Occidental Marco Polo

It's just a 3-hour flight from Cardiff with a 30-minute transfer. The time zone is the same as the UK, and the weather was perfect at around 29°C and sunny. The hotel was clean, spacious, and offered plenty to do. There were daily activities, and the beach was beautiful. My 6-year-old daughter loved the pools and slides, and it felt very friendly and safe. Every single staff member deserves praise—they were genuinely friendly and welcoming. A special thanks to Cyrine, the guest relations manager, who was amazing with her help and advice. Most lifeguards were relaxed and friendly with the kids. The animation team worked hard and put on fantastic evening shows. I couldn't find any faults here, which is why I've already rebooked for next year.

Where do I start!!! Upon arrival at the hotel we had to wait to be allocated our rooms as we had an early arrival. We wanted to sit outside in the sun but were told we had to stay inside. We paid the tourist tax which they charged us £42 per couple instead of the 42 Dinar!!! The rooms we were given were far below the standard expected. The light fitting was hanging off the wall, there were holes in the wall, the bath looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in years and there were untold stains on the curtains, carpets and walls. We asked for different rooms and were shown to rooms with the same issues as the previous ones. Eventually after 7 hours waiting around reception we were given 2 suites, which aren’t much different to the standard rooms. During this time the management were rude and some what aggressive. One even said I should be kept on a lead!!! The food was cold, undercooked and lacking in variety. The snack bar at lunchtime was better than the main restaurant. I must say the bar staff, cleaners and restaurant staff were lovely, I wouldn’t recommend this hotel and would not return. This is my 3rd visit to Tunisia and previous experience did not prepare me for this hotel. Avoid at all costs.

Was worried after reading a few reviews but actually had a good holiday and is the best hotel we have stayed in Tunisia so far. You have to remember 4star is not the same in every country and yes we could nit pick some of the decor. But overall the hotel is very clean, bed comfy, staff very friendly. lovely pool and leave deposit for pool towels at reception. bottles water from bar. we was early in season so no jacuzi in pool, only one restaurant open. there was some painting going on and could see prep work to open other ones soon. Wifi all over the hotel, even can get on beach sometimes. Smart tv in rooms so had netflix / prime just remember to log yr account out . Food is well presented , can find something nice to eat, fresh cooked fish/turkey/beef and always pizza/pasta if you not adventurous. the only thing i would say is leave anything hot to put on plate last as cold plates and by time got salad etc, food warm. does get a bit samey but thats all inc -usual lots pastries at breakfast, eggs cooked/ pancakes fresh fruit/cakes tip the staff and they look after you, but they pleasant regardless . my only bad points i would make is Air-conditioning. they dont put on till july !! but luckily most times quite breeze. but did make difficult to sleep some nights and noisy with birds in morning as having door open all night. entertainments team good fun and work hard. recommend take ear plugs. travel fan if out season the beach is ok to left of hotel, as no seaweed, and is nice to swim in and clear. there is alot seaweed to right by harbour . they do seem to rake it but doesnt make alot difference. we did see a small tractor go by and though good but wasnt much change. which is a shame. I think general as we stayed last year near sousse and same seaweed issue.

I was very wary about this hotel after reading the reviews, well my experience was fantastic, all the staff were amazing so friendly, looked after me so well especially as I was on my own. The lady in the dining room went out of her way to make sure I had a lovely table. The cleaning lady kept my room spotless, with fresh towels etc every day. A special shout out to Cyrena on reception nothing too much trouble. The bar staff were so accommodating. The hygiene of the hotel was good not sure why people complained and yes I’m fussy! One of the biggest pools I’ve seen which was constantly cleaned, the animation team were really good, made some friends for life, will definitely be back! Fiona from UK

wort holiday ever, food not described, poor quality in the room, missing items in bedroom (basic items like safe or fridge), Food horrible. RAW chicken served for dinner. All alkohol is mixed with water. Managment team very poor respond to you request

Resort was amazing!!!! The staff, beyond exceptional. Cleanliness, 10/10!!! Food and drinks, awesome! Service was excellent, the people that work here really want the satisfaction of their guests and made sure everything was superb. All of the staff was top notch and we appreciate and love all the help we received from the Manager to the staff many thanks to Fawzy shaker, Pikachu, zeina Rooms4/5 Service 5/5

AVOID they serving alcohol 20% and they call that whisky, vodka, gin RAW chicken served for dinner, food is a good quiz, nothing lebeled. If they is label wil be picture of chicken or cow. Hotel staff expecting tips for anythig they will do as poart of there job

Me and my family have just come back from a week at Marco Polo. As a family we had a good time but this was solely due to quality family time. The hotel, facilities and experiences were very worrying to say the least. I felt intimidated by locals and people from the same ethnic origin, getting looked down on and disrespected . I strongly believe that all off the 3*+ reviews are from fake accounts and locals. When we arrived we had to wait 40 mins be seen . From the moment the reception staff made it very clear how they felt about foreigners arriving at their hotel. Our 2 year old son was not left with a cot in our room upon arrival. We requested to this to be put in 3 times (each time being told it would arrive in 10 mins) fast forward 3 hours once it was my sons bedtime and I had to get someone from reception to come from behind the desk and me escorting them to our room. Restaurant staff are very friendly, I gave one waiter a 10 dinar tip after 2 days and had he felt it wasn’t enough he gave us the cold shoulder for the rest of the holiday. The food is catered to locals only, I had pizza and chips twice a day for the whole time I was there. I tried some traditional dishes which were cold and undercooked. We had to ask for high chairs to be cleaned when we arrived as every one still had food from the previous babies sat in them. One night there were rumours that a wealthy family were eating at the hotel, for one night only the hotel pulled all of the stops out having a 30 min meeting prior to the sitting, once the restaurant opened there was delicious food, freshly carved lamb from the head chef and all of the food was faultless. This was more of an insult than good as it shows the potential of this hotel and they did not fufil this for the full stay. To add fuel to the fire, on this night they hired a professional singer to perform 7-9 which was beautiful. To add again this did not happen for the other 6 nights as these particular guests were not present. For early birds or anyone who wants a morning drink this place is not for you, you are unable to get a drink from the bar before 10, in other hotels this is okay as there is coffee and soft drink for breakfast but the standard is awful, my 2 year old couldn’t have anything to drink until 10am which is worrying in 30 degree heat. The room towels are not changed daily, in our room we had a broken toilet seat and lamps hanging off the wall. This was the case until we arrived one night before we was due to leave with lovely towel art on the bed with petals and everything broken in the room fixed. This was more of an insult than help, expecting a tip once we leave. Bar staff are friendly and great along with the entertainment team during the day who had a really positive vibe. We had a double room with a sea view which was great however the kids show started at 9pm most nights followed by the main act which went on until midnight. This was obviously too late for my little one and was awful

THE BEACH AND OUTSIDE OF THE HOTEL ISNT SAFE !! On the beach there is a guy offering camel rides he will ask if you would like a photo on the camel free of change and then demand money from you once you have the photo , This didn’t happen to us as we had read a review before hand that advised us of this however the guy with the camel did try this trick on us . The beach isn’t private and is open to the public so a lot of dodgy people on there . I went down to beach by myself as a 23 year old women at 6:30 am after i had put the towels on our sun lounger to enjoy the beach with nobody on there and without my toddler, I was approached by a very strange man who said good morning i replied and then he proceeded to ask if i was drunk and if you came to the beach at that time everyday whilst talking to me he started to move closer to me it’s safe to say i ran as fast as i could to safety!!! after this i was too scared to go to the beach with my toddler and partner . Outside the hotel people will say they work at your hotel when they don’t to make you feel safe to lure you into taxis god knows what would happen if you got into one of the taxis with them . The locals at the shops will harass you into the shops and will try block the door so you can’t get out until you have bought something . The bar staff at the pool will flirt with you and try and touch your hands when giving you your drinks i just think this is really inappropriate if i’m honest from hotel staff . where do i even start with the hotel , A week from a week in hell quite literally!! Rooms are very standard, light fittings broken ,wall plugs hanging off the walls and not to mention the rooms are filthy i’m not sure what the cleaners are doing when they do into the rooms if i’m honest , When a towel is dirty they just take it away and do not replace , the bath had gunk all over it , the shower didn’t work unless you took it off the wall , toilet seat broken and hanging off . The food is absolutely disgusting inedible in fact the only thing we could eat was pizza noon and night , we travelled with a 1 year old there was nothing he could eat it was good job we took our own snacks for him as otherwise he would have starved this week , by the way non of us are fussy eaters and will literally eat and try anything but the food was inedible and literally raw most of the time .Drinks are only served with food so after breakfast we had to wait until the bar was open to get water and juice for our toddler and the juice was really strong so has to be watered down with water so he could drink it. Entertainment starts very late so our toddler was already half asleep when it started and to be honest he wasn’t missing owt it’s the same every night . The staff will only help you if they think they are getting a tip and when you do tip them and they don’t think it’s enough they will completely ignore you and no longer help you with high chairs drinks ect , Everyday we had to ask for