The hotel was spotless and continually cleaned throughout our stay.

The staff were all polite, happy and helpful.

There was always a good selection of food, hot and cold, plus fresh cooked pizza by the pool.

The swimming pools and slides were amazing and beautifully clean.

The kids club was excellent, the staff there were fantastic with the kids and mine adored them all!

We were really made up with this holiday, best we've had so far.

I would just like to start by saying I had a really fantastic holiday at the Houda. It was my turn to pick our holiday this year. I was worried sick that I had made the wrong decision in booking, after reading some very bad reviews. I wish I hadn't worried, as the hotel and staff were very nice and helpful.

On arrival at the hotel,we were allocated our two rooms. To my horror we had no balcony or sea view, that we had specifically asked and paid for. Within ten minutes of talking to a manager, we were given a three-bedroom suite which had a full bathroom suite plus shower room and balconies leading off from the bedrooms. It couldn't have been better and with no fuss at all.

In the food hall you are allocated a table for the duration of your stay,and a waiter(well someone that clears the table of dirty plates). There is masses and masses of food, I would say something for everyone. Being a vegetarian I managed to put on half a stone, my husband put on a stone. He put it down to just how great the mash was. I found the pizza and omelette were to die for. I personally didn't experience any flies on the food. We tried the Italian night once it was nice, the food and drinks were brought to your table, which made a difference.

The water park located at the front of the hotel will hold many great memories not just of my kids, but of my husband. He was like a child, up and down the slides, no stopping him. He found the white slide best, as he kept getting stuck in the yellow one. As for the main pool, that holds the best memory, my youngest taking off his rubber ring and swimming for the first time. There is also an indoor pool that is a lot warmer than the outside pools. The outside pools are very cold!

The hotel has lots of things to do during the day, mini golf, archery, darts, water polo, French bowls, dancing, just to name a few. All I will say from experience is don't miss the board when you play darts, be warned! The animation team are great. Just say no if you don't want to take part.

When you are lounging by the pool soaking up the rays (as my husband would say) you will get a daily visit from the peanut man, and doughnut boy. The peanut man is very nice,as for the doughnuts they are out of this world. Both well worth trying. We did every day!

Evening entertainment was held down by the water slides. They had the kid's entertainment, then the adults. The raffles were good, with prizes that more often than not too big to fit in your case. We won a massive fruit bowl. You have to go up on stage, say your name and country that you are from.

I personally found the hotel to be very clean. You would always see someone moping or polishing. Our room was always clean. The maid was very thorough always happy considering she works a 12 hour shift. We could have had a few more toilet rolls. Having said that I don't think it is down to the maid, as I once saw what looked like a manager issuing them out of a locked room.

The beach is very clean. You can do horse riding, canoeing there's pedaloes and if you dare, paragliding. The water is clean and warm. There are a few men on the beach trying to sell you things, just say no thank you and they will go away.

Fou Fou as you may have seen in lots of reviews is a modern day pied piper. He is great with the children, he is just a great guy. From morning till night he has kids following him. He has time for each and every one of them. Even when he is having his lunch or dinner he has loads of kids with him.

The location of the hotel is very remote. It has its own shop, but is very expensive. You will have to go to Sousse or Monastir to find any shops. But having said that it's only a taxi, bus journey away. You can find both outside the hotel.

All I can say is I wish I was still there. I have a lot of very good memories. I wish I hadn't worried so much before hand, as it is one of the best hotels I have ever had the pleasure to stay in. We will be going back.

A large hotel, right on the beach. When we were there the numbers varied between 1200 and 820, although apparently the hotel will hold up to 2000 guests.

Cleaners are everywhere! Even while you are sat in the lounge area there will be staff emptying ashtrays, clearing tables even mopping the floor at all hours of the day.

The food is buffet service in the main Calypso restaurant. There is always a wide selection, and while not *magnificent* We never went hungry, always finding something for each course. They do have a strange idea of how to serve you fresh turkey off whole freshly roasted bird; instead of a carving knife, the chef basically grasps the whole thing and pulls it apart and then plonks a huge chunk of meat on your plate! (he is wearing latex gloves)

The hotel is right on the beach, a beach of fine white sand. There are always taxis waiting outside the main gate if you want to go into Sousse or Monastir.

The staff are generally good; they have an English Guest Relations manageress, called Ann; any problems start with Ann, she will sort it!

The "entertainment" is woeful. The animators are students earning some extra cash, and are no more than enthusiastic amateurs. The daytime games are childish and simple, and the evening "cabaret" is embarrassingly amateurish, with some startlingly crude "jokes" not at all suitable for an audience with young children still up and about.

What we wanted was a week

After reading many reports about hotels in Tunisia we went to this one with an open mind. We were pleasantly surprised.

We were expecting a room with bunk beds but actually stayed in a 2 bedroom appartment with bath shower and balcony overlooking the main pool area. The hotel was on the whole very clean, always someone working, be it gardeners, maids or waiters collecting glasses.

Once 1 went to use the poolside toilet and it was discusting - but who leaves it in that state? - not the cleaners!

The food was plentiful and with some variety, changing slightly most days. We went to the 2 al a carte resturants both weeks and found it enjoyable - you do have to queue to book these which was a pain.

The hotel location was remote with only one small shop and a cafe / resturant within walking distance but taxi's are cheap and there are plenty of them. It was right on the beach which was nice and sandy but the sea was not that claen, bags and all sorts were being washed up onto the sand and there was lots of seaweed, sometimes I couldn't see where I was treading in the sea - on some days it did clear and the seaweed was still there but at least you could see it!.

There were some better stretches of beach though. There was also a separate 'water park' attached to the hotel with water slides and 2 pools which kept my children entertained and made a change from the usual pool. There is also an indoor pool which was heated.

The hotel staff were very friendly and helpful and always smiling. The one problem we had was sorted very efficiently.

The entertainment was a shock at first but as we became used to it we did find it amusing, the entertainment team acted roles caberet style most evenings and had a game of bingo. During the day they offered water aerobics, water polo, boules, volley ball, bely dancing, darts and other competitions, but didn't push if you declined their offers.
On the whole we all had an enjoyable time and felt quite relaxed when we arrived home.

Whilst I would prefer to have a better sea to swim in the hotel was difficult to fault and whilst I don't think I'll be rushing back next year I wouldn't discount returning.

Pleasantly supprised by the room on arrival the fininsh was a little suspect though but no complaints over all.

Cleanliness very good, food very good,I have two VERY fussy kids and a fussy vegiterian partner who all enjoyed the meals, although I would of been tired of it after two weeks.

Location was a bit remote but better than being right in the middle of Sousse. Staff good not too pushy but always try to involve you in the activities.

Entertainment a bit on the poor side in the evenings, but we did notice improvements whilst we were there. Very supprised when our kids asked if we could come back next year,they usually cry to come home from where ever we have been.

We would definately go back to the Houda if only for a week.We have no complaints about the place but the only critasism would be it could do with bar where the evening entertainment was, to save walking back to the hotel all night.

And may be it was because we arrived in the middle of the night but we weren't told that you are allocated a table for the duration of your holiday and you have to arrange this with the waiter on your first meal time, we didn't and had two very upset Italians to deal with.

Having visited this hotel a few years ago I had no hesitation in booking it again for my family this year, but must admit after reading some previous reviews I started getting increasingly worried. Whatever happened at the end of last year with mangement/staff appears to be all resolved as the hotel was great.

We had two adjoining rooms which were always spotlessly clean, towels changed every day, bed linen two or three times a week. Nothing went missing from either room and the maid was very polite and delighted my youngest daughter every day by arranging her toys and nightdress. The hotel is always being cleaned and maintained to a high standard and the pools are checked and cleaned every morning. The hotel and grounds are enclosed and I felt safe allowing the older children the freedom to come and go as they pleased.

The food on the whole was of a good standard, pizza by the pool is fantastic and very popular which means its always fresh, I have two very fussy step children but they had no problems with the food at all even if they did stick to the chicken and chips most nights. There is not a great deal of choice with the spirits but it was always plentiful and fizzy drinks were all branded. The local beer is very good. We did not try the al la carte restaurants but they are beautiful and heard lots of good comments.

Plenty of daytime entertainment if you wanted to join in, but not hassled if you just wanted to lie in the sun. Evening entertainment was held in the disco when we first arrived and drinks were served at the bar there, but by the second week the entertainment was moved to the "waterpark" which only served soft drinks so you did have to carry your drinks from the hotel, not a huge problem. Some of the shows were a bit near the knuckle for children but quite funny all the same, must be difficult trying to entertain so many different nationalities.

There is an on site nurse/medical centre which we did visit numerous times during our stay, (no fault of the hotel) just unlucky with the kids, anyway it turned out to be better than calling out the doctor (which we had to do once) as he charged 40 dinars just to come but in most cases the nurse can treat you himself and the medicine is quite cheap, so a definate plus for the hotel should you be unlucky enough to require medical attention. Oh just to mention don't have a henna tatoo at the hotel as it is not natural henna, looks and smells like tar and made my daughter quite ill, swelling and rash she had to have tablets, cream and injections to stop the reaction. Having said that I do not blame the hotel, I let her have it and didn't realise she could be allergic to it, all my family and friends said I must have seen all the newspaper reports from holiday makers everywhere who are having these reactions, so in case you haven't seen them like me, be careful!!

On the whole the staff are all cheerful and polite, we did make a mistake of trusting one man though. We used to chat to him most evenings and one night I asked about taxis to Port El Kantoui, it turned out that he drove a taxi in Sousse during the day and said he would take us, great I thought, someone we could trust so we made arrangements to meet him the next day and he would be our guide/driver. I needed to go to the bank in Sousse so he took me and then said we should see a Museum in the medina, so out we got and went to the museum which was beautiful but then he took us to his "best friend" who owned a carpet shop, having visted Tunisia many times I knew what was coming but we were ushered in and as much as we protested we didn't want a carpet we were literally ambushed into buying one, we literally couldn't get out of the shop as there were men guarding all the doors. It was intimidating and frightening, when we finally got out I just wanted to go back to the safety of the hotel but he took us to his house where he left us with another driver and then charged us 40 dinars and we didn't even get to Port el Kantuoi only as far as Sousse which should cost 4-6 dinars. I know it was very stupid, we should have got a taxi from outside the hotel but we trusted this man and we ended up fools, all I am suggesting is that however friendly the staff are don't put your trust in them.

Having said all that we did have a great time and would not hesitate in recommending the hotel but just be aware of the points I have mentioned.

After reading some of the reviews about this hotel, I was very apprehensive and concerned about staying here. I shouldn't have been. The hotel is very spacious, very clean. The staff are amongst the friendliest you will ever meet.

Our bedroom was large enough for us all, the bathroom very clean. Both the room and bathroom was cleaned everyday. The shower in the bathroom was more powerful than the one I have at home, and everyday, we had clean towels - which were very soft. Each day, the maid arranged my children's toys and pyjamas on their beds.

The food was fine - a choice of meats, fishes, salads. We found something different to eat everyday and not once did any of us have upset tumies. We did have to visit the on-site nurse, as my little girl had Tonsilitis which she had obviously taken out there with her, and was treated very quickly and effectively. For several days after our visit to the Nurse, she came to find us to see how my little girl was getting on.

The hotel is spotlessly clean, and there is always someone washing the floor, weeding the garden, emptying the bins, cleaning the pool, collecting glasses .... They really do have pride in their hotel.

The hotel has an indoor pool which was great for getting out of the mid day hot sun. The main pool has a sloped entrance to it, which is great for the little ones, and the Water park at the front of the pool is great fun - obviously we only went on the slides because of the children!!!!!!!

The staff adore your children - very, very friendly and always wanting to stop and play with them and make them laugh.

I have been to many places around the world, but I think that of all these places, the Tunisians are probably the friendliest I have ever met.

The hotel caters for an equal mix of English, Germans, French, Italian Czech, and Dutch.

I wonder, whilst reading these reviews what people want from a holiday. I have read that some lady was complaining that there were no lifts. It's only 3 storeys high!

Another lady was complaining that there were no Hamburgers on the menu - does it really matter when you have Beef, Chicken, Fish???

I would recommend this hotel to anyone who was wishing for a relaxing, value for money, child friendly holiday and if I knew last year, what I know now, would still have booked the holiday and not have worried about all the negative reviews that I had read.

After returning Monday at 5.30am from this nightmare holiday I only thought it fair to warn people who might be thinking of going!

My husband booked this break as a surprise for Valentines so he was very upset how it turned out!

The hotel itself is very nice it

We booked this after reading very good reviews about the hotel- only to be very worried by some posted just before we travelled. We were very pleased that the hotel did not live up to the bad reports and we had a very good time.

The hotel is large and airy - but at night the levels of light are low. It was clean and the maid service was acceptable but not spotless - we did get clean towels daily. The hand driers in the public areas did not work and you did need to check for paper before you went - though it appeared quickly when requested!

There was a good selection of food but in the first week, the lack of local dishes was disappointing - this is however very much at the direction of the tour companies who use the hotel. As hubby is a chef he got on with the cooks and waiters and managed to get some traditional food - it was excellent, but you had to get in early as it went like hot cakes. The puds and croissants are wonderful. We tried the restaurants the first week but this didn't work out so well with the kids - I ended up loosing my main course! We tipped quite a lot because we knew about the poverty in the country and the low wages - why wouldn't we tip? We tip 5-10% in the UK and we spent no where near that percentage while we were there. Tips were appreciated and we never felt that they were accepted. Our waiters were Abdullah and Adel most of the time. The drinks are seriously watered down but this didn't stop two so called 'British' people being so drunk that on two nights there were disturbances in which the hotel staff were punched and other guests insulted. We were therefore very pleased that the drinks were watered - heaven knows what it would be like if not.

The hotel is only 20-30min ride from Sousse, where you can visit the market, mosque and museum. The taxis costs 4-6 dinars. Visit the fixed price shop at Sousse shopping centre to get and idea of quality and prices- then you know where to bargain from! The shopkeepers were over persistent in the market but did give up when you stood your ground! Try some of the side streets for other fixed price shops. Monistir is further away and a taxi is 6-10 dinars - but we only travelled there on the day we left!

The beach at the hotel is very nice and sandy; the indoor pool is fine and the outdoor pool very large.

The weather was awful when we were there and this restricted what we could do - kids went to kids club and we played Monopoly in French - any cards we didn't understand we took another 'til we did! I would not let my kids go swimming with kid