Résidence-Camping El Kahena — Hotel in Maghreb

I think anyone would find it hard to write a bad word about El Kahena. We planned on staying one night and stayed two after meeting the wonderful Ismail (Smile) and his wife Sonja. They have a warmth, honesty and passion for hosting travellers that's rare at any level of hoteling - let a long a place as affordable as this! ||||We're travelling by motorcycles and camping but after seeing the rooms that cost just a few dollars more than an already affordable site, taking a room was an easy choice. They're cool, very clean and the beds are very comfortable - not rock hard as many tend to be. We opted for a room with a shared washroom and shower and they were also impeccably clean - though we could have opted for a room with an en suite. ||||The campsites are perfect for car or motorhome camping - for tents there is definitely plenty of spots and a few have shade. With our late arrival an nice cool room just made sense! The room price also included breakfast which makes it a fantastic value - especially since Sonja's cooking is sublime. And I'm not exaggerating. My wife and I have never had eggs so perfectly cooked. ||||We highly recommend the dinner option - at the time of this writing I think it was 15 dinar (7 euro) and was also excellent. I had a grilled fish caught fresh that day by the boats that often zip by on the water in front of the patio. Superb! ||||Ismail let us park our motorcycles in his garage - another perk that comes unadvertised. We honestly couldn't recommend this place more. We met other travellers on our route south who stayed at El Kahena and everyones feeling of this place was the same: It's a bit of magic - a very...

Located at the western edge of the coastal village of Ellouza, right on the seashore. The building is very clean and well maintained and has rooms in various combinations. The room I got had a double bed, and a bathroom with toilet, sink and shower. The best thing about is the huge balcony (a sort of a terrace) that has beautiful views in every direction. good spot for relaxing, reading, taking photographs, sun tanning, or just watching the sun rising over the ocean, or gazing at the moon and stars. It's run by a friendly, helpful and very accommodating family. The breakfast consisted of coffee, toast, butter and Jam, an egg, fruit and an a variety of local delicious specialties. Lunch or dinner are affordable and available, but I had to let them know in advance If I needed any. The meals I had were very good: a soup, a salad, a main course with vegetables, fish or meat, and a dessert. I was always consulted on what I wanted when I announced that I needed a meal. A laundry service is also available. My flight back home also coincided with the owner going for a meeting in Tunis, and he was kind to offer to take me...

We stayed two nights in the area outside the hotel reserved for motohomes. The owner proved to be friendly, interesting, helpful, an all round amiable guy but not overbearing, a perfect host. We ate in the hotel, great food and good value, had to fun with the chicha pipes (we don't smoke, and cold still use the, without coughing, much), and we're fascinated to chat with the owners uncle who spoke great English and had at one point worked for British Gas. The space outside overlooks the shallow sea, not good for swimming but great for bird watching, the sunrise and chillin out. There's a very long fresh water hose so you can refill without moving and, get this, a proper outside black water disposal point, the only one we have seen in Tunisia. There's reliable electricity hook-up, plus wifi near the hotel (no grey water drain, bit nowhere has in the country, just dump it discretely along a country road somewhere or use a bucket). It's inexpensive too, check out the hotel website for the fixed prices, no messing about haggling here. A really great place this, highly recommended. Jay and Ju, more at:...