Houda Golf & Beach Club Hotel

12 readers found this review helpful

me and my partner went to this hotel in october 2010 for 2 weeks, the hotel is a 3 star !!! and i think people need to remember that! people have paid for a 3 star hotel and are expecting 5 star service ! the hotel is nice and its clean but it is basic. the staff are luvly and very friendly and they work really hard ! outside the hotel there is not alot to do, there is a large gift shop and a cafe across the road. the food in the hotel is pretty poor eg yorkshire pudding and pasta for breakfast !! dont expect bacon and sausage in tunisia as it is a muslim country. there is entertainment at night but its from 10-11 at night and its quite repetative, so there isnt really much to do at night. the main reason people go to tunisa is for the sun which is pretty much garenteed any time of year! so for all you moaning about this hotel why dont you pay the extra and go 5 star and then find something else to moan about !!! your holiday is what you make it! so if your going to moan all week its going to be rubbish ! you aint at work, or ill in hospital ! so get over it and enjoy what you have got !!!!!!!!!!!

15 readers found this review helpful

I will start with pointing out to people that the star rating is not a measure of how luxurious a hotel may be it is a measure of the facilities a hotel may offer, the Houda is basic but has lots of onsite facilities.
This was our third visit to the Houda Golf & Beach Club and overall as with our previous visits, we enjoyed ourselves.
Checking in. We arrived at 11am, the rooms are not available until 2pm, the disadvantage of an early flight I'm afraid and no different to any other busy hotel. We filled in the form and were given our bands withing 10 mins of arriving so at least we could eat and drink etc.
Rooms. The rooms was basic as we expected, spotlessly clean and everthing worked, the shower was fantastic, the aircon did it's job and the room had a nice cool feel.
Dining. This is where things fall apart a bit, the food generally is not at all bad however, don't be expecting english food, if you want english food, don't go to Tunisia. The big problem with meals is the queuing, it gets a bit chaotic at times.
Ice Cream. Ice Cream is not included as part of the AI package this is the case with many AI hotels not just the Houda, in the hotels deffence it is cheap enough in the shop or from the Ice Cream Stall.
Bar. This could do with some extra staff serving as it's people wanting wine and spirits that slow things down, it also gets a little confussing, sometimes they make a seperate queue for those only wanting beer however the staff don't tell you when they are doing it, I usually wait untill someone jumps the queue and gets served they I do the same. The plastic cups seem to cause a lot of problems for some people, frankly I'd rather they use plastic cups than my daughter cut her foot because someone has broken a glass by the pool. In the evening they do bring out 1/2 glasses for beer.
The Grounds. The gardens are kept really nice and tidy.
The Staff. We have yet to see any rudeness from any staff at this hotel, my gues is the those who have written in their reviews that staff were rude were probably very rude themselves.
Kids Club. This really needs some work,it looks a little run down, the staff are great, don't be put off by the lack of facilities in the kids club it's self, most of the planned activities take part outside the Kids Club.
Location. over the last 4 years facilities outside the hotel have got better with a big shopping center, Cafe and other shops just across the road, the Cafe serves superb Pizzas and the are cheap.

1 reader found this review helpful

If you go remembering this is a 3 star you will enjoy! Our room was good but many complained. Food not bad good variety but if you only like chips and ketchup go to Spain! Entertainment okay for families but staff all lovely. Clean, basic but friendly. 2 weeks of sun for a good price if you want luxury pay more and get a 5 star. Wouldnt go back but we enjoyed.

6 readers found this review helpful

Well where do I Start, came back on Monday 28/09/2010 after 11 nights there.... Rooms disgusting we moved 4 times as I refused to sleep in any and Thompson Holidays wnted to charge us £300 to move hotels.This hotel is dirty,food only catered for the Rude Germans and French...Food was what you would give your dog..It is not all inclusive at all we got charged for ice creams and doughnuts and even had to pay as we requested for a bottle of wine which was 20 dinars £10.00...Queing for drinks was a night mare 2 per person little tiny dirty cups....People walk in and out of your room with out knocking hoping you wont be in so they can steal stuff as I had a pair of expensive earings go missing and we had 3 different people walked inwhen we were having an afternoon nap....Watch out for the amination team they are dirty pervs who like the young girls /kids they are too touchy feely and my partner told one off one day as he wa watching him where he was putting his hands on a young girl......The plac stinks of sewers,they never clean any thing thats why there is so many flies.They rip you off and constanly pestering for tips. Even our rep Martin said he had 80 complaints on Monday in one day....This is was our first holiday in 10 years and all inclusive we wont be booking again with Thomson Holidays the rep who sold us the holiday Emma from Lincoln Branch who is the manager their said it was a fantastic hotel she needs retraining and she is a disgrace to Thomson we are claiming compensation from Thompson.......Thomson Holidays you should be ashamed to have this on your books......

3 readers found this review helpful

just back from houda golf and beach club!!What can i say worst hotel i have ever stayed in,corridors dark and dingy,food terrible,queued the whole time for drinks only to receive two at a time,served in tiny plastic beakers.food left open at all times ,covered in flies!!Never saw pool cleaned the whole week stay.reception staff rude and unhelpfull.Thomas cook should be ashamed of themselfs for sending people there.would never recommened in or go back.

6 readers found this review helpful

I have just returned from a week at Houda and i'm devastated to be back had the most amazing time. Yeah it has its down sides the selection of food is not brilliant for kids we had an 8 year old with us and bless her she lived on chips, pancakes and croissants. The hotel is lovely although a little crowded, the pool is just great, night time dancing is so much fun and the entertainment team are amazing I can really say that they totally made our holiday. Never met people so friendly. If your younger 18-40 then they have a disco which is actually a good laugh but the best place to be is the Safari Cafe which serves really good drinks and has a lovely vibe about it. Can't wait to go back, been in england 24 hours and i'm booking up straight away to go back. xx

8 readers found this review helpful

Had a 2 weeks holiday here and loved it, would have been a 10 but the hotel room let us down, nothing like I was expecting and the air conditioning didn't work proper for 3 days, our rep Martin (Thomson)was there to help us sort it and we even got an inconvenience refund which was great, the room was very basic but we managed and was kept clean and the maid was very good and polite. The slides were great fun and we enjoyed going on alot with our 11 year old daughter, the only problem we had with these slides was they were dirty up at the top of the steps which I'm sure it wouldn't have done the lifeguards any harm in keeping it clean daily instead of sitting on a chair all day. The entertainment team were amazing and you just wanted to be involved in their games as they made them so much fun and the team got the ladies up for a dance each night which we found was different. Sammi and Kampa from the entertainment team was very very good and always found time to come and have a chat each day which we always had a great laugh with them all the time. Looking to go back next year. If they spent a little money on the rooms and cleaning the pool slides it would deffo be a 10/10. The food was also good and there was all types of food that you could choose from so people who complain about the food must just be really fussey eaters and just trying to pick at something.

5 readers found this review helpful

We just got back from this hotel yesterday. The hotel was clean, we had clean towels everyday and the maid did a good job on our room on a daily basis but as soon as we got there we did tip her 2 dina which is about 1 pound. The pool area was very nice but you do have to get up very early to get a sunbed. We definatley reommend the quad biking we had a fab time. On the downside the organisation of the restaurant and bars are not very good as this is a very busy hotel and only one person serving behind the bar. The choice of food in the restaurant is limited for english people if you are fussy with your food but you could if your willing to tip the head waiter in the italian restaurant and you can have a few nights in there and get all the food and drink you wanted which was very nice and you didnt have to que (10 dina about a fiver). We paid 400 pounds each and for what we paid it was okay if i had paid more i would have been disapointed. If you are willing to tip any of the staff the better service you will get (at the bar). There is no lifts in this hotel. The weather was very hot.

2 readers found this review helpful

If you are thinking of booking this holiday i wouldn't bother.
We went for 11 nights and i've got to say from the moment we arrived at the hotel it was hell. The reception staff were rude, the porter was a money grabber, who snatched 5 euro's out of my hand due to not having any change. The room was dark, too small for 4 of us (2adults, 2 childrens aged 4 & 1) it was dirty!!
We complained as soon as we saw our room to reception who were rude and abrupt. we told our rep who helped the best he could to change our room, we moved and the room was bigger but we were still on the third floor and the hotel has no lifts, yes NO LIFTS so we had to carry our son in his buggy up and down all day.
The pool area- i don't know where to begin, we stayed around the pool area at the front where all the slides are because there is a baby pool which has a slide aswell there. The baby pool was dirty, it had not been cleaned in the whole 11 days we had been there. There were cups, glasses, tissues, sand, dirt, dead flies in the water. it was disgusting!! we asked the life guard when it was being cleaned, who just pretended he didn't understand. All of the drain lids around the baby pool were missing, causing my son a near injury, which made me very annoyed.
The outside showers inbetween the mens&ladies toilets were appauling, the drains were obviously blocked and there was pooh and tissue all aound it. the toliets inside were no better.
The food was disgusting, we have been all inclusive before but it has never been this bad!! the food looked like it was cooked on a high heat but was still frozen. The food was the same everday just mixed with something else. Even the rep said he wouldn't eat there, don't blame him. The que's were nearly out of the restaurant and tonnes just pushing in, just god d**m rude!
We have been to many places, but i can surely say i ould never go back to tunisia. I read reviews before going and thought it was just different peoples opinions. but honesly it was hell!!

2 readers found this review helpful

i am really surprised at the amount of unhappy people. i have just got back from a weeks holiday with my 4 year old daughter, sister and friend. We had a really good time. The pool areas were clean and invitable altough the sun beds were very ncomfortable or broken, the animation team were fantastic making your day funfilled. our room was very clean and spacious with ice cold air conditioning. the room mais was very polite nad friendly. ALL staff were lovely even my daugter felt comfotable in there presence. Food was ok but not much english choice, always something to find to eat, plenty of drink on constant flow althou soft drinks were warm.
Martin our thomson rep was outstanding and very easy going.
i would have no problems in going here again