Vincci Saphir Palace & Spa in Hammamet

Very bad! Stay Away! Hotel is definitely not 5 star. More like 3 star. Needs deep clean all around. Very run down and tired. It's Tunisia and we didn't expect much, but this was really bad even for their standards. Staff is friendly and nice and that's about the only positive thing we can say about it. When checking in we were told that they will upgrade us to a nice sea view room. I was well pleased until the first night. Yes, balcony is facing the sae, but also a 6 lane road that separates hotel from it. On other side of the room we had the grand lobby that was really noisy. Very difficult to sleep. They put their music in lobby on every morning well before 7am, so you're all up then too. Rooms very basic. No kettle, no tea or coffee in the room. We're a family of 4 and there was one water bottle for us in the room and new one wasn't provided to us during the stay with only exception being when I complained in reception then it appeared again for one day. Same with towels, shampoos and shower gels. 2 tiny bottles of each for a family of 4. Probably gave us 2 more every 2 days. We ended up buying and using our own. No hotel info anywhere, only in lifts they had a poster asking to use their app for everything. Nothing mentioned in reception during check in. Downloaded it, but it never worked for me. No English channels in TV. Pool was really cold. Not heated. Food horrible. Very repetitive. Pasta and pizza stations. Grilled fish every day which was served with the same pliers that chef just handled raw fish with. Fish wasn't cooked all the way through too. Same with kebabs they served. Raw meat in the middle. After this experience in first two days we stayed clear of that for the remainder of our holidays. Got mild food poisoning too on the second day which we think was from fresh salad and veg (maybe unwashed or poorly handled), so we stayed clear from that too limiting our options even further. Children's play area behind pool was a mess. Real health and safety hazard. Overgrown. Didn't seem like they had a gardener taking care of anything. Weeds everywhere. Security guard at times was non existing at front door. Sometimes during the day somebody was there, but it seems like that not always. Like anybody could have walked through. This wasn't the case in other hotels where they sent us to go look for a cash machine (atm). We couldn't get through unless we explained what we're doing and who we are.

Hotel generally very tired and outdated; understaffed across all areas and operations. Staff were very friendly, they tried their very best but, were often overwhelmed due to demand. On the beach stated it was on the beach, clever photography hid two lane dual carriageway between hotel and private beach. Sadly beach not as private as private would suggest; with walk ins off the street taking beds. On the Beach stated it as a four star accommodation, other guests stated their tour operator rated the hotel as five star. We all agreed cleanliness, faculties and service nearer a two to three star two swimming pools; one dedicated to small infants. Main pool graduated from 10cm deep to 200cm deep with shallow walk in entry, lots of access steps and ladders. However pools had significant algae growing on grout between pool tiles, pool tiles slimy underfoot and geese tide mark running round pool edge. Poll drains similarly dirty. Pool patios washed down daily, sadly some guests just disposed of cigarette buts on patio areas. Disgusting behaviours. Only two bars; one in main lobby, one in shallow pool. Pool bar often left unattended during 2 hr lunch period Entertainment consisted of staff led pool aerobics and karaoke. Music came from single speaker in pool bar, music way too loud often reaching levels greater than 105Db at 30 meters from speaker. Complained on mine and poor barman’s behalf. Entertainment staff just laughed it off. Special shout out to Rafik the pool bar man for his excellent service, the man worked very hard despite the harshest working environment I have ever encountered. The very loud music spoilt my holiday and drastically reduced my consumption at the bar (we booked all inclusive and I lost weight). Hotel rep Salem, don’t book trips through him; he is very expensive, double the price of tour operators outside the hotel and not often truthful. Don’t use ticket touts book with a tour operator in the marina. Al a carte menu non existent; no choice available, consequently no point in booking this opportunity. However, food in general quite good with great many of choices to be had; fresh fruit, salads and breads always available. Freshly BBQ food available at lunch and dinner, sadly chefs are lazy and BBQ food just cremated and same utensils used on raw and cooked food. Shame really. Inadequate maid service, we had to ask for bedding exchange after first week, requested further bedding change only to find two additional pillows; repeated request, more pillows arrived. Had to physically show bedding needed changing before request was dealt with satisfactorily, towels not changed and fresh towels often missing/not replaced. Requested room cleaning was often just overlooked or room service request on door handle turned round to do not disturb, other guests also had same experience. Requested additional lighting to support only one bedside lamp (no ceiling lights) never arrived despite repeated requests. No safe in roo

Arrived after midnight no food or drinks offered.Bar at lobby understaffed,waiting 5/10 mins to be served. Mohamad the bar man said to my wife use the pool bar when she asked for a drink even as we were sat outside his window. None of the food is covered up like in Turkey or Egypt so all the food is open to the flies. Only 1 barman at the pool bar and he has to collect empty glasses on his own so waiting time for service can be long. I had a nose bleed 2nd day and blood dripped on to my pillow. It took 7 days to change the sheet. The hotel is far from 5 star and caters mostly for the French. On the beach want to drop this hotel from it's search engine as its not for the British

In one word, shocking! (a zero star wasn't possible so I had to put one)
The short story, the room was a big disappointment for a five stars. When we went to ask for a better service we were given marital advice then elegantly invited to leave.

Now for the details: I went with my wife for our honeymoon, which my family made perfectly clear at the time of booking.
First of all, the room was as follows:
- A normal double bed with nothing "honeymoony" (except 4 to 6 cheap candies randomly put on the bed), with hard pillows.
- There were ants in the room.
- The bathroom's trash was broken, and towels were dirty.
- The room had a view on a busy street.
- The minibar was empty.
- We got a cold abnormally salty omelette and a bolognaise for dinner. The waiter asked to be payed right away in cash. No receipt was given.

So we noticed this and spent the first night anyway. On the next morning, we went to the reception and asked to see if we can get a better service. We had the Guest Relations staff coming to see us. We stated our remarks to the Guest Relations lady in a positive and polite way, because our purpose was to solve the situation and start enjoying our honeymoon. She listened impatiently, then she gave us the best answer "the important thing is that you're happy together and all other things are superficial." After few other marital advice about true happiness, she said that she'll check with her superior and be back.

She came after a while saying that there was nothing wrong with the room, and that the 4-to-6 cheap candies were their usual procedure for honeymoons, and that our room was actually prepared specially by the the Gouvernante in person because we were recommended by our agency. She said other things to imply that our demands are capricious. Then she said that they can change our room, or.. help us find another hotel "since the hotel manager knows all hotels in town", to which my wife said she feels that the second option is the preferable one by the Guest Relations. The lady answered with a smile.

So we asked for a minute to talk, and we quickly made our mind to leave the place. My wife went to the room and I went to the reception saying that we're not satisfied with the service and we'll be checking out. I tried my best to speak politely to the guy, with a smile, as he was only a reception clerk doing his job, saying "I understand that the Guest Relations lady tried but we're still unsatisfied. Thanks anyway but we're checking out." His answer was "I don't know what was the problem. The Guest Relations made you a good offer [changing the room] but it seems that your wife DIDN'T LIKE the room [using a local dialect term that implies my wife is spoiled]." I flipped out and said to the guy that it's not of his business what my wife like or doesn't like and that I find it strange that the Guest Relations advises us on our marriage, while the reception is discussing my wife's room taste. He said he's saying that in a friendly manner and as "a member of my family". I said he should rather consider me as a customer who's paying for a service, and that I'm not getting any.

I went to the room to prepare our bags and I called the reception to ask them to give us the phone number of our agency. They said they'll call me back and didn't. We found the number on the internet easily. Later, when we came down to the reception they said they don't have the number.
We called the agency, SDS. Mr. Nabil from SDS simply said "Roger that. Wait for me in the reception with your bags. I'll be there in 15 minutes to get you to another hotel."

Mr. Nabil came with Mr. Imad from SDS promptly. They helped us to book at the Russelior (Hammamet) few blocks away, which is also a five stars, and they were very nice and professional. So far the new place is excellent.

To summarise: The issues with the room were not unusual in hotels, and we went to report them with a positive attitude. They could have resolved the situation with a simple "sorry" and a descent intervention. However, they behaved incredibly unprofessionally.