Golf Residence Hotel

Me and my girlfriend decided on tunisia as our first holiday as it seemed cheap and good value for money. I dont mean to put anyone off the golf residence hotel-its fine, if you plan on spending little time in the hotel.....The hotel is rated as 3 star but it couldnt come close to that in real terms. When we first got there we were greeted by a porter who helped us to bring our luggage up to our rooms, I gave him a €1 tip as i didnt have any dinar (closed currency ) since we ariived at 6 am and the bureau d'exchange wasnt open. He stood, staring at the coin in almost disbelief for what seemed like 5 minutes before giving us both dirty looks and slamming the door on his way out. Next our room number 235, if you do decide to stay at this hotel make sure you are not put in this room it is disgraceful to say the least-cracked tiles and the corners on the marble bedstand were filled in with what looked to be pollyfilla. We changed rooms as soon as we could, make sure and ask for a pool view. Also a minor point but no hotel soap or shampoo is provided. Also the mini-bar be very very careful of this. As soon as you get into your room check the list on the fridge and make sure everything is there if its not tell them. They attempted to charge us for something which was missing from the mini bar in our first room, which we were in for about 4 hours from 6am to 10am.Of course the item they were charging for was the most expensive item from the mini bar and neither of us drinks! This may seem minor but they really persisted, questioning us 4 times and trying to take the money off our deposit (for our safe deposit box) at the end of our stay. It was very annoying to say the least. One last thing about the hotel and the area in general please please for your own good watch out for the food and water they can make you very very sick it happened to us and it can spoil your holiday. Im not a fussy person its just a lot of things werent up to scratch. The maids were excellent as were the restaurant staff the pool area was also really gorgeous and theyre were great activities especially the water polo and water aerobics if your intersted port el kantaoui is really nice but watch out for hagglers trying to get you into their shops you have to be firm and say no.Try buying things in fixed price shops which are dirt cheap anyway, you can get cheaper but the haggling can get annoying especially in sousse where you wont get a moment of peace but some great bargains can be got if youhave the patience.If you want an unforgettable time go on the 2 day desert adventure its amazing you ride camels take a trip to a mountain oasis in a 4x4 and spend the night in a hotel in the sahara. Tunisia is a great place but you have to go on trips and plan things out so you have a lot to do. If i was to reccommend a hotel i would say the five star hannibal palace or the hotel kanta which are both excellent. Sorry the review is so long!

Hello, after taking my two children and my husband for a relaxing family ! holiday i have come back to share and warn anyone coming to this hotel! On my first day i fell into the swimming pool due to the edge being slippery, i have fractured my leg and was then told by a number of other holiday makers that the pool hadn't been cleaned the night before. Also, the entertainment for my children was absolutely disgraceful !!! One of the fathers hit Azmi for foul language used at their child. He also swore at my eldest son aged 12 because they were playing to near the water polo game !!! He also dunked my eldest and pushed him.My husband intervened and after that we politely ignored one another! on the whole we thought the food o.k untill a catterpiller crawled out of my salad one evening which put us all off and we ate in the resort !!! WORD OF WARNING !!! Saturday nights are advertised as cabaret nights but they are tunisian weddings they start at 11:30 pm and finish at about 4 am We asked the entertainer where the cabaret was and we were all told to watch the wedding. This caused a really bad atmosphere amongst the majority of the guests. On these nights we were down to one waiter, the wedding guests got 10 + we decided to go to the beach after my leg was starting to recover we were told the horse and cart picked us up every 1/2 hour we waited 1 1/2 hours to get to a dirty cramped beach. We certainly will never come to port el kantoui again But ... We went to hammamet and the resorts and hotels there were clean and lovely. !!

We spent a week at Golf Residence and well everything is present in the hotel. The advantage that it has is that it is close to Port el Kantaoui therefore you can even go by walk. At first we were given a room that was kind of a laundry room, it was small and very uncomfortable, supposing to have the garden view but I do not consider what we seen as a garden view. The room was very small and having a rusty fridge and a loose wardrobe door. This room was changed for us and well, we were given a more pleasant one, having the balcony on the street. The corridors are not nice at all. The room service is a bit limited, sometimes not having shampoos and shower gels until late and you have to ask for them, this is also common for the towels. The food in the hotel is not so interesting, just good enough to eat something in the evening and have some breakfast but nothing special. The pool area is very interesting and the animators are very friendly and make it an enjoyous experience. The bad thing that happened was before we left, we had to pay for something I do not know what it is cause they talk in French, that they said we took from the minibar and well it was not true cause we did not took things due to being expensive but well, we had to pay them to get our luggages and leave. Like Tunisia on the whole, I describe the Golf Residence as trying out to make money from tourism from simplicity, from being cheap, although buying things is not so cheap as everyone thinks it is. They are thinking that being cheap will help them gain money, thinking that everyone is rich.

I must admit I was very worried about visiting this hotel after reading some of the reviews. I can now definitely say that many of the reviews I have read are misleading and the people who wrote them must either have stayed at a different hotel or are very difficult to please. I travelled there with my husband, 3 year old daughter and my mum and dad. We arrived late at night and the check-in at the hotel was speedy - we were in our room within 15 minutes of arriving and our cases arrived in the room shortly after. We didn't have any tunisian dinar to give to the bell boy so gave him a couple of pound coins and he was happy with this (although he didn't wait for a tip - we had to call him back). I was quite hungry on our first morning but wasn't looking forward to breakfast after reading the reviews. I needn't have worried. I agree with the fact that they do serve a lot of eggs at breakfast time (poached, boiled, fried, scrambled, etc), but there are also other things to choose from (croissants, pastries, yoghurt, toast, jam, pancakes, doughnuts, fruit, cake, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, milk, cereals & two fruit juices). We spent most days around the pool and always managed to get a sunbed for all 5 of us (we usually put our towels down when we went for breakfast at around 8.30am). Matresses were only 1 dinar each (around 40p) which is very reasonable. We ate lunch at the poolside snack bar where they serve sandwiches, pizza, bolognese, salads, soup, etc, at very reasonable prices. I didn't find any problems with the evening meal and found the food to be tasty. There was always 2 soups to choose from, a salad bar, 2 meat dishes, vegetables, rice, pasta, potatoes (try the mash when it's on - it's lovely), a fish dish, one or two vegetarian dishes, fruit, cakes, cream cakes, ice cream. In fact I felt quite spoilt for choice and would often try a small amount of something I wouldn't normally order in a restaurant. Usually whilst abroad I would order plain things such as chicken or steak so would never try anything new. Even my fussy 3 year old found something she liked each night. The entertainment wasn't professional but was fun - the animation team (Azmi & Mohammed) certainly worked hard to try to please everyone. I would recommend seeing the changing ladies show that comes to the hotel every monday - we saw this in our 2nd week and then wished we'd also watched it the first week too as each show is different. Outside of the hotel is lovely. The harbour is gorgeous and very clean. The shopkeepers do hassle you but if you just say a firm "no thank you" and carry on walking they are fine - no different to any other holiday I have been on. We also had the man pretending to be from our hotel but just carried on walking - he soon got fed up of following us. I would suggest that if you go on a pirate ship then book this through your rep. We booked one in the harbour. It was OK but the food was horrible (very bony fish, brown salad & mushy watermelon). Also the sea was very rough that day so more than half the people on it were sick. I would recommend visiting the waterpark - its just over the road from the hotel which is handy. We had a lovely day there but I would say that if you have small children with you then keep an eye on the local kids because they just push them out of the way to get on the slides. Also note that you can't take your own food and drink in to the water park but this is not a problem as the food is reasonably priced inside anyway. Another good feature of the hotel is the brau house. This is around the back of the hotel. The two men in our group (and occasionally me and my mum) enjoyed the beer here. They serve 3 or 5 litres of beer in a tall plastic tube on your table so that you can serve yourself. Just watch them for putting plates of food on your table as they do charge you for this. Myself and my husband also visited the nightclub on two occasions. It's free for hotel guests and we had a couple of good nights. Although the drinks are expensive here. Overall we had a fantastic holiday at the Golf Residence Hotel and I would definitely return. You don't get a posh hotel but you get what you pay for. It's very clean and friendly and we met some lovely people (hi Jo and John!). At the end of the day your holiday is what you make it - why spend two weeks looking for faults when you could be enjoying yourself. So if you are planning to go here I hope my review helped and please be opened minded and ignore other reviews - visit for yourself and form your own opinion.

Having just returned from the Golf Residence, I can say that although the staff can be commended the hotel itself was a big let down. The decor was badly in need of upgrading. There were parts where the paint was falling off ceilings in the corridors and also if your an animal lover you would be appalled at seeing a cat that was trapped in a ceiling space for 4 days without rescue. The managements answer was to board up the hole where the cat was appearing in an attempt to hide the problem until the poor animal died or it managed to find a way out. Luckily the cat did manage to escape. I personally would not choose to use this hotel again in future trips to Tunisia.

After reading some of the reviews on here we were a little worried to say the least. The pros definitely outweigh the cons. The only downside was the choice of food at evening meal. We didn't go hungry but it wasn't fantastic, which didn't particularly bother us as the heat seems to curb the appetite anyway. Thats the negative side out of the way. Now for the positives. The hotel was very clean, the rooms were large, the staff were very helpful, the location is within easy reach of the port, the pool area was nice, but the best part for us was the private beach. A horse and carriage picked you up and brought you back and the locals are very friendly. It was a very regular service and the beach area was fantastic. It only cost 1 dinar (40p) per day for the lounger, mat and parasol. There is a cafe on the beach where you can buy typical english food and it is very cheap. An example was 2 chicken salad sandwiches and chips with 2 soft drinks cost 10 dinar (about £3.60). There is nightly entertainment with the majority of it being free. However we must recommend the changing ladies show. Absolutely hilarious and only 10 dinars each (£4). After visiting Sousse we were so glad to have picked Port El Kantanoui. Sousse had a lot more shops but some parts were grubby. El Kantanoui on the other hand was kept spotless. The marina area and shops were very idyllic and a few evenings we ate in one of the many cafe/restaurants that are there. A steak and mushroom meal and a half a roast chicken meal with 1 litre of lager and 1 litre of freshly squeezed orange juice cost 25 dinars in total (£10). Around the marina are a lot of water activities. We took a trip on the pirate ship which we recommend. A word of caution. We looked around the marina in the morning and afternoon when it was very quiet. This is when you get the local shopkeepers trying to guide you into their shops but a simple no thank you or maybe later dissuaded them. If the idea of bartering is not your thing then there are plenty of fixed price shops. The best time to view the marina is the evening. We found that the majority of people either do excursions, or are by the hotel pools or on the private beaches during the day and descend on the marina area at night. With a lot of people about the shopkeepers do not hassle you. We wouldn't recommend car hire in this country as the locals seem to drive and stop wherever they choose even if its in the middle of the road. The local police are there to move them on by blowing whistles at them. Besides which you only need to cough and a taxi is there offering his services at very good prices. Agree the price first though. As this is a very poor country and the people are paid very little they rely on tips. 1 dinar is usually sufficient or any change. We met a couple who gave their waiter a 5 dinar tip at the beginning of the holiday and he treated them like royalty, couldn't do enough for them and laid flowers on their table every day. All in all a very enjoyable holiday in a nice hotel. Recommended.

we have just come back from staying at this hotel, and agree totally with the 2 comments below, (even to the point of a man saying he was a waiter from our hotel, we didnt know what he was on about though so politely ignored him!) i was apprehensive abvout this hotel after reading some of the other reveiws on here, so was very pleased with it, very good value for money the room was nice (3 star hotel) so dont go expecting top class luxury, maid service was very good. hotel didnt smell of smoke! food choice was ok (not fantastic but always enough to fill you up), i am a fussy vegetarian but there was always vegetarian options. ate so much watermelon! staff were very friendly, the poolside entertainment was very good (the dancing!) get up early though to get your sunbed as these go very quickly.

this was my second visit to golf residence.. i came in february 2006 aswel. Quite alots changed since feb. the old animators joe and bebo have left and they have got new animators (karim, haikel n azmi) these guys have really lifted the hotels spirit. before there wasnt much to do but they have brought in aerobics, water aerobics, volleyball, water polo, darts, silly games, table tennis and do dances and stuff round the pool. They have also opened up a kids club which was something the hotel really needed. Food was tasty something for everyone. im a really fussy eater and always found something i liked. It didnt give me a stomach upset which is what some food in other hotels in port el kantaoui have. hope you find this review helpful.x

We were very apprehensive after reading the reports on the golf residence hotel. Ok so it is a little shabby and some places could do with a refurb but other things make up for this. We found the food to be very good both breakfast and lunch with a good choice it was all very well cooked none of the usual cold buffet. The staff were friendly and helpful. Pool area is very nice with sun beds on grass area and round the pool area so you dont feel like you are on top of everyone else The private beach is not bad but a bit small but go on the horse and cart its a nice trip and its free apart from tip There is a good even match of guest s French german and Russians as well as English of course so you dont feel alienated Entertainment is not bad we tended to go down to the Marina for the evening. Be warned though men will walk up to you and say do you remember me I am the waiter from your hotel and offer to show you round they will take you to rug shops etc apart from this we found no problems with being hassled as long as you just say no thanks politely they leave you alone We would go back again

This hotel is one to be missed.The hotel is very shabby and smokey.The 1st night we arrived we were given keys to room 195,very basic and dirty looking.The corridors leading to the rooms smelt of sewage and the room itsself smelt of chip fat because it is above the poolside snack bar where they must cook all day.We complained and were moved to room 224 we were kept awake all night because it is above the disco.The food was not nice and the coffe and tea tasted foisty.The pool area outside is pleasant.There arent many lights on in this hotel at night either.Where they do the evening entertainment is very dark and smokey you would be best off taking a boiler suit to wear for the evenings.The guy who does the entertainment at the hotel is very nice.The hotel seemed to be full of younge serbian men that sit and drink by the lifts most nights.We were offered a 3rd room which we declined and we then moved to the hotel Kanta which was fantastic,several other people moved there.If i won this holiday in a raffle i would give it as a prize to my worst enemy.