Melia El Mouradi Palace Hotel

The hotel had a great armosphere, all the amenities, nice bars, very chilled out and friendly staff. A short walk on the beach to the marina. Highly recommended

Having read other peoples reports on this hotel we decided to give it a try, we have stayed in a lot of hotels in the Sol Melia chain and knew that they were good so we where pretty confident that this one would be ok. First of all it is not a five star in the normal sense but it is a good four star, on arrival we were given a fruit drink whilst we filled in the checking in form, the rooms are of nice proportion with a seperat toilet to the bathroom, there is also a fridge and a free safe. You will probally find that the hose to the hairdrier is missing as it seems to be the norm that you call out the handyman who replaces the hose for a tip. Eating arrangements are as described by other reports in that you sit where you want for breakfast but on your first evening meal you are allocated a table and that is your table for the rest of your stay. There is a huge outdoor pool with fee sunbeds and a large very warm indoor pool with loungers and tropical plants. A pleasant walk through the hotel grounds takes you to the beach with sunbeds toilets and showers and numerous watersports. The hotel also has its own nightclub and a very pleasant piano bar, all in all we had a very nice holiday and we would more than likely go back

the hotel was extravagent absolutely brilliant.the weather was great. the service was wonderful. very friendly towards children.the location was superb. watersports on the beach were great fun

i was expecting a medioka hotel but it was fab. lovely staff. they took our luggage to our comfy rooms- and we had such a quick, smooth ride here. my daughter ali (8) loved the pool areas and my hubby, mark liked goin to the bar and me, wel i realy loved the massage- very calming. i cant beleive the reveiw "is evryonecrazy"- they must be fusy- im suprised that they dont comment on the way we were brought into the world!. The location was fabulous- with the quiet beach. The grounds were lovely to st in the glorious feb weather!(it was never rainy). As my hubby has a back problem and has trouble with climbing stairs- this seemed great cos it was easy to get around without a problem!! pure classxxxxx sue morress.

2 weeks in late December - weather unreliable, some torrential rain, some cold days, some sunny days but definitely no sunbathing. The hotel was probably less than half full for the first week and very quiet. It then filled up with conference guests, probably making tunisian guests in the majority, which made the stay a bit different from the usual package hotel. Food was excellent - both myself (vegetarian) and my husband (meat eater)ate very well. A fair amount of tunisian-style food was provided on most nights which we really appreciated and the very best nights of all were the Tunisian cuisine nights. Staff charming. Facilities in the hotel fine. Location fine. If we have a whinge, it would be the rather unpredictable and at times below par maid service for the rooms but it was ok. We've holidayed in Tunisian 6 times now. This was our first time in Port El Kantaoui and we wouldn't return. It was very pleasant but once you've walked around the marina and fountain square a couple of times, you've done the resort. Probably not a good place to go when you can't lie by the pool/beach because there just wasn't enough to do. The coffee was dire. Morning coffee, as in most hotels was v strong and stewed and at times hardly drinkable and every where was like dishwater. The one place that we found did reliably acceptable coffee was the cafe el banefcef (or something like that)on the far side of the fountain square as you enter it from the marina side.

OK. So it's not really a 5* hotel but for that price what do you expect?? We have just come back from a 1 week stay at this hotel and we had a great holiday. Unfortunately my hubbie was expecting plush rooms, and they're not that wonderful. The bathrooms are good enough but a bit dated. Oh and they are a bit smelly sometimes! The staff were all very freindly - no problems there. The entertainment team were very nice although there were not many sporting activities going on during the day. (Not many participants??). The shows were OK not wonderful but kept you busy of an evening. The pool and beach are incredible. You can do all kinds of water activities at a reasonable price. Don't go to the hammam - it's a bit smeggy. But they were doing up all the indoor pools and spas when we were there - we couldn't use them, but used the ones in the hotel next door. The food is above average. Could have been more cous-cous!! crepes and churros for breakfast every morning was fine for me! Some nice spicy food as well to try. The puddings are terrible. Funny cakes and not much fruit (actually didn't see much fruit in Tuinsia full stop). The service is incredibly slow, but you have to get used to that. I didn't feel pressurised for a tip at any time. PEK is a 20 minute walk away and is good for an afternoon out. You can go to Sousse by taxi - price is 5 dinar. Set it before you get in! We enjoyed our day out there - felt like you were in real Tunisia. The Medina is great. A bit pushy, but not as bad as we expected. Unfortunately we couldn't do any trips as I'm pregnant and we had an 18 month old baby in tow! But the desert safari sounded good. By the way no problems with the baby at all. Everyone was very helpful in and outside the hotel. There was also no problem with food. And you get a real cot rather than a travel cot, we we appreciated. We found lots of English people here in this hotel , as well as Spanish, Italians, Russians and Romanians. All in all we had a great time, but I think I would prefer to stay somewhere nearer a big city next time.

I was trying to choose a hotel in Tunisia for spending one week in sep-2005 and decided to check with trip advisor. That was a real mistake. We choose Melia El Mouradi Palace Hotel in Port el Kantaoui because all the reviews were quite good, I still cannot believe it. How can you appreciate a hotel where you have to wait up to 25 minutes to have a bottle of water / wine while having lunch? When you asked for a glass you could wait no less than 10 minutes. And the food? The first day it was not bad, but it started to be worse and worse, finally the last day it was almost uneatable. Even the pastries we got in the plan back home were better than what we had in the hotel!!! It's true the installations were not bad, rooms, pool, tennis courts... but this cannot make you forget when you arriving to the reception and the person you speak to doesn't understand because she doesn't speak neither english, or french, or spanish or italian. Is that the best person to be at the reception desk?? What for? I don't think there are many arabs guests, are there? It's incredible that someone can rate 5 stars this hotel. Most of the Motels have a better service. It's not understandable that in a 5* you have to let a deposit (10 dinars, 4.5 $) for having a pool towel, for having table tennis stuff, for playing mini golf and more, and more, and more. Another funny thing, I had a confirmed booking on that hotel since 2 months ago and when arrived to the airport they told me they had overbooking (!!?) and I was sent to Melia El Mouradi Hammamet (more than 60 Km far!). Wasn't it possible to inform about this prior to our arrivel to Tunisia (It's true, a part of the fault for this is from the Tour Operator but the hotel has the major responsability). When we rejected to stay in Melia El Mouradi Hammamet we were moved to Riu Bellevue hotel in Port el Kantaoui, this is only a 4*, but what a difference. Rooms were a bit older and facilities were not such good, but staff was absolutely delighting, everybody from the recepction people, to the maids, from the director to the pool guys were incredible, nice, good professionals, simply wonderful. Of course I will never come back to a Melia el Mouradi hotel. Unfortunatelly I have been to 3 (Hammamet, Palace and Palm Marina a few years ago) and there is always such a bad service that they reach to spoil all your Holiday.

We chose Tunisia to spend a week's honeymoon and the Mouradi Palace as we had read some good reviews on this website. On first impression the hotel was very grand and clean with lots of marble and crafted wood everywhere. We were welcomed with a free soft drink and were allocated to a twin room even though we had specifically asked for a double bed. We went down to reception immediately and were told to come back in the morning and they will change our room. As it was midnight, we did as we were told. Then in the morning we were told by the manager that he didn't care that it was out honeymoon and would not be upgrading us. We told him of the stench in the room and that the shower was not working.... After three or four returns to the reception (alongwith our rep) they finally upgraded us to a 'King Size bed'.... Our first room was smelly and the shower didnt work. The second room was a lot nicer. Not European 5 star but very clean and nice with a balcony overlooking the pool and a sea view. There is a TV but only BBC World Service and Eurosport as the English channels. The food was nice and varied (breakfast and dinner included)... The staff were very friendly but I agree with other reviews, sometimes I was wondering if they are putting it on for a good tip. There was free entertainment which we didnt really go to watch. There were three bars, one showed live Premiership games which can be handy for the blokes! PEK itself is a man-made resort with a nice marina and some good restaurants. This hotel is a good 20 minutes walk to town so if you want a hotel closer to the action this is not the one for you. A 10 minute taxi journey up the road to Sousse will let you see more culture, especially the medina and shopping centres. There are lots of trips that you can book with the tour operators. We sadly only went for a week so could only go on one. We will definitely be back for more and might choose a hotel closer to the town centre next time... KI and HI

My wife and I have just returned from a break at the Melia El Mouradi Palace. Had a fantastic time, hotel more of a 4 star than 5 though. Also there seemed to be a pattern emerging after talking to fellow guests at the hotel whereby when you check in you were given an awful room at the side of the hotel, but if you complained, you were immediatly given a fantastic room! Also, food was certainly not the best, and the dining arrangements were somewhat chaotic. When you check in, you are given a card for the dining room with your time to eat on it. At your first evening meal hand it to the maitre de and he will give you your table, this is your table for the rest of your stay-or at least it should be! if your first meal on arrival is breakfast, then you just find a table and hope for the best, wait until the evening to get sorted. I know im making a big deal out of this, but, if like us you arrive in the early hours, nobody explains what you need to do, so i hope i have given you some idea. I might add, that as breakfast time was so chaotic we had room service every morning instead! Staff fairly friendly and helpful, British tourists seemed to be in the minority, mainly French, German and Russian. Rooms were cleaned every day, great pool and beach, free sunbeds, towels could be borrowed in return for a 10 dinar deposit (one dinar was worth approx 50p) Not a lot of entertainment in the evenings, but that suited us, we took trips into town or had a drink in the piano bar at the hotel. Expect to tip EVERYWHERE!, one good supermarket / tourist shop within walking distance of the hotel (go out of the main entrance turn right and its along the road on the left hand side), taxis available right outside the hotel entrance. Use the yellow ones, not sure why, but that is what all tourists seemd to be advised, and check the price before you get in to the taxi, around 4 dinar into Port El Kantoui, 6 dinar into Sousse, or take a tuk tuk or carriage ride- i say check the price, but we never had a single problem, all the locals were very, very honest and helpful. If possible, you must take the 2 day trip that takes in the sahara desert and other sights such as El Jem(where scenes from Gladiator was filmed) and also the star wars set, also you get the opportunity to ride a camel in the Sahara Desert- cost was about 130 dinar each for the trip plus a further 20 dinar each for the camel ride and worth every penny. If you want a holiday with adventure and culture then Tunisia is for you. Rememeber that you cannot take Dinar out of the country, so bear this in mind when exchanging currency, you can change it back to stirliing at the airport, but you lose around 1/3rd- we were advised to take our currency into Tunisia in American dollars, goodness knows why because it got very complicated-stick to stirling or even use the atm's Eating out is cheap, as are souvineers. Expect to haggle, try the 'fixed price' shops first, these are government controlled, they sell all the goods that you will see in all the other shops / markets, but at a fixed price. The prices are fair and reasonable, so give you an idea of what you should expect to pay when haggling-if you dont fancy haggling then do all your shopping in the fixed price shops. If you like a drink, then be aware that alcohol is very difficult to find outside the hotel, i know of only one supermarket in Port el Kantoui that sold alcohol. If you want a late checkout, ask at reception on your morning of departure, the staff do their best to allow you to keep your room on, and charge 5 dinar per hour.If not there is a room to store your luggage. Cash machine and bureau de change in reception, safes in bedrooms, also air con and a fridge. From September onwards, the weather seems to change, still warm, but showery, and when it rains it rains! but stops just as soon as it starts! We only had a week in Tunisia and it wasn't long enough!! * I have rated the subject as a 4 out of 5, if it wasnt for the standard of food and the chaotic dining arrangements i would have given 5 out of 5!!

My husband and I stayed for a week in April on a half board basis at the Mouradi Palace. The hotel was wonderful. It was massive and so was our room. Our room had its own fridge, safe, and balcony. The maids keep the rooms very clean, and I never worried whether or not something might go missing. The amenities at the hotel were great. There are two swimming pools, an indoor heated one and a massive outdoor pool. The water was freezing cold, but a great place to catch the sun. The weather was wonderful, hot enough to get a burn, but not too extreme. There is also a spa, which I would recommend. For about £15 you can get an hour long full body massage to die for, and there are other services they offer, but we didn't partake in anything else. If you have children or just love activities in general they had mini golf, boules courts, tennis courts, 5 a-side football courts, table tennis, and shuffle board all for free. You are located on the beach, and the sand is lovely and soft. There are two restaurants that we open while we were there. The one was the main dining hall, the food was nice, a wide selection, but it got very repetitive after seven days. The other was an Italian themed restaurant next to the pool. It was good, but a bit expensive, and we often had to wait for long periods of time as service was slow. There are also 3 bars in the hotel with varying closing times, and they frequently have on football games so its nice to sit and watch a game there, but it is a bit expensive. The hotel staff were very helpful, but they do almost instinctively expect to be tipped for every little thing they do. I was take ill on the trip for two days and the nurse on duty was excellent, very kind, and helpful. I was very nervous being in a different country and falling ill, but they were wonderful. My husband and I also went on a two day bus tour of the country called the Sahara Adventure. It was great. We got to see so much of the country, it really is pretty. We saw the colusseum they used in Gladiator, where they filmed Star Wars, road camels in the Sahara desert, watched the sun come up over salt lakes, and went to a desert oasis. It was fabulous. Besides the hotel, the trip was worth it. Everything is taken care of for you, and we had a really good guide. It was definately worth the money. If you are planning to go I would suggest going in April. I wasn't too crowded, and the weather was delightful. My only advice would be to watch out for the people. If you enjoy being haggled, harassed, or bothered you will be just fine. I was cornered in shops in market places, pulled over to stores, stared at, and hollered at constantly by the men. I finally took to walking behind my husband with my head down in certain places so I was not bothered. We mainly found this in Medina, but Port El Kantoui was a bit better, and much prettier. I hope I have not put you off the hotel it was wonderful. To be honest though I probably could have spent a relaxing week at the hotel and been fine. I don't think I would ever go back to Tunisia purely because of the local people outside of the hotel, but if I wanted a relaxing time I would definately stay at this hotel again.