Mahdia, Hotel El Mehdi

We arrived at the hotel to find it placed in a not very nice area. There was hardly any surrounding shops, bars or restaurants. When you went out of the hotel you were hassled by the local men, which got to the point when you didn't want to leave the hotel. The streets were filthy and there was wild cats roaming around feeding off rubbish.The hotel grounds were actually alright, thats prob be the only good point. The food in the restaurant plain and disgusting. A lot of the English guests ending up just having the Pizza, that was the same every day though. No variation what so ever. The buffet was terrible and was catered for the german guests. The all inclusive option was not a very good deal. The only free drinks were red or white wine, watery beer or some cocktail with brandy in. Or flat Cola or Lemonade. The Thomson Rep was only seen once during our 10 day stay at that was at the Welcome Meeting, She came no where near after until we saw her at the airport and she did not want to know. 90% of the hotel were German, this should have been pointed out when we booked, as the entertainment was in german. The entertainment was mediocre anyway.There was absolutely nothing to do at all, there was nothing to keep the english guests occupied. Many were just waiting for the day they would depart this place.

The service at the hotel were awful. Overall it was the worst holiday ever and shouldn't be advertised to english guests.

This hotel was a big dis appointment to my wife and I. I am convinced that who ever gave it a 3 star rating must have either never stayed there or just saw pictures of it on the web. I have stayed in better accomadation at Butlins. We have had holidays with thomsons in the past including self catering and thomsons gold and were delighted with our selections so if this hotel is the standard they are selling we will think twice before booking with them again. I dont know how much the chef had to feed us per person but i guess it was'nt much as anything left over from breakfast/lunch was presented for dinner in a different form which might explain why we got the tummy bug: my wife 12 days and myself 5 days. I really can't say anything good about this part of tunisiaor the hotel Primasol el Mehdi they even allow touts in the hotel who offer to be guides but they only take you to where they have an arrangement with the shopkeeper it's cheaper to get a taxi outside into town.

The El Mehdi is an absolutely 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 fabulous! 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 were brilliant. 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! We also went on the jet skis 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. We constantly found ourselves 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! That's 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 yoghurts and stuff. There was a toaster, so I just ate Marmite (which I brought from home!) on toast every day! One thing iIwould 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. It's not very built up at all. The problem of nightlife would be the only thing stopping us from going 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 were 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 because they definitely weren't the friendliest I've ever come across. One more thing which we weren't happy about was the lack of choice in alcoholic drinks. You could have red/white wine(which I'm sure was watered down) and beer, 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! Apart from the drinks and the nightlife it was a fabulous holiday and I would not hesitate to recommend it to families and people who aren't nightlife lovers! I wish I could pick the hotel and beach up and plonk it somewhere lively, it would be perfect! One more thing, if you visit the market or the hotel shop, don't forget to haggle! You will always get the price you want as they are so poor they don't want to turn away any money! I got a huge ceramic dish hand painted with a camel on for ten dinar (About 4pounds!). Very cheap! If you are going to this hotel, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time as it is in the most beautiful place and make sure you join in with all the activities!

Hotel el Mehdi was an unforgetable stay, the entertainment was great, the people where friendly and the shows at night where the highlight of the holiday. The place itself was beautiful and not to mention some of the workers,The resort had a nice beach and it was basically a great holiday.Overall great place to be, and i would recommend it to everyone.

Hotel El Mehdi has a great beach setting, very clear sea, I loved the food --lots of red meat--mrs & child are veggie so did not eat much (at least the Mrs lost a few pounds) beer the best I've had in a all inclusive, plenty of sunbeds & if you get up late and don't have one the pool staff soon get you one, also the sunbeds have cushions--very relaxing. the little 'un' loved the slide into pool and wants to go back just for the slide --if you have kids then it gives you a bit of ''time out''pizza take a way at pool side ---great pizza--. the staff quite good. the entertainments a bit basic but they try their best & got me up for the transvestite night --I looked better than the Mrs. all in all great value for money.oh and the air con is remote control. Easy to turn off if you work up a sweet....enough said....hope this has helped & one last thing ,the head chief Mohamed (well he's not likely to be called Bill or Fred is he) would make you something you want if he could see you did not like the choice & this takes me to my last point (honest) the outside banquet evening (each week) was 10/10.many thanks Chris

p.s. this is 3* hotel and if you go with that in mind & not expect 5* Ritz then you will have a value for money great time