Hi, We are staying at Sahara Beach last week September and would like a little bit of info about it. Do they have beach towels or do you bring your own, is there hair dryers in the rooms or any toiletries in the bathrooms. Brochure says air conditioning goes off on 15th September are there enough sockets to plug in 2 fans, hope someone can answer many thanks

Hi

I haven't been to this hotel myself but my sister went a few years back so if you don't find the answers to your questions i will try to find out next time I see her but in the meantime have you checked out our hotel review section for this hotel?
http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/reviews/tunisia/skanes/iberostar-sahara-beach-hotel/

also we have a topic specially for this hotel it should be here http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=125721

Let me know if you dont find the answers

Leanna xx

Hi, Thanks a lot for the reply , cant find any answers on the reviews page but its early days yet as i have just posted the questions, thanks again Doris

also we have a topic specially for this hotel it should be here viewtopic.php?f=27&t=125721

if you look at our existing topic for the sahara beach I think you will find the answer to at least one of the questions you have asked.

Thanks Leanna. Topics now merged.

luci

We have just returned from the Sahara beach hotel,

Ok , we arrived at the hotel on the 20th Sept really looking forward to our long awaited holiday. As soon as we arrived at the hotel we were ushered into a large hot room after having our suitcases took from us and left outside the main entrance, we were given a warm drink of cheap lemon squash and given forms to fill in for our all inclusive cards. Had our photos took and given our room numbers, our bags were then took to our rooms whether you wanted it or not, to be left by a man shaking his pocket and holding out his hand, at this point I had just arrived and no change, he walked off muttering. We then went down to dinner, walking through what I can only describe as an ashtray , the whole place stunk of cigarettes and really no pleasant for anyone who doesn't smoke, we were not once informed that you can smoke almost everywhere in the hotel by Thompsons at all, my son gets asthma and it really wasn't a good start. Dinner I put down to us arriving late, it consisted of funny burnt looking chips, some sort of meat and what became known to us as the fly salad, really each day the food was covered with flies. The waiters at this point still jingling their pockets at us after bringing us a drink.
We went back to our rooms, which were pokey and light socket in bathroom looked really dodgy, the beds were hard, there was no fridge, and just went to sleep to tired to do or say anything else. Told reception, air conditioning didn't work the next morning, they just shrug their shoulders, and appear not to understand what you are saying. Then went to breakfast, no one could have prepared us for what we met on the way, we were pestered by Tunisian hagglers. Yes we were surprised too! They will not leave you alone till you buy some of there rubbish. After a few days you'll feel like telling them to p"¦. off !
And each day you have no choice but to walk past them to the restaurant, the food was crap everyday, Eggs , pancakes , pizzas followed by a good helping of flys !! Its dirty , flys every where. We had stomach bugs on and off during our stay. The staff are very rude , ignorant and miserable . They are only happy when you give them money , tips...
The hotel has lots of pools, these and the animation team were the only good bit of the holiday, the animation team were brilliant, they really tried hard to keep the entertainment going what little their was.

The sunbeds are freely available,but you need the cushions that they provide,,oh and they want more tips off you for the service . Dare not tip the same muttering begins. The place is like colditz, locked in with no where else to go. We went into Monastir, which was a real mistake, people attempt to try and drag you into shops to but things, even they don't understand a polite No, we witnessed one man get really shirty with them when they attempted to drag his girlfriend into a shop, and one of the sop people punched him in his face, it really wasn't safe, there was only one shop you could buy from and that was a Government run shop, which sold everything, and we were not hassled once in it.

A few days before we left they decided to paint the walls in the hotel, which seemed weird until apparently the management turned up, which then explained how on the day they were there the air con was turned back on, the broken sign out side the main entrance was fixed, the reception looked cleaner etc, we were given questionnaires by the people and filled them in honestly. As soon as they left, so did the airconditiong.

There were damp and mouldy patches in restaurant. And the lovely table decoration of which consisted of a dead piece of bush in a jar really came to be a joke.
The food was constantly crap, burnt chips, funny looking meat, and the same pancakes and puddings daily, on and again the flies added to the flavour. The drinks you got were all in small plastic cups, and during the hot weather really does nothing for the thirst, and if you were lucky enough to get a glass the inside of the glass smelt like it had been washed with a pile of dirty socks.
The Pizzeria and Moorish Restaurant were not part of the all-inclusive, and drinks after midnight had to be paid for.
The Children's games arcade was dirty and many games were broken, or broke during use- with no staff to refund the money the children had put in the machines ( there were also power sockets hanging out of the wall!) There were also a number of patches on the ceiling which dripped water, and one of which looked like it was about to collapse.

The bird ‘Zoo' is disgusting with the animals living in poor conditions, with little or no water. And there were not enough sun beds for the number of guest staying at the resort- in order to have a sun bed you had to be up at 7am.
The rooms were apparently cleaned every day, saying if you wished clean towels but the dirty ones in the bath, however each time we did this we noticed as baby powder was on one of the dirty towels we left in the bath, it had just been refolded and replaced on the side in the bathroom, the same with the sheets, yes the beds were made daily but with the same sheets. I read a lots of the reports on trip advisor before I went and went oh holiday open minded, All I have to say is if you wish to go somewhere where they want tipping everyday, where the rooms are small and pokey, and where the food is crap and you really wish to waste your hard earned cash then go to the Sahara beach hotel.
On ur leaving we left our rooms and went down to the lift, to be greeted by the reception luggage people, who practically grab your bag from you then follow you around reception for a tip, the Thomson rep I saw 3 times in total during our stay, yet the Thomas cook girls who were really helpful were there sitting down every day, one thing I cannot also understand if Thomson are aware how unsafe it is out of the hotel, then why do they charge the earth for the organised shopping trips, and days out. I took my daughter of 23 with me and she was hassled everyday, propositioned for sex on a daily basis and as soon as you make any complaint whatsoever the reception fail again to understand English, we were also told on our last day that we could not use our all inclusive cards to get a drink, please dont waste yor money or time on this hotel. Sorry for going on and on but I would hate for another family to go what we went through.

Reviews (including carylh's) of the Iberostar Sahara Beach can be found here http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/reviews/tunisia/skanes/iberostar-sahara-beach-hotel/

We went into Monastir, which was a real mistake, people attempt to try and drag you into shops to but things, even they don't understand a polite No.................... it really wasn't safe, there was only one shop you could buy from and that was a Government run shop, which sold everything, and we were not hassled once in it.

I feel that I have to point out in the interest of fairness to readers that while unfortunately carylh appears to have had a bad experience in Monastir that in no way makes Monastir an unsafe area to visit as can be testified by the many thousands of tourists who visit the area each year with many returning again regularly.

Graham HT mod

i have been to this hotel 5 times last time was in september and i have to say the standards have really gone down here its no longer an ibereostar and really needs closing down and revamped, the rooms are small but if u pay extra and ask at reception they do have apartments and family rooms but they are not advertised u have to upgrade on arrival, fridges and tvs are available but again at extra cost and again have to ask on arrival
the men do come accross as pests but it is there way, i was there in september alone ( im female) and i had no trouble there i have been remembered every time i have gone there yes they do see females as property not as people and they do follow u around and stare it is part of there religion
the food is good freshly made in front of u the resaurant staff are always there to get you whatever you want, but the bar staff in the skanes bar are rude and ignorant
the entertainment staff are awesome they work very hard for poor money all in all i wont be goin back there i have had good holidays here but it deffo needs revamping

I read that although the Sahara Beach is all-inclusive, it is still expected to tip the staff as this ensures a better service. What is considered an appropriate tip? Also , any tips on haggling; its completely alien to me and to be honest scares me a little!!!
Thank you. Splodge02

hello splodge tipping in tunisia is usually a dinar about 50p dont tip everyone obviously it can get expensive i usually tip the guys on the beach for sunbeds they will even keep u a space where u want to be a small tip goes along way the cleaners i usualy tip end of the week if they hae given good service and the waiter in the restraunt as u usualy get the same waiter for ur holiday duration and they usually there to tend to ur every need
as for hagling half the price straight away from what they are asking then think its 2 dinar to the pound and work up to what u think the items worth realistically please remember any clothing u buy branded are copies ie i always buy Nike air max or shox UK price around £80 i get them in Monastir £15 - £20 if u dont like hagling there are government shops in Monastir and Souse there u pay the price that the items are marked up as the hotel shops are a tip off they are very expensive i found souse to be much cheaper hope u find this helpful

There are so many reviews of this hotel ranging from very good to appalling , all i can say is that opinions are likes backsides everyone has one. personally i love this place but having said that i would not want to go all inclusive in spain, greece, turkey etc.
if you like Spain ,Greece, Turkey then keep going there and leave Tunisia to those that appreciate it.
No apologies for my opinon...

In reply to carylh`s post about this hotel,
I have stayed at this hotel 6 times now and never once have the shops been open whilst Breakfast is being served, in addition to this a polite " no thank you" is normally all that is required to end any so called hassle, try going into the shop and talking to the people who make a living there, you may be surprised and leave with nothing more than a "thank you for looking" accompanied by a smile, and if you are lucky someone who will chat with you on a nightly basis as you are passing, with no more intent than being friendly !
You will also find that the reception staff are fluent in English, French, German as well as Arabic! surely if you have a complaint you can always go through the services of a rep, after all that is part of the service they are paid to provide.
I could go on but that would be a bit like arguing black is white or vice versa, suffice to say everyone is different.

I agree with you 100 percent

I am sooo excited! I wanted a holiday different to Spain, Greek Islands etc, and from what you have said, thats what I will get. Had areally bad experience in Crete due to the all-inclusive, serve yourself alcohol system, where a couple had a massive and very aggressive row in the middle of the night. Even my 3 children have said they want to go somewhere with a "bit of culture" (!!) so sounds like if you don't expect an British holiday, you should be OK! Thank you.

Me again! Is there a long trousers dress code for men in the restaurant at Sahara Beach? Also, what about womens clothing in the restaurant? (Not that Im planning to wear my bikini whils eating dinner, long gone are them days) Cheers.

Hi splodge, men are not required to wear long trousers in the restaurant , usually a mixture some people wearing 3/4 length trousers, some in shorts and some in trousers, no beach wear allowed and that is the case in the indoor bars also, as for the ladies , again no beachwear but they do not need to be covered up as in other muslim countries , it tends to be very relaxed.
There is plenty of culture to be found in the country if thats what you want, skanes itself does not offer much outside the hotels in the evening, but Monastir and Sousse are only a short taxi journey away if you want more nightlife (Sousse being the better of the two).
Souks are also good if you do a little homework before you venture into them and again Monastir and Sousse both have large souks with Monastir probably being the more relaxed and less of a hassle trip than Sousse. Also Monastir has the ribat and mausoleum which are worth having a look around and a small but nice marina area with some seafood restauraunts dotted around.
It is a very relaxed introduction to a muslim country and as long as you do a little bit of research first can be extremely rewarding.
Hope you enjoy your stay .
you will also find this forum very usefull for getting the majority if not all of your questions answered.

thanks for the information. I think im becoming a little obsessed!

trust me you will love it, we went a christmas and new year and it was 1 of the best holidays we ever had

Someone on another post suggested tipping with a bottle of whisky, would that work or do you think it would be better to stick with plain old money?