Marhaba Royal Salem Hotel

we arrived on the 28th of Dec looking forward to a well earned break full of great sea views ,good food and entertainment. We spent along time surfing the net and read all the reviews.We paid A premium price because of the time of year! upon arrival reception had no idea or record we were booked in. after being shoved aside and told to wait we were eventually shown to a room. The room was spotless ans had a fairly good view so no problem there (we thought).From then on all went down hill.the weather was awfull so you had no choice but to sit inside in your coat as the hotel was so cold. The bar staff in the main bar just ignored us and when they did decide to serve us they were blatantly rude.
The first evening the restaurant was ok as there weren't to many guests then the Algerians arrived and kept arriving within 24 hrs you couldn't sit anywhere, you dare not leave anything on a seat ,if you got one, as it would be gone. we ended up going to our room early every night as that was the only place you could sit.
The food went down hill rapidly, cold by the time you managed to find a table although we were given a regular table to sit at when you got to the restaurant surprise it had been given to you guessed it algerians. They were rude, pushy and disgusting. they would pick food up with their hands taste it and then put it back on the buffet. Not suprisingly I spent over half my week in bed with food poisoning.
The Rep what rep we seek her here we seek her there!!We did complain to the manager and he said we could eat in the second restaurant on New Years Eve. Alas I was ill so didnt eat anyway. I insisted that my husband at least try and enjoy the evening so off he went for welcome coctails at 7pm he returned at 10 only having been served a starter he did well, in the main restaurant some english guests went hungry. Entertainment. During the day you could play boules on the beach in the morning and archery in the afternoon that was it so if you were brave enough to brave the cold you had something to do for all of two hours. evening entertainment started at ten if not later for the adults the children had a mini disco at nineish for half an hour the same five songs every night. As there was nowhere to sit or stand that was a no
goer so off we went to our room. If we were lucky the noise died down at about two am. Yes you guessed the Algerians. screaming and shouting , fighting and general dis regard for anyone. They did a great job of totally destroying the christmas tree and continually breaking the lifts, not much fun when your on the fifth floor.
The good points the beach bar staff were great we used to escape with our coats and hats to get away from the A'S .They were polite friendly and new your names and drinks within a single visit. Shame the rest of the bar staff weren't as well trained.
The chamber maid, great freindly and bent over to help me when I was unwell, Still no sign of rep!!
The day before we left peace at last, but everything closed except main hotel. We find rep at last at the back of a very long queue ask for a complaint forms only to be spoken to like a naughty child. I didn't have food poisoning because I wasn't admitted to hospital. why had we left it so long to complain? Sorry didn't enter her vocabulary just excuses.
Would we go back again although many older people on their long winter breaks said normally its a great place to stop. yes none of them had been before over the xmas period and wouln't again that says it all. No i wouldn't go back.. 4th Jan just arrived home husband in bathroom being ill so still the holiday from hell goes on!!

after surfing the net for days, and comparing hotels and their facilities and entertainment, and rooms on offer etc etc, i decided the marharba royal salem had everything i was looking for, large complex of 3 hotels sharing facilities, lots of entertainment and animation team to keep me amused,,,,, i have respiratory problems and needed somewhere where i wouldnt have to be walking miles for outside entertainment and shops etc, when reading about rooms available, i thought great, i have a choice, i always opt for ground floor single room with a terrace overlooking the main pool, so if i dont feel too good, which is quite often, i can at least sit on my terrace and still be occupied by what is going on around me.... when i arrived, was told there are no ground floor rooms with terraces......not even ground floor rooms, so why offer something that isnt available, ok, yes there are 3 hotels here.... but 2 are closed down for refurbishment. so the guests who booked into the other 2 hotels have been up graded to the royal salem. even so, there are 264 rooms here, and the at present there are under 100 people here. there is no animation team, and there is no entertainment. you have a choice. sit in the bar, from where i am sat, there are 7 guests, or in the lounge, which is an extension of the bar and there are 16 people sat, everone talks in hushed tones, a couple of lads burst out laughing a few minutes ago and the bar staff just glared at them, no they are not drunk, they are having coffee,,,, i chose to come here for a month to get away from the british weather for christmas and new year and to be entertained. i am a single person and i always travel on my own, i am not a miserable old biddy always moaning, i am a very sociable person who enjoys a good laugh and joins in to the best of my ability as far as my health allows.i am here for 28 nights, ive only been here a few days and bitterly regret my decision for coming, i spent yesterday trying to hunt down my holiday rep, to no avail, my room is beautiful with a veiw of a fountain and the the sea, not a soul in sight from my balcony, which is very isolating, i have no option but to sit in the bar or the lounge if i want company, but there are only so many cups of coffee one wants to sit and drink..... it feels very much like sitting in the drs waiting room waiting for your appointment to happen....ive strolled around the grounds a few times, the gardens are well kept, it was bit like being on a desrted island, nobody in the pools, tennis courts or playing crazy golf, no children in the play areas, the snack bar was deserted, not even a member of staff in sight, the only people i have seen were 2 gentleman sat doing a crossword by one of the empty hotels, and 3 workmen painting window frames, all the shops are closed, except one, where i purchased some postcards, the lady said i was the only customer they had served in 4 days...... im not one to watch tv whilst on holiday, but, its the best entertainment to be had here,,, even if the only english speaking channels is cnn and the world news, and a film i watched at 3am this morning with sub titles...yesterday, i asked at reception to direct me to shops,,, i was told a five minute walk..... 35 mins later i arrived at the said shops,,,,,,,, it was a small supermarket, which i had a stroll around and bought some very nice fruit. so far, the buying of the fruit has been the highlight of my holiday,,,, today i am going on an adventure and get a taxi to anywhere that has people, ....... but first,,,,,,,,,,, i am on the hunt for the rep, and i am not leaving this place until i have found him........ i will keep you posted. i am not naming the tour operator i have come here with until i have spoken with my rep.

2 readers found this review helpful

We are going back to the same hotel for the 2nd time in 3 years. I have read the reviews about English papers being 3 days old, If you want to read an English paper stay in England, as for the food being boring it was far from it there was a fantastic selection at ever meal time, ok there wasn't a full English breakfast probably because we were not in England. The staff unlike ourselves spoke several languages and made you feel most welcome. I find it difficult to understand why people moan about not getting English things when your not in England why go abroad if you just want English things stay at home. I only got annoyed twice both times caused by English people 1 young child swearing constantly in the pool and the other a 60+year old mother dictating a letter of complaint to her 40 year old son

1 reader found this review helpful

what a fab place, very good value. Food lovely, rooms very nice. would deffo go again. special thanks to dj tiesto.

My family and i have just returned from 2wks at The Royal Salem Hotel. We had a pleasant stay,but unfortunately wont be going back.We had children with us,2 of which were small 1 and 2yrs there was nothing at all for them to do.The childrens entertainment consisted of 4 dances a night which was classed as a childrens disco,what a joke.The men that did the entertainment were ok and friendly.The 2 older children went to the kids club,but came out after about 45mins as they sed there was nothing to do.The beach bar was still under construction,which meant diggers going back and too while sunbathing on the beach,and drilling sawing,and hammering going on constantly.The rooms were ok,and cleaned daily,except i slept for 2 nights in a room that the patio doors wouldnt close due to being broke in and the lock being damaged,this happend to a few people throughout our stay.The food was really poor,i lived on chips and buns n butter,except the odd time they did grilled meat.The bar staff were really good but if you dont tip you do wait a while to get served.Port el Kantaoui really deserve a visit,like another world.There is not alot in the immediate area around the hotel,but taxis are reasonable.Our stay was ok but would not go back in the future.

Had a fab week at this hotel, the hotel was very clean, the staff was fab the entertainers was brilliant! thanx to alex dj tiesco and omar 4 making it brill wk, def go back again this year if we can. miss it already! lol

I Have been to this hotel 2 times now and i will be going back in october 2011 again. The Animation Team is just amazing, Alex and Omar are the best. The staff are very friendly and the maid does an excellent job with the bedding. Beach is also very nice and the pools are amazing. If you give some money to a lifeguard then he will reserve sunbeds for you everyday.
I personally think that this is the best hotel in Tunisia.
There is also a kids club there so you can drop the kids off and they take very good care of them and sometimes will take them to mini golf which is in the complex.
Hotel is very safe and secure, we could leave the children there whilst popping out to the shops which were just round the corner but our children and 12 and 14 so i wouldnt recommend leaving young ones.
Shops are just a few minutes walk from hotel which is excellent.
Very Cheap.
The Food and drink was lovely and the waitors were very kind.
There is a TV in the room and lots of storage space.
I would recommend this hotel to everyone; Families, couples etc.
Cant wait to go back there in October and see Alex and the rest of the animation Team :)

4 readers found this review helpful

we came to hotel marhaba salem hoping it will be good because of its 3-star rating and the fact that their are 2 sister hotels and the marhaba salem rooms are terrible and english papers are 3 days late and they cost 2.50 dinars and a lot of begging and children trying to give women flowers and if you would'nt take them they would throw them at you and expect money for them and if you have real england shirts the tunisian men try to swap your england shirt for their tunsian shirt and the food for breakfast is mainly eggs and for tea it is bolognaise and chips and pizza and in our roof their was a leak and the people at reception did'nt seam to care and the cleaners re-arange your things and the head for food would stare at you and my family called him the mafia man because he dressed like he was in the mafia and in sousse they say i am your chef in your hotel and the taxi driver told them your hotel and would possibly kidnap you if they have the chance and if you put your towels out in the morning and if you were'nt on them for 10.00am the head of pools would take your towels off your beds and say their are no reservations for the beds

6 readers found this review helpful

My boyfriend and i stayed her for one week all inclusive and had read a lot of bad reviews but we were extremely happy with the hotel. The room was lovely very spacious and had a kitchen area with a fridge which is unusual for a hotel. The grounds of the hotel is gorgeous and the reception was lovely. The staff in general were friendly. the food was ok for a week any longer than a week and we would have went mad from eating pasta every lunch and dinner. Breakfast is good particularly the omelettes. In the evenings in the hotel reception there was a singer who wasnt very good and there was little else worth goin to in the hotel and practically nothing in the surrounding area. The room did hav a tv with a movie channel which was good. Overall it was a lovely relaxing holiday and i would highly reccomend this hotel for a short break to get away from everything.

6 readers found this review helpful

This is one of the best hotel in Tunisa all the staff are very good and the hotel is very clean facilities are all very good we was there for 14 days Marhaba Royal Salem Hotel we would highly recomend and we would go back again .
Marhaba Royal Salem Hotel is 30 minits walk down the beach from sousse or take a taxi witch are cheap about 3 dennar witch is about £1.50 .
Or you can go to Port El kantaoui witch about 1 hour up the beach or again in a taxi for about 4 dennar thats about £2.00 to £2.50.
Beware of the beach sellers they can be a bit pushy as can be the shops with no fixed prices just say no thank you and walk away and try to keep your cool just remember that Africa is poor and they try very hard to make money .