Sunrise Royal Makadi Hotel

What attracted us to this holiday was the price. Even though the holiday wan't perfect I would still say that it was value for money. The hotel is fairly new and therefore is in excellent condition and is maintained to a high standard. The two areas of complaint are the swimming pools - too cold, literally take your breath away, and the food. The buffet restaurant was good at breakfast, if you got there early (about 7.30). Other than that you had to queue for everything, even a glass of orange juice. Lunch is best taken at the pool bars. There isn't a great deal of choice but the food is cooked fresh for you. Evening meal was the main problem. If you were happy to eat in the buffet restaurant you had to wait until about 8.30 to ensure that you got a table, and then you weren't able to relax over your meal as they stopped serving at 10 and wanted to clear the tables. As for the a la carte restaurants....the trick seems to be to complain. My husband queued for a table at the Asian restaurant on our last night there - he was unsuccessful. He asked whether it was worth stopping by later in case people hadn't turned up - the policy was supposed to be that you lost your table after 15 minutes. We stopped by, the restaurant was half empty, but even then we were told they didn't have a table. He went back a further two times, the restaurant was still half empty. On his third visit he complained. The waiter was VERY apologetic and said that he could get us a table in any restaurant we liked for the rest of our stay. Why did we leave it until our last night?! As our friend the triathlete mentioned they do not cater for non smokers.

stayed here 9-16 march......8 adults and 4 children..........the fact that it was cheap and All Inc and had a heated pool was the main factor for choosing this resort. its a massive complex, Brits are in the minority lots of eastern bloc plus germans & french. the plus points are that its a very clean resort, rooms are spacious and of a good standard. Food is distinctly average.........the main buffet restuarant has tons of food but none of it that appealing, if you want a la carte meal served you need to queue up each morning at 9.15am ready for 9.45 when bookings open.........the russians cant/wont queue and all in all this practice is a pain in the arse....i m on holiday i don t wish to stand in line for 45mins to book my evening meal. Even at these restaurants the food is nothing special but better than the buffet. Beer is served in 500ml bottles..locally produced stuff but not bad........spirits are also locally produced and served in good measures....the wine(white) could double up as 2 stroke or paintstripper.............. When we were there i would guess it was maybe 50% but i would not want to be there at 100% capacity.....getting tables in the buffet was hard enuff as it was. The pools are massive, but only one is heated the others are artic cold. but in the cold pools there are water slides for kids and adults, good fun but freezing cold. Maybe in height of summer these pools warm up. The wind in Hurghada is also a bit problemsome at this time of year...it was at times very cold if the sun went in and you defo need a cardie for evenings. for what we paid £1000 two adults & one baby i feel it was quite good value but personally don t feel i would return and would rather pay the extra £300-£500 and go to Dubai. You get what you pay for...5 star rating here is a local rating not a 5 star by say Dubai standards

Just returned from this Hotel, first thing you notice is how large it is, the hotel was only aboat half full yet the resturant felt very full.If you wanted to use the other resturants on site you had to line up and hope for a table not a good idea as it is a bit of a scrap between nations as some dont queue the room was very nice, very clean and everything worked well,the swimming pools were excellent although you could only use the sports pool as it was heated the rest were freezing the allinclusive drinks was good depending on what waiter served you. a lot of other hotels let you serve yourself. Now the bad this hotel is not very non smoking friendly there are very few non smoking areas, to some up if were to go the area again i would return to the sol y mar makadi marine hotel as we have stayed here before, it is smallier and you can help yourself to drinks and it caters more for the non smoker

Just returned from this hotel and i could not really fault it to much. The prevous reviews are very acurate food is ok not the best but ok for Ai, you will always find somthing. We did try the Asia and Med resturants and as others have said Asia is not like the chinese you get at home but its still ok for a change. The med one was the best I had mixed grill and it was nice however i suspect the Lamb is goat not lamb ! weather brill high eighties every day but cold at nice you will need a jacket or coat. Beer is good as are the cocktails and they do not skimp on mesures. The rooms are large and we had 2 rooms ?? No beers in the mini bar though. I cannot tell you how clean everything is its spotless and all bars etc are nicely decorated. The staff are very nice and helpful and DONT excpect a tip we did tip and we where treated no different than those who didnt bother tipping so its up to you if you do or not. The best bit of this holiday was the day times hot sun nice pools (one heated to 88 0C) the cool beers and lots of sun beds on the beach. You may struggle with the pool beds unless your up before 9am. The beach is ok not the best but the sea is teaming with fish (this is why i came to this area) you dont need to dive as you can see most things up close in waist high water ! (hotel next door the Fort Arabasc or somthing its next door to the Sunrise to your left) There is a reef there thats amazing with parrot fish, trigger fish, shrimps octopus etc. I wanted to see a ray and a lion fish but never did but my parter saw a turtle and we saw an eel that was cool. We did a free trial dive with the hotel (no pressure to book any more dives) they only take you 3 ft down so you can get a feel for it if you like it its about £35.00 for a fun dive. We went on the glass bottom boat booked via the chap on the beach, dont bother it was £20 each (rip off) and it was only for 2 hours and we only saw a barracuda that was the only thing better than in the reefs near the Sunrise so keep your money. We did not go to Hurgarda town but a few people did and said it was awful hassle hasssle and the taxi driver was a nutter, so we did not bother. We did not go on any other tips as this was just a chill out holiday. I would say go if you like it quiet and just to have a meal at night then go to bed at 10 ish as after this there is nothing to do. I would go back to the red sea but not to this area its to quiet for me. Its in the middle of the desert no bars for 10 miles. The brits are in the minority only 20 of us there at the time. If this hotel was in Sharm where there is a bit of night life it would be ideal. Oh a word of warning there are shops on site very expensive even if you haggle. No one has mentioned this but get all you things from the airport even if you get there sooner in a taxi as its dirt cheap. I paid £5.00 for a small cat figurine and saw the same one in the air port for 1 euro they have fixed price shops and ones you have to haggler in. There are 2 duty free shops fixed price fags are £3.50 for 200 (L&M LIghts) others like Rothmans are about £7.50 for 200 do dont get them on the plane or hotel shops (all pricews in dollars in duty free so just half it). 1 lTR bottle vodka £4.00 and the same for grants Wisky. I also bought perfume 50ml Lacose pink for 22.00 thta cheap. God in the Airport id good value (hotel shop asking silly money and wont move much on price) I got a 18k gold nekalace with a charm on it for £50 and I bet i could have knocked him down more. Trick is there are 2 gold stalls in the Air port play therm off against each other and drive a bargain with them. Dont buy beer at air port cafe is non alcoholic and £2.50 a can, go to duty free shop cans of Grolsh £0.50p ! you need to look about a bit. Have a good holiday i did and I am sure for a week it will be brill but 2 weeks would be to long.

19th February2007, Crowborough, East Sussex, We have just returned from a week holiday in the Sunrise Royal Makadi Bay resort. We did not want to come home. As we arrived their first words were "welcome home". The staff are all very friendly, the rooms very clean, bathrooms clean with enough towels and showergel, shampoo, conditioner etc. Most of all the beds were very comfortable which is very unusual! We had hot water every night andno problems with electricity we used the heater instead of the airconditioner the first few evenings.The food was of a very good standard, none of us suffered "pharaohs revenge". We thought breakfast was the best. fresh fruit, freshly baked omelettes, cereals, breads, pastries, pancakes (the only thing missing was bacon!!)fresh juices, coffee, teas, hot chocolate anything you can think of they had. We never used the buffet lunch as there was a pool side restaurant which did freshly baked pizzas, salad bar, chips, burgers, chicken, soup, rice, potatoes,vegetables. The evening meal in the buffet was fine, this seemed to have the same food most evenings. There is a really good fresh pasta bar where you can mix your own pasta sauce with all the various bits in it, there was always a roast meat and fish. again all very nicely and mouthwateringly displayed. the puddings looked nice some strange combinations but all tasted fine. the drinks were very good from the bar lots of juices and cocktails alcoholic and non alcoholic. We tried the Asian Restaurant (not very impressed, food ok but not like our chines restaurants here), Mediteranean Restaurant very good, we never got into the Italian this got booked up quickly. The entertainment is ok, some stretching, volleybal, waterpolo, bellydancing, The eveing shows ok the karoke was interesting especially in Russian!! There were various nationalities there, german, russian, italian, dutch, belgian, austrian but everyone jsut did their own thing. We had perfect weather 26-27C everyday, some days quite windy but this was quite pleasant. the evenings cooled down a lot you needed a fleece or jacket. The only problem going this early in the year is that the water is very cold. One pool is heated the others are bracing(after minutes you lost feeling in your legs) The sea was still cold too, so unless you have wetsuits you will not be able to snorkle for any length of time. The sea is not good for small children as it gets deep more or less straight away with lots of small jellyfish(these do not sting though)the sand on the beach is quite coarse, so we stayed round the pool. We are early risers so always got sunbeds. Towards the end of our week as more people arrived sunbeds round the pool were full, I do not know what the beach was like for availability. But the poolside staff is very good at spotting beds that are not used for a while and will remove towels that are there to free up beds. We had no mosquitos either. The shops in the hotel are ok. We got fed up with the haggeling for things, it takes too much time. As we were there for only 1 week we only did 1 trip and we chose Luxor. Which was amazing, we decided to go on the aeroplane rather than the coach as wherevere they go, they travel in convoy (60 -70 coaches)for safety reasons. We left our hotel at 3.50 (in the very early morning) and were in the Valley of the Kings by 7.15 (still early morning) whereas the coaches would not get there till 11.00 ish when there would be so many people going round you did not get such a good view. We were back in the hotel by 7.45 so along but very rewarding day. There is high security everywhere you will see police with big guns, the convoys have several armed police cars with them but you do not feel unsafe at any time. We took some egyptian pounds but they prefer sterling, euros or dollars. They also like being tipped, the hotel staff are the same whether you tip them or not. But it is still a hird world country and you will see this when you go out of the complex. the hotel and grounds are lovely, the gardens need a few more years to mature but it all looks great. We had a great time hereand will return ..

We have just returned from two weeks at the Sunrise Royal Makadi and from the moment we turned up there to the moment we left we were treated like royalty. The service we received was second to none. We cannot recommend it highly enough. You will not be dissapointed at all. We travelled with 4 young children and i had no concerns for them at all on this holiday (whilst in the hotel at least!) We can't recommend this holiday enough for anyone that has children. The hotel was the best by far in this particular area - both its position, cleanliness, facilities - just everything. We will definitely be returning.

Very nice hotel to look at,but out of a party of eight people,we were only all together four four evenings due to illness in the whole of the two weeks(diarrhoea). I understand this was their first peek summer season,and it showed i have to say. On the first evening tables not cleared for other guests. Asked to change rooms which they did with no problems. Hope these niggles can be sorted out,as it has great potential. Great location, and as stated has its own sandy beach,so you just walk in and swim!! Bottled Egyption beer better than the draught stuff you normally get with all inclusive. Cocktails great,an bril g&t's. No problems realy with sun beds on the beach. Tipping helps with getting swifter service at the bar. Few hygeine issues at the pizza place near the beach. Chef rubbing greasy hair,then handling half frozen cheese to make the pizzas. Verify boat trips as you might go on the same one twice like we did. In general the Egyptions are very friendly,plus most of the staff. They work very long hours for very little.

My boyfriend and I stayed here for a week and it was the best holiday I've had for a long time! All the staff are fantastic and so friendly (they know all sorts of cheesy british lines, like 'Lovely Jubbly' and 'see you later alligator') and they love the British so much more than the Germans and Russians. The food is amazing also, I had a few reserves in the beginning having heard a few horror stories, but we were both completely fine and even eating salad and fruit was fine. The rooms were clean and huge and nicely decorated and the cleaners are very lovely too and on several occasions we came back to find our towells had been made into a swan or a love heart etc. It was my boyfriends birthday while we were staying so I was planning on asking about a cake etc, however they already had that covered and I was informed there was a cake waiting and they brought it to our table making a bit of a thing about it and it was a nice touch. Food-wise, the Meditteranean restaurant was our favorite (go for things from the charcoal grill) and the pizza's which they make fresh for you all day long are fantastic too, served by the pool. For snorkelling we found that if you go to the beach next door, to the left, there are some amazing patches of coral which are swarming with loads of beautiful fish, it looks just like it does on nature programmes. If you go shopping then I recommend the Makadi centre which is about a 20 minute walk away, there's a shop there called the Gallery I think and it's got beautiful handmade things in there (I bought a really funky lamp) and the man who owns it speaks very good english and is very lovely to talk to. Overall I would say this hotel is fantastic and deserves all the praise it's been getting. We shall definatly return next year, probably in the winter again as it's so quiet and much cooler.

Stayed at Royal makadi for 7 nights on 1st december 2006 for a quiet pre-christmas break and was not dissapointed 1 bit. Upon check in you are given a welcome drink while your passports are taken for quick check-in procedures and then you are taken by a bell captain to your room (bear in mind this is a hugh resort and he will briefly show you around en-route to your room). In-room safes are great and FREE as well as the mini bar which is replaced with water daily and soft drinks once a week :-( Rooms are large and very clean (some with a bath others with a shower) we had a shower room and was very powerfull and always hot. The pool and Beach are very clean and well attended by numerous staff (towels will be provided and exchanged at either pool/beach attendants) All sunbeds are padded and very comfortable although a few had seen better days they did the job. This is a 24 hour "Ultra All Inclusive" but bear in mind which operator you travel with determins your grade of "All Inclusive" Thomas Cook - UK was "Ultra" and gave you 24 hour All Inclusive with local and imported drinks as well as Free massage/windsurfing lesson/Haircut or shave/scuba test session. There are 4 restaurants for the evening : Main - International buffet for Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner with a healty corner as well as Arabic and Kids (mini) section (5 stars) always hot and plates taken as soon as you have finishes and drinks served at your table throughout. Asia - WOW! what can I say but WOW! (5 stars) al a carte in a stunning setting with a choice of Korean/Thai/Indian/Chinese, we went twice and both times WOW! Italian - The decor in this restaurant is based on Roma/Venice with a large choice of Italian delights, again very impressive (5 stars) Mediterranean - Unfortunatly only being there for 1 week we did not get the chance to visit this Restaurant, however speaking with many guest this was a firm favourite. Asia/Mediterranean/Italian Restaurants can only be reserved on the Morning you wish to dine between 10:00-10:30 and queing can be long and agressive (our Russian friends do not understand the term queue) BE WARNED! For lunch you can choose the Mediterranean for a light buffet or Placio pool Restaurant which serves pizza/burgers/salads and fantastic crepes and to finish off try a cappachino Mmmmmmm Your 24 hour bar is in the main lobby and is great after you have sampled the Aquarius night club that again is under the "All Inclusive" and open until 3 AM. Karim was a great bar tender in the main lobby (although all were great but you always seem to have a favourite). Unfortunatly the entertainment team are not as good as you might think being a 5* resort, however the hotel is made up of mainly Russians with a few Germans and of course us British as the minority (do not let that put you off, as soon as the Egyptians know you are British they serve/treat you like royalty) Do not bother with Hurghada for shopping... its awful and the shop owners can be bothersome. Shops in Makadi Bay are great and pretty much hassle free although the hotel shops are great and a fixed prices. In all this quick getaway was better than expected (no tummy trouble) and so much impressed me I will book again for next spring for 14 nights :-) We hope this is useful and ENJOY your time at Sunrise Royal Makadi - you will not be disapointed.

we have just returned from a week at this fantastic hotel.... The service was excellent, great choice of restaurants and food, no extra charges for the A La Carte. We have travelled to Egypt before and found the people to be very helpful and friendly but I have to say this hotel far exceeded our expectations. No problems getting sunbeds any time of day (even though the hotel was full), plenty around the pool and on the beach, never got that packed feeling as all well laid out. Had cause to use the Hotel Doctor and what a first class service, he arrived at our room only 5 mins after calling him, he spoke very good english had a great bedside manner. Our Thomas Cook Rep 'Vanessa' was very good, a phone call to the room checking with us that all was well with the holiday and that she was in reception should we want to speak to her, a note in the room to say hope you're having a good time and she was very knowledgable and enthusiastic about the country (she asks that anyone going there to please bring some Bisto gravy as she can't get it)..... Over all this holiday was exactly what we wanted - a relaxing winter break with great weather.