Reviews of Riu Park El Kebir Hotel, Hammamet, Tunisia

Excellent hotel. Very pleasant...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2006

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mrs P A Hardman

Comments:

Excellent hotel. Very pleasant setting directly on beach. Plenty of loungers by the pool and on the beach. Not much going on outside the hotel but there a few shops and restaurants within walking distance.



Hotel itself is very clean and rooms have plenty of storage space. Food is very good and plentiful. Hotel staff are great and very pleasant and helpful. Any problems are dealt with immediately.



Nighttime entertainment poor but there are plenty of different seating areas to enjoy a drink. We felt our holiday was very good value for money and would return to the hotel.

I was very disappointed with...

Overall Rating:

1/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2004

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mrs C Jones

Comments:

I was very disappointed with this hotel. We arrived at the hotel where we were greeted by the hotel staff hassling us to take our bags.



Once we agreed we went into the hotel lobby where the manager greeted us with drinks. Once we went to take our bags up to the room we noticed that one was missing but we were assured it would be found by morning. We were escorted to our rooms and once we entered we found that there were only two beds and three of us staying there. We contacted the manager and he informed us that there were no extra beds available at that time.



We managed the night with just two beds. To cut a long story short our case was never found and my daughter was left with no clothes whatsoever for 2 weeks. The pool had to be evacuated three times due to it being full of human waste and Arabic women jumping in, in shoes and full clothing, head dresses included.



My daughter was taken to hospital with food poisoning and my husband with a severe ear infection from the pool and our friends also as items stolen from their rooms, I would advise anyone to seriously think twice before booking this holiday!

We arrived at the Riu Park el...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Mar 2006

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Hils

Comments:

We arrived at the Riu Park el Kebir about 10pm. The manager was waiting with a drink for everyone. Check in was fast and efficient and we were given the obligatory hotel forms to fill in at our leisure as long as we delivered them to reception the following morning. A meal was laid out for us in the restaurant even though it was late.



The room was roomy and spotless. The food was excellent and plenty of variety and the restaurant manager was continually checking the food temperature with a thermometer. Wine in the evenings was out of a bottle, not watered down out of a cask and even the lunchtime wine from the said cask was good quality. All of the staff were extremely friendly and nothing was too much trouble.



The only down side was the beds were on the hard side and the animation team were very amateurish although they did their best. The hotel was about 2 miles from Hammamet itself but the taxis were cheap. I would certainly return to this hotel again.

We went with two young children...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Feb 2005

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Miss M Percival

Comments:

We went with two young children (2 years and 8 months), What a fantastic hotel! The staff could not do enough for you especially the kids.



The hotel is stunning as is the beach, the room was clean and spacious. The food was great with a large choice of hot and cold meals. Plenty of choice for adults and kids. The pool areas were clean and safe for the kids.



The Tunisian people adore kids and they are quite open about expressing it i.e. kissing and cuddling the kids which they loved but I can imagine some people would not like it but there is no harm or upset intended it is the way they are.



We went into Hammamett one day it is a bit daunting as everybody wants you to go into their shop, just be firm but do look as there are some bargains to be had. I just kept thinking to myself that they are only trying to earn a living.



Highly recommend this hotel. You can’t go far wrong.

I felt I had to post this as I...

Overall Rating:

5/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2004

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Ms A Leigh

Comments:

I felt I had to post this as I had so much trouble looking for info for this hotel in Hammamet!


First, don’t bother trying to exchange your money in the UK, the Tunisian Dinar is a close currency, generally meaning you can’t take it out of their country! The good thing is, it’s the same exchange rate anywhere you go in Tunisia, about 2 dinars to the £1.


The hotel was very nice and the food lived up to it’s 4* standard-fresh with a good variety. The facilities were good, 2 outdoor & 1 indoor pool, wellness centre, daytime activities were good (aquagym, archery, shooting, volleyball, darts, etc). Hammamet is fairly quiet place, don’t go if you’re looking for nightlife, but v good for relaxing and the occasional trips sightseeing. Oh, the hotel also has a competent line up for evening shows/entertainment. The sandy beach is very clean and right on our door step!


A visit to the medina was recommended by the rep but not by other guests who said it was quite scary as the stall holders tend to literally, drag you into their shops! So we didn’t bother, but still got accosted by a stall keeper as we were walking pass his shop, which was outside our hotel.


While there, do take the opportunity to ride a camel into the Sahara desert - worth it for the long journey, and you get to have lunch at anakin skywalkers house! Don’t bother with the horse & carriage ride if you can avoid it!


We only went on the one excursion, Sahara discovery, which took 2 days, cost £72 pp. You get quite a lot for your money, but it’s a very long and tiring journey, 5am start on both days! My advice is to take lots of snacks/food for the day because after breakfast at 5/6am, you don’t get lunch until 1pm!


We also went to see Showstopper on Friday night - basically the reps put on a show for their guests, singing and dancing from various different films and musicals. Costs £17 pp from Hammamet but I assume is cheaper if you’re staying in Sousse (where the show was held). Word of warning, don’t expect a slap up meal in the price - chicken & chips! The show was good and our rep, Rebecca has a very good singing voice, shame about the distance (1hr 15mins) and the food.


Overall, value for money is good but I doubt if I’ll be going back again. Def yes, if you go all inclusive and like sun, sea, sand and alcohol!