Good stay for new years eve ; we had a very confortable suite with swimpool view (2 very large communicating rooms ;good food by Tunisian standards ;
staff helpful and children made full use of the indoor pool ; can use spa facilities as well ; New Year's gala was ok as well as dinner in shéhérazade restaurant , ok for a winter stay but in summer ,i think more nicer ..... and all over around diar lemdina are beauty ,,, dont forget to ask the animation team about the pretty fishs downstairs in expo center..... see you soon all staff in medina

This is our second stay at Hotel Residence Diar Lemdina and once again we have had a wonderful holiday. Last time, we came in November 2010 and this time in January 2012. January is definitely out of season but the weather is like a clear Spring day in the UK, with only one shower of rain in the week we stayed. The outside pools were closed (and would have been freezing) but the indoor pool in the Spa (Amal Beaute) was available 7 days a week and is clean and warm. If you go all inclusive, a Turkish bath at the Spa is included (with a voucher) but I would encourage you, if you can, to pay a little extra for a massage or treatment: the owner and staff are professional and lovely and you do feel wonderfully relaxed and refreshed once they’ve finished.
This is a cosmopolitan hotel – and it is all the better for it. We shared our stay with British, French, Germans, Tunisians, South Asians and other North Africans: families, couples and delegates at an on-site conference. The reception staff, waiters, housekeepers and bar staff all speak English and it is not at all difficult to make yourself understood.
Our room, a Suite, was again fantastic: living area, kitchen with fridge, hob and sink, and a balcony on the lower floor and bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs. There is always hot water and the rooms are cleaned daily to a very high standard. The housekeepers are excellent and very accommodating. There is both air conditioning and heating (in January the latter was welcome) and plenty of power sockets (you need a European adaptor from the UK). The TV selection is typical for North Africa (not much in English) but there is CNN, Panorama Action (showing English language films with Arabic subtitles), a few English children’s programmes on MBC3, and Eurosport, which afforded the surreal experience of watching the Darts finals from Lakeside with German commentary. We came on holiday to relax, read, sleep, eat well and relax some more and Diar Lemdina certainly provided everything we could have asked for.
There is much to buy in the Medina should you wish but unless you are a great fan of haggling, stick to the fixed price shops and don’t be drawn in by chaps claiming to work for the hotel who take you to shops selling fake stuff at silly prices (‘tax free’ promises are nonsense). If in doubt, a polite but firm ‘no thank you’ does the job. Anyone claiming to be your waiter from the night before on his day off is just lying and best ignored. We didn’t get involved in the entertainment side of things, but the bar is a nicely kept area and the staff and manager were very welcoming and the drinks good (be they ‘local’ or otherwise).
Best of all, though, was the food. Breakfast might include eggs, sausages, pancakes, bread and fruit. Lunch and dinner provides a wide selection of dishes – some European and some North African. There is a generously stocked salad bar, freshly prepared pasta dishes, meats chargrilled in front of you and a pizza oven (see our pictures). In addition, we could choose from dishes such as couscous (with meat and vegetables in a typical Tunisian style), casseroles of lamb or chicken, vegetables cooked in various ways, samosas, cheese pasties, rice, grilled fish, and French fries. There is plenty – for both adventurous and conservative palettes – and all is beautifully cooked and regularly refreshed. The desserts are delicious too – although I would suggest that the bubble-gum flavoured, bright blue ice cream might be just for the kids! The waiting staff are all very attentive and polite, as are the kitchen staff, and we were especially grateful to Braiek Hajri and Taoufik, our waiters for most of our stay, who were always cheerful and extremely helpful.
The Receptionist asked whether we had noticed any difference between our first stay (just before the revolution) and now. It is difficult to tell as we didn’t really leave the complex this time but I don’t think it was my imagination that all the staff seemed just a little more relaxed and happy. We really did have such a lovely time and would once again heartily recommend this hotel and Tunisia in general for a great holiday.

We have just returned from a weeks holiday at the Diar Lemdina. I must say that this is more of a village than a hotel. The complex itself is very large but well maintained and is in a really good location. There are lots of attractions nearby. All the rooms are outside and the walkways to get to some them even have ‘street names’. As there were 4 of us in our party, we were originally booked in to a one bedroom senior suite but asked to be upgraded to a 2 bedroom when we arrived which the reception staff gladly did at no extra cost.

The suite is really a 2 bed 2 ½ bath house and was modestly furnished. The only downsides for me were the fact that there was only one TV in a suite meant for 6 people and the only English speaking channels were CNN and Euronews. There were a couple others but the reception was very bad. There was also no chairs in the whole suite. The seating was in the living room and these are actually day beds so provide no real support when sitting down. The beds for me were another issue. They were a little on the hard side and the single beds were tiny in both width and length for me. I’m 5’ 8” and my feet were almost the end. I don’t think I got a proper nights sleep in the whole time I was there. Also the walls are very thin and you can hear people moving around and scrapping furniture through the walls. There is also no iron in the studio so bring your own.

Wireless internet access is available in the rooms but costs an eyewatering 10 dinars an hour, which is just under £5.00. A cheaper option would be to use the internet café just behind reception which is a more reasonable 3 dinars for 30 mins or 5 dinars (£2.50) for the hour. However, it is not run by the hotel and is often closed more times than it is open.

There are 3 swimming pools but we only saw 2 of them. Our room was right outside the smaller outdoor pool nearest reception. The indoor swimming pool is heated and is lovely. Be warned though – it is 1.45m deep everywhere. It has no shallow end, which we did not realize. I wasn’t in the pool and my daughter got into a bit trouble in the middle but luckily a lovely French couple came to the rescue and no harm down.

The food wasn’t too bad and the restaurant staff are lovely. There is plenty of choice if you like that kind of food. I found that more often than not the food was lukewarm which is annoying if you like to eat your food piping hot as I do. There was a grill every night and that was the only way you’d get hot food when they grill it in front of you. It also tasted pretty good. The pancakes at breakfast were the best I’ve had

One thing to note is that you don’t seem to be able charge anything to your room, whether it be internet access or drinks in the restaurant (we went half board) so you must pay for everything in cash. A bottle of coke or water cost 2 dinars (about 90p) which is not bad.

On a slightly more negative note, and nothing really to do with the hotel itself, there are some really unfriendly guests staying at this hotel. Libyan refugees are being housed here and their behavior is nothing short of appalling. They were racist to us and we had a very nasty incident with them in the restaurant one night which resulted in the hotel manager being called. The police were also called at my request as one of the males tried to hit my mother. All the hotel staff handled this horrible incident very well and I would like to thank all of them for their support. It’s such a shame because this will definitely damage the hotel’s reputation having these type of people staying at their hotel. I understand that they are refugees but they should be grateful that they are able to stay in such nice accommodations.

I wouldn’t let this put you off staying here though but I wouldn’t stay again because of them.

All in all, I would recommend this hotel if rude, badly behaved Libyan refugees do not bother you.

Everything is lovely my children loved it and want to go back,I was round at the pool(loud) the life guards were all over the teenage girls and the life guards were in there late 20s i found this very sick find them touching these girls and at night going into there rooms the rest of the people are lovely and helpful and all I can say watch ur teenagers every move please.