There are lot to love about Dar Dhiafa, but there equal amout of things you'd love to forget. If asked the two most important questions, would you come back or would you recommend this hotel for your best friend, answer to both questions would be no and no. Let me explain:

The exterior of the hotel is what you can easily love. It bears the historical atmosphere nicely, and the play of colours and shadows after dark is as beautiful as you would expect from Tunis. Our room was also one to remember: the bathroom had is arch ceiling at about 3,5 metres high and the walls had rch red colour. Also the location of the hotel was what we expected. It is isolated and far from the noise of the Zone Touristique. There is a mosque just few tens of metres from the hotel, but at least we didn't woke up to the minarets calling early in the morning like some other guests have.

But then the downsides that are many. TAKE NOTE it is the guests of the hotel that make the atmosphere and the staff that tries hard to ruin it. This hotel thinks more of themselves than they can deliver. Had it not been to some very nice fellow guests our week at Dar Dhiafa would have turned unbearable. Most clearly the quality of service was divided into people that spoke French and to people that didn't. This was noted by other non-French guests as well. There were only few members of the staff that spoke some English and it wasn't always clear that they understand what you asked them or even what they said to us.

The biggest difficulty was at the restaurant. To begin with, only a French menu. To continue, the waiter that took the orders, couldn't understand English. We had bought the half-board, so we couldn't really escape this fact. As a sidenote, on the night we arrived we were told the restaurant was closed and they had made a reservation for us in Houmt Souk. It appeared to 15 min taxi drive away in a restaurant that is said to be one of the the most expensive on the island. A relaxed start to a holiday after being tired from all the travelling it was not. The problem with the restaurant escalated on the last day when we asked for a change of dinner to lunch, which was possible. We were then served a lunch that was hardly a snack. When they tried to bill us, we realised a misunderstanding and went to the English-speaking receptionist. He crossed-over the bill and said because of the mess-up we could eat a dinner at the restaurant for free. We should've had it in writing. We ended up paying for the dinner even when we told the staff about the earlier promise. No apologies. Such an au revoir!

The historical feeling comes with compromising the modern amenities, that to a certain point is ok with this hotel because that's kind of what you're looking for. However the shower that bearly works and the every day pungent stench of the sewer puts you off. Also take note that there are no bathroom doors, and there could be a window with a clear view from outside. Not for the shy. The pool was visibly worn out. It's very steep so not for kids, I think. Also the hammam didn't operate for the whole week of our stay until the very last night. There was a list of massages and other services but you couldn't reserve them, because it was operated outside hotel and the staff didn't know when for the next time.

It is also very stupid rule not to let guests bring their own drinks or snacks to the rooms (I understand not to the pool). Every guest smuggled drinks to the room, I guess. A 0,9 liter bottle of water costs 4 dinars or 2,3 euros. Same with small beers and sodas. White wine costs 9 dinars a glass or some 35 dinars a bottle.

Taxis work well and reliably between Erriadh and Houmt Souk or beach. It costed around 4-5 dinars to the city and around 10 dinars or more to the beach. They had meters running.

Would they hire more positive staff with even a little English skills, this would be a much nicer place. As it is now, it goes to waste. Luckily for us, there were many nice fellow guests and we had nice time with them, but in the end it will take some to forget about all the negative things and remember only the good things.

Apart from an uncomfortable 'tour' of the hotel by a young man who seemed unassociated with the hotel, (and i wasn't the only one staying to suffer his very unwanted and unpleasant attempted advances) this was a truly relaxing break.

Houmt Souq (the nearby town) is harmless enough with some hidden away shops which lack any tourist hassle. It is easy enough to avoid almost all hassle by dressing appropriately. (And I have only contempt for those who do not!).

The hotel itself was as every review I'd seen, smartly run, thoughtfully decorated and the (expected!) service was great. The owners were there every other day or so asking how everything was for me.
My room was tucked away with its own courtyard for reading in, with refreshing air conditioning. This is a really beautiful hotel, and I could not recommend it higher for couples or singles desiring some time away from city life.

The Hotel Dar Dhiafa is a real gem of a hotel in what is quite a touristic island. It is a short taxi ride from the main town of Houmt Souk, in a small town called Erriadh, near the La Ghriba synagogue.
Upon arrival we were greeted by a very sweet hotel cat and a friendly chap at reception who took our bags and offered us a sparkling fruit drink, which was welcome after a fairly long journey from the mainland.
We were taken to our room, a junior suite, in one of the courtyards and were immediately wowed by our surroundings. The hotel is built from a small group of authentic moorish houses, and so the suite contained a small dining/lounge area as well as the bed chamber and a beautiful bathroom with a full stone bath/shower. We were really quite taken aback by it.
We elected to stay for dinner in the evening and the food, while expensive for Tunisian prices, was still reasonably cheap, especially when you consider the wonderful setting in the dining room with literally hundreds of candles to light the place. The head waiter was really helpful in explaining the dishes on the menu - most of which were local specialties . The food itself was tasty and filling and we had not heard of some of the dishes before, which made a change from the 'couscous royale' you see almost everywhere else. Dessert, in particular, was outstanding.
Drinks on the courtyard in the evening was also delightful, with low lighting overhead and the pool the perfect setting under the stars.
As people who normally backpack, staying in budget accomodation, and were predictably weathered on arrival at Dar Dhiafa at the end of our break, the upmarket hotel's staff made no fuss about it and were extremely welcoming.
While the headline price advertised in the hotel was quite high, we managed to book it relatively cheaply online and felt we had got great value for money.
We have talked about returning. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

A great place to relax and chill out in nice surroundings with attentive staff who were more than willing to please. One negative and an important one, was the food. Not particularly good and somewhat pricey for what it is.