This is the first winter season for Thomson at this hotel and I feel that some serious improvements need to be made before anymore guests are sent to accomodation which is most definitely not what I have come to expect from the company.

This is not a 4 star hotel, it is old and shabby and not clean. The public areas are untidy and unwelcoming.

The staff are rude to all-inclusive guests and prefer the half board guests and those who tip - generously!

Our room was in a 'garden house' and not the 2-4 person suite I had booked and paid for. The rooms with sea views were closed and the room we were given was dirty, with a double bed made up for one person, a broken toilet - which I had to mend! - no seating area, a television that you had to pay for, broken floor and wall tiles, a broken heating system - which you definately needed - dirty terrace area and furniture and tatty bed linen. I later discovered that our room had been given to corporate guests there for a conference. The management refused to give us the room I had paid for!

The food was bland and poor, the dining area like a works cafeteria with staff who pounced the minute you put your cutlery down between mouthfuls.

The entertainment staff were unfriendly and the bar very very expensive they tried to charge me

Like the last poster, I too was worried about our holiday, but thankfully needed not to.

The hotel was very clean with a maid who did fancy things with towels/pyjamas.

All inclusive with loads and loads of food choice.Some brits were moaning there was not enough english food on the menu...........so the thomson rep spent 2 afternoons showing the chef how to make shepherds pie and something else.This I felt was not needed,there really was something for everyone,with puddings to die for.

Location of the hotel was good for the beach, a local supermarket, with very cheap taxis available to the town,we didn't really go out much.

The staff were fantastic and really couldn't do enough to help, all of them loved the children.Kids club was fantastic, the first week we were there it was open from9-9;30 inc meal times!!!!!!!!! I think this was the French school holidays.The second week although it wasn't open for those hours our kids had a wonderful time, it made their holiday.No the kids club staff were not fluent in English but I felt confident leaving the children with them.

Entertainment was French led which was a bit disapointing but we still saw belly dancers,men laying on nail beds, 2 shows put on by the hotel kids,the staff show.we did archery,tennis, relaxation and keep fit.

We really had a wonderful holiday even though it was a shock to find it was dark by 6.

After reading the reviews for this hotel we were dreading this holiday, as it had been booked and paid for by the in-laws we had no say in choosing it and had major concerns about what we had read in reviews.

Well our fears were unfounded and we had a great holiday.

The flight was 2 3/4 hours and the transfer 1 1/2 hours. The only down side was by the time we arrived at the hotel it was 1.30am and we were shattered.

The weather was fantastic, about 78 most days.

The hotel was lovely, well planned with only two floors. There were two lifts but also two staircases. The lobby is as impressive as it looks in the brochure, as is the restaurant.

There were two bars, one of which only sold spirits the other lager and wine but it was just a case of sitting between the two. We were never restricted to a certain amount of drinks at one time and although it was there own brand of spirits, I would challenge the statement that they were watered down. In fact I had to get an extra mixer in order to lessen the strength of the alcohol.

As for the food, I can only wonder, what it is that the people who complained about it, would be happy with. I am a quite adventurous eater so for me it was great. I had a total of 5 different fish in the 6 days we were there. All were fresh and cooked to perfection. Besides the fish you had a choice of chicken/ turkey, pork, beef and lamb cooked and served in a variety of ways at lunch and dinner. There were freshly cooked pizzas, pasta, which you could design your own sauce for, a huge array of vegetables, salads, cheese and cold meats or pate.
Also CHIPS!!!!!!

Breakfast was continental. There was a fry up but not to my taste. You could have an omelette with a choice of ingredients, scrambled, hard boiled or fried egg. Plus the cold meats and cheese, toast, rolls, or crepes with different toppings.

There were 11 of us in the party and on the first day we pulled three tables together and those tables stayed there for the remainder of the holiday and reserved for us by our waiter Fahri for each meal time. At dinner he would decorate the table with flower arrangements or candles and by the 2nd day he would get the childrens drinks and pour our wine. You could not argue that the service was top class.

The children loved the pool which was spotless, they could play crazy golf or get balls,racquets and other games throughout the day at the 'animation' hut. The kids club staff were French but they spoke very good English. My kids don't go in for that but if yours do there wouldn't be a problem.

The only one thing that I will stress is that the evening entertainment is aimed at the French guests. If this ia a major part of your holiday needs, then you will be dissapointed. However by the end of the week the number of brits had overtaken the French, so if Thomson want to keep sending us there they would benefit from changing the entertainment.

We would definatley return there, it is great value for money and an enjoyable place to stay.

Beware of the shop assistants in the Medina, they are very pushy and all have the same English quips to get you to part with your cash!!!!

In the photo you will see our bath towels folded into swans by the maids. This was just one of the nice touches that made our holiday as wonderful as it was.

Sold to us as a new hotel to Thomson (we booked last year) it turned out to be a French reject hotel

The food was ok but plates dirty and the choice after a few days got very boring and French

Hotel location was poor middle of no where but taxis are very cheap!!

Hotel staff great very helpful some are just after tips but hey thats the way it is!!

Entertainment was French and very poor with two children we found ourselves back in room by 9.30pm

The Thomson rep was bad she did nothing to help and in the end over 30 people forced her to call her boss so we could raise problems with her

Tunisia was a great place and we would go again but to another hotel

The hotel is an average standard hotel.

The rooms are fairly basic but clean.the entertaiment is non existent unless you can speak French. The food quality & hygiene is poor.

The pool area is nice & clean. The beach activities are not advised as safety isnt too good. Overall this hotel is not value for money & I would not recomend it to anyone especialy those with children.

The hotel looks really lovely when we initially arrived and the room was very clean. The first couple of days we weren't enjoying the food as it's the same for lunch and dinner, we had hoped it would get better - it didn't. There is only one restaurant and although it appears from the brochure there are other eating options, it's basically the same food eaten by the pool or on the beach.

The hotel is for French tourists and everything is catered towards them. All of the entertainment was in French.

We were all inclusive and the system they have for getting drinks is ridiculous. The "English Style Pub" does not sell beer!!! There is one bar for beer and wine and another for spirits.

The staff are really friendly and make an effort to chat in English. If you tip the staff you tend to be treated better eg your glasses are filled up and the cleaners leave sweets and rose petals on your bed.

The one good thing is because there are very few British people at this hotel, you tend to meet each other and I think if we hadn't met other people we would have gone mad as there is really not much to do although the brochure implies there is loads.

We went on a 2 day trip to the Sahara during the second week which was great. I think if we hadn't done this we would have been desperate to get home by the second week.

Overall, we enjoyed our holiday but were glad to get home. We wouldn't visit this hotel again.

We initially booked a Thomson pricebreaker AOA in Port El Kantoui - but recieved a phonecall the day before we left to say that Thomson had overbooked - we either went to the Shalimar in Hammamet or cancelled our holiday.

Thomson were very rude about the whole thing and didnt seem to think it was wrong to relocate us on the other side of the country. Transfer from the airport took almost 3 hours to Hammamet and as the Shalimar is a long way out of town, you are the last people to be dropped off in the early hours of the morning - thus losing a night of your holiday.

The hotel itself is fairly nice - with a big pool and landscaped gardens. The Cleanliness is of a very high standard and the maid was brilliant - very friendly with clean towels and sheets every day.

However, we did not really enjoy our holiday. We we pretty much the only english people in the Hotel - as it not an official Thomson holiday until next yar - and the food and entertainment reflect this. English newspapers were not available and we had to get taxis to get one. English speaking was very limited (although the staff tried hard) and it was difficult to get your point across. We ended up paying

The food was awful it was all catered for the French, nothing at all there for the English. Unless you wanted to live on salad all week even that you didn

Myself and my friend stayed at the Shalimar after having our holiday accommodation changed due to our first hotel not being ready. We personally did not have any problems with the cleanliness of our room and saw the chambermaid everyday, although it was sometimes 1.30 in the afternoon before she got to us.

The food was not your usual "run of the mill" and did seem geared to the french and german guests although after getting used to it there were some very nice dishes on offer.

Staff seemed friendly and willing to assist you although there were quite often language barriers due to the fact, I think, that British guests are not normally there in large numbers. It seems nearly all British guests we spoke to were offered the Shalimar as alternative accommodation. Having said that, the staff did try their best to converse in English.

The entertainment was amusing, and suited us although if you were looking for grand shows each evening then you would not get that here. Bars were ok although was problem with one bar serving spirits and the other serving beer. If they could combine the two it would be an advantage.

We did enjoy our time spent at the Shalimar and would stay there again without hesitation.

The food had no variety, it was clear to us after a few days that the best of the food was being given to the all-inclusive coustomers.

The only decent meal we had was lunch on the last day, all the others were inferior. We found ourselves gong to the local shop each day to get food to eat in our hotel room. the hotel was situated miles from anywhere and if you wanted to go out it meant getting a taxi.

The hotel entertainmemt was totally in French and was childish and very imature.

However the staff were very friendly and the hotel was very clean.

We wouldn't go back to this hotel even on a free holiday.