Absolutely loved this holiday. It was great for a quiet holiday just to get some sun and rest. Lots of places to eat.....couldn't believe how you could eat all day actually (not used to all inclusive holidays!) in four different places with huge choices and theme nights....loved it! The rooms were giant. Bit of a walk down to the pool and resturants but you can't have it all. The bathroom was huge too. Free air conditioning!! Very clean as well. Waiters were really nice and animation team too although they didn't talk an aweful lot of English (probably as there wasn't many other English guests). The swimming pool was the best pool I've ever had on holiday....huge, deep, clean, fab!!!!!

I have stayed at the El Mouradi twice in the last 2 years, the second trip being my honeymoon and I loved it.
It is worth having a room with a sea view if possible but the ground floor room we had was of an acceptable standard too. Everything was clean and comfortable, fresh towels everyday, toiletries replenished and a constant supply of bottled water.
I am an incredibly fussy eater and even I managed to find more than enough to eat at every meal.
The pool area was well looked after and the beach always clean. I did not feel intimidated by the constant stream of men selling things on the beach, as soon as security noticed them they were shooed away. Being blonde with blue eyes I felt like something of a circus freak whenever I left the hotel grounds but inside the hotel I was comfortable enough that my husband could go off and do what he wanted to do while I sat by the pool with my book.
Service is good, but vastly improves once you tip a few times! I generally left a couple of dinar on the table at breakfast and in the evening, which doesn't really amount to much but does make all the difference to the staff
The entertainment staff work very hard and nobody ever seems to have a day off - we had the same bar staff every night which came in handy when it came to ordering drinks!
We're not going back this year but this is purely for financial reasons and I can't wait till we can go again!
*I had to post that I travelled in December 2010 as the November option wasn't there!!*

We arrived back 2 days ago, and I must say it was an excellent 1 week vacation. The hotel is good quality, not western 5*, but look at the price, dont expect genuine western 5* for the price, I would say it is western 3.5* - 4*, the lobby and pool areas are very nice, impressive when you first see them. the rooms are a bit dated, but are clean and have everything you need, we had a sea view room and the view was stunning! The staff are good, their English is a bit poor and they seem a bit clueless (slow etc but that seems to bit Tunisia all over) but they are friendly and as helpful as they can be (Mahdia is a sleepy small place so the locals who work at the Hotels cant expected to be fast paced in their manner). The food is mixed, as always with all inclusive it gets a bit repetitive, but the quality was quite good, certainly better then Mahdia's finest restaurants, 2 of which we went to and they were very low standard, go to them for the experience of a Tunisian restaurant but dont expect much! for breakfast they made freshly made omlettes and pancakes (among many other things), as good as you can have anywhere, so fresh and made to order - as good as you will get in London if not better. for lunch and dinner it was mixed but included freshly made pizzas, to order, they were really good, better then say Pizza Express, so fresh, very nice! The beer in the hotel is good, tastes nice and not watery, the wine is not so nice, the cocktails were good, not great, but good. The other guests were slightly older then us (we are 26 and 31), which was fine as the atmosphere is mature, respectful and peaceful, not a party place, a place to really relax which is what we were looking for (it is in no way chavvy or clubby). The hotel is right on the beach, which is nice, clean, not busy and the water was really clean and nice, there are locals selling the usual rubbish on the beach but the hotel security control it very well, the standard of the staff is generally quite high - this is a beach holiday and we were impressed by the beach. Mahdia itself is nice, not very commercial, small, slow, sleepy, perfect for a relaxed break. The locals are fine, they seem to relaxed to bother you (other then the ones trying to sell you stuff - but this was less then other places we have been), there is no drinking in Mahdia (other then very few places) which made it really nice, no drunk people anywhere, it was nice to go out of sat night and be in very comfortable coffee places around younger people talking peacefully over tea and coffee - not getting drunk! we went on a day of excursion to 3 other cities/towns, which was great, really interesting, educational, safe and fun. On the whole I highly highly recommend it (until you can afford to go genuine 5* to Maldives this is perfect!), no its no genuine 5* (but have you seen the Dorchester on Park Lane London which is 5*, do you really expect this to be the same standard from the pictures and the price!?!?) but its good, comfortably and relaxing, lots of food which is good quality, drinks are good and the city center is interesting and pleasant - no beggers by the way, they all seem to live ok lives so nothing to make you feel guilty about being on hol (like India for example!). Really, please dont be put of the odd bad review - if you go with the right expectations you will be impressed and come back happy as we have...... enjoy!

Because of the uncertainty in the region, tourist numbers have been down this year (Oct 2011). So they were pleased to see us, and the prices were very attractive! It is very much business as usual at the El Mouradi and the least safe thing we did was travel in a taxi - they like driving on each others bumpers and waving to all their friends rather than keeping their eyes on the road!!!

Interesting mix of German, French, Russian and Brits - 20s to retired couples and groups of girls: quiet and restful rather than party-central. The animation team work hard to encourage participation in waterpolo, salsa class and volleyball during the day. But the evening enterainment was, how shall I put this, "not to my taste" (dire).

Only a few young kids (it was school hols so no over 8s at all) The hotel was about half full I would guess, which meant that one of the coffee bars wasn't open. But it did mean that there was plenty of room on the beach and round the pool. I imagine it can get quite congested in high season, with many reserving sun beds at dawn, despite the notices saying not to!

Service in the bars and at the pool-side BBQ was very attentive - learning our preferences very early on which was flattering. The weather was variable in the first two weeks of October - with some spectacular thunderstorms as well as some fine clear sunny days. We lost perhaps 3 days to rain.

Pool and beach were lovely, the hotel itself perhaps a little tatty (we lost water in our room for two days). The lunchtime BBQ was simple and tasty and beautifully positioned. The canteen was pretty good I'd say, but after 2 weeks got a little samey: omlette cooked to order, fresh pizza, a good international selection including a little local cuisine. The beer was OK, the local wine just drinkable - but the shorts and the tea were painful.

Mahdia is £2 taxi ride (free shuttle) and a relatively authentic small Tunisian town with bustling market on Fridays. The locals can be quite "insistent" on the streets but it is just "cheeky". But we stayed in the hotel pretty much except for a visit to El Jem - which is an extraordinary Roman arena (a mini colluseum) on the edge of the desert (40 mins drive) and well worth a visit.