For months me and my partner were looking forward to our week in Tunisia. We booked to stay in the Marhaba Royal Salam and after reading positive reviews we had high hopes. However, there a few things that we were entirely unprepared for, and for a couple of days we were anxious that we had made the wrong decision in chosing Tunisa as our holiday destination.

Apon arriving at the airport, we collected our bags and began heading off towards our transfer. Before we knew it a small Tunisian man lept out of no where and siezed our trolly, saying that he would help us find our coach. We insisted that we were fine but still he persisted...

We eventually arrived besides our coach, after a long walk through the airport lasting about 20 seconds. The man demanded a tip, which we had expected he may, and we tried to explain that we were yet to exhange our travellers cheques and so were without money. This though fell on deaf ears and he insisted we gave him england money, no coins accepted. We eventually got rid of him with a fiver, not bad for under a minutes work.

As our holiday continued more and more tunisian opportunists attempted to do us favours in exchange for cash, although fortunately we had become wise to it after our first experience. Children on the streets thrust flowers and small animals into your hands and expect cash for them, and every where you go you seemed to find some one claiming to be the waiter from your hotel who was willing to show you around on his day off, for a heavy tip, of course. Taxi drivers were also a pain, they'd follow you down the street to try and persuade you to use their service. Men and children also trawl the streets and beachs trying to sell goods ranging from fruit, to hats, to carpets. The don't take no for an answer and in the end we didn't even bother with the beach as we weren't left alone for five minutes. The shops were no better. Unlike in england, as soon as you approach the shop, let alone go in it, the sellers pounce, depserate to sell you what ever the suspect you may be interested in. Theres no such thing as browsing, as soon as you look at an item they assume you want it and try to begin the haggleing process. Some are worse than others, one man grabbed my boyfriends arm when we tried to walk past a shop; we weren't even going in. When he tried to shack him off, the man started on him. It was a thouroughly unpleasent experience. Another thing which we were taken aback by was the amount of people trying to sell us drugs on the street. I supose being a young couple we were targetted more than say families or older couples would have been, but we still found this unecceptable.

Another problem I had in Tunisia was the hassle I got from men. I am a young blonde and it seems thats exactly what turns heads out there, no matter how decently I dressed. Whats more the men are hugely disrespectful, I got hassle where ever I was, including from waiters in restaurants when I was trying to enjoy a romantic evening with my boyfriend. It seems he was no deteriant, and one of them put it when I tried to point out that I was actually there with someone, if we aren't married, it doesn't count.

"days 4+... gettings to grips with the culture!"

Luckily for us, the hotel The Royal Salam was fantastic, which made the first two days bareable as there was plenty to do there away from the hussle and bustle of Tunisian Life! There were three good sized pool, one of which was particularly impressive with several slides and gorgeous landscaping. The grounds in which the hotel was located were also very impressive. They were well maintained and provided some lovely areas to walk around. The hotel also had tennis, several bars/restaurants, and indoor pool, gym, salon, several gift shops and was right on the beach.

However, once we had settled in we soon got to grips with how to deal with the hassle we got away from the hotel. You simple need to be blunt and to the point and walk off quickely! The majority seemed to get the message this way. Another thing we did was avoided making eye contact as that too made it easier to get away!

Once out though, we discovered that there was plenty to do in the area. Although Sousse in some what industrialised, the nearby port of port el kantoui was beautiful. We were never board and the only thing holding us back was time! Everything was cheep, if its a bargin your looking for tunisia is definately the place! Lunch for two with drinks came to under a fiver, and the meal was a good size considering it was lunch and not an evening meal. The culture too is something to embrace. Its so different from that in england, and although this comes as a bit of a shock at first, it is definately one thing that help make the trip unforgettable.