Monastir, Sahara Beach Review

Overall Rating

The hotel is massive, and although the interior is a bit dated, the outside areas more than make up for this as they are stunning, especially the pool area; It's massive! There are plenty of sun loungers, the pools are very clean and stunning looking, and the beach is right next to the pool areas so you have a choice of going to the beach or pool.

The hotel has plenty of choice of bars and shops. The piano bar is nice as no kids are allowed, and there is a nice outside area. The horse stables and zoo are worth a visit (although the zoo is quite cruel as monkeys are in small enclosures). The rooms are cleaned extremely well and if you are friendly to your cleaner they will do it every day and give you fresh towels every day. The facilities for changing money are very good and available all day. The men who work around the pool area are really friendly. Give them a Dinar every day to get your sun lounger mattress and they will make sure you keep the same spot by the pool all week. They work really hard and deserve your tips. It is worth going all inclusive in my opinion, as there are no places near the hotel to go for food if you are half board. Go down to the beach and try out parascending; it's only £15 per couple and it's really good fun and the views are great.

The choice of alcohol is very limited, but if you like beer and Vodka you'll be fine. Staff in the bars are VERY grumpy. They have no concept of queues and let people jump in front of you. The ones in the Piano bar can't even get your order right and they don't seem to understand English very well. They are also very grumpy about you ordering more than one drink at a time, and they tell you off for moving from one bar to another with your drink, which seems ridiculous as it's all in the same hotel!

Avoid the photo man next to the restaurant as he is very pushy, as are some of the men in the other shops. The best shop is the one on the corner by the pizzeria, as they are friendly and easy to haggle with. Also, the goods are fashionable and good quality (even though they are fake).

There is not enough entertainment for adults. It is mainly for families. There is not enough going on around the pool and the music is rubbish and repeated all day. There is no cash machine in the hotel (for a hotel this size you would expect one). You have to get a taxi to the airport if you need more cash. A word of warning, if you book a late checkout room you will not be allowed to keep the same room you had all week, and you will have to lug all of your belongings across to another room, which is in one of the other blocks of the hotel.

We were a couple in our 20's looking for a holiday which was cheap and relaxing for lazing by the pool all day, and the Sahara Beach hotel in Monastir was ideal for this. If you want somewhere where you can go out clubbing or go on lots of trips, then this isn't really a great resort for you. Sousse is better for this.

Overall, we would return to this hotel again for a cheap holiday out of season where you can guarantee nice weather, but I wouldn't necessarily want to return to Tunisia for a main holiday, as there just isn't enough to do, and it isn't a very developed or commercialised place.