Отпуск в Тунисе Vacation in Tunisia

06/16/2012-06/26/2012 were in Tunisia, the Thalassa Sousse 4 * hotel, two adults and a child of 9 years old. Before buying a tour, as always, we read reviews about the hotel on the Internet, which is why we chose it, because. by the time of purchase, there was not a single bad review... In fact, the hotel leaves a double impression. Before that, we were three years in a row in the Turkish 5-ka economy class, so for clarity I will compare with them. So: the tour was bought from Biblio-Globus, we flew back and forth with Transaero Airlines, the flight was without problems, there were no delays. Upon arrival, we were met by representatives of the Biblio-Globus, everything was clear, fast and understandable (considering that at the Enfid airport, where we arrived, all the inscriptions are either in Arabic or in French). For the information of ladies traveling alone or with a child, at the exit from the airport, local jigits jump up to them and grab the suitcases from their hands, while explaining on their fingers that they help to bring the suitcases to the bus, which is 50 meters away : ))) for this they then essno require baksheesh 1-5 dollars. My wife and daughter also snatched luggage out of their hands, if they managed to intercept these nimble people. Because We arrived at the hotel at about 22.00 local time, then settled quickly. Upon check-in, they gave $ 10 for a "good room" and received a bungalow near the sea and the second pool. About the rooms in all the reviews it is written that they are not so hot, so they did not expect much. Well, the window in the bathroom did not close, well, the seat on the toilet was torn off the floor (then, by the way, they repaired it), well, there is little furniture - well, that’s not what we were going for, the main thing is that there wasn’t much living creatures in the room, and that’s good, although many there were ants in the bungalow. I don't know about the main building, but there are mosquitoes in the bungalow, so take some Fumitox with you.
The contingent in the hotel is mostly elderly Europeans, there are few young people, and even fewer Russians. We were lucky, we met a Russian family there - LENA AND KSYUSHKA, IF YOU READ THIS REVIEW, GREAT HELLO TO YOU!! ! - that's where we hung out together. The attitude towards Russians among the staff is certainly worse than, for example, towards the same Germans, but if you smile and do not forget to sometimes give baksheesh to the waiters, then you will become their best friend))). What upset me the most was the complete discrepancy between the reviews I read before the trip and reality in terms of food. Of course, I understand that few people can compare with Turkey, but not to the same extent... 99% of the food is heavily peppered, local mashed soups are generally impossible to eat, in appearance and taste they seem to have already been eaten by someone before you (in Turkey by the way, they are very tasty), you can try most of the local dishes a couple of times, with some kind of tension with meat (chicken in small scarlet pieces, as if the leg was cut into 3-4 parts), pizza and watermelons with melons are given out 2 each -3 pieces in hand, i. e. if you have a large family, then you won’t be able to get pizza or watermelon for everyone at once, you have to stand in line with the whole crowd. From vegetables only tomatoes, cucumbers and cabbage. By the way, about the queues. . . For the Germans, this seems to be a folk sport, they are able to create a queue everywhere, even where it should not exist in principle, which, by the way, is facilitated by the hotel's policy to save on everything. In the dining room (you can’t call it a restaurant), very often the waiters do not let tourists go to the vending machines with drinks, like they will bring it to you (and you’ll wait for horseradish without a tip), there are no napkins on the tables, there are no toothpicks, it’s good at least salt and pepper are present. We gave tips to the waiters and then everything was in order, the main thing is to give them at the end of the meal, because after receiving them, the waiter's memory and conscience are completely knocked off and you won't be able to call him. As for the shifts in the canteen - we received a ticket for the first shift, but we went to the first shift and the second, because. went on excursions, no one checked it. By the way, meals on the first shift often differ from the second shift in composition and quantity, and always for the better. So draw your own conclusions. . .
Animation no, but this is again the same compared to the Turkish. The hotel is still focused on Europeans, and they seem to only need to drink alcohol in the morning and lie around the pool or on the beach all day. As for the rest, everything is very good. The beach is excellent, the best among the nearest hotels, although Orient 5 * is nearby, but its beach is much worse. Every morning, the sand on the beach is sifted with something like a large rake, and the algae is also removed. In general, the beach and the sea are super! On the beach, if you stand facing the sea, then there are all kinds of water activities on the right and left, and if you take a catamaran, for example, then on the right it costs 15 dinars / hour and on the left 5 dinars / hour. There are many supermarkets around the hotel. The prices for souvenirs in them are much lower than if you buy the same thing on excursions, and the goods are the same, so take your time. To the left of the hotel about a 15 minute walk is the Italian ice cream house Casa DelGelato - highly recommended to visit. Awesome cocktails and very beautiful and tasty ice cream at a price of 7-10 dinars per serving. On the way to the ice cream house, you will see the famous Bora-Bora disco on the left. For 15 dinars in a horse carriage or 5 dinars in a taxi, you can go to the Hannibal Park amusement park, there are extreme rides - a roller coaster, a flying ship and some other Evolution on which, although I love extreme sports, I didn’t ride t . to. I love life even more : ). One attraction costs from 5 to 9 dinars. Near Hannibal Park is the port of El Kantaoui, where you can take excursions on yachts. Just go to the port and local excursion traders will hang on you themselves, praising their excursions and scolding the excursions of their neighbors... Opposite the entrance to the port there is a large supermarket with good prices.

Excursions took two: Laser show Alzahra and Carthage. I won’t expand much, I’ll just say that at the laser show, everything except the show itself is complete garbage. A Russian girl, a guide from the Biblio-Globus, went with us, it was just a gesture - she brought it, said go there and then there, and disappeared. We saw her again when it was all over - at the exit. Other tour operators had guides with groups and somehow organized and directed... But I really liked the excursion to Carthage with the Biblio-Globus, despite the fact that the guide was a Russian-speaking Tunisian and sometimes hung up a little, apparently translating the information into Russian, but everything was very interesting and informative. The guide was with us everywhere and organized everything very competently. Friends also went on a pirate yacht and to the zoo - they really liked it.
In general, the hotel can be safely recommended to people looking for a quiet measured rest, or families with small children. Unfortunately, the mini-club is there for very young children and, moreover, there are no Russian-speaking animators in it, so children aged 7-14 will be bored in the hotel, the only thing that saves is that the hotel is located in the city and with a little desire you can always find where to go and how have fun.