We had a lovely beach holiday in Hammamet, Tunisia and we share our experience from the recently renovated 4-star Hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet.

The hotel exceeded our expectations with the excellent food and outstanding service we received. The sandy beach, comfortable room equipped with all you need and the beautiful hotel grounds made our stay pleasant and enjoyable.

Why We Chose Hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet

We searched a lot for the perfect hotel to fit our requirements and budget. We booked our all inclusive holiday with TUI.

To help us choose the right place, we shortlisted a number of hotels and watched YouTube videos before we agreed on this particular hotel. It was a bit of a risk as the hotel was being renovated and taken under the TUI management. Past reviews were rather negative and current photos weren’t available.

Here is why we chose hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet:

• Beachfront location
• Sandy beach
• Recently renovated
• We trust TUI and put a bet on this hotel
• Under budget

You can read more about the hotel and our experience below.

How to Get to Hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet

Hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet is located in Hammamet, 60 metres from Mrezga Beach. The nearest airport is Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport, 60 km from the hotel. You can reach the hotel by car in about 45 minutes.

As we booked a package holiday with TUI, we had the flights, hotel and transfer included in the price. Our transfer from the airport was by coach, similar to the transfers we had in Alanya and Sharm El-Sheikh.

Address: Hammamet Nord TUNISIE 8050, Tunisia

Reception and Lobby at Hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet

The reception is rather small but the lobby is massive with beautiful soft furniture.

As we arrived, staff members helped us with the luggage and put us in the lobby to complete the necessary check-in documents. The check-in experience was smooth and straight forward.

Reception staff were friendly and happy to answer any questions. If you want to exchange money, you can also do this at reception – it’s quick and straightforward.

If you booked a package holiday, this is also where you will find your TUI Rep or other agency representatives. This is where you can also find Maha, the lovely Guest Relationships Manager who is always smiling and happy to help and engage in a conversation.

Room Overview at Hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet

The hotel has 210 rooms in total. We booked a double room with balcony.

The room was recently renovated and was clean and spotless. Daily housekeeping ensured the room was cleaned regularly and towels were changed on a daily basis. The bed was arranged nicely by housekeeping including flower petals.

We found the room to be spacious and with lots of day light coming through. We had a king size bed and an armchair in the room. The bed was really comfortable and we enjoyed the memory foam mattress.

We had all the usual and necessary things in the room to make our stay comfortable and enjoyable. The room was beautifully decorated and featured a smart TV. In addition, we had AC, hairdryer, mini bar, safe box and coffee making facilities. There was plenty of storage and a spacious wardrobe with shelves and hangers.

The mini bar wasn’t replenished, so be aware of this. Towards the end of the holiday, we got some extra water in the mini fridge but that was all.

Slippers and bath robes were also provided as well as pool/beach towels. We had our own beach towels, so didn’t use the ones provided by the hotel but if you choose to use the hotel ones, you can get fresh towels every day from reception, by returning the used ones.

Our room was on the second floor with a view towards the sea but as it was above the restaurant, our view was somewhat obstructed. As such, we only used the balcony to hang our wet towels and swimwear.

The bathroom area was different than most hotels we have been to. We had the sink and mirror in an open space, separate shower area with rainfall shower and hand held shower and a separate toilet. The room layout was very similiar to the one we had at Hotel Caribe Deluxe Princess in Punta Cana.

Standard toiletries were provided – soap bars, shower caps and shampoo/shower gel in the bathroom. We were really impressed of the level of cleanliness throughout the hotel and the room was no exception.

For some reason, on the last day housekeeping knocked on the door at 7:45am wanting to clean the room. We found this rather odd as check out wasn’t until noon and who cleans a room on the last day of the reservation?

Food and Drinks at Hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet

The food was a real highlight! All food was fresh, well cooked and presented beautifully. We absolutely loved the desserts which were delicious and tasted amazing – all patisserie style. It’s because of the food that we would consider TUI BLUE brand again.

The hotel offers three restaurants and two bars. There’s a coffee shop, too. They are all geared up to cater to vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets.

Buffet Restaurant

The main restaurant is buffet style where breakfast, lunch and dinner are served. The opening times are 07.00-10.00, 12.30-14.30, 18.00-21.00.

The restaurant has a nice outside area where we sat every day. There is, of course, airconditioned restaurant area indoors but we enjoyed eating outside. You can order your drinks with the waiters.

You’ll find a range of hot and cold dishes on offer here for you to choose from. You can also enjoy live cooking sections during the service.

For breakfast, you can enjoy omellettes, fried eggs, boiled eggs and Paul’s favourite: poached eggs. Turkey or beef bacon and local sausages are also available. Pancakes and crepes are cooked daily as well as French toast. Traditional Tunisian dishes are also available.

The bread section (although not varied) offers freshly made bread and baguettes. The pastries were delicious and freshly made every morning.

The salad bar offers a lot of choices and you can find a variety of fresh fruits and desserts. There is a good selection of celeals, muesli, porridge and variety of seeds, nuts and jams as well.

The coffee is good. The real highlight was the freshly squezeed orange juice; we had over 0.5 litres of fresh orange juice every morning. Bottled water is available at the restaurant and at all bars.

For lunch and dinner the food selection was very good and varied. You can enjoy delicious vegetables and salads from the salad bar or you can go to the pizza and pasta sections for some Italian cuisine.

Meats such as chicken, lamb, beef, turkey, fish and seafood were available. I enjoyed the fish and seafood dishes and Paul loved the lamb chops and beef. We even had stuffed quail one night, which is the first time we tried it.

On some occasions, we found the meat to be overcooked e.g. roast beef and even the quails. The beef steaks were a bit hit and miss and mostly chewy. Whilst the meats were of high quality, the cookery could be improved.

Lots of options were available for vegetarians and vegans and there was a variety of side dishes such as potatoes, couscous, steamed or grilled vegetables etc.

During the lunch and dinner service, the selection of desserts and ice-cream was a real highlight for us. We enjoyed the beautifully crafted patisserie-style desserts.

The Paris Brest was my favourite!

The desserts were made with love and care and were beautifully decorated.

For lunch and dinner you can also order beer and wine in addition to soft drinks.

All in all, the food was delicious and well cooked. All staff members were welcoming and smiley which made for an even better dining experience.

A la Carte Dining at Culinarium

You can also choose to dine at Culinarium, the a la carte restaurant. One free visit per person is included in your stay. This is perfect for special occasions.

We both had the bouillabaisse (fish soup with mussles and sea food) and we agreed that it was delicious. Would definitely recommend!

For starters, Paul had the Tunisian maasem (a pastry with potatoes, mushrooms and spinach) and I had the schrimp tagliatelle. Both starters were tasty and well presented.

The mains were absolutely delicious and cooked to perfection. I had the slow cooked lamb and Paul enjoyed the beef medallions.

At this point we were already full but of course had to have desserts. Paul had the creme brulee which was absolutely amazing. I ordered the chocolate dome but was rather disappointed as it was meant to be filled with mango but it wasn’t!

Overall, we had a great experience at Cullinarium and enjoyed the food and the service. The staff members were attentive throughout.

Snack Bar

This was more of a restaurant than bar and we enjoyed spending time here during the lunch hours. After the beach, we would sit here for a drink and play some board games before and after lunch.

A few times we had lunch at the snack bar. You order from a menu and the food is freshly prepared and served to your table. Our favourite was the ceasar salad. Paul had it the classic way with chicken whilst I always ordered the salad with smoked salmon and prawns.

We also tried the fish and chips (which was great!) and the burger (Paul didn’t enjoy it as much). There are a few dessert options but our favourite was a large chocolate filled cookie.

The snack bar is only a few metres away from the pool, so you can also say this was the pool bar.

Thea’s Coffee Shop

The coffee shop is opened for most of the day and you can enjoy tea, coffee and other drinks including fresh juices (paid). During the day, they also serve some desserts and sandwiches but the dessert selection is rather limited, in comparison to the buffet restaurant.

Our favourite part of Thea’s Coffee Shop was the outside area and the balcony, offering great views towards the swimming pool and the hotel grounds.

The Bar

This is the main bar of the hotel where you can enjoy a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and a great selection of cocktails. The bar has a nice terrace and this is also where the evening entartainment takes place.

Most evenings we enjoyed a variety of cocktails including a non-alcoholic cocktail called Hammamet Tea.

Beach Bar

The beach bar was rather disappointing, I must admit. It only served water, soft drinks and beer. There was no outside seating area either unlike the beach bar at Hotel Magic World Sharm in Sharm El Sheikh.

Thankfully, waiters were going around the beach to take orders which was very nice but in my opion this bar can do better if cocktails are also served.

Sea Breeze

This was a paid area of the hotel offering food, drinks and an infinity pool overlooking the beach. As this wasn’t included in our “all inclusive” package, we didn’t really spend time here.

Beach at Hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet

The beach is mostly nice and the sand is one of the finest we have seen. Sunbeds and umbrellas are available but it is recommended to go early in the morning to make sure you get a nice spot.

We didn’t have issues with the sunbeds as most people seemed to prefer to stay at the pool but even when it was busy, the lifeguards were ready to add more sunbeds and umbrellas.

On the first day, the sea remained turbulent after a recent storm, rendering half of the beach unusable due to elevated water levels. Consequently, the lifeguards had to remove the majority of the loungers and umbrellas.

Part of the beach (the right side) has a rocky entrance and unfortunately Paul hit himself really badly on a stone and medical attention was required. Due to the deep cut from the stones, he needed some stitches which meant he couldn’t enjoy the holiday as much 🙁

We were impressed by the security at the beach. Local sellers were not allowed to approach you by the sunbed and if they did, they were told off by security staff and on one occasion even the police was called. This was reassuring and made us feel really safe at the beach.

Swimming Pools at Hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet

There is two outside swimming pools – one for adults and another one for children. Apparently there is an indoor swimming pool at the spa, but we never went to see it as the weather was so nice and beautiful.

By the pool, loungers and umbrellas are available. Palm trees complete the picture in the tropical gardens and additional sunbeds are available on the grass towards the beach. Plenty to choose from, so no need to reserve early.

A number of water activities such as water polo, aqua aerobics and pool volley took place in the main pool.

Entertainment and Activities at Hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet

There is a full daytime programme of games and activities including the likes of table tennis, darts and French boules. This is an addition to the water activities taking place by the pool.

I took part in the aqua aerobics activities which was great fun. Paul and I also also played darts which was enjoyable and fun. I even won one of the darts games and came 2nd in another game, so not a bad experience at all.

Shout out to Nino from the entertainment team for engaging us in the activities and making our stay even more enjoyable.

A number of other sports activities are taking place at the Bluefit platform including yoga, stretches, bungee aerobics and more. I signed up to some classes but as I was the only one at the time, I decided not to participate.

On some days they even offer lessons in Arabic and Tunisian tea tasting with baklava and other sweets.

The evening show was varied. From the begining we were a bit disappointed but as the week progressed, we enjoyed it more and more. There were performers and dancers as well as live music on the different evenings.

Our favourite show was the Brazillian show. Great music and performance, colouful costumes and overall a very engaging entertainment.

Hotel Facilities at TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet

Other facilities within the hotel include an on-site shop where you can find food and drinks, souvenirs, tobacco, beach wear, jewellery and more. The owners are very polite and always happy to assist. We found that in the shop they are also happy to exchange money.

There is also an on-site medical centre. For the first time we had to use this facility, unfortunately. Due to Paul’s accident, we had to visit the nurse on a daily basis to clean and desinfect Paul’s wound.

Spa facilities are also available but we didn’t use the spa on this occasion. On-site parking is also available.

Our Experience at Hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet

Overall, we had a great experience at hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet and dare I say it – it exceeded our expectations. As we took a bit of a risk booking a hotel that wasn’t even opened, we were a bit reserved with our expectations.

We were impressed by the well maintained hotel grounds and overall the facilities the hotel has to offer. There were still some minor works taking place and some places haven’t been fully renovated at the time of our visit.

Being fairly recently renovated, the hotel is very well maintained and tastefully decorated. Our room was spacious and comfortable with lots of storage space.

Wi-Fi was available and the signal was great. I even had to do some work and had no issues with the connection. On our last day, they were installing routers by the beach to ensure the Wi-Fi signal covers you at the beach too. If you do need internet whilst in Tunisia and if your phone supports eSIM, you could check Airalo and the options they offer.

Final Thoughts

We had a lovely time at the hotel and believe hotel TUI BLUE Palm Beach Hammamet is a stong contender for one of the best hotels in Hammamet, Tunisia. It is fair to say that the hotel exceeded our expectations.

We would certainly recommend this hotel to friends, family and our readers. We would also consider other TUI BLUE hotels in the future, based on the great service and high quality food we had the pleasure to enjoy.

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