Houda Yasmine Marina & SPA

Animation team amazing especially Eva. Made my holiday special. Joe Freddie eamon all amazing

Great atmosphere with very fun attractions. Really nice service everyone is very kind

Firstly, I read reviews before I went and there were some shockers! If you want a 5star luxury hotel, don't go. Look at the price and be realistic about expectations! The rooms are a little dated and aren't luxurious. They are adequate, clean and comfortable. No tea/coffee making facilities so bring travel kettle if it's that important to you.No pool towels provided so bring your own. All public areas are kept immaculately clean, staff were friendly and waiters/bar staff were great. Animation team were enthusiastic but also friendly to us even though we weren't interested in activities. Sun loungers and shades fantastic, pool clean and chilly but early season. Around 300 guests when we were there so fairly quiet and plenty of space. High season can be 700 and that may be crowded.
Freddie head animator was a lovely man and always took time to interact and chat,Ava and Joe also friendly. Jamal was our restaurant waiter and he looked after us very well, keeping our wine coming! Food was reasonable, lots of choice, and always something to eat, it's a buffet so look round and find something! Cakes, breads and pastries fresh and delicious and strawberries galore! Flies are a bit of a nuisance but you learn to ignore them!
We had a very good 10 days, weather was good for 9 of them and got progressively warmer. Nice tan!

Amazing hotel food good quality animation brilliant could not fault the place

We have just come back from a week in Tunisia and we had a wonderful time. The staff were super friendly and really made us feel welcome. The room and the whole hotel was spotless and really beautiful decor. The food was nice but got a bit samey, although this is somewhat to be expected in all inclusive hotels. I would 100% recommend getting a massage as it was glorious!!

The only thing I didn’t like was the persistent selling from the people who ran the excursions. We felt a bit harassed by them the moment we stepped into the reception area and they only left us alone once we booked and payed for an excursion. However the pirate ship trip we booked through them was amazing and well worth the money!

The local area is a bit run down and the beaches are a bit dirty.

This is a perfect hotel if you want to just relax whilst on holiday and not do much in the surrounding area! I couldn’t fault the staff, they were all very welcoming and kind, especially with our young son. The lady (I believe was called Ava/ Eva was especially lovely). There was lots on throughout the day and entertainment in the evenings which was good fun.

If I was going back to Tunisia I would definitely book this hotel again!!

Entertainment was fab and the entertainers were very nice and welcoming

where do I start....sorry this may be a little long...

For starters, this hotel is absolutely not a 4 star hotel; more of a 3-star.

Upon arriving, we had to wait 2 hours for a room to be prepared (although we did arrive early) and the porter was friendly (and was tipped £5) after we entered the card-activated room which did match the pictures on the website, but upon closer inspection is dated, our bath plug was missing, the shower head was too close to the wall (for taller people this is a problem) on the sloping bath and the shower head would not sit correctly due to the loose shower fitting which was never fixed; the bath contained paint flakes and the bath itself was non-white to be polite. As others have pointed out, there are no drawers or storage space whatsoever in the rooms. Clothes hangers are in short supply and only 3 shelves were available in the very dated wardrobes. Power failed whilst in the room; air conditioning was noisy and worked minimally. The mini fridge was noisy and had to be turned off at night; there was no hair-drying (and no kettle so bring one with you); the curtains are thin so the Sun breaks through at 5am and thick dust was seen on the wood paneling in the green and grey room facing the pool we were staying in which was satisfactorily clean.

Checking in went smoothly and when the room was available, the staff did inform us whilst we were beside the good-sized pool which isn't very warm even when the Sun was blazing hot.

Now, the bad sides..

That first night, the 'Animation' members were awfully inquisitive as to where we keep our money and were far too touchy-feely with ourselves and our possessions. They were very insistent for us to participate (usually at some cost) and then we were ignored when we don't include ourselves in what could be seen as childish or puerile activities like bingo.

The poolside music is loud when the 'Animation' team perform their many programs through the day and the team awkwardly sit down next to you uninvited. We were told by other guests that there was no activities for children and was badly advertised. In fact, most of the details about this hotel are inaccurate and in need of updating, including the stock images which sell the hotel, such as the non-private beach that doesn't lead from the hotel! It is actually a 10-minute walk where you may encounter the hotel 'Chef' (more on this later).

The bar cocktails are sparse, the 'Celtia' beer is not the best tasting and that's your only choice apart from Heineken and maybe Becks. The drinks menu was very basic such as vodka, rum, whiskey, ect and the staff are initially pleasant at the beginning (more on this later). The entertainment is not quite as advertised ('live music' is actually just a vocalist with backing tracks) or audience participation with karaoke. And 99% in French which means we had no clue how to interact with the other 'activities' for the primary-French audience. if you don't speak french, you may have a problem enjoying the night time entertainment.

The Restaurant: Breakfasts were great and had a wide selection to choose from, such as omelettes, fruit, toast, cereals, pancakes and traditional Tunisian breakfasts. Sadly though, this becomes rather noisy as other posters have mentioned, the gluttony of certain gusts from certain regions produces lots of food waste and the loud chatter.

HINT: If you like a large cup of coffee/tea in the morning, buy a large souvenir cup as the restaurant cups are 'continental' and on the small side, when the machines are actually working or in need of replenishment as a few times the machine dried up or only one was working and the fruit juice machine was like this more than once. Staff are cordial and always ask if you require anything. There is lack of cutlery, napkins and labeling on the food placards on offer or language (generally in French). And then there's the lack of netting for the flies over the food. This is a big problem.

Food was interesting and tasy, but the chicken and fish contained many bones and there was not a huge selection of fish dishes considering the Sea close by. As many other reviewers have noted, dinner choices becomes repetitive after about 3 days and food dishes are cycled except on weekends when the hotel has an influx of 'locals' (but that food is not for the rest of the hotel guests). There is a strange clique within the hotel we noticed. The waiters are attentive and there is a good choice of salads, side dishes, sweets, deserts and fresh pizza made outside on the terrace to enjoy. .

Pros and cons : Lessons learned

* Beware the 'Chef' that greets you on the street to lure you to a friend's shop to fleece you of some of your dinars before you even start your holiday (Hint: Turn your hotel wristband over so they cannot see what hotel you're staying in)
* Beware the man with the Falcon by the Marina - he may plonk a bird on your arm and demand dinars for it.
* The staff rely heavily on tips and will attempt to take as much as they can by serving you as a waiter. Do not feel guilty if you do not tip every time. If you do, they will expect it every time. They are ungrateful and expect too much from the guests they serve. They demand paper tips, not lower denomination coins as one waiter. Salah, informed me, a dinar or two " is worthless to me, it's like 50p". Save tips for the end of your stay and see how you are treated beforehand.
*Be prepared to be ignored if you do not tip or tip enough or participate in the 'entertainment'
*There was no snack bar between lunch and dinner and no ice-cream for the children (or adults")
*There is a definite communication problem in Tunisia overall and getting to and from places is a nightmare and quite unnerving at times as we traveled to Tunis and Carthage and signage is not multi-lingual for the tourists they attract and mostly in arabic or french.

FInal thoughts:

Some of our experiences have left a bad taste in the mouth, especially when leaving the country and exchanging Dinars back to your own currency. Warning: Do keep the A4 paper receipt when changing money as without it, you will lose those dinars at the airport as you need that paper receipt. We were never told that.

We would not recommend this hotel as it's clearly not a 4-star hotel as mentioned earlier, but if you can ignore all of the above, it's a pleasant break from the norm, relatively cheap, hot weather when not overcast, the masseuse was good and hotel services were reasonable.

Really lovely hotel to stay in I highly recommend. Staff was really friendly and food was amazing. Entertainment was really enjoyable as it was my mothers birthday they really went above and beyond for her.

This hotel is great, the entertainment team were fabulous, Aymen was fantastic, Freddie was full of energy and gave my mum a great birthday show. The hotel food is great, service was great, no complaints at all.

Lovely hotel, nice local food. Staff seem nice.

I did have some problems though, the harrassment from staff and other guests was unacceptable. It took another guest to check on me and invite me to join him for me not to be pestered. There's a man who acted like the owner, not in uniform but very involved, he wanted to take me out for food and drinks. I was alone, I said no politely. He then decided to drink my drinks which I had, the other British guest saw this and then took me under his wing for the remainder of my stay.

Another day, an Algerian guest followed me to my room and wanted me to let him in, knowing my door didn't actually lock nor did my balcony I was very frightened during my stay. The bar staff were lovely generally, they noticed I spoke French which they appreciated but some who knew I was English, prompted creepy behaviour.

There was apparently a private area on the beach, but after my first day, they came and collected all the sun beds, it wasn't clear where the hotel's section was on the beach either.

It is not somewhere I would return.

Nice clean hotel, bar staff great and our room was lovely food was ok, very tunisian but always something to eat, restaurantvery disorganised never any cutelry, reception staff incredibly rude and arrogant

We stayed at Houda Yasmine for a Christmas getaway, but unfortunately it did not meet our expectations at all. The hotel is nothing like what is advertised, and the room was a real let-down. It fell far short of what I would expect from a 4-star hotel. The bedsheets were stained, and the duvet was also stained with no cover provided.

Although smoke alarms are installed, people smoke freely in the lounge with little consideration for others, making the shared areas very uncomfortable.

The dining experience improved once the crowds left, and a waiter named Gadour treated us well. The Christmas Eve dinner and entertainment were actually very good and were the highlight of our stay. Sadly, this was the only real positive. Pepitto and Freddie were friendly and entertaining.

I strongly advise not to book excursions with Mohammed at the hotel. The excursions he sells are a scam. We were charged £71 for two people for a camel ride in the mountains and village, which never happened. Do not trust him.

The cleaner entered my room without knocking, and we had to chase her for something as basic as a towel, as ours was wet.

Overall, the hotel clearly needs better management, improved staff training, and maintenance upgrades. The rooms were cold, several lights were faulty, and both the TV and telephone appeared to be purely decorative as they did not work. Another guest mentioned experiencing the same issues, so it was not just our room.

It’s a real shame, as the hotel has potential but is currently very disappointing.

It was really a horrible experience . since day one , we were shocked by the poor conditions of rooms , they're not like the photos at ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I SWEAR . Really poorly equipped rooms , lack of lighting in the rooms and the hallways (it was like being in a horror movie !!!) , bad smell , lack of good internet quality , the staff was unwelcoming ,misunderstanding and unhelpful. And what's more, the price was exorbitant and exaggerated compared to the dire situation we found. It never deserves 4 stars at ALLLLLLL !!! A REAL DECEPTION !!!!!!!

That was my worst experience in my own country.. The hotel is alright the staff are great but as young guy who have a european blonde wife its a nightmare for me with the algerianas guests who are all over. They dont respect anybody around they keep looking at my blonde wife all the time and their men's have no respect for woman's and when they are in the restaurant they get the food like they never ate before.. They waste food like its nothing they dont respect the line.. And i couldn't leave my wife alone for a single minute which is crazy... If you have any european looking girl or even older woman i definitely don't recommend it.. Otherwise the staff are so polite

It’s a beautiful hotel. The location is great and the staff are friendly. I really enjoyed my holiday there. I would recommend it.

Had a brilliant twoweeks with my wife at the hotel hotel in brilliant and entertainment throughout the day and night. There is different entertainment everyday hotel is beautiful out door pool is clean bit to cold for November but the indoor poolis great 👍

Houda hotel was brilliant come away for my birthday with my husband it it a fantastic hotel I will becoming back
Entertainment was so good there is activities everyday. Restaurant nice bar brilliant 👏

Good animation team ( Pipito And dj mappa) food Is So good , room.is looks likes Nice , verry good hotel , good people , Will be miss this hotel

Definitely not 4 ⭐️ star

1) ROOM:
a) TV not working
Hairdryer not working
One bedside light not working
Shower floods the floor

b) Cleaner enters room randomly during the day; I was woken from an afternoon nap because she just entered to check my towels!

c) No cup to make tea in room; asked 3 staff members but ended up every day having to ask for a cup at the bar - not 4 Star!

d) the fruit on arrival and the 1 mini bottle of shower gel on arrival are your lot for the duration. Your room will never get a top-up.

e) room & balcony doors don‘t lock, keep your valuables with you at all times.

f) Floors are very clean but mirrors etc don’t get cleaned quite so much. Bedding also doesn’t get changed during the whole week.

2) DINING ROOM:
a) as others have pointed out, there’s a tier system where you sit, if you get a vase & folded linen napkin or just paper serviette on your table, if the table is laid for you with glasses & 1st/2nd course knives/forks or you have to hunt your own cutlery etc - don’t tip and you get nothing

b) staff will kiss your hand then ask for 5 star review without doing anything

The blue VIP bracelet is given to those guests expected to be generous tippers (probably based on what Job/earnings potential you put on the registry form at check-in). It does not get you anything extra.

Clean and confortable hotel ; Great spot to enjoy your vacation with your family , friends , great place to discover activities ...