Saphir Palace & Spa Reviews 

This was our third stay at the hotel, but unfortunately this time the experience was shocking.
We paid a £750 deposit in May to secure our rooms. When the hotel said they had not received it, I contacted the person who made the reservation, who told me it was related to money laundering and anti-terrorism investigations and that there was nothing I needed to do. However, on the day we left, we were made to pay the full bill without the £750 deposit being deducted. Our bank has since confirmed the payment was successfully sent, but the hotel has provided no meaningful help in tracing or recovering it. We are now £750 out of pocket.
There were also other issues. Our booked pool-view room was not available on arrival, so we had to stay in a different room for the first night and move the following day. A Tunisian guest we had booked to stay on a bed-and-breakfast basis was also asked to leave partway through the stay, which caused unnecessary stress and ruined the experience for him and us.
Despite all of this, we were still considering booking another stay for next month. However, the hotel is now offering us no worthwhile returning-customer discount, with the price being the same as Loveholidays, and they will no longer allow us to book one room on a bed-and-breakfast basis.
After three stays, we expected much better service and treatment. It is extremely disappointing and we will not be returning.

So bad, Love Holidays partially refunded us!

We had a great experience at Vincci Saphir Palace & Spa. The staff were welcoming & attentive and the service throughout our stay was exceptional. The rooms were clean, spacious and ideal for families, while the pool and nearby beach offered great options for both relaxation and fun.
The buffet restaurant served a wide variety of delicious food and the atmosphere across the hotel was calm and family friendly.
We truly enjoyed our time here at this hotel and would highly recommend it to families visiting Yasmine Hammamet.
Special thanks to Mr Lotfi & Ms Siwar at the reception who went the extra mile in helping us, also to the rest of the team ( housekeeping lady,kitchen staff & waiters. They did a great job during our stay.

Horrific, dirty unhygienic, disgusting hotel, management that do not like the English, the staff were lovely that were rushed off there feet. My husband and I, my parents who are 77 and 80, arrived on Monday 22nd September at 10.15 in morning for a supposed lovely 2week 5 star all inclusive holiday for our 13th wedding anniversary, we were kept waiting until 16.45 to get in our sea view rooms !! Mum and dad changed rooms as there is 3 lanes each side of constant cars and bikes racing up and down it like the M6. (Which you have to cross to get to a bit of beach) It’s was supposed to of been a up graded sea view suite that we had, it was dirty, and unclean curtains broken, windows filthy, floor dirty, toilet brush had its own breeding ground, bad smells coming from plug holes. Got sheet thrown on top of bed you had to make yourself, I had to take one to reception, blood stains on it. Another one just got thrown on bed. Only got 3 cleanish sheets in 2 weeks. They only seem to top up loo rolls, sometimes change towels or refold the ones you had, Took 2 days to fill tissue dispenser in bathroom, that I clearly left out. Towel rail fell off wall 1st night after having shower putting towel on it, and cut my arm notified reception, 3 days still not fixed so took it down to them, and then was asked if I had broken it by very rude man at reception! Asked for kettle for room which you should have in a 5 star hotel that took 2 days to come, and then another 3 days for cups and tea and coffee. Got food poisoning by 2nd night, once recovered had to eat out every night, an extra £300, not what you should have to do in a supposed 5 star all inclusive, flies on food hot and cold which had no covering, flies on food while trying to eat it, nothing was warm or hot, not labelled, saw food being moved around by bare hands while topping empty trays up, utensils being used for raw meat and cooked meat, cross contamination, saw blocked up coffee machine having straw put down and blown down to unblock the dirty pipes, disgusting. We had used glasses, wiped out with tissue, not even washed and given to us for our drinks. My mum and dad had a huge cockroach in there room to, disgusting. A gentleman had a fall up some steps, as the floor was wet with no sign up saying so, the hotel gave him Elastoplast to put on the gashes he had, it got infected, by 2nd day of it happening, they had to pay for taxi to see a so called doctor, gave him antibiotic cream and antibiotics to take, and a strip of Elastoplast to cut to change it twice a day, his poor wife was distraught, as he needed proper dressings, luckily my husband and I, mum and dad gave her all of our proper dressings before we left, he also got very sick with the food. I hope they managed to change hotels, like they were trying to do. Swimming pool dirty and not cleaned properly, just chemicals thrown in. Mens toilets down by bar lounge absolutely horrific, urinals bagged over toilet near to overflowing with urine and the other, not cleaned as stated, it was like that for days. Totally disgusting. I could go on and on. We spoke to lots of people that also had many problems and complaints with this hotel. It is not as advertised, all false and misleading, and should not be allowed to let people be as disappointed, dissatisfied, disgusted, and reduced to tears, like I was, and want to just go home.

FORGET ALL THE GLOSSY PHOTOS YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY SEEN - All communal areas are tired, mouldy, need painting etc. Spare mattresses line the corridors and carpets are stained on most floors. Tiles around the pool are broken / unsafe and there’s even a little cone on the drainage cover where it is broken / could cause injury - was there all week.
ARRIVE EARLY - if like us you arrive after midnight you are allocated the wrong room type on the wrong side of the hotel. Then when challenged, you get the right room type but still wrong side of the hotel. The room you end up staying that night in has no functioning patio door lock (and an adjoining balcony) and no safe and is on a major junction (see photo!). Had to hang around until lunchtime the following day for correct room type however it wasn’t correct and still had twin beds. Moved rooms again finally to one which looked more like the photos but still had issues.
LEAVE YOUR STANDARDS AT HOME - this was the equivalent of a Britannia / Ibis styles hotel in the UK. It’s 2* at best. The only reason why people are coming here is because of the weather and all inclusive. The more you drink the more you don’t notice the issues!
BE PREPARED FOR ALLERGIC REACTIONS / SICKNESS - there is little / no signage on any food in the ‘canteen’
Cross contamination between utensils used by kitchen staff eg omelette bowls not washed out pasta station - same ladles used for tomato sauce and beef / bolognese sauce (great for vegetarians!).
LEARN TO SAY F OFF IN FRENCH AND ARABIC - if this was the UK, both the guy trying to sell his henna tattoos and the excursion man would have been arrested for harassment / a public order offence by now. At triple the price, do not book through hotel excursion guy! He followed us out on to the street to interview our private driver who we had booked from somewhere else and told us he had no insurance!
CLEANLINESS - dark hairs in the bed (we are both blonde/ fair hair), no cleaning in the rooms unless you ask (even if you put your green sign out), cleaning can/ may happen at any time so if you put your green sign out they can knock at 4/5pm once you’re back in the room wanting to clean when you’ve been out since 8/9am and they’ve had all day. Bedding not changed all week (make up stains still on my pillow).
FINAL NIGHT ON THE TITANIC - storm occurred, panic assumed. No one seemed to know what to do - hotel rooms flooded, ‘canteen flooded’, ‘canteen’ was at over capacity due to a la carte / bbq closing. Surprisingly staff who would have been in other locations were not repositioned to the main bar which became carnage after dinner time! The usual waiting time for a drink at main bar is 5-10 mins, but this night it was more like 15-20.
ENTERTAINMENT - random woman with a laptop plugged into a speaker (does she work here / is she a guest here?) playing her favourite songs - ‘be our guest?’ And other Disney classics at 10pm. The rest of the song list wouldn’t have been out of place in a department store lift.
A LA CARTE - no menus provided at either restaurant. You get what you’re given. The cats hanging around the beach turned their nose up at the overcooked fish dish we presented them with. You get to eat at both once on your stay, I personally wouldn’t bother as most is left over from the lunch / day before.
CANTEEN - when the doors open it can only be compared to scenes from Supermarket Sweep. Our Russian friends obviously concerned they may waste away from a famine crisis, piling the food on their plates and then leaving it on the table to go to waste. Top tip: enter through the side (outside door) as they open that first and if it’s too chaotic the snack bar later serves cold pizza, chicken nuggets and chips. If you’re lucky and the chef is around you may get doughnuts and pancakes with the equivalent of Tunisia Nutella which were personally felt was the best food here!
HAIR DRYER - bring your own! The one in our room resembled a vacuum cleaner and the plastic got so hot I almost encountered third degree burns.

Holiday from hell
5 star holiday from hell, if you are English avoid at all cost, they have no hygiene standards, despite first impressions in the lobby, where the best of the furniture is, it seems clean, the doors and above windows I don’t think have ever been cleaned, some of the furniture is the bar area is filthy and smelly, the rooms are never cleaned properly, toilet, sink and shower were not cleaned during our stay I used antiback wipes and did it myself, as for the food well I just don’t know what to say except for a load of slosh, despite regular complaints to rep still nothing hot done, the staff they have work so hard and are helpful but they definitely need more, my full review along with some gruesome pictures will follow soon
Hasband down with diarrhoea while there, I was down with it a few days after, we’ve been home a week and I am still very ill, awaiting pathlab results, this is not just food poisoning as I ate very little while there it’s some form of bug from the lack of hygiene lab report is clostridioides difficile contracted through lack of hygiene it’s a very bad bug that attacks the bowel
Avoid this hotel at all costs. The man who comes claiming to be love holidays rep. He is not they do not have reps in any hotels

Ah, Tunisia. Where do I even begin? The country of eternal sunshine and scams, where everyone greets you with a smile... just before they try to empty your wallet. You can’t even walk down the street without dodging the next con artist, and heaven forbid you make eye contact with the locals or (gasp!) their children. The kids? Oh, they're a delightful mix of hyperactive little angels and future MMA fighters. They don't just beg—they demand your money. Apparently, they're in training for the national sport of “Tourist Intimidation.”

And then there’s the Saphir Palace & Spa Hotel. Oh, what a gem... or should I say, what a cubic zirconia? Let’s start with the drinks. The beer? It looks like beer—golden, bubbly, full of promise—until you take a sip and realize you’ve just paid for sparkling tap water with a hint of regret. The cocktails? Pure art! My kid’s tongue turned green after one sip, but hey, at least he had fun pretending to be a dragon. Who knew that the bar was running a side business in children's fantasy roleplay?

The food? Let's just say if you're into culinary recycling, you're in for a treat! Breakfast, lunch, dinner—it's all the same dish, just reimagined in creative new forms. One day it's lunch, the next day it's your evening snack. Genius, really. Why waste food when you can serve it four times in different shapes?

Craving fresh orange juice? Hope you have the patience of a monk, because you'll be standing around for 15 minutes for 100ml of liquid sunshine. And that’s on a good day. The secret tip for drinks? Order a cognac and a separate glass of cola. It’s the closest thing to a drinkable beverage in the place. Or try the mojito, which is essentially a science experiment made with leftover kitchen scraps and a vague whiff of something lemon-like. You'll feel fancy right until you taste it.

Let’s not forget the pool tiles, which are apparently designed by Olympic trainers to test your agility. Perfect for kids training for winter sports! Elderly guests or anyone with a slightly unsteady balance? Good luck. It's basically Wipeout: Tunisia Edition. The hotel clearly thought the pool wasn’t dangerous enough, so they threw in some extra slipperiness for that added excitement.

If you’re done with the all-you-can-suffer buffet, try booking one of their special restaurants. Key word: try. Five nights, and we managed to get in once. The beef in the buffet? Let's just say the old bulls in the nearby fields should be nervous. It’s like chewing on a tire, but hey, it builds character.

Breakfast? Hope you're not in a rush. A 10-15 minute wait for an omelet is the perfect way to start your morning if you enjoy slowly losing the will to live. And the coffee? It’s basically powdered disappointment mixed with water. Combine it with the powdered milk and you've got a cappuccino that doubles as a science experiment in particle observation.

We thought we’d treat the kids to a pirate ship adventure. The hotel offered us the once-in-a-lifetime experience for a modest 250 Drahmas. But one of the few friendly guys on the beach hooked us up for 100. Turns out, the pirates weren’t the ones running the scam—go figure.

And oh, the hotel photographer? Another gem. We agreed on a price, and in return, we got the world’s finest low-resolution images. Perfect for framing... if you want pixelated memories that look like they were taken in 1998.

So, if you're looking for a place where every step is an adventure in avoiding being ripped off, where your drinks taste like disappointment, and your food is a guessing game, Saphir Palace & Spa is the destination for you! Bring your patience, your balance skills, and a good sense of humor, because you're going to need all three.

We have just returned from a 10 day holiday from this disgusting hotel.
We have traveled all around Tunisia over 10 yrs so I feel fairly qualified to give an accurate review.
Firstly I made a valid comment on their Facebook page; the removed the comment and banned me obviously not keen on hearing a true complaint.
We arrived late and where told just to go into restaurant to get some food as they where not ready for us, I use the wordrestaurant very loosely as it’s more like a roadside canteen, we had a choice of cold chips, chewy cold chicken’ish strips or mauled salad. Great start!!!
Once we where showed to the room the person dumped our back and expected a tip before telling us that if we don’t know how to use the safe then contact reception even though he should have shown us there and then.
We booked the ala carte meal at reception the following day which it self was an ordeal as none of the staff we spoke with new where it was, we where just given a wave of his hand and told over there somewhere or we coulomb back later and ask someone else? (This is a 5 star hotel apparently ) We went for our eagerly awaited alacarte meal the following day which the choice was staggering, spaghetti and prawns with a side of lasagna or lasagna with a side of prawns and spaghetti.. the alacarte service is none existent as they clearly had no idea how to set a table correctly or cleanly. We smelled the dish coming long before it was dropped on to the table, the prawns must have been a few days old given the smell, the so-called lasagna was a lump of gristle topped with cheese. It’s safe to say that we left if fearing for our health, after that experience we had a good idea of how the remaining trip would be. The following day we attempted to get some lunch at the main canteen, this was another experience I’d not wish on any one, the place was like feeding time at the zoo, my wife got pushed out the way by a Muslim woman who wanted to get at some type of food, not only was this person extremely rude but she just stuck her hands into the pile of food to get some more to add to her already piled high plate, another one attempted to move me out of the way and was not happy to be told to wait in turn. The canteen staff do supply tongs to serve food every time they set up, they need to realise that they cater for people who do not want to eat food that has been manhandled by hauds of greedy people.
Needless to say we never ate in the disgusting canteen again we found some fabulous restaurants around Jasmine most notably Le Barons ( turn right out of the main entrance and continue over the next junction)which is just along from the Hovel of the Saphir Palace.
The pool area is a health and safety nightmare, room many cracked / broken sharp tiles to count, scum marks all around the pool area, missing drain covers in the showering area by the pool. Slime covered pool bar area ( this does prevent thou from cutting your legs on the underside of the swim up bar)
There is so much more but I don’t want accuse all certain races as the same , neeedless to say if you have female children just be mindful.
If you are unfortunate to go you have to admire the tobacco stained chandeliers in the main reception/ bar area looks to be used condoms hanging from the ceiling, also avoid the lifts they continuously brake down.

Terrible hotel claims to be 5 star. Cross contamination, raw meat , mouldy fruit, no al a carte restaurants, no beach bar. Volleyball and tennis court unusable. Management greedy.