Dar Ben Gacem Kahia

A genuine staff with very interesting art throughout the grounds. Very convenient walk to the souk. Fantastic terrace if the weather cooperates. For those unaccustomed to travel in the area, the alleys at night will provide both a sense of adventure and intrigue. Don't let the gritty night walks scare you off.

A gorgeous Dar / guesthouse with great service and wonderful staff. Unfortunately the bathroom / shower was not clean :( I’ve posted a photo below of the shower. It was slimy and slippery. Did not feel clean. Hopefully this is an easy fix for the staff.

I spent 3 nights here. Overall, it was nice, but there are problems worth mentioning. Its a beautiful hotel, in a fairly quiet corner of the medina. My room was comfortable, wifi worked ok. Staff mostly spoke good english and were friendly. However, there are a number of problems which caused it to lose one star. The shower in my room leaks all over the floor near the sink (not from the door). The light above the bed did not work. When my room was cleaned, they discarded the bar of soap that they provided, but never replaced it. Breakfasts were amazing with over a dozen items served. However, as others have noted in reviews, the entire process is extremely inefficient and wasteful. Instead of a buffet, one person is serving everything, which makes thr entire process take a long time. And wasteful, as everyone gets no choices in what food is served, so if you don't want an item, you receive it regardless. Also coffee/tea tends to get served after all the food, which is backwards service. Note that there is little convenient public transportation nearby, so if you wish to leave the medina, you must walk a long distance or pay for a taxi.

Apparently the Dar houses in Tunisia is similar to the Riads in Morocco. What I like about this hotel: 1. Although the place is not as elaborately decorated as some riads in Morocco (e.g. Riad Naya in Marrakesh medina), it is still very charming and tasteful. 2. The place only has 8 rooms (including 2 suites). I had the suite with its own private patio which is totally secluded. 3. The location is also great. It is not on one of the main street of Rue du Pacha but off in a side alley (Rue El Kahia) so it is very quiet. This hotel is Dar Ben Gacem Kahia. On Rue du Pacha there is a Dar Ben Gacem. Could be confusing for some people. 4. Like the riads in Morocco, the roof-top "garden" was fantastic, giving guests a place to relax outside their rooms. 5. Breakfast was quite good, serving made-to-order omelet, bread, fruit juice, coffee, ricotta cheese, yoghurt, fruit salad etc. 6. The host, Slim, was very professional, friendly and approachable. He made my stay very pleasant. Room to improve: Not much. Just some minor issues, such as: - the bread and croissant could be fresher. If it is too much to serve freshly baked goods in a small hotel, perhaps warming the bread or croissant for a few minutes in the oven would be great - bedside right table drawer opened only 6 inches, some of the window wood panels did not close properly, the guest room's main door handle was very loose (and almost dangling) - breakfast was good but inefficient. My suggestion to the hotel, is switching to a buffet breakfast. Right now, each guest gets a juice, coffee or tea, fresh fruits, bread and pastry, some desserts. Instead of bringing it all in a large tray, the items were brought to the guest one at a time.  This was not efficient because one morning I was missing a teaspoon, another morning there was no napkin. Then others got a basket of fruits except me. Another morning another guest was waiting for his coffee for so long that I gave him mine. One morning a few Italian tourists finished the coffee and fruits etc. and left before the staff brought the omelette. I guess they were not told that the omelettes were coming. The staff seemed to be a little frantic to me, running around.  A buffet will solve the problem. Also not everyone has the same appetite. This will eliminate food waste. Does the food that a guest couldn't finish, get used again for another guest. If not then there is a lot of food waste. A great hotel should pay close attention to details, and do the minor repairs before they become an issue.