The Russelior Hotel & Spa

Absolutely horrendous right from the start. Pretty obvious that they do not like the British. Our room was disgraceful.. dirty and stained bed linen.. sockets which kept tripping.. curtains falling off the rails.. rotting mould in the bathroom.. fridge that didn't work.. Ac unit not adequate.. floor and rugs were embedded with filth.. the hotel staff uninterested in solving or dealing with issues which were reported.. food was awful and restaurant staff were rude.. The reception staff took our water away from us and told us that we were not allowed to take it to our room. Spa facilities not available due to renovation which forced us to use facilities outside of our hotel.. this hotel is not of a luxury 5 star rating as stated on website and needs to be shut down. Stay way from this place !

Advertised as a 5 star hotel…pffffffff!
Nowhere near an international 5 star hotel.
Pros:
Nice gardens and pool
Cons:
Dirty bloody bedding
Musty pillows
Old decor rooms
Mouldy bathroom
Old and tatty room furniture
Room aircon one setting
Food is bland
Restaurant food not replenished
Lack of food variety
Unhygienic in restaurant
Musty smoke smell in bar
Rude staff with serious attitude
Hate English visitors and loves French only
Spa and gym is ill equipped
Not allowed to bring in water from outside but don’t provide in rooms.
Expected to buy water from bar.
No food for special dietary requirements
Restaurant tables dirty linen and no cutlery laid
Plus more…

This hotel is embarrassing and disappointing to say the least. It should be stripped of its 5 star status and desperately needs renovation and inspection.

The outdoor areas of The Russelior Hotel & Spa are genuinely stunning — easily 5-star quality. The gardens are lush, the pool area is spotless, and the whole setting feels calm and luxurious. It’s a shame the same standard doesn’t carry through to the rest of the hotel.

Inside, the experience was more 3-star at best. Rooms and facilities feel dated, and the overall service just didn’t live up to the hotel’s image. What made it worse was the attitude of most of the staff — they often seemed uninterested or unwelcoming, which really takes away from the experience, especially for foreign guests who’ve come a long way and are paying good money.

There were two exceptions worth mentioning: Sophenne and Mustapha were absolutely brilliant. They went above and beyond to help and made us feel genuinely welcome — they’re a real credit to the hotel.

A simple tip for management: teach the staff to smile and treat all guests with respect, because that’s how you keep people coming back. The location and outdoor beauty are incredible, but the service needs a serious refresh.

I was left waiting for over 5 hours while they claimed my booking didn’t exist, then said it was cancelled, even though I had my confirmation in hand. The way I was treated felt racist, humiliating, and dismissive.

A woman who said she was the reservations manager told me, after 5 long hours, to leave because the hotel was “full.” I was travelling alone, it was my first time in Tunisia, and as it got late, I felt panicked, helpless, and deeply distressed. What was meant to be a relaxing break turned into emotional torture. After 5 hours of humiliation finally they decided to give me a room, although my holiday provider offered me to choose another hotel.
Be aware of the poor hygiene both food and rooms, bedsheets and towels are dirty old and ripped. Restaurant hygiene is very poor, you'll dine with flies, i also had diarrhea on the second and third day of staying that hotel.
Don't be fooled by the 5 star there's no even 2 star service in that beautiful building. N:B if you decide to book this hotel, tip the housekeeping staff for air-condition on, also if you're woman and need light for your makeup then bring your own light as hotel lighting is very dim.

The hotel was rated as 5 stars but unfortunately compared with 5 stars in Turkey and Thailand its a max of 4. The staff were friendly enough but not overly helpful , maybe because it was the end of season.

Unfortunately small things weren't quite right like lamp and safe in room never fixed despite reporting on 1st day, also broken tiles at pool and all in need of general repair.

The restaurant was an ok buffet but again food was nothing special unfortunately.

Little extras like tea/coffee making facilities, free water and an extractor in the bathroom would have made a big difference.

The hotel was the highlight of holiday! We found the holiday in tense by the locals harassing us to go in their shop or their restaurant. Some where they tried to over charge us. We found peace in our holiday at the hotel. The hotel is just beautiful! The ground and pool beautiful! Room lovely!! Staff so friendly. We were a bit nervous, being British and hearing so horror stories being in Tunisia. However we did not experience that at the hotel. Staff so friendly and helpful. Great service. We did pay for lunch and dinner, it was a bit over priced with limited food. However better than being harassed in the street. If I know anyone planning to visit Tunisia , I would recommend this hotel. Thank you to the staff for giving us such a relaxed stay at the resort.

Please do not go to this hell hole of a hotel all the negative reviews are sadly spot on il tell you why when we arrived they tried palm us off in a dirty ants and cockroaches infested room ? Nothing like what we booked truly awful but we had to endure one night until they changed over the next day but myself writing this from my hospital bed as I had contracted LEGIONAIRES DISEASE IN THIS FILTHY FILTHY HOTEL AND VERY VERY POORLY OVER THERE FROM DAY TWO OF A WEEKS HOLIDAY SO TOTALLY RUINED BY THIER DIRTY POOL WATER AND POISONOUS AIR CON , food wise you’d rather eat your own nails than any of that crap they put out for guests it’s horrible all round and we have extensive legal case building to shut this place down ! So BRITS YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED NEVER GO TUNISIA OR HAMMAMET AS THE WHOLE PLACE STINKS LIKE A SEWAGE PLANT UNDER YOUR NOSE SMELLS OF FECIES AND URINE ALL OVER AND THD PEOPLE ON THE SHOPS ARE JUST TRYING YO STEAL YOUR MONEY !!!!

This hotel was a disappointment from the moment we arrived. My friends and I were counting down the days until we could leave after an unpleasant seven night stay.

British guests are treated with little respect, and the customer service is appalling — rude, dismissive, and nowhere near 5-star standards. The attitude of certain staff members was disgraceful and made us feel unwelcome throughout our stay.

As single female travellers, we also felt uncomfortable and at times intimidated by the behaviour of some male staff, who reacted badly when we asserted boundaries. This conduct is completely unacceptable in any professional environment.

The hotel is dated and not maintained with the 5 star standards and very misleading on sites as a 5 star establishment. It’s more a 3 star.

Overall, this was a distressing and disappointing experience. I would strongly advise other travellers — particularly British tourists and single women — to avoid this hotel altogether.

Awful experience rude staff obviously hate the English !! Never felt such outcasts why I don’t know !? First room was terrible had balcony looking a brick wall and dirty ! Food not great same every day. When leaving staff accused us of stealing towels so humiliating in front of people made us open our suitcases even though we had explained we haven’t taken towels ( why would we ? ) but they told my partner to go back Upto the room and get them and they didn’t believe us. SO rude. When my partner cane back with the towels no apology at all and we had left tip in room ! Wish we hadn’t service is shocking.
When waiting for bus to airport all other nationalities were brought a drink not us ! And they made me and my partner carry our suitcases to the coach while others got carried for them !!! Just unbelievable behaviour shocking. Just don’t bother going

The Russelior Hotel and Spa is such a beautiful and well looked after hotel. The hotel gardens look beautiful and so is the pool and the food. The staff here are also really friendly and helpful. Thank you for a brilliant stay and thank you Marwa for going above and beyond to makesure I had the best experience. I will be coming back one of my favourite holidays. Beautiful hotel and beautiful service..

Was impressed with this resort. Food and staff were excellent. Asked to change rooms as the balcony overlooked a road, they didn’t seem too happy about doing this, (hotel was nowhere near capacity) but they did it and we were happy with the room. Hotel is immaculately clean and staff were very friendly. The only thing that soured it was when checking out we were accused to taking towels. I emptied my case and was about to empty my partners when they said to go and check the room. Came back with all the towels, this seemed to placate them. Until they asked us to check our cases. Not the best end to a holiday being accused of stealing towels. Despite protests from staff; emptied both cases in front of staff. No towels. I suspect given the hospitality shown to the French and other guests, this was done because we were Brits.

2 Pools, sehr schön angelegt mit Wasserfall. Draussen konnte man frühstücken am pool. Sehr gutes essen

My husband & I stayed at the hotel from 02 Sept - 13 Sept 2025.
For the money we paid, we were more than happy with the hotel, especially given some of the reviews I had read.
Lovely reception area & we found all the Reception staff polite & friendly.
Grounds & pool kept clean & tidy.
Hotel room was spacious, beds comfy. We did have some issues with our key card not working on a few occasions but this was quickly sorted.
Apart from breakfast, we didn’t eat in the hotel as we like to walk to find nice restaurants but the food did look good!
All in all, we had a very pleasant experience, topped with 30+ degree weather, what’s not to like!

We had a lovely stay at The Russelior spa and hotel.
The facilities are excellent - swimming pools, gym and bar and brilliant.
Alongside this the poolside service and general friendliness of staff is excellent.
The breakfast is decent however nothing special and the restaurant does lack flavoursome options.
That being said the food from the bar you get served pool side is YUMMY - especially the mixed grill!!
If you are after a clean, organised and secure hotel look no further.
Special thanks to Baha he went above and beyond during our stay.

My stay at this five-star hotel was truly exceptional. From the moment I arrived, the staff demonstrated outstanding hospitality, always courteous and attentive to every detail. The room was immaculate, spacious, and elegantly furnished, offering both comfort and convenience. The breakfast selection was extensive and of the highest quality. Ideally located yet quiet, the property provided a perfect balance of luxury and relaxation. I highly recommend this hotel to discerning travellers.

The Russelior Hotel and Spa is a beautiful hotel. The pool is amazing and the food (especially evening meal) is delicious

I travelled here with my husband, my 15 year old daughter and a family friend. Really looking forward to a relaxing holiday after a difficult year. This hotel is ok until you have any issues that need resolving because the staff on reception and a few others are uninterested, argumentative, dismissive and quite unpleasant with the exception of Baha (reception) and Hamid (restaurant team) who are lovely, genuine and an asset to this hotel . The maids, lifeguards, pool staff and maintenance guys were usually friendly. We travel a lot  and always treat staff with courtesy, respect and friendliness wherever we are in the world but it certainly was not reciprocated here. I've never felt so uncomfortable, unhappy and unwelcome in a hotel, especially an allegedly 5* one. This is definitely not 5*. After a few days, I just wanted to leave but we unfortunately had two weeks here.

First impressions on arrival, beautiful entrance and lobby. We were greeted by Baha on reception who is one of the only decent,  friendly and helpful staff at this hotel. He checked us in with no issues. Our rooms were of a good size and standard with nice decor. The balcony door was difficult for us to open and a constant nuisance when trying to lock and unlock it. The toilet seat was hanging off so receptionist maintenance up to fix it almost straight away. The grounds are beautifully maintained and the pools (indoor and outdoor) are lovely and clean. This Is let down by filthy cushions on the loungers covered in stains and bird poo as they are left out overnight.

On sight, this hotel is lovely but I am afraid the customer service is the worst I have ever experienced and its a shame because it could be a really lovely hotel.

On arrival, you have to pay the tourist tax, no issue with that as I've encountered this in many countries. However, there was a problem and when my husband checked his bank account, this money had been taken twice. We were assured a manager could sort this and refund the money the next day. However, we kept being fobbed off (at least 5 times), which when you're trying to relax and forget about everything,  is a huge annoyance to keep having to go back and try and resolve it. Staff on reception couldn't be less interested and I even heard a female receptionist mutter 'I'm tired of this'  My husband has a heart condition and had a funny turn with the stress of it with his blood pressure dropping, staff didn't really seem to care. It wasn't until we'd made a real fuss, a few days later, we were able to see the manager (the rude male receptionist just stood there saying 'Yes, I will get the manager' and smirking at us). The manager refused to accept they needed to refund this and we must take it up with our bank.

He just kept waving around some scrappy bits of torn receipt claiming that lack of receipt meant they had not received it twice....even though we showed my husband's online bank statement. It was only when my husband phoned his bank from the managers office that there was any sort of recognition that there was a problem (he still did not apologise or acknowledge that it could possibly be the hotel's fault). The money was then mysteriously refunded after this difficult, uncomfortable meeting. Funny that!

Don't use the ATM in the lobby. I went to get cash out on one of the first days and it swallowed my card (no fault of my own). Although this is obviously an issue for STB bank (the ATM provider) to sort, the staff were not interested in helping us get the card back and this was another issue we kept having to ask about. I cancelled my card but got it back about a week later, minus the money I had been trying to take out that showed as being taken out of my account. These annoyances just made me not trust anyone at the hotel and left a bad taste. I couldn't fully relax because if we'd had any more issues, I knew we'd get no help from staff here. I like to know that my family and  will be relaxed, safe and stress free when on holiday and I just didn't feel it here.

The food in the main restaurant is ok, if you can get to it. The restaurant was often late opening so then there'd be a stampede of people all rushing in at once with no real order at all. If you want a drink, might be worth ordering from the bar before dinner because id often be well into your meal before being offered a drink (unless it was Hamid who was brilliant).But also note the restaurant can only do a small selection of drinks even though the bar is jius across the way. Breakfast is passable. It's all a bit hit and miss. Sometimes they would have nice fruit, other times it would be all bruised and way past its best.

There is one chap who works in the restaurant who was rude and snappy to us when we went in as a group. Then when my daughter and I went in without my husband and  our male friend, he was extra nice and chatty and it was a bit much. It then came to pay the bill and he insisted that the card machine was broken and we'd have to pay in cash. I didn't have any cash (see above as to why) but he said 'You must have cash in your room' I told him I didnt and why, but he made us feel like we had no alternative.. My husband came down and asked another waiter if the machine was working which he said it was. We were then allowed to pay with it and funnily enough, it worked straight away. That completely wrapped it up for me as being a place where I jist didn't feel comfortable. The staff would quite often have disagreements in front of the guests in the restaurant too.

The service by the pool was sometimes really good and then really slow at times  and sometimes they forget your order all together which is annoying when you're hungry. The restaurant by the pool is better and you usually get your food pretty quick if you sit there which is only feet away from the pool.

The area itself,, Yasmine, is a little run down but has a good supermarket and a few good places to eat. The one thing I  oticed absolutely everywhere was rubbish. We travelled up to Sidi Bou Said  and did a camel ride up in the hills, and a common thing along all the roads and in the countryside is plastic rubbish. I've never seen anything like it. Such a shame because it could be a beautiful lovely country. This hotel did nothing to persuade me to visit Tunisia again.

I see that on previous reviews, the hotel management copy and paste a generic reply saying to return and 'give them another chance' but I wouldn't go here again if you paid me!

No value for money bottled water £2
The first impression of hotel was a rude receptionist .
Dining room staff were the worst, surly and very rude.

I stayed at Russilor Hotel in Spain/Tunisia with two others, and honestly, it was a big disappointment. The hotel looks amazing from the outside, like a 5-star resort, but the rooms are a different story. They only have double rooms and just squeeze in a small extra bed for groups of 3/4, which is very uncomfortable. Our room was dirty (I even found a contact lens on the floor), the lighting was terrible — I had to use my own light to do my makeup — and my “garden view” was literally just a wall.
The staff at the front desk and around the hotel were not welcoming at all and seemed to only give attention to their own people. The only positive was Madame Latifah from the cleaning team — she was amazing and deserves recognition.
There’s no real entertainment here, just bad music and flashing lights. Meanwhile, the hotel next door has great entertainment, and you can hear and see all the fun happening there — even the lifeguards join in! Breakfast was the worst I’ve ever had at a hotel: hardly any options, just pancakes and eggs, and everything tasted bad. The all-inclusive food was no better.
This hotel is the definition of catfish. Save your money and book elsewhere

The hotel has many positive points: most of the staff were wonderful, kind and always willing to help. The buffet offered a wide variety of tasty food, the hotel was spotless, the atmosphere with background music was perfect, the landscaping well maintained, and the location close to the beach was excellent.

There are, however, a few small but important areas for improvement. At the buffet, serving spoons were often missing, so the same spoon had to be used for several dishes, and food labels were frequently absent. Salt and pepper also had to be requested or taken from other tables almost every meal. In the room, towels were sometimes removed even when not left on the floor, and not replaced immediately, meaning we returned from the pool with no towels available. Although reception always sent them afterwards, it happened more than once. On one occasion, a manager spoke to me rather arrogantly about carrying a bottle of water into the restaurant, which felt unnecessary.

Overall, I enjoyed my stay and really appreciated the kindness of the staff and the hotel’s atmosphere, but with a few simple improvements the experience could be even better.