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Holiday Reviews > Africa > Tunisia > Skanes > Skanes Hotels > Houda Golf & Beach Club Hotel > Read Reviews
| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr J Mcghee |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
Having read the reviews before travelling, i was rather concerned.
Fortunately it was nothing like it had been painted. Some of the comments are left by people with ridiculously high expectations
Ok a couple of minor issues, bar queue could be quite long, but is that such a big deal. If you want a bed by the pool, drop the head of security a couple of quid and he puts your towel out for you before dawn.
If you want full english, fish and chips and a pint of boddingtons go to blackpool.
My kids had a great time and thats good enough for me
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr J Eate |
| Overall
Rating: |
8/10 |
| Comments: |
OK where should I begin?
Firstly I was very worried after reading some of these reviews but have come to the conclusion that some of these people have entered their comments on the wrong resort.
Reaching the hotel I was very surprised at what I saw. A very large hotel with what I could only describe as a very tastefully decorated, fully air conditioned and spotless reception. It took them a couple of minutes to tell us where to sit and had to fill in some forms for each person that was staying, but hey you’re now on holiday so what’s your hurry?
The porters will more than likely insist on carrying your bags to the room for you. Please bear in mind that these people earn about £100 a month and are only doing their job, if you want to be kind and tip, it’s about 1-2 dinar per bag they carry. They will be very grateful. That’s the same for the airport porters as well.
OUR room regardless to what other people say was spotless, bathroom spotless, toilet spotless floor in room spotless etc (I'm sure you get the idea). Our room over looked the 5 a side pitch which didn't bother me being a football fan and they never played late at night or stupid o'clock in the morning. It also didn't bother my fiancée either and because the hotel is not a cruise ship we can't all have a sea view can we now.
Obviously because the hotel is not in Britain getting up early in the morning to make sure you get a sun bed is a given. Full of Germans and French who seem to think it is acceptable to go to get a sun bed a 6am and as the pool does not have an electric fence round it with armed guards then you'll just have to get up early too. I did, then went back to bed again (not ideal but the norm on a foreign holiday). Apart from that the pools are very clean with deep and shallow ends, great for if you have children, (ours actually taught themselves to swim during the holiday knowing they could stand up if they wanted.)
The Animation team – Obviously some people say they had bad experience with them, I have nothing but praise. They worked very hard during the day hosting fun games in the pool and during the night putting on shows to entertain, which I MOSTLY did find entertaining, they are not going to put on shows every night which is to everybody’s liking that’s just not possible. The kids loved the kids disco every night for about an hour and also mostly enjoyed the shows. They always try to get you involved and I found that if you say no THANK YOU they leave you alone but you will need to probably say it twice. Once again very chatty with my fiancée but never once stepped over the mark. No touching, no groping just the occasional high 5.
Flipping heck I am going on I’ll shorten the rest.
Bar staff very friendly, lager not great but if you’re wanting Stella don’t go all inclusive. Kids could go and get drinks whenever they wanted, coke, lemonade, orangeade and others.
Food – Well don’t go here if you’re picky and if you only eat English. Lots of choice, not always warm, but edible. Not a great deal of choice for kids, pizza, chips, pasta in sauces. Our kids are picky but hadn’t lost weight by the end of the holiday. For flies I saw about 2 all holiday in the restaurant. Overall not great but if you want 5 stars go to a five star hotel, I say it was acceptable.
If you go with First Choice go to the welcome meeting Issam the rep is an absolute star and will tell you everything you need to know. Whatever you need he will do his best to help shame about the pink shirt that he has to wear but at least you can always see him.
All in all, my fiancée, the 2 children and I really enjoyed the holiday and I would have no hesitation in recommending it to a friend. Once again if you want to get drunk every night go to Ibiza, if you want a WIDE variety in entertainment EVERY night go Butlins. If you want everything 5 Star then go to a 5 Star hotel.
Hope you enjoy your holiday.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs H Kearney |
| Overall
Rating: |
7/10 |
| Comments: |
After reading all the negative reports I wasn't sure what to expect when my 15 year old daughter and I arrived at the Houda Beach. However, I was pleasantly surprised. When we arrrived at the hotel we were directed to a comfortable area that is available for arrivals to complete registration cards. We were given drinks and were greeted by Jan, the English Customer Services person at the hotel. She was very welcoming and gave us lots of useful information.
After attending the welcome meeting the following morning we took the opportunity to walk round the hotel with Jan who was able to answer any questions and tell us what is available free to all inclusive guests.
The rooms were fine for 2 adults or 2 adults and a child as they're not large and haven't a lot of storage but they are clean and comfortable and the air conditioning was efficient. We were allocated a ground floor room looking on to the garden area. Although it didn't have a view it was very peaceful whereas many other rooms may have been noisy due to the music in the bar area.
We found the food good with plenty of variety and the cakes displays were wonderful. My only concern was that the food wasn't always very hot but having been to all inclusive hotels before this is always a problem. Houda did better than most by having a certain amount of food cooked either to order or constantly being cooked in the restaurant. We went to the Italian and Tunisian restaurants. The food was good and the waiters very attentive. The servings in the Italian restaurant weren't very large but they were in the Tunisian. Remember to try Brik before from the main or Tunisian restaurant!
The drinks were OK but if you wanted coca cola light (diet coke) you had to ask for it and it wasn't always available - presumably because it cost them more than the usual drinks. I tend to drink mostly water anyway and there was always a plentiful supply of this both from water dispensers and in bottles which were readily available from the bar.
The animation team were always busy and there was plenty going on if holiday makers wanted to join in. The pool area was always crowded but sun loungers and umbrellas were always available on the beach (free) and it was much more peaceful. We spent everyday on the beach. The beach 'security' man supplied beach mats and I gave him one dinar everyday for bringing them to me - although this wasn't essential. The pedaloes and kayaks were free for 20 minutes to guests each day and the sea water was lovely and warm although there were jelly fish that gave a 'nettle type' rash which was soothed by putting tomato on it! There were also the traditional banana boats which had to be paid for. You must bring your own towels to the beach and not use hotel ones as they will be removed. There are beach sellers on the beach but they aren't too much bother if you ignore them and don't sit right at the front of the beach.
The shop in the hotel was very small and didn't have many things priced which put me off buying there but the Safari just outside the gates had a small supermarket and souvenir shop where things were priced. There are gates across the hotel entrance and these are manned 24 hours a day. The security men check for guest's bands on entering the complex.
We didn't go out and about a lot because on one of the occasions we did we got so much hassle from the market traders in Sousse that it put us off! We went on a tour to El Jem, the monastry in Monastir and the Mausoleum. It was an early start but worth the effort.
Our tour rep, Jo was great and was able to recommend a jeweller who wouldn't rip us off when I wanted a silver necklace with my name in arabic.
All in all we had a good, restful and lazy holiday with all the food and drink we wanted, and wonderful weather and that's what I went for. The Houda compares well with other 3* all inclusive hotels I've stayed in before but I didn't like the isolation of the hotel and the hassle from market traders.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr Dw Phelps |
| Overall
Rating: |
3/10 |
| Comments: |
Arival - Good played and danced bomba as we go off the bus, have english lady in resort to look after us.
Rep - Assam is amazing, he is what all reps should be like. We got given a duff room ovelooking a mozzy ridden garden. He changed it to a nice Sea View. The welcome meeting is amazing very entertaining, you get warts and all, essential listening.
Bar - Miserable staff who serve weak nasty lager in tiny glasses with huge head. The spirts are not watered just very weak local stuff.
Restaurant - Food is well dodgy, make wise food choices, ie food which is served hot an the flies couldn't have landed on. Flies are all over the restaurant and they only have a couple of fly killers. Food doesn't warm to english pallets, you can't even get a full english for breakfast.
Animation - Dire in a word. They are just womanisers, they will only spend time with pretty ladies. The shows are bland including country and western dancing, same tunes every night! DJ is really good though and plays funky Ibiza style music while you laze by the pool.
Pools - Very nice shaped pools for all ages, however you do have to beat the Germans to the sunbeds by 6am. One morning I got woken at 5:30am by the noice of deck chairs being set out.
Nurse - Very experienced medic. We experienced his skills first hand when my wife was treated for food poisoning, should have guessed the people who left our room left the imodium! She has got suspected Salmonella and is on really pokey Antibiotics, another reviewer who revied the hotel under the Sousse town complained the same in July 08. We missed our airport bus while I went to taxi to the cashpoint to get the doctors money!
Taxis - At the entrance to the hotel, but make sure you agree a price up front or you will get ripped. While getting the money for the doctor I got ripped off despite agreeing a price, not bery honourable people.
Shops - Gets very boring, you have to haggle for everything, it was fantastic coming back to UK and buying stuff with a price on it. Skanes is sparce a nice bar and Pizza place that's about it.
Trips - We went on three trips, zoo/zulu (good), Gladiators/Pirates (Good) and skuba diving with local skuba bloke who visits pool (brill).
All in all if you have booked and can't change you can take note of reviews on here and have a reasonable holiday. If you can change then my advice would be to do so
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss V Atkinson |
| Overall
Rating: |
6/10 |
| Comments: |
Ok, got back from the Houda yesterday a little disappointed. Arrived last week with 4 of my friends (aged 24-29), so although this isn't normally the tpye of holiday 5 young girls would go on, we still expected to enjoy it......and we did......kind of!!
You need to make this holiday your own. This is a 3 star hotel, it isn't a palace and it is is North Africa........but I would pay no more than £300 for a week's stay at the Houda and First Choice charged us double that.
We arrived to complete mayhem but I'm not going to bore you with all the ins and outs because most of them are what you would expect from an all inclusive holiday......it is busy and it is mayhem!!
But.........on two seperate occasions I walked in to the same set of toilets and what faced me was beyond belief......feaces covered the toilet, the walls, the floor...it was gross. When I allerted one of the staff members he seemed oblivious to the fact that this needed to be cleared up....like it was an every day occurance!!!
The area where the pool, slides and nightly enteratinment were, stunk of sewerage constantly.......to the point that we dreaded having to go and watch the shows for that very reason.
Our air conditioning unit was dripping as we entered our room and although it was reported the first day, it wasn't acutally fixed until 2 days later.
In one of the bedrooms, which slept 3 of us, the 3rd bed was a rickety old camp bed with a manky old matress.
The food was hurendous, even the animation team don't eat it!!!!!! And they live in the hotel!!!!
All 5 of us had the worst upset stomachs every single day we were there. The hygiene within the complex, the restaurants especially isn't good.
But hey this is a 3 star hotel. You get what you pay for, don't go there thinking you're gonna have a week of luxury, it isn't to be.
The Animation team are great..........I'm not gonna do the whole wink wink malarky but you get the gist yeah..........that's all they're after. The men there are leaches, including the waiters. They earn peanuts and they will do there hardest to convince you to go out with them and then pons drinks off you all night. They use you for your cash and whatever you're prepared to give them and then move on the to next girl before you've even got on your transfer coach to the airport!!!
But as long as you're aware............that is how they live their life, it's sad but that hotel is their life. Their accomodation is discusting....they should be treated better as they work so hard.....day and night!!
The entertainment they provide is good, very entertaiing.........Shaggy is gonna be a star one day!!! Some one offer him a job in London!!!
All in all, we had a good holiday but only because we made it our own. The in house drink is terrible and the hygiene is beyong acceptable but if you're paying peanuts for this holiday then you will definately get a value for money. Our problem was that we paid over and above what it was worth.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Ms J L Viggars |
| Overall
Rating: |
2/10 |
| Comments: |
I read the reviews and went with an open mind. A 3 star I was told to expect. The Hotel is a filthy dirty dump. You must agree that, ok it's a 3 star but surely a 3 star hotel you would expect:
- Toilet paper and handwash in public area toilets
- Toilet seats on public area toilets
- Not having to get up at 5.30 am to get a sunbed
- Somewhere to sit around the bar area during the evening
- Not having to queue usually 15 people deep at the only 2 bars
- Not having to queue usually 15 people deep at the only 2 coffee machines in the morning
- Not to be skidding around on a dirty greasy floor in the dining room
- Clean tablecloths in the restaurant OCCASIONALLY. (The waiters were masters at turning them over then around, then over then around, then over........)
- Warm food. By the time you'd queued and queued at the various food stations you ended up with a luke warm meal
- Not to find waiters cleaning tables then going to the snack bar and then helping themselves to food
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr Port Vale |
| Overall
Rating: |
8/10 |
| Comments: |
Having read all reviews on this hotel on various websites (after I booked!!!), I was expecting to be disappointed with the food, location etc, but for the money I paid it was a really enjoyable holiday. With a wife and 2 kids, 13 & 11, all I wanted was to relax and do nothing but lie in the sun and get fat and the kids do their own thing. Not disappointed. Arrived about midday and got a ground floor room straight away. Suprised about that as there was a few families with small children who were on 1st or 2nd floors and no lifts in the hotel!. Room clean and tidy and the air con was a god send as it was in the 40s outside. Went for lunch as soon as and was allocated a table for the 2nd sitting. Told we had to stick with this for the fortnight. Food seemed to be great at first, loads to choose from but after two weeks of potatoes, chips, chicken and many mixtures and concoctions of the 3 it wore a bit thin after a while. But arn`t all hotel like this? Qs for the fizzy pop were a pain so I tended to go for the water or beer.
Tried the tunisian and Italian meals in the seperate restaurant and the waiters cant do enough for you. (After a good tip obviously!!) Kids loved the slides in the seperate pool on the other side of the hotel and joined in with the animation team for a few games etc. These guys try very hard to make you feel welcome and some guests feel like they are hassling you a bit but if you tell them not today they leave you alone. If you want a good spot by the pool you have to get up VERY early to beat the French and Germans for the sunbeds, and i`m not kidding, they are there in droves at 5am onwards!! If you try after 8, your at the back of the grassed area if you get one at all. The drinks were served in what I can only describe as childrens beakers and apparantly the beer is only 2% so getting legless is going to be hard work. Qs wern`t too bad as plenty of bar staff on hand. In quite a lonely location as nothing to do outside the hotel. Had a small complex of bar/restaurants and shops which made a nice change in the 2nd week.
Went to the medina centre in Monastir which is rows and rows of shops/market stalls and the hassle you get off these people is unbelievable. Knew about this off the first choice rep in the reception meeting and he said make haggling fun with these people. So with a wife like mine off we went to battle!!. Trust me they use every trick in the book to get you to buy there stuff even locking the doors when your in the shop. They will rip you blind if you let em so a bit of advise, go to the shopping centre before and get the going rates before going in to the lions den. We really did have a good time there and they have a good sense of humour but stick to your guns and walk away if they dont lower the prices. They will come running after you!!
Also went to the aqua palace, good day but they take all the water and food off you to make you buy in there. Food and drinks cheap enough. All in all had a good holiday and I got the rest I needed and the kids enjoyed it. Remember if its luxury your after then pay a bit more!!!
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss L Smith |
| Overall
Rating: |
3/10 |
| Comments: |
Me and my boyfriend returned from Houda hotel 2 weeks ago and for the past three weeks i have been very ill; including several trips to hospital and the GP, and this morning found out I have SALMONELLA! I contracted it one week into a two week stay, so the second week was a nightmare spending everyday in the room, dreading the evening meal because i didn't know what had made me so sick.
FOOD was almost always hot but by the time you had fought your way past the hundreds of people barging to get meals, it had gone cold. Same meals everyday with slight variations eg beef stew, beef curry, beef in tomato sauce, chicken on the bone, turkey on the bone, deep fried chicken in batter on the bone, deep fried turkey in batter on the bone. Sometimes signs were muddled up and what was claimed to be chicken balls was actually fish! The chefs were always at their stations making fresh dishes such as local dish brik and fresh omelletes of your choice on a morning. The freshest food was the salad and there was lots of choice - if you didn't mind the flies! the cakes were always delicious but even I couldn't live on cake for two weeks. There was always fresh watermelon which was the best watermelon i have ever tasted!
RESTAURANT was a bit of a farce the floors were so greasy and slippy and a mealtime didnt go by when somebody didnt fall over and spill yet more food on the floor! On arrival you are allocated your own table and set mealtimes for lunch and evening meal which was totally necessary because the hotel was fully booked and there were thousands of people! also the salmonella was a big downside to the restaurant too!
the waiters didn't know anything about food hygiene - they picked up spilled food with their hands and put it back in the buffet rather than in the bin! not to mention when food had spilled over into the next tray, it was taken out and put back in the right tray! no wonder people get food poisening when food is left sat out of the heat and then put back!
ROOMS were basic but mostly clean and were cleaned everyday. Unfortunately, the cleaners wanted to be in the room at 8.45 every morning - which wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have to get up at 4am to reserve a sunlounger for the day - they were all taken by 7am. The shower left a lot to be desired - if you had it on the coldest setting it somehow always managed to go boiling hot and then back to freezing cold! Unfortunately there aren't any safes in the rooms they are all in a room just off the reception.
POOL was fantastic definetely the best thing about the hotel. The water was always a lovely temperature around 28c. the second pool to the front of the hotel was also great and the slides were a lot of fun for kids and adults!
BEACH had lovely white sand and the sea was lovely and blue, but it was jellyfish season when we were there so we didn't go in the sea!
ANIMATION TEAM - worked really hard to try to keep younger people entertained and they put on a show every night - sometimes a little cheesy but we never left because they were so bad! throughout the first week we joined in games organised by the animation team, but not in the second week. because of this, the animation team became quite nasty and pushy. I was called grumpy over and over on my last day because i didn't want to go in the pool (because i was suffering from sickness) and my boyfriend was threatened to be beaten up because he didn't want to join in!
DRINKS were fine and lots of choice. soft drinks included cola, diet coke, lemonade, orangeade and there were lots of water coolers around or you could get 1.5l bottles of mineral water from the bar. there were dilute juice drinks but these were very sugary and sweet but they were always next to a water cooler so water could be added. there was plenty of ice available for soft and alcoholic drinks, and on an evening you could get slush puppie style drinks. some alcoholic drinks were watered down but that's probably best because of how much people drank! alcohol included vodka, gin, rum, two brandys, local lager (very similar to stella - NOT watered down!) and a white, rose and red wine, also martini style drinks and others i can't remember!
SHOPPING was okay, there are a few souvenir shops in the hotel, which sold necessities such as suncreams, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, nappies and baby wipes, and home comforts such as pringles (about £2.80 per tube), mars bars (about 90p each) and red bull (about £1.30 per can). there is a much better shop outside the hotel for souvenirs and more reasonably priced. cigarettes can be bought at the hotel, but the shop outside the hotel was cheaper for those too, 20 cigarettes for 3.5TD, about £1.70 for L&M.
EXCURSIONS - i would definately recommend the excursion to El Djem - the colesseum where Gladiator was filmed. it was unbelievable how big the place was! about 200 steps to the highest bit you can get to but worth every one! i wouldn't recommend the boat trip on the spanish galleon it was a bit of a waste of money, it was supposed to last 2pm until 5pm - we set off at 2.20pm and returned at 4.40pm.
taxis are available any time of day from opposite the hotel, they are waiting to take you wherever you want to go and every one speaks english - hotel staff, taxi drivers, shop owners! agree a price before you get in a taxi as the meter can run quite high. petrol in tunisia is 2.5TD per litre - around £1.20! and they only earn around £180 per month so remember this when you're haggling a price with the taxi driver!
the taxi ride was out of this world and not for the nervous! a dual carriageway often became 3/4 lanes and everybody tailgates one another! but we arrived safely in the end!
SKANES has nothing to offer besides what is available in your hotel and the excursions you can go on - however we took a taxi to Port el Kantoui and found this much more accessible and tourist friendly - lots of shops bars and restaurants to go to, night clubs and a fun fair - so i would recommend going to a good hotel there rather than in skanes!
OVERALL it was an experience - we wanted to go to Tunisia to see what its like and we did! my only real qualm was the food poisening, you shouldn't even expect that in a 3* hotel - but everything else was as i had expected. we didn't pay a lot of money to stay at houda but you should still expect safe food! Yes its a nice cheap place to go but risking three weeks of being bedridden from salmonella isn't worth a cheap holiday.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss D T |
| Overall
Rating: |
8/10 |
| Comments: |
I read the reviews on here and would like to just clear up a few things for anyone who has read them.
There are a few down points to the hotel;
one toilet roll for a family of 4 per day isn't always sufficient
the maids sometimes clean round your stuff and not under the beds
the mini golf only has 5 golf balls in the entire hotel . . . between 2000 guests
the pillows in some rooms are rock hard, but in others they're fine - just request new ones from reception if you get ones too tough
but . . .
other than that, it is fantastic !
the restaurant food is fine as long as you don't expect to find a full english menu - I mean your going on holiday for pete's sake ! experience some culture and try their tunisian cuisine !
the italian and tunisian menus are lovely
the pools are a tad over-crowded, but that's easily avoided, the beach is quieter, or the slide pool
it is by no means a case of if you don't get up early you don't get sunbeds, you just can't get ones close to the main pool - but the sprinkler system goes off and drenches all those beds anyway, so the towels so carefully laid there are sodden when you go to use them
theres a large range of activities available; snooker, pool, volleyball on the beach, football, mini golf, archery, table tennis tournaments, darts, you can use the tennis or basketball courts . . .
there's always something going on !
the animation team are lovely, all very funny and they do try so hard and make your holiday extra special. they've been portrayed on here as a pestering nuisance, but anyone who's gone to the resort and isn't a miserable bore will tell you if you don't want to join in with what theyre offering or have a chat, they do leave you be, they just like to make sure you know your welcome to join them.
the bar staff are great, theyre cheerful and friendly
the restaurant staff are very sweet. they are chatty and friendly and very welcoming. the sitting arrangements are slightly awkward as they impose structure into your otherwise free days - it's your holiday, you'd rather eat when you feel like it . . . . but it's not too difficult, you get used to it. If you miss it the snack bars offer paninis, hamburgers, crépes, sandwiches, chips, pizza . . .
the white sand beaches are clean and tidy and have different sunbeds to those by the pool so that you can take them into the sea and tan from with the waves lapping against you
beautiful
overall, the hotel is great value for money, bear in mind though that it is a 3 star not a 5 star if that's what you're used to. ignore the biased reviews on here from the stuffy obnoxious snobs who expect a five star for the price of the houda. ridiculous.
you definitely get more than your money's worth and it's a great holiday destination
enjoy !
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs S Avery |
| Overall
Rating: |
4/10 |
| Comments: |
We have just returned from our first family holiday to houda, whilst i have visited tunisia before it was the first time abroad for my husband and children 12 years, 10 years & 1year old. On arrival at houda we found it very stressfull as the porters are trying to grab your bags, then we had to wait an hour while we were given a talk, it was very hot and the children were very hungry as it had gone past lunch time i found this all a bit long and pretty stupid as we were none the wiser.
We were given our room key and the porters were again hovering around grabbing peoples bags. on arrival after a very long walk to our room i could'nt quite belive it, we had expressed that we needed a ground floor family room with a cot. We were given a room with 4 single beds in no cot and it was up 2 flights of stairs, whats more it was filthy and the bathroom was covered in poo, floor ,bath, toilet!! we complained and within an hour we were given a ground floor cleaner room but the cot never arrived all week.
We were unprepared for the amount of smoke there is in this hotel, i am not against smoking at all, but found it very accessive as it was everywhere you go, the only no smoking section was overlooked by a smoking area where very heavy smoking goes on as they higher out special smoking devices, so the smoke simply wafts through, i came home with a cough and sore throat.
The slides were good the children loved them, but the baby swimming pool to the side of it on the 4th day of our holiday had a (adult) floater in it, an was left in there for a good few hours before being fished out, decided not to take the little one swimming in there again as there was still peices floating round life gaurds seemed not to care.
The foods alright if you like potatoe, chips and chicken and some dodgy pizza sounds good i know but you try 2 meals a day for 7 days of the same thing!! breakfast is just as bad.
First you have to get a table which is yours for the week you cant change, good luck to everyone attempting to get yourself a table, the fist person we asked in the restaurant did'nt understand us at all, so we left without sorting it out, but if you get the good waiter he is very helpful especially if you tip him 1 dinar every meal!!
The grounds to the hotel are really nice and the beach is lovely.
The highlight of our holiday was a trip which first choice tells everyone to be wary about purchasing but we went and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was Fritzs camel caravan he's in the main foyer of the hotel it was about £42 for our family of 5 half day trip on horses ,horse and carrage and camels. On the return from this trip to save us waiting in the heat for the transpot to take us back to the hotel with the baby, they even hailed a taxi and paid for it, excellent trip lovely people.
I hoped this holiday would have gone better as it was our familys first, it is what you make it , and we did go open minded about the food we even took some of our own for the little one just in case but the food is same old stuff every day. The hotel rooms was'nt that clean , we left feeling a little let down we did try and make the most of it, the older children enjoyed the experince so all was'nt lost.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr A Jarrett |
| Overall
Rating: |
1/10 |
| Comments: |
got to hotel all looked well from outside, once in side went for dinner fly's were every where all over food and tables, the staffs uniforms they were filthy i refused to eat anything, once in my room there was a smell of sewage so i went down to desk and they gave me a key to another room which i had to find myself my cases came up later the guy who carried them was sweating buckets everywhere and was filthy as nice as he was bless him our room had a broken cot in it and a bunk bed painted in decking stain and was the worst room i have ever stayed in, we then went for lunch the chips being bad was an understatement and the food surfaces very messy with food spillage and fly's everywhere, the staff used there hands for picking everything without gloves and dirty rags, the pool area was overcrowded with people and kids i think it was a fire hazard, drinks IE pop, water and everything else was warm it was a disgrace so i went to bed depressed and demanded a upgrade in the morning and was moved for two hundred and thirty pounds, my partner was sick from the food for 12 hours the next day but after the move and 12 hours sickness my holiday started to get better
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss AR Ratchford |
| Overall
Rating: |
6/10 |
| Comments: |
today i returned hoem from the houda golf hotel in tunisia and well i have alot to report on. I went there with my younger brother and cousin (aged 12) and my mum and stepdad, when we first arrived we was allocated to our room after waiting over a hour to get into, and found that we was a bed short and they was nto very helpful when we explained that it was not what we paid for but eventually was moved to a more appropiate room on the first floor( yet we was told with a large family of 5 that we would have 2 jointed rooms when we booked our holiday to find that they did not even have this available in thier hotel).
People are extremely friendly all the animation team were absolutley fantastic and pretty darn hot (wink wink Marcus alli babah shaggy ) I do think that the night entertainment wasnt all that good but they really did try thier best and worked extremly hard from early morning to late hours. There is a system in the hotel that i personally and the rest of my family think is totally uncalled for .... the dinning hall has a first sitting and a second sitting with each family allocated to a certain table but when we arrived we was told by the rep that if whatever sitting we chose was not convinient then we was to let the waiter know and it woudl be sorted, yet we was not aware that if you changed first sitting for lunch you must change for evening also. It was soon sorted with the head waiter that we was able to have first sitting for one and second for the other. There was also fighting in the dinning hall between a scottish family and a german family which was near enough fisty cuffs but was resolved shortly after.
Ive never visited a hotel that at 5 in the morning all the deck chairs by the pool have gone it was ridiculus!
I know i am complaing alot but i just think this hotel is lacking organisation really with a bit better managment it woudl be fantastic. we went on a camel riding trip with the houda company instead of first choice and was absolutley brilliant recomend to anyone who chooses to go to the houda! food was nice just needs more variety and the rule of two drinks at a tiem needs changing aspesh when you can drink a cup of wine or beer in one gulp the PLASTIC cups are that small.......
Thankyou to all the animation team and first choice rep ISAM who made our last couple of days extremely enjoyable:)
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jun 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs J Needham |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
Well what can I say?
Booked already for next year!
Returned from Houda last week with my husband, and 3 Children, age's 16, 10 & 8, had an absolute fantastic time. Your holiday is what you make it!
This is a 3 star hotel, so don't go expecting 5 star luxury....( although for 3 star you really do get value for money) the Hotel is clean, friendly with excellent service from all the staff. Mais service is daily and towels also changed daily.
The food is Tunisian!! And we had no complaints at all, even from my youngest children, but for those of you who are a little choosy, chips, pizza, pasta, etc are also available in the restaurants and also from the snack bar. you must also try the Italian & Tunisian Restaurants they are brilliant, and for a 10 dinar tip, will invite you back as many times as you like!
Entertainment & Animation Team are absolutely fantastic, and really make your holiday! Especially Carlos who's completely barmy !!
Just cant wait to go back!!!
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jun 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
a1 travel |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr B S Gregory |
| Overall
Rating: |
7/10 |
| Comments: |
we arrived and was allocated our room which was not what i booked and paid for. We raised the point with reception but was totally ignored and told there were no other rooms available. i paid for sea view / balcony and got a small room above reception looking down the drive to the hotel with only a small window and air con that did not work. a shower that had been moved so often that the pipe was bent so the water would not flow reported on day two still not fixed when we left 12days later. male staff on reception very rude and arrogant got air con fixed in second week only for it to leek water through the celling after only ten min. Any way on to the better side the rest of the staff were great the food OK. cat as 3star + but only a very low 3 star but great for kids and familys beds are very hard.
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| Board Basis: |
All Inclusive |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jun 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
First Choice |
| Submitted
By: |
medwaybantam |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
We returned to the Houda in June after a wonderful holiday last year and weren't disappointed this year either.
The entertainment is great (look out for the twice daily darts games with Carlos,he's a nutter!) We didn't go to the nightly entertainment but people who did enjoyed it.
The food, altho not to all English tastes is OK with a good variety served up in the buffet. The chicken pie is to die for but this year was hidden down by the kids food and took some finding.The late night snack bar is a must after a few bevvies too. We visited the Italian restaurant before we came home which was excellent.
The rooms are basic but clean and comfortable, as is the rest of the hotel. The staff are all brilliant, always smiling and chatty...the little man in the straw hat who works round the snack bar by the pool is excellent value for a 10 dinar tip - food and beer table service!!
We have already booked again for next year and can't wait to get there. As Tara said, ignore any negative reports from the Houda, they ARE rubbish.
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