No towels are provided for the pool area. You are requested NOT to use the room towels but , of course, there are people who do not take any notice, sad that.

A/I goes on to around midnight. There is entertainment in the evening but it will be inside in the main building. To avoid the nise, which it will be, I suggest you email in advance and ask for a room on a high floor.

Weatherwise difficult to judge. We went in March and again in May last year and had terrible weather on both occasions- so it is pot luck with that.

We found the Royal salem was good for what we wanted and expected. No real complaints from us.

I am assuming you got a cheap rate for a late booking- so take that in mind and dont expect 5* luxury.

Would we go again- yes, definitely.

have a good time,

Pete

Thank you Aslemma and Pete for your replies, they are much appreciated. I was wondering what the indoor pool is like and if the weather is bad, is there much to do during the day? If it is not too good, I'm sure we will make good use of the bars and I will take plenty of books to read

I've not used the indoor pool but it looks quite nice and was never crowded whilst I was there. You can see it through the glass wall of the lounge. Can't help you regarding daytime entertainment as I have many friends in Sousse and was rarely in the hotel during the day.

The indoor pool is OK. Can get a bit noisy in there though. Don't be persuaded to have massages etc there as they are a complete rip-off according to my wife.
The bar/restaurant by the beach is now open and looks a good place to go.

During bad weather the entertainment team comes into their own. They try hard to get people involved. One day I went to an 'arabic class'. Best thing I ever did! I learnt enough to ask for drinks, water at the bar. Get the right prices from taxi drivers etc-- it was all good fun. You should definitely give it a go- especially with the bar staff. Once they know you then you will have no problems with them at all. the occasional tip here and there is OK.

We found the food very good indeed - I am basing that on what we paid for the holiday and our expectations. I would recommend having lunches at the beachside restaurant or the other one they have. Really really nice. DON'T opt to have the 'Tunisian Meal' which you can have in the small a la carte restaurant once during your stay as part of the A/I- it is rubbish! The best evening in the main restaurant is saturday evening. candleit tables and a guy playing music and singing - all very good. get a table right down the far end away from the entrance- I forget their names but very very good waiters indeed. If i remember their names I will let you know. It will also be very close to the singer that evening which will be a bonus. He sang almost evry song we asked for!!

I would defintely use the system of the safety deposit boxes. there were rumours of peoples rooms being entered and money stolen- so be on the safe side(no pun intended!).Taxis right outside or just up the road are a rip off. they tried it on with me BUT because I learnt how to count in arabic then I paid no more than 4 dinar to town!! It does work!

Entertainment during the day is mostly activities. I loved playing boules on the beach in the morning- my wife did the archery. The evening entertainment varies evry night- to be honest it is pretty average but hey- its not that bad. Starts with childrens dancing etc. The main problemm will be getting a table with seats- the non smoking area tends to fill quickly with people annoyingly saving seats etc- must be a British thing!!
Snacks of pizza and chips available aboy 10pm to midnight, I think.

They also have a sort of Tunisian style cafe i forget whgat they call it. I liked going in their after dinner for a shisha pipe! Cost 5 dinar! OK- down town you pay 3 or 4 but you cannot pect to pay the same in a hotel.

Anything else you want to know then please just ask.

Pete

Janelouise,
We went into Sousse quite often. You will get hassled in the medina- using my 'arabic' and saying no thank you always did the trick. Luckily I can speak French quite well and that got me out of hole sometimes. If you want to buy stuff then I would really recommend the fixed priced shop right by the entrance - you cannot miss it. Just to be cunning I did try going into stalls and shops in the medina to buy stuff with no intention of buying despite them giving me the full works BUT they could never really compete with the fixed priced shop. OK , maybe the odd couple fo dinar cheaper but look what you have to put up with as regards stress levels etc. Also in teh fixed priced you can try stuff on with no pressure at all. It is fun in teh shops in the medina but just be careful.
What you should do in the Medina and they are mostly up the top end- is to go into one or two of the cafes with very small entrances that open up inside into an amazing area to sit and have a ber or coffee or/and a shisha pipe! All good fun.
Getting a taxi back was no problem-- remember your arabic and say 4 dinar!!

Pete

As Pete says, it is useful to have a few Arabic phrases and you might find this link handy: http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=103656&hilit=arabic+phrases

My personal favourites are "La, gahli barcha" (no, too expensive) and "M'andee floos" ("I have no money"). I've always enjoyed wandering round the medina and chatting to the shop keepers as most of them have a great sense of humour. You just need to be firm and not pay more than you want to. Simply walk away if they won't drop their price and they will often call after you and say "OK".

We seem to be going and don't want to get our wrists slapped so for any more general chat on Tunisia I suggest we move over to Tunisian Tales.

Thanks again for your very helpful replies
Sorry, but I have a couple more questions (I'm sure there will be more before I go ) , are the safe deposit boxes in the room or in reception, and is it possible to walk to Sousse or PEK along the beach, and if so, approximately how long will it take. My hubbie and I enjoy a nice walk, and if we can walk to either, we will do that and maybe get a taxi back.
Also, do you know if the outdoor pools are heated and can be used in February (not that I will be brave enough to go in, but my hubbie probably will if he can!!)
Once again, thanks for taking the time to help me with my questions.
Jane

Keep the questions coming Jane, that's what we are here for. Not sure about safes or safety deposit boxes as I've never used them in Tunisia, but all hotels have one or the other available, either in the room or in reception. You can definitely walk to both the Medina in Sousse or to PEK if you want. I would say Sousse would take about 40 minutes and PEK rather more. Here's a link to the map of Sousse and you will see your hotel towards the top, whereas the Medina is towards the bottom. Despite the map saying SOUSSE at the top, that direction is towards PEK, in the opposite direction to the Medina. http://img41.exs.cx/img41/3136/soussekaartgroot6bs.jpg

The safety deposit boxes are to the side of reception where you can change money up. I would definitely recommend using one. I think it costs 2 dinar a day and well worth it for peace of mind. By the way- the rate in the hotel is more or less the same as anywhere else so no problem there. Dont change up at airport.

As Aslemma said you can walk along the beach to where you want to go. Even off season you will probably get approached to buy fags etc along the beach.

The pools outside are NOT heated and they are salt water type pools.

One thing we took which others wish they had- and that was a mug! Nice to have mugs of tea etc rather than small cups they use. We also took our travel kettle etc.

Think about your tips for the week. We gave our chambermaid 5 dinar at the beginning of the week and she wa absolutely wonderful to us. I have a feeling she would have been the same without a tip- she was genuinely friendly. The waiters we left the odd couple of dinar each night. We had wondeful service from them. On even made sure my mug was never empty of tea in the morning!
Learning a few odd words of Arabic definitely helps and breaks a lot of barriers. All the staff(other than chambermaids) can speak good English - but, hey! have some fun! they will appreciate it a lot. Even if you only learn how to say your room number in Arabic will help a lot-- you are constantly asked for it when ordering drinks etc.

If there is anything else I can help with - then just please ask.

Hi again. Pete mentions the lads selling cigarettes along the beach - DON'T BUY FROM THEM, particularly if you value your throat, as they are often fakes. Those sold from the kiosks are usually OK though. Nothing herein is meant to imply that you are guilty of this disgusting habit of course, but some of us, such as me, are still refusing to admit the error of our ways.

Thanks again for your quick replies. The map was very helpful Aslemma and Pete, I will definately take my travel kettle, tea bags and mug, I really don't like the tiddly little cups that you usually get in the hotels!!! I'm going to try to learn a little basic Arabic words before we go. Thanks for the advice on cigarettes, I don't smoke, but usually bring some back for people, so won't be caught with the fakes.
I was just wondering if there are hairdryers in the room and if there is wii fi in the hotel?
Thanks again
Jane

I have no real need of a hairdryer!! From memory I think i recall my wife using one in the room.

As regards wi-fi, that really didn't bother me but I can recall some people were a tad disappointed it was not available as the hotel said they had it. Having said that I did see people using laptops in the bar area etc. from what I gathered they all managed to get some sort of password and could use the link from the largish coffee bar/restaurant up by the main road out of the hotel. So i guess the answer is Yes to wi-fi!!

I read quite a few reviews of te hotel before we went and we have been twice. Some were very bad and, quite frankly, I found nothing to justify that. As I said- you can find fault if you really look for it. All my assessments were made according to the amount of money we paid and whether it was value or not. Definitely was and that is why we went twice regardless of bad weather both times. I guess some people would even blame the hotel for that!!

I can't help on these points either Jane, though I too have been twice. As I have stayed in quite a few hotels in Sousse I can never remember which have hairdryers and I never take a laptop so it isn't something I notice.

Thanks again for your replies I was just wondering how long the transfer from the airport is to the hotel?

Hi,
If my memory serves me right I think it takes about 30 to 40 mins. You have to take into consideration that it drops off and picks up at other hotels en route as well.

Assuming you are flying into Enfidha it shouldn't take more than about 40 minutes. However, much will depend on how many have to be dropped off at other hotels first and whether the driver has to wait for other planes to come in. At present taxis are as rare as hens' teeth at Enfidha so you do need to book a transfer. If you haven't already done so I would recommend A2B Transfers, as I've used them many times and found them very reliable and a reasonable price.

Thanks again for replying. Only a week to go now, really looking forward to it, but been looking at the weather forcast and not looking too good oh well never mind, it will be warmer than here I suppose.

Have a great time Jane. It does look as if the weather is due to improve and it will certainly be better than here, especially if we get the promised snow. I hope to be back in Sousse in April so have a while to wait yet.

Well still not sure what to pack as weather doesn't sound too briliant!! But very excited and looking forward to a break away from snowy England!! Just one more question though! Can u get bottled water in the all inclusive??