More Traveller Reviews of Marhaba Royal Salem Hotel
Lovely Hotel
from Eelizzybeth
Just returned from a week's holiday at the Royal Salem hotel and I can highly recommend it. The rooms were spacious and cleaned to a high standard everyday. With regards to the food it was really quite good, buffet style with plenty of choice (usually a different theme each evening ie Tunisian, Spanish etc) The staff were great- friendly and helpful. The hotel is part of a complex of three, the others being the Salem and Beach Salem hotels. They all set in beautiful planted gardens and there is a choice of three outdoor swimming pools and one indoor (at the Royal Salem). The beach is only a few minutes walk through the gardens and boasts lovely sand and shallow, gentle and clean water. The beach has it's own security so you don't have to worry about being hassled by sellers. Re Tunisia and Sousse I loved the country! I never once felt intimidated or overly hassled. In the medina a polite no thank you surfices and you are left alone. It all added to the exciting experience of shopping in the Souks. The entertainment at the Royal Salem would perhaps be on the quiet side for some people... mainly a singer in the evenings but there was probably other things going on at the other two hotels. Also there are always organised evenings out you can go on, or head into Sousse or Port el Kantoui.
Fantastic Honeymoon
from Sarah-Jamie
We had a fantastic two week honeymoon in the Royal Salem, it was great that you had the facilities of all three hotels. The Staff were fantastic and the entertainment team were brilliant and worked very hard. Sousou in particular was brilliant, even though we were roped in to playing mini golf, french boules, archery, water polo, darts etc! The room was really nice and the maids were fantastic! We had a lovely sea view and was very comfortable with the air conditioning. The food was fine, lots to choose from, myself and my husband both had funny tummies most of the time we were there, but I think this was a mixture of too much sun, alcohol and rich food! We went on the sahara 2 day excursion which was brilliant, I would recomend it to everyone, two early starts and lots packed into a day, so i would recommend you do this in the middle of your holiday so that you have time to relax afterwards. We also ventured out to Port el Kantoui and into Sousse which are both worth a look. The Medina in Sousse is where you will get hassled to buy things, although we went with another couple and I am sure that this helped us not to be pestered too much, it is funny hearing things like lovely jubbly and come and have a butchers!! The evening entertainment was interesting!! We enjoyed the bingo every night and won once! There was a strong man show, mister salem and miss salem, a not very funny sketch show, and an interesting male singer! Even the nights where the entertainment was not that great, we still had fun. Met some lovely people, ate lots, drank lots and came back with a good tan - what more could you ask for?
horrible..Tunisia: Never Again
from kcoin
I have just return and i still cant beleive that my vacation is over and that it was spent in this hotel... 1.had to change room couple of times (you have to add money otherwise the stuff is convincing you that there are no rooms available): Room was dirty, toilet was broke, couldnt lock the door, flood in bathroom and in the room,dirty towels and smelly.. 2.Food was almost ok..everyday the same but in different shape!!!I ate spinach four days in different ways...of course stomach aches whole vacation... 3.very unpleasent stuff..have to give them a lot of tips and even than they can be very moody 4.beach is 2x2 m not with sun beds but with RUSTY CHAIRS.. BUT nice garden and three different pools...but all together: NOT GOOD HOTEL and not 4* and I dont understand this other guys here saying that this hotel is good????!!!!
Enjoyed 2 weeks here
from BILK
We have just returned from an enjoyable two week holiday here. The rooms are fairly spacious and clean, we had a great sea view. The rooms were cleaned every day bar twice. The hotel is on a complex shared with 3 other hotels, set in well kept gardens. It has 3 outdoor pools and one indooor. The staff are very helpful and polite. Our daughter celebrated her birthday while we were there and for our evening meal the table was set with fresh flowers, a card and candle. Then the waiters brought out a cake and sang Happy Birthday to her. The food was fine, buffet style with differing meats available for dinner (we never had lunch). An arrangement of cakes, ice cream and fruit for dessert. The beach was nice but small, the water was nice and shallow. You can walk along the beach for miles. If you want to do any watersports haggle with the sales people near the hotel. We only payed 25D for 2 people to paraglide, the advertised pice is 40D Nearby there is a bank with ATM and a shop which is cheaper for drinks than the hotel. The only negative points are that you have to either get up early (German style)! to put your towels out on the beach or the poolside or you pay the lifeguards to save you a sunlounger, tips mount up over two weeks. Be aware when you change money at the hotel!!! Make sure you ask for a receipt (which you need to change money back at the airport) and count you money before leaving the counter. Unfortunately the currency exchange clark, based in the hotel, awards himself tips without asking!! Avoid the cocktails at the bar as they are made with squash, the same stuff you get for breakfast. If you want to do an excursion go for the 2 day Sahara discovery which was great. Make sure you have plenty of water with you and cover up in suntan lotion before the camel ride in the Sahara.
Very Clean
from spicyfoodlovers
We stayed in the Marhaba Royal Salem but used the pool beside the Blue Star hotel (part of the same complex) and loved the water slides, esp my 5 year old son! Hotel room was good with a sea view and was cleaned well every day. The hotel staff were mostly very friendly, esp the cleaners. The food was average and expected more local dishes - we found the food bland but maybe because we are used to spicier food. The local taxi drivers try to over charge all the time but still quite cheap to get around. We found Sousse Medina great but was too hot when we were there (July). Drinks were expensive in the hotel compared to other restaurants in Sousse (but no more expensive than in the UK). The beach was small and quite crowded but v safe for children as it is shallow.
Great hotel and fantastic staff
from upeteri
Spent a lovely week at the Marhaba Salem, super staff, nice rooms but bit of a bun fight for the sun beds but tip the pool boy a couple of quid and no need to join the dawn chorus in the morning !! Buffet food ok but would be boring for 2 weeks Super restaurant in Port El Kantaoui the Mediteranee, great sea food and reasonable
nice hotel
from ashdan
went to the royal salem june 2006 hotel is very nice on entering but looking more carefully especially in the tv area need some cosmetic work holes in the walls dirty seats and carpets not so clean an area. The staff are excellent and they make your stay a very enjoyable one the maids work very hard and rooms are very clean if a bit dated. The waiters in the restaurant are very nice although it is not a very nice experience in the dining room I like to enjoy my evening meal at a leisurely pace this restaurant is equivalent to a cafeteria far too crowded and far too many tables with no room in between them too noisy no atmosphere and large queues at all areas of the buffet table. At time it was a free for all especially the fruit if you managed to get a peice you should get a medal they have a lot of russian guests on an all inclusive basis who seem to fill their whole table at once with as much food as they can possibly carry from starters right through to their desserts on one table of 4 people they had 20 peaches on a plate quite obscene to watch. This made sure there where no more fruit for any one else first come first served. If you like this type of dining then the hotel may suit you I dont I think they will have to address the restaurant issues. Apart from that the hotel pool is very small and in the shade but their is a larger pool a few minutes walk away there again go down about 7 am or all the loungers are gone again the russian guests would I stay at this hotel again probably not although i did enjoy my weeks break more to do with us than the hotel. The staff are very very good so all in all it is an okay hotel but not one I would reccomend to a friend.
One of the best holidays at this time of
from A TripAdvisor Member
Our family with 2 children 9 and 12 had a fantastic holiday in Tunisia in The Royal Salem. The Hotel is relatively new and I would recommend it to anyone. People generally, but in particular the staff in the Hotel where great. Those behind the reception desk would give advice and help as much as they could. Even when we got up at about 5 am they arranged for us to have a bite to eat for breakfast. The Hotel has a really good indoor pool, good selection of food with Tunisian and for those not adventurous English type dishes. We went on a 2 day Sahara trip that although we had to get up early was really worthwhile - the highlight being riding a camel into the desert - an hour was about long enough though. Amongst visiting cave dwellers, salt lake, the Atlas Mountains by jeep, fig and date plantation we visited an amphitheatre which was really impressive. We booked this through Med Hotels, our tour operator, which was cheaper than Thompsons. It is a taxi ride to Sousse but this only costs about £1-50 (3 Dinar) maximum. One gets pestered with people trying to sell things in the old town but haggling can be fun if you are not bothered if you buy or not. Government shops do not hassle you and the prices are very good. We hired a car one day (helped by the hotel staff) and went to Dougga which although is a long drive was well worth while - a huge Roman site. £1-50 to get in but run out of English guide books. You get hassled with people to guide you who do not speak English very well though. So long as you can say No! enough times this is not a problem. This is the best winter holiday I've had in 30 years and would go back.
much recommended
from clandite
just spend 4 nights at royal salem what can i say it was just what i was looking for good service, friendly/helpful staff,nice quiet surroundings,and if you want to the livelier resorts of port el kantoui close enough to walk too,sousse too reachable on foot along the beach,me i mainly relaxed around the lovely hotel grounds and strolls along the long and beautiful beach front,i would highly recommend the royal salem as a great base if visiting tunis.
Nice relaxing week
from Wherearewegoing07
Hi we stayed here in early April and the Hotel was fine. The staff were very friendly. There is not much to do if you have teenagers but we enjoyed a week of lovely weather and just relaxed. The breakfast menu was buffet style affair and had a very wide selection. I do not know what the food was like at night as we went either into Sousse or up to Port el Kantoui. Both of these were only about 4 Dinars in a taxi (couple of quid). The restuarants in Port El Kantoui were OK - it was a lot more expensive than Sousse, and the food was just OK. - not really much to do there either. Sousse had a couple of excellent restuarants I would reccommend the "Boneparte" we had a couple of excellent meals there. The Hotel had entertainment on most nights and it was Ok to sit and listen to for a little bit but I think the Hotel could do better entertainment wise (it probably does in the High season). The Hotel rooms etc were fine, nice views of the sea and cleaned every day. We went to Sousse Medina market a couple of times and the prices of leather goods etc are really cheap if you do a bit of bargaining, but be warned they all try to get you into their shops - and it can be a bit annoying after a while, I think you just have to say No and they are not offended. If you use the little restuarant at the entrance to the Hotel be warned that the Waiter seems to like to keep any change as a tip without bothering to wait and see if you are going to give him a tip. All in all I enjoyed Tunisia and would go back again if the price was right for another relaxing week.
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Arrived on the 18th December and we were greated by very friendly reception staff and was checked in and taken to our rooms. Our checkin time for the hotel was given as 'rooms available from 2pm' we arrived a little after 12noon and we were given rooms straight away. The... more