Vincci Alkantara Thalassa Hotel

Don't go there ! It is not a 5 stars hotels; service is really bad, food was horrible, the hotel looks like under construction

This is listed as a 5 star hotel; not in our book, whilst nice we would rate it closer to 3+. The Service was fine and the rooms kept clean but overall the hotel needs a face lift. As all inclusive there is a lot of improvement to be made; for example there are three restaurants, the main one is fine, breakfasts could be a little more to the English taste but "when in Rome!” you are allowed one visit only per stay to the "Mediterranean" restaurant. Take my advice this is one too many, absolutely appalling, everyone we spoke to, of all Nations, said the same, don't bother with it. The third which is by the pool is open from 12.00 through to 6.00pm, but don't expect to use it if you are all inclusive! Even if you offer to pay for the meal they won't entertain you until 4.00pm when you can go in and get coffee, pizza, cakes etc, now what’s that all about? Ho and don't go up to the POOL bar wet, you get told off!! Saying all this the atmosphere in the hotel was very tranquil and relaxed even "civilized", with drinks and snacks at 6.00pm whilst listening to the harp (played beautifully) before heading down to the dinning room for dinner, other than breakfast the meals are fair, the sweets are dangerously good. On to the outside, about 10 days before we flew we received a letter from the tour operator saying that "due to ecological conditions" there was seaweed being washed onto the beach, when we telephoned for more info we were told that this was only a minor problem and that men were cleaning it up every day. When we arrived it was, and I jest not, 5 feet deep in places and they were trying to clear it with a JCB and tractors and trailers!! It was a good job that there was a jumbo sized swimming pool within the hotel grounds cos no one went near the sea. Other than that the area is very "foreign" with no English bars (great) but I never felt threatened. Haggling in the market is great but you have to be firm with the shop keepers or you could end up coming away with more than you wanted, yes the fixed price shops are cheaper but hey, your on holiday, its cheap enough anyway and you are giving them an income have a go its fun. Places to visit, all the rep tours are good and cheap, we would recommend going on the shopping trip, it costs about £4.00 and if its your first time you feel more confident with the rep and guide there, however we found that the hour and a half allocated wasn't long enough and got a taxi back later, we then returned three more times by taxi to Midoun, the nearest town. If you do go shopping and prefer the fixed price method the YASMINE shopping centre is the cheapest and has a more "European” feel. If you hanker for a cup of PG, there is a small restaurant just up from the SYNDABAD shopping centre (this is were the reps will take you) I can't remember the name but, as you stand outside the main entrance to the shopping centre look to your right, at the end of the street on the left you will see the restaurant it has blue signs, it is run by a French lady called Michelle and she has PG tips imported from England. Can’t think of anything else other than to say we enjoyed the holiday, one of the best we have had in years and we will go back, yes even to the Vincci Alkantara.

The Vincci Alkantara Thalassa. Me and my wife stayed at the Alkantara from the 31.03.07 till the 07.04.07 on a half board basis with Airtours. First the positives. The hotel was very clean and the staff, although English isn’t their best language, tried their very best to communicate with us. This hotel is mainly for French and German holiday makers so the staff all speak those languages. We have found that if you try and speak a little Arabic you get a very good response from all the locals. Our room was first class and was cleaned every day, in fact the hotel seemed to be being cleaned 24 hours a day. The food on the half board option was excellent, the choice and standard was definitely 5 star. I would have been disappointed if we were all inclusive as there were only two other places to eat in the hotel apart from the main dining area. Unfortunately those are the only positives, now for the negatives. Once you get past the reception and the rooms, the rest of the hotel is in a poor state of repair, and looks very tired and old. The entertainment was woeful, the band that played in the bar at night was worse than the dregs of fame academy, but the Germans seemed to like it so I can only presume it was aimed at their tastes. There was what seemed to be a stage area on the beach, but this was run down and never used. The animation team as a whole were disinterested, the day entertainment being non existent. Being half board we had to pay for our lunches and drinks, and this is a major moan from me, because the prices are extortionate to say the least. We’ve been to Tunisia twice before and have got a taste for the local grog Boucha. We bought a bottle on the plane over for £4. In the hotel bar it was £4 for one glass with coke. The beer is also very nice, but at £1.20 for a small glass I soon lost interest. Lunch was also very expensive, averaging at about £15 for two with drinks. If you get hungry between breakfast and evening meal, and you don’t like pizza, burger or lasagne then you’re not going to enjoy this hotel. We spent about £200 on food and drink in 1 week and we aren’t heavy drinkers. The biggest problem is the beach. We booked specifically for a beach holiday, the brochure says “…ringed by miles of fine sandy beaches”. Our beach was hidden under 4 feet of seaweed. This isn’t an exaggeration; I have the film to prove it. A JCB and 3 tractors spent the whole week moving this mountain of rotting black goo, the smell of diesel was unbearable, and in fact the beach was deserted, everyone opting to sit by the pool. If you want a peaceful time then don’t go here. The pool is only feet from the beach and the sound of these ill-maintained machines trundling up and down all day made it impossible to get any peace or concentrate on a good book. On the last day the tractors started moving in big piles of sand. The JCB had got the seaweed down to about a foot deep and they were intending to bury this under new sand. If they do, the smell will eventually find its way through and the whole lot will have to be replaced. Reading other reports on this hotel it seems they have done this before, and obviously don’t learn from their mistakes. All things considered I wouldn’t go back. Souse, Monastir and Port El Kantoui are all better and cheaper. If you DO go to this hotel don’t let it put you off what is a beautiful country full of very friendly people.

My wife and I have just returned from the Vinnci Alkantara Thalassa hotel in Djebra and I feel I have to write some comments here to release the stress about the service we have received. Firstly, this hotel was supposed to be a five star hotel, as such I was expecting treatment as such given the price we have paid. I have stayed in many a 4 and 5 star hotel. Here's a few pointers on the hotel. 1. The hotel had cracks in the walls which had been painted over but were very visable to the eye. 2. The reception staff are highly unproffessional and unable to converse in english. Even broken english is a struggle, most of the times, its waiting for 10 minutes for a manager to arrive to assist with any query. 3. The prices of the drinks are far too expensive. 4.5 dinar for 1/2 a pint of beer with every drink arriving with a large head. Moreover, I have been informed that the prices are going up even more. This is madness beyond comprehension and not comparable to other hotels in the local area. The Meliá Palm Azur 100 yards up the road sells 1 beer for 3 dinar. Moreover a coke at our hotel was 3.5 and in the Melia Palm it was 1.6 This is clearly not fair because the service does not warranty it. 4. Given the over priced drinks, my wife and I went to the reception to ask to upgrade to all-inclusive, we were told it was not possible for a day only, but we had to do for all week. So when i asked on Thursday to upgrade I was told that we could not do this, because, it was only possible to upgrade a room, not an individual person. This despite 24 hours previously we were told it was possible. We felt lied to. 5. We had to rent a beach towel this was 10 dinar, ok, but, when it came to getting the money back, it took approx 15 minutes waiting for the member of staff responsible to open a till. This is despite the bar pool staff using the same till. Very annoying. 6. Maid cleaned the room on 1 occassion and took the 2 large white towels. I wanted a shower and asked the receptionist for a towel. I was told no towels available for 3 hours and a man would present me the towel in 3 hours. Unacceptable in my view, having to wait 3 hours to get a TOWEL??? Considering she had changed the towels every day, why is one day different from the next? 7. When we arrived the mini bar was empty, despite asking at reception for it to be filled, the whole week it remained empty. 8. Entertainment. - one harp player and a pianist - for 5 times a week and 1 day a magic show? For 5 stars this is a disgrace. Again in comparison to the Melia ( 4 stars) which had a proper threate, a fish restruant, beautiful gardens, 2 outside table tennis , proper tennis courts and a pool. What did we have? Tennis courts which were 10 minutes away from the hotel and in a muddy digusting area. Not even a basic pathway to take a guest from A to B. 9. The beach was a disgrace, it was full of debris, seaweed and had a tractor on it. It was not even possible to sunbath on the beach, because there was large rocks present there. To conclude, my wife and I spent approximately £622.80 on this holiday for a 5 star hotel and we feel we have been ripped off, over charged and both feel highly disappointed . In my view, this hotel is a 3 star hotel at the most. If you want to goto Djerba and I recommend it, goto the Meliá Palm Azur, far better service and a lot better priced. Do not goto this hotel, its overpriced, you will receive poor service.

My wife & I have just arrived back from this hotel in djerba. Looking forward to our holiday we arrived late at night. Being thirsty we asked for tea or coffee even bottled water would have o.k.zero response however we could have a beer great! then presented with a bill of 9dinar a five star hotel charging for a welcome drink? The general appearance of the hotel left a lot to be desired of a five star establishment ( according to the travel broucher we were given) there were cracks in the pillars and across some of the ceilings poor quality grouting in bathroom and the bathroom mirror was losing it's glaze.The beach was covered in seaweed but I must admit we were warned of this,however the beach at the melia palm azur 250yds.up the road was completely clear of any seaweed whatsoever.how do you know i hear you ask well we dropped in for a drink when passing one day what a place light clean and a nice atmosphere oh yes the same beer was 1.5dinar cheaper than our hotel and entertainment was on 5nights a week as opposed to twice at our hotel.The island of djerba is a great place and the locals are freindly.

This has been the first time that I've stayed in a hotel where I couldn't find anything nice to say about. Where can I begin? The hotel normally has a pianobar, since it was January, they didn't keep it open, this however was specifically asked. The hotel has 24-hour drycleaning service. My friend has given his costume at the reception in a bag because it was very cheap. After breakfast we went back to our room and just saw the chambermaid throwing the bag on the bed. We asked what was wrong, she couldn't speak English, French or German so we called reception (again) and we were told that it was not possible to dryclean. Of course the costume was so wrinkled that my friend couldn't wear it for the rest of the stay anymore. The bathroom was dirty (hairs) when we arrived, we let the reception know, the next day the bathroom still wasn't cleaned proparly. After starting to shout at reception the problem was solved. We had for the first time taken a halfbourd-formula, after this hotel I'm never doing that again. Every single morning and evening it was the same food. And when I say the same food, I mean the same food. We stayed there for a week and you could easily follow the procedure a carrot, cucumber, cheese, chicken follows after being displayed for several days. The bar was terribly expensive, they had hardly any choice of alcohol (which is kind of normal in a muslim area) and we had to be checking our change every time because the bartender tried to rip us of! The health spa was more expensive than at home and it wasn't value for money at all. We payed for an afternoon doing a parcours of several things, it should normally take 4 hours. We spend 3 hours in the spa! When I told them that I didn't find that really normal, they suddenly didn't understand English anymore. So in other words, it was a horrible holiday and it was the first time that I was actually happy that I was back at home and working.

Despite what the last review said we has a wonderful holiday. The weather was fantastic: lovely and hot. The hotel is very clean, and if you look everyday you will see cleaners cleaning. Our room was very clean the whole time and the maid always replaced everything. We never noticed any food around the pool side - and trust me I would have. Everything gets cleaned - even the umbrellas at poolside. What I would say about this hotel and on Jerba itself, is a little common courtesy goes a long way. We spoke a little French and Arabic and were rewarded. If you can be bothered to try and speak a little you will have a wonderful time. Some signs are in English, although most are not... however it isn't hard to work out!! We didn't have a problem at all. It was really nice for not everyone to be british - it is nothing like Rhodes or Marmaras - THANK-GOD! We stayed for two weeks after changing from another hotel because of the reviews, and I must say we really enjoyed the two weeks. As a vegetarian the food was fine- I was actually impressed by the options for me and my husband. They did a Bedouin night where you could try local food - which was really nice. Breakfast included a wide range of pastries, cooked breakfast, yogurt and cereal as well as continental. At lunch they had a restaurant where you could get takeaways as well - lovely pizza and brik. It was not expensive... and lets face it the all inclusive people had to eat inside... where we often ate on the beach or in the resturant over looking the pool and the sea! The bbq in the evening was good and we ate outside adding to the atmosphere of the beautiful skies. As not big drinkers, being all inclusive wasn't an issue - especially as we felt it polite to respect the country. However, some others we met wished they had been all inclusive. The hotel is not geared up for people who are all inclusive. It has one small, discreet all inclusive bar... but the drinks and food is not expensive. A £1.50 for a bottle of water in the hotel is no different to any other hotel across the world. The seaweed... this is not a problem in reality. Our first week we didn't have any really... what we did they cleared it every morning. However we had three very low tides, which were followed by high tides - these caused a lot of problems in terms of seaweed on the beach. The hotel, however are trying there hardest to sort the issue out. It really isn't an issue. The sea is so warm and clear that we enjoyed swimming in it everyday. They have erected a pontoon which you can walk on, out to the sea as well. We found a little bit of the beach - it is divided into three sections and had a sun longer everyday in the spot we liked. There was never a problem with getting one. It was a little more difficult around the pool first thing - but you never actually have a real problem. We only sat around the pool on one day, the others we choose to sit by the beach - lovely hearing the waves. The pool is lovely and big, and really refreshing. They also have a good sized indoor pool, where they play lovely tranquil music and you can relax on lovely sundowners. We didn't bother with the evening entertainment - but it is provided. Snake charmers, dancing and children's disco. We enjoyed the thallassa centre as well and had a hamman, scrub and algae wrap early on - I have a beautiful tan! We booked online with My Travel. The rep at the resort is very knowledgeable. We went on several trips - Castaway was a boat trip and a morning at a beach followed by lunch - we saw dolphins.... no snorkelling which we were disappointed about. Sahara Explorer - brilliant two days on a coach, would not take children. Stay in Tozeur in a hotel. We saw the Salt Lakes - vast, Matmara dwellings, an Oasis, rode a camel, had a horse and carriage ride into the oasis and much more. We were lucky coach of 20 people on a 46 seater! All in all, we had a lovely time. The people we met also did... what you should remember is these reviews are personal accounts. I read the reviews about the melia palm azur and changed a week before - but we didn't meet anyone who was unhappy.... so take everything with a pinch of salt! I have tried to be factual on things but have also included some of my opinions. All in all this hotel is not perfect, but you can't fault it and it is one of the very best on the island - we would go back for a weeks break to do nothing!

Vincci Alkantara Thalassa, poor 4 star Sep2, two weeks, John and Sue, Wolverhampton. We have just returned from a two week stay at the Vincci Alkantara Thalassa, and would strongly recommend people do not stay here on half board basis, it all geared for all inclusive, half board guests pay double the price for drinks. Hardly anything is writen in english and very few staff speak it. The hotel has the worst beach i have ever seen around the med, it is covered in sea-weed and if the wind is in the right direction you get the smell of what i can only discribe a raw sewage, it is man made and has no sand on it.I have not seen so many people walking about with foot,leg,arm and head injuries, some due to the beach and some due to the pool.The pool is huge and quite impressive but all the time we were their it was never cleaned nor the tables, we had a lovely barbacue around the pool every night, but in the morning there was still food and oil left on the floor, it is a good job they have their own on site doctor. The rooms are a good size, somedays you got towels others you did not.This is also not a good hotel for children, their is nothing for them to do, and i would not let any of my children swim in the sea by its beach. There is nothing outside of the hotel, no bars, restuarants to walk to, you are told you can use the other hotels along the road, we walked for 3 miles and every hotel was alinclusive and would not take cash as there are not tills. I hope Djerba improves as it is a lovely island but i would steer clear of this hotel unless you are French,Italian or Greman.

I actually worked in 5 star hotels for the past ten years so I must say that perhaps I have high expectations... As I think of this the 7 days I spent in this hotel with my boyfriend, I cringe on my chair as the memories come back... we arrived in the evening and check in ( it was quick and friendly), as I got to our room I could here terrible noise, some entertainment was going on by the pool. This took till 2,30am - we had a beautiful sea view room, just that instead of hearing the waves roll on the beach we had to be kept awake by some lousy entertainment.. and this of course went on EACH and EVERY night. I was dying for a drink so I reached for the minibar, this was empty. I called reception who explained it would be restocked in the morning since it ws late now. I fully understand that .. the only issue is that I called on day 1, day 2, day 3 twice a day to tell them to stock the minibar, each different member of staff i spoke to said yes yes madame.. yet we checked out with an emprty minibar just as it was on the first day. Sunbeds are an issue, never enough sunbeds for everyone. Instead of doing like most decent hotels that no beds can be booked in advance but on first come first served basis, people can just leave theirtowels and show up at 14,00hrs. So every morning there was a lot of hassle.. men and ladies waking up at 7am to dump our towels and go back to sleep, for each and every day.. definitely not my idea of a relaxing holiday. The sunbeds would remain were they were the previous day, cleaners would not clear the pool deck from sunbeds wash it up and then replace sun beds.. but just sweep aroungd them,the same would be for the pool borders.. the cleaner would get a broom, wet the broom in the pool itslef and sweep the dirt back in the pool.. There is a private beach, however the sea is FULL of sea weed, sea is murky and not clear. On a posiive note, drinks are cheap and teh bar is always open. Even though the hotel is in the middle of nowhere is is easily reachable and close to entertainment centres. Sue from Malta

Myself and my partner went for one week on a late, named on arrival, all inclusive holiday. We ended up at the Vincci, and I think we were very lucky!! We'd read lots of other hotels reviews and were a bit weary to say the least. We decided to go with an open mind, and ended up loving it. It would seem that most english go half board, but there were some of there, like us, who had booked late all inclsive. Where do I start??? There was no problem getting a sun lounger in the morn (we usually went about 9ish and put our towels out before going for breakfast). The pool is great - never too busy, and with a bar you can swim up to for a drink. Entertainment during the day - volleyball, waterpolo, aqua aerobics etc - was there if you wanted it but you weren't hassled. There's also a great indoor pool which is really quite cool and a great way to refresh yourself. We thought the food was pretty good (this coming from a fussy eater!!). The buffet meant you could just try bits of things, and there was always a good selection. The deserts are fantastic. Us being all inclusive meant that local beer, cocktails, water, fanta etc were included. The hotel was very clean everywhere and the maid was lovely - she made the bed in different ways each day and folded nightwear up really nicely as well. We tipped her 5 dinar about half way through the week. There isn't an awful lot of english spoken there, but it didn't bother us. We were going to Tunisia, not to Blackpool!! Its not surprising seeing as they dont get many english visitors. It was nice not to be surrounded by english people. Tunisia is very different to here and so you have to expect it when you go on holiday there. The evening entertainment wasn't great but we went - a magician one night, a bloke with lizards and snakes another night, and a folklore eve (belly dancing etc) on our last night. All in all it was a fantastic holiday... and I came back engaged!! I'd recommend the hotel to anyone - although its better value all inclusive BUT theres a chance you wouldn't end up in that hotel.