Рассказ об отеле Марабу The story of the Marabou Hotel

We were at the Marabu Hotel from August 2 to August 12.2007. We went with five of us (3 + 2, all adults, about 30 years old). Operator: Oasis in Kyiv and Express Tour in Tunisia. I am in Tunisia for the second time (first time a year ago, Hamammet, Sol Azur 4 *).

I’ll make a reservation right away that the main argument when choosing a hotel on this trip for us was the price (therefore, we initially focused on 3 *). Marabou was chosen after reading pretty good reviews on the Internet. It is difficult for me to evaluate this hotel objectively, because I have never lived in 3 * before (5 * in Turkey and once - 4 * in Hammamet, see above). Therefore, many things that seemed negative to me are quite possibly due to the class of this hotel, and among the hotels of its category it occupies not the last place - I don’t know. I'll try to be impartial.


Hotel location: good. A huge plus is the first coastline. In the area of ​ ​ Sousse, where the hotel is located, there is a busy highway running along the coast (November 7 Boulevard, if I'm not mistaken).
Therefore, if the hotel is located on the second line, then even if it is 100 meters from the beach, you must come to terms with the fact that you have to go to the beach through a busy road (not always regulated by traffic lights), and the windows of the hotel in any case will face the road or close to her. These hotels include El Khana Beach (4 *), Samara (3 *) and so on. Marabu is deprived of this shortcoming, access immediately to its own beach. The location relative to the city is also good, because the hotel is located directly next to the mentioned boulevard, therefore, shops, fast foods, restaurants and other things are within easy reach. True, you will have to walk decently to the Medina - 25-30 minutes at a fast pace. If you go there during hot weather, it is better to take a taxi. "General" is located 10-12 minutes walk from the hotel, on the left, towards the embankment.

Rooms, furnishings: the situation with the rooms is controversial.
I will immediately warn those who have never been to Tunisia: do not put forward the demands that are put forward even to Turkey. Hotels in Tunisia are predominantly a) old, b) decorated in a "folk" style. The latter means that in the design of, for example, rooms, tiles are often used to cover part of the wall, ornaments, peculiar lamps ...This is NOT bad, just fans of the "European standard" may think that the decoration is poor and modest. This is a distinctive feature of Tunisia - at least where I saw it with my own eyes. Marabu consists of one building (4-5 floors), with the letter "G", with a swimming pool in the courtyard. Rooms are good those that overlook the pool (and the sea, respectively). In principle, I am not a fan of pool rooms, because I don’t like noise from animation and loud music, but this is a different matter, because.
on one side of the hotel - a large construction site, the other - goes out into the street and worse - to the transformer box (buzzing).


We arrived at 12 at night, they gave us VERY bad rooms - ours, for example, was on the first floor, without a balcony, but with a bar on the window and went clearly to the transformer box. The noise was very strong - even with the windows closed. Saved only by earplugs. Since the booth is close to the window, there is no sun in the room either. Having been "children of the dungeon" on the first day, we went to change the room at lunchtime. We were offered a view of the construction site. We refused, so as not to change the awl for soap. The problem was also that we were three of us in a room, so the choice of rooms was limited. Although we offered as an option - to give us a double and deliver a folding bed, but the manager refused us and was quite adamant. Although we also demanded our own rather unequivocally - that is, without rudeness, but harshly.
I had to return for another day to our "dungeon", since we hardly sat in the room. The next day, my friends left for Carthage, I again went to the reception, smiled softly and explained the situation in good English, "you see, we would like to sleep a little, but it's SO noisy here! ...won't it make it difficult for you ..."etc. Fortunately, the manager changed and the situation was resolved: however, we got a room overlooking the street, but at the opposite end from the transformer box and on the 4th floor. Therefore, it was sunny and bright.

The funny thing is that it was also a double, with a delivered bed - while this option was suggested by the manager himself, I agreed (although the day before we were sharply told that they DO NOT DO this). Conclusion: the situation was resolved, though not immediately, but without bribes and surcharges. They change rooms in this hotel often, and foreigners are in full swing, not only "scandalous" : )) Slavs. Maybe because everyone has their own requirements ...
For example, in front of me, some German woman shouted: “Yes, I don’t need a view of the pool! I need a room on the 1st or 2nd floor maximum, it doesn’t matter where it goes! ” I also thought that I should have exchanged with her : )) )


The room has only the bare necessities: beds, built-in wardrobe, mirror table and bedside tables made of stone. There is a TV, there is only one Russian channel - RTR planet. That's why we didn't include it. Refrigerator for a fee (we did not take and did not ask how much it costs). On the balcony there is a plastic table and a couple of chairs. The bathroom is combined, there are no interruptions in water supply. There is no hair dryer. There doesn't seem to be an iron in the hotel either - even for a fee. We took our own, marching. Safe at the reception - 10 dinars per week (1.25 dinars = 1 dollar for Ukrainians: 1 dinars = 4 hryvnias). Safes are quite large, but there are narrow ones - like a safe deposit box. We were so unlucky, only documents, wallets and phones fit. I still had to carry the camera and the camera with me anyway : ((
Inside the hotel is quite modest - corridors with unclean carpet, for example, there may be dust on the stairs. But you get used to it in a couple of days. Very beautiful ceiling at the reception - fantastic ceilings - this is generally a feature of Tunisia : )

Territory: the territory is almost entirely occupied by pools (they pass one into another). Large palm trees and grass have been planted. There are no shrubs and flowers - either just planted. That is, everything is compact and pragmatic: here is a pool for you, here is a path to the beach, on the left is a football field, on the right is a court. Rest. Walk - in the city! : )

Slides: I am a fan of all kinds of water parks and water slides, so this pleased me. Slides 6 pieces (all for adults). Using them costs 15 dinars for the entire period - they cling to an all-inclusive bracelet and let them ride on it. Slides are open from 10 am to 6 pm, with a short break for staff lunch.
There is a small pool with a jacuzzi - they also let you in if you have a bracelet (if you get insolently, you may be asked to leave). Plus: slides are good and interesting. Minus: for each of them there is not enough "rescuer" at the entrance, which can filter crazy teenagers or rather adult men who love to ride the three of us in a train, pushing and absolutely insane: and I almost drowned in the 1.5 meter deep pool...so be careful and let the fool go.

Meals: the hotel is open for breakfast and dinner. There are no fixed places for dinner, every time you have to look for a table. This caused problems only because we were looking for tables for a large company - and there are not many of them. So it would be better to "fix" the table once and for all. But probably, just a restaurant would not accommodate all visitors at once.

Breakfasts are VERY modest: sausages of the same type, cheese and ham of the same type, tomatoes, eggs or boiled potatoes, milk porridge, muesli with milk. Tea, coffee, yuppies. Buns + butter. I have listed absolutely the entire set, which is repeated from day to day. Who does not usually have breakfast - that is quite satisfied, probably - coffee with a bun or milk. I have a hearty breakfast, but I prefer not to have dinner, so I was a little sad : ))) Especially already on the 3rd day...Dinners are quite sane, although the set is about the same: chicken and beef - dishes 3-4 in general , fish, vegetables in batter (tasty! ), rice, fries, "dish of the day" from a large cauldron, handed out by the chef: couscous, spaghetti according to a special recipe and the like. Salads or chopped vegetables. Local pickled peppers, olives - for everybody. Fruits: only melon and watermelon (or both). Soup for dinner. Sweets - a limited set, from the hands of the cook (you can approach several times).
In short, "no bananas", but it's quite possible to eat up : ) Lunch was decided like this: if we were able to eat (because it was very hot), then we could go out into the city or buy fruits (peaches, grapes, apricots, apples, etc. ) at 2-3.5 dinars per kg. Or eat in one of the fast foods (they are like our cafes - with a waiter). The set of dishes in fast foods is about the same: fried chicken-beef, spaghetti, pizza, salads, desserts. Everything costs very moderate money - commensurate with Kyiv fast foods, sometimes even cheaper. Therefore, you can and should eat there.

Contingent: I was pleased that there were very few Slavs there (on our arrival). The rest of the brotherhood is international: Germans, French, Balts, Poles, Czechs, Swedes, Italians, Arabs...Therefore, there were no high-profile scandals, and there were no drunks either. But everyone danced harmoniously on the animation. Like children, honestly...: )))

Beach: the beach is quite large, sunbeds + mattresses are paid (2 dinars per day).
The impudent "and I'll lie here for half an hour for free, do you mind - sorry? " - they don’t work : ) If you don’t want to take a mattress - don’t lie down on a sunbed, lie down on the sand, as many do. The beach is sandy, the entrance to the sea - too. The water level drops very gradually - it is convenient for children. Cons: packages and algae often float in the water (near the water's edge, someone litters, and the staff does not have time to clean up). Also in August there are quite a lot of jellyfish that sting quite noticeably. Of course, jellyfish are not snakes, even children will endure it, but still they sting unpleasantly : ( It saves either a fresh tomato attached to a bite (in a beach bar they are already used to giving out immediately : ))) or some kind of aftershave balm for irritated skin (checked for yourself).


Also, you can’t get away from the sellers of everything you can imagine: fruits (5 times more expensive than in the city), carpets, pipes, hats, jewelry, banana parachute, excursions, sweet pies, palm seedlings ...
I'm a gentle person, but when in a minute I had to answer 4 (!!! ) times to different sellers "no, thank you" and then the fifth one ran up, I screamed "dear god, how did I anger you?!?!? " and began to fight head in the sand ...Sellers were blown away by the wind. And I took an air mattress and swam to sunbathe on it about 30 meters from the shore. Beauty...Sellers don't swim there : ))
There are no beach towels, please bring your own!

Service: I described the reception. Security: in front of the hotel there is an impressive banner with the theme "do not bring your drinks and food into the hotel. " Therefore, for God's sake, do not wave bottles of water, kilograms of fruits in transparent bags and pizza boxes in front of their noses. Take a backpack and don't spoil yourself and the guards' nerves. Waiters: slightly overworked - there are very few of them, and there are a lot of tables. Therefore, sometimes they don’t clean up right away and they won’t conduct lengthy hospitable conversations with you - they have a real race every time you eat.
Drinks in the evening for a fee, of course. We took local wines - there are in small bottles, for 6-7 dinars, nothing like for dinner. Some problem with paper napkins - they were not brought to us ANYWHERE : ) Also a Tunisian feature, probably. Our maid was very nice, we ran into each other a few times. True, I do not know a word of French, and she does not speak English (therefore, I strongly suspect that our smiling communication in reality was "logical" akin to an old children's joke - "Who are you? " - "Goat" - "Mountain? - "No, waterfowl"). But she cleaned well and always shyly rejoiced at a dinar tip. Tip for cleaners: bring a bath towel with you. They are given in the rooms, of course, but they are already in such a "poor" condition that I regretted that I had not brought my own - furry and soft.

Animation: was. But I won’t tell you in detail - I didn’t participate.

There were 2 charming young men who were very fond of children and one of whom led water aerobics. Judging by the enthusiasm with which they were greeted by vacationers, they were probably cool guys. Evening programs are repeated from week to week: Miss and Mr. Marabou, the best couple, folklore evening, disco, and a feature - a show of transvestites. I recommend to go! If you are not one of those who sit and annoy "fuuu ....blue in the arena ...they would go to the factory to work, otherwise they would dress like women, shame! ... " - then you will get a lot of pleasure. Two actors, dressing up and changing images, like in a kaleidoscope, dancing excellently and generally representing the apotheosis of femininity : ))) Women, if you want to learn how to smile regally, hold your back, remember how to walk in heels and wear elegant clothes - you are here!
And be sure to sit through to the end - it’s clear that all the shows my friends and I were whispering on the topic “what do they look like in reality? Probably, they are mannered the same? They can’t transform like that! ” So ​ ​ on the last issue I had a real tantrum : )))) I won't spoil anymore - go and see for yourself.

By the way, this show goes as a separate excursion (25 dinars) to the casino, which is directly opposite the hotel entrance. But something told me that these are the same guys, maybe we just have an abbreviated program. But for free and with delivery to the hotel : )

Anything and everything: I won’t talk about excursions - it’s written countless. Carthage, Tunisia, Sahara...Do not go to the Sahara - do not respect yourself. Go for a walk in Port Kantaui (although there is little to see there, but there is a zoo for children, a very compact and pleasant promenade, pleasure boats) - 4-5 dinars by taxi.

You can ride a funny tourist train, but it costs 3 dinars per person. That is, it is more profitable for a company to take a taxi. Beer at the hotel - 2.5 dinars. The same beer in the Generale - 0.9 dinars somewhere. Alcohol ONLY in the Generale or in the bars of the hotel (there is not even beer in fast food restaurants) - but everyone already seems to have written about this. We bought souvenirs mainly in a two-story shop with fixed prices, 50-80 meters to the left of the entrance to the hotel. Near the same shop with water, chips, sweets. The attention from the locals to women is moderate (in any case, compared to Egypt, it's just a paradise), but the unequivocally constant "Hello! Where are you from? " The mistake is to get involved in a conversation and answer in any foreign language. The way out is to look with sad eyes and speak Russian "I don’t, I don’t understand ...neither English, nor German, nor Italian, nor Arabic ...do you want to talk in Russian? " As practice shows, in a second you will already be screaming followed by "well, where are you, muschshchina ?? ? Wait!!!
"(joking) Although once I ran into it - I said that I was Polish and ...I was forced to maintain a conversation with an Arab in the purest Polish! Moreover, of course, my set of phrases ended much faster than his. I hit it like that ...: )))

Well, everything seems to be. I don’t know what conclusion can be drawn about the hotel from my review, but we were quite calm about the inconvenience, given the star rating of the hotel. We went on excursions and walked around the city a lot, so it was interesting for us. We went to eat "for the territory", so we did not suffer much about food. Yes, not Rio de Janeiro. It happens better. But if it is important to see the country, "hang out" with friends and not spend a lot of money, then it is quite an option. For Ukrainians, it will be clear: we were sitting at our leisure, counting how much it would cost to go to the South Coast now and compare prices (in Crimea, they took into account not a boarding house, but to rent an apartment). The number came out the same.
Only in the Crimea you have strained with the beaches, and no one prepares breakfast for you and does not cover your bed. Yes, and the apartment can get so hot and much more modest than this number. : ) Yes, nature is beautiful on the South Coast. But here - Carthage and the Sahara. So make up your mind and have a good rest! I will answer all questions not here, but by email: grinvich_shadow@mail. en
Oksana