The hotel is very modern ie the bath and shower are in the middle of the living area of your room , the view from your balcony over the sea and the modern Carthage could not be bettered , however some staff suffer from a superiority complex and think You are a nuisance , the dining room saff and the bar staff are great , the restaurant is overpriced , but if you can afford it this is a great place to stay .

The location is great, the building is beautiful (if in need of maintenance) and the rooms are very tasteful. Still, Villa Didon was my worst hotel experience ever. It is a hotel, but also -- and more importantly -- a playground for the young generation of the local elite. After dinner, we saw that the lounge and bar started filling up with people. We are around 30, and don't mind nightlife, but did mind the pounding disco music that made our bed shake on the top floor. It was impossible to sleep, and it did not seem to be ending. At 02:30 we were out of patience. We had, after all paid a lot of money for a place to sleep. When we called the reception, their reply was "are you connected with the director?". We were not, and then it apparently didn't matter that we were paying guests. After going down to the reception to complain, we eventually gave up, packed our bags and left the hotel at 03:00 to look for a place to sleep. It is the first time ever that I have left a hotel because it was unbearable, and this is a very expensive place where you'd expect something else.

Villa Didon is truly a 5-star hotel. We spent part of our honeymoon there and could not have been more pleased.

We were greeted at check-in with a complimentary drink, and fresh rose petals strewn throughout our room. The rooms are enormous, done in cool marble, with the most modern fixtures and lights imaginable. The enclosed glass shower and jacuzzi tub are elevated on a marble slab, and the sinks and shower drains are reminiscent of Roman-style aqueducts. An enormous balcony presents breathtaking views of Carthage and the Gulf of Tunis.

Everything in the room, and the hotel, is ultra-modern; the hotel was completely remodeled and updated in 2004. Room doors automatically slide open when you insert your microchip-embedded plastic key. The sliding glass door and picture windows have -two- electric blinds - - one acts as a screen, the other a complete blackout curtain. Rooms have fancy electronic safes, flat-screen TVs (with at least one channel in English), and a small refrigerator stocked with a mini-bar (but you can use the refrigerator to store things purchased at the nearby grocery store).

The hotel lobby and lounge are super chic. The outside portion of the lounge is fabulous. The restaurant is large, quite good, and has wonderful views. There is a new, lovely hammam and relaxation center in the basement.

The service is impeccable. You will not open your own door as long as you stay. The entire staff speaks English and is helpful with directions, suggestions, and taxis. The hotel sits in a very well-to-do section of Carthage (next to the Carthage museum), and it's perfectly safe to walk. The Tunis TGV train runs right through Carthage, connecting Tunis and Carthage every few minutes (or you can take one of the many, many cheap taxis). Sidi Bou Said is a short, cheap taxi ride away.

Villa Didon is not inexpensive, and the food, in particular, certainly costs more than at other Tunis hotels. The bar, while very well stocked, is not cheap. Rooms are expensive by Tunisian standards, but for what you get, are a very good deal by Western standards.

Tunisia itself is a fascinating country with a well-developed tourist infrastructure. It is peaceful and perfectly safe and welcoming for westerners, including Americans. Villa Didon must be one of Tunisia's best hotels; it's certainly one of the nicest hotels I've visited anywhere in the world.

Armed with 2 emails from the hotel "confirming definitely" that my room was booked and having provided credit card details, you can imagine my surprise when I arrived with my partner after an international flight to be told there was no room as I had booked. Despite never mentioning this in prior communication by email, on the phone or on their website, the hotel's management said that I had failed to reply to an email sent just 2 days before my arrival so they were unable to honour my booking.

They 'kindly' offered me a room for one night but on the second I had to make alternative arrangements with no help offered. Incensed, I refused and only after 2 hours of arguments (they could see no problem with what they had done) did the management reveal they had had a block booking of 5 rooms when I was to stay.

Clearly they had decided to send out the last minute 'confirmatory' email in the hope I wouldn't reply freeing up the room. I find such a practice absolutely unacceptable in a hotel which purports to be amongst Tunisia's best and which charges such high prices for their rooms even by international standards. Only after threatening legal action and adverse publicity did the hotel back down.

The moral is be warned! - your room may not be available here even if the hotel confirms it to you in writing.