Yadis Dar Khayam Hotel

We stayed in this hotel in February 2005 and were disappointed overall with the tour operator and hotel as a whole.
The reception staff where not terribly obliging during the check-in process and we were forced to hand our suit cases to a bell boy who refused to leave our room door until we gave him a substantial tip!
Rooms where mid-sized but quite dull with small bathrooms and a balcony with the view of a dirt track at the back of the complex. Corridors to rooms where also dark and dingy with poor lighting.
The restaurant on site served good all inclusive food but this was somewhat repetitive.
The outdoor pool was relatively small for the hotel size but an indoor pool was open which was particularly good during the cool winter months.
The on site spa however was among the best I have ever experienced and offered superb treatments.
If offered the Thomas Cook cabaret, I would advise you to decline as the driving time to the venue was some 2.5 hours and food served was of a low standard. I would not rate the value of this excursion.
If you are on a budget, this hotel would be fine but if looking for something of a superior standard, look for alternatives.
I would not travel here again or holiday with Thomas Cook in the future.

Well what can I say about this hotel well it was brill it was red hot so make sure you’ve got air-conditioning in your room.
When we was there 6th august till 20th august it was 47c it was too hot but very good if I want a tan. I would highly recommend this to families that have young children.
The animation team were fantastic, Gaston is 17, Did is 19 and they are both very nice. The animation team work 9.00am - 12 midnight none stop there is always something to do in the day there is a kids club if you want some free time to yourself. Definitely going back next year.

I was a little nervous about going to this hotel after reading the reviews and seeing the very few pictures on the Internet of this hotel.
My worries were proved wrong once we arrived. The airport was fine, we went through Passport control within 5 minutes and were through with our suitcases within 20 minutes. We arrived at about 3am and this was good since it was cool on the bus journey.
When we arrived at the hotel my boyfriend and I were pleasantly surprised and glad of the bottle of water. We both thought that the room was basic, but it was clean and the shower was good.
We were a little disappointed with the breakfast, although a plate of pain au chocolat and crossiants for breakfast was not bad. The cereal was not very nice, but the service in the restaurant definitely makes up for it.
Every single member of staff always said hello and how are you. They seemed to go out of their way to chat and make you feel welcome.
The beach was lovely, although you have to pay 1.5 diner for a mattress, although I think if you go when it is very hot, it is more comfortable without one. Beware that the Germans will have put their towels down on the best sun beds, most probably in the middle of the night, so be prepared to have no shade, unless you want a very early rise. It is not allowed to reserve beds, but the Germans seem to ignore this.
Definitely go on the camel ride, my Madonna was great although she was a little disobedient. The quad bike trip is well worth it and you get to see some amazing views. The pirate ship trip is fun, although gets very packed. The Pirates give good entertainment.
Haggling with the shop keepers is worth a laugh. Make sure that you can walk away thinking you have a deal. We brought 3 drums, 4 lamps, jewellery, ash trays, clothes, trainers, shoes.... the list goes on.
The taxi's are very efficient, and we used to get a taxi to the cask machine and back for about 80p.
We enjoyed the food, and there was variety. Lovely Fresh bread too.
Titi, Gaston and the rest of the entertainment crew are amazing, they perform fun shows nightly and there is always a game of bingo, which is worth a try since we won 30 dinar and a CD. The Animation team are very good dancers, and you will come home trying out the moves.
The pictures on the Internet do not do the Hotel justice, the grounds are beautiful. We had no trouble getting drinks, although I would suggest buying a 6 pack of water for your room, so you don't have to worry about dehydration.
It would be a good place to go with children as there is a lot for them to do, it is not the most quiet of hotels at night, so get used to the music.
I would return to this hotel, it was good fun and amazing weather.

I found this holiday very disappointing from the first day. We found that our on site rep was very hard to find and gave us very little information about the hotel and its procedures we didn’t even know what time the food hall opened. When we needed him we could never find him and when we did he was completely useless and didn’t have a clue about anything.
We found the food to be barley edible with flies constantly landing on it. We all decided to go vegetarian as the meat was horrible, and we even found maggots in the fruit. We then found that the alcohol was very weak and most probably watered down. Our party of 8 found our selves drinking enough spirits to kill us back in the UK but nothing happened. So we decided to try vodka straight and found that it was mostly water, and every time the strength varied. We confronted the bar manager and he shrugged us off and suggested he could not understand us, so we went to our rep and complained he said it was the first time he had ever heard of this, which was a lie because every one in the hotel had noticed we were then told that he would get back to us, and he never did.
We then decided to go and buy our own alcohol in the local shops, as we walked past the local Tunisians would recognise the orange wrist band on our wrists and shout 'ah your from Dar Khayam you looking for alcohol because its all watered down we give you some for Asda price.' we were shocked to find this and quite insulted by the blatant lie our rep had told us, as our apparent all inclusive holiday was a sham, and the hotel was well known for the watering down of spirits. We also found that the hygiene levels of the hotel were well below average and we found ourselves drinking from dirty plastic cups.
The bars shut ant 1 o’clock leaving you with no place to get any water until 6 o’clock in the morning we all found ourselves very dehydrated due to the fact that you are only aloud one glass.

Great value for money, great entertainment, great food and loads to do.
The rooms are very basic but the views from the balconies are stunning (ours was over the gardens). There’s plenty for kids to do - activities are on all day for them and they even do a children’s cabaret show which all the children take part in and is fantastic. The camel ride is a must and going out shopping is not for the faint hearted.
I would recommend this hotel to anybody and will definitely be going back next year.

We booked this holiday very last minute just to get away for a week & do nothing. It was an allocated on arrival deal so we had no idea what to expect. All in all we were very pleasantly surprised.
Arriving at Monastir airport was complete chaos. The queues were horrendous & we were waiting to get through passport control for 1 hour. Our thoughts at this point were we hoped it wasn't "start as you mean to go on". However because we had queued so long our luggage was waiting for us & so was the transfer bus.
The transfer to the hotel was long & very hot (it was only May & nearly 30degC).
The airport passport control & transfer were the only bad points about the holiday.
The hotel check in was OK, our rooms were not ready when we arrived early lunchtime but we were offered a welcome drink & shown through to the restaurant for lunch while they sorted everything out.
Our room was simple but very clean. We didn't expect too much as it was only 3* and were happy with what we got for the money.
We then went onto the balcony to what was a stunning view over the pool & beach.
The pool area was a great place to spend the day doing nothing if that’s what you like or joining in with the very friendly entertainment staff.
We made some great friends whilst staying at this hotel just by joining in with the many activities that were available all day long & taking part in a couple of the nightly shows that were of a good standard.
The food in the restaurant was lovely. Always a good choice for all meals & the personal touch of having our own waiter we thought was impressive for a 3* hotel. The AI drinks from the bar were OK. We found that the choice was limited compared to a European AI hotel & most drinks did have a faint whiff of aniseed to them.
The local shops around the hotel were a good source of cheap souvenirs. We had fun bartering with the owners for jewelry, leather goods, wood sculptures & some beautiful china.
The weather was lovely for early May, we did have a couple of very windy days, but no rain. The sun was hot- everyday in the high 20's.
Overall this was a great holiday. I would recommend this hotel to everyone & will be returning myself sometime in the future.

Absolutely loved this holiday! Had read very mixed reviews about it before we flew, which worried me. However all doubts were forgotten once we reached the hotel. It was absolutely immaculate, all of the staff were very friendly, and did not mither for tips. I think the criticisms made by others in reviews are written by extremely fussy people who must be used to staying in 5 star accommodations etc. I had no complaints whatsoever!
The food was gorgeous and there was plenty of variety! The rooms were clean, and the maid always left fresh flowers on our beds when she cleaned the room every day! The entertainment team worked their socks off to provide entertainment throughout the day and night! I even took part in a couple of the shows myself! I made some very good friends while staying in the Dar Khayam...many of whom I still speak to on the odd occasion now!
The camel safari is well worth doing! There are loads of other activities available...I would recommend paragliding because the view is breathtaking!
All in all it was my favourite holiday destination so far.... and I have travelled to a lot of places! Would recommend it for people of any age and would definitely go again myself!