Hotel El Mehdi Mahdia — Hotel in Maghreb

What can I say. Had a brilliant holiday. We arrived late due to flights but were taken to our rooms swiftly after check in. There was food available in the night express consisting of pizza or pasta. The pizzas were not very nice although the pasta was brilliant. We had rooms 604 initially which smelt of sewerage and 610 which was fine. As it was so late the 4 of us (2adults and 2 kids) bunked in room 610. Couldn’t put up with the smell in 604. Next morning we went to reception who swiftly changed our room to 614, no arguments, no smell and reception were so accommodating. Both rooms although dated were very clean, fresh towels every day (just leave the old ones in the bath and the cleaners will change them). The cleaners were absolutely amazing. They made all kinds of shapes with the towels and sheets which impressed my little girl. |The animation team worked very hard always talking to us while round the pool. One of the animation team (failed to get his name) even gave one of our party a nickname of Fanta and made the effort to speak to us. He was brilliant. Also a mention to Simba who was always so approachable and who was my youngests favourite. Mini disco was good fun for my youngest and gave us an hour of no nagging. She did struggle with some of the songs as they were in different languages but she soon picked up the actions. She also played mini golf with the kids club and also darts which she won every time she joined in. |Cannot fault the hotel it is beautiful so are the pools and the slides are brilliant. The beach is beautiful although we did only spend a few hours on it as I got stung by a jellyfish so put me off, not the hotels fault obviously, just Mother Nature. |We did a few excursions like a walking tour, pirate boat and the camels. Brilliant excursions. Massive thanks to Ali baba and his team at the camels. My daughter passed out and his staff were absolutely amazing. The care they gave her was second to none. The street market was eye opening and absolutely crackers but we loved it. Cannot praise the staff and the hotel enough. The only let down was the food. The only thing that was hot was being served at the pasta station. The food was geared up for the French/Italians and Germans. Not really catering for the English (that being said, we were the only English family there, so why should they). The staff actually seemed shocked when we told them we were English. The food in the Bain Marie’s was cold. No problem though we did order food in and it was cheap enough to do so. The ice cream was only served at a set time along with waffles and pancakes. Not really the type of all inclusive we are used to. We have been to all inclusives that offer ice lollies throughout the day and snacks all day. This was not the case here. But this did not spoil our holiday. |The entertainment area had plenty of chairs although it could have benefitted from having a bar closer and tables to put drinks on. |The bar staff in the reception area were lovely. |Cannot fault the staff at all. |Apart from the food I could not fault anything. None of us wanted to come home. |The hotel was spotless.|Thank you to all at El Mehdi for making our...

Until now we only visited 5-star hotels but decided to try El Mehdi. To our surprise it wasnt good at all. We were a 4-member family, in 2 rooms and stayed for 8 days in August, 2025.

The Hotel is old and you can see that everywhere. There are parts of the hotel where the rooms are very very old, but they try to put the guests into the "newer" rooms. Bath, furniture, walls etc its all very old. Of course its all working, you have toilets, baths, TVs etc, but its just old.

There is no minibar, but i guess thats a 4-star hotel standard. There is a fridge in the room, but ours (we had 2 rooms) wasnt working. The room cleaning is everyday, but i think they only make the bed, cause the spiderweb, in the bath, was there the whole time (near the floor). They mostly dont change the towels, but you can ask if you see the cleaining ladies in the hall.

Quick Points: wifi is only in the hotel reception (not in rooms) towels for beach cost a deposit and then "cleaining costs" room safe costs deposit to stay in the room (when checking out) costs 15,- euro for 6 hours AC is only in the reception, not even in restaurant (AC is in the rooms ofc) you need to pay the local tax when you arrive (we paid 98,- euro for 2 Rooms for 8 days) be careful in the sea, there are the blue medusas sometimes

Food: There was not always many options, but luckily they always make pizza and have a Pasta cook, which can always be as an alternative. They provide a lot of fish food so if you like that, you are safe. Our kids sometimes couldnt chose what to eat, but as I said you can always have spagetti or pizza. There are 2 places to eat (main restaurant and restaurant at pool), but both have same foods.

Pools: The pools are OK, but they are only 2 and small. There is one more at the slides. The slides are OK, but again only 3 slides, which is not enough for the many kids.

Beach: The beach and the sea are the best thing in this hotel! In my 20 years of going for vacations to Spain, Egypt, Turkey or Greece i have never experienced such a great beach and sea. This saved us the vacation to be honest.

In generall the hotel is OK, its not what we were used to, but I guess its for people who want to pay less for the vacation but still have a certain degree of comfort. We chose this one cause we wanted to try it. The vacation costed almost only 1/3 of what we mostly pay so it was very cheap.

Last thing i wanted to point out is the other hotel guessts. Dont expect germans here, its mostly Slovak, Czech, Romanian, Serbian and some Italians. Sadly i have to say that since its cheap it doesnt attract the "well-mannered" guesst, but I really dont want to offend anyone, it was just my experience while being there.

All in all the vacation was good, mainly because it was very cheap and even though the hotel is old, requires you to spend additional money etc its still OK to be there for...

El Mehdi Hotel, Mahdia – A Holiday to Forget (but Never Quite Erase)

One suspects this grand old lady of Mahdia was built in the 1980s with the optimism of a Benidorm brochure and then promptly left to wither, untouched by the mysterious art of renovation. The result: a relic of another era, which might appeal to archaeologists but not to paying guests.

The Room: Ah yes, my suite — or perhaps more accurately, my natural history exhibit. Cockroaches came included at no extra charge (though the safe and beach towels did cost extra — more on that later). Wi-Fi, of course, was available… if you happened to enjoy sitting in the reception area like a bored chess piece. Furniture was charmingly retro if you like your retro scratched, sagging, and faintly sticky. The beds and pillows made one pine for the comfort of an airport bench. The drains exuded a perfume that could have knocked out Napoleon’s troops, and housekeeping sometimes popped by, sometimes didn’t — a lottery system of sorts.

The Food & Drink: Imagine the most uninspired school canteen, but with less variety and more stomach upset. Breakfast, lunch, dinner — you could set your watch by the repetition. The “all inclusive” drinks were of such quality that one suspects even the local mosquitoes abstained. A daily bout of digestive regret came at no charge, which I suppose was consistent with the hotel’s “inclusive” ethos.

The Extras (or Not So Extra): “All inclusive” is a phrase that seems to have been lost in translation. Yes, you could eat, drink, and endure to your heart’s content, but should you wish to use a safe (to protect your passports from the cockroaches, perhaps) or acquire a beach towel, you’d need to pay. One is left wondering whether breathing deeply in the lobby might also be itemised.

The Location: Mahdia itself is a small, tired town, marked more by its poverty than its charm. Shopping is less “retail therapy” and more “retail despair.” Streets are dusty, dirty, and uninviting. The word “picturesque” is unlikely to trouble this place anytime soon.

Overall Impression: A profoundly sad experience. The true wonder was not the faded hotel or the dismal meals, but rather the sight of so many Western European guests — proof, perhaps, that the marketing department deserves a medal for managing expectations worthy of such...