Golf Residence Hotel

9 readers found this review helpful

after reading reviews on this website i was dreading going to this hotel! we arrived at lunchtime and the staff couldnt be more helpful, hotel looks lovely from the outside and it had a really goood atmosphere! our room was huge with a huge balcony facing the pool and then one on the otherside facing the waterpark! the poolside was brilliant and we spent everyday there! the animation team James Memo and Bassem were amazing! lovely lovely people and very hardworking! the food was really tasty and there was a wide range which was goood. this hotel is one of the best i have stayed at and fair enough its not a 5 star but i would not say the amount of terrible things other people have wrote about it... i will defo be returning next year and cannot wait for it!!

4 readers found this review helpful

Never ever again will i ever go to this country...you pay dinar for a wee.i was not ready for what these people did to me and my family.i felt like a fish to sharks..con after con..the hotel the golf residence cater for the french and german people only..rubbish brik is a sandwich which would cost you 10dinar 5 pounds about.stay clear of the fair ground..they wait like scam artist ready to attack..music at the hotel till 6am.they tryed to put me on the top floor with 3 small children. I was having none of that.the maid wonderful the thomas cook rep..stuart great would go back to see him.he help me get over the bad parts of the country..dont rush in to buying on your first few days, or and sun glasses should cost no more than 4 dinar they will tell you 30 dinar just be aware and make sure you have plenty of loose 1 dinars because its tip after tip.dont know about you all but i had to save for many years. And i feel i was robbed out their.i spent so much on tipping over 100 pounds in 14 days.you can not but they expect it.they think we all loaded..good luck..

3 readers found this review helpful

We returned from the Golf residence on 19/05/2010.We stayed for 2 weeks and would NEVER recommend it to anyone.Run down is an understatement,loose floor tiles,loose toilet seat,stained bath from dripping tap and the oldest fridge i have ever seen.Dark green paint on door frames,faded pictures on wall,oldest tv ever.I had read some reviews before we went but seeing it was unbelieveable,we have stayed in better self catering and 2 star accommodation.The maid was lovely,never bothered us when we put "do not disturb" sign out.The room was cleaned every day(even when we went on 2 day trip to Sahara)Air conditioning very very noisy but you couldn't leave door open at night as disco starts at midnight and ends at 4am,we were in room 202,on second floor, the opposite end of the building to the disco.Food got very boring after a week,bit hit and miss on quality. Waiters were pleasant took your plates and cutlery away very quickly,then you had to take clean cutlery off another table also condiments and at breakfast you were asking for sauce as they seemed to only have 2 bottles for the whole dining room.We were charged 2 dinars for a litre bottle of water in dining room.We got hassle in the dining room from the entertainers and photographers,we refused both.Entertainment seemed to be focused on men dressed as women,we didn't go to any.Other people who went told us it was rubbish.We did have a turkish bath and massage which was good.We went for a relaxing holiday but this was far from relaxing everywhere you went you got hassle from taxi drivers to shops.we were charged 7 dinars for a taxi to sousse to go to the medina ramble(a thomas cook trip,the reps who took us round told us they could get anything we wanted cheaper on the black market,they seemed to be on the make all the time,they only took you to the most expensive places,5 dinars for 2 orange juices,we usually paid 1.5 dinars each.The tuktuk and noddy train are fixed price and are an experiance.We felt, like most people have said,that they(Tunisians and thomas cook) were out to rip you off.The final straw was the day we left,just about to get on the coach to the airport and the porter told us we had used the mini bar and not paid the bill!!I went to reception and asked what mini bar as the fridge in our room was empty when we went in the room and the 2 cans of beer in the bin were what we had bought from the shop but he insisted we had used coke and fanta(which we don't drink)politely told him where to go.BE WARNED this is a scam all the hotels use(we found by talking to others on the coach.One lady was asked to pay for washing and ironing 4 mens shirts and 2 pairs of trousers ,she was on her own and was upset as she had recently lost her husband.We made the most of our holiday but certainly wouldn't recommend Tunisia to anyone because of the hassle and feeling threatend wherever you went.The Saharah trip was an eyeopener and not for the less able bodied and the whole place looked like a war zone.

53 readers found this review helpful

We arrived on 28th April for our 2 week stay and having been before we knew what to expect.Thought we'd let you know in advance.
The weather was very hot, we had 2 cloudy days but it was still warm. It was on average 26-30 degrees at the end of april and til 9th may.
From the airport Monastir to Port El kantaoui a taxi should cost you between 12 and 20 dinars. DO NOT LET THE TAXIS CHARGE YOU MORE BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE CONNING YOU. We found out online before we went how much people pay and we also asked other holiday makers and staff and we know that you shouldnt pay more that 20.
In some places the Golf Residence hotel is described as 4*. This isnt the case,it's def a 3* and needs a lick of paint around the whole hotel. Saying this the pool area (indoor and out) is wonderful and at 4-5* standards. There is also an indoor heated pool which is quite deep but outside there is a shallow childrens pool and an adults pool with a shallow end and a very deep end.
The outdoor pool has music playing from 10am-around 3.30pm and the great entertainment staff called 'team Animation' are 4 very energetic and lovely guys who provide daily activities such as aerobics, water aerobics, darts, table tennis and even Arabic lessons!There is also a kids club which they also run in the mornings near the pool area.
The Animation team guys also provide the nightly shows in the downstairs Bar 'Aladin' which I warn you gets VERY very hot and extremely smokey as smoking is permitted in there.This bar is quite cramped so if you want to see the shows which start at 9.30pm every night then you need to get there at around 8.45-9pm to get a seat.
Upstairs next to reception there is a plush new bar/lounge with white leather chairs and a large plasma tv showing English news and football matches. It really is lovely but for non-smokers it can get very smokey in there.
The dining room is quite large and not very well lit, most nights they took to using JUST candle light on each table instead of having the lights on!Great for energy saving costs but not so great when you want to see what you are eating!It also gets very hot with hundreds of candles on.On the occasional night when they switched the lights on it also got so hot in there that the windows all steamed up.Alot of us complained so they started to open some of the windows. As for the food, well there most certainly is variety and the desserts are to die for!
After a week though some of the stuff is repetetive but still to a great standard. Theres something for everyone, every night a different local meat tagine/stew with cous cous, a table with different cheeses, a long salad bar, the hot food counter usually had pizza, spaghetti bolognaise, chips, different potatoes every night, 1-2 different chicken dishes every night (chicken tarragon, kfc style chicken,grilled chicken skewers) 1-2 beef dishes (beef bouginion/beef curry) 1-2 lamb dishes (lamb tagine/skewered lamb with peppers) also ALOT of turkey (roast turkey/turkey kebab skewers/turkey curry etc)
There are usually alot of vegetable dishes to choose from aswell
Desserts are lots of different sponge cakes usually very creamy and witha variety of other ingredients such as chocolate,icing,fruit etc. There is blamange, custard, egg custard, fruit (mainly oranges) biscuits and Merengue on some nights which was YUMMY!Some nights there is a self service icecream cart with strawberry, vanilla, pistachio and chocolate flavours.
Breakfast was the same food everyday, coffee,tea,hot milk machine, a choice of two fruit juices (for 3 days it was a lovely strawberry juice and a lemon juice, the other days it was fruit cocktail and lemon juice or coconut juice which was heavenly! Food= Croissants, pastries,salad, leftover cauliflower, yoghurt,fig jam,apricot jam, pear jam, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, ONLY frankfurters (no sausages or bacon as it is a muslim country) baked beans and the famous ring donuts which are very yummy and popular! There is also a chef which makes continuous pancakes for you and fried eggs or omlettes. A choice of melted chocolate, honey, jam and sugar for the pancake or donut toppings!
The waiters were overly attentitive. They snatch your glasses and plates away as soon as you finish and they patrol up and down near the tables which is unnerving at first but then u realise they are under the watchful eye of the restaurant manager to be fast. The waiters are nice but they get very stressed out. They force you to buy a drink with your dinner...water costs 1.5 dinars which is very cheap but you have to tip the waiters so after 2 weeks it all adds up!
We all had a BIG issue that the kitchens dishwasher was leaving glasses and plates with a fishbowl smell..we complained about 4 times and only near the end of our stay did they possible clean the dishwasher. DONT LET THIS PUT YOU OFF THOUGH because the food is GREAT and you can tell the manager if your things smell funny and he will have them cleaned for you.
Outside near the pool they have a snack service, the food wasnt the best there to be honest and not very cheap. The chips were often not cooked and hard and the wasps really hassled us when we ate there! We had about 3 or 4 all over our food!The drinks are about 2dinars which is about £1 at the moment, not bad but you can buy drinks ALOT cheaper in their supermarket next door! A big bottle of Water is like 20p!
The hotel also has a snooker table downstairs and 2 small souvenir shops with jewellery which was really well priced! very cheap even compared the the near-by marina shops. I bought a sterling silver pendant with a blue gem for just 10 dinars (£4.50)! You cant haggle in the hotel shops but give it a go in the Marina and in the Medina in Sousse.
We got SERIOUSLY hassled this time by shop keepers on the Marina, alot worse than 3 years ago when we came here. Just saying non shookran (no thankyou) politely DOESNT work anymore.
They engage with you by trying to guess where you are from as you walk away and if you respond then you are stuck standing there! Some of the shopkeepers are genuinely lovely people with great stories to tell, but others truley hassle you and try to get you into the shop by saying ''JUST A LOOK,NO BUYING I PROMISE no hassle''.
If you go into the shop they start bringing things to you to buy and whatever you glimpse at they are trying to put it into your hand to buy! It is a nightmare so honestly, if you know you dont want anything you just have to be stern and keep walking, dont let them stop you in general conversation. Also dont say to them how long you are staying for and that you may have a look another day because they ACTUALLY memorise your face and if they see you again thats it!!!
The marina is quite expensive, some of the food on the complete other side of the marina is alot cheaper. theres a place with red canapes/umbrellas that offered us a free starter, steak and chips and a dessert for just 10 dinars (£4.50ish)
They are all so despereate to get the business that you can haggle with them for steak!
In the Maisons de jardin (where the nighlty fountain light show is) there is a GREAT crepes stall with yummy combos for great prices. the whole garden area is lovely BUT at night when you go to see the light show (which is free) BEWARE of groups of boys around 18-25yrs old ish, they pickpocketed alot of tourists and spilt up and followed people around, they did aim for women and younger girls so do mind your bags/wallets/etc!!
Near the hotel there is an AMAZING patisserie called 'La Koucha, with a tempting variety of cakes for only 2.5dinars (£1.20ish) and if you go up the stairs next to it there is a very cheap but character full Chisha bar (hubblybubbly/ flavoured steam with small hints of tobacco) its very safe and clean in there and is beautifully Moroccan themed.
They also do YUMMY milkshakes and icecreams along with crepes aswell all around 2-4 dinars(£1-3's)
We discovered that they did grilled paninis with ham and melted cheese which were SO nice and a surprise because it was HAM!! (they called it Jambon et fromage Paninis) If you dont like the SUPER hot red sauce called Harissa (used everywhere in Tunisia!!) then make sure you specify WHEN YOU ORDER because they tend to put it on or with everything!
You can get petit taxies to Sousse (nearby city and beautiful beach) for around 2-4 dinars. DONT LET THEM CHARGE MORE BECAUSE IT DOESNT COST MUCH TO GET THERE!! You can also get the noddy train (also known as the tourish train) for about 2dinars each or 3.5 dinars return which is a BARGAIN! Its an experience..a little bumpy but we really liked it.
There is also the option of riding in a tuk tuk which you could catch near the marina for 2dinars each ANYWHERE!They go really fast and its quite fun really!
If you dont go with a travel company and you want to go on trips the hotel has their own excursion organiser called Soeuf. He sits near the pool everyday with his excursion book and you can haggle with him but the prices are ALOT better than the travel rep prices anyway so you cant get him much lower than what he offers.
We went on a quad biking trip which was fun (some of the quads broke down but it was still fun) and then you get to go to see an ostrich farm aswell. This was about £20 each and he also offered camel riding trips and all sorts. He is multi-talented as he does henna tattoos by the pool also which goes down well with teens!
Nearby the hotel there are also alot of horses and carriages which start from 2dinars each..you can haggle the price for these. Just as we were leaving the hotel had a horse and carriage FREE service to the beach every morning which is very handy as the walk to the hotels private beach is QUITE A DISTANCE!!!
The golf residence beach is small but very very lovely, it's clean and the water is crystal clear, They have a watersports service there which was so cheap. There were sun loungers which are free but you can pay 1 dinar a day for a mattress for it.
On the beach there are umbrellas for shade and a cafe with toilets. The staff from the hotel man the beach and try to keep street vendors from hassling you. We only had one guy with english newspapers and magazines (charging about £5 each!!!) and another selling necklaces and scarves. They go away if you say Non shookran with no hassle.
The hotel also has a beauty spa area on the lower floor near the indoor pool. They have a range of services (hairdressers, masseus and all different spa treatements) I didnt have any done but i have heard they are very good with reasonable prices.The beauty staff are really lovely people, one of the guys walks around the pool aread during the day and if you take time to sit and talk with him his story is very touching and he really was a lovely guy!
Near the indoor pool is also a small gym if you feel like working out.
The rooms are basic. A mini fridge with cans of coke/fanta/water and beer. We filled ours up with drinks from their supermarket next door! There is NOT a kettle but enough plug points to bring a travel one (recommended as their coffee was very watered down). There is a television but it only shows one english news channel, all the rest are german, polish and Arabic.
The rooms were clean and cleaned every day by 2-3 different cleaners, one comes for the towels and changes them for you and one cleans the room. They finish the rooms quite late..around 2.30pm and they do constantly come in and out of the room which is VERY ANNOYING if you want to rest. We put the do not disturb sign on the door when my mum was ill and the cleaners IGNORED it and barged into the room 3 times! They are very sweet ladies but having them going in and out from 9am-2.30pm is irritating. We gave them 4dinar tip at the end of the stay, some people gave them like 5 but by the end of the holiday you will be broke from tipping EVERYONE for EVERYTHING! It is their way of life but it really does grind you down.
The second you arrive at the hotel with your cases the porter grabs them out of your hand and insists you do not take your own case then he takes them up to your room and stands there waiting for a tip. We gave him 2dinars at the time but at the end of our stay he got a little rude with us so we grabbed our own cases and put them in the reception luggage hold room.
The reception staff are ok, they are very helpful. Not so friendly but they are helpful. They have a bureau de change there which had great rates. They do NOT TAKE CARDS though, only cash and travellers cheques.
There is a bank next door but they HATE exchanging with cards and always send you to the nearby ATM machine which never worked or the bank in the Marina (10 minute walk or 15-20mins if you have mobility problems). The taxis/tuktuks and horse and carts DO NOT fdrive to the Marina or Jardins De Maisons as they are not allowed by the police so anyone with mobility problems have quite a walk to the Marina.
The hotel has a nightclub next door til 4am, some guests said the noise at night was awful but we did not hear it at all. We were room 279 and 285 facing the pool and we heard nothing. Some people on the ends and facing the gardens said they had noise.
The nightly entertainment wasnt anything to shout about..bless the 4 guys who do the shows..the comedy was not funny at all and slightly embarrassing but their dance routines were commendable ESPECIALLY the riverdance sections. There is an Indian Show which was very good and had a man lying on a bed of nails with 5 people ontop of him. the Tunisian Folk night was also very good with belly dancers and musicians.
Overall the holiday was really good, we cant complain to be honest. The hotel is dark and not very well lit and DEFINATELY needs a lick of paint BUT the room has what you need to have a good shower and a good nights sleep and the food is a plenty! If you want a relaxing stay by a fabulous pool and on a great tropical looking beach then this is the hotel for you. The Marina and fountain show are lovely, yes you get pestered ALOT but it is an experience that should be had at least once.
If you want to know anything feel free to contact me chriddyeyed@hotmail.com

3 readers found this review helpful

have just returned from golf residence on 16/05/10after one weeks have board, read previous reviews went with open mind. hotel is tired needs total dedecoration especially bedrooms ,and bathrooms, shower certains had never seen a washing machine, but on a plus the swimming pool and area it was set in was lovely weather for may hot we paid £294 each and got a hotel worth that . Staff friendly and worked hard especially chamber maids .our room over looked swimming pool area lovely view.Food was ok always hot never starved, but you can only eat so much cabbage and coliflower for breakfast.
The one DOWNER Monistar airport what a dump the dirtiest smelliest airport i have ever visited >if you went to the ladys a cleaner handed you 3 sheets of toilet paper then wanted a tip when she went home she took all the toilet paper with her ?????. Our plane to gatwckwas delayed 3hrs 40 minutes so unfortunately we had to stay much longer . Ladys take spare toilet paper wet wipes anything that helps your stay in an airport where hygiene has never been heard of before staff are unhelpfull as well Why Thomas Cook use it god knows

13 readers found this review helpful

We came here on holiday last August and we found it a delight place to go, we would be very happy to go again.
The food was really nice, a good selection, as it was a buffet so it was different every night which was good, it was good for kids and for people who wanted to taste the local cuisine.
The hotel rooms were alright, the beds comfy and they were always made up again during the day (if you wanted them to be).
The bathroom was nice, clean, only problem was that the toilet broke and wouldn't flush! but other than that it was fine.
Also a little warning, if you have daughters keep a close eye on them when you're walking about the town as the men can be a very full on.
The staff at the hotel however were lovely and very welcoming and they were always encouraging us to get up participate in pool activities, which was very nice.
The night entertainment around the bar area was pretty good, always something different each night and one night there was a show which was really cool - fire-eaters is all I'm saying.
I would recommend to go in the indoor pool as it's much colder and it's good to get out of the sun and it was always quiet when we were in there, we mostly had the entire pool to ourselves.
Futhermore, I would highly recommend a trip to the spa in the hotel as it's very cheap and they offer a good range of treatments which are excellent.
At night it was nice to get out and look around the harbour... always some excellent deals to be had, as you can haggle with them very easily and they will always reduce the price... DO NOT pay what they first offer because it will be a rip off!
It's nice to travel around the resort because it's interesting to see the history of the place, and it was easy to do as the taxi's were very cheap... but remember to agree a price before you get in the taxi.
Overall it was an excellent holiday and I would recommend it to anyone.

20 readers found this review helpful

I have just come home from a week's half board stay at the Golf with my daughter. I must say that the reception staff were efficient and we got our money changed quickly at a good rate. We had a good room with balcony overlooking the front with palm trees on either side. The rooms were basic and comfortable. I could have done with a fatter pillow and hairdryer but, for the price, thought the facilities were good. When we arrived after an early start, all we wanted to do was sleep, so we found a couple of sun beds and went to sleep for the afternoon by the pool. We were worried that the Aqua Park over the road would be noisy but it doesn't open until May so were not bothered by it. The evening buffet was plentiful and varied, with soup, local pan fried fish, rice, couscous, pasta, salads, lovely desserts and fruit.
The next day, after the talk from the Thomas Cook rep, we visited the Marina to get to the beach and were hassled relentlessly, both from boat owners on one side and stall holders on the other. No matter what we said they would try to haul my daughter especially into the shops. I was also offered 5000 camels for her! I didn't accept.
The weather was absolutely lovely. When we got to the beach it was lovely and quiet, with soft silver sand and a sloping shore with people fishing from the beach. We stayed there with our bottles of water for most of the day and went back to the hotel through the back streets to the main road to avoid the Marina.
There is a shop at the Hotel which sells souvenirs and leather goods and silver jewellry at fair prices. The spa is very good value and Sam, who books you in, is very good to talk to.
We weren't keen on the evening entertainments, cabaret, karaoke and drag queens. We would have liked to see the Indian acrobats but it was cancelled. While we were there it was my daughter's 21st birthday. I mentioned this to our waiter and that night he placed a flower centrepiece on our table. They will also provide a cake if you request it. Hotel staff were very kind but some of those promoting excursions were a bit pushy. We did go on the Sahara 2 day trip the rep told us about and had a fabulous time travelling down, visiting places en route with an hour's camel ride into the Sahara. The overnight stop at the Hotel Sahara Douz was lovely. We then visited oases and berber dwellings and had a horse and cart ride to a fruit growing area.
All in all, I would recommend this trip as it is quite different from anything I have experienced before.

14 readers found this review helpful

Me and my partner went to the hotel in June 2008 and we loved it so much we are now taking our little girl who will be 11 months when we go this year. Great hotel, the staff are fantastic and you have lots of advice from your rep. Everything was so easy and laid back even going for a week you feel as if you have had a real holiday and not a rushed one. I would really recommend this hotel to anyone and cant wait to go back in may. We also done the sahara tour which was amazing as well so would recommend that. Food was great so much so we didnt feel we needed to eat lunch as we were stuffed from breakfast and dinner. Everything is used so quick that fresh is always being put out.

17 readers found this review helpful

I've been to Port El Kantaoui 3 times before and was a bit wary about The Golf but to be honest it was fantastic value and although perhaps lacking the finesse of The Kanta or Hannibal Palace was a friendly and well run Hotel.
We were given an awful room on arrival-balcony literally in the car park! I asked to be moved which happened without fuss.
Excellent food - buffet style with good choices and vast quantities!
Our waiter Lottke was a charming man who looked after us very well-extra table decs etc. I think you have to A: tip generously and B: be polite. These people get paid 3rd world wages and work 7 days a week.
The Marina and beaches are great .
The resort is looking a little tired especially the fun fair area but I'll go back. Compared to a holiday in Europe there is no contest!

14 readers found this review helpful

just back from a weeks stay at the golf residence what can i say apart from if you get the chance to go there DO you"ll love it. the waiting staff, the housemaids and the porters were all really helpful and friendly though the reseption staff are a bit above their station. theres more food out on the self service area than i"ve ever seen in any other hotel. try the fish dishes and the harissa???? they brew their own beer but its only 2% proof if you want a stronger brew try the brau house at the end of the road.