Reviews of Vincci Nour Palace Resort, Mahdia

As relatively seasoned travellers to Tunisia over the last 25 years, this hotel was disappointing to say the least,it is not 5star(although the facilities will say otherwise). We have been in better 3star hotels than this in Hammamet,Port El Kantoui,Djerba, etc.The hotel generally looks and is quite impressive, however certain things let it down, for example the lounge area- upholstery stained and grubby, waiter service almost non-existent,reception staff unhelpful if you are English.The dining room/restaurant,a mixture of UCP.(for older reviewers)and Macdonalds.First night the manager escorted us to a table for two, on discovering we were on half-board at the time we were ushered outside to a patio area.The following morning at breakfast self service, coffee cups but no saucers on enquiring at lack of same the maitre de hurried off to the kitchen and returned with just two saucers, also cutlery was hard to come by.Overall we wholeheartedly agree with comments by another reviewer, a delightful young lady, Micheala whom we `adopted` for the week.To reassure her parents, she was in safe hands at all times,we miss the Brummie accent,you have our e-mail address Micheala if you would like to get in touch!In conclusion we would NOT reccommend this hotel, in fact sad to say we will not be returning to Tunisia again.

I'm a young lady and I stayed at this hotel for a week on my own, and apart from two days of rain it was o.k!. The hotel is advertised as 5 Star, but I'd rate it at 3. It's a nice big hotel, but my room wasn't ready when I got there, and I had no rep to help me check in (he was still at the airport!) and I was concerned as I was on my own. I had a car-park view room, even though a pool view was requested, but for 25 pounds, I could upgrade!. Anyway, couldn't fault the room service, it was great and the staff could be trusted with personal belongings.

When I read these reviews before I went, NO-ONE mentioned, it was a NON-ENGLISH hotel!!!!!. Even my tour operator didn't tell me, had I known..I wouldn't of gone!. There was TEN of us English in the whole hotel!. It was full of French, Germans, Russians, Dutch and Italians and ALL were rude and VERY annoying!! It was very hard to communicate with the staff aswell as they couldn't really speak English and us English felt like the minority and not very important.

I was half board here, but I soon found how expensive everything was and the rep(when he showed up), told us we could up-grade to All Inclusive at 8 pounds a day, which me and a few others did as it cost my newly made friends nearly ten pounds for two brandy and cokes!!. I worked out I would be saving in the end, and we were all soon treated differently with All Inclusive bracelets on!, but I still had to pay for a small bottle of coke to take back to my room and in some restaurants and bars, All Inclusive guests weren't allowed in!.

The stairwell lights in some parts of the hotel, weren't working, even the 'back-up' lights weren't and everynight my friends had to nearly crawl down these stairs as you couldn't see anything!. Also the corridor lights are meant to click on when someone walks through, but no, most weren't working at all so again, couldn't see in front of your face, let alone your room number!. Health & safety wasn't their priority, as we witnessed two people with plastered arms after falling in the hotel and someone fell in the inside pool (which isn't heated in the 'out of season'!!) and there are NO lifeguards anywhere on the complex. The swimming pool itself was 1.50m deep all round, no shallow end, so if your short like me, hold onto the side! The other problem was that the pool for adults and children were freezing, so a 'dip' was literally a dip, which was a shame as it looks really nice and inviting.
I didn't go on the beach as it was packed all the time and everyone was squashed in like sardines!.

Not much to say on the entertainment side, other than it's not in English!.

Eating here was o.k, DON'T eat at the pool bar unless you want your food with a portion of flies!!. There are flies everywhere, I've never known a country like it!. They are a constant headache.
It was nearly the same food everynight, not very exciting, I got used to eating the same stuff everynight, but you do have to wait for a table to be laid first and watch out for those flies!.

I won't be going back to Tunisia, I thought it was a dirty place and the only things I'll miss are the weather and the friends I made.

Initial thoughts when we entered the nicely air conditioned lobby were wow!!! Very impressive. Things started to go down hill from there. We were pointed to sit down and handed forms to fill in (along with another English family). We were left there for about 30 mins not knowing what was happening. Eventually a receptionist came over and gave us our keys only telling us that the evening restaurant was open from 6.30 for the first sitting and closed at 10. Never did figure out when second sitting actually starts!! Breakfast was 7-10.



Room was clean and comfortable - no complaints there. Maid always cleaned it to a high standard.



First day by the pool and we were relaxing watching our 5 year old daugher play in the baby pool. Suddenly, very loud music comes from the speakers. Once our ear drums had become adjusted, it was ok - until.... a "song" repeating the words "mother [--]". I'm sure you can imagine that we weren't expecting that, especially not during the day on a family resort with the kids around the pool. They forget that there are some English. During our visit a total of 16 in a hotel that slept over 1000!). A couple of days later the same song gets played. This time I went over to the DJ and asked him not to play it again as it is extremely offensive. (I would just like to say that it's not like I don't swear - I just don't want to hear it when I'm relaxing by the pool with my 5 year old next to me!). Some other people told me the next day that it had been played again but we were at the beach.



The evening "entertainment" - where do I start. Well, "entertainment" being in inverted commas should give you some idea about the quality of it. It was never once introduced in English or any of the content English. It's ok if you're French, German or Italian - at least you can understand it. Then, one evening during a dance show in which 3 adults were street dancing, they played a certain 50Cent (that's who I was told it was) record that contained "mother [--]" and other hurtful lyrics to some people.



We did raise this with our rep who did speak to the manager and entertainment manager and he was assured that they had been destroyed. Interesting to hear if anyone else who goes after Aug 08 heard it!



One of the reasons we chose this hotel was because it has a kids club. We weren't given any information about it and had to go looking. We soon realised that our daughter would have been the only English child so wouldn't have had anyone to speak to and the children's reps couldn't speak enough if any English for a 5 year old to understand!!



Clean, pool clean (except for the music!!) and beach lovely. Food was fine (though trying to figure out what some of it was was interesting - even when it was translated, it was wrong (potatoes were translated into English as apples!))

Hi,

I would like to comment on the Vinicci Nour Palace in Madhia, Before we left we read some of the reviews that have been posted and to be honest i was not really looking forward to my holiday and at one point considering pulling out, What a mistake i would have made.



I feel that this hotel has not been given the credit that it is due, I found it really hard to find any justification on the bad reports and believe me i tried.



The staff were friendly and warm an yes some may have had a problem with the english language but they tried to accommedate all the languages - My husband speaks a little french so we mangaged to get by.



The food was to die for it was warm mostly cooked fresh in front of you - salad bars, Harrissa ( very hot ) but fantastic if you go its a must that you try some, we were half board breakfast was fantastic so much to choose from and lets be honest you don't go on holiday to have a big fry up you go to experiance new ways and new things. our only problem with breakfast was the eggs the did not mark 3-4-5 min eggs and we picked up 3 mins instead of 5 no big problem though leave to the side of your table and go get another one.



Tunisian night was fantastic i did not know that you could flavour rice in so many ways they also put on Italian night which the waiters all have diffrent uniforms for.

on the whole the food was fantastic there was not one bad meal - if there is any complaint it would be the amout of diffrent this to choose from.

Deserts - if you love your pud this is for you AMAZING and the do all the main big desserts in small bite size version the dispays - perfect.



As for the waiting staff - we sat at the same table for the 14 days our waiters were Moncep and Samia - Always had a smile and a kind word Moncep spoke good english and Samia a little but french was her main language although she tried and i don't speak french i tried a little to these guys work from about 5 in the morning right through to midnight they are hard working .



Pricing we paid for our drinks with dinner as we were half board large bottle of water and 2 small beers 9.350dr about 3.60 GBP. this never varied always the same price as in other comment they said the prices vary.



the lobby bar was slightly cheaper for beer than the piano bar as the piano bar was a smoking bar and did not serve all incusive which was good it was very quiet again the staff worked really hard in the bars.



Our room when we first walked in i though i was in the wrong room - it was huge had veiws of the pool, and the sea it was of a very high standard and the rooms were cleaned every day - we had 1 light bulb out which we reported on the form that you hang outside your door - this was never replace but this was my fault as i put a passed date on it (lol).



The marbal floors were buffed every day and the gardens are fantastic I was surprised to see that i had some of the same plants back home yet mine look terrible, the gardeners all take pride in what the have created.



The beach was sandy and clean and yes there are vendors that walk up and down trying to sell their wares - However they are not allowed to approch your bed or come on the the vinnic area - However there are some vendors who do try and they are usually moved on by the life guard or the security very quickly although the beach is private we have to remember that the front streach is not as no one can own the sea!



Would we do it again YES in a heart beat we may return next year.



eveyone is allowed an opinion and I would encourage people to do so - but remember when you choose your holiday you are going to immerse your self in an other culture relax and enjoy experiance new things learn and develope a greater understanding of how other countries work and most of all respect how hard working the staff are.

my husband and i visited vincci nour hotel in feb 2008. what a fantastic holiday we had. the hotel was cleaned to an impressive standard every day 24/7.the dining room was very impressive with the wonderful waiters who wait on you hand and foot, nothing too much trouble, even decorating our table with flowers on our last evening meal, which made that evening meal rather special, although my husband wished he could of sat somewhere else, but thats just men for you!! i fully appreciated the kind jesture. if you are of the older age bracket , aerobics daily, afternoon tea dances, evening dance themes are available and as you can imagine, very entertaining for the younger age group of 40 plus!! the re arranging of the tables by the older age groups gives the waiters a full time job re arranging them to there original position after every social function!! the beach is straight out of the back door, cheap cafe on the beach as well as the well mentioned greasy spoon , right turn out of the main enterence and a short distance down the road is well worth a visit. we will be going back again in feb 2009, to totally unwind and relax watching the world go by, but also having the odd laugh to ourselves. vincci nour palace is well worth a visit.

My girlfriend and I really enjoyed this holiday. My girlfriend in 19 and I’m 24 and we had plenty to do here.



Lovely clean hotel with friendly staff. Set in a small quiet town with plenty of shops to pick up some bargains. All of the shop keepers will try and charge you well over the odd's but with some good bartering skills you'll walk away with what you want. My girlfriend wanted a pure silk pashmina (I think that's how it's spelt) the guy in the shop started off at 55 tdn for 1 which is about £28 (you can get one in London for about £55) we got 4 for 85 tdn which is about £10 each.



People were right when they say it isn't a 5* hotel compared to the UK, but news flash you’re not in the UK. If you go to Tunisia you will need to book a 5* hotel if not the Vincci Nour another 5*. We went on the 2 day excursion which cost £53 each (bookable with Cheryl at the welcome meeting's), on this trip we met some lovely people that weren’t staying in a 5* hotel, they had cold water from showers no money changing facilities on site, overall they were jealous when we told them about the Vincci Nour.



The pool's are really clean with plenty of seats available (just watch out for the Germans), the indoor pool is heated with a jacuzzi, the outdoor pool is heated purely by the sun, even in November I found it to be warm enough (girlfriend didn't think so), the beach is about a 20 meter walk away from the hotel which has a private section just for hotel guests, the lounges and umbrellas are free here.



Regards to the food there is a lot of choice and variation, pizza and pasta is always available, serving different styles of food each night Tunisian on Thursday, fish on Monday, and Spanish on Tuesday. If you are half board don't eat lunch at the hotel as will cost 20 tdn per head, we went to town with another couple and all 4 of us had starter and main and drinks the total bill came to 25 tdn. Go to eat as early as you can as the food will go cold but that’s just common sense the longer you leave food the colder it will get.



As I said we did a 2 day trip for £53 each which included entry into el djem (where gladiator was filmed), lunch, a visit to a house of a berbar family ( a house built into the mountain's), ride on a camel in the Sahara desert, evening meal, a night in a hotel, breakfast and lunch for the second day.



We paid an extra £2 each for a horse and chariot ride through an oasis where they grow the dates and we paid an extra £17 each for a 4x4 trip into the mountains and over the sand dunes, if you don't want to do the extra's you can spend a couple of hours in the local town. On this trip you also stop at lots of places such as mamata (star wars was filmed there), dry salt lakes, the religious capital of Tunisia and somewhere that "the English patient" was filmed (never heard of that film). The views you see on this trip is breathtaking, don't forget your camera!!



I would say that 95% of the Tunisians that we encountered spoke very good English I did try and speak French where I could though.



With regards to the prices of drinks being more expensive than shops, that’s no different than England. A pint in the hotel cost about £3 and a coke about £1.80 about the same as a bar in England. Mint tea is a must.



Our room was cleaned every day clean towels every day and the maids are something special, if you do stay in this hotel just leave an item of clothing on your bed and you'll know what I mean about them being something special, I tried to recreate what they do and my girlfriend laughed at me!!



I hope this report is of help to somebody as I read a lot of bad reports after I booked my holiday and because of that I wasn't looking forward to it but I was pleasantly surprised.

I won't go back for at least 10 years as I think we saw a lot of Tunisia in the short space of time but when we have kids we'll take them there, and I’ve advised my friends and family that Tunisia as well as the Vinnci Nour is well worth a visit.



P.S; I should be getting paid for this!! I'll settle for a free holiday!

On first impressions the hotel is very impressive, huge reception/entrance hall. Our room was also very large. The hotel and grounds were clean and tidy, staff were friendly and helpful. Food was ok, however, geared towards German, Italian and French tastes, who were the majority of the guests at the hotel.



Entertainment needs sorting out, unless you are happy to waltz or foxtrot the nights away. Local drinks from the bar were not too bad, price wise, however, if your tipple is whisky, vodka, gin or brandy based, prepare to have 'your hat nailed on' approx £6 a shot. We stuck to Pastis and lemonade, not only was it relatively cheap, it also caused vivid hallucinations.



The hotel is no where near 5 star, 3 star plus at best, as a structure and with the grounds it has lots of potential to be uplifted to 5 star, no problem, however, the prices would increase as well. We've been to Tunisia twice before, and really enjoyed it, however, I wouldn't be visiting Madhia again, much too quiet.

We have just returned from our worst holiday ever!



We have been visiting Tunisia now and again over the last 25 years and this is the worst hotel we have ever stayed at.



The food was appalling, boring and cold and the restaurant was more like a hot, dirty canteen.



The crockery was often dirty and most of it is chipped, so we decided to pay extra and eat in the a la carte restaurant which had better surroundings but the same food.



We were not told that the hotel was all inclusive for guests from other Countries which would have dissuaded us from going. As soon as the staff knew we were British they wanted money for everything.



The Management were most unhelpful.



The entertainment was terrible and the evenings were extremely boring.



The only positive thing I have to say is that the room was clean as even the weather was bad which at least is not the Hotels fault.



Do not waste your money by visiting this terrible place.

Well, I have to agree with other people, this is no way a 5* hotel more like a three. Most of the waiters were nice and friendly although on some occasions you had to wait a long time for a drink. If you were around the pool and in one case, one night at tea time I didn’t even get my drink.



The entertainment is poor and if you can speak German.French or Italian you’re laughing as you won’t have much problems speaking to the staff. Although they do try their best.



As for the rooms, I thought that they were nice until I had a water leak in my room and was moved to another. The last 3/4 days of my holiday the bedroom was clean but the bathroom was in much need of a refurbishment. The water didn’t drain straight away from the bath and also had chips in it and the soap dish was green with dirt. If you do want clean towels, make sure you wet them through so they’ve got to change them.



I went for the weather which is great and enjoyed the tours I went on but I would not visit the place again. Well not at least for 10-15 years as there is no nightlife or pubs to go to. I hope I haven’t put you off too much as the tours are well worth it.

This is the worst hotel I've had the misfortune to stay in. Arrived late in the evening. Dinner which we'd paid for was dried up and inedible. Drinks scam prominent.

Told the rep about it and, despite this and a letter to Air tours and received a bland reply ignoring our complaints. Thank goodness it was only for a week.



The beach is super, the pool and outside also. Bedrooms are poor and somewhat run down.



If you want to eat well priced food and drink turn right outside the hotel and walk 600 m to a brilliant and cheap restaurant. Hotel Dining room is just like a canteen. Waiter’s friendly but service slow and poor.

Be careful ordering drinks in the evening and check both the amount and the price, both changed with regularity. Reported this but Bar Managers refused to speak with us. Pity, we're quite easygoing normally.



Ah well, back to Port El Kantoui via with a different operator. First letter of complaint in 45 years so we've been lucky I guess.

Can't think why there are such vastly differing ratings for this hotel, could it be to do with the time of year guests use it? Anyway the facts as my family saw them.



Positives:

Excellent large clean pools - both indoor and outdoor, good spa facility.

Close to private beach.

Good sized rooms, good air conditioning and clean.

Food good with satisfactory choice although I'm no Egon Ronay.

Staff generally courteous and polite, particular mention for waiter Mustapha in the restaurant.

Some organised activities on site during the day and paragliding, banana boat, etc on beach at competitive prices.





Negatives:

Extortionate Hotel mark up on food and drink over the one local supermarket (500% on bottled water, 300% on soft drinks, 150% on tea/coffee). Alcohol very expensive as hotel has local monopoly - drank not a drop in 2 weeks!

Gate security staff rigorously enforce policy of preventing guests bringing drinks/food purchased outside into hotel.

Lip service paid to pool safety, lifeguards looked inept when a child got into severe difficulties. No visible beach lifeguard. No apparent emergency equipment.

Beach dirty, litter a big problem in Tunisia, motor boats in close proximity to swimmers.

Poor and repetitive evening entertainment.

Constant hassling for tips and attempts made at every opportunity to sign guests up for excursions.

Probably enough sun loungers but guests' greed means you have to stake your claim before 7.30 to get one.

Mostly French guests, some polite but many were extremely rude and impolite despite my 'heroic' attempts to speak in French, especially in the restaurant.

Hotel has a generally shabby look apart from the impressive reception area.

Half board does not include water or tea/coffee at evening meal.

Nowhere to go to outside hotel in the evening as it is not close to any other nightlife, going for a simple walk not even an option as local men are intimidating and roads dangerous. Avoid Medina in Mahdia like plague....pickpockets and hassling rife.



Summary:

As has been well noted 3* not 5*.

May suit some people's needs but all the British we spoke to, probably 6 parties, were of the same opinion as us that this hotel is not suitable for British families. Some were far more scathing than us and had very bad experiences.

Will most certainly not be going back to either this hotel or Tunisia ever again.

You have been warned.

I agree with both the bad and the good reviews of this hotel! It is definitely not a UK 5 star, but then I don't think anyone who goes there pays UK 5 star prices (we certainly didn't).



The place was clean, but a little shabby. I found the staff friendly, except for the 'flower boy' who followed you around and hassled you to buy expensive jasmine bunches.



Food was ok, but not great. Pool was nice; don't have kids so not too concerned about lifeguards etc. Beach was ok - quite crowded but had a couple of cheap places to buy snacks.



It's definitely not the place to go for a luxurious break where you just stay in the hotel, but as a base for exploring the area it was ok - we used the train to go into Mahdia and up to Merida, which was a nice excursion. The train station is about 150m from the hotel.

This is a real let down. Hotel looks amazing in photos and lavish on arrival but then.....you realise what a horror it actually is.



Food is repetitive. Rooms like a travel lodge. Rude and clingy staff.



Bar prices are over the top, that’s why you can only get half board, as they want to sell you booze on site, as there are no other places to drink or any shops selling alcohol.



Pool and beaches are dirty as this hotel is situated on a headland with strong winds...but hey don’t let me put you off.....oh yeah nearly forgot...5 star on what planet?

Going along with previous comments on this hotel, I must agree with other people when they say how poor this whole operation is. The staff were rude and not at all accommodating.



Given English was not their first language staff did well in communicating - this was about the only good point to mention.



The pool is large and accommodating but only staffed by 2 life guards which are not able to see the whole pool which can be a problem if you have children. Also the beach is in similar circumstance in that there is one life guard who usually sits near the back of the beach on a chair clearly with no vision of the sea. And to also not that there is an indoor pool with no lifeguards.



This definitely was not a 5 star rating. The rooms were hot as the air conditioning only worked when your key card was in the electric slot which meant you had to be in the room for it to cool down.



Overall weather was great its a shame the sunshine is wasted on such an establishment.

Just come back from two week stay at this hotel with our two children and had a fantastic stay. The rooms were large, clean and well air conditioned.



The staff were friendly and helpful. This hotel is used to dealing with Italians, Tunisians and the French therefore English is possibly their third or fourth language, however they do speak English. The food was Mediterranean and Tunisian fayre and well worth trying. If you are planning to go have booked to go, embrace the people, the place and culture.



Try to speak French if you can it will be appreciated. There is a small mall of shops and restaurants to the right of the hotel that serve cheap meals. The beach is safe and clean, and the pools are great. We would recommend this hotel and hope to return in the future.