Stayed there over Christmas. was very pleasantly suprised as I had paid so little for my trip. quirky and unusual. right beside the town. very helpful receptionist. jolly barman. perfect room. fantastic view. no complaints.

It was the best holiday ever! the hotel staff were friendly and accommodating and speak good English. The food was good the location is excellent, the beach is at your feet literally situated on the beach so when we were merry on the beach our beds were a few metres away! were going back in January and will be forever more you have to go there. P.s the president lives next door so the standard is immaculate exclusive private and romantic loved every second xxxxx

My husband and I visited the Hotel (boked through Timeshare) and apart from one disappointment - the first room we were shown (dark and no view) - we had a wonderful holiday. We upgraded the next day to a sea view room on the top floor overlooking the beac and the view was simply unforgettable, The rooms were clean and tidy and I could not fault the staff. We made friends quickly with several of the staff and in paricular remember Amen (Reception) and Mohammed ( from the cafe) who were lovely people. We also had a wonderful Spa exerience and the girls there made us feel very special. The beach was never crowded and the beds sat close to the sea which was clean and excellent for swimming. We felt safe due to the extra security from the guards who looked after the Palace Building next door. At nights we walked to the town and also to a lovely restaurant (out of hotel and walk left ) owned by Hedi and his wife. Outstanding food ... went there several nights and became one of the family meeting their friends too. I would return here in a heart beat but would make sure I had a seaview room from day 1 - simply not to miss a thing ..... the sight of the little fishing boats in the morning wil remain with me forever... Happ memories, oh yes ... very happy xxx

I read bad and good reviews before booking this hotel and still decided that I wanted to stay here. And I wasn't disappointed.
First of all I must say that 2 € per night extra for sea view room in this hotel is best spent 2 € ever. You fall asleep and wake up with the sound of waves. On the balkony you have the gulf of Hammamet right on your doorstep. It's peacefull and beautifull.
Location is perfect, 5 min to old centre of Hammamet and right on the beach.
This is a small hotel where reception staff remembers your room number right away, where guests greet one another and occasionally have a chat at breakfast (which is right on the beach - perfect) and a smile is waiting for you everywhere. And the staff was always helpfull and nice, especially ladies at the reception and the spa (and they all speak very good english so when my basic knowledge of french was not enough I could easilly swich to english). So one could not argue that only male staff was nice to be because I'm a woman.
I think bad reviews come from fussy people who need to be waited on and entertained all the time, who want everything to be spotless and can't appreciate different cultures. I don't know why they bother to visit other countries.
Yes, the hotel could use some refurbishment, but my room was clean, sheets and towels too and that is what matters. And I did not care very much that a small TV in my room had only few channels in arabic and french - who comes on vacation to watch TV anyway. And if you can't do without internet they have free wi-fi in the lobby bar. You can also use their computer to go online but it is way too expensive (10 dinars - 5 € for one hour) - local internet cafes charge 2 dinars for that.
Anyway, to give some more usefull info for people who think about visiting Hammamet at similar time - the small pool was clean but not heated so only for brave. The sea was warm enough to swim in in but also not many people do. I did and it was perfect. Weather was nice comparing to Europe but when cloudy you need a sweater.
I would also like to give advice to women if they plan to come here alone and are not interested in finding a "special" friend for the holiday. I got a little too much (unvanted) attention as every guy in Tunisia seems to think that every woman who comes solo, does that to find a local man (let's face it, sex turism here is booming and locals here are waiting for european women to at least pamper them for one week) . They don't hesitate to ask you if you are singe and to invite you to a drink but it is not to a degree where you would feel threatened. If you say no in a nice way they will stop - just about every waitor tried something during my stay but they were still nice to me after I turned them down.
All in all it comes down to what you expect from your holiday. If you like big and sterille all inclusive hotels you won't enjoy Dar Hayet. But if you can see past the little cultural differences and accept them (you are on a vacation, you know) and if you enjoy peace, the sea and relaxation, this is a perfect place for u.
For me it was really a residence of charm (as they advertise themselves).