Bel Azur Thalassa — Hotel in Maghreb

My partner and I have just come back from a 10 night stay in the Bel Azur Hotel in Hammamet. And overall we were very impressed! ||The positives:|The hotel itself is absolutely beautiful. There was always plenty of choice when it came to food, from the main restaurant with its variety of dishes (we loved that things like king prawns were served by the chefs to make sure everyone got some), to the little extras like late risers breakfast (10:15-11:00), fresh sandwiches mid-morning, and crepes and pizza in the afternoon. The cocktails and drinks menu was fantastic too, with lots of options included in the all-inclusive.|The staff couldn’t do enough for us – everyone was so friendly and welcoming. If you choose to eat in the same section in the restaurant, then you will get to know your waiters quite well. Special shoutout to Farhat, who works in the back left corner of the restaurant. He always made our dinners special; Greeting us with a high five, providing romantic candles and asking about our day.||There are two pools, and we never had to fight over sun loungers (we have been getting down to the pool around 08:30) – such a refreshing change! The hotel is right on the beach, with plenty of sunbeds available there too. Bathroom towels were replaced fresh every day, and the overall cleanliness of the rooms was ok… (the hotel itself was immaculate)|We also loved that there were always activities going on throughout the day if you wanted to join in, and the evening entertainment was great.||The location is perfect – the beach is on your doorstep, and there are plenty of shops just outside the hotel if you fancy a wander. We also enjoyed spotting the pretty cats and wildlife around the grounds. We fell inlove with a few little cats around the hotel, pinching small amounts of leftover fish from our plates and feeding them after meals (please do continue to do this, they are very appreciative and give free cuddles 🥹). ||Another highlight for us was the little shisha café on the hotel grounds. It’s not part of the all-inclusive, but it’s absolutely worth a visit. The drinks were beautiful, the shisha was lovely, and the whole place had such a traditional and beautiful atmosphere. The staff there were also incredibly friendly, which made it even more enjoyable. We would like to give a special shoutout to Mouhiedine, he works in the shisha cafe and always made us feel welcome (nicknamed smiley, you will get it if you meet him!!) My partner and I visited here most evenings. ||We booked some excursions too, and highly recommend visiting Tunis, Sidi Bou Said, Carthage, and La Medina – all were brilliant and really made our trip. On top of that, the weather was stunning the whole time we were there.||The downsides:|I would just like to start this part of the review by saying I could hardly complain about this hotel. We had the most beautiful holiday and would definitely recommend staying here to anyone. But these are just little things we noticed. ||The bathrooms in the bedrooms are slightly outdated, though still clean and comfortable. ||The food, while plentiful, can feel a little repetitive after a while, but there’s always something to eat so you won’t go hungry. The little restaurant at the tip of the shore (not included in all-inclusive), as beautiful as the seating and the views are… expect to pay UK prices for food only slightly better than the all inclusive restaurant. Alternatively, there’s a little cafe just outside of the hotel called Pizzaria Mon Plaisir. We went for lunch there 3 times during our 10 day stay, the staff are so friendly, the prices are insanely good!! The food was very nice, especially their chips 😍(Not that you can complain for £9 for 2x paninis, 1X pizza and 2X drinks and some complementary chips). They also offer takeaways, which my partner and I hopped onto as their pizzas are lush! ||When we arrived, our room wasn’t ready – we were asked to go for lunch and come back, but unfortunately it still wasn’t ready, so we ended up waiting in the lobby for a while which wasn’t the best start. ||One other small disappointment was that there’s no ice cream included – you can buy it from the shop, and while the desserts were lovely, it would have been nice to have it as part of the all-inclusive.|Again going back to the little cafe just outside of the hotel, they serve scoops of ice cream (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, banana and mocha). Which we only found out at the end of our holiday, so do definitely give the cafe a visit even if it is just for some ice cream. ||Overall:|Despite a few minor negatives, we had a fantastic holiday. The hotel is beautiful, the staff are wonderful, and the atmosphere is relaxing yet full of life. The shisha café on-site was a real gem and added something special to our stay. We would happily return and recommend it to anyone looking for a sunny getaway in...

Disappointing Experience - Not Worth the 4-Star rating Travel Dates: 28th December 2024 - 2nd January 2025

I hate leaving negative feedback, as I am mindful of how this may impact jobs and future employment. Therefore, I write this with a heavy heart.

I recently stayed at the Bel Azur Hotel in Hammamet, Tunisia, over the New Year period, and the experience was incredibly disappointing. The advertised four-star rating is far from reality; this hotel operates as a two-star establishment at best. My friends and I booked three separate rooms based on two people sharing, and none reflected any of the photos presented on the website. There are two distinct sections of the hotel—one seemingly upgraded and the other neglected—and the images online likely showcase only the better part (which we never saw), so this is only an assumption.

The Nightmare Bungalow On our first night, we were assigned a bungalow that was nothing short of appalling. Hidden away in overgrown bushes, the room was cold, decrepit, and infested with dead and alive ants across the bathroom and kitchenette areas of our allocated space. To top it off, a spider decided to join one of us in bed, making the situation unbearable. The room was poorly maintained, dirty, and one of the worst accommodations I’ve ever stayed in, rivalled only by Gran Canaria’s Servatur Waikiki. If you plan to stay at Bel Azur Hotel in Hammamet, Tunisia, avoid the bungalow section of the hotel at all costs.

After complaining to reception about the uninhabitable conditions, we were reluctantly moved to rooms within the main hotel. Unfortunately, the new rooms came with their own set of issues: • No pillowcases on the pillows were only provided after four days of persistent requests. • An outdated bathroom with broken fixtures and an old-fashioned, non-functional shower curtain. • Frequent cockroach sightings in the bathroom, particularly at night. Requesting clean towels was another ordeal; the towels we did receive were stained, torn, and in poor condition. At one point, the manager accused us of lying about not having our towels changed for 48 hours—a completely unwarranted and unprofessional response. Service Shortcomings While some cleaning staff were pleasant, they often entered rooms with little warning, knocking once and then walking in, which felt intrusive and lacked basic etiquette. Some Spa reception staff were impatient and rude, making the experience even more frustrating. Despite wearing all-inclusive wristbands, we often felt frowned upon for requesting more than one drink at a time—hardly what you’d expect from an all-inclusive experience. The unwelcoming attitude of some staff added to the disappointment.

The Positives There were only two redeeming aspects of our stay: despite their lack of professionalism in entering rooms, most of the cleaning staff were generally friendly. The spa area was decent and offered reasonably priced massages, though the all-inclusive package does not include spa treatments.

Food and Overall Experience The food was acceptable but unremarkable, and certainly not enough to compensate for our many issues. This was a profoundly disappointing holiday and not the way we wanted to see the New Year. I tried to remain grateful and enjoy the company of my friends, but the overall experience left much to be desired. Our experiences and observations were also mirrored by others we had encountered during our stay at the hotel.

Final Verdict I would not recommend Bel Azur Hotel to anyone. The poor maintenance, lack of professionalism, and substandard facilities overshadowed the few positives. Also, the frequent smell of sewage in rooms and other parts of the hotel made our experience even more miserable. This was not the relaxing or enjoyable trip we had hoped for, and I will not be returning to this hotel or its partners. Lesson learned: I will conduct more extensive research when reading through reviews while not restricting or limiting my review platforms. Please do not make the mistake that my...

Typical chain hotel, claims to be ''all inclusive'', despite this you still have to pay an additional fee of 50 dinar per person to use the spa which is actually in royal azur, but is still displayed on THEIR website, as THEIR spa. there is also little to no room management other than then extremely quick and inefficent cleaning ''services'', and the proof is that upon unraveling the curtains you are met with about 5 to 7 cockroaches clinging onto it, as well as some around the ''resort'' dangerously close to the pool. there are also huge earwig, bedbug and ant infestations in the beds which are supposedly regulated, showers are CRITICAL, to say the least. by this i mean only the parts you can see are clean, the staff in the restaurants and multiple lounge bars are also extremely rude , unless you, of course, give them a tip of at least one euro, if you do not you shouldnt be expecting not even water. the pools are EXTREMELY small and there are only two of them, which are, in my personal opinion, too small for a hotel of a capacity of about 1500 to 2000 people regulated by about 300 to 350 total, and about 90ish cleaners/regulators, whatever you want to call them. the pools REAK of chlorine, which is an indicator that a LOT of people just urinate straight in the pools, the beaches are extremely dirty and the wifi is just terrible, when you are in the bel azur beach the best internet is from ROYAL azur, the beach from bel azur is too far from the bel azur rooms, same goes for sol azur, also i would like to mention that despite being from the same hotel chain, you are limited to nothing but your and your own hotel, which is just absurd. the staff speak only arab and french, they barely know english, i should've expected this from tunisia, the location is also terrible with nearby stores SCAMMING you if you are white or if you pay in euros (incorrect exchange rates). for a hotel we paid 5500BAM for i expected at least staff which would clean and iron our clothes, as well as to not see cockroaches in my rooms. the bel azur website claims all on their images is all inclusive but you still cannot enter the indoor pool from royal azur, or the outdoor ones from sol azur. i would also like to mention that most of the food is extremely diarrhea inducing, as i faced terrible diarrhea problems throughout my stay, just because of the food. the BOTTLED water is also extremely disgusting and tastes salty, everything is served in PAPER cups despite there being glasses hanging on the drying rack. the location is also beyond terrible, with little to no nightlife around the hotel, therefore you have to take one of the taxis, which have beyond uncomprehensible prices if you are not caramel colored and speak arabic. (10 dinars to medina before 9PM, anything after that is 15 dinars.) the city itself is extremely unpleasant and i do NOT recommend you to visit this ''resort'', because it is extremely mediocre and underwhelming, while at the same time having extremely dirty beaches which are infested with dead sea organisms. the people are also extremely rude and it is beyond impossible to find normal fizzy drinks, which dont taste like garbage. DO NOT VISIT. you will also not find anything better than this in all of tunisia. one notable thing is the HOUR LONG MUSIC which children dance to, and after that you are forced to listen to whatever ''activity'' the hotel offers. the tennis reflectors also dont work at all. minigolf equipment is not there, and the minigolf courses are filled with leaves and such. and the tennis equipment is very poor in quality. they included table tennis, but upon asking reception all they said was to talk to the animation team which has ALSO told us to talk to reception, as they do not have it. reception is not willing to even pay attention if you are there to complain, and they are extremely rude. most of the games are jammed or require extremely high effort to even put the coins in. this is one of those corporate hotels catfishing as a resort because theyre next to a...