L'Oasis Hotel, Qabis

Cleese described this hotel on Dick Cavett's show as the terrible place he stayed at while shooting "The Life of Brian" in Tunis. Worst service he's ever had, evidently because they were the only hotel in town at the time. Cleese went on to write Fawlty Towers, a comedy series about a very bad hotel.

I stayed there for some days for a week ago. I am surpised about the reviuew of the hotel that I have read. Because it was actually very clean. The rooms are small but nice and clean. The bathroom are alittle outdated but also very clean. The pool area was also nice and clean and the pople was very friendly from the reception to the cleaningstaff. The hotel was for me and my wife very nice and we feeled welcome at once we arrived. the luggage was carried to the room and we had nothing to complain about. I give it a 3 star tourist class hotel and you get what you pay for and we got what we payed for and it was quiete good. I truly reccommand it.

We stayed at the hotel Oasis in 1970, just after it had opened. It was extremely modern for the day. Very luxurious. Most of the hotel staff wore white turbans on their heads. The decor was spectacular. Lots of marble. Our room had a beige motif with white lattice-work doors that opened up to the terrace, which faced the sea. The ceiling was dome-shaped. The floors were black marble! There was a marvelous bath in the aqua tiled bathroom. I remember it being quite large, surely as large as the one in the Paris Ritz. To have a bathroom in your room was really something back then in Tunis. The restaurant food was divine, particularly the fish. In grand manner, our waiter stored our wine from the night before. There was a discotheque back then which played American music, a bar, and a small lounge with white marble flooring. Cut out of the dropped ceiling were star shapes (lit from behind)... the effect was magical. And banquettes were filled with exotic cushions... very casbah! There was a small inside garden with various plantings set off by red and green lights. There were copper hookahs on small little tables. All this, for maybe $10 a day back then ... including breakfast and dinner! Needless to say, we LOVED the hotel.

I am here on 2 weeks business otherwise I would have left days ago. Cockroaches, mice in the lobby and of course flies everywhere. Food in the hotel is pitiful and you have to get to breakfast at about 06.30 before the flies do. Very poor hygiene and only internet connection is the hotel lobby, not even in the rooms. Had food poisioning a couple of days ago and lasted 2 days. Thank God I am leaving in a couple of days - never to return