Hotel El Hana Beach Reviews

Good place, good hotel, good staff shame about the age and weariness of the hotel.

After reading the previous reviews we were really dreading this holiday but I must say we were pleasently surprised.

We arrived very late due to a delay but the porter showed us to our rooms and showed us the view and how everything worked. Next morning we arrived for breakfast and we were told that we had the same table everytime plus the same waiter. This was great as you didn't have the usually mad rush at peak time to get a table. The hotel was lovely and the people were very friendly apart from the women on reception who were a bit grumpy. The rooms were spacious and we had clean towels everyday. If you don't get one, ask for a room overlooking the pool and the sea. It was a lovely view although you heard all the entertainment so no chance of hitting the sack before 12 even if you wanted to.

The location of the hotel was right on the seafront so you literally came out of the gate, across the busy road (bear in mind the cars don't stop) and you were on the beach. Beach beds were so cheap. Worked out 4 dinars for 2 beds and an umbrella, approx: 80p. The resort itself, well you are in an African country. It's very dusty and dirty and the shop keepers are a pain but hey, that's their living and everything is so cheap and we have far more money than them, they want us to buy. After a few days, we got used to them and we used to have a good banter going. We only felt comfy drinking back at the hotel as the few bars that were there were full of the local men. Only drawback is there isn't a lot to do on the evenings and after a while the Hotel Song gets on your nerves.

All in all, we had a great week and I would say if you want a relaxing time, with friendly people then give it a go. I would not say no to going back again although I would make sure I stayed at this hotel as other travellers had pretty bad ones.

We enjoyed this holiday, but not to go back year after year.This Hotel was classed as 4 star,(more like 2 star away from the reception). The rooms were spacious with a large bathroom and balcony, but the carpeting in the hotel was filthy.The general decor in the room was ok but obviously not to uk standard.The pillows were like pillow cases stuffed with a bit of unwanted linen,really useless.The reception service was inadequate, we arrived at 5.00 am, to be told we could not exchange money until 10.00 -12.30 and 17.30-20.00,(Airport bank was closed). we missed the first slot (sleeping)so we had to have a tab(drinks, ect) which personally i do not like to do.in the afternoon i asked for a television remote, "; come back tomorrow morning";.2 days in i wanted a fridge,"; come back tomorrow morning";.so that is the time to get anything done.The staff were not that pleasant, the chap that took our luggage was not best pleased i could not give him a tip. I noticed that other nationalities pocketed their change rather than give a tip, so do not follow your agents advice to tip, unless you want to.

The food in the hotel for the first few days was ok, but then it starts to get boring and more boring,so we ended up going out to eat just for more choice.
Entertainment in the hotel was very poor, more so, seeing it repeated the second week.
The pool area was nice(you have to pay for the use of sunbeds), but we prefer the beach. Do not use the beach in front of the hotel(no services) go further down in the direction of sousse,(2 minutes walk).there you get nicer sunbeds + Table, Beer, Coffee soft drinks and a menu when you want to eat,Tip them,they will save you beds for the next day.

The local Celtia bottled beer is best.Twice, when out i just asked for a beer, they served it in a pint glass, IT WAS POISON.Buy any water at local shops,its dirt cheap.Tap water is safe,which we used on our first night for hot drinks.
Beware cig sellers, you will get them all over the resort,one waiter at a cafe advised us not to buy from them or shops selling them on their frontage,they are not nice or safe,also be aware when buying cigs from a local shop that you are served the same cigs that the locals are served with because some shops have 1 shelf for them and 1 for the tourists,The local Mars cigs are good, about £7 for 200.The bazaar in sousse can be hectic and you do get harrassed but it is their country so just keep saying no thankyou( La shukran).
Twice we were approached by people saying they were waiters at our hotel as written by previous reviewers, either ignore them or say No,THEY WANT YOUR MONEY!.

When buying anything, whatever price you are given, Quarter it, and stick them out to get the best price, if they let you leave they have gone as far as they can.Your brochure will probably say the locals love to barter, that is complete rubbish, the locals will try to skank you for every penny and not always in a nice way.

We paid 15 Dinar for a pair of sunglasses in a shop but in the entrance to the bazaar they were selling good quality glasses for 1 Dinar!. We went to a carpet shop to buy a rug, i told them it must not be bigger than 2 by 1 metres, after 1.5 hours there must have been 25 carpets on the floor in every size and colour bar what we wanted, ";but sir he said these are bargains between £65 and £150";. eventually we got our size and colour, fine i said , how much. "; my very best price to you , my first customer £520";. 1 hour passed and we settled on a price of £160!.pure cashmere.
We took a Taxi to port El Kantouri, though it was a smart looking place it was purely for tourists with tourist prices and a mini pleasure island, complete with dodgems,stick to blackpool if that is what you are looking for, ( joke) personally i go to a foreign country to see how they live to sample their culture and way of life, a fun fair and bingo at the hotel, no thanks.

I probably would not stay in this hotel again, i think it is well suited to families with young kids. the hotel is ideally situated to the town.

There was no entertainment at all in the hotel day or night. The bars closed by 12 midnight. Our room was not vacumned in the 2 weeks we stayed there. We was harassed at the medina, and also at the entrance to Port El Kantaoui. We had to pay for our mattressess which went on the sunbeds which was 2 dinars each.

I would not go there again. it was expensive too, you could not get a glass of wine only a bottle.

Arrived at El Hana Beach Hotel on the Sunday evening. The reception was very nice and the porters wore uniforms. However, the rooms are a completely different story. This is a 3-star hotel but would struggle to be a 2-star in most Western countries. The room was just grubby - the tiles on the edge of the dressing table were missing and the bathroom was best entered without the light on! I never even unpacked - preparing to live out my suitcase!! On the Monday morning I entered the bathroom to find a large bug (I just can't bring myself to say ";cockroach";!) scuttling across the floor. My husband hit it with his shoe and managed to kill it. Off we went assuming it would be disposed of by the chambermaid whilst we were out but oh no, she just put the wastepaper basket over it. It did disappear 3 days later, but that could have been because it was eaten by all the ants that were swarming around it each time I went in the bathroom!!!

The hotel grounds, etc were okay - the outdoor pool was freezing although there was an indoor heated one which apparently was nice and warm. The hotel was probably less than half full (649 rooms) and I would not want to be there during high summer as the pool is not very big and the area around it for the sun loungers would not be enough for a full load of holidaymakers. It was also very slippy to walk around if you had wet feet. However, the beach is directly across the road so it may be okay.

The food is typically biased towards our Continental friends so breakfast was somewhat monotonous but the evening meals were okay (and I do have to admit that the food was always hot). Not much to tempt a 4 year old though - she lived on bread, pasta and chips for a week!!

The Animation team were pretty good although you could tell they were bored as there were not enough guests to actually really do much with. There were only 6 children at the kiddies disco in the evening but they did their best and my daughter enjoyed it. I am sure it would be better (if not manic) in high season.

The location of the hotel is very good. You can walk to the Medina (souk) in about 15-20 mins and the Noddy train to Port El Kantaoui runs straight past the hotel.

To finish, I would not go back to this hotel but would find another (4-star plus!) in the same area.