Hotel El Habib Monastir

Not sure where to start, The reception staff upon check in were nice, we had to fill out a long paper form. The rooms are rough, under the tap was covered in limescale, the shower curtains have strange marks on them, the beds are okay but clean at least. The rooms are definitely old and dated, a bit rough but they’re generally clean (except for the bathroom and mystery stains) The lobby is quite nice and has a nice atmosphere, the pool area is nice and lively. The main issue with this place, is the staff and how they treat guests. There’s a very noticeable difference is how they treat Tunisians/ Muslims and how they treat white Europeans. With Arabic speakers they’re chatty and friendly. As soon as you open your mouth and speak English (we’re not English, but it’s the only language in common) their face drops and they’ll usually just fire the drinks etc at you. I gave up saying hello, please and thank you in the bar as they just ignore it and chuck your drinks at you. One situation was, upon check in I was given a child’s wristband, for some reason (I’m almost 20 years of age) . After ordering a drink in the bar I just got a weird look and a ‘no’. We went to reception to see what’s happening and was asked for my id (standard practice) so I showed him my driving licence. None of the staff were able to read the numbers on it, I was then asked to go and get my passport upstairs (almost being laughed at at this stage). After showing him my passport (still wasn’t able to read it), he handed it to a random young child at reception to translate it for him. Eventually he gave me the correct wristband. As for the food, the variety is okay, however nothing is labeled so it’s usually guess work or mystery meat surprise. I’ve been vegetarian for 5 years and accidentally consumed meat here as the Margaret pizza contained a layer of beef, under the cheese. I felt very sick afterwards and bad stomach all week. Some things are labeled, like the tomato sauce pasta, which contains beef, the cheese balls, which contains some sort of mystery meat also. If you have any dietary requirements or allergies you’ll be relying on hopes and prayers as the kitchen staff are not willing to help. The beach at the hotel is filthy, as is the rest of Monastir. You can’t walk anywhere in this town without stepping in rubbish, smelling sewers and urine or getting harassed by pushy shopkeepers trying to scam you. Also note a plug socket in the room was falling out with wires exposed. In summary, the pool area is nice The rooms are questionable but mostly clean. The staff need to treat every equally, regardless of their race. The food needs to be labeled. Would I return to this hotel or Tunisia in general? No. Not if you’re European as you’ll get constant dirty looks and horrible treatment. I’ve never left a negative review for a hotel before, as someone who travels countries every month, at some point it’s just taking the p. You’re advertising as a 4 star hotel. Please