I don't know if it is closed or not but if it is it may be a blessing in disguise...

When I worked in the Customer Services Dept at FCH it was the hotel with the worst reputation in Tunisia and the tourists used to all chant "I survived the Soviva" when they were climbing aboard the coach transfer taking them back to the airport.

Things hopefully have changed during the years since I've been away but we did go there once to visit while on holiday (at a different hotel) and the Manager showed us around. He knew who I was and where I worked and we went completely under our own steam. Underneath the baine marie's in the main restaurant was filthy and it was quite apparent they had never been moved to enable a deep clean.

I take on board what you say reff the soviva, I have been there and yes its not the best hotel ive stayed at, but its better than a few ive been to. I did hear just today that they are closed due to cleaning things up. I don't know how true that is tho. so I think I will see it for myself come may then come back on and give my report lol.

But you know what we did like about it?

They had miles better entertainment than any of the stuffy 4 and 5 star hotels....

The entertainment was aimed at normal people who want to be entertained rather than sitting listening to some guy tinkering on a keyboard all night.

We used to go and watch it most nights!

As a matter of interest, I did go on Travel Republic website to check availability for the end of the month and nothing came up although the hotel is listed in their database. It was coming up for later in the year so I'm sure it's just because they've closed for a "tart up" over the quiet months.

At least you're going into it with your eyes open. You're a braver person than my hubby....

He always said to me that no matter how cheap I could get it for, he wouldn't stay at the Soviva after seeing what was underneath the food serving areas. But then again, he is qualified as a chef!

It is definitely closed when we were in PEK last month.
People who had booked it had been put in our hotel which was a considerable upgrade!
They were told it was closed for refurbishment but with the numbers of tourists declining the past 2 years I cant imagine the company who own it spending any money on it.

cyprus100 wrote:

But you know what we did like about it?

They had miles better entertainment than any of the stuffy 4 and 5 star hotels....

The entertainment was aimed at normal people who want to be entertained rather than sitting listening to some guy tinkering on a keyboard all night.

We used to go and watch it most nights!

As a matter of interest, I did go on Travel Republic website to check availability for the end of the month and nothing came up although the hotel is listed in their database. It was coming up for later in the year so I'm sure it's just because they've closed for a "tart up" over the quiet months.

At least you're going into it with your eyes open. You're a braver person than my hubby....

He always said to me that no matter how cheap I could get it for, he wouldn't stay at the Soviva after seeing what was underneath the food serving areas. But then again, he is qualified as a chef!

lol at hubbie being a chef in the nicest way tho. my hubbie delivers to hotels and he could tell ya a few stories bout them chefs . yes I like the entertainment at night time but hubbie didn't, as for goin in with my eyes open I blame hubbie hes been in soviva more times than I can recall before we met tho I might add. yes ive looked it up on net and its not coming up anything for me. so im thinking yes its closed for a cleanup lol.

Jay Trip wrote:

It is definitely closed when we were in PEK last month.
People who had booked it had been put in our hotel which was a considerable upgrade!
They were told it was closed for refurbishment but with the numbers of tourists declining the past 2 years I cant imagine the company who own it spending any money on it.

see I was told that . but sure if they wana up grade me when we get there I wont say no, as long as its not in el mourdi down the street now that is a place I wont go again lol

alls well that ends well. it was open when we went on the 12/26 may. loved every second of it, there so many changes all for the better I must say. new sun beds/ new tables /chairs out side, and in side had a nice make over . plenty more staff for the kids to keep them happy, will be goin back again in September as we have to see a guy bout buying a new apartment we seen. its just to the left of the hotel called residence taha .we got a look in side to see it its lovely . , hubbie is thinking of buying one and us moving out there to live, my only problem is what do we need to do to get the ball rolling, buying the apartment is the easy bit.lol any advise would help us gratefully thanks

Many thanks for the update Tammie

Is it the Golden Soviva? If so would you add your review here please http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/reviews/tunisia/port-el-kantaoui/golden-soviva-hotel/

Thanks

that time of yr again off to the soviva on the 4th may, for 2 weeks of doin nothing but getting spoilt by hubby .

Did you buy the apartment eventually or not?

Tunisia has been on our list of possibilities of places to live on a long term basis, so would be interested to know what decision you took...

Think we would do the same as we've done in Cyprus though, and rent long term - especially in some of these "Arab Spring" destinations. Things may well change in the future though!

For anyone thinking of buying I would strongly advise doing their homework and definitely not buying off-plan. You really do need to see the place, and particularly the surroundings, as I gather that some of the developments haven't lived up to their promise. A Scottish friend has a one-bedroomed penthouse apartment in Hammam Sousse, with balconies to two sides directly overlooking Menchia Beach which she is selling after living there around 7 years, but potential buyers have been somewhat thin on the ground recently.

I wholeheartedly agree Aslemma... no matter how many times you've been to a destination - you don't know until you've spent 365 days and nights there in one go.

We have many who say they "live" or are residents of Cyprus but they always manage to disappear for 2 or 3 months when summer arrives, and those of us in the real world still have to get up, go to work and/or carry on with living an every day life.

When the humidity hits and if you can stand to be around it and then manage the winter too - that's when I reckon you can really say you live in in a place.

I think that probably applies even more in Tunisia than Cyprus, but there are still quite a few ex-pats living there, not only those who have Tunisian husbands. One couple I know bought some land and built three apartments. They live on the ground floor, her parents followed them out and live on the second floor and the top floor is rented out. Their young son had hardly any Arabic and limited French when they arrived but came top of his class in this year's exams. His mum told me it was very funny in the market watching him translate between a French lady and the Tunisian shopkeeper, neither or whom could speak one another's language, and when it was over explaining it to her in a South London accent.

Aslemma wrote:

I think that probably applies even more in Tunisia than Cyprus, but there are still quite a few ex-pats living there, not only those who have Tunisian husbands. One couple I know bought some land and built three apartments. They live on the ground floor, her parents followed them out and live on the second floor and the top floor is rented out. Their young son had hardly any Arabic and limited French when they arrived but came top of his class in this year's exams. His mum told me it was very funny in the market watching him translate between a French lady and the Tunisian shopkeeper, neither or whom could speak one another's language, and when it was over explaining it to her in a South London accent. :rofl

AW bless him for trying, we would love to live there, last yr we even went and seen in side a new apartment block, next door to the hotel we stayed in, was out of this world, hubbie said we could afford it if I wanted it, so we came back had a chat with my 2 girls, (2nd marriage) ( one said steve can go were he wants but im not goin any were ) that came from a 31 yr old, she loves her mum lol. other girl said go for it if the doctor thinks its ok for u, shes 34. doctor said go but make sure I have enuff insurance cover in case I need to be flown back to the uk by air ambulance, can get health insurance but cnt get any one to insure me for plane. ive got copd. ihd and a load of other medical conditions, so until we get that sorted im afraid its just goin to be a holiday there twice a yr, lol sad as id really love to just pack up here and go

Ah, medical conditions - that's a real bummer. What a shame....

I'm lucky that I have a full time job in Cyprus so we get the same medical cover that's available to the Cypriot people based on my income. For those who come out under retirement age and not working, they're usually informed they must take out private medical insurance which can be quite costly and then of course, the insurers will try to wriggle out of not paying.

I really feel for you if you have your heart set on it.

Can you try some long stays perhaps and check with some other insurance companies? Then you could rent an apartment so you feel like you're "living" rather than staying in a hotel. It will give you much more of a feel of what life in Tunisia could be really like.

That's something we did for the last few years before we found our rental property in Cyprus. We always went for an apartment, ate out the odd time but shopped in the supermarkets and cooked in the apartment. We would sit and watch TV some nights too rather than always going out for a drink each time. We hired a car every time and explored various locations within a particular circumference on the map as to what we considered were drivable distances into Limassol each day.

Funnily enough, the house we found is in one of the first villages we looked at when we made our decision to move on a permanent basis...

cyprus100 wrote:

Ah, medical conditions - that's a real bummer. What a shame....

I'm lucky that I have a full time job in Cyprus so we get the same medical cover that's available to the Cypriot people based on my income. For those who come out under retirement age and not working, they're usually informed they must take out private medical insurance which can be quite costly and then of course, the insurers will try to wriggle out of not paying.

I really feel for you if you have your heart set on it.

Can you try some long stays perhaps and check with some other insurance companies? Then you could rent an apartment so you feel like you're "living" rather than staying in a hotel. It will give you much more of a feel of what life in Tunisia could be really like.

That's something we did for the last few years before we found our rental property in Cyprus. We always went for an apartment, ate out the odd time but shopped in the supermarkets and cooked in the apartment. We would sit and watch TV some nights too rather than always going out for a drink each time. We hired a car every time and explored various locations within a particular circumference on the map as to what we considered were drivable distances into Limassol each day.

Funnily enough, the house we found is in one of the first villages we looked at when we made our decision to move on a permanent basis...

we have said that if we cnt go live there, we will still buy the apartment, and go over as often as we can every yr, plus the girls and there families can use it, and the months its empty try and rent it out. will see get this holiday over with and then sit down and see were we go as far as the kids using it, then go from there. private insurance we can handle, its the air ambulance is the problem as far as we can see .

The problem with insurance companies is that they only want to insure you if it is unlikely they will ever have to pay out.

Aslemma wrote:

The problem with insurance companies is that they only want to insure you if it is unlikely they will ever have to pay out. :roll:

oh tell me bout it I know. ud be surprised how many companies ive tried and been told no sorry not at this time . looks like theres never goin to be a time lol

Good luck "Tammie"

It sounds like you have a plan!