Steigenberger Marhaba Thalasso — Hotel in Maghreb

I like to leave fair reviews so here it goes:

Pros: The location is amazing (on the beach, fun music atmosphere, close to activities) the activities are endless. It is super child friendly, the staff most of them are very nice, others act like they don’t see you.

Our room had a gorgeous brick ceiling and a comfy bed it was spacious.

The housekeeper did an overall great job. She forgot to leave us clean towels one day so we only had 1 towel for 3 people but every other day she did not forget.

The photographers are awesome! We had a family photo shoot and absolutely will love and cherish these sweet memories!

Lots of big palms and plants that make you feel like you are in a 5 star hotel.

The Cons:

The food - sadly most nights they cooked lots of meats with sauces unfamiliar to US travelers. My kids struggled most of the time because the pizza was not that great and there wasn’t even simply a grilled chicken option every night. I personally thought one night that I was putting beef chunks in my plate it turned out that it was some cow liver or something else but it was gross! 🤮 I learned after that to read signs carefully and ask what that food is before I blindly put that on my plate. I understand that some of their clients have the taste for it but it was served almost every night except our 6th night when they had a shawarma grill with grilled chicken. Only 1 night of all we ate food that was familiar to us. The lines for food are very long. Sometimes 20 some people wait in line for non saucy/ non spicy food and it’s over 30 minutes wait.

The waiters are friendly but the beer is warm 🤮

The pastries are absolute garbage. They look good and are arranged pretty on the plates but once you taste them you don’t touch them. The watermelon goes extinct and people load 10 slices because it’s a very delicious edible desert so if you are not there to “fight” for your watermelon slice and it doesn’t disappear in less than 3 minutes maybe you will be lucky and get 2/3 slices for desert. They don’t refill the watermelon so once it’s out it stays out :/ we only got it on two meals.

Overall the food was a huge struggle for us. Lots of running around waiting in line and lots of food went in the trash from our plates once we tried it. Very spicy very unfamiliar to the world traveler and no options for simple meats as chicken or just grilled beef. The pizza station was also tragic. They put some old sausages on the pizza in the middle and it was just hard to eat with these strange tastes.

The dining room is extremely packed and loud. Oh my, you’ll leave there and your head will pound from the hundreds of guests talking around you. There is no music in it.

The beach is beautiful and the sand is soft but the poop from all the animals. I had to teach my child that these are poop and she can’t touch them. I would highly recommend someone to go out and sift the sand often. With that said, the animals are fun and beautiful to look at or ride. In other countries I’ve seen Owners attach bags on the back of the horses and when they go, it’s collected in a bag. Just an idea 💡

Cons in our room: the mini fridge did not work. The towels were very rough and old. They don’t provide any robes or slippers. Most 5 star hotels always provide a soft robe and slippers for comfort. The sheets kept sliding off the mattress- they do t have fitted sheets but more of a straight sheet that keeps moving with you while you sleep so in the morning often we were just seeing the mattress cover in most corners. The bathroom has so many poorly “fixed” fixtures like the towel hanger and cracked towels were just fixed by someone who has no idea what to do except fill in some white silicone on top.

The doors that open to the patio from the lobby have hundreds of fingerprints on them.

Our room was extremely far and the walk was a bit of a struggle.

I really can’t say it’s a 5 star hotel because I’ve stayed in multiple 5 star hotels throughout the world and I know what that experience is. But it’s a great location, fun activity...

We had a lovely stay at this hotel but I sadly can’t give it more than 3 stars.

Upon arrival we were greeted by a man who spoke no English.. which is absolutely fine as we were in Tunisia so we didn’t expect everyone to speak English. However considering there are many staff who do speak English it may be worth having one of them to greet guests and explain what is going on. We were instructed to give our passports with no explanation, they were just simply taken away and we were sent to eat in the restaurant. It all just felt rather strange as we had no idea what was going on. However, we were then given a free room upgrade which was very nice. The room was clean and spacious, not the most modern decor, but it had everything we needed and was comfortable. The cleaners were very sweet and would always leave the room very well presented. The mini fridge was kept stocked with bottled water and a couple of bottles of fizzy drink. There was a hair dryer, a typical small hotel room one, so ladies with long hair I suggest you bring your own to save yourself the time. There is a small and very basic shop in the hotel but slightly overpriced for the area.

The spa area with the warm salt pool is a lovely space but it was massively let down by the organisation and treatments. The staff in the spa were rude and unhelpful. We paid to enter for the spa area but were not shown around or informed of anything. Unlike at the main pool, you weren't allowed drinks there. When I asked about this I was told maybe I could have coffee. It was a hot day outside and I would have liked a cold soft drink by the pool that I had paid extra to use. I booked a massage which you need to book a day ahead.. it was titled ‘relaxing massage’.. yet I was tense throughout! Firstly my head was in a hole which was covered by a sheet so I was struggling to breath the whole time.. the massage was rough and in no way relaxing. The lady went to take my hair down and got the bobble stuck and tangled so much I had to tear my hair to remove it. She then proceeded to rub oil through my hair in attempt to massage my head but again this was rough and left my skull feeling bruised.. overall I was desperate to get off the table and left in pain and covered head to toe in oil. Certainly would NOT advise a massage.

The bar and restaurant staff were great, so friendly and helpful, they provided table service and always remembered your order which was lovely. However the gin measures were far too generous! The food was ok, I would have liked more traditional Tunisian food.. I assume they were trying to cater for and English palate?! But there was no spice at all which often left the food quite bland.

The animation team were super friendly, the evening entertainment was really strange but equally hilarious. Not what I would expect for a 5 star hotel to be completely honest, but I personally saw the humour.. though many people did not. It was a bit strange to hear the staff were given names that were ‘easier’ to say.. I personally prefer to learn their actual names. Marwan and Fakhir were known as Mario and Fabio!?

A HUGE nuisance was the camera men, from the day we arrived they would not leave us alone. Constantly asking us to have a photo shoot..We said no politely but they would not take no for an answer, It became uncomfortable. Eventually we agreed to do a shoot just so they would stop bothering us. We booked a shoot for the evening after we left & it worked as they finally left us in peace.

The main pools were unbelievably cold..I couldn’t feel my legs it was just too cold to bear.. which was obvious as there was rarely a person in the pool. One woman even checked the temperature with a thermometer as she couldn’t believe how cold it was!

The hotel itself was really pretty though, and in a great location on the beach. With a few adjustments this could really meet the 5 star expectations. Overall, I am not put off trying again. Maybe things will...

Massively disappointed and unwell!

This hotel is not 5 star. It is pushing 3 star! We were so excited to visit Tunisia for the first time. We got an amazing deal on a 5 star all inclusive resort, we should have known it was too good to be true! Don't get me wrong, the building itself, the size, the facilities are beautiful and definitely the best looking hotel around. Some of the staff, particularly the waiters were fantastic but overall we were not pleased and for the first time ever I'm happy to go home... Though unfortunately we are going home sick. It all went wrong when we arrived and clearly the hotel weren't ready. We were sat down and spoken to by a receptionist. We filled out a form and he asked us what room we had paid for. For us we paid extra for a 'superior sea view' room. He wrote this down and said the room wasn't ready. We had to leave our cases in the lobby and go for lunch. Three hours later after asking three times, our room was ready. We asked (to confirm sea view) if it was top floor, he said it was a bungalow... We pointed out (again) that we paid for sea view and showed him (again) and he said they didn't have any and they were fully booked. The fact he was sneaky about it was what was so upsetting. Just say 'sorry we are booked but will move you tomorrow'. He said there was nothing he could do. We asked for a manager who said he'd move us tomorrow. The bungalow was nice and clean but the safe didn't work and despite calling, no one came to fix it. It also smelt of paint very strongly, which someone did fix by spraying the Room With air freshener! They didn't seem to care about what they'd done with being over booked, it would appear it's general practice for them. We spoke to our rep from Thomas Cook who compensated us but it wasn't their job to. We couldn't unpack and The next day we couldn't go out as we were waiting to change room which we were told would be 10 then 12 then 1500. The manager said 'I have the best sea view room for you' no... You have the first one available as we have called you out on your mistake... The room was beautiful however (but defo not the best one in terms of view), a very good size and clean. Unfortunately on the second full day, both me and my husband became unwell which lasted for the rest of our holiday. We complained to the reception who said 'eat rice and bananas' hard to do when you're a buffet and I can't control what you prepare, some days there was plain rice, some days there wasn't. For 5 days of our holiday we ate toast and rice. We complained to the rep (along with 6 other guests - which is just one meeting with one rep bare in mind, there were rumblings of lots of sickness but different agencies representing them etc plus people who would assume that it's their fault and not speak up etc) who were all unwell. They had seen the Dr and had all been diagnosed with different things and given different treatments, none of which had worked. The rep told me not to as being pregnant, they wouldn't prescribe anything. No answers as yet but it could be the hundreds of flies all over the food (no you can't stop flies being around but you can try and prevent contact with food, put up traps etc) the cockroaches, the casual rinsing of glasses, the brown dish clothes, the re used straws or the food that's been out for god knows how long. Shockingly scary! Still awaiting diagnosis! Thomas Cook said they will send someone to check it out. I hope they do, I hope no one else suffers. We spent most of the time indoors, we couldn't do any excursions or get involved in any activities as needed to be close to the toilet. The one night we did try to watch the entertainment, they were running 35 minutes late with no explanation or apology so we walked out. This hotel has so much potential but needs a good looking at! I have been to better 3 star hotels in Spain. Please don't book this place any time soon!...