Radisson Blu Palace Resort & Thalasso, Djerba — Hotel in Djerba Island

Disappointing Experience at Radisson Blu Djerba – Definitely Not 5-Star Quality

We recently stayed at Radisson Blu Djerba and were thoroughly disappointed with the overall experience. While some of the staff were exceptional and the exterior of the hotel looks beautiful, the interior standards fall far short of what you’d expect from a 5-star resort.

Serious Cleanliness & Hygiene Issues:

Plates at the buffet had a strong, unpleasant odor — similar to wet dog — which made dining uncomfortable. Cutlery often had visible dirt, including food remnants stuck between the prongs of the forks. Mould was visible in the bathroom, and the toilet bidet had a green, rusty residue and a filthy nozzle. The indoor pool had a persistent sewage-like smell, likely due to poor drainage. Room cleaning was subpar — thick dust on shelves and tables, peeling paint, and generally poor upkeep. Bugs were present in the room when we arrived, suggesting it hadn't been properly cleaned or used in a while. The jacuzzi had rust, mould, and dirty tiles, making it uninviting and unhygienic. A loose tangle of hair was left on the floor near the indoor pool and stayed there untouched for our entire stay — clearly no regular cleaning was done. The breakfast seating area was dirty, with bird droppings on chairs.

Unpleasant Environment & Maintenance:

A constant damp, musty smell lingered throughout the hotel’s lobby and communal areas. The beach looks great from afar, but up close it was littered with camel and horse feces, seaweed, and even a plastic crate in the water. Not what you'd expect from a private beach. The buggy excursion was poorly managed — 3 out of the 4 buggies in our group broke down. Ours failed twice, leaving us stranded and waiting for replacements.

Disappointing Service from Front Desk:

The woman at reception (pictured) was shockingly rude and arrogant. She showed no respect for guests and left a bad impression on an otherwise great team. Despite that, most staff were wonderful. Special thanks to Nadia from Guest Relations and the kitchen team — they were friendly, attentive, and professional.

Other Frustrations:

Breakfast was repetitive and unimaginative — the exact same food served every day during our 7-night stay. No iron, ironing board, or hairdryer in the room. Thankfully, we brought our own, but this is basic for a 5-star property. Not allowed to order food from outside the hotel. The rule felt unnecessarily strict and inconvenient.

Positives:

The exterior and grounds of the hotel are stunning — it’s clear that this is where the attention is focused. Most staff (besides the reception woman) were outstanding and very helpful. Plenty of sun loungers and towels were always available. Taxis were easy to access right outside the hotel gate. Air conditioning worked well and kept the room comfortably cool.

Final Thoughts: Radisson Blu Djerba has potential but is let down by serious cleanliness issues, poor maintenance, and inconsistent service. A beautiful exterior can't hide the neglect inside. With proper management and attention to hygiene, this hotel could live up to its 5-star branding — but right now, it doesn’t come close. I would not return and cannot recommend it in its...

I had a wonderful experience at the Radisson Blu Palace in Djerba, from the welcoming staff member who's responsible for checking in guests and who showed me around, asked about my trip to the hotel and then took me to my room, to the high-tech spacious rooms of the hotel.

Rooms: I loved that the room was quiet, elegant and gave a cozy-chic vibe. The room had so many USB plugs and outlets near the bed, which was thoughtful and cool. A big TV was there with Netflix/ Amazon sign-in option, but not a lot of cable channels. A great feature in the room, for someone who hates sleeping in pitch dark places, the room provides a switch for very dim blue lights in the hallway and both bathrooms/WC. The room also had an amazing garden-pool view and a nice sitting outside.

Staff: As for staff, I gave them a 4 star rating, because other than the welcoming check-in agent, the reception staff were very professional, but not friendly at all. They were there to just their job, period. Which is good, but you work at a hotel, a smile would go a long way in making a customer happy and feeling comfortable after a long trip. I just wish if they were a bit more welcoming and warm.

Bars and restaurants: The restaurant was fancy, had a variety of delicious food. Some name signs on plates were missing, and I ended up taking a dish that I could not eat. But waiters were quick to clean up tables and chefs were very friendly. There were bars in the hallway of the hotel as well, one of them had a great program of karaoke and guests were having fun for the night. (PS: rooms are far away from the noise)

Lobby: I had to create a review about the lobby because I had mixed feelings about it. The lobby is divided into two parts: the entrance, where the reception is, then the main space. The entrance, is what you see as soon as you enter the hotel. I have mixed feelings about it because this area is supposed to be your first impression of the Radisson Blu hotel, but it was so crowded with ornaments, santa figures (holiday season just ended), 2 cheap-looking desks that did not have any signs as to what they were (one of them turned out to be the check-in desk), and a reception area where they don't take care of the guest upon arrival, they just usher them to the desks on the other end of the room (to check-in). I was not impressed. Then, as you move to go to your room, you'll see the second part of the lobby, and the beautiful master piece of chandelier in the center. (That WOW moment, should have been the first element for guests to see). I just wish the first part of the lobby wasn't as messy and visually uncomfortable to the point it's downgrading to the hotel's elegance and priciness.

But all in all, the experience for a solo traveler on a business trip was great, and I would do it again if I had...

I was mind blown by the structure of this place and my initial thought was "I love this hotel". However, upon checking in we were greeted by a huge cockroach roaming around in the room! We arrived rather late and I needed to order food to take my antibiotics. We tried to call room service, reception, operator but NO ONE was answering the phone. I was getting furious as I had a baby that had to sleep immediately. My husband had to go back down to the reception to place the order. The food came 20-30 mins later and it was inedible. How can someone ever go wrong with a margherita pizza??? The bathroom was absolutely FILTHY with pubes everywhere, I felt disgusted to be anywhere near it and to have my baby walking around barefoot in the room. The next day when we went for breakfast, the room service tray was still laying right outside our door with an army of ants. We went for breakfast and asked for a high chair for our baby. He just pointed out where the highchairs were and expected me to go and get it while juggling a 1 year old baby. I made a complaint to guest relations and they were kind enough to offer an "upgrade". The room we got upgraded to was "smaller" than the previous one but was recently renovated so had a cleaner "feel" to it. At the pool/beach area, if you are lucky enough you will be attended to. There are not enough staff to help with towels/finding chairs and for ordering food. It took me about 45mins to find someone to order from (no joke). Following morning, upon returning from the pool I went to give my son a bath only to find out the ALL THE TOWELS WERE REMOVED FROM THE ROOM. So housekeeping cleaned the room, took all the dirty towels and didn't bother to replace them!!!!!!!!!! And here I am carrying my wet baby who is cold and waiting for housekeeping to bring some towels! I have no words for the kind of service we had to endure. Everything is SLOW MOTION. No one takes initiative. No one bothers to help with anything. THE STAFF NEED TRAINING in order to run this hotel successfully. If you are used to impeccable service like that in USA/Dubai then you will DEFINITELY be disappointed with this hotel. It's a shame that it's 5 stars and carries the name "Radisson". As an avid traveller, I've been to many Radisson hotels around the world but this may be the worst I have...