Saadia Hotel

20 readers found this review helpful

When we arrived we were greeted warmly by the staff. We were shown to our rooms which gave me my initial concerns. Everywhere looked tired and shabby. We were taken to our room which was basic but very clean. We had a room which overlooked the pool and it had a small pleasant balcony.
I would have liked tea and coffee making facilities in the room but hey it was a 3* hotel so things aren't going to be perfect.
We were advised by the hotel rep about how to get about, who to book trips with, which buses to use and basic costs of buses and taxis.
All the information given was accurate and greatly received. We used the buses and had a blast, the conductors were lovely and really helpful.
The markets (souqs) were an adventure and at times a bit annoying. Again, thanks to our holiday rep, we knew how to shake them off. They can sell the same stuff and it gets a bit repetitive but we also had great fun and I am now the proud owner of several new leather handbags and a purse which cost less than £25 in total. If you liked named goods you will be in heaven (I don't, but still found loads). The best buy of the holiday was a bag that was orignally trying to be sold to us for £150 was brought right down to £15 - don't be afraid to haggle hard, they expect it and enjoy the challenge. Stalls deep inside the markets tend to sell cheaper than on the outskirts.
Trips were excellent, can't fault them.
Back to the hotel:
Room: Basic but very clean. Staff lovely. No problems.
All inclusive bar: Hilarious - two liquers, one type of beer and red, white or rose wine. No matter what spirit you asked for you got one of the two available. This wasn't a problem at all as you were told that it was local alcohols included. I loved the white wine and took full advantage of it. They did tend to run out of glasses but my husband and I solved that by keeping our glasses for the week. The Bar Manager even provided my husband with a pint tankard instead of the half pint usually on offer. As promised it was returned at the end of the week.
Food: Absolutely lovely - to be honest I would have liked it to be a bit more native but they have to appeal to the masses. There was always something suitable to eat. Staff were fabulous.
Pool area: Indoor and outdoor - Immaculate and very well looked after. Beauty salon: Fabulous - my husband and I had massages on Christmas day and it was a wonderfully relaxing experience. My mother had her hair done and it looked stunning.
Entertainment: The lads worked hard but we weren't there for the entertainment so didn't really engage too much with them. They were lovely and respectful and the people who they were entertaining seemed to enjoy it.
Weather: Perfect for me, averaging about 20 celsius, we even managed to swim in the sea on Christmas Day.
It was 3* and that should always be borne in mind but it was far more than we expected in terms of value. The area was quiet but other areas were easily accessible. I would definitely stay there again.

7 readers found this review helpful

I returned from this hotel 2days ago after booking from travel agents reconmendation. After reading reviews we found we had been told the hotel had just been refurbished back in May of this year, so thought we would give it a try.We did mention to the travel agent about the Sahara beach but she told us not to, although after seeing it we realised it was amazing).
Any way upon arrival at Monastir airport none of the Thomas cook reps could tell us which coach was going to our hotel until a seperate drive said he was going there and took us, driving along a deserted road with a few hotels or derelect buildings and then we pulled into the driveway of the Saadia Gardens.
Keeping an open mind we checked in and had our bags taken up to our rooms. whilst following the porter to our room we discover that the holiday wasn't going to be what we thought it was. The lifts had no lights in them, so you had to stand in darkness, we got out the lift and started walking along the corridor we started seeing wet patches on the carpet which were getting bigger and bigger, at which point we also noticed the walls were covered in damp and mould!
As you walk along the corridors every 3doors you will find a cupboard, they are not hard to miss as the majority of the time they are open or have a huge gap were they have no locks! It got better as the baby we were traveling with pulled one of the doors open at which point all we could see was pipes and a huge hole in the ground with at least a 4ft drop, dont get me wrong he shouldn't be opening the doors but kids will be kids and if we wasn't watching him it could've been a lot more serious! Throughout the stay we noticed more and more damp on the walls, carpets and ceilings, so much so that at one point of taking photos of the wall we touched it and the wall started to fall off!
Other physical things wrong with the hotel are the tiles surrounding the pool, you will find a lot of broken, crack or uneven tiles which you find you WILL trip over at some point or another. During our stay it rained 3 days out of 7 which we didnt really mind noone can control the weather but however when it did rain the windows and doors in the main part the hotel where the bar is would leak leaving an already slippery surface even more slippery, the hotel staffs andswer to this was to prop towels or the floor below the windows and infront of the door which makes another lovely picture.
After seeing all this we then decide to have it out with our rep at the welcome meeting the next morning. Turning up with all points written down to say whats bad about the hotel the rep arrives, asking the most appropriate question to start off the rant, 'how are you enjoying it so far?'. With this we return saying that the holiday isn't what we was sold and that we were disgusted with what we had experienced so far. All our supposed rep could say to us was "i'm not actually a Thomas Cook rep and i'm only here to advise you of what excursions to go on or where in the resort to try." So we are stuck in the worst hotel with no representative to talk to and none to get us out of there.
Moving on from the decor to the supposed All Inclusive food and drinks! There are only 2 all inclusive bars on inside as stated above and one beside the pool, don't be too happy yet the only drinks the pool bar serve is the beer(when the pumps working) and soft drinks. In doesn't get much better inside as the only drinks they even have is Bokha, Soapy tasting beer, Whiskey and soft drinks which we wasnt told before booking unfortunatley as most of our party dont drink any of them.
As we arrived after lunch had been served we thought we'd take full advantage of the snack bar which was meant to run between 10-12, 15-17 and 22-23 but when we asked at reception where it was, we were told it runs from 3 from an hour. This wouldn't have been too bad could've coped until we went to the snack bar at 3, we were served with Crepes and carrot and tomato sauce sandwhich with the added fly here and there. After tavelling from half 3 the morning before this was the last thing we wanted to see, as you can imagine. Instead we bought a bag of crisps and thought we would hold out until dinner time, turning up in the dinning room we were greeted with pizza, spaghetti and sauce minus mince meat, aubergine ratan, beef which actually had liver init and pasta in a tomato sauce which you could barely taste and finally chicken which looks as though its been deep fried but hasn't. Shortage of nice food kept us hungry holding out for breakfast this time, where we could have, dry croissants, red sausages, watery scambled egg, aubergine again, Crepes and the sweetest cereal you could ever taste. After our second full day all hope had gone for having anything to eat as everyday was the same food breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The hotels entertainment team were 5 young boys who did say hello to everyone and tried to play with the kids but that is as far as it went really, the only activities they done was water aerobics and water polo the rest of the day you was left to your own devices, there is a kids club but noone operates it and it wasn't opened in the whole time we stayed there. Although there is a tiny outdoors area for kids to play in please keep your eye on them as we had the 3 year old with us and as he was on the roundabout metal sides around the climbing frames fell down, if they landed on any of the kids they could've killed them or at least seriously injured them.
Our 3rd night in the hotel we were asked if we wanted to go to the hotels beach party at which they would provide us with bbq food, drinks and English music. We did have 2 English songs one of which the only word we could figure out was Skank.
After all this we were glad to get home, the day before we went to check our pick up times although the entire Thomas cook board was in a foreign language so we couldn't understand it, after receiving a note from our Trip advisor saying departure times could be found out from reception we asked them who told us they didnt know, after giving us a number to call from the reception phone we were forwarded on to another number and had to speak to someone in broken English who also gave us another number and said they couldn't help, after calling the next number we were greeted with a message in Tunisian which the receptioist had to tell us meant they were closed! So the day before we go home noone can tell us when we are being picked up or if we are. At this point we try to call the 24hr emergency line and another number back in the UK but they have both been changed, so we have nobody we can contact to find out information. I had to call back to my parents for them to phone Thomas Cook and then be told a rep would be coming to our hotel and see us, 30mins later the receptionist comes and finds us to give us our pick up times but still no rep coming into our resort!
To sum it up I would never go to this hotel and advise anyone looking to go to tunisa to try the hotel Riadh in Sousse, we spoke to people on the coach who said it was amazing and there is so much more going on in Sousse. How ever if you are unlucky enough to already have booked for food go to "the saloon bar" in Sousse its amazing and the food is huge.

3 readers found this review helpful

We Holiday with Family nine people most people have stomach problem and ear infections, most of us had to move rooms due to many problems, smelly water everyway no air con working and very dirty, neary imposiblle to get double beds, Maintainance non existant My uncle who is 86 spent several nights without air con and one night with no electricity .then also the food most of us could not eat and every day the food was nearly the same, Restaurant Manager Ali Guassama very Arrogant and insultive with Customers.
All inclusive means local beer and horrible waterd down wine.
You only get one free use of steam room then you have to pay, sauna etc you have to pay for all usage.
The hotel is in the middle of nowhere.
We will defenatelly never return to this hotel.

3 readers found this review helpful

I had some doubts as to whether the hotel was going to be any good after reading previous reviews but myself and my bf were pleasently suprised! It is a Tunisian 3 star and you get a good deal for the money! The people were very friendly, the pool and sunbathing area were lovely and cleaned daily by a great mix of friendly staff. You had to get up early to get a sunbed but thats typical of anywhere and from some of the other people we spoke to who stayed in other hotels in the area we were lucky with only having to get up at 6am to get a bed!
The rooms were basic, but the bed was comfy and we found the maid service excellent. The air con was poor though, but apparently this is being refurbed. The All inclusive option was really good for what we paid. We got bottles of water included which we were told by our rep is not normal practise. They had coke and Fanta avaliable and the staff were really friendly and helpful. The wines weren't great, apart from the red, and there wasnt alot of spirits on offer but tp be honest we didnt find this a problem at all! The food was a little samey, and after a week and a bit we were a bit fed up with it but we got told that this was also changing hands so a better selection and better quality sould be avaliable soon. But it had a nice variety, and nice deserts too.
Be warned the juice there is made with Local water - we got told this at the end of the holiday and we had been drinking it but it didnt seem to effect us.
Tere is a beach about a 5 min walk from the hotel. Its not bad - but you dont have a ;lot of shade and in the time we went, it was just far too hot.
There are some good tours avaliable but DONT go with the locals there - ask your rep as they dont have the same health and safety standards as we have over here. YOu WILL be approached by them during your stay but they dont hassle if your firm.
The entertainment crew (animation crew) were brilliant! There is an entertainment slotfor the kids every night and a show as well. Lots of activities during the day, and they dont hassle you to join in. Very friendly funny bunch.
Overall we really enjoyed our stay - you just need to realise that it is a 3* not a 5 and you get what you pay for! I was pleasently suprised, and well looked after!

2 readers found this review helpful

dreadfull total nightmare.we did not enjoy our holiday at all.we could not waite to come home .the food was very poor as was the accomadition.the all inclusive was a total waste of time and money as all there was was the local beer and buca and both was dreadfull as was the wine.the juice was not much better.if you wanted other beer or sprit you had to buy at the brits bar and this was very high priced.there was not much to do at all the entertainment was most poor.the room was basic as was the bathroom.the maid service again poor.total waste of money and time.Would never go back or recomend hotel to any one

6 readers found this review helpful

We were really worried about having spent our money on this holiday after reading all the bad reviews, and wer not looking forward to the holiday at all. I'm pleased to say that we were totally surprised and had a fantastic time! As soon as we arrived we realised that the staff were efficient, helpful and friendly. The hotel was clean and the facilities were much better than I have previously experienced at a 3 star hotel. The room and bathroom were quite basic but clean, with a decent balcony. The entertainment team were talented and performed nightly shows at the hotels nightclub which were all included in the package. The food was plentiful with lots of choice from european and tunisian dishes. On the all inclusive drinks only local spirits are included whilst the well known brands are charged for in the British Bar or Piano Bar on the resort and quite expensive - most people stuck to he free drinks, but we never queued for longer then 5 mins waiting for drinks. Overall, we're really pleased with this holiday, particularly as it was so cheap and we had such a negative outlook before we arrived. The hotel has just been reopened after being closed for refurbishment - from the previous reviews sounds like it was pretty awful before but please don't worry if you have this hotel booked, as everyone there was talking about how niice the place was and how different from what they had heard!

2 readers found this review helpful

I do not understand why this place has so many bad reviews! I had what was undoubtably my best holiday here. I went with my husband and a couple of friends for 7 days and it was fab. We are all in our early 20's and we found everything we needed here. there are coaches to near by towms and always a taxi to hand!
do be careful though as taxi drivers do try to rip you off, the trip from monastair to Saadia hotel should cost no more than 10 denar and everything is open to negotiation here!
As for the animation team (entertainment)well, what can i say... they are the nicest most hard working people you could wish to meet, they start at 10am and don't finish until after 12 at night and really do keep you entertained for thr duration of your stay! The evening entertainment consists of various shows and the dancing (and brake dancing) are fantastic!
I only got back yesterday and i am already shopping round for flights to go back!

3 readers found this review helpful

I really dont understand how people can really enjoy this hell hole.Yes i understand you get what u pay for but that hotel was rediculos.hygiene??? i dont think they know what it is over there.the food every single day was cold i ended up eating bread and butter for most of it.the chef was smokeing all over the food coughing.the entertainment staff yes i do agree they are what make that hotel but still i wasnt happy with there behaviour.num,ber of occasions whilst we stayed there they were fighting over girls and made it clear that if thy fancied you they wanted to ake you upstairs.the waiters would never return our change and it was alot more money than a tip so they couldnt hav been mistaken for a tip.i have already written a review about this holiday but i have had to wite another to say really do not go.i stayed in the grubby room for the last 3 days of the holiday not because i was ill ( i never ate to get ill) but because it was just depressing!!!
we put in for a full refund on this holiday and we were sucsesfull!

2 readers found this review helpful

we spent two weeks at this excuse for a hotel last summer. where do i start! our first room was on the top floor despite me having told them about a disability, the lifts were not working so they moved us. the second room got broken into so they moved us again, we had ants this time but hey it was tunisia! the pool did not have enough sunbeds and the pool man kept taking your bed(after throwing your stuff on the floor)to 'sell'to the people who tipped him to find beds - WHILE YOU WERE TAKING A DIP! it got so bad that families stuck together to 'bed watch' while the other family swam. the worst of all was when the pool man THREATENED TO HIT my young son when he would not get off my bed whilst i went in for a wee! i reported him but doubt much was done.the animation team were constantly trying to get into my 16 year olds underwear even peeking into her bikini bottoms as she lay beside me by the pool! he then threatened me when i swore at him for doing so! they regularly boasted around the pool about the guests that they had sex with the night before - even pointing one young french girl out to one young guest, as 'worth trying his luck with'!. the food was repetative and often undercooked, and my husband got severe food poisoning while there. he is STILL under a doctor because of it now! the poolside snackbar was running with cockroaches (i have photos) but you would not want to eat those snacks anyway squares of stale pizza or stale rolls. or a crepe by the pool if you dont mind queueing for 30 minutes or so. the beach was so seaweedy that you could not even paddle and the hawkers were a pain in the bum. the area around the hotel is desolate with just a petrol garage and another hotel nearby. i am not usually a moaner, i dont have unrealistic ideas of budget holidays but this was beyond belief.

2 readers found this review helpful

hiya, just come back from a 2 week holiday in tunisia and it was just the best.the people are just so nice and i mean genuine nice and the atmosphere was brilliant,something for everyone.me and the missus cant wait to go back especially to see one of many friends we made there(mo mo)the entertainer was brilliant couldnt dislike this guy if you tried very very good at his job kept everyone happy all day and night and the night life at the saadia was excellent something different every night and it was good.now i know alot of people get home sick cos we did and now were home we wanna go back but we are gonna spend a few months saving and probably go back in april instead of october.the beaches are really clean and the sea water was so warm and very very clear for all you scubas out there,and for the adrenaline junkies out there(like me)there is the jet skis power boats paragliding water skiing canoeing pedal boats beach buggys quad bikes motor bikes cars and a whole lot more you will never be bored and your mind will never be on home.and for all you fussy people out there the food in the saadia hotel was really ok seeing as they cook for 10 diffrent nationalities so theres something for everyone and the rooms and the beds were very clean the cleaners work very hard change bedding and towels everyday and theres a gym there pool and video games for the kids and they are really good there the staff with the kids.nice big clean outdoor swimming pool and a inside one and if you go there and end up spending a birthday there then they turn all the lights out at tea time in the big dining hall and bring you birthday cake with all the candles and the song.so all in all we thought it was really good and we would go back obviously they advise you not to wander off at night in any country even at home cos there are good and bad cos not everyone is working in these poor countrys give it 10 years when its developed alot more which will mean more work for the tunisians and it will probably be even better,not that we had any bad experiences apart from practicly dragging you in the shops in town sousse but its like that in a lot of places so not too much eye contact ladies when in the markets buying yer handbags and purses and you will get a bargain if you bring yer haggling skills with you just dont bother with the silver or gold cos it aint real.and dont forget to take ye kettle and tea bags cos you wont find any english cafes and youll miss ye tv cos all they watch is football,apart from all this very good we got a two week all in from 5 october to 19 940 was well worthit and you will love mo mo the entertainer hes a one off character the missus wanted to bring him home but he wouldnt fit in the case.have a good holiday from paul n irene.