Club Novostar Dar Khayam

We had a fabulous time at the hotel. Food was amazing alot of variations on offer daily. Plus snacks and food served all day at pool bar area. Our server Mousan at meal times made us feel very welcome during our holiday and treated us very well. Joe also from the Entertainment team was fantastic with the English speaking kids making sure all the time they were included and up dancing. Entertainment for kids and adults was all day long the entertainment team work very hard. Rooms were clean but basic which is probablyonly reason the hotel is 3 star. Also, brush up on French as English speaking staff is limited making communication difficult at times.

We are just home after having a great holiday at the Dar Khayam. The hotel is spotless and every member of staff work extremely hard everyday . Its definitely the animation team that make this hotel a great place for families , they work tirelessly everyday with a smile on there face , they make everyone feel so welcome . Rooms are basic but they are cleaned everyday , we had clean towels everyday and our bed was changed twice and we were only there for 1 week . The food and drink was good , the cocktails were lovely . My husband went for a massage at the spa he said it was very good and would recommend it . The only downside to this hotel is every Friday Tunisian families come to stay here for 2 days !!! we went into the restaurant on the Saturday for lunch omg 😲 the behaviour of most of the children was shocking !!! I suppose the adults were just as bad !! barging about refusing to queue for food and they were very ignorant!! one of our party went out to complain to the manager about this and she was very rudely dismissed by the reception staff . That was the only downside to our holiday but all in all we had a great time .

Fabulous hotel, animation team made our 10 days at Dar Khayam extra enjoyable and also the service from staff at the bar. Rarely left our seat to fetch a beer which is always a nice extra! Can imagine the atmosphere being a little bit different when busier months come around, June has been a good time to holiday. Location is great, right on the beach with clear shallow waters. To the left of the hotel entrance there’s a small stroll to some cafes and the odd bar. Traviata, Laragosta and Pinchos are the places to be. Safe outside despite some shop owners that will do anything for a done deal, this a little unsettling at times. Rooms a massive let down and need to be updated to meeting standards of other areas. Overall, a lovely experience. Would return, great hotel for a great price.

We stayed at Dar Khayam and had a wonderful experience! The hotel is perfect for a family vacation. The staff are friendly, attentive, and always ready to help. We especially enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere and the great entertainment for both children and adults. Thank you to the entire hotel team for an amazing holiday, great memories, and a fantastic time. We would be happy to come back again. We would also like to thank the waiters and bar staff for their attentiveness, friendliness, and excellent service. Thanks to your hard work, positive attitude, and warm smiles, every day of our holiday was even more enjoyable. Thank you for your care, hospitality, and for creating such a welcoming atmosphere for all the guests. A special thank you to the animation team ( DJO, ZIZO, CHICO, DRAGON, MOMOA, SIMO, TITI) for the wonderful time we spent together! Your energy, enthusiasm, and positive attitude made our holiday even more enjoyable and memorable. Thank you for the fun activities, great entertainment, and all the smiles you brought every day. We will remember this happy time with you for a long time! There were some shortcomings regarding the accommodation and food, which we believe could be improved. However, the genuine care, friendliness, attentiveness, and professionalism of the staff, together with the amazing work of the animation team, far outweighed these issues and left us with very positive memories of our holiday.

I went to Dar Khayam Hotel with my son, his wife and their 5 kids aged 12-4. We were over 4 hours late arriving so was after midnight. Gave us 2 bottles of water per room (we had 2 family rooms booked). Had to take our own luggage up as only the one guy on duty. No problem. Got to the room and that was our first shock! Tiny for a family room. Bunk beds and 2 singles in a very small space, bathroom was a good size but shower over the bath!! Not so good for me as I'm 74 with bad knees! Ok I’d manage. My grandson 12 had to make up his own bed as wasn’t done. Then we discovered no air conditioning. Geez it’s like 24c in the night and for us Brits thats hot!! Next morning asked about air con told would not be on until 15th June. We arrived 2nd for 10 days. No good to us…..doomed to have sleepless nights. Animation team were absolutely brilliant. Could not fault them in anyway. Djo and Dragon were amazing with all our kids every single day. There was something on all the time from 10 am and a show or karaoke every night…excellent. Food was not the best especially if you were later going in. Did not cater for kids, well pizza was about the only choice. My daughter-in-law said you need to do chips and fair play they did every day from then on. Chicken was under cooked big time and it was the same old for lunch and dinner everyday. Did have prawns twice at lunch. Eating out in the area was very limited as nothing much in the area at all. We did New Medina twice but with 8 of us needed two taxis so made it more expensive but did it a couple of times and went to Jasmine and was good value and was really nice. Portions were massive. Was going to bed on second night when I saw this big thing speeding across the floor! Size of a 50p piece. Could not catch it so went to reception and they got someone immediately to come and they caught it. Then the Tuesday afternoon I went up to my room early and a huge cockroach came out of the bathroom. Back to reception and the cleaner came and caught it. I told her it was because the room wasn’t clean. Then on Thursday my grandson found another in the bathroom!! They were huge! My daughter-in-law caught it in a glass and covered it, marched down to reception and promptly handed it to the guy there. She said his face was a picture haha. Cleaning of my room was absolutely appalling and I was leaving 20 dinar a day tip for her. No mattress covers on the beds, however there was on the two singles by the time we left but not the bunk beds. Didn’t bother straightening anything or tucking sheets in. I was there on Tuesday afternoon and o cleaning hadn't been done in my room or our second one. Had to go and find her to ask her to clean. Well she pulled out the beds to change them but when it came to mopping to floor she did the bits with nothing on it. My dresser was never touched the whole 10 days and the Thursday I’d left a cigarette end in ash tray….first time…and it was still there in the evening so was not happy at all. Give this hotel a very very wide berth. I know it’s only a 3* but come on. No fridge in the room, no kettle to make tea or coffee!! These are basics now. Oh and only ONE plug in the whole room. With phones, iPads and watches we struggled big time. On a last note. After so many complaints from other guests they finally put the air con on on the Tuesday afternoon….a week after we arrived by which time the temps were in the low 40s every day. Oh forgot to mention the beach wasn’t open either as that opens for July and August only. Temps as high as they were you need cold drinks for the kids and toilets but all closed.

Before I discuss the negatives, I want to make one thing absolutely clear: THE ANIMATION TEAM WERE AMAZING!!! They were without doubt the best part of our holiday. Every single member of the team was friendly, energetic, welcoming and worked tirelessly from morning until night to ensure guests had a good time. Despite all the issues we experienced elsewhere in the hotel, the animation team remained positive, professional and genuinely cared about guests. They deserve enormous credit because they did everything possible to make our stay enjoyable. They are a real asset to this hotel and, honestly, were the only reason parts of our holiday were salvageable. People often say, “you get what you pay for,” and I usually agree. However, in this case, the standards were so poor that I genuinely would not expect them at any price point. Raw food being served, no air conditioning in 38°C heat, poor customer service, inadequate accessibility and facilities that were unavailable during our stay are simply not acceptable. Had we known the reality of what was being offered, we would never have booked this hotel. We travelled as a group of 3 adults and 5 children and this has been one of the worst hotel experiences we have ever had. The most serious issue was the food. We were served raw turkey that was clearly undercooked. Shortly afterwards, I suffered sickness and diarrhoea. When we reported this to reception, there was little concern shown and no meaningful response from management. Serving undercooked poultry is a serious health risk and should never happen in any hotel. The hotel was also unbearably hot. Temperatures reached around 38°C, yet there was NO AIR CONDITIONING. We were informed it would not be switched on until 15 June. This information is not made clear when booking. We specifically asked if we could pay extra to have it switched on or if fans could be provided, but both requests were refused. Trying to sleep in these temperatures, especially with children, was miserable. The hotel information regarding air conditioning is misleading. Guests are led to believe air conditioning is available, yet in reality it was not operating throughout the hotel. Had we known this before booking, we would never have chosen this hotel. The food selection throughout our stay was extremely poor. There was very little choice for families and very few options that British guests would typically expect. Basic family favourites were unavailable and the quality was disappointing throughout. The fact that the most memorable meal involved being served raw turkey says everything. Accessibility was another major issue. A wheelchair user in our group repeatedly requested suitable accommodation and assistance across multiple rooms, yet no proper arrangements were made. If you require disability access, I would strongly advise looking elsewhere. The rules seemed to change depending on who you spoke to. I attended breakfast in an outfit that was accepted without issue, yet later attended lunch dressed similarly and was told my clothing was not acceptable. The inconsistency was frustrating and made no sense. To make matters worse, there was no pool bar, no beach bar, no food service around these areas and no convenient toilet facilities available until 15 June. Staff were generally unhelpful whenever concerns were raised and we often felt that our complaints were simply dismissed rather than addressed. This hotel simply did not deliver what was advertised. Between the food safety concerns, lack of air conditioning, poor customer service, accessibility problems and unavailable facilities, our family holiday was completely ruined. The only reason this review is not even lower is because of the incredible animation team, who remained professional, energetic and helpful throughout our stay. They deserve far better support from hotel management. DO NOT COME TO THIS HOTEL. If you are British, travelling with children, require disability access, expect air conditioning in hot weather, or simply want a hotel that takes guest concerns seriously, I would strongly recommend booking somewhere else.