PALM BEACH PALACE DJERBA

Fantastic Holiday, but Not Quite a 5-Star Hotel We have had a fantastic stay at TUI BLUE Palm Beach Palace and have genuinely loved our time here. There is so much to praise about this hotel, particularly the wonderful staff, incredible food and a beautiful location! The biggest strength of this hotel is undoubtedly the people, and in particular the activity and entertainment team. Honestly, they are one of the strongest points of this hotel and some of the best we have come across at an all-inclusive resort. A particular mention has to go to Abdallah, who genuinely made our trip so special. He is incredibly charismatic, charming and friendly, and represents the hotel exceptionally well. He has a natural ability to make people feel welcome and included without ever being overbearing. Even when we weren’t participating in activities, he would come over for a chat, check that we were enjoying ourselves and make us feel valued as guests. He became one of our go-to people during our stay, and his personality really added something special to our holiday. Tahir, who runs the fitness programmes, also deserves a huge amount of credit. He is incredibly knowledgeable, encouraging and inclusive. Whether you are very experienced with fitness or have never joined an exercise class before, he makes everyone feel comfortable and able to participate. You can tell that the whole team genuinely care about guests having a good time rather than simply ticking activities off a schedule. The activity and entertainment programme itself is fantastic. There is a really rich and varied schedule, meaning there is always something happening if you want to get involved. What we particularly appreciated was that the entertainment team are friendly and enthusiastic without being pushy. They will happily have a conversation with you even if you don’t want to participate. Their energy, warmth and genuine personalities really elevate the entire experience. The food deserves a special mention. We have stayed at a number of all-inclusive hotels ranging from 3 to 5 stars, and the buffet is very often where the experience starts to fall short because it becomes repetitive. That absolutely isn’t the case here. The chefs work incredibly hard to provide a genuinely impressive variety, with different dishes and things to try each evening. The food tastes fresh and, unlike many all-inclusive resorts, it really doesn’t feel like you are simply being served the same frozen food night after night. You can tell a huge amount of effort goes into the food, and the chefs deserve a lot of credit for that. The à la carte restaurants are also excellent and were a real highlight of our stay. Another huge positive is how well the hotel caters for allergies and dietary requirements. My partner has dietary restrictions and we were really impressed with how accommodating the staff were. We never felt like his requirements were an inconvenience, which made dining much more relaxing. The hotel itself is beautifully clean and very well presented, but this is where we feel the biggest improvements are needed. While the interior is lovely, the hotel is starting to feel dated and would benefit significantly from a refurbishment. During our stay, several things in our room didn’t work as they should have: the bathroom door wouldn’t close properly, the air conditioning was extremely weak, the Wi-Fi repeatedly cut in and out, and the balcony door was very difficult to open and close. We could also hear a lot of noise from the corridors, despite our room being marketed as a quiet room. None of these things ruined our holiday, but they are things we would expect to be addressed if the hotel is going to continue being marketed as 5-star. The adventure experience team is one area where we felt slightly differently. We found the representative to be a little pushy at times, and we felt that some of the prices quoted for excursions and experiences were extremely high. There are some fantastic experiences available, but we would recommend comparing prices elsewhere before booking. We had a similar experience with the photographers. They can be quite persistent in approaching guests, and their prices are certainly not cheap. However, we actually decided to have photographs taken because Micheal proposed to me during our stay, and we are so glad we did. The photographs turned out absolutely beautiful and the photographers are clearly very talented men. So although we found the selling approach a little much at times, we cannot fault the quality of the photographs we received — they captured an incredibly special moment for us beautifully. One thing to be aware of is the drinks menu. Not every drink is included in the all-inclusive package. Some of the more well-known and premium drinks come at an additional cost. We don’t necessarily consider this a negative, but it is worth knowing before you arrive so you aren’t caught out. The other issue for us was smoking around the pool. There don’t seem to be designated smoking areas, meaning people are able to smoke around the pool wherever they are sitting. Obviously this will be a positive for smokers, but as non-smokers we found it frustrating at times, particularly when trying to relax by the pool. Overall, though, we really have had a wonderful holiday. The food, the staff, the entertainment, the activities, the cleanliness and the beautiful surroundings have all made this a memorable stay. Djerba itself is also a fantastic destination, and the warmth of the people really adds something special to the experience. We have stayed in a number of all-inclusive hotels from 3 to 5 stars, and this is where we have to be honest about our overall rating. TUI BLUE Palm Beach Palace is marketed as a 5-star hotel, but compared with other 5-star resorts we have experienced, we personally feel this is closer to a 4-star. The hotel is lovely, the food is genuinely fantastic and the staff — particularly the activity and entertainment team — are exceptional. However, the dated rooms, maintenance issues and general need for refurbishment mean that, in our opinion, it doesn’t currently quite meet the standard we would expect from a 5-star resort. That said, the activity and entertainment team are genuinely some of the best we have encountered, and people like Abdallah and Tahir made such a positive impression that they are a huge part of why we will remember this holiday so fondly. With some investment and updating, we genuinely believe this hotel could become the 5-star experience it is marketed as. We have had a fantastic stay and would happily return — we just don’t think it’s quite a 5-star hotel yet.

A magnificent, spacious, and quiet hotel; everything is perfect, nothing to complain about. This is the 2nd time we have stayed there, still just as satisfied, and we definitely intend to return. Excellent food with a huge selection for all tastes. Special mention for the fresh fish every day, a real delight. The staff is very pleasant, smiling, and takes great care of the guests. In short, we can't wait to return!! Thank you to the whole team for ensuring that we had a very good vacation ☺️

First of all, a big thank you to all the hotel staff; everyone is very smiling and friendly. Thank you to the entertainment team, and more particularly to Abdel (he is a ray of sunshine, who always has a smile and leads activities in a very pleasant and professional manner). Thank you to the staff at the snack bar, the BBQ, and the Olivier, and more particularly to Hazem (always smiling and taking great care of us). As well as to the person who takes care of the grilling at the BBQ. Thank you to the restaurant staff; everyone is pleasant and professional. And more particularly to Tarek (always smiling and taking great care of us). Thank you to the staff at the 3 bars, always a very warm welcome. And more particularly to Lazhar and Helmi (who are very professional and with whom we spent some good times). Thank you to the Spa staff; everyone is very friendly and professional, and more particularly to Khadija and her niece (very high-quality massage). Special mention for Mohamed who runs the hair salon, excellent service and a very pleasant and extraordinary encounter. As for the hotel in general, the food is varied and of very good quality. On the other hand, the lounge chairs and umbrellas have seen better days and deserve to be replaced. The air conditioning sometimes shows its limitations during the high heat of August. The pool filtration also shows its limitations (cloudy water several times during our stay). Overall satisfied with the 3rd stay at this hotel.