what a holiday. firstly we broke down on the way to the airport and it took us 8 hours just to get there, thought it was a bad omen.
on arriving at the Tunisian airport wewere given visas to fill in which were wrote in Arabic and French, a little school days French and 1hour and massive queues later we eventually departed to our hotel.
reception was very clean but noisy on arrival, turns out there are very limited indoor seating so it was hectic every night findng smewhere to sit and extremely noisy, it was too cold on an evening to sit outside and the entertainment was held in an very noisy, underground disco.
we had booked a family suite with balcony and sea view and when we checked in we were shown to two completely seperate rooms, ( there are no lifts and the place is a rabbit warren of stairs and corridors) and there was no sea view. the porter asked what the problem was we could have some time with out the kids!!!!!!! and leaned very precariously over the balcony and exclaimed joyously "there's the sea". Refused the room and treked all the way back to reception. Room two was even further away in an extremely grotty part of the hotel, dirty corridors and broken windows in the communal areas. the room smelt, was dirty, had no balcony and definately no sea view even if you hung out of the windows by yout toe nails which i am sure the porter would have tried.
room three was a large but basic family suite with large balcony and view of.....a crane! absolutely shattered we decided to keep the room. my mum got a very pleasant first floor room but it was internal and looked directly into other very close rooms as the courtyard was tiny and it was dark as the courtyard has a "clear" dome on top. mum paid to upgrade to a sea view after the first week and it was well worth it, she was straight on the beach. the next day i tracked the First Choice rep, sarah, explained what had happened and asked to apply for sea view supplement back. she smirked at me and told me that i should give her money as the room was bigger than we should have got!!!!!! then walked off. it was a Tunisian rep who explained that the room we had booked was having repairs and would be ready the next day, why couldn't they have explained this in the first place? the room we eventually got was very nice, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a sea view and not too far away from everything.
food was adequate and snack bars were great for the kids, drinks were good, heard others complaining that it was weak and little choice but we were happy.
pool area was lovely with plenty of parasols and sunlougers. the pools were fab for people with young children as the deep end is clearly cordoned off and there are plenty of shallow areas for little ones and a seperate baby pool. slides were fantastic fun with even more sunloungers and parasols, bar and it was real sun trap area.
beach was ok if a bit seaweedy, but is was a bit of a trek to get a drink as there is no bar on it. all the beach vendors were very pleasant, they nag you a bit but take it in good fun and enjoy the banter. (it is their job afterall)
entertainers were very funny, especially alex and dedo and there was constant activities through the day if you want from darts to archery and they made them great fun.
we realised that it was the staff who made the holiday and the the laid back atmoshere ( we put all our shoes back in the suitcase after a couple of days because we never wore them , even to dinner).
it definately wasn't th nicest resort we have ever stayed at but they were the nicest people.
if you visit the Ribat in Monastir (where The Life of Brian was filmed) allow a couple of hours as it looks tiny but it an amazing warren of rooms, steps and corridors (a bit like the hotel). we went down to Monastir at 7.30am to avoid the hassle and crowds. we bought our souvenirs at the first shop that opened then hotlegged to the very quiet beach until the Ribat opened before word got round that we were spending money.
go to Houda without great expectations, kick off your shoes and chat with the Tunisians and you will have a lovely time.

We chose this hotel for a number of reasons, mainly as we were taking my wife’s parents who are 70+ and not in the best of health. So we needed a destination with short flight times, short transfer times, low rise buildings and on a level (not hilly) site but with some where to lounge out in the sun and shade with somewhere nearby for short trips out.

Having been to Tunisia several years ago, we knew what to expect & based our booking on our knowledge and what I found on this website (& others). For the (reasonable) price we paid, the holiday more than met our expectations.

The hotel staff were mostly very friendly and helpful with a couple of minor exceptions, it takes all sorts! The hotel is a little out of the way but is close enough for a cheap taxi ride if you want to venture further afield, taxis are always available opposite the entrance of the hotel, We took a trip all the way up to El Kantaoui which cost £6 during the day & £9 at night, for the Taxi NOT per person.

Cleanliness was taken as granted, with our rooms and all communal areas kept very clean, we noted the pools were cleaned and water quality tested every day.

Food, whilst not of the best quality, was well presented with a reasonable choice every day in the main self- service buffet restaurant, the cakes and pastries were particularly good. You are allocated a table for lunch and evenings for the whole of your stay, with free use for breakfast. If nothing pre- prepared suited, there was always the option of freshly made omelette or pancake.

Two ‘speciality’ restaurants are available on site, one Tunisian and one Italian, which can be booked once each per stay. The food & wine was of better quality and served at the table However, on our visit to the Italian restaurant, it appeared new staff were affecting service standards and orders were a little slow in arriving, with some drinks orders failing to appear without further prompting. The service in the Tunisian restaurant was, however, beyond reproach.

A snack bar is also available beyond the pool area, opening from lunchtime to late afternoon serving panini’s, pizza, chips, burgers & kebab meat but served in a small bloomer style loaf. Although not directly comparable to those available in the UK, I personally preferred the meat served here (the burger having a little spice in the mix!) and the bread was very good, it made a change from the buffet restaurant & the ‘sameiness’ you tend to get at lunch and for the evening meal. It was also supposed to be available late at night, well beyond us old folks bedtimes!

There was a wide variety of drinks available. Juices were of the squash variety, not fresh, but usually chilled & soft drinks were available at all times with the local equivalent of coke, fanta & sprite. Bottled water was also available to all-inclusive guests with water coolers also dotted around the site. There was a reasonable selection of alcoholic drinks available, as has been reported in the past these are not as strong as UK equivalents This was no bad thing as during our stay there were a small number of (mainly UK!) visitors who tried their best to drink literally all day. The local beer is a little frothy but served cold & is refreshing on a hot day. Spirits had little kick but for casual drinking fine, what was new was tonic water from that well known drinks company, so a G&T went down well and the tonic water itself was a welcome change from the sugary soft drinks through the day.

The Tunisians have a long history of winemaking so the plonk is reasonable, the cheap brand usually served was fine after the second glass or so, that served in the speciality restaurants was a cut (or two!) above the norm, the red especially so. Someone must have made a mistake part way through the week as the Rose wine served at the bars was listed as an extra at £6 a bottle, very good & became out tipple for the week.

The large, free form pool itself was of good size, with sloping access from one site at stepped access from the other, with a rubber lining (not tiled), a separate small pool for the very young was also available. I can never figure out why these pools always feel so cold despite the sun & heat though! keeps you cool in the midday sun however. There was always somewhere to stretch out with sunbeds and chairs available around the pool and gardens, it may be more crowded in peak season though. The hotel also has its own beach area with sunshades etc. An indoor pool is also available, fortunately we never had to try it. As a bonus, the hotel boasted its own small water park, with four water slides for all to use & a separate small slide & pool for the toddlers.

The entertainment team were friendly and enthusiastic but not pushy, some may find the choice limited but seemed reasonable for the size of hotel. A kids club was also available for the little ones. We never got to see the shows as we were sat drinking & chatting with the in- laws and then needed an hours wind- down period having a quite read (& some more of that Rose!) However, listening to others, the shows were cheesy but enthusiastic!

What was a pleasant change from our last time in Tunisia was the increase in fixed-price shopping, haggling is fine when you’re in the mood but not day-in, day-out, and the reaction of the sellers on site who were very polite & responded very well to a firm, but polite !no thank you! rather than having selective deafness & badgering you all day. They must also have amazing memories as we were never approached by a seller on site more than once. We found the two small shops on site to have prices as good as the official fixed price shop in Sousse, with one or two items we didn’t see elsewhere.

In all, for a week of relaxation in the sun, we’d recommend this location to anyone.

hi there i went to tunisia in march the 18th for a weeks all inclusive holiday, and to be honest it was the best holiday id been on, it was as a hen night, there was 14 of us and not 1 of us had a bad thing to say bout the ppl in the hotel the food or the hotel itself, the pool was luvly a bit cold wen we were there but we stil enjoyed ourselfs, played volley ball on the beach taught the animation team how to play rounders, the animation team are sooo friendly its unreal, but in the end they are only trying to do there job, im hopin to go bak here this year in october if no definetly nxt year

We got a bargain break for a week with our local Thomson shop beating First Choice web price - bizarre! So we went with view you only get what you pay for and we were well pleased with what we got (most of the time!) We received a nice room with good pool and sea view. The room had connecting door to next room which is locked but reduces the sound proofing, as we were unpacking we heard the couple next door making out! The complex has lovely pool area which is well maintained, the reception could do with replacing the furniture. We thought the food was of more than acceptable quality and in plenty supply although not much main course variety. The A la Carte Tunisian and Italian restaurants are a welcome change from the canteen culture and noise of the buffet restaurant which always seemed to have at least 1 screeching child, in fact I was surprised how many children were actually there considering it was still school term of which a fair number didn't know how to behave or rather their parents couldn't care less how they behaved in the bar area at night. I would imagine that the queue for meals in peak holiday periods would be a nightmare, they were just managable when we were there and why is it the French dont have a word for manners? Just be pushy back to them, they back down every time.
There is little doubt that the spirits are watered down, we brought a vodka sample back with us, I thought beer was fine, we had been to Tunisia before so it came as no surprise. On a couple of occasions they bar ran out of vodka and beer before 11.30pm it seemed as if they allocate so much per day and when it runs out too bad! You get to take 4 drinks away from bar ie 2 per person in your company of 2! Bottled water is part of the AI package and chilled water dispensers had just been installed as well, ice cream is not and costs 1.5 Dinar.
The entertainment team work very hard for a pittance they try their best but their version of comedy is well not that great. They ask you to participate during day but dont hassle you.
The massage is worthwhile you get full Bhuna sauna - seaweed wrap- full massage for £25 and ladies dont be shy as you strip to the waist in front of the young masseur!
A short distance from the hotel is the Safari bar and shops (you pass it on way to hotel upon arriving from airport) you cant miss it model Elephant and Giraffe outside, they seem to do karaoke at night but the big bonus is it has Sky Sports,its £2 (5 Dinar) for a pint of Celtia same stuff as you get in hotel.

Almost forgot pool snack bar opens at 12 and has a good array of fast foods so be greedy and stuff yourself, it is open until 1.30 am for late night snacks!

The disco was typical Tunisian hotel style and tended to play the usual boom boom rubbish, but will give in and play something with a bit melody if you persist.

Take sting relief with you as almost everyone including both of us were bitten by invisible insects during the day, we thought it was because we were close to hedges on 1st day but alas no doesnt matter where you are you will get bitten.

Some places I dont bother with welcome meetings but I thoroughly recommend you go to one in Tunisia especially if you are with First Choice it is well worthwhile very informative, hopefully you wont have any unruly English children running riot as happened at ours.

In all despite the minor problems with alcohol or lack of it we had a good time and felt we got value for money. Didnt feel need to tip bar staff as they didnt do anything to deserve it but tipped the buffet waiter for being nice, the maid and both a la carte restaurants for the personal service. Bought a flower from young Mohammed most nights they are only 2 Dinar he was so exited because his football team Sousse had just won their league and singing the club songs so I tried to teach him to sing the Hearts FC song from my phone - he liked the tune but struggled with the words!
We enjoyed our stay met some nice new friends but probably not stay there again due to screeching children but its a great place for them.