We have just returned from Sahara Beach and overall enjoyed ourselves.

Considering the hotel accomodates 2500 people at a time it was very clean and you only realised how many people were actually there when it rained one day and everyone rushed indoors. It was like trying to do your xmas shopping on xmas eve!!!

The beach is very clean and the water sports very cheap.

Waiters in restaurant are very good but some waiters in the bars are grumpy old things. They only cheered up when there was a quality control visit.

Watch out for the traders on the beach because before you know it you're wearing silly hats and have packets of cigerettes in your hands and they ask you for money.
Good fun bartering with the traders.

*** a very special mention for Lee the Panarama rep - top marks - always helpful and one of the stars of the reps cabaret show.***

This was our second visit to the Sahara Beach, only this time we brought the extended family.

The All Inclusive package is spot on, great not having kids wanting money every 5 minutes for soft drinks and snacks. The hotel rooms are functional and clean, all with a sea view at no extra cost.

Why do poeple moan about the size, you only sleep in them for goodness sake! The food is excellent and plentiful with lots of choice, there were 11 in our group (including older children) and they loved the food, so that tells you something! Remember, if you want fish and chips or a traditional Sunday roast, then stay at home or go to Blackpool. Flies, what flies, I see more flies at home. Please remember, you are in North Africa and close to the Sahara Desert!

The hotel is well placed for the beach, Monastir and Sousse. Only 10 minutes from/to the airport. Some airport noise, but nothing to complain about, I hear more aircraft at home! The hotel staff are friendly and helpful and do not forget, they too are human beings, not something the dog dragged in, so treat them as you would expect to be treated yourself. A small tip and a smile goes a long way, considering the poor wages they get.

The animation team are fantastic, both during the day and the evenings. No one forces anyone to do anything to do not wish to do. Chill and enjoy. I will be visiting this hotel next year for the third time, only this time we will be staying for 2 weeks.

I have read some of the rubbish written about this hotel and can assure those wishing to visit this hotel, they must have stayed somewhere else!!!! The hotel is lived in, has character and family friendly. If you don't want to be annoyed by kids enjoying themselves, then don't stay here, they are plenty of quiet and boring hotels in Tunisia, the choice is yours. I am now convinced that some people only go away on holiday to find fault and moan, what sad people.

A holiday is what you make it, but the Sahara Beach will make it even better, go and enjoy.

The hotel is very basic, it could do with total refurbishment.

If you did not leave coats on chairs at 17.00 you could not see entertainment, even if you wanted to.

Apart from that the staff were very good and food was good if not slightly repetitive.

We had no problem getting sun beds or mattresses, but people were positioning themselves right on edge of pools, making it impossible to gain access.

Above all not too bad.

We stayed in this hotel 21 years ago with our two small daughters. We had vague memories of the hotel and the surroundings but were amazed at the transformation of the hotel grounds.

We were concerned reading some of the reviews that the food was not good, hotel rooms very small, all the hotel workers expecting tips and the lack of amenities. What had we let ourselves in for, should we have lived with our vague memories and photographs and not returned? To have not done so, would have been foolish.

The hotel lets itself down at the front door with missing covers on its name in lights and also the letter H missing from the word Beach but once inside it is a very well run and managed hotel.

We travelled at the end of the season so the expected wait in reception to be

We stayed at Sahara Beach for the last 2 weeks of October, weather was lovely.

Entertainment.
Our four boys ( 11,11,11,13 ) were beginning to get bored at the end of the first week. The daytime animation activities were few & far between and I don't think they really liked kids much!When we stayed at Los Zocos, Lanzarote, last year we hardly saw the kids all day they were so entertained, not the case here.Were a few games around the fun pool in the daytime.
The evening entertainment was pathetic. If you wanted a seat you had to get there 3 hours before it started, all for 45mins entertainment! There was no outdoor shows, beacause it was too cold !!! As there was no space in the Skanes bar(entertainment venue), reception & Piano bar we sat either at the pool bar or outside the piano bar most nights and were never cold!There were far too many people there for the facilities.

Food.
Out of the 14 days we were there there were only 2 nights when the food was a bit bland, most of the time it was very good & varied.

We all came down with the dreaded Sahara Beach bug.
We had to have anti bacterial tablets to sort things out. The chemist in the next village is used to sorting out the " bad bacteria at Sahara Beach" !!
I'm not sure whether we picked this up from the food or pools or whether it's air born, but it certainly did the rounds when we were there. We didn't meet anyone who hadn't had someone in their party infected.

Cleanliness.
The toilets by the pool, beach, Skanes bar & reception were digusting. The cleaner was always there, but I only ever saw her wiping surfaces with toilet paper no cleaner/bleach! By the state of them you knew that a lot of other people had the "bacteria" .
Always running out of soap & toilet paper.One of the cubicals was unusable one night, vomit & excrement everywhere. I told reception at 7.30 & at 10.30 it was still the same!! No wonder everyone was ill.
The rooms were ok but never smelt fresh or of any cleaning products.

Pools.
Lovely choice of 3 pools, couldn't fault them.
Plenty of sunbeds.

Beach.
OK if you don't like to swim in the sea!! We are a family who love the sea, but couldn't swim in it because of all the speed boats doing the water sports. The only swimming area was roped off & you couldn't even go out of your depth in it. Swim out of that area & you take your life in your hands.
Plenty of sunbeds.
Watersports are good value for money & very enjoyable.

Noise.
When I read previous reports that said kids running around everywhere I thought, great sounds like a good family place. I was not prepared for so many screaming kids running wild everywhere in the evenings, because there was nothing else for them to do ..... unless you gave them endless dinars for the arcade ...of course!
The first few days we never heard any aircraft noise then the wind changed direction... they were flying right above us, even my hubby who is a heavy sleeper couldn't get much sleep some nights.
Trying to get asleep some nights was terrible... kids screaming outside, drunk people shouting along corridors, kids running, screaming & shouting up & down corridors, slamming of doors... then it all starts again first thing in the morning!

Staff.
Most of them were polite & friendly, we did tip alot, not very expensive to tip though. Some of them were very unhappy, unsociable & didn't like kids.

Interconnecting rooms.
Don't pay extra, just book normally then email the hotel & request interconnecting & it doesn't cost a penny extra.

All in all we got what we paid for, a very cheap holiday & we made the most of it, but I was very glad to go home!
Wouldn't go again, but if you get a good price go for it.

Me and my boyfriend decided to try an all inclusive holiday for our winter break and chose the Iberostar Sahara Beach as it appeared to accommodate all of our needs - entertainment, water sports, great pools even a zoo!

When we arrived the weather was awful, so we were stuck in the hotel for half the week with nothing to do. The final day when we finally got out to the beach, we did practically all of the watersports on offer, which was definitely the best day of the trip.
The camel ride and the beach horse ride were also enjoyable but were at an extra cost (as were the watersports).

The zoo was also an interesting trip, imagine walking into a zoo in England and getting a bag of bread to feed to ALL of the animals, it just wouldn't happen! I really enjoyed feeding the camels, although it did concern me that some of the animals probably didn't have a digestive system to cope with bread and were happily taking it off the tourists. Some of the enclosures were also a bit on the small side.
The entertainnment was awful, we played rummy everynight for 3 hours in the bar, before the entertainment was due to start, just to get a seat in the far too small, Skanes Bar. Obviously this meant I was getting through quite a few drinks each night, and this lead me to believe the alcohol might have been watered down as I didn't feel even slightly tipsy throughout the trip, bearing in mind i was drinking about 6 gin cocktails every night! (In England this would get me thoroughly drunk).

The accommodation was OK, about what I would expect for the cost we had paid.

The food on offer seemed incredibly varied in its quality. The tunisians certainly haven't got the knack of frying an egg, or what baked beans should look like (kindey bean sized things in a strange tomato sauce!) However, the evening meals were sometimes simply delicious, sometimes average with cold chips! It was a bit hit and miss.
The overall holidays I would give a 5/10 and wouldn't go back to the Sahara Beach or Tunisia.

We arrived at the hotel after a delayed flight from Stansted at 4:40 am.

We had requested rooms to be near to one another and were taken to two tiny interconnecting rooms on the third floor. To our dismay one bed together with the blanket smelt strongly of urine and remained damp from a previous attempt to wash. Obviously we could not rest in these rooms and went straight back to reception.

We paid for upgraded adjoining rooms on the seventh floor at a cost of 260 Dinars each room. The majority of hotel staff were polite however a few were very rude. This could be better understood considering and observing the behaviour of the uneducated and impolite guests staying there at the time.

This hotel was chosen on the strength of the Iberostar chain which we have stayed in before albeit the Caribbean. Unfortunately it didn

Myself, my husband & three young children have just returned from this holiday. Upon arrival we found the staff helpful and efficient at their jobs greeting us all with a drink upon arrival. We were then given room keys and had interconnecting rooms which were clean and big enough for a family of five. We would however state that if you travel to this hotel as a family, interconnecting rooms are essential as single rooms are very small.

Upon visiting the restaurant the head waiter greets new guests and shows you all to your table which you keep for the duration of your stay. We found the waiters which served us during our stay to be very courteous, good with the children and very efficient at their jobs. You do however receive a better service if you tip them each meal time as is customary in this country.

Food was very good on each visit and we all found plenty of choice for all of us throughout the two weeks stay.

Despite reviews, we found the hotel to be clean and to a good standard for a three star hotel. Cleaning is constantly being carried out to both the rooms and the hotel itself.

With regard to the hotel's location, as we are a family with young children, we did not venture outside of the hotel but there are many excursions available if required and a taxi service on hand outside the hotel to take you to nearby Monastir and Sousse and trips to Sahara etc can be organised easily.

The staff within the hotel were always polite and regularly played with the children and we experienced no problems whatsoever with any of the local people we had to deal with.

Entertainment in this hotel consists of a Piano Bar with a section for non-smokers inside and a seating area outside. There is a keyboard player who plays regularly (about four times a week) in this bar and is a nice place to sit and relax. The entertainment in the outside area commences nightly at 8.30pm with a half hour disco for the children, bingo at 9pm every night except Saturday and then the reps put on the entertainment from 9.30pm to 11am. There are two bars in the outside area which do not start to serve drinks until 8pm each day. The entertainment was a bit "Butlins" - children would love it, adults tire of it after a few visits but OK if you just wish to sit outside and have a drink.

There is an inside bar known as the Skanes Bar which shows a film nightly starting at approx 9pm. We regularly visited this bar as most of the time they had child friendly films showing which all the family could watch. During our stay there were about three films which were strictly for adults but outside the bar area, a poster states which film will be showing that evening so you know whether it is going to be suitable for children to watch.

To sum up this hotel, we found the accommodation nice and clean, the restaurant clean with good food and good variety and the entertainment not too bad.

Most of our holiday however was spent beside the swimming pools (great for children) or on the beach. You do not get any hassle whatsoever around the pool area but they do not leave you alone on the beach - but it is such a gorgeous beach, it is worth a visit.

The beach bar for snacks however on the beach leaves a bit to be desired and if flies irritate you this might be a place worth avoiding - they are everywhere! There is however another snack bar located beside the swimming pool (the one which has the waterfall) which we found to be much cleaner, better quality of food and alot less flies. However there are alot of cats in this area looking for odd scraps! We did however find the cats alot less irritating than the flies.

Weather when we stayed was wonderful for the entire two weeks and very restful and at the end of the day, thats what a holiday is for! We would definitely return.

2 weeks! Absolutely loved this hotel! It had something for everyone! It was always ssooooo clean (domestic staff working throughout the day on each floor)and always so friendly. Rooms wernt too small at all I dont think and the joining doors were ideal.

Food was also lovely, to be fair not always the best but again, something for everyone (we never went hungry). Our waiter as so many of you have said before was amazing! He always knew what drinks we wanted, played with the kids and was an all around top guy even though we didnt tip until our last evening!(Unfortunatly it was apparently his last night when we left :( he will be missed)

Location was perfect, the beach was beautiful and less than a stonesthrow away, go-carting was also nearby (and very entertaining I might add). Some might say there wasnt enough to do in the evening but I find this ridiculous!! Fair enough, the bars do get repetative after a couple of nights and the shows arnt for everyone but make the most of what you have! We enjoyed the bars, the walks to the stables (the staff always like the company, the shows, the dancing and the night club when the kiddies were tucked in their beds!!

Staff were brilliant, always joking! We always got more than one drink to our AI cards (maybe because we were a party of 12). There was one guy who seemed quite miserable who worked on the daytime bar/cafe next to lagoon pool but he was the only one I could spot.

Entertainment, dont get me started! We adored it! All of us! It was great, the shows were had limited resources but were put together greatly and the star friends entertainment team were fab, my friend even cried at lion king (warning, this could have been alcohol induced)!

Always happy, Michael (yes "My name is Michael and I love my job!) was a great dancer and very friendly as were the others although our attention was focused greatly on Nino as was most of the female audience (nice DJ Nino)! ;) The club was great, most entertainers were there until the early hours and believe me they were Very entertaining! lol. The daytime crew were great, always fun to be had!

Beware of the lifeguards, they love to throw the ladies in the pool! lol, but seriously, they were also great! Especially the one who loves football and his taller friend (ladies loved them)!

One last person to mention (finally) Zazou (or GiGi to many of you) He was the best, loved him to pieces! So amazingly funny and great at drunken aerobics in the club (which me and a friend happily followed) Cant wait to see him again and if you read this Zazou you are still my absolute favourite!!!! Well guess thats it,

The Hotel was great, the people were great and weather was great! Cant wait to get back!!

P.S sorry for length, just loved it all!

I would not return to this hotel.
The rooms are tiny! There is no TV or hairdryer and only one plug socket! The beds are uncomfy and the air con freezes oyu at night! There was mold on the walls and the bath was a kind of orange colour around the sides! The beds are twin beds pushed together so you end up in a seperate bed to your partner which is not what i want at home never mind on holiday!

The food is great some nights and you find there is nothing to eat on others. I lived on chips, pizza (which had no cheese on?!) chicken and bread for the 11 nights i was there. The snack bar outside is OK but there are always flys on the food and the guys behind the bar are always shouting at each other in their language so you are never sure if they are talking about you and they dont speak very good english.

The hotel is massive! But beware because not everything is free. You have to pay for the Pizzeria and several other places which in an all inclusive hotel should not be the case!

The animation team are brillaint, they are always up for a laugh! The bar staff can be grumpy one minute and fantastic the next i dont think they really know what you are talking about!

The entertainment varies we saw the Lion King on night which was quite good considering but other night are just rubbish. There are sometimes films on inside. The thing is when there is nothing to do there is no TV in your room to go and watch and relax so you are bored on your own or with other people!

If you dont want a holiday where there are lots of kids about then this is not the place for you we went mid season and the kids did my head in.

You have to be prepared to get up early because the cleaners are vacing up in the hall shouting at the top of their voices from about 8-830am.

Do not go to this hotel if you need a relexing holiday. Perfect for families with kids that need something to do but for couples who just want to relax in peace and quiet you wont get it here!