Reviews of Intercontinental Taba Heights Resort Hotel, Taba

Just arrived back from this hotel. It's a well designed building with very good rooms. But the food quality has taken a real drop no one was happy with the food. The biggest problem was the water supply. On the 2nd floor it was constantly off, and when it came on the hot water had a tainted smell. They are struggling with water quality at the moment. A lot of people had the local stomach bug, but it was not from the food ,this is well cooked its just the quality and quantities seem to have been reduced to keep costs down fatal for an hotel. The hotel is certainly NOT 5 Star its not a patch on a RIU Hotel. The tiled floors in the rooms where never mopped only brushed they were bad to say the least. The hotel staff where friendly but certainly not paid enough. It's a real shame because this hotel had an excellent rating on food, word will get around and its reputation will go with it

Just returned from the intercontinental, this hotel was recommended and ticked all the boxes we required for a weeks sunshine and relax holiday. It does exactly what is promised, 5 star, Large rooms, walk in shower, linen changed daily, food,was fine albeit buffet style but adequate and loads of variety, pool and outdore facilities were great and towel and bar service added to this. Staff were extemely polite and courteous, and the front desk reception very helpful. We deliberated about the trips but decided to go to Jeruselem it departed at 2.45 a.m. and returned nearly midnight!!! but we will never forget this magical trip and it was well worth the effort the guide Udi with loongwood holidays was absolutly brilliant. The Golf course was spectacular and again staff very helpful. A fabulous week in a totaly different location well worth it!!!

i disagree with the dehydration.... iv e been to the doctors in town today and he said that sadly egypt has loads of bugs.... sadly i have picked up this bug and it has really upset my system..... im on antibitoics and have a week off work and they are testing my sample foe simonella.....



i have been to egypt beofre and have never been so ill...

taba is so peacful i mean im 19 and i liked the surroundings etc etc but shame about this damm bug

My wife and I have stayed in Taba Heights on 4 occassions over the past 3 years, we have stayed at the Intercontinental twice and have to say its by far the best hotel in the area.

There are limitations to the All Inclusive that will annoy some people, bugers, pizza and chips to eat day long are not available unless you pay for them.

also, its not like "Up Sharm" as some guests informed us, Taba Heights is VERY quiet, nothing around for miles. This resort is for those wanting to do nothing but sunbathe and relax or spend their holiday diving or playing golf.

There are over 500 members of staff at the hotel so you will get one or two who are going to be unhelpful, there are however many more that will bend over backwards to ensure your holiday is a fantastic one.

we will be returning to Taba Heights twice in 2009, we will continue to stay at the Intercontinental as it is the best, go with an open mind, its not like sharm or marsa alam and those who have been unwell whilst away, drink more water as most of the problems arise from dehydration.

dont be fooled by the taba bug...



ive been hme a week not and have had his bug for over 10 day.. going to doctors today as i carn stop being sick running to the loo and have fainted... i thin i have food poisioning......... and if i have watch this space... i have never experienced anyhting like this is my life....

well where do i start......



ive been to egypt once before to sharm and stayed in a 5 star hotel... but i wouldnt say this hotel was a 5 star...



we arrived in taba and checked in after having a late supper that was available to us...

we were shown where the room was situated and when entering the room 2 single beds faced us..... there was myself my partner and my 19 year old daughter...... we rang reception who said ok no probs and 3 hours latyer a camp bed arrived for my daughter... when u pay £1.400 for a week u would expect a bed for her....



next day they gave us keys to a kingsize bedroom and yet again no bed for the daughter 3 hours later the bed arrived a bigger version of a camp bed.... which was so hard my daughter couldnt sleep. so we ended up all swapping beds so we all suffered it. we complained but got us no where.... then we were minus towels in the room so 3shared 2 bath towels,,,



our room was cleaned but the floor was never ever moped..... and just brushed with a soft brush.... we had no robes or slippers like some of the rooms no tea coffee on one occasion...





the returant u did have to queue for a table sadly sum nites it was so hot to queue it was awful... the food was ok plentyfuil and enuff for all..



the pools sea and salt lake were beautiful...



i didnt like the idea that u had to pay for a snack by the pool when u are all inclusive... there are several places to eat but the oly place you can eat all inclus is in the main resturant in the hotel... and beware there is never any chips lol... so no kid friendly



we did get the taba tummy whi`ch my daughter has brought back with her,,, infa`ct she has been quite poorly and if it continues will be be planning a visit to her gp... we had the same bug in sharm but it went quite quick but this bug still lingers 4 days after we came home...





beware taba aport is awful and the men who clean the loos follow u in the tolilets,,,, weird.... there is a shop but dont buy things from there eg drinks etc majourly expensive





on the whole... we were very disapointed with the hotel.... and i wouldnt return to taba... if im going 5 star again it would have to be sharm where u get treated like royalty.... sadly id class this as a 3 star hotel.... maybe in years when taba is up and running then maybe the hotel will pick up its standard,,



good luck..

Just arrived back from the Intercontinental Taba Heights on 11/06/08. Had a wonderful time. Accomodation was excellent and pool areas spotless. All staff could not do enough for you, and made you feel welcome in every area of the complex. Rooms cleaned every day and the staff in the hotel always had a smile for you. Did not venture out of complex as only stayed for a week. Must just say that the food is definately not 5star it is more like 3star, but otherwise food was not too bad. We would definately recommend this hotel to anyone, we look forward to going back again very soon and would definately go for two weeks and try one of the trips to the pyramids.

Just arrived back from our first holiday experience in Egypt ( Red Sea) despite acquiring the inevitable stomach bugs despite the Intercontinental Hotels strenuous hygiene measures we thoroughly enjoyed our stay including our vists to Petra in Jordon and St Catherine's Monastry Mount Sinai site of Moses Ten Commandments and the Burning Bush. Also took enjoyable sailing and snorkling trip to Pharoes Island.

Despite daytime temperatures around 34 degree C, low humidity, breezes and water temperatures of around 24 deg. C make this an ideal time of year.

Now to the nasty side of this holiday ---- the First Choice 5.20 hr. Flight from Manchester to Taba and return, both nearly 1.5 hours late and packed like sardines in a can more reminiscant of a short haul Ryan Air flight than a 5hr plus flight.

(27"-29" legroom with seats upright even less with seats reclined)

On both outward and inward flights it took nearly 3 hours to be served with a soft drink only coke available on inward flight due to lack of room according to air hostesses,suggested they take out a few rows of seats.

If you are more than average height or size keep well away from flying First Choice Airways it is sheer torture and quite the worst flight I have ever experienced in over 40 years of flying both short and long haul.

To make matters worst both Thomson and First Choice consistantly lied and prevaricated for over 2 months before our departure date in both telephone and e-mail correspondence regarding the flight.

Tried for 2 months to book and pay for the alleged available Premium seats, but not receiving our flight tickets until Bank holiday Satuirday just before our Tuesday flight our last correspondence from Thomson instructed us to ask if any Premium Seats available on booking in, to be then told on booking in "One Class Flight"

Never again will I be hoodwinked by Thomson, whose unfortunate resort representative could do nothing but listen to complaints regarding being packed into an aircraft entirely unsuitable for a short time in the air and certainly not a 5 hour plus flight.

In conclusion loved the Red Sea Resort but unless I am unfortunate enough to have both legs amputated above the knees will never fly Thomson or First Choice again Unless these recently merged companies sort themselves out and get rid of and replace these Boeing (Chinese Torture) Aeroplanes.

Alan Gibson

Hotel Intercontinental, Taba Heights is a fabulous hotel 4/5 star, very clean and with large bedroom and nice bathrooms with a large walk in shower, If you are diving you MUST get a visa at the airport when you arrive. A must-do trip is Petra it was really good, if a long day and you need to be able to walk. After the ferry ride from nearby WaterWorld. and coach ride you then spend a lot of time walking to and a round Petra, in the heat this can be hard work. You also have to pay £10 on the day for yet another visa, and the trip is VERY expensive £130.00 I think well over priced but I did enjoy it. The hotel is large but we did not have any trouble getting a table at mealtimes inside or out, and the food was 1st class and lots of it. The airport is poor, but so are most in Egypt. We went as a dive group and WaterWorld were great, a good dive boat with very good staff, lots of very nice easy dives. Do not take tablets out with you for any diarrhoea problems, they do not work! Go to the pharmacy in Taba village a short bus ride away, who sells Antinel. The Hotel rep was very good and very helpful, the pool bars are clean and the beers and drinks very good, but ice-cream was given out only between 4pm and 5pm when we were there, cakes are available, just make sure is part of your all inclusive, Nice large pools to swim in and the beach is also very clean and no problems getting sunbeds. A good place to go

Just returned from Hotel Intercontinental, Taba Heights. Fabulous hotel, which looks exactly when you get there as it does in the brochure. Lovely airy, large bedrooms - very clean indeed. Fresh sheets and towels on a daily basis. All-inclusive excellent value - large family group, including children, a baby, and young adults - so being able to get drinks ad lib was a real bonus. Local beer and wine really quite delicious! Trip to Petra was really good - excellent guide. You take the ferry from nearby WaterWorld. Certainly a must-do trip. You pay £10 on the day for a visa, but don't need to get one in advance on arrival at Taba Airport at the start of your holiday, although you do if you wish to do the trip to Cairo. Worth knowing that the pharmacy in Taba village sells an excellent pill (Antinel) for any diarrhoea problems - 2 tablets work wonders. Get some in, so you can start treatment immediately! Nice little blue Tuf Tuf bus takes you round the hotels/resort up to the village free of charge (not speedy though!!!). Swimming pool areas always kept immaculate and well overseen by lifeguards. Beach was kept clean. All the staff were pleasant and willing to help. They love the children over there and make them very welcome. Afternoon tea with cakes and ice cream at the Reef Bar made a nice meeting point in the day. We had glorious weather - hot and sunny for the whole week.

Only bad thing was the shed of an airport at Taba. Our flight was delayed by an hour and a half, and, believe me, you do not want to be there for a minute longer than necessary. The toilets are filthy, and catering facilities virtually non-existent. I would recommend you take some crisps/sandwiches/fruit with you. Spoiled the memory of an otherwise fantastic holiday, and needs to be addressed by the tour companies as a matter of urgency. I would prefer a longer transfer time to go to a better airport where there are standards of hygiene.

I have just got back from this holiday and i must say i was very disappointed both with Thomson and the hotel over the standards of the holiday.

The package is advertised and sold as a five star hotel , that may be but who gives out the star rating and what are they for.

Are they for a hotel with nearly five hundred rooms ( 1000 guests ), running all inclusive with no allocated mealtimes and a restaurant seating max 300 , pandemonium with long lines at each meal. And after the wait in line the food presented was at best OK certainly not the 5 star we expected. The only good thing was the service which was excellent.

And as for Thomson well what can you say Boeing 757-200 packed liked sardines for 5-5.5 hours , then dumped at what can only be described as a world war two military airfield ( which is what it is ) with appalling / no services something strangely missing from Thomson's glowing holiday description

Never again with both Thomson and Egypt

Having just returned from the Intercontinental hotel in Taba heights. This was my second time to Taba. Lovely area but still being built up. Not many things to do. But with your tour operator a lot of trips are offered to Jordan, Israel and Cairo, you can also go horse riding and on quad bikes through the Sinai Mountains. In Taba there is a water sports centre water world which offers a lot of activities from diving to having a submarine trip.



The Intercontinental hotel is excellent, rooms are nice and big and you are given clean towels every day. There is a mini bar which is rather expensive but as we were all inclusive we did not use it. There were 5 swimming pools one of which are heated but was still rather cold due to the time of year we went. But there is a nice indoor pool and spa area pool is free but spa you have to pay extra about £11 per person was worth doing though.



Food was lovely, a great variety available in the all inclusive and also a few other restaurants which you could dine at not within the all inclusive though. Some of the staff are very friendly but some do have problems with language.



Entertainment was good each evening, beanbags to sit on as well. Very unusual. All of the bars around the hotel very good and I do suggest trying the cocktails they are very lovely indeed and all in the all inclusive offer.



Great holiday worth going to and I definitely will be returning if not this year in the very near future.

We spent a week at the Intercontinental in Sept, arrived at Taba airport and the service was very quick and efficent through passport control and for the visa's (be careful if you purchase a full visa at the airport, as you will be told to do this if you want to go to Cairo or Luxor, but if you want to go to Israel or Jordan this will be cancelled and you will have to pay for another visa on entry to these countries). The transfer to the hotel is through very barren and mountain landscape, not a lot to see.

First impressions of the hotel were very impressive, huge reception area, very clean and fantastic mountain sceenery, large pool areas and three impressive bulidings housing the accomadation, we had to wait over an hour after we checked in for our room, but once we were given the key it was worth the wait (however could not get a drink during the wait as you need your AI wrist band at the bars) the rooms are very spacious and immaculatley clean, huge balcony which overlooked the lagoon, immacluate bathroom with massive walk-in shower and plenty of storage & hanging space. The hotel is very big with lots of areas to sit by the pools, beach or lagoon, with waiter service for drinks, although you could go to the bar yourself, all of the public areas were spotlessly clean, and you could always find a sun lounger, although they did tend to close the pool areas around 5.30p.m (and it was starting to get dark then) Although we were AI this only referred to the main resturant which could get extremley busy at peak times, although there was not a great deal of choice for a hotel of its size, you could usually find something to eat, as there was always salads, pasta ect for veggies (during our stay they made the main restuarant non smoking which annoyed some of the Europeans) but they had an outside eating area, and it gave it a more pleasant enviroment inside, the resturant by the pool, which had burgers, chips sandwiches and snacks was not AI and although this was not made clear, and the waiters told you it was AI, you were presented with a bill for your food once you had eaten it, this was my only complaint, (and it was brought up with hotel management and rep by most of the guests).

We went quad biking for the morning, early start as it tends to be too hot to be in the sun between 11 and 3, good fun, option to ride a camel, drink local tea and eat bread, not much to see as you are in the middle of the mountains. Did the trip to Israel (Elait) to the under water obsevatory and marine park and then to swim with the dolphins (you snorkel in the sea, and the dolphins are wild and in their own habitat, you cannot touch them, and if you have already exprienced swimming with dolphins before, then you maybe disappionted) you then get the opportunity to go shopping in the main mall (much the same as any other shopping mall, and not really any cheaper than at home). Israel is very hot, so take plenty of sun lotion and hat. Also went on a boat trip for the day, which included snorkelling, swimming, lunch & soft drinks, scuba diving was extra if you wanted to try it, good day out but again very hot and not really any shady areas on the boat.

There is a free bus to the local water park, were you can book scuba diving lessons, snorkelling, boat trips ect, and you can also go the the little town, but you have to take your passort everywhere you go outsdie the hotel.

Overall I would definitely recommend this hotel if you want five star luxury, and a relaxing break, this is my third time to Egypt and Taba is definatley worth a visit.

Beautiful hotel and grounds, large room with excellent facilities, lots to do in hotel, lovely wide variety of food in buffet restaurant.



Most staff lovely but some young men were arrogant and rude. Taba itself is unfinished but still beautiful. Not much to do in Taba but lots tours to be done around.



Recommend hotel. Worth its 5 stars. We had few problems with the rep not being over helpful, a day trip being much longer than advertised and with our room cleanliness. None were rectified and the manager wouldn’t speak to us. Apart from this, great resort.

Having just come back from a two week trip, the memories are still very much current.



The hotel was nice, and comfortable. The staff were mostly friendly, and all seemed to work very hard.



The views of the red sea, the pools, and lake were beautiful. The gardens were also lovely and very well maintained.



I would say to anyone who was thinking of going to bear in mind that there will not be a lot to do. This really is a place that you go to, to get away from it all completely. Whilst there are other places to go, outside of your hotel, it really is very limited.



The all inclusive option worked out fine, but there are enough places to eat and drink, if you did not opt for this.



The evening shows did not have a great deal of variety, however one night the entertainment was superb. I have never seen such a brilliant traditional 'dance' act.



I am not sure whether I would go there again, just simply because I like to visit sights, and explore. I would have to go somewhere more central next time.