My name is Margarida. I'm 21 and I'm from Portugal.
I went to Riu Park El Kebir last summer, in August, with my family (my parents and my 18-year-old brother).

I don’t have a thing to complain about the hotel. Some people forget to rate the hotels according to the stars they have. For example, it's not a five star hotel so you can’t expect gourmet food.
It's a lovely hotel and the feeling I had the whole week is that I was in a place where you felt pampered 24 hours per day.

The food is good. Yeah it could get boring but all the buffets are like that. But there is so much choice. Everyday I tried to eat something different and when I wished for typical food all I have to do is make a reservation in the hotel's restaurant one day previously and you don’t pay, it's part of all include.
What happens is that in the first days I ate a lot cuz I wanted to try a little of everything xD but after the newness is gone I ate normally again lol Ah, there are some thematic food nights and the waitress are dress properly to the theme =)

The staff is amazing, from the lady that cleans the rooms to the people in the reception, the waiters, the lifeguard, and of course the animation team.

I think the animation team is the best of the hotel. They are excellent with adults and children. If you don’t want to they don’t bother you, but if you're looking for friends, they are great. You can ask them information about things to do around or about whatever you want. They are always with a smile. Their energy and their kindness are contagious! And they work from 10 am to midnight (with a few hours of break of course).
Basically in the morning you have classes of gymnastic near the pool, in the pool or in the sea. There's also a moment when the animation team dances around the pool. You can hear music ambient near the pool. In the morning there are also games. At lunch time there's no entertainment. Then at 4pm +/- prepare yourself for more games at the pool or in the beach. At 18pm things get calmer again.
In the evenings, at 10pm there’s a one-hour show in the theatre performed by the animation team. It's a different thing everyday, with choreographies, comedy, etc. Some evenings the entertainment is made by outside artists like bellydancers or bands. And sometimes the entertainment is made outdoors, where the guys from the animation ask people to dance with them. It's very funny. Some may find the shows a little cheesy but they're still funny anyway. They dance very well.
They really do all they can to make your holidays better.
I stayed friends with them, and I even have the contact of Dario.
After the show you can go to the salon, drink a little, hang out a little bit with the guys from animation team if you want and then at midnight forget it. The hotel dies xD
I think that it’s the only thing not so good about the hotel. It becomes desert and dark at midnight! If you want night fun you'll have to go outside the hotel.

The service is also good. Whenever there was a problem, for example if the air conditioning stopped working, they resolved it immediately.

Near the private beach of the hotel there's a nautical center where you can have lots of fun.
The beach is spotless, very clean and well frequented.

You have lots of things to do beside the hotel. There are lots of excursions (i went to Cartago and Sidi Bu Said), you can go ride on camel in a farm nearby, you can go the town (5 minutes from the hotel and the taxi only cost 2/3 dinars) .
There's the medina in north Hammamet ( medina = the old part of the town) where you can have a crazy experience in the souk (=market), and there's Yasmine Hammamet, the new part of the town that has a marina with lots of good restaurants, bars, british clubs, cinema, casino, etc
It’s easy to communicate with the locals cuz Hammamet is a turistic place so they can speak a little of every language xD
You have the Market in Nabul at Fridays, It’s a town near Hammamet, and I advice you to go on the train instead of car, so you can appreciate the local life.

You'll see tunisian women all covered up taking baths in the sea as well as you'll see tunisian women in shorts and top. There's everything.

One thing I can tell the ladies is to expect a little harassment from the guys. You'll find it odd at the beginning but don’t stress. I laughed a lot with it. Don’t take it to serious. Most of them are just playing and being nice to you. And they won’t push it if you don’t give them conversation.
And when they offer you camels for your lady or daughter, they are just joking. Some people really believe in this.They are just teasing or playing with you. It’s a way to make conversation with tourists. This only happened in the past. And besides, there aren’t as many camels as that in Tunisia lol

This may have exceptions, as all things have, but in general, the feeling you'll have in Tunisia is that you are very welcomed. I really enjoyed it! It's a different culture from the ocidental but that’s the magic of it! That’s why I enjoyed it so much.

There can be some things that you're not used to or that you will like less. Don’t go there expecting everything to be the same as in your country. Just embrace the experience and the new things!
This is an advice for all the trips, cuz I think there are some people that are just too negative and that dislike one thing just because it's different from what they are used to.
Always try to learn something with a new culture.

I loved the hotel and the country and I really wish I could go there again.

arrived by nearly 2 hour transfer ,got to hotel and was totally gobsmacked by the views, it looks as if a bomb has dropped in every direction apart from the sea.thomsons have this as a platinum hotel but i cant think of how they have give it this,we have been to tunisia 4 times and this has put me off for life.nothing to do ,nowhere to walk ,and nobody smiled in the whole week.mainly german guests and the other guests that were there made no communication with any body else. i actually thought there had been a funeral. entertainment very poor and repeated every night but if you like black lace and the birdy song every 5 minutes by all means go there.waiters are o.k and will trip over them selves to help you for a tip. food repeated every meal time,you wont starve but you will have to look for something to eat.i would not go back to this hotel for free and if you have booked i wish you all the best or better still cancel or stay at home.air condition in rooms but works when it wants.can say that hotel room was big and clean but apart from that a terrible hotel and not worth £650 each for a week. total disgrace of a placeand will never go back to this place ever ever again.

My mum and I were expecting a very special hotel being a Platinum Thomson's Hotel. We were very wrong. We arrived 11pm with cocktails in reception. We went to our room, NOT IN THE HOTEL - in the Hammamet Suites next door, an apartment which was extremely hard to find in the dark due to no lighting, broken paving slabs and steps, steps and more steps - not good for someone recovering from cancer and wanting a lift to all floors ! We had our welcome supper - worst salad I've ever had. We awoke to sunshine and found our way to the hotel. We went to the restaurant and couldn't eat anything (well a bit of toast ). We had a lovely day around the pool with the lifeguard fetching sunbeds and pads - he was great. The animation team were very good especially Cristiano who did a good water-aerobics session. The drinks during the day were all ok and we never had to wait more than 2 mins to be served. All the waiters and staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful and this went some way to making up for things. We went to the restaurant for our evening meal expecting better things. We were again disappointed by the spicy food. By the end of the holiday we were defeated, and came home considerably lighter ! Weight Watchers eat your heart out ! The entertainment was appalling - the worst we have ever known. Everything is translated into 5 languages, so the quiz took forever. The only good night was one hour of RiverDance - all done by the animation team - that was our highlight. Definately NOT a Thomson's Platinum Quality Hotel. Our rep was non existant - we saw him twice in passing !
Overall - spotless clean, helpful staff, poor food, poor entertainment, in the middle of nowhere.
We will not be returning - J and M Harrison, Derbyshire.

My wife and i have just returned from a week at the RIU Park El Kebir. Everything about the hotel was fantastic, the service was great as was the food with a great variety.
We had a couple of cold days but it wasn't a problem as we booked a 3 day spa treatment wich was out of this world and well worth the £120! The hotel has a indoor pool aswell wich was lovely and warm.
The beach was great and even seen a few people swimming in the sea on the warm days, my wife and i only managed up to our knees tho!
The outdoor pool was cold aswell at this time of year but there was still a few people swimming in it.
The entertainment was relaxing so if you like it a lively then it won't be for you but they put on great shows every night and the entertainment team was great. Daytime entertainment was the usual darts, archery, french bouls, aerobics, water polo and beach volleyball.
The walk to the medina took about 10 mins along the beach with the usual fake cigs being sold, just a polite no thank you and they leave you alone. If you see any camels on the beach, dont take any photos as they will charge you for 40 or 50 D for it.
We had a fantastic holiday and we are going again to the El Kebir next year but will go in june or july when its hotter.