I and my family ( my wife and my son/7years old) stayed in the solaria hotel for a week in March 2008.
In overall the hotel is good but I try to show you some pluses and minuses:

Pluses:
-The room is clean and large.
-It has beautiful Spanish architecture.
-The staff are good.
-It is very close to some interesting places such as Cartagland ,
Madina shopping center, Shahrzad restaurant, and Marina
- You can also visit Frigia animal park using taxi ( Price about 30 Dinar go/wait/back ) the park and its evening show is intersting.

minuses:
-The food and beverage is not brilliant. If you are a meat eater you will not be absolutely satisfied ( by the way the breakfast is ok)
-The hotel facilities comparing to similar hotels in Turkey is not very good ( entertainment, kids garden, Pools, water slid,...)
-Be careful about the peoples in the shopping areas around the hotel specially in the old madina. They will try to sell you something with price of even 10 time greater than actual price. ( even a cup of coffee)

i have been back to this hotel approx 5 times now and i cannot fault it! the food is lovely , the staff are brilliant, excellent facilities and a wonderful resort! i tend to travel alone and the staff really look after me i feel completely safe there and its fabulous!
i would recommend the hotel to anyone considering a holiday in this area, although it tends to be a little more expensive than the others around it although not much more, you do get what you pay for and its certainly worth the extra.

Went to iberostar solaria from 17th – 25th oct with my two friends (all aged 17). Its got to be my best holiday so far, had such a good time and didn’t want to leave. It was luxury for us only being young and being in a 5 star hotel and we got 5 star treatment from all the staff, the director of the hotel is my friends uncle, whether that had something to do with it I don’t know. We stayed in the VIP suite which was lovely, as you can see from the photos.
The hotel is very clean and modern and we were given clean towels and dressing gowns everyday. When we got there the beds, sink and bathroom floor had rose petals sprinkled around which was pretty. This is the first time I’ve been all inclusive so I was a bit intrigued about the food but was pleasantly surprised, there was a good variety every day and always hot. They had different themes some nights.
The animation team was great, always having a laugh and checking if we were ok, as well as the rest of the staff. There was animation every evening which was good ranged from cabaret, miss solaria, Mr Solaria, bingo, different themes to suit all age groups.
The pool area was nice and clean and pool was lovely, quite cold so weren’t in it that much and went down the slide a couple of times.
Weather was ok not brilliant and a bit cold at times but weren’t expecting it to be hot, still got a bit of a tan.
The hotel is sat right on the beach which is great, with its own section. Nice sandy beach which goes on for ages.
The medina and marina are quite close about 15 mins walk which has restaurants and bars, nice and pretty at night.
Overall we really enjoyed ourselves and would definitely go back if I got the chance.

Disappointing, there's better value in Hammamet. The gym consists of two excersie bikes and v.poorly maintained weights machine which I wouldn't use. The time of year we visited meant the indoor pool was a must however was only avaliable for two hours a day free of charge, and then was like something out of an asylum - lots of bars (the disabled type) around almost the whole pool (cranes included). The whole spa area was dated and smelt musky from all the water therapy drains - we declined our free massage it was so uninviting. The food looked and tasted good, lots of variety but we ended upwith upset stomachs.
Very child friendly but it seems that the Tunisians love children so other places may well offer the same. I think there seems to be three good hotels in hammamet the Riu Oceana, Le Royal (we also stayed here, needs some polishing but a lot nearer the 5 star advertised at both) and I forget the other one - sorry!