Okay so Egypt is one of them places your either love it or you hate it.. I've done Egypt twice and love it!! Fancied somewhere different for a quick winter getaway and it was just a cheap sharm... We got put into the annex of the hotel and the rooms were falling to bits.. When we checked in the receptionist even said if your not happy then come back in the morning (which was worrying) I seen these apartments and thought it was something from magaluf!! Anyway got moved to the 5th floor in the main hotel and they were lovely & the maid was brilliant! Now whilst on the staff they rely on tips BIG time!! Entertainment isn't anything special but they do try! Food is VERY repeative.. Spag bowl everynight, pizza and chips everynight etc etc.. So all on all a cheap get away but won't be returning I would rather pay the extra and go to Egypt, better hotels, service, food and even drink!!! Oh we did eat out for a few nights and bonaparts is the place to go!!!

Having just come back from a 7 night holiday from Tunisia, we stayed at the Royal Salem hotel in Sousse.

My first impressions were like wow, especially after reading various different reviews prior to departure.

We had a pleasant 7 nights at the Royal Salem hotel, staffs were great and food was excellent ands loads in variety to choose from! Being on all inclusive you are entitled to unlimited drinks/tea, indoor pool which was a little warm - jacouzi was great!

Room - i had the family room sea view? Brilliant room, spacious & cleaned everyday!

Would i go back? - definately would go back, my little 3yr old loved her stay here and people were fantastic.

I stayed here for the last two weeks in January 2012. The reason I was staying there is because I had booked a two week holiday at the adjacent, more ordinary named Marhaba Salem; but it is not yet built so they put me in the garden complex of rooms at the Royal Salem.

Value for money is not in doubt. I went all inclusive with Thomson, including flights and with no single supplement for just over £300 and this needs to be remembered when reading some of my other comments.

The hotel and grounds are clean and welcoming. There are not a lot of luxuries but what there is is good. The staff are excellent and very helpful with many of them having a very reasonable command of English (far superior to my command of Arabic!). The restaurant has a good range of foods available though after a fortnight it starts to be a bit repetitive but, again, it is all inclusive so more expensive foods are going to be in short supply. The table waiters are very helpful and for only 1 or 2 dinar (45p/90p) will go the extra mile in ensuring you are looked after.
The clientele of the hotel fall broadly into 3 groups. There are the long-stayers: people who come back year after year to Tunisia and stay anywhere from 4/5 weeks up to 3 months. This group is very friendly, mainly British and German, and will always offer advice if asked. The second group are from a travel firm called Atlantis. These are mainly Chinese tourists who arrive in numbers between 100 and 150 on any given evening. They have a meal, go to their rooms early and get up early next morning to have breakfast before loading on to coaches for a full day tour of the area. They return in the evening, stay the night and are gone early the next morning. There interaction with the other guests is minimal to nil though they do cause a stir when they all pile into the restaurant at the same time. The third group is the all inclusive 11 and 14 day British holidaymakers. A certain percentage of these are there purely for the free alcohol and behave like they are trying to see if they can drink the bar dry. They are not interested in leaving the hotel grounds and beach and probably leave Tunisia no wiser about the Country than when they arrived. This small group caused some trouble whilst I was there with late night noise but not sufficient to spoil what was otherwise a very good holiday.

I am giving serious thought to going back again next winter - probably for longer than two weeks.

In Canada our cigarette packs carry a government health warning..'Smoking Kills'. The Marhaba Royal Salem should issue such a warning because the lobby bar and reception area is so heavy with cigarette smoke you will feel the effect within a day of arriving.

I have never been in such a smoky atmosphere. Perhaps it's because cigarettes are so cheap in Tunisia, (little over a dollar a pack) that this hotel attracts chain smokers. There were many Algerian guests who chain smoked in the large lobby/reception area day and night. The British guests chain smoked as well.

By day two our chest hurt, we had developed sore throats and chesty coughs from the heavy fog of smoke. It was truly horrendous.

We were based in the garden annex of the hotel which we thought would be relatively smoke free, but no. The family next door smoked day and night and the corridor reeked of smoke all day and all night. Even worse their unruly children ran up and down the corridor and throughout the hotel and pool area day and night, shouting and unsupervised.

We complained and were moved to a room in the main hotel. The room was lovely and away from the smoky lobby. However it was too good to be true. At 4am we were awoken by very loud shouting from the room next door.

A British man had arrived back very drunk and disorderly and shouted and vomited loudly. We called the front desk and security went to his room. However it made little difference the din continued until 5am.

The Royal Salem attracts a low life crowd on very cheap deals. We met couples who had paid as little as £260 each for a fortnight all inclusive including flights and transfers. They told me it was cheaper than staying at home.

Some were long stay guests on a deal of just £100 per month. They spend more on heating bills they told me. A fellow Canadian was staying for four months. However a week was mre than enough for me.

We have never seen so many obese unruly people who drank and smoked continuously. We had to visit a pharmacy in Sousse to buy antibiotics for our sore throats and bad coughs caused by the heavy smoke.

Even worse was the building work being carried out. Throughout the day we could not hear ourselves think because of the loud drilling and hammering taking place. The din drowned
out the music and any attempt at conversation. It was bad.

How a hotel can not inform guests of this extensive work being carried out is beyond me. How they have the cheek to remain open during such extensive building work is bad.

I felt sorry for the long stay guests who have to endure this racquet for months.

There was little to do, and it was very cold and rainy. I would not recommend a visit to Tunisia during the winter months. In Canada they are promoting the country and offering deals but you will not see much sunshine in Dec. or Jan.

The indoor pool was icy cold and not very clean. There were no changing facilities (due to renovations we were told), so women had to change in a public area with shifty looking guys in leather jackets hovering and leering at you. Children were allowed to shout and behave in a disruptive manner totally unsupervised making it impossible to enjoy a swim.

The food was good, and plentiful, the house wine served at meals is bitter tasting and occasionally smelt off, as though it was corked.

The best part about this hotel is the lovely beach bar, with it's view of the ocean and friendly waiter Habib who is always smiling and helpful. The bar is home to a lovely cat who will purr and jump on your lap.

I could not recommend this hotel in any way. It was not a cheap holiday considering we had flown from Canada. We were informed it was a 4 star, I'd give it no more than a 2 star rating. I've stayed in better Travellodges and motels at a fraction of the cost.

There's nothing 'Royal' about it. If this hotel is 'Royal' I'm a Duchess!.

If your idea of fun is getting boozed up and chain smoking day and night, druken Karaoke, Bingo, and eating to excess round the clock, you will enjoy the Marhaba Royal. It certainly is not what we enjoy on vacation and we could not wait to leave.

In no way could I recommend this hotel.