Firstly may I state that we are seasoned veterans of Holiday Villages, this being our 5th visit to a Holiday Village. Previously we have been to villages in Turkey, Egypt and Lanzarote (both old and new one) and I have to say this one is right up there as one of the best.

Hotel Cleanliness: This is the cleanest of the HV we have been to so far. The staff are very attentive and are constantly cleaning everywhere, particularly in the food areas. In addition the rooms are leaned to a high standard nearly every day. Bins were constantly emptied on site and they even employ a recycling system for your waste. Also designated nappy bins are dotted around the site.

Hotel Food: Was of a high standard with plenty of choice ranging from a different BBQ meat each day (Turkey, Chicken, Tuna, Liver etc.) which was available outside at main restaurant to various pasta dishes and an excellent salad bar. Food was always hot and very nicely presented. For the kids there was chicken nuggets and spaghetti available every day. My kids (7 & 3) loved the adult spaghetti Bolognese which they ate nearly every day.

Hotel Location: About 20 minutes taxi from Hammamet on an absolutely gorgeous private beach. As with all beaches in Tunisia the sand is beautiful and the beach was immaculately clean. There is not much surrounding the hotel apart from a handful of shops, cafes and restaurants and a water park. There is a restaurant about 10 minutes’ walk from HV called La terrasse which was absolutely fantastic where a Filet Mignon would set you back only £10 (22 Tun Dinar). You must visit this restaurant just for the desserts!!!

Hotel Staff: Each and every one of them were fantastic. They are very helpful and always smiling and can't do enough for you. They are especially great with the kids. If you can speak a little French to them as well they are even more appreciative. The local hotel staff here were the best staff we have experienced in a HV so far.

Entertainment: As with all HV the vast majority is performed by the actual First Choice staff. Though not always the best singers they are very enthusiastic and know how to put on a show. The night begins at 19:30pm with the kiddies disco and entertainment which runs to around 9pm after which there is Bingo and the adult entertainment. The resident compere Smithy is fantastic and really knows how to get the night going and he is backed up by a very lively and energetic team including an ex Take That tribute member.
During the day the reps put on loads of daytime activities for kids and adults.
Kids clubs are fantastic both my kids loved them.
Special mention must go the football and swimming academies that were fantastic with my kids. The football is played on a state of the art astro-turf pitch which even has its own little spectator stand.


We thoroughly enjoyed our 11 nights in the HV Manar and would definitely go back again.

We have just returned from Tunisia and stayed at the Magic Life hotel. We booked a family room, which was fantastic and roomy. There was a main bedroom and a lounge, which could comfortably have three single beds in it. All the rooms had fridges, which were filled daily with named branded drinks.

The hotel is very spacious and has plenty of activities, tennis, archery, bike riding and plenty of swimming.

There were swimming pools with 7 great slides, pools for little ones and pools for quiet time. The water sports were fantastic, you just had to give your name and room number and you were pointed in the direction of your chosen water sport and off you go.

The hotel is situated right by the beach. The beach has soft golden sand that is cleaned daily. The sea is turquoise green and absolutely lovely.

All the staff at this hotel was great, they looked like they were enjoying their job and at all times they could not do enough for you.

A lovely treat is the afternoon tea at 5pm, they serve all manner of teas and coffee with the most amazing cakes and pastries (to die for). There was plenty of variety in the food and it tasted great.

The negatives: the journey from the airport is around 70/80 minutes. The hotel does seem far from places to visit. Some nights the entertainment wasn't brilliant, but other nights it was great so there was no continuity.

Overall if you are looking for a week away in the sun where you get treated extremely well then Magic Life is the place to visit.

The hotel was reasonably clean and tidy. The rooms are cleaned daily even though the level of tiling in the bathrooms is a bit dodgy but the maids were thorough. And when the wind blew the wrong way the bathroom smelt of raw sewage, but that was only for one day.

The fridge in the room was full of pop and bottled water, you could also request bottles of wine to be left for you. also you could get them from the bar to take to your room. there was a safe in the wardrobe, that was all inclusive with your room also.

There are 4 lifts, all very clean and working.

Food was edible, but as with any all inclusive holiday the menu gets a little repetitive after a while. We did stick to the old advice of "do not eat anything that has not been cooked first" that means no salad and we used our own desert spoon for the ice cream. Needless to say none of us got Tunisia Belly. I only recall one person we met there having a bad tummy, but they did eat out once or twice on excursions.

As for the excursions. Be prepared to have to pay for organised trips as a map is non existant. It is fair to say that the travel companies take full advantage of this fact and the tours are not cheap. Also the Germans pay a lot less for the same trips from their reps. Should you venture off the hotel grounds as I did, it is a whole different world and you soon realise the luxury you are staying in.

The beach is through the gardens and down some steps. Very well maintained and raked to keep it clean and tidy with a bar and sun beds. Water sports were there but it was a bit chilly to get wet in December. Oh and lots of cats living on the grounds. If you are an animal lover like me you are in heaven, but be prepared for the slightly poorly ones you just want to bring them all home.

In the gardens lots of pools all very clean but the water slides were not turned on. My daughter was dissapointed and was fobbed off by the staff as to why she could not have them turned on for a while. Personally it was freezing but kids don't feel it do they.

The entertainment was very basic around the bar but aparently there was a theatre every night. I did not find out about it till the last day.

The whole hotel is geared towards german taste and the information available was also. But there was an english guide/folder available at reception thats if they could understand you.

The hotel overall was as lovely but is german teritory
so be prepared to be out numbered. There were 8 of us brits when I was there.

But dont be put off from what I heard on the coach to the airport we were in one of the better hotels.

One last word, carefull of the street traders one tried to sell my other half a Bongo for

this is our 5th visit to this excellent hotel.in our rooms on arrival was a basket of fresh fruit and a bottle of wine. there was a fridge in the room stocked daily with water, fanta and cola. also provided were bathrobes and slippers. the beds were stripped every day. the hotel is situated in approximately ten acres of gardens leading down to the beach where there is excellent water sports including catamarans, yachts, windsurfing, waterskiing, pedaloes and banana boat. there is also a very good beach bar and food and drinks avai;able all day. the hotel has 4 swimming pools, three in the gardens and 1 indoor pool. there is a pool bar at each of the pools. hotel food is excellent with a choice of 4 a la carte restaurants and 1 buffet restaurant. the entertainment is first class this shows 6 nights a week. also caberet in the lounge. all the hotel staff are very friendly with a high standard of excellence.