We stayed at the Vincci Lella Baya in March 2006 on half-board basis. The weather in mid-March was rainy and windy, but with 2 days of sunshine. I'll break this review down for you:

Hotel Appearance:
By far the best thing about this hotel is how it looks. It's not for everybody - some have criticised it for being too 'Vegas-style'... although I really think that the quirkiness of this hotel is still way too tame to be anything like a Vegas hotel!

The pictures you see of the hotel on the website ( [--] ) are true to form. It is clean, bright and tidy, with grand and quirky interiors.

The rooms were spacious and cool, with air conditioning. There was ample storage for 2 of us (one wardbrobe, a chest, dressing table and 2 bedside cabinets). The balcony was also nice - although the 'sea view' was a bit of a con - it overlooked the hotel grounds and road opposite; with the sea in the distance.

Food and Drink:
Whether it was because we went off season, I'm not sure, but on the website you have pictures of friendly chefs serving up all kinds of Tunisian treats. There is supposedly 4 bars and 3 restaurants - although only one of each was open when we went, and I don't know where the rest were! The poolside bar was not open, even when we had a few sunny days.

The food was very bland; the breakfast was awful. It was a self-serve cafeteria style. We wish we'd stayed B&B instead of half-board, as we ended up eating out most of the time - although it must be said that I found the food in the local area rather bland and tasteless, too. With the exception of a lovely seafood restaurant that is actually on board a harboured boat; located on the main 'stip' of bars and restaurants. A few restaurants in Hammamet, a short taxi ride away, were recommended in our travel guide.... but I'm sorry to say that we were really put off by their outside appearance. I don't mean to cause any offence, but we found much of Hammamet (and Yasmine Hammamet) to be slightly dingy looking.

I was disappointed with the drinks offered in the bar. It seemed to be wine or beer, or orange juice. There were no spirits, like vodka, archers, malibu, etc. They also wouldn't serve wine by the glass! So every time I wanted a drink, we had to buy a bottle, which was extortionately priced, too. The entertainment was dire - a 40-year-old guy playing the keyboard.

Location:
The hotel, as far as I'm concerned, is the best looking in the area. The hotel opposite (I think it was the Ibis) had it's sign hanging off, which was very dangerous as it could easily have fallen and injured someone from the height it was at.

The hotel was a short 5-10 minute walk away from the main strip, which had numerous cafes all seeming to offer ice cream, pizza and paninis, as if they were some kind of Scooby Doo background repeating on a loop! There were a couple of nice bars - but unfortunately, we were the only ones in there! There were lots of little shops around, selling general Tunisian knick knacks, like wire bird cages and leather bags.

The main town of Hammamet, with the Medina (enclosed traditional marketplace) was a short taxi ride away.

Things to do:
Only one or two staff members spoke English, as the main language seemed to be French. There was a shabby tourist information centre down the road from the hotel, which was useless and unfriendly. The hotel staff did not help us to find things to do, and made no suggestions. There was no entry pack in our room telling us about local sights or excursions. After much searching, we found a hidden table in reception which had tourist leaflets written in Arabic, German, French, Polish, Italian... any language other than English! Because of this, and because hardly anything was open, we spent a lot of time just drinking and eating out, which became boring, especially when the resort was dead.

On the last day of our trip, the hotel was organising a quad-biking day. We would have gone on this if he'd have asked sooner! There was another guy earlier in the week organising a tour of the area, but we didn't fancy being herded around like sheep! We didn't want to be told what to do - we wanted to know what we could do by ourselves if we wanted!

Staff / Local People:
The staff were friendly enough, but did not speak good English, and those that did looked at us as if we were stupid when we asked about things to do in the area. At a major 5* hotel, you would expect more tourist information and more staff to speak English.

A word of warning to any women - the local men are vultures. You'd think it would be flattering to be in a country where every man stares at you, but it is very intimidating. If you smile at them or engage in any kind of conversation, they will not let you get away. Although I could deal with it, my boyfriend frequently got annoyed with how pushy and rude the men were, and the comments they made to me. It was the same for all women that I saw around.

By far the worst thing about the hotel and the resort is the pushy touts and reps. Inside the hotel, the only 2 times we saw the reps all week, they hassled us. As soon as you step outside, you have people offering you drugs, people with clipboards trying to get you to go somewhere, and store keepers trying to drag you into their shops. They will literally stand in your way and block your path to get you to talk to them. It was very suffocating to be hassled everywhere you walked. Bartering with the shopkeepers can be fun, but you'll find it hard to walk away without buying anything as they won't let you. They will also try to rip you off. I spent a whole hour in a shop buying a wire bird cage, because he'd started off at about £100! I managed to get him down to £10! Don't bother buying anything in Tunisia if you don't find haggling fun.

If you go to Hammamet, you will probably want to go and see the indoor market (Medina). Take a man with you, or make sure you're in a group. Never go alone if you are a woman. When we entered the market (which we had to pay for!), a man told us that he was a guide and would show us around the market. We were naive and followed him. There are lots of winding paths and there is no way out without going past dozens of shop owners trying to get you in their store. He led us up to the top of the Medina, to a deserted and dingy cafe, and tried to sell us jewellery. He made us very uncomfortable and was not happy when we left. Whilst trying to find the way out, we were constantly baraged by male shopkeepers who thought nothing of grabbing my hand, or forcing their produce into it. I hated it there, and unless you're a really fiesty woman, I strongly advise you to go with a man, or not at all.

The Resort:
There is a pleasant 'strip' of about 12 bars and cafes, with a few restaurants. Around the hotel there are a couple of clubs and bars - although some of this were closed. I imagine if you went in high season, it would be much more lively.

Overall:
This is one of the best hotels in the area - but don't even bother going off season. Whilst other countries, like Cyprus perhaps, can be at least semi-busy during the Spring months, Tunisia is a ghost town. If you are a woman, take heed of all the warnings you will read about the men in the area and be prepared for how pushy they are. If you like to stroll around the streets in a bikini top and mini skirt, I don't think Tunisia is the place for you. I wouldn't go back there - but if you placed this hotel in another country, I'd book it up straight away!

On first impressions the hotel was ok and nice enough room looking over the beach.

We went half board as thought it would be a cheaper option, the food was vile, i have travelled the world and never seen anything like it. We ended up paying to eat out and that wasnt much better, food is not their specaility!!! I did loose a stone though through lack of food!!! When i tried to take bottles of water and crisps (as i needed some food or would pass out) the guard told me i was not allowed to bring anything into the hotel but by this time i was so fed up i told him i would be bringing it in! We were not the only ones to think this as when we got on our coach to go home everyone cheered, that really says something!!

Not only is the food bad the resort is awful, it seemed like a ghost town, people were so rude and there was nothing to do in the evenings except walk around the small market but after doing that twice you didnt feel like going again.

We didnt go on any trips thankfully but speaking to people who did there coach didnt turn up or said it was a waste of money.
Rep was also rubbish!!

If you want a nice week in the sun i would suggest Egypt (sharm) which you cannot fault or stick to Turkey / Greece etc .
I was so happy to get home, but what a waste of money and taking up my leave from work!!

Rude stuff. I stayed with my husband for only a night last Monday. I'd like to start with the bellboy who laughed when he received the 2 dinars tip and that was really rude and disappointed. And the most important... we made the reservation a month ago and when we arrived, they took us to our room which wasn't cleaned, so we had to leave all our luggage in there until the cleaning was done (which took about half hour without even offering a soft drink or just a bottle of water). I don't recommend this hotel.

First i would like to say that i was there at July 2006.The hotel is very good at the photos and the photos are true!the rooms were big the pool was very clean and everything seamd to be OK as we arrive.But the stuff is.....i dont know which word i can use for their behavor.First all the waiters are trying to steal you from the bill they dont bring you a receipt they just do the bill in front of you in a paper and they charge you diferent prices everyday for the beers and everything you pay (that's for lunch at the restaurant at the pool)!!!!!second the cleaning ladies are very impolite and they do so much noise at noon they push the beds and they don't care if someone is sliping to the next room.The hotel take's the towel's from the bathroom in the morning,they wash them and they bring them back to you at 16 or 17 o'clock in the afternoon,so if you want to get some rest in noon you cannot because you don't have towels!!!And there are so many kids and make so much noise they even hit your door just for fun and the hotel dosn't say anything.THE LAST BUT NOT LIST:be aware of the stuff (men) that do some jobs at the hotel.I mean one afternoon i went to my room to take something it was the hour that everyone is outside,i find one man out of me door and he started talking to me some stupid things that i didn't understand and he smiled and left.Then i went in and found that my luggage was break down !!!!!!!!!I was lucky because i had only some clothes inside and we had our camera with us.
The food at dinner was not very good and with no variety.
The breakfast defenitly it is not for European people or i could say for cristian they do not have any ham or bacon or even a gouda or edam or something like that.This is not an american style or european style breakfast as they say.

THIS IS NOT A 5 STAR HOTEL AND I WILL NEVER GO AGAIN.