I just got back from two weeks in the zenith hotel. It is a large hotel complex with I don't know how many rooms. There is a large variation in the quality of the rooms. The management uses different strategies to maximize their profit which is normal for a business. But some of the strategies are a little dishonest at best. First of all they list the hotel by at least two different names on the Internet but in fact it's the same hotel, zenith and kinza, and once you get there the name on the hotel is Sunny.
When you read the differences in the commentaries you wonder if people are talking about the same hotel. Maybe this can be explained in that people's expectations are different. If you regularly eat at McDonald's maybe you will not have a problem with the food that they serve.
For the rooms, it's somewhat of a lottery as to which room you get. But in talking with several guests who had a similar experience to mine, the reception to the hotel is a little shady. When I arrived 1 July the hotel was not at capacity so naturally I asked the clerk if she was giving me a nice room. With a smile she assured me that I was receiving one of the nicest rooms in the hotel with a view on the pool. I had booked a triple for two adults and one child and when I saw the room it was a standard room with an extra bed, with very worn fixtures, an old bathroom with calcium deposits all over and the smell of disinfectant.
I returned downstairs and told her that I was not happy with the room and that I could not imagine spending two weeks there. She told me that she had no other options for that day and that I could come back to speak with the director in two days because he was not working the next day. I told her firmly that I had no intention to speak with the director and that she needed to resolve my problem today. Then she said that she would give me another choice of rooms tomorrow if I came down at 10 o'clock since they were still preparing rooms.
When I arrived the next morning there were other clients complaining about the conditions of their rooms. One in particular was very unpleasant. I follow the very unpleasant couple and talk diplomatically to the lady at the reception and finally I ended up with a very nice room. 300% better than the room I had slept in the night before. From talking with other clients who had experience the same maneuver, clients are given bad rooms the first night and if they don't complain you will stay there for your entire vacation.
The other condition of satisfaction is the price that you pay. I had booked my trip well in advance and had a rate that was so low it was almost unbelievable for all inclusive.
As far as the food I was pleasantly surprised for the first few days that the food seemed fine. The beer was okay but the wine was undrinkable. The other local alcoholic beverages were also not good. All of the sodas and juices were overly sweet and undrinkable for me. The coffee was okay.
As the first week ended and the second week began, I found little pleasure in eating the food. It was like being in a hospital. After I realized that the quality of the ingredients were the worst that could be found in Tunisia. I mean they produce vegetables that are imported to Europe but it seemed that most of the vegetables served there would not be accepted by Europe.
I had expected that the food would not be the best and had already planned that we would eat outside of the hotel once a day. There were several restaurants within a 10 minute walk of the hotel that served excellent Tunisian food as well as fresh seafood for less than €10 per person.
The hotel was clean and the cleaning ladies were good and pleasant. I normally gave her a tip of one euro per day.
The animation in the hotel was good and the kids club was fined also.
There were shows each night put on by the animation team which were good and my daughter insisted to go each night. After the first week I would remain in the café during the show and would meet her afterwards. The music was too loud.
They had a disco in the complex but after our second visit we never returned. If you are interested in the nightlife there some good clubs 15 minutes away from the hotel by taxi. The oasis and the Latino.
All in all I was satisfied with my trip based on the price that I paid and the fact that I went at the beginning of the season. By the time I left the hotel was much more crowded and I was in fact happy to leave.
Don't expect more than a three star Tunisian hotel, realize that you may have to put some effort in negotiating the conditions of your stay, try to get out of the hotel and see some other things and be careful whenever you are receiving change from your purchases.
- Kinza Hotel Hammamet
