Al Karmel Hotel — Hotel in Tunis

We booked to stay in this hotel for 1 night on Booking.com at £34/€40 but were told we'd pay at the hotel. I was told on Booking.com the city tax was £1. Upon arrival, we were charged €44.80 and paid cash in Tunisian Dinar to the amount of 150. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a good English-speaking member of staff to help us. I messaged Booking.com to ask for help and also messaged the hotel on WhatsApp and Facebook messenger. Their Facebook page specifically says to WhatsApp them for bookings but they didn't reply when I tried this says before we booked online. Service at this hotel isn't great and they speak very little English - you cannot have a conversation with them. I am looking into why we were overcharged and hope to get something back. The hotel simply doesn't reply on WhatsApp, Facebook messenger or Boking.com and I'm very unhappy with their service. It is like a step up from a hostel! ||Things we liked:|. Well maintained/recently renovated hotel. |. Good sized room and all with balcony however no chairs/table on the balconies - missed opportunity!|. Location is great for Trams and Buses but a good and slightly unsafe walk to and from the Medina. |. Nice to have a bath with a plug to use and the shower above - always hot water. |. Appreciated the toiletries. |. Reasonable breakfast with good European choice - salad, olives, croissants, cereal, typical watery sugary liquid (not juice!)|. 2 good lifts - useful. ||Things we didn't like:|. Being overcharged.|. Receiving an email from Booking.com saying the hotel said we hadn't checked in and that we would be charged for not turning up. 😡 This then took A LOT of time to sort and wasn't nice when we are on holiday. |. Lack of English speaking staff so therefore a lack of support and service. |. Smoking in EVERY communal space including the breakfast room. Smoking is stopped here between 6am and 10am but it still smells of smoke from the other 20 hours of the day (!) and people smoke only through an archway. |. Location is a little ropey but on a relatively quiet road. Hotel road and nearby roads are very badly littered, don't smell great and simply aren't clean/safe. |. Plastic cutlery EVERYWHERE. Not pleasant especially at breakfast. Waste of money, waste of plastic. As they have porcelain cups and bowls, why use plastic cutlery?|. Breakfast isn't refilled/replenished so once it's gone - it's gone! This isn't good when we've all paid for breakfast and it's on until 10am. |. Stained bedding/mark on the pillowcase. |. Sharp nail by the bath taps...

The location is fairly good and close to most attractions in the center of the city. However, if it is true that staff can make or break the hospitality experience, then this is a perfect case in which the unprofessional and poorly trained staff is causing so much damage to this place's reputation and the guests' experience. The staff were extremely rude, unhelpful when asked questions, not willing to share suggestions or tips about transportation and other things guests may need some info on, etc. Whatever question you ask them, they talk about money and paying. I has a particularly bad experience with a staff member whose name is Najib. Moreover, their English was extremely poor, except one staff member who worked in the mornings serving breakfast/cleaning tables. The rooms were okay, but the bed was not very comfortable and the floors could have been cleaner. Overall, I didn't have a good experience at this place and I don't recommend it for...

I wouldn't recommend this hotel to anyone. Yes it's not a five star hotel and yes, it is is clean. However, there are so many things wrong with this hotel but biggest issue are staff. The staff are just rude, don't acknowledge, don't seem to want to help and I think might be racist to some guests. I further watched as the security/ bellman working at the front help people with single carryon bags but then just sat and watch me struggle with 3 bags when I was getting a cab. Save your money for a hotel closer to more amenities and with more...