My wife and I have just returned from the Sinbad Hotel in Hammamet Tunisia. We stayed for 11 nights from 5 – 16th October 2011.
We booked our holiday through Golden Hind Travel in Cleethorpes and Classic Collection Holidays.
We have to say for us, this was an absolutely fabulous holiday! Probably the best we’ve ever had for several reasons.
Firstly the service we received from Golden Hind was without exception tremendous. The staff are knowledgeable, courteous, kind, understanding of our needs, patient; the superlatives continue! We can’t thank Claire and all the staff enough, and in particular Caroline who we dealt with specifically. Nothing was too much trouble and we will definitely use them again.
In terms of Classic Collection they were also fabulous. However we do have one issue which we think people should be aware of. We initially booked a last minute holiday based upon the fabulous catalogue which Classic have. This was the first time we had used them and we took in the opening statement in their catalogue that Classic provide “upmarket holidays”. Unfortunately when we got home we looked on the internet, trip advisor and saw photographs which told a different story. In particular the hotel wasn’t “on the beach” which the catalogue had led you to believe, but some 200 yards away over a rock strewn area and across some old planks as a footwalk. Perhaps this was a one off………. However when we tried to change the holiday we were told it would cost us a hefty sum to cancel but nothing to move to another hotel in the same price range. Eventually we decided on a higher price range and chose The Sindbad.
Having researched the Sindbad further the night previous we were much more assured of getting what we were looking for. I do know that pages such as trip advisor can be a nightmare because you can’t please everyone all the time. That’s why often we steer away from them. But we do look at photographs and do sometimes take peoples advice.
Golden Hind and Classic do provide a fabulous alternative to the run of the mill travel agents, professional and courteous service right from the outset and the bonus of personal transfer from the airport to your hotel which was a boon! I don’t think we will do the coach fandango ever again! I’m sure you do pay for it in the price somewhere but isn’t that what holidays are all about? Enjoying yourself.
We arrived in Tunisia at Enfidha airport at approximately 2.30am as the flight was delayed a couple of hours out of Doncaster Robin Hood, (due to the Greek air controller strike which had an impact across several destination). Enfidha was built around 2007 and is the newest airport there. However it’s not a huge place and very small in comparison to a lot of normal holiday destination airports. Consequently it can take a while to get through I’m sure if its busy. We were the only flight in at the time and we were through reasonably quickly. Staff were polite and helpful.
After leaving departure’s we were met straight away at arrivals by the Classic Collection Rep who got us straight to our waiting car and very pleasant driver. 40 minutes later we were at our Hotel! Fabulous. The coach transfer is over 1 hour 30 minutes.
At the hotel we were met by a pleasant and friendly Bell Boy who took control of our entire luggage and a welcoming reception staff. Within a few minutes we had done what we needed to do and were in our luxurious suite which the hotel had upgraded us to (courtesy of Golden Hind and the Hotel – thank you so much!) There was also a fabulous bowl of fruit in the room as well as a welcome gift. My wife Jo nearly died when she saw the size of the French Bed! It was huge! The room was spotlessly clean and there was everything that you could need; bathrobes, slippers, hairdryer, sewing kit, shampoos, shower get, bath salts, creams, plenty of towels etc etc. There was a good size bath and separate shower with a large wash basin and mirror.
The bedroom was a good size too with a 32 inch flat screen T V. Only three English channels, BBC News, CNN and a movie channel, but we only used it whilst waking in the morning and showering at night so it was more than adequate.
The sitting room was a good size, had a two seater settee, and two separate arm chairs, a coffee table and some side stands. There was also a further 32 inch TV!! It was all very contemporary and well laid out. Outside was a small terrace with a table, parasol and two chairs overlooking the lovely gardens. We sat out there a couple of time during the evenings and it was great! The rooms have free climate control, air conditioning which we only used a couple of times. There is also plenty of storage and hanging space which is always a bonus. There is also a free safety deposit box in the room.
The room was only a couple of minute’s pleasant walk to the main restaurant and also the infinity pool and beach!
Meals are taken in the main dining room which is nearly in the centre of the hotel. Breakfast is everything you could wish for on holiday. Lots of pleasant staff and waiters around.. Ability to sit outside in the courtyard or inside in the restaurant. Buffet service with good and hot coffee, a range of different teas including English. A choice of hot and cold foods, the normal continental foods and plenty of hot choices to choose from. Not an English option in sight however, eggs and bacon etc which was great for us! Omelettes, hot Tunisian spicy sausages, boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, etc etc. Lots of fresh bread and croissants every day.
Also which we thought was very good, there was also always a lot of staff / chefs on in the buffet are. Consequently as soon as you had helped yourself to the buffet, either in the morning or in the evening, they we in straight away to tidy up and make sure it was always full and presentable. All buffet meals were always presented very well, even down to lots of various and different arrangements. We were very impressed.
We were only half board so most lunch times we either had fruit out on the beach or something from the pool bar. Of note. You could go back to your room and order room service which was vey reasonable and always had lots on offer! For instance, once we had a chicken sandwich and French fries. We order for one and intended to share. There was certainly more than enough for two, and it came with a jug of coffee and all the trimmings mayo, etc. The cost. 12 TD Tunisian Dinars. Approx £5.50!! Great value especially for a 4/5 star hotel.
In terms of evening dining, there is the main restaurant and then a further a la carte restaurant which you pay a supplement for. This is near the inside pool and reception. I must confess, we never used it as we looked at it and decided we were happy with the main restaurant. It looked fine and it had good reviews but as I say, we were fine with the main restaurant.
There is also a Thai restaurant within the hotels grounds. We had a look at it and decided it looked a little drab and not that interesting. The menu also seemed neither here or there so also gave that a miss.
There is also Bar 19. This is a sports bar with lots of dimmed light and quite noisy. This is some way off from the main hotel and next to the Thai restaurant. We went in there one night but decided it wasn’t for us.
Please don’t get us wrong, were not boring, we were just looking for a quiet sophisticated holiday.
The hotel also has a main bar next to the reception and main restaurant. This is very comfortable and has very good service from the three or four main bar staff. There is also two resident entertainers. They are a bit dated and a bit Chas and Dave sort of thing, singing lots of old classics very quietly and with foreign accents obviously. It suited us but may not be everyone e else’s cup of tea. Then only other entertainment was a belly dance on one night during our 11 night stay. She was young say in her 30’s, very fit looking and very entertaining. But it lasted 30 minutes and that was it.
I have to say that before we went we knew that this was the level and the extent of the entertainment and people generally made their own. We spoke with lots of the other guests, who were mainly French and German. I still speak German reasonably well so this was not a problem. Lots of the guests also spoke English. We only saw one other group of English people, all men who were only there for a couple of days and were playing golf.
In terms of tipping, we decided that we would tip a couple of Dinas or 10% throughout the holiday as and when we thought we had good service. This we felt was better for us rather than leaving it toward the end. We spoke with a number of guests about this as well as the Reception manager and this was the norm.
We did tip our cleaner who was fantastic right at the outset of the holiday and we gave her 10 Dinas about £5. We then gave her another 10 when we left. The room was spotless every day and also we had various flowers and decorations on the bed and in the sitting room every night.
On the beach there are plenty of sun beds available and the sunbed / beach guys look after you as soon as you get down there. Sun beds and towels are free of charge. We tipped the sunbed guys 1 Dina a day about £0.50 which we understood was the norm. There were also waiters down there from the pool bar and restaurant and you could order food and water, coffee etc. This was a little pricy but we had things like a bowl of chips, or a pizza and that was ok. We also brought fruit with us from the breakfast bar which is acceptable. Water on the beach and in the bars is about £1.50- a litre but there is a small supermarket nearby when you can buy half a dozen bottles cheaply. All the hotel asks is that you don’t overtly bring food and drink into the hotel. In terms of sellers on the beach there really is no problem whatsoever. The hotel provides its own security guards and they have obviously been there for some time as the sellers don’t even bother trying to approach the hotels guests, even when you go into the water. Consequently the sellers don’t even stop by really.
In terms of the beach, its immaculate. Its cleaned every night and again during the day. Not that the same can be said for other stretches of the beach. The nearest hotel we saw was probably 4 or 500- yards away.
In October the weather was great for us. About 28 – 30 every day with the exception of the last day which was very overcast and cool. The sun was up early and the temperature was good right through until about 4.30pm and then it started to cool off. However we didn’t feel we needed a jumper or anything even in October.
The infinity bar pool and bar are just amazing. Very clean and awesome when you swim in the pool. It’s also a great place to watch the sun go down. We were not so impressed with the waiters who worked in the bar as they always seemed moody. Perhaps because we were there in October and it was a bit quiet I don’t know. Other waiters throughout the hotel were fine, very friendly and always very helpful.
In terms of disability access, I have a walking difficulty and have to use a walking stick. However this didn’t pose a problem at all throughout the holiday as everything is in easy walking distance. I’m not so sure it would be really accessible however for anyone in a wheel chair. I didn’t see any access to the beach bar or beach itself for wheelchairs. Also there are a lot of 2 / 3 steps around the hotels.
We did travel to the old and new marina shopping areas and have to say we were very disappointed. It really isn’t worth the effort or hassle. Very poor facilities and items to buy and you are hassled as soon as you get out of the taxi and it doesn’t stop until you get back to the hotel. We also thought that the taxi drivers worked hand in hand with the guys on the ground because as soon as you got in a taxi they were on the phone to someone, and as soon as you got there someone pounced on you and seemed to know which hotel you had come from. Not really worth the effort unfortunately.
Would we go back? Definitely and are already enquiring to go back in September 2012! Fabulous holiday and lots of wonderful memories.
We hope you have a great time. David and Jo
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
