Royal Kenz Hotel
, Port El Kantaoui
Royal Kenz Hotel reviews
The Mrs and I had a week’s stay at the Royal Kenz Hotel mid Jan 2012 all inclusive. When we arrived at the hotel the first thing we noticed was the hotel grounds and reception area was spotlessly clean. Then as you do we got our key and tried to find our room well what a mission we had trying to find it we was in room 1015 you had to go to the first floor walk for ever then go down a flight of stairs then along a corridor to your room nr 5 mins in total from reception. Our room was a superior room with pool and sea view, There was only two things wrong 1. The shower would not stay in the holder if put on more than ½ power as it was broken, 2.The wc seat would not stay up that was it. There was always plenty of hot water, soap, shower gel and shampoo and a lovely deep bath (happy days).
Food.. We never had a problem with any meals there was a good selection at all sittings and it was hot. What we did not like was being put on a table with another cpl. (ask the waiter for a table for just the 2 of you but he will expect a tip) made us think it was done on purpose.
Drinks.. This was probably the best all-inclusive hotel we have stayed in for drinks as the larger was good, soft drinks out of a bottle and proper coke & diet coke and a good selection of spirits.
Entertainment
sorry guys but it was terrible for us, yes they had bingo (you got to see it to believe the machine they use) they had a quiz twice a week a belly dancing show that was free (if you see it you will see why its free) once a week and a show you had to pay for once a week 15Dinars which we did not see.
The waiters at all times will expect a tip (breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner and bar) Yes it’s not a lot of money but add it up over a week or two and then think about it. The person we felt we had to give a good tip to was our room cleaner she was great.
Scams There are a few scams you will find when you are out and about the most popular we found was the hello I’m your waiter from your hotel and even name your hotel. The other main one is when you are in the shopping area they ask please May I ask you a question?
Would we go back? too right we would at the end of the day it was great value for money.
- Holiday Date:Jan 2012
- Good For: Beach
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Thomson
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All inclusive can expect -
to be served last
get small measures
to be unable to get more than half a wine glass of a soft drink or water at any time.
drinks to run out but only for all inclusive guests, there are plenty avaialable for half/full board who are passing money over
Staff asking you to get them a beer.
Have to sign for every drink - even a glass of water.
All guests can expect -
a dirty beach
untidy gardens
repetitive menu (lasagne on the menu 7 times from 14 nights we were there)
Good maid service.
Fantastically cooked meals.
Would not return. Would not recommend. Talking to people who are repeat customers said they pitied the people seeing this hotel for the first time.
- Holiday Date:Sep 2011
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Thomson
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3 readers found this review helpful
I have visited the royal kenz at least 3 times a year for the past 7 years and have always been happy until this year when 3 of my friends were short changed by £12 on a £100, and clothes from their room and a sony walkman stolen which they deny, but believe me it is true, for this reason beware with your money and belongings, also there is a 10 dinar refundable deposit from the safe deposit box same for 1 week as 2 weeks, i willl no longer be going to this hotel and a lot of regulars have told me the same story even the elderly people were being robbed of their money when exchanging it was reported but after a day or two started again , i will stay at the imperial maharba palace next door 5 star excellent as have stayed once before 2 years ago, but returned to the kenz as more british holiday makers and just to let anyone know the man dressed up as borat for a bit of fun as there is no entertainment at all, and mido the entertainer is definately not camp or gay i know him very well. shame they have started to steal they will suffer from this and it will be down to themselves.also over the years we have been very good to some of the staff bringing gifts, clothes and vodka for them but seems they are only out for what they can get now, beware if they mutter zipzip as it is a very insulting word so dont tip if you hear them mutter this as be assured they will. stealing off guests especially regular guests disgusting behaviour.
- Holiday Date:Jul 2011
- Advice: Dont get familiar with staff as it breeds contempt
- Board Basis:FULL BOARD
- Tour Operator:Thomson
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1 reader found this review helpful
Stayed at the Royal Kenz for a week on our honeymoon in May 2009, such a fantastic hotel and country we went back in the September of the same year and took friends for another weeks holiday. This year we are going back to the Royal Kenz in September, this time for 2 weeks. Everywhere was so clean, the food and service excellent, everyone was so friendly and couldn't do enough for you.. Cant wait to go again.
- Holiday Date:May 2009
- Advice: Have a go at everything.. there's a lot to see and do
- Good For: Beach
- Board Basis:Half board
- Tour Operator:Thomson
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1 reader found this review helpful
my husband and myself went to royal kenz in oct10. we had vouchers for our wedding anniversary.We went halfboard,we got to the hotel late evening,we payed for a sea view but when we woke up the next day we discovered it looked over the back of the hotel not the sea.We went down to reception to see what could be done but there was no seaview rooms avaliable,The room we were givern was very clean and comfortable.The food was good the first morning we went down to breakfast and just went to the table.we did not know we had to go to the one with your name on! The staff were very nice.
If you want a sunbed, i would recommend to get to the pool area very early.
we went on some trips all very good, must go on the star wars and deset trip very good for the money, very tied but good.
The rep was very helpful, We stayed for 11days.
The only thing is drinks took a long time to come unless you give them a tip, and the entertainment was ok,but it was the same 1st week and the 2nd week and finished about 11.30,not good for a hoilday in my eyes.and if you are young and have a family i would not go to this hotel, we did feel that the hotel was full of elder people. so i will not be going again untill we our older? sorry.we did find some people are own age and had a very good time.
- Holiday Date:Oct 2010
- Advice: not for familys or young couples
- Good For: Beach
- Board Basis:half board
- Tour Operator:Thomas Cook
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6 readers found this review helpful
the roayl kenz.(meaning royal money) was an absolutely lovely hotel in port el kantaoui tunisia.
The food was very delicious and loads of variety each day. The chefs do wonderful carvings on fruits such as melons to make an effective backdrop to the feast on offer.
The pools are the warmest I have ever been in.
If I make any complaint at all its the hogging of sunbeds and umbrellas! Some people were getting up at 4am to save their place. How sad!!!
Port el kantaoui itself is gorgeous but the traders are quite pushy and "you come looky looky" you have to be almost rude to them to get past their shop.
If you want a peaceful holiday to read and get tanned then I dont think you will beat this hotel.
Thanks to all the lovely staff there for making me my mum and my sister have a holiday to treasure forever and look out coz we might be back!
- Holiday Date:Aug 2010
- Advice: read a book and relax with your belly full of lovely food!
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Thomson
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20 readers found this review helpful
We stayed at the Royal Kenz during early November 2010 - the hotel is located on the outskirts of Port el Kantaoui between the coastal road and the beach. The beach is accessed via the gardens at the rear of the hotel and is a five-minute stroll away. There are shops and a bar or two close to the hotel however, El Kantaoui; which has several restaurants, shops and amusements, can be reached by taxi or a thirty-minute walk on the well-lit palm fringed road. When you have explored the Port, you can catch a ‘Tuk Tuk’ (2 Dinars single in November) or the ‘Noddy’ train (2.5 Dinars single) into Sousse. Either form of transport will take you to the Medina and market, which are well worth a visit. To get you into their shop a man may greet you near to the pick-up drop off point and say that they work in your hotel and that they recognise you - in no time you will be in the carpet factory !!! On the return journey pick up the Tuk Tuk close to where you were dropped off and the Noddy train from the promenade beside the beach. Do not buy a return ticket, as you will be restricted to that particular train company on your return - just buy singles. If you are full of energy you can walk to Sousse from the hotel - it will take just over two hours by road or the beach. With regard to the beach route - you may have to paddle for a hundred feet or so around a couple of areas of rock but it is quite easy.
Hotel positives:
Lovely hotel set in spacious grounds.
Good choice of food at all mealtimes.
Clean spacious bedrooms.
Plenty of staff on duty - including Reps.
Good choice of excursions with knowledgeable guides.
Supermarket close to the pools ( 1 indoor)
Plenty of sunloungers - but you will charged for a mattress.
Hotel negatives:
The actual opening and closing times of the various restaurants were shorter than the times displayed in the bedroom welcome pack.
Understandably, not all the facilities were open in November (beach / pool bar) but you can easily get refreshments close-by.
WARNING:
1) We had been warned on our first day by a fellow resident that, when changing currency, certain members of the reception team were prone to ‘accidentally’ giving 100 millimes coin (5p) instead of 5 Dinar coin worth £2.50 (similar to UK‘s £2 coin) . When we tested them with £100 in sterling - sure enough I was given 3x100 millimes instead of 3x5 Dinar coins therefore, ’mistakenly’ short changing me by £7.50 !
2) The next ‘mistake’ happened during our last few minutes - I had already given the portly, middle-aged ‘bell boy’ a 2 Dinar tip for wheeling my suitcase 20 feet when he asked me to change 4x£1 coins into Dinars. He held the 4 coins in his hand whilst I gave him well over £4’s worth of Dinars. Unfortunately, one of the coins remained firmly stuck to the palm of his hand and so he only passed me 3x£1 coins !! My last few seconds in the Royal Kenz cost me several pounds !!!
I would recommend this hotel, indeed people return year on year however, you need to be made aware of the ‘mistakes’ made by certain staff. I worked in catering for 20 years - management at the Royal Kenz need to make staff aware that ‘perks’ need to be reined in and proportionate !
- Board Basis:Full Board
- Tour Operator:Thomson
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9 readers found this review helpful
What a wonderful week we had staying at the Roayl Kenze Hotel. I have read other peoples reviews and can assure anyone thinking of staying at this Hotel that we had nothing but the best of treatment while there. We were made to feel very welcome. The staff were the friendliest and most informed I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Nothing was too much trouble and was always given with a smile and a very courteous and polite manner. The food was glorious - very varied and very well presented. Both the Italian and French restaurant was also very good and yet again, we wre made to feel very much at home. The rooms were very clean and well maintained and we were not cramped into a tiny little room (like you get in some Hotels. We will definately be going back - the sooner the better - what a holiday - far surpassed anything we have ever experienced. Thank you Roayl Kenz.
- Holiday Date:Nov 2010
- Advice: Definately
- Good For: Beach
- Board Basis:Half Board
- Tour Operator:Thomson
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1 reader found this review helpful
first time in Tunisia could not fault a thing about the hotel all the staff were friendly meals plenty of choice i would recommend the hotel to any of our friends only thing is we bought a rug from the carpet factory we went to through the hotel and we havent received it yet other wise thumbs up
- Holiday Date:Aug 2010
- Advice: holiday with no kids ideal
- Good For: Beach
- Board Basis:half board
- Tour Operator:Thomson
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3 readers found this review helpful
My boyfriend and i, 21 and 27 stayed at Royal Kenz for 11 nights in September, we were all inclusive. The hotel itself is lovely, nice decor although a little dated in places,good range of facilities, a number of bars and 2 a la carte restaurants. We were more than happy with our room, it was well furnished and always clean, we werent happy with the room we were allocated on arrival as it was a ground floor room and they were more than happy to change this for us.
The food was debatable, all meals were served in the main dining room which was more like a feeding hall, not a place to enjoy your dinner, it was more like get in and get out. We were supposed to be allocated a table for whole of our stay but it didnt work out like that, we were moved to several tables and told to sit somewhere different everytime, we found the waitor service appauling, really rude and actually upset me on our first evening there. We know we are expected to tip however being all inclusive you dont carry money on you and we were told by holiday advisors that tipping at the end of the holiday is perfectly acceptable, however we think we may have recieved better service having done this at the beginning of the holiday.
Evening entertainment was terrible, usually consisted of bingo and man with a piano on the terrace, not entertaining at all, we made great use of the movie channel in our room. Most of the guests at the hotel were 60 plus so for us although we were looking for a relaxing environment, this place lacked atmosphere.
We visited both a la carte restaurants, brilliant food and service, recommend visting these
The beach is definately the place to sunbath, relaxing and idealic, with a little beach bar, however beware of the sellers on the beach, they constantly hassle, you have to learn to ignore and be rude. Especially beware of the fruit man, he ripped us off on the first day, do not pay more than 1 dinar for a banana.
The hotel is about half an hour walk from the port, it is nice to go there for a look around but in the evening times again lacks atmosphere, there isnt anyway to go for an evening drink, we ate out a few evenings and the food we had was lovely (compared to the feeding hall)
I recommend this holiday to any couples looking for a relaxing holiday and prepared to do absolutely nothing, however this holiday is definately for the older variety
- Holiday Date:Sep 2010
- Good For: Beach
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Thomson
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13 readers found this review helpful
Review of Iberostar Royal Kenz
We had liked the look of this hotel from previous visits to Tunisia (10 and 15 years ago) and had booked it this time for 11 nights with Portland
We arrived before 12 noon and were pleasantly surprised to find our room available. We had booked a standard room because only they were available with a double bed. Superiors and seaviews were twins. Ours was a pleasant, recently refurbished room on the front, with a garden and distant hill view from its balcony, kingsize bed, a generously sized modernist bathroom, plasma TV, fridge, hairdryer etc.
The public areas are very well furnished, with lots of comfortable seating (vital for the several, unseasonal wet days we had) A large terraced area with outdoor bar service was the venue for most of the evening entertainment. Extensive, well kept gardens surrounded the two large pools and provided any aspect of sun or shade you could wish for, and a pool bar. There was the usual dawn race for favoured spots, but entirely unnecessary. The hotels private beach was a 250M walk down a rather scruffy road with building work and had its own bar, also serving snacks. (drinks included in the AI, snacks chargeable) Sunbeds at pool and beach were free, with a 1TND charge per mattress. (approx 50p) The beach itself is idyllic, with perfect, soft, near white sand and safe bathing. You can walk miles either way, including into Port El Kantoui itself. There is a wide range of watersports at extremely low prices, eg. Jetski at 25TND and parasailing at 30TND.
Internet was available in Reception at 5TND per hour, but was unreliable, and, ludicrously, several of the keys typed different letters to their symbols. Took some getting used to. Safe deposit boxes are the very small, old fashioned type in a room off Reception. It needed a master key (conveniently hanging on a hook) plus your own numbered key, so if you lost it, anybody finding it could open your safe.
The hotel had a mixture of board bases. We were all inclusive, which I would recommend due to the high price of drinks. (as a Muslim country, albeit apparently quite liberal, they have no drinking culture, so its expensive everywhere, and not generally available outside the hotels) The all inc allowed unlimited local beer, wine and most spirits in all its bars & restaurants. We particularly appreciated wine by the bottle, rather than by the glass as in many AI deals, and it was very drinkable. Meals were all buffet in the pleasant main restaurant, at allocated tables you keep for your entire stay. We refused the first we were offered, which was sharing, and were then given a table for two that suited us nicely. There was less choice of dishes than we have experienced in 4star hotels in the Canaries or Balearics, but the quality was good, and there were always several meat choices, plus fish, pasta, a local dish and a carved meat. The cold starters were a poor selection, especially at lunchtimes, so we tended to have fish or pizza as a starter. Pizzas were baked on the spot, and were excellent.
Breakfasts lacked bacon or proper sausages (Muslims dont do pork, although, confusingly, pork did appear a couple of times), but there were always fried eggs, omelettes and crepes (sweet or savoury) cooked to order, and grilled tomatoes, potatoes, beans, croque monsieur, frankfurters, etc from the servery, plus cold meats and cheese. The selection of pastries at breakfast was amazing.
Guests are allowed one visit per week to each of the Italian and French a la cartes (drinks are chargeable) We avoided the Italian, after hearing other guests comments, but the French was excellent, so we went twice. Felt like a real night out. The Italian doubles as the snack bar during the day, but AI guests can only eat there for free outside main restaurant times. You can pay to eat there at any time.
The daily animation programme was not totally reliable, but was well supported for darts, French boules, water basketball etc. Evening entertainment was variable, and, annoyingly, was sometimes held in the rather austere indoor theatre despite being advertised to be outside on the terrace. The resident band were very good and stimulated some impromptu dancing.
There is a very impressive, brand new Thalassotherapy centre and spa with indoor pool, although we did not use it. A big range of treatments we had never heard of were on offer.
Staff throughout the hotel were friendly and obliging, and, contrary to several reviews I have read, never held out for tips, although seeming genuinely grateful when they did get one.
It is about a 45 minute walk into Port El Kantoui, by road or beach, but taxis are only 4 TND and buses or louage (like Turkish dolmus) only 1TND. There are also TukTuks and horse drawn caleche. The marina is very pleasant, full of expensive yachts and surrounded by shops & restaurants. NB. no bars, as such.
We did not do any excursions, as we had done the ones we were interested in on previous visits. Sahara trips, camel rides and sightseeing seemed the most popular, with El Djem colosseum being well worth a visit.
Unfortunately, we had one major problem, which will prevent us ever going to this hotel again. My camera was stolen from a drawer in our room on the one day it was a different maid. We reported it to our reps and hotel management, who say the maid denied it, but was dismissed anyway. Despite the support of the Thomson rep, the hotel manager would not consider reimbursing us, even for the insurance excess, or making any goodwill gesture whatsoever. We subsequently found that other guests had also had items taken from their rooms and been similarly disregarded. I shall be writing separately to Iberostar Head Office about this lack of empathy and refusal to accept responsibility for the criminal act of one of their staff.
- Holiday Date:Sep 2010
- Advice: Comfortable and relaxing
- Good For: Beach
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Thomson
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We booked this hotel through Thomson/First Choice (they are owned by the same company) and were looking for a relaxing, good quality beach holiday. What we got was a whole lot of disappointment and a very stressful start to our holiday. I have travelled extensively in Tunisia and Egypt and had totally realistic expectations about this holiday, but it just didn't deliver.
The interior on the hotel is very smart and impressive as a first impression and almost lives up to it's child free "boutique style" image as portrayed in the Thomson Brochure, but that is where the similarity ends. As another reviewer has stated, the description on the hotel and facilities is wholly inaccurate and extremely misleading. I am amazed that Thomson are able to get away with the overselling of this property.
The only positive was that our room was spacious and well decorated. It overlooked the pool area and had a partial see view. However, I did not go on holiday to sit in my room. I purchased this holiday wishing to enjoy the "stretch of white sandy beach located just 250 yards from the hotel".
On arrival we went to look around the property and locate said beach. There were absolutely no signs or information as to how to find the beach and we were stopped by a guest who offered to help us as we looked so lost. When we asked her about the beach she said flatly "Don't bother, it is DISGUSTING". We were quite shocked and assumed that this lady must have been a very fussy customer and set off to find it. To access the beach we had to leave the property and walk down a very dodgy looking ill maintained path which was against a brick wall on one side and an open area where local children were smashing bottles and kicking rubbish around. There was also a partially constructed ugly shell of a building which did not help the general look and feel of the place. As we were a party of two ladies we did not feel safe walking unaccompanied in this place.
When we arrived at the beach it was very, very small and completely empty except for one couple huddled in one corner behind a stack of sunbeds. The beach we found did not look anything even remotely like the one advertised in the Thomson or First Choice brochures or on their websites. When we walked down further onto the beach we found that the access to the water was blocked by a massive, fly infested area of deep seaweed which stretched nearly the entire length of said "stretch of white sandy beach". The only open facility was a toilet as the beach bar was closed as it was apparently "low season" which was something not mentioned when we made our booking. The only member of staff around was snoozing in a chair and his only job was to tell you " No Beach Bar! Closed!".
We walked back to the property to see if the pool area would be a viable alternative, but we were already pretty upset. We were again greeted by the same guest who told us some other things about the hotel we needed to know before we took up residency. We could see for ourselves that the outside areas were in serious need of repair and looked very tired.
This is what we were told by other guests and what we found out ourselves -
1) You have to pay for the mats on your sun bed and you can only do this by going to reception to put credit on your "all inclusive credit card". Towels on the other hand had to be paid for with a cash deposit to the pool staff.
2) Every single drink you want you have to surrender said card, wait for a receipt which then has to be signed. Slow lack lustre service made this an extremely slow and inconvenient process. When we complained to our Rep she said that this system had been put in place because All Inclusive guests had been abusing the system by giving drinks to half board guests. One has to ask how all of the other All Inclusive hotels in the world get around this!!!???!
3) You had to sit at the same table for breakfast and dinner every day in the main restaurant, but you could sit anywhere during lunch. Huge areas of the main restaurant were no go areas (we actually watched the manager angrily shooing customers out of them) as they wanted to leave them undisturbed ready for dinner as they were under staffed.
4) If you changed money at reception they had been warned by the previous Rep that you must get a receipt or the Cashier will give you his "own special rate of the day and short change you". When we mentioned this to our Rep, Laura she said that you needed the receipt to change the money back before leaving the country which was true, but a completely different reason to that highlighted by the previous Rep.
5) Large areas of the garden were roped off so that the poolside waiters didn't have such a large area to cover when serving drinks so the majority of people were crowded around the main pool. They also dropped their staffing levels on transfer day so this was the worst day to try and get served.
6) Service was not just "hit and miss", it was miss. The waiters in the main buffet restaurant were more interested in talking to each other than attending to their guests. They were sullen and down right lazy unless you were one of the over 60's staying for weeks on end to avoid the English winter. The hotel was filled with these guests who had paid peanuts and not the artificially hiked Easter prices.
We called the 24/7 helpline in the end and told them what we had found. The staff member I spoke to initially tried to deny the issues we had found, but then eventually even he admitted that he had visited the property and found the beach "disappointing" and that was during high season. He called our Rep to the hotel and we discussed our options which were to basically sit it out of PAY to be moved to another hotel. We were disgusted as we already felt that we had been sold a lie when we purchased this holiday and that it was up to them to make things right. After much discussion and the rest of the day being wasted taking phone calls and trying to make the best of the situation we were offered a hotel we had visited before and at a considerably reduced additional amount to that originally quoted. We were also told that the hotel Manager had "let us off" having to pay their cancellation charges, but he jolly well should have done.
Just to rub salt into the wound we had to pay our own transfer charges to the other hotel when we left the next day. THOMSON YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED. If you visit their website it states that the property will be rated as part of their "Platinum Collection" from the 1st of May and start admitting children. There is nothing there for children AT ALL and unless they flatten the property and build a new one there is nothing remotely "Platinum Collection" about it.
We moved to the Abou Sofiane which was absolutely outstanding. Don't touch the Roylal Kenz with a bargepole. There is nothing "Royal" about it.