Reviews of Skanes Palace International Hotel, Monastair, Tunisia

if you are british and thinking...

Overall Rating:

3/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2008

Tour Operator:

lowcosttravel

Submitted By:

D Sykes

Comments:

if you are british and thinking of going to this hotel i would say 100% dont, my wife and i just had a week being the only two english people in the hotel. all food was continental and nothing for english people, the choice of drinks are very limited and when you order a drink staff do not understand.you are made to feel very isolated and unable to communicate with others or join any of the activities takeing place. if you go to the beach or outside the hotel you are constantley hassled by locals. i feel i needed to write this to stop any other english people going to this hotel and wanting to fly home after two days as we did.

Right, firstly this resort is...

Overall Rating:

2/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2007

Tour Operator:

Low cost beds

Submitted By:

Mr J Harle

Comments:

Right, firstly this resort is not a 4 star even though all operators offering this state it is a 3 star at absolute maximum. It is not ten or twenty minutes from Monastir airport it is 3 minutes at most so you do get aircraft noise, but it we didn't find it too noisy. When you get off the plane make sure you get your bags as people will try to get them for you and they expect a tip for this and you are not going to have Dinas, so be warned.



Me and my wife booked this resort for our honeymoon, mainly on price and the general look of the place, don't make my mistake. This resort caters mainly for the Eastern European market and subsequently not many people spoke English or unfortunately acknowledged you when you spoke, and when they did they could be very coarse and plainly rude. This hotel is very run down in places. The rooms are barely adequate and all need a good clean, the TV didn't work initially and to add insult to injury when I reported it to reception, the staff member wanted me to give him money to change it, not good.



The room make up staff were quite friendly and often made pretty patterns with your clothes and things but they did not hoover and that’s what it really needed. The All Inclusive option is adequate, but the food is quite bland and there is a hell of a lot of flies everywhere because there is no control over them so sometimes you would be greeted with for example, a plate of prawns with a sprinkling of flies, a sure step to dysentery. You will get allocated a table eventually however no one will tell you and you WILL get told off by a waiter whom has been tipped to give someone that table when they arrive or simply doesn't like you. You are only able to order two drinks maximum at once and make sure that you take your glasses back or the nice man behind the bar refuses to serve you and shouts obscenities at you, again service with a smile.



On the plus side the beach is lovely and the sea is great, though you have to fight to get a seat but it is lovely when you do. The pool outside is nice and very deep but the inside pool is a gem, the staff there are great and helpful, there is always a place to sit and read and it is quite clean, as is the Hammam, Sauna and Gym, which are all in the same area.



The country itself is very colourful and most people are wonderfully friendly, taxis are cheap but make sure you agree a price or ensure that they set the meter running before hand else you will get ripped off. Markets of medina’s as they are known are great places to get a bargain but be sure to visit the tourist supermarkets such as the Yasmina Centre in Monastir to get an idea of general prices before you start else again you get ripped off. As a general rule if they say 60 dinas, half it and take away a little more such as 20 dina, and if they won't agree walk away, you will be amazed at the results. You do get approached by all shop keeps to go into the stores and some can be pushy, just understand that this is the way they are and press on unless something catches your eye and you will be fine.



Tours with the reps are great, such as a day in Tunis, Carthage and Siddi Bou Said are great and well worth the money.



I may appear to moan but it is important that you know the facts before parting with you money. Tunisia is wonderful, the hotel was not, choose your hotel carefully and you will have a great time. Hope this is of some help to you all.