Karthago El Ksar

I really enjoyed my time...I didnt think I would, because I didnt think of Tunisia to be a good place for a holiday. But I couldnt have been more wrong. IT WAS FANTASTIC!!! and I would definately go back.

1 reader found this review helpful

okay, rude staff, filthy toilets, filthy pool, food awful, view from balcony green plastic corrugated sheet full of rubble, and dirty great cockroaches everywhere, even in our room every time we put the water on! told by rep "you are in africa you do get them", - shouldnt get them in a so called 4 star hotel matey!
the worst holiday ive ever had, couldnt wait to get home, complaint gone to thomas cook.

2 readers found this review helpful

Firstly what i dont understand is why there are so many negative reveiws about this place because it was lovely..
The place was always spotless and very impressive as far as surroundings were concerned..there were however not many english guests there but that was not really a problem for me as every foreign guest that i spoke to spoke good english..the staff were all very friendly and lovely and spoke good english..the rooms were cleaned every day without fail and they deserved every last dinar that we tipped them :)..entertainment was very good there was always something going on whether it was aqua gym or archery or the fakir show which was brilliant!. The only bad thing about Tunisia is the men, they can be a bit leary :/ i myself am only 16 but they dont care.The food was not very geared up for the British but i think that is a good thing because if i wanted fish and chips for dinner id go to my local chippy not go on holiday to tunisia, so try the food its an experience :)..in the restaurant we had the most lovely waitor named Salah and he made our stay very enjoyable..If you are looking for a quiet holiday make sure that they dont put you in the bungalows because there is a nightclub right next door..An all around lovely place :)

Arrived at the hotel great big doors to pull case over,they never opened the doors for people to get in. Hotel very dark in places. Pools great be up early to get a bed. No need to go to main pool walk around to the right through the gardens and find another pool, with a great snack bar for during the day. Go to the left and another smaller pool, go a walk to the bungalows and you will find another big pool. Walk through the main pool area straight to the beach and another snack bar for the beach. Service quick at this time of year, beach is great, the security on the beach is great no one is allowed to come up to you and sell you any goods, they will try but are qickley moved on.No need to worry about beds on the beach, they qickley move the towels off the beds if no one is on them, so you can reserve all you want but they will move them if you are not using them, which is great and we went at all times of the day and still got a bed.Sea is great nice and warm and clean. Rooms are ok, the floors were not cleaned every day, we were sharing our room with our daughter so we had three beds in but still plenty of space to move around.problem with the towels having to keep asking for some towels as they would take your dirty towels away and come back at about 5 o'clock with clean towels and always just gave us 2. Reception do not speak english at all hard to get your point across, mabe they should put one of the waiters on there as they had good english. Food well what can I say there, they certainly do not cater for the British, breakfast was all right but lunch and dinner well if you like meat you cannot chew, and the salad well how can a salad be dry!!! their's was. I love eating new foods but this was tastless. Seems new management took over and have let the place down a bit this was told to us by the staff. Comments correct about the people from the EU hotel does cater for them and not Uk. If you are really stuck for a decent meal just walk out the hotel and turn left loads of places to eat and very cheap 3 main courses/2 sweets/2 coffees/3 soft drinks £22 and was really good. Do Not go on the Media tour its crap and very smelly and hot that was a waste of money, go your self you will get what you want. Always always look at the goods and think what you would pay in £'s and thats what you offer, donot feel presured and walk away if they still try to get you to buy and you will get it for the correct price. We spent most of the week on the beach and it was great and totaly relaxed. Hotel could improve on service and food.

2 readers found this review helpful

just back from this hotel. had a fantastic time the hotel staff were wonderful. maybe not a 4 star but everyone did there best. the animation team were great we had a 15yr old with us and she really enjoyed herself the team tried to include everyone in the activities sam was great. the food was very nice im a fussy eater but never went hungry enough choice for everyone. the maid who cleaned the rooms was very nice folding t shirts into fans and towels into swans.if you have sun beds always ask for a blue one much more comfortable the pools were great we had musi all day round our pool but there is another if u want peace and quiet. in all a great holiday had by all and will be going back

1 reader found this review helpful

A huge hotel, with basic but clean rooms. The staff can't do enough for you and this was really what made the holiday for us. The pools were nice, indoor and outdoor, and the beach was superb. Its about a 30 minute walk down the beach to Sousse itself, but be prepared to be hassled by traders. As the hotel filled up there waqs a noticable lack of places to sit in the evening - too cold outdoors in April. The nightclub was a bit - um 'alternative'. Unfortunately our visit coincided with a large school group from Belgium who got drunk and threw up every night. The hotel staff were very quick to clean up however. The food on the other hand was dire. Breakfast was ok, but other than this I existed soley on salad and pasta. Watch out for bone fragments in the food and what I can only describe as grit. I chipped a tooth. I would advise using the snackbar near the back pool rather than the restaurant as the pizzas and sandwiches there are palatable. The waiters however were superb. Remember to tip the staff - they are paid next to nothing and really appreciate it, doing even more for you when they are rewarded this way (although they are great anyway!) Women - beware the wandering hands of a couple of the male staff. I would not advise teenage girls to wander about on their own - some of the Tunisians (who on the whole are lovely people) view European women as 'a bit loose' shall we say, and do try it on. This aside, I would recommend the hotel, and will be going back next year.

1 reader found this review helpful

Alarm bells started ringing when the Thomas Cook rep handed us a letter on the transfer bus stating that 4* didn't really mean 4*.....we felt that we should have been given this information AT THE TIME OF BOOKING so we could make an informed decision. Had we known the huge disparity between 4* hotels in Tunisia and those in other countries we certainly would not have gone there. I am curious to know whether anyone from Thomas Cook has visited the El Ksar recently, since it simply cannot be up to the required standards. Had we found our rep we would have asked him/her to come down to the Hamman with us, so he/she could give us her opinion about it.......it was so spooky and crypt like that our daughters were frightened to go down there and to be totally honest, it smelt like a men's urinal and was a total health hazard.
The food was good and was the hotel's saving grace and we enjoyed our meals. The staff however, were surly and unhelpful. We did wonder whether this was just a cultural thing...but staff in restaurants in the nearby Port were a delight.
The room was very average - it was clean enough but very jaded. The shower curtain was so short that it barely reached the edge of the bath - a strong blast of water from the shower and the floor was flooded. One of the slats under the bed was broken. To cap it all, we had an item of jewellary taken from the room.
Communal areas were also very shabby - the carpets on the landings were covered in stains. The gym was simply a joke - no decent kit at all. We were there in October, so only one of the bars was open in the evening. The hotel was very full however, and this one bar simply could not cope with the volume of guests and you had to stand in long queues in order to get served.
The beach towels which could be borrowed from the spa had holes in them. ALL the outdoor furniture needed replacing. The beach was nice and the sea was clean.
We enjoyed our quad biking excursion - but the transfer bus was SO delapidated it was a joke. One of the seats was propped up ON A TREE STUMP.
In summary - we found our Tunisian experience really quite stressful and would certainly not recommend this hotel. In fact, Thomas Cook should have their wrists slapped for including it in their brochures.

3 readers found this review helpful

The best hotel I have ever stayed at! I went there with a friend; we left husbands and children at home for the first time!
Arrived after dark, and thought we had landed in a palace from 1001 nights! Just wonderful! A bellboy got our suitcases as soon as we got into the reception room, and kept them for us till we had checked in.
The nice receptionist got us a really nice bungalow outside the main building, so the walk down to the beach was short!
Great food, great service, clean rooms - everything perfect. The maid put a little flower on our pillows every day, or folded a t-shirt into a flower on the bed. She put a great effort into cleaning our room, and we were really pleased.
The animation staff, Ronaldino, Picasso, Ben and the others were just great, kept the children at the hotel happy, entertained the guests, and were very pleasant to everyone!
They worked from 8.30 in the morning till 23.30 at night, with just a little break in the afternoon! Great staff! The hotel management didn't seem to care enough for these people!
All in all, the best holiday ever!
Highly recommended hotel, you will enjoy it!

The hotel was clean, rooms and pool lovely.
We were the only English people in this hotel. The hotel catered more for Germans. Food was nice but took ages to serve yourself. The Germans did not queue; they would push in and take all the fresh food. We had to queue for ages at the bar too.
I would strongly recommend you do not do the First Choice 2/3 days Safari Trip. Total waste of money! You are stuck in the back of a small jeep with other couples with no air-con for hours on end, it’s really uncomfortable and cramped. You are able to spend a few mins viewing an attraction and then back in the car for hours again.

Good holiday as the weather was great but no idea what we would of done had the weather been bad.
The hotel was good for food but the bar selection and service was lacking as was the dreadful entertainment at nights. We had a great room right on the beach with a great swimming pool nearby, the hotel was full of Germans when we were there so watch out for sunbeds. Be prepared for the ques at dinner and the constant needs of the waiters etc for tips.
We did not go on any trips as we were only there for a week, we did go into Sousse and Port El Kantaoui of which we spent about 30 minutes in each nothing to right home about and Sousse a bit intimidating
It is not a place where you would feel safe going out at night but overall a great place for a week in the sun.