I agree with Graham, have heard of people trading whiskey for goods in the souk but never bothered myself, i take a couple of bottles for staff at the hotel i stay in just as a thank you :-) everyone else has to make do with dinar`s

hello going back too the sahara beach anyone know price off room up grade and the AI cards do they do you untill you leave on the bus home they did last year

Hi I have booked to go to the sahara beach in early sept 2010 I have read somewhere that you can upgrade your room to a suite which I want to do, does anyone know if i can do this with the hotel direct before I go? there isnt an option to do this through first choice. Does anyone know the hotel email address?
Also we always like to make tea etc in our room is there anywhere we can purchase water and milk nearby
Thanks

There doesn't seem to be an e-mail address for this hotel but phone and fax are listed as follows:

Tel: + 216 73 521 088/001/709/548/966
Fax: + 216 73 521 466

hi choosysuzi the rooms can be upgraded on arrival i believe block 1 floor 2 upwards have suites , i was told last year they were around £30 per week more, water is available from every bar there there is no limit on how many bottles u have per day also there is a garage nearby go to the complex gates turn left walk to the end of the road turn right its on the end opposite the go carts its about a 5 min walk u can get snacks and water etc there

We have 3 children so have booked a family room. According to the reviews, they seem to be a little more comfortable than the others. Are there upgraded family rooms too? Do you think its necassary? What would an upgraded room provide that the average room wouldn't? Cheers.

we have just returned from here today and we loved it,defo wanna go back

Glad to here you had a good time and enjoyed most of your holiday

Graham

Hi Blondeybear many thanks for your help, cant wiat never been to tunisia before !!!

well i went back for a week after being at home for 4 weeks and unfortunatly i didnt have as brill time my room door you didnt need a key to open it,came open in the middle of the night a few times,i told the hotel,Thomas cook did and finally after about 7 times it was done.
The bars have a rule for 2 drinks per person,but the bar between the pools the was 1 person serving and a queue and people were getting 4 drinks each.
The bars inside were the same,i asked for 3 drinks,no queue and i was told no.so of course i had to say something,i was later told it is only when the bosses were about,not the point.
You have 1 table in the dining room,1 breakfast we were moved and seated on a dirty table.not happy
the last night we had lots of rain and water was coming in my room thru the roof,at 3am they were going to move us,but then he said oh its ok its not coming into the middle of your room...erm excuse me.We had to be up at 6am to go home.
I do not think i will be going back now.
Thomas cook have said no guests are allowed in that room now,shame we had a nice view.

Sorry to hear that devaloco

I hope this one experiance won't put you of Tunisia, there are plenty of lovely hotels left for you to try on your next visit

Graham

have the hotel changed hands cause we were there at xmas and they said thomas cook was taking over

It hasnt put me off tunisia at all.i love it there as far as i no Thomas cook hasnt taken over the hotel.
we were there in April 2010 and had a great room and time.
went back 4 weeks later and was not as good but planning on going back in october 10,but not sure where as yet.

Has anyone got email address for the Sahara Beach hotel in tunisia please ?

Hi Devaloco, I've just noticed you were speaking of returning to Tunisia on 10th October. Have you decided where you are going yet?

Aslemma... october 2010 i meant,not the 10th of october.
i am in touch with quite a few people who go to tunisia alot and i am thinking about giving the hotel saadia a try are you going???have you been before???

Hello all,

searching the old internet shows that it is no longer an iberostar hotel chain. There are a few horror stories regarding not getting anything done unless you tip the maids, bar staff etc

One couple reportedly spent nearly £300 on tips just to get there room cleaned and drinks served in a timely fashion!

Obviously they could have made it out worse etc.....

H hod-the-god, Welcome to HT. I have never heard anything so ridiculous as paying out nearly £300 in tips and I've been visiting Tunisia for years. A tip is certainly appreciated as their wages are very low but I've always found the maids friendly and charming. They usually do a decent job cleaning the room and I give a tip at the end of my stay. Service for drinks can be on the slow side in the bars but but it's never been a problem. In a café or restaurant outside your hotel tip at the end of the meal if you want to, although it's not compulsory. Many people say that if you tip the pool attendant at your hotel on the first day he will save your sunbeds in the same place every day for you though I've never bothered as I'm usually out and about in the town rather than soaking up the sun.

devalco - I don't know the Hotel Saadia as it's in Skanes and I usually stick to Sousse, or occasionally PEK. The reviews on here don't look too promising but I always take them with a pinch of salt unless they are all the same. I'll be back in Sousse for a couple of weeks from 10th October, staying at Royal Salem.

we stayed there last week july, first week in august. 2 adults 3 kids. tip sunbed fellas on beach and by the pool an they look after you. pools were great and so was beach however got stung by jellyfish at least once a day. watersports very reasonable, jet ski, paragliing, doughnut, banana etc. there was also free sailing, accompanied by saleem and kayaking. food coice was great, loads of choice and something different everyday.couscous man vvery entertaining. found onsite shops fairly competetive.
we ired a car for 3 days, first half hour was daunting but after that no problem we visited el jem, WOW. and dougga,.
monastir beautiful, but watch out for guy with loads of hats on his head (street trader) chase him straight away, pain in the a**e. guy walking around with falcon will try to rip you off for photos.they normally hang around where noddy train dops/picksup.
we went with first choice but thomson rep was more help. we went on pirate ship trip and really enjoyed that. we also went o camel trip booked with a kiosk on way to dining room. people who ran it were lovely, outinto country side about right amount of time, but a 1 point looks like your trekking through some allotments. overall a good trip though. any questions fire away.