Mövenpick Resort & Marine Spa — Restaurant in Sousse

Wouldn’t recommend this hotel! Upon arrival at the hotel, we were not welcomed with any refreshments, and no staff assisted us with our luggage. Considering this is a 5-star hotel, we found this to be below standard.

First Room – No Air Conditioning, Loud Noise, and Broken Amenities

When we entered our room, we discovered that the air conditioning and fan were not working, with only the heating function available. As it was a warm night, this made the room extremely uncomfortable. We could not leave the balcony door open due to the excessive noise from loud music and revving sports cars outside.

Additionally, the bed caused itching, which raised hygiene concerns. At 2 AM, we attempted to call reception, only to find that the telephone was not working. The TV was also non-functional. Left with no other option, we went down to reception in person and requested a room change.

To our shock, we were informed that the hotel had switched off the air conditioning for the entire building during the winter season, despite the high temperatures. We were then moved to another room with a double bed.

In our second room, we were shocked to discover that the hotel’s club was directly below our balcony. The loud music, with heavy bass, continued until 5 AM, making it impossible to sleep. Given that the room still had no air conditioning or fan, we were forced to leave the balcony door open, which only made the noise situation worse. As a result, we did not sleep at all and missed breakfast the next morning.

In the morning, we went to reception to complain and requested another room change, as we had booked a 5-star hotel expecting a relaxing stay. Since we had missed breakfast due to the previous night’s issues, we asked if we could swap it for lunch, as we were told during check-in that meal swaps were possible. However, staff refused, claiming it was against policy. Instead, they offered us complimentary coffee, which felt like an inadequate response given our distressing first night.

The third room we were moved to was extremely disappointing. The balcony faced a closed-off rooftop garden, offering no scenery. Additionally, we were given a double bed, despite specifically requesting otherwise. At this point, we were growing increasingly frustrated with the constant room changes, as it was ruining our holiday.

Finally, on our second day, we were moved to a fourth room. This time, we were given two single beds and a partial sea view. However, the balcony overlooked a sewer, and the smell was unbearable. By this point, we were mentally and physically drained from repeatedly voicing our complaints, so we decided to stay in this room simply because the fan was working.

Breakfast Quality & Hygiene Issues

On the third day, we went down for breakfast, only to be further disappointed. The quality of food was unacceptable for a 5-star hotel. The juicing station had only a small domestic juicer rather than a professional machine, and the hygiene standards were alarming. We witnessed staff dipping their fingers into the juice, and the cheese display was unappetizing and poorly maintained. There was also a severe lack of variety in food options.

Disrespectful Treatment at the Bar

On our fourth night, we returned to the hotel late and decided to order food at the bar. When we asked the waiter for a menu, he turned to a colleague and, in Arabic, said, “Please get rid of them, send them to their room.” This was extremely insulting and unacceptable treatment for paying guests.

Unprofessional Response from Management

The next day, we raised our concerns with the guest relations manager. Instead of handling the complaint discreetly and professionally, she openly discussed our issues with the kitchen staff. This led to an uncomfortable situation where, later that night, the chef personally approached us to ask whether we liked his food. We felt as though we were being interrogated on our holiday, which only added to our distress. If the hotel wished to gather feedback, it should have been done anonymously and...

Back at this luxury hotel

I returned to the beautiful Movenpick Sousse after just 7 weeks, and I would like to express the hospitable and warmness of the staff, as well as the beauty of the hotel itself. The bar was set high from when I went previously in December, but they have managed to outdo themselves, and that is due to the collective and individual efforts of the staff. The beach, beautiful and sandy as always. The spa is also an absolutely luxurious experience; with the assistant manager Omar being kind, friendly and accommodating as always, heightening the wonderful experience. His colleague, Faika, is also very helpful and friendly.

The main manager for food and Beverages Mr Abdelhafidh was outstanding. His management skills are exceptional at this hotel. His assistant managers were also extremely friendly and helpful, their kindness shone through and it was evident to how well trained they were. The manager, Wassef at the ‘La Villa’ French restaurant was amazing and an absolute professional, always serving us with warmness and a kind smile. Breakfast managers Abdul and Ahmed, as well as Mr Abderrazak and the bar manager Abdelkarim, were so kind and welcoming, again always smiling and friendly. I would like to personally thank them all for their kind service. Imed edinne amara from the Sushi / Sendi restaurant was amazing and really good at his job. I would love for his talents and skills to be conveyed in a managerial role one day; he most definitely has the professionalism suited for it. We were always so happy to be served by him. His service is outstanding also, the food, was of course delicious.

I was also happy to see Wajdi from room service, once again he was also amazing and always happy to help with a big smile.

Chaima, the assistant manager from housekeeping is outstanding, and a true asset to the hotel. She personally looked after me with so much love and kindness. She is so important to this hotel, and has been a key factor in my wonderful experience. She speaks four languages and is so intelligent and insightful. I continuously emphasise how her charisma makes her ideal for a front house role also she is a hard-worker, and a kind person, so wherever she is, she will shine at all levels. She puts in so much effort to ensure that all of her guests are happy- thank you to her lovely manager Lamya for recruiting an amazing person. Lamya the housekeeping manager is also really gracious towards her guests, and so full of kindness. The cleaner Monia cleaned my room. She is the best cleaner in the hotel. She cleans every bit of the room properly. Next time I visit this hotel I will always ask for Monia to clean my room.

Adel at Concierge is absolutely amazing; if I needed any help or advice about anything, I would go straight to him. You can speak to him about anything and he will be informative, kind and helpful. He will give you so much advice about Tunisia he is really intelligent. He has been at this hotel for almost 20 years, and his experience is a virtue. Also his colleague Samy is great too. Adel has recruited a lovely bell-boy Kaies Mesoud who is so sweet and smiley.

Ahmed Hamza, the development manager, and I had a very lovely conversation at the reception. He’s always making sure all of his guests are well looked after, and is always willing to go a step further to ensure his guests are satisfied with their stay.

Lastly, Mr Zied Maghrebi is amongst the senior managers at the hotel, but had a humility and warmness that made his company extremely pleasant. I had the pleasure of sitting down with him at the reception and had a lovely chat. He’s so passionate about his guests and the hotel. He’s a kind professional and a top guy. It is people like this who ensure that the guests’ experiences at the hotel is as pleasant as it is.

I would like to express my gratitude once again to all of the staff who contributed to a wonderful experience, and we will be sure to...

Several weeks before our arrival, I informed the hotel that we would be celebrating my niece’s 17th birthday during our stay. The hotel assured us that they would make an effort to prepare something special for the occasion. However, upon entering our room, we were disappointed to find that a cake had been prepared for my niece, but with the inscription "Happy Wedding" instead of "Happy Birthday." This was a clear mistake, and unfortunately, it set the tone for several other issues during our stay. One of the main concerns was the breakfast experience. As a five-star hotel, we expected a higher level of service and quality, but we were let down by both the food selection and the service provided. The breakfast offerings were underwhelming, and the most concerning aspect was the service. Tables were often not set for guests, and the overall service was very slow. On a number of occasions, I had to bring my own cutlery and coffee mugs to the table. Despite the fact that the breakfast area was not overly busy, many tables remained dirty for extended periods, and it seemed that the staff was not sufficiently attentive to guest needs. Unfortunately, this issue worsened each day. After discussing our concerns with Mrs. Lobna, we were assured that a special breakfast would be arranged for us the following day to make up for the dissatisfaction. We were asked to provide our room number at the breakfast reception, but, unfortunately, nothing was done to address the situation, leaving us extremely disappointed. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we spent the day outside the hotel and requested at the reception that housekeeping clean our room on Wednesday morning, so it would be ready when we returned. However, upon returning late in the evening on Wednesday, we discovered that the plate with the cake had not been cleaned. Additionally, the following morning, we noticed that one of the duvets had stains on it. On Thursday morning, we went to the reception again to inform them that the plate with the cake needed to be removed and to request two bottles of water to be left in the room. Unfortunately, when we returned late in the evening, none of these requests had been fulfilled. I then went to the reception with the plate in hand and made a formal complaint. I requested to speak with a manager to address the situation. After I submitted my complaint, the manager came to apologize for the issues we encountered and assured me that someone from customer service would contact me the following day. True to his word, I was contacted by Mrs. Lobna, with whom I discussed the inconveniences we experienced, which I believe are not acceptable for a five-star hotel like Mövenpick. Mrs. Lobna kindly apologized for the mistake with the cake inscription, and later that day, we received a new cake with the correct "Happy Birthday" inscription. Additionally, our room was beautifully decorated for my niece’s celebration, which was a thoughtful gesture. Furthermore, I was contacted directly by the Guest Service Manager, Mr. Ahmed, to further address the situation. However, the following day, I was surprised to learn that Mr. Ahmed had been made aware of my complaint and my identity. While I did receive an apology from the manager in response to my previous complaints, I was deeply disappointed by the lack of follow-up or genuine desire to address the situation. Despite my clear concerns, there was no effort to provide a satisfactory solution or show any commitment to improving my experience. To make matters worse, when we checked out, we were surprised to find that we were being charged for items from the minibar – specifically, two cans of drinks. At no point during check-in was I informed that the minibar was not complimentary, and I could not find any information about this in the room itself. In a five-star hotel, I would expect at least basic items like soft drinks and small bottles of water to be included as part of the...