Great hotel, great beaches, great holiday (Hotels in Sousse)

Member Name: ukboltonboy

Product:	Hotels in Sousse
Date:	21/09/09 (7 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good beach and clear sea, clean hotel, friendly staff, pre-pay card system, good food selection

Disadvantages: smoking is permitted in reception, entertainment isn't great for adults

Hotel Marhaba Beach, Sousse

The hotel is located just on the outskirts of Sousse although you can walk into the centre of Sousse in about 40 minutes (which is a lot in the heat) but a taxi costs around £2.50. We were at the hotel at a fairly quiet time so not sure how that affects our experiences.

The hotel is fairly large and caters for tourists mainly from Britain, Russia and Germany.

Food
The food is nice generally and there is a lot of choice so that if you want to stick to British food there is something for you but you can also try more obscure dishes. You tend to sit on a table with another couple which was a bit strange at first but you soon get used to it. The waiters and restaurant staff are excellent and nothing is too much trouble.

Room
The room is basic but clean and large enough. We had a balcony with a sea view. The animations team at the hotel play quite loud music all of the time during the day so if you want peace and quiet it may be worth getting a room away from the pool area. It didn't bother us though.

Pool area
Nicely kept pool area althougth tips are expected when using the sun loungers. The pool is strange in that the water doesn't seem to reach the top but it was ok.

Beach
The hotel has a private beach (as do all hotels that are next to the sea) which just means that although it is open, people don't bother you with selling things. The sunbeds are again a small tip but 1TD (50 english pence which included an umbrella, 2 sunbeds and a table) sufficed as it seemed to do for most tips. You can also do aqua-aerobics and watersports from the beach area and the hotel waiters are on hand to get drinks if you need them.

Entertainment
The entertainment was very children orientated and I would say was the only disappointment with this hotel. The bar staff seemed overworked in the evening and struggled to serve drinks quick enough for the demand but they were working as hard as they could.

Paying for drinks
The hotel works with a pre-pay card system where you load money onto a card at reception and use this card to pay for things around the hotel such as drinks and food not included in your stay. This is a good system because you don't need to carry much money around and feel safe leaving your things on the beach whilst going in the sea.

Overall
This is an excellent hotel although I think the 3star system would probably be more like 2star in the uk but it was clean tidy, very friendly staff, good location, great beach and just the perfect setting for a great holiday.

Summary: Good hotel for a nice relaxing trip