This hotel was a complete disappointment as the Thomas Cook brochure stated benefits that in reality did not exist or were closed. i.e kids club (closed), ice-cream (not available), pedalos (?), 4 restaurants (3 were closed). BBQ (only selected nights and a good 45 minutes wait).

The general cleanliness of the hotel was OK but the bar/reception areas were in need of updating and looked tired. Our room was spacious bit lacked cupboard space & no tea/coffee making facilities. We had a shared balcony. Throughout the night some sort of generator kicked in and was very noisy making it difficult for my wife to sleep.

We reported this to the rep who just said 'see reception' (her answer to practically every enquiry,)which we did. They showed us a choice of a bungalow around the pool. This did not look that clean and was very small and musty with very dark, tired furnishings. So we refused this and were left with our original room.

The toilets around the pools were not cleaned regularly enough and rarely had toilet paper or soap in the which meant a trip back to your room each time.

Hotel food was disgusting. Repetitive, generally cold although steam rose from the serving areas, with some dishes appearing for 3 consecutive meals.

There was no kids food bar and my son lived on boiled eggs and cheese slices.

I informed the rep if this and she said 'the food was suitable for children so they didn't need a specific childrens bar.'

Drinks were very limited either wine, beer, water or a syrup type juice, and of poor quality. All the food areas were covered in flies as nothing was covered and cats wandered in & out of the dining room. We also saw a large 5cm black beetle in the dining room on the first day which completely put us off.

Dining room didn't open until 7.30pm which is extremely late for children.

As all our family suffered stomach upsets so we ended up eating out towards the end of the week. My wife was ill for 5 days. The only people that were OK seemed to be half boarders who used a different bar so maybe the drinks were the cause, perhaps watered down as many guests were suggesting. The snacks were very limited too.

You are regularly hassled by porters, photographers, salesmen for camel rides & massages. On arrival guest had to give the 2 porters a

Not really and ideal hotel for couples or families.
A bit remote. what little entertainment there was started late.

Food ok but nothing special - all covered in flies as nothing covered.

Staff were generally pleasant but porters were a particular nusance.

Hotel looked a bit tired in many communal areas and rooms a bit dingy.

Though we paid for an all inclusive holiday I would not class this holiday as all inclusive.

The hotel was dirty, (my five year old spilt a drink and it was not cleaned up the whole time we were there). The food was disgusting and covered in flies. My partner and I were ill most of the time we were there. My children were not ill as they refused to eat the food.

Feral cats were allowed to roam everywhere including the dining room, which was very dirty and completely chaotic.

The location of the hotel was a bit remote and located next to a sewage treatment works which accounted for the constant smell of effluent and the horrendous amount of flies.

Some of the hotel staff were rude though most we talked to were very sympathetic and understood our unhappiness as they were also very unhappy working there.

The change counter was overpriced as we pulled them up on the exchange rate. We were told it was a closed currency but they gave us less than the offical rate and they refused to give us a receipt.

The entertainment was boring and very repetitive
Drinks seemes as though they were watered down, I had the equivalent of a quadruple vodka and I didn't feel a thing.

There was nothing for the children and there were not any ice creams as advertised in the brochure, neither were there any water sports.

The Thomas Cook rep was totally incompetent and was really unhelpful. She told us she had been rep for six years. We later found out from her boss that she was only 19 and had been a rep for a year.

We were finally, along, with many others tranferrred to another hotel. By then it was too late, our holiday had already been ruined.

This is the worst all inclusive hotel I have ever stayed at. When we arrived on the Sunday they said that they had not even had a booking for us even after speaking to Expedia (who were useless). We had to pay for a room for the night and finally it was sorted out the next day.
The food was awful, there was no alcohol available as part of the all inclusive apart from Fig Brandy! The rooms were the most basic I have ever had the misfortune to stay in. I would never ever stay in this hotel again.

Rooms we were put in had not been used for some time and were cold musty and not that clean. Moved into main hotel which was better.

Food was awful for 3 days had same choice of main meal Pork Stew. Animation team did nothing to entertain us despite heavy rain and being confined to the reception/bar areas.

No quizes or competitions as stated in book When we arrived at lunch time no one to greet us yet we saw others arrive and there were offered cocktails and nibbles.

I have been all over the world and this is the worst hotel I have ever had the misfortune to stay in. The staff in general were pleasant but would not put themselves out to be helpful.

When we arrived at the hotel at 10pm ish we were sent in for some food.

We were shown to our room that was lovely and clean and our bed was up 2 small steps I felt like a prinsess our maid was polite and fantastic and would do anything for you we had fresh flowers on the beds and in a vase.

The hotel staff were great friendly funny and always ready to listen to what you had to say.

We had a fantastic time they even went out of the way and made reindeer and sleigh for the reception and all other sorts of decorations to make it feel christmasy (they dont celabrate christmas) we had a 7 course gala meal on xmas eve and new years eve with entertainment.

The entertainment staff were fantastic they worked from 9am - 11pm officially but they started a lot earlier than that and finished a lot later. They entertained the children from morning till night and put a show on every night they were tired but they still did it for us we have there numbers and will keep in contact with them (they moving to other hotel ).

Food was good bit repetative but always hot and if you didn't like anything they will cook something else
the only thing I can say is it was the typical moaning British that let our holiday down and the last part of my stay I was ashamed to say I was English I would have been Tunisian if I could have got away with it.

If you want a layed back relaxing holiday then this is the place to go cheap as chops as the locals would say.

But like all holidays you have to give it a go for yourself you may love or hate this place we loved it and are booked for later this year.

Saphir was on a late deal special and given a 3 * rating. We arrived with guys pestering to carry luggage which we had said we could manage ourselves..we are well travelled people and you could tell my their respnse that they were angry you wouldnt allow them to do it and get a tip.

Reception were not that friendly..no introduction..chatting to each other in their own language whilst they dealt with findingyour keys. Walking down the dark corridor to our room I was pleased I was with my husband as I immediately didnt feel comfortable.

Entering the room we were most disappointed it was like a shoe box..minimalist was not the word....no tea or coffee making facilities...no tv/radio. Sheets were cleaned so we were relieved about that. On checking the bathroom found that the toilet base was loose and leaking... this was reported but no one ever attempted to do anything about it.

We booked a very early morning trip to the Sahara...we were asked did we want breakfast and we said yes as we were both diabetic...the time set was 5.30am. We arrived to find the dining room in virtual darkness. Staff were setting up for breakfast, so we thought the only things on offer were salad/fruit or croissant. I asked if we could just have a boiled egg and some toast and was told no. I spoke to a security man in the hallway as there was no reception staff available and kitchen staff disappeared into the kitchen. He seemed to understand we were diabetic and went into the kitchen ..all we could hear was loud shouting. He came out walked by us and never said a word to us. I had to then ask for water to make a tea and coffee....no one speaks to you.That morning that is all we had.

Every meal was the same. Signs on them that didnt make any sense at all, it was a guessing game. Some people were going down with really bad stomach bugs.

The bar had hardly any stock..if u didnt want beer..or the local spirit well forget it.

The beach was remote with no facilties. If you liked bingo this was the place to be because there was no evidence of anything else, apart from one day we played a quiz outside.

This was the worse hotel/resort we have ever visited.

Hotel itself was clean and tidy with easy access to the pool from our rooms.

Food was absolutely disgusting. Both breakfast and dinner were the same choice every day, and what they did put out was normally cold. Because of this we started to eat out on the second week. Waiters are very clever at bringing drinks/snacks, charging you and not giving a receipt, and then putting money in their pocket. Big investigation by manager whilst we were there but this did not stop them.

Another trick they have is saying they have no change and forgetting to return with change later.

Reception never had enough money to change currency and kept sending us to the Hotel Paradis over the road. Then the Paradis stopped serving us as they said it was up to our hotel to provide the facilities. Embarrassing or what!

Entertainment staff try hard but just not good enough. More embarrassing than entertaining.

Would definitely visit Tunisia/Hammamet again, but definitely not Hotel Saphir or Hammamet Village

My family amd myself stayed at the hotel Saphir/Hammamet Village.

This was the second visit to this hotel, we last stayed there in Oct 2000 and had a great holiday hence we returned for another family holiday, only to be let down.

On our arrival to the hotel at 8.30pm and having some thing to eat we got our room key. We had requested a ground floor room, pool view if possible and with a cot for our 18 month old. We got the key went to the room it was on the second floor, 22 steps up and no lift.

The room ok very basic as before but no cot as requested, went to reception and asked about the cot and was told to make do, after a few words telling them that we would not make do and that we wanted a cot for our baby we finally got one about 10.30pm.

We put our daughter to bed only to find that the sides of the cot only came up to her waist and she could fall out very easily. We put the cot in our bedroom wedged between the wall and our bed, and blankets on the floor at the foot end. Then in the morning had another shock the staff had put a pillow in an 8 inch gap where the mattress was to small for the cot and as if that was not bad enough the slats were missing the pillow had fallen out and left this 8 inch hole for our baby to fall through and about 2ft drop to the hard tiled floor below. Told reception who did not seem to give a monkey about it, could not get our rep as he was never at the hotel, but our room cleaner was very nice and showed me a couple of other cots and said we could use one of them, I as a guest had to carry the large wooden cot down the stairs and swop it over and carry the slightly better condition wooden cot back up the stairs to our room.

The standard of the hotel staff and attitudes has gone right down hill from last time we stayed.

We found out that they have changed owners and you can tell, standards and attitudes are well below any star rating.

If you are going and you have a baby please take a travel cot with you,its worth paying the extra on your weight allowance at least you will get some sleep, not keep on waking up to check if your baby is still in the so called cot.

We stayed at this hotel half board but all we did was sleep and wash as the food was disgusting. The flies had first choice as the hygiene is terrible. Also you don't know what you are eating. Kitchen staff and waiters have two speeds slow and stop. Waiters are like vultures wanting money or if you were wearing football shirts they wanted them.

Also the two lads who carry your suitcases be aware of them, they hover worse than the flies wanting money all the time.

The first room we got was filthy [that was in the village part] the second room was ok. This room was cleaned every day, towels and bedding changed every day.

If you were not all inclusive you had to pay for sun beds.

We would not use this hotel again, we would give it one star at a push.