The el mehdi was an absolutley beautiful hotel,set right on a glorious white sand beach. The sea was warm and clear, i have never seen a nicer beach!

The hotel stood in beautiful,clean,well maintained gardens filled with palm trees and other exotic plants.

Our room was also amazing, it was spacious and cleaned everyday by the maids and the air con was fab! Our room also had views of the sea and beach,which was lovely.

The weather was beautiful all holiday, it was very hot(about 34-40 degrees celcius every day!

We forgot what clouds looked like!! The maids in the hotel couldn't do enough for you and the entertainers, especially Tom, were brilliant and the kids club always looked like they were having fun!

There was lots to do in the day, the entertainment team always kept everyone amused, whether they had you playing waterpolo, doing aerobics and aqua aerobics, or playing some silly game,you never got bored in the day!

During the holiday my friends and I went on a boat trip,it was very cheap(about ten pounds) that included all your drinks(no alcohol was served though!)entertainment(a bit amateur but still very fun!) and also a meal which consisted of freshly grilled fish and salad and bread and watermelon-the fish wasn't to everyone's taste but i enjoyed it!

While on the boat,we saw some huge jelly fish which were very scary and dolphins! That was definitely the highlight! On the hotel's beach,there are water-sports run by a local who is absolutely lovely and will give you a good price if you ask! We went on the banana boat, which was good but not very bouncy because the sea was always so calm! And we also went on the jet skiis which was really fun!

Where I feel this hotel let itself down,was the staff. Being English at this hotel we were definitely in the minority, it is run by a German chain of hotels, so as you can guess most of the guests were German.

The staff(restaurant and bar) definitely favoured the Germans. We constantly found oursleves being served last even when we had been waiting at the bar for a lot longer than the Germans they served before us. This was very irritating,but we didn't let it spoil our holiday!

The restaurant was huge and there was always alot of choice,there was always fish,some sort of meat(one day it was rabbit!!eww!) and chicken and potatoes and sometimes chips. But again, we felt that the food was directed more at the German guests.

The food was of good quality and there was fresh salad and pasta at very meal. The best thing about the restaurant was the pizza oven!

Thats what me and my friends lived off! Every lunch and dinner, fresh pizzas were made in the restaurant, the only downside was that there was always a huge queue for it!

Breakfast wasn't the best, it consisted of weird looking hot food and yogurts and stuff. There was a toaster, so I just ate marmite(which I brought from home!) on toast every day!

One thing I would definitely say is bring your pg tips!!The tea over there just isn't the same! The worst thing about the holiday was the resort, it is perfect for families, but with my group being aged 18/19 there was just nothing to do at night!

We found ourselves going to bed at ten most nights! We were no where near any clubs or bars or anything and I imagine a taxi would cost a fortune to the next town!
Mahdia is a very traditional area of Tunisia, which i guess is the reason it is so beautiful,its not very built up at all.

The problem of nightlife would be the only thing stopping us from goin back! Also the whole you have to be over 21 to drink is a load of rubbish! we were never even quizzed about our age,and there wer kids who looked about 14 being served alcohol! There was a club in our hotel,but yet again,it was German music and full of Germans, so we stayed away! They definitely weren't the friendliest I've ever come across.

Oh, one more thing which we weren't happy about was the lack of choice in alcoholic drinks. You could have red/white wine(which im sure were watered down) and beer,yes that really was all you got all inclusive,apart from after 8 o clock at night you could have a 'bukha'(locally produced spirit) cocktail which was nice but was the same as the other alcohol,no chance of making you even a little tipsy!

First impression of the hotel was dissappointing.All the corridors had tatty old dog-eared carpet. The bedroom furniture was old, worn & scratched & the drawers would not open.

The bathroom tiles were badly repaired & the bath was hand painted white. The toilet roll holder was sharp & I have the scar to prove it!

Our room was 2 floors above the Moorish Cafe where they played music at full blast till all hours of the night despite being asked to lower the volume.

Many guests had crutches, bandages & visable bruises which they did not arrive with. My wife spent the 2nd day of her holiday at a Tunisian hospital having her lip stitched (without anaesthetic) after tripping on the uneven tiles around the pool area.

If you wanted a drink you had to queue for ages & when you were served with beer it was always one third froth.

The air conditioning was turned off on 1st September even though the temperature was in the 40's so the rooms were unbearably hot.

The food was O.K but the dining area was too hot because of the lack of air conditioning & we were not allowed to eat outside.

2 days before we left we found out that 1 block of the hotel was newer than the rest. This block had better rooms & air conditioning all the time at no extra cost!

So I can only assume that anybody that enjoyed their stay at this hotel must have had one of the newer rooms.

I thought the hotel was wicked just got back today. I'd love to visit again the staff are really friendly

The shows/entertainment are cool + get everyone involved
my best part was the pool and the bar the guys that work there are amusing!

The food was OK good variety

Love to visit this hotel again!

Thomson need to change the word all to some as this hotel is not all inclusive as much of the stuff you want, ie spirits, ice cream all must be paid for and they are not cheap.

The hotel although mainly clean does have an ant problem.
as for the food, ask my stomach, yukkkk.

Location- hell!!!!!!!!!!!

Staff- once they now you are English you are second in the queue at all times.

Entertainment, sorry Ive just fallen off my chair, and that was funnier than their comic show. There is nil entertainment.

I thought that the all inclusive was very good, my parents enjoyed the wine and cocktails and my brother and boyfriend enjoyed the beer. All local produce but very nice. And if you tip the bar staff they will bend over backwards to help you (for example they will give you bigger glasses, serve you first if there is a queue, etc).

There was a huge choice of food, something for everyone, from fried eggs to fruit for breakfast, tunisian style meals to pizza, pasta, rice and chips for lunch and dinner. The deserts were wonderful too, such a choice.

The rooms were clean with a tv which caters for all languages. The only thing is that I would have preferred a separate shower, rather than one in the bath. On our first day there was a mark on the wall of my parents room but the cleaner was more than happy to clean it.

The all inclusive option meant that all local drinks were included, all meals, and snacks at the pool bar throughout the day. I particularly liked the pancakes in the afternoon which were freshly cooked and filled with either jam, chocolate or sugar.

The location was nice, set beside one of Tunisia's nicest beaches. The sea was clear and clean which meant we spend a lot of time swimming in the sea. The gardens surrounding the hotel were beatiful and well kept. There is also a large childrens play ground which looked rather good and safe. There is mini golf, a basketball court, a games room and table tennis so you aren't left with nothing to do if you don't like sun bathing. The hotel is only a five minute taxi drive from the town of Mahdia which is a beatiful small town.

As for the hotel staff, they were brilliant and could not have been nicer. The waiters in the restuarant were friendly, and more than happy to speak in english to you. We also found that if you try to speak a bit of their language (arabic) they will try to help and teach you and we built up some good relationships with the waiters. My brother bought a Tunisian football top which really impressed the staff meaning they made more of an effort to speak to you.

We made friends with one of the trainee bar staff who then made an effort every day to speak to us explaining about Tunisia, finding out about Ireland, etc. We are actually still in contact with him.

Every single one of the staff in El Mehdi was very friendly no matter where in the world you came from.

The Italian group who took the entertainment programme were very friendly but quite amature when it came to their performances. They catered for all languages so it took slightly longer for them to explain things. To be honest I didn't actually watch many night time shows as we stayed at the bar talking to the bar staff who probably provided us with more entertainment. There was also a nightclub in the hotel, I didn't visit it, but my brother did and said it was just like any other night club.

Overall I really enjoyed my holiday to El Mehdi and would go again. (I am actually looking at booking a holiday there again at halloween).

We found the Hotel El Mehdi to be of a excellent standard with good all round facilities.

The rooms were very clean.

The staff were very helpful and friendly.

The food was of a above average standard buffet style with plenty of choice to suit all tastes.

Location was excellent right next to a private beach with some watersports.

We would definitely visit this hotel again.

This is the 3rd year on the run we have visited the El Mehdi. The hotel is exceptionally clean and the hotel food is very good and varied. Dont expect English breakfasts and fish and chips.

This is Tunisia and the food is catered around local produce and the mainly German clientelle. There is something for all tastes. The hotel staff will bend over backwards to accomodate any request and are very friendly and helpful.

This years entertainment team were animators from Italy , they were very dedicated to all the sports activites during the day and a fabulous eveing program of show reviews and sketches to suit all.

The new fish restaurant opened this year a in addition to the al a carte restaurant, both of which can be visited free of charge during your all inclusive stay. The pools are well maintained and guards are always on duty. The kids club is very well run and the beach is beautiful.

You need to be prepared to have a go at another language, everyone else tries to speak English, so if you visit, make the effort to communicate in a foreign tongue, your attempts will be very well received.

The hotel was nice but the food could have been better,the entertainment at night was a disgrace.

If it wasnt for the people we met it would have been terrible the beach was lovely though but there is nothing at all near by and the streets were dirty. Staff were friendly though and hotel was very clean.