У самого синего моря By the blue sea

This year we decided to visit Tunisia for the first time. After reading reviews on the network and recommendations of the travel agency, the El Mouradi El Menzah hotel in Yasmine Hamamete was chosen. The Yasmine Hamamet region itself looks quite respectable, since it was originally created as a tourist region. The check-in procedure took about 5 minutes, filled out a questionnaire at the reception and after drinking a welcome cocktail, went to the room that was chosen with a sea view. We went up to the 4th floor, opened the door and. . . froze. The room was not cleaned after the previous tenants. After demanding cleaning, we went to the beach, which is located across the road from the hotel. White sand and azure sea removed all the negativity from the first impression. I have a rule: in order not to ruin your vacation, you should not find fault with the little things, the little things are forgotten, and the good remains in the memory for a long time. After splashing in the warm sea, we went up to the room. The room is spacious, with a balcony, a gorgeous view of the sea, the room has a safe with an electronic lock, and everything you need for a normal life in it. There was a bottle of water and a bottle of cola waiting for us in the fridge, which had to be replenished daily. There is one Russian TV channel. The hotel itself is quite pleasant, the rooms either overlook the sea or the pool. Sea water pool. The cuisine is very diverse, a combination of European, Mediterranean and Arabic. There was always something to choose, with all the great desire you will not stay hungry. Fruits were always in abundance for lunch and dinner: plums, peaches, figs, nectarines, apricots, apples, pears, oranges, aruzia and melons. Well, sweets - they just run up their eyes! The waiters are friendly and welcoming, they serve water, carbonated drinks, local wines and beer for lunch and dinner. Tea, coffee, local alcohol and alcoholic cocktails can always be drunk in the lobby bar near the reception and in the pool bar. On the same floor there is a wine cellar where you can try Tunisian wines and cocktails based on them, as well as a Sidi Bou Said cafe where you can smoke a hookah and drink Tunisian green tea with mint. Near the pool there is a Frattoria snack bar where you can eat pancakes, pizza, sandwiches, hamburgers, ice cream, drink juices, tea, coffee and beer. Juices, of course, are similar to the famous "Yupi", local beer, if cold, then go. And the tea and coffee are great. from 13 to 15 at the pool on the grill they fry something like a kebab and fish. There are a la carte restaurants: Tunisian, Turkish and Italian. El Mouradi El Menzah 4* and El Mouradi Hamamet 5* occupy a common territory. I want to say right away that you should not overpay for 5 stars, since the beach is common, the territory is also the same, and the nutrition formula is not much different. The beach is across the road from the hotel. There is a bar on the beach where you can drink beer, water and carbonated drinks, tea and coffee from 9 to 18, and eat pizza from 12 to 16. I must say right away that pizza looks like pita bread, on which cheese and ketchup are thrown on top. Sunbeds and mattresses on the beach and by the pool for hotel guests are free of charge, if you need a towel - you can take it at the reception for a deposit of 10 dinars. Money can be easily exchanged at the reception desk at the current rate for that day, approximately 1 dollar - 1.6 Tunisian dinars. Appointments for a la carte restaurants are made from 9.30 to 10.30 in the main restaurant of the hotel near the metro station. There are 3 a la carte restaurants, but the record goes like this - one day Tunisian, the next Turkish, then Italian and so on. The Tunisian restaurant is located in our hotel, Turkish and Italian in the next one, and in the same room : ) You don’t have any choice there, what they bring is what you taste, there is no choice from the menu, the only thing that they immediately ask when booking a restaurant - chicken or beef and chicken or veal. We liked the Tunisian restaurant the most, it is decorated in a Moorish style, and we really liked the food and service there. In Turkish (aka Italian), the Turkish menu differs from the Italian one in that it will be served when you visit it as Italian pasta, and everything else is identical. The sea is warm, the only thing that upset when the waves rose, it became very dirty, not only was algae, but garbage appeared from somewhere in the water. But in this case, rescued the pool. The beach of the hotel is cleaned and very carefully, which can not be said about some other hotels located nearby. In general, the rest can be called excellent and comfortable in this hotel. Cons: Room service staff. That's some kind of petty redneck and sluggishness he is different. Shower gel and shampoo were put in the bathroom upon arrival, and then everything. I had to run around in search of a maid and beg for them from her. We left tips every day. Then they got tired, went to the market and bought shampoo and shower gel, so as not to ask anyone for anything. The second "fad" - if you have not finished drinking water or a carbonated drink, you will not be given a new one, although you should do it every day. And, even if you put up a “do not disturb” sign, the maid doesn’t care, she will persistently knock until she is let in. The food formula includes room service, you can order pizza, sandwiches and everything that includes a room order menu (and this menu is missing in the room, as well as the list of TV channels). In the lobby bar, the waiters also hide the menu so that guests do not bother them with requests to prepare a cocktail, such as what you see on the bar window - order and do not fool your head. But believe me, the shortcomings I described do not spoil the impression of the rest in any way - white sand, blue sea, a good place, interesting excursions, excellent and varied food. All this is worth visiting both this hotel and Tunisia again and again.