We had read some bad reports,but our minds were put at ease on arrival.

The hotel was spotless.rooms are basic,but we only tend to use them for sleeping/showering,so basic is enough.the staff were always friendly/helpful.
I think that the only people that tend to get bad treatment seemed to be those that were downright rude anyway.

Rooms were kept spotless.linen/towels changed daily,and definetely nothing was taken. I even left jewellery on the bedside table.

The food was excellant,the 6 of us always had a variety of food,and the desserts were to die for.The waiters were always helpful,as soon as we entered the dining room our waiter would ask what we wanted to drink by the time we sat down they would be there. Not much to do locally,but the rep at the hotel gave us plenty of advice.

We went mainly for a relaxing holiday a we certainly got it,we will be going back

I have advice 4 any body wanting to book this hotel don't it's a complete dump.

Food cold or raw staff only talk to you when it's time for you to go home [only after tip]

DRINK if they had any left always ran out of vodka.

Sheets never changed. Towels hung out tp dry then put back into your room [not washed]

Entertainment staff try hard but with very little props[felt sorry 4 them] will try and visit Tunisa again but not here.

We have just returned from 2 weeks at the Houda Golf and Beach Resort in Skanes after a 2 week all inclusive holiday.

On arrival you get an impression of a lovely hotel. Don't be fooled !! We were given a room on the ground floor opposite the massage parlour. On opening the door you are met with a disgusting smell of mustiness. Ok we open the doors on to the balcony to let some fresh air in.

The only view is of a tatty garden in the middle of the building, but we can put up with that. We go for a lie down to hit our heads on so called pillows. Rock hard. Pull back the top sheet to find 2 very uncomfy single matresses with single sheets. "Turn the lights on" my wife says. "They are on" I say. You need to sit on the loo if you want to read anything.

We then fumble our way down the dimly lit corridors, tripping up on the threadbear rugs, to go for something to eat.On entering the canteen (restaurant)it reminded me of Butlins in the early 70s.

The choice of food is plentiful but the quality is atrocious. They should be done under the trades description for showing a picture of a Turkey and the word Dinde. The bone structure was not of a turkey for sure. The beef wasn't taken from any cut of a cow I have ever seen. The tunisian speciality looks unedible. Dried up chips are the only thing I could recognise.This is only the first few hours. As the days past the food got worse. So much so that from Saturday morning of the second week until leaving on the Sunday at 6pm we did not eat at all. This hotel does not cater for English people at all.

The bed linen was not changed at all in the 2 weeks we were there. The towels were hung out on inner landings and balconies to dry and put back in the rooms.
We were permenantly harrassed buy the man in the shop who wanted our Mororola mobile phone.

The only good thing I can say about this hotel is the animators try hard to entertain you with very little.
This hotel has had good reviews in the past but take my word for it it has deteriorated in the last few weeks, with the number of staff that have been sacked. We and numerous other guests have had very bad stomach pains.

Numerous guests rooms were robbed last week taking medication, money, baby clothes and football shirts to name but a few. We had a safe and fortunatley did not lose anything. If you intend to go to this hotel I urge you not to.

First impressions of this hotel as you pull up in the coach are good. The hotel is attractive with a clean recption area. However thats about as long as the impression lasts. Now I am not the kind of person who only sees the negative in things but I did find staying in this hotel difficult.

I found out during my stay from people I met in the hotel who had visited approx 6 months ago that everything had gone downhill with the place. I was told that the manager of the hotel had recently been replaced, as had the catering manager and the entertainment manager and the majority of the chefs. These changes had not been for the best either.

The rooms themselves are basic, wardrobe, bed, table, mirror. No hairdryer. In my room from the moment I walked in the room smelt of damp. I found out the following morning that half the hotel had been flooded a few days before my arrival due to the rain. Only 1 electricity socket was working as well, resulting in the cable for the TV hanging loose across the wall. This would have been dangerous had their been a child in the room. During my time there the sheets were never changed, although the beds were made everyday. However the bathroom was clean and at the end of the day it is only a place to sleep.

Now what next.

I know the food. The food was served in the restaurant in a buffet style. Breakfast was continental in style and aimed mainly at the French and German guests. The cheese, meat and cold food part of teh buffet was plentiful every morning. As was the amount of croissants. However apart from eggs there was little hot food on offer for the British. No bacon, mushrooms etc. If you were lucky there was fried potato. Oh and the milk was off half the time making it impossible to have cereal of coffee. No fruit juices were availiable at breakfast. In fact I never saw any fruit juice at all during my stay, just orange, strawberry squash or cheap brand fizzy drinks. The lunch and dinner selections in the restaurant were highly repetitive. Whatever was served at lunch time was reheated for dinner. And during my stay they served beef bourginon for lunch and dinner for 5 days. There is a pasta option, although the same sauce was served every day. You also had to check your meal carefully before eating it as on practically a daily basis I have selected meat which was raw in the middle. Chips were availaible although they were cold, just like most of the other food. The food served at the pool bar was just as bad. The only food availaible all day was cheese and ham (more likely spam) sandwiches, or a pizza (cold and really not tasting like any other pizza I have ever eaten). Oh and the childrens menu is non existant.

The drinks at the bar were also pitiful. Cheap brand Vodka, martini, gin, red and white wine and 1 brand of lager. These were served with the same cheap brand mixers that were put out in the restaurant. Some may say this is a plentiful selection but believe me they were not all availaible all the time. On the night I arrived they had run out of vodka and didn't get any more in till 2 days later. They also ran out of wine a couple of times while I was there. Alcohol is availaible all day, however the bar in the entertainment room doesn't serve alcohol till 23.00. The entertainment starts at 20.30 so if you want to have a drink you have to carry it across the carpark from the hotel bar.

The pool itself is nice and there are plenty of sun loungers out at the main pool. The water park was never open during my stay at the hotel even though it was supposed to be open on a daily basis. The beach was within 30 secs from the pool and was nice enough even though you get hasseled from people trying to sell you things all the time.

The hotel was in a fairly barren area. The only places within walking distance was 2 other hotels and 1 pub/cafe. However there are always taxis outside and it is cheap enough to get to the nearby larger resorts. Although I would advise don't pay more than 6 or 7 dinars as they will start off alot higher. You have to haggle with the driver for the fare before getting in.

The hotel staff tried their hardest with the facilities they had availiable, especially the entertainment staff. They were all very friendly and were gewat with the kids. However they had little to work with and the evening shows were based on their enthusiasm as they had nothing to work with.

I also feel that I should mention that while I was tehre there was a spate of thefts. These included money, football shirts, baby clothes and equipment, and worst of all medication. When informed of these the hotel staff seem dismissive and not really interested.

I would definitely visit Tunisia again as the country is beautiful. however I would never return to this hotel.

Myself and My husband, My sister and her husband have just come back from the Houda. Temperatures were between 32 and 37 degrees with only two brief but fierce thunderstorms both in the early/late evening so it did not affect the sun bathing.

This hotel is sparkingly clean and the staff are very helpful. There are loads of them all working very hard.

The food has a wide choice of dishes although I did find the meat (all kinds) a bit tough for my taste. There are at least 2 pasta dishes, 3 meat dishes, loads of salad/vegetables, always chips, potatoes and rice and at least one Tunisian dish at lunch and dinner. Desserts are wonderful and at least 10-12 to choose from.

Whilst at times some of the dishes are not piping hot there is a microwave to heat things up if not hot enough.

At breakfast there are freshly cooked fried eggs or omelettes, cereals, yogurt, jams, cheeses, meat(like Spam), salad, chocolate and ordinary croissants, cake, french bread, toast, sometimes pancakes, eggy bread or doughnuts.

I saw one man making fresh scrambled egg in the microwave for his small child so this is another option.

The drinks are plentiful although at busy times in the restaurant there is a lack of glasses. Queues for drinks are no more than one or two minutes even at peak times. Please be aware that there is no brandy or whisky. There is plenty of lager, vodka, gin, vermouth, martini, local bouka (firewater) and local cetradine. Soft drinks are coke, fanta, sprite, orange juice, strawberry juice and lemon juice and loads of water.

The rooms are clean and basic for a 3 star. There is lots of wardrobe space but no drawers. There is no hairdrier. The shower is powerful.

The rooms are cleaned each day. Our sheets were only changed once in 2 weeks. The towels were changed each day but by a bizarre system. The maid removed the towels each morning at about 8.45am and did not return with clean ones until the afternoon. When she did you rarely got the full set of 2 hand towels 2 bath towels and bath mat. Once day we only got one bath towel, another 2 hand towels and a bath mat. However asking at reception will get you what is missing.

The beds are firm and comfortable, pillows a little soft and high for me. Extra pillows can be obtained at reception if there is not enough.

There are glass doors and shutters to the balcony.
Contrary to another of the reports here the air conditioning works all day in your room if you keep the glass doors closed. It is sensored into one of the glasss doors by a small switch on the door hinge and will go off it the glass doors are open. It is possible to have the shutters open and close the relevant glass door so it still works.

The pool area is very clean and there are loads of sunbeds, all free. The pools are cleaned each morning and there is a lifeguard by the main pool. All the pools are at the back of the hotel except for the water park with water chutes/flumes which is out at the front. The problem with this is you take the kids out to the water park the poolside bar there is not open. (It may be at peak holiday times but in October is was not).

The beach has lovely soft sand and is very clean.

There are loads of activities to do and the animation team work very hard. The entertainment was good, mostly it was put on by the animation team but there was a night of traditional dancers and one night of the Fakir show where the strong man did things on bed of nails, with swords, swallowed fire, blew fire from his mouth etc. (that was excellent)

The entertainment is held in the disco which is just outside the front door of the hotel, beside the Tunisian and Italian a la carte restuarants, both of which are excellent.

There is a good sauna and hamman, both free. Massages and jacuzzi have to paid for but are very good value.

Fritz's camel ride is great and a must.

The Soular centre in Sousse is a great shop and is not no more in price than you could possibly haggle in the market.

The only downside is that unless you play golf which is directly opposite the hotel there is nothing directly outside the hotel. If you want to shop or eat outside the hotel you need to travel to Sousse or Monastir which is a taxi ride ways (14 dinar return to Sousse and 16 to Monastir).

However all in all a great holiday.

We have just returned from a week at the Houda, our first time in Skanes as we usually go to PEK. We found the hotel to be lovely, very clean with the rooms cleaned daily and fresh towels supplied daily. The rooms are adequate with a lot of space, air con, tv and telephone. There was always a good supply of hot water for showers etc.

The food at the hotel was lovely. Plenty of choice for all meals plus an endless supply of snacks by the pool and cakes in the bar in the afternoon. You could eat until 2am!! The drinks system was good with soft drinks and coffee machines located in the bar and by the pool so you could help yourself at any time. None of us suffered from any stomach upsets at all!! There were always cocktails available after dinner too in the evening in the bar.

The pool area was nice and there was no worries about sunbeds, they were always available and you didn't have to get up early to reserve one unlike some other hotels.

The entertainment was a bit, low key, possibly due to the fact that it is Ramadan at the moment although there were activities going on such as archery, water aerobics and water polo. The beach is literally a 30 second walk from the pool and there is all kinds of watersports going on there along with volleyball. The sand is lovely and white. The entertainment at night could have been a bit better but they tried hard and were always very funny. I became good friends with one of them, Joe, and we have swapped addresses and phone numbers to keep in touch.

All in all, this is a lovely hotel to go to and would recommend it highly as everyone is friendly and always willing to help. We will certainly be returning again soon.

I read the bad review and decided to chance going. The Houda was sparklingly clean and the maid did an excellent job.

The location was lovely, right on a beautiful part of the beach. There was lots to do, although we didn't do much except swim in the large pool.

The food was good if a bit on the mass-catering side, but it's a three star hotel so what can you expect? There was a lot of choice and lots of fresh salads and vegetables all the time.

The staff were very helpful, especially the medical staff when a friend needed help. We got taxis in and out of town very easily. My only complaint would be that although the food was very generous at meal times, there weren't many/any all-inclusive extras like some places have such as ice creams and lollies.

I had a hard job getting diet coke and the fruit juices were in fact squash. The massage ladies were lovely. My friend said she would take her 13 year old son there as there was so much to do.

This was the 5th time we had been to this hotel THIS YEAR and I was amazed that a hotel could deteriate in such a short time, we had been here exactly 6 wks previously in the height of the season and had a fantastic time.

The facade of the building is very deceiving as the standards of cleanliness had dropped from 100% to 1% there are NO twin beds only single mattresses on double bases, not very nice when you have an 8yr old son with you. I was as a returning guest offered a little more in the way of courtesy and given family rooms which where large and basic looked out onto the football/tennis courts and stank to high heaven because they were right next to the cesspit!!

Linen was not changed. Children had dressed for Halloween makeup and all and slept with the muck for the next 12 days! Someone in there wisdom and decided that the stairwells do not need lighting!! I am disabled and this was disastrous.

All management were AWAY at seminars so only reception staff available to deal with complaints so the complaints went unresolved, Rep next to useless as she was leaving she didn't want to know. Her replacement was fantastic!!

Food was disgusting! I have never experienced such a display of 'slops' in any other country in the world,

It was undercooked not as described (turkey???? Beef??? I don't think so!)I am a caterer and had to explain to the arrogant chef (a replacement for a superb man) that meat should be cooked as should the chips that oil needs to be filtered and clean and that spaghetti tomato should not be spicy!! Did he listen NO!!

I wanted to know where the children

Initial impression of the hotel was of a nice looking building, arriving at nine at night, there wasn

What a great place! All 6 adults and the two children had a great time, the hotel is fun and lively - something always going on. The staff were really friendly and seemed to love the English guests.

Food was lovely - with lots of choice and specialities from Tunisia. The food was not English so not great if you are a picky eater - but there was always chips pasta and pizza.

Must mention 'keyboard Dave!' really called Merher who sings at the hotel every other night, such a nice bloke, make sure you say Hi.

All of us did suffer with 'Tunisian tummy' but think it was a combination of the change in food, oil they use in cooking, heat and alcohol and it would not put us off going again.