Reviews of Soviva Hotel, Port El Kantaoui, Tunisia

We were a little concerned about...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Feb 2004

Tour Operator:

First Choice

Submitted By:

Mr K Crook

Comments:

We were a little concerned about our visit to this Hotel after reading some of the comments on this site. We needn?t have worried. We had a wonderful time. The staff were very friendly and polite. The bedrooms were a bit basic but the Hotel facilities were excellent. The food was varied and very good (we put on a few extra pounds).

There was security on the gates as there was at all Hotels but this is for the guest?s safety. You do get hassled by shopkeepers, but this is a foreign country. If you want Fish and Chips and a 'good cup of tea' go to Blackpool. We would certainly consider visiting again, but not in high season because with the Hotel facilities (swimming pools, tennis, crazy golf, disco, gym etc) I would expect it to be lively with lots of children. There was entertainment during the day and evening for all ages. Would recommend to anyone.

It was the best holiday we have...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Jan 2004

Tour Operator:

First Choice

Submitted By:

Miss E Jones

Comments:

It was the best holiday we have ever had and will be back, 8 of us went six adults and 2 babies the entertainment was fun. All the staff were great BIG hello to Henry, Sonia, Rio, Fred, (fi fi) Imed they made us very welcome. The local nightlife was great and only a quick taxi ride away. Two of us are returning in April we cannot wait thanks for a great holiday xxxxxxxxxx

Having never flown before I...

Overall Rating:

1/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Nov 2003

Tour Operator:

First Choice

Submitted By:

Mr A Peachey

Comments:

Having never flown before I decided to take the plunge and take my wife on a holiday to remember. I must say I do not think I shall ever forget it. I have since found out all about this hotel, it is a hotel from hell.

The washing facilities were the worst I have seen the general decor needed looking at the bed linen was in need of a good wash there were birds flying about in the restaurant and even cats let in. I suppose they hoped the cats would catch the birds.

You were not allowed to take water or food back into the hotel, there was security on the gate stopping you. I think at times they took things to far, as soon as you were out of the gate you were hassled. It seems to me the main words people know are "hello, would you like to look in my shop?" even on the beach you are never left alone. If there are any young girls there its like dogs on heat, they are pestered all the time.
Since returning from this holiday from hell I was put off work by my doctor suffering from a chest complaint, which has gone into the sixth week. I cannot see why the travel agents are allowed to make bookings for such hotels like the Soviva.

My 17 year old daughter and I...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2003

Tour Operator:

First Choice

Submitted By:

Mrs T A Marriott

Comments:

My 17 year old daughter and I have been to this hotel 3 times this year and love it! The hotel is spacious and clean and the rooms although basic, are comfortable and cleaned daily. We went All Inclusive and the amount of food on offer was enormous! There were also good snacks available throughout the day by the huge pool. The pool was lovely and the slides were popular with the kids. You have to get up early though to reserve a sunbed by the pool edge!


The entertainment team were brilliant and worked very hard all day in the blazing heat to keep everyone amused with french bowls, aquaaerobics, table tennis, arabic lessons etc. Never a dull moment!! At night they did just as well with bingo followed by a show of some kind - usually very funny! We became close friends with all of them and they regularly took us into nearby Sousse to the clubs there after they finished work. Big hi to Henri, Anis, Toto, Imed, Heithem and BooBoo!! There is not much to do in the immediate vicinity but the Port itself is lovely and clean about 5 minutes down the road with lots of shops and bars etc.


We ventured into Sousse one day and to the Medina but it is a dirty town and not for the faint hearted! We were hassled constantly by people trying to get us into their shops and my daughter got quite upset so we left early. However the hotel itself had enough to keep us entertained most of the time. The First Choice reps were great especially Issam who is Tunisian but works for First Choice. His knowledge about the local area is excellent and he gave us some good tips. The weather is up in the high 40's most days. We are planning to go back again with friends next year and would highly recommend this hotel.

We, like everyone else found out...

Overall Rating:

1/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2003

Tour Operator:

First Choice

Submitted By:

Mr J Mitchell

Comments:

We, like everyone else found out about this one too late!

Our Travel Agent apparently "Wasn't aware of any problems" - Right.

Do yourself a favour DO NOT GO ANYWHERE NEAR THIS HOTEL. All the horror stories you read are true and more.

Worst week of our lives.

Joanne (29yrs old) Wayne (24yrs...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2003

Tour Operator:

First Choice

Submitted By:

AliasOmega

Comments:

Joanne (29yrs old) Wayne (24yrs old)



Hi, we went to the Hotel Soviva in Port El Kantoui in June 2003.



This hotel is split between the Half Board and Full Board side. All Inclusive receive a wrist band which is issued when you arrive at the hotel.



Monstair airport is small, and we found that we were about 45 mins from the resort. The resort is quite a nice resort, with the surrounding areas being for golf. We found the hotel was nice, as the hotel has a fabulous swimming pool, which has various snack bars, situated either side of it, and has 3 fantastic water slides, which are working at various times throughout the day. There is a kid’s section also. This Hotel was on the ITV Holidays from Hell for food poisoning, but we found the Hotel to be superb. I would go back to this hotel over and over again. We had the week for about £340, which was a bargain for what we received. A nice size ground floor apartment, ensuite bathroom with a terrace. The local people have a tendency to be all ‘touchy-feely’ when you go shopping and will drag you into the shops, once your in, you wont get in without buying anything, so you have to learn to say ‘NO’, we managed to just point to our wrist bands which stopped the restaurant touts trying to drag us into the places. The Medina is a nice place to go, though I would not head into the back streets, as this is a market stall place throughout the old town. You should ride on a Tuc Tuc as these are fabulous, something out of china I think. but good.



This resort is for people who want to sit by the pool and do nothing. The hotel also has a beach bar. which is free too...not bad by my accounts.



I’m going to give this an 8/10 as I think the surrounding locations put it down, due to local work. Though the food issue is not a thing to worry about. I will be going back to this holiday resort again.

This accommodation was...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Feb 2003

Tour Operator:

First Choice

Submitted By:

Miss L Foster

Comments:

This accommodation was fantastic.



I heard alot of bad reports before going there and wasn’t looking forward to it that much. When I got there that all changed around. The weather was great there were shops, bars and lots more on site. During the day they were full entertainment plans.



The people working at the hotel ended up been more like friends by the holiday and really made the holiday for us all. The food was great with a good variety and for all the young ones this is a great property.



There’s not much to do in Tunisia on the night so this accommodation was perfect as it had a nightclub on site, as well as an American bar, lobby bar and pool side bar.