Sunrise El Palacio Resort

Our family (mum, dad, and 2 teenage boys aged 13) all thoroughly enjoyed our holiday at El Palacio. We can endorse all the positive comments of other reviewers, not least the charm and friendliness of the Egyptian staff, the cleanliness of the hotel, and excellent facilities throughout.
A generous tip to our waiter on the first night meant we never had to look for a table again, either at lunch or dinner. Our teenage boys particularly appreciated the seemingly non-stop supply of food out of restaurant hours!
The snorkelling at the hotel is brilliant. We liked it so much we are going back this Autumn!

This was one of the most amazing holidays I have ever been on, it was a real eye opener for me and my family.
The hotel is beautiful and the staff are so friendly, the one downer on this holiday was the amount of Germans occupying the complex, arrogant, loud and rude to us and the staff, but no worries if you are British be prepared to be treated like royalty, the Egyptians love the English, we got our tables reserved everyday at dinner and tea, and even when there was a big queue at the bar if they know your English and see you as there friends then you will get ushered to the front of the queue and served there and then, know matter who's behind you.
A little annoying factor was the amount of times we got interrupted by the pool/lagoon by the massage staff, trying to sell you the Cleopatra deal, by the end of the holiday i could walk around the pool and sell it myself I knew it off by heart. But my love goes out 2 Kimo, Mario and Amhead Saad who made our stay an unforgettable experience.
If I knew there wasn't going to be so many people and Germans there I would certainly go again its absolute paradise, I recommend it 2 everyone, I will never forget my trip 2 Egypt!!

We loved this hotel right from the minute we saw it in the brochure and we wasn’t disappointed when we arrived.
The staff were very friendly and helpful, the room we had must have been the best in the hotel overlooking the pool and the lagoon it was air conditioned and had a fridge which you could fill up (foc) with bottled water from the bar. There was a wide variety of food available every day and the bread is baked fresh everyday and is fantastic so no good for diets! Along with the cake stand a little tip is get your desert before you get your main meal as the Germans and Russians tend to get all the good stuff piled up before they eat.
We went as a couple but there is plenty organised for kids of all ages and also the adults.
A must do here is to go snorkelling I cant tell you about this enough its such a amazing experience. I was a little worried at first but once I was in there was no stopping me. The fish you see are unbelievable so don’t forget your underwater camera or two. Just be careful of the rocks as they are slippery so you need foot wear.
Another tip is either take your own snorkel gear or make sure you don’t buy it from the people who run the excursions (like we did) we got totally ripped off. Buy it from the hotel shop instead.
I have to tell you that you are almost 100% certain to get a dodgy stomach. Everybody that we met had it at one time during the holiday. They advise to get their own brand of tablets (90p) as Imodium etc just will not touch it.
The entertainment is low key but they try their best and the kids enjoy it, they have pool tables and plenty of bars to occupy adults!
One last thing, the reps will tell you to tip the pool/ beach/ cleaner boy but be careful as to how much you give them at the start as friends of ours gave a good tip at the beginning of the hol and never saw them again.
We had a fantastic time and I'm sure anybody going here will too.
Chris & Leeann

Hubby and me spent a week at this hotel over Christmas 2004. The night we arrived we were treated to a fantastic buffet gala meal.
Our room overlooked the Red Sea and even from the top floor you could see how crystal clear the sea was. The snorkelling is fantastic. The hotel amenities are fair although it could do with a few more bars and a non-smoking one would be welcome. Andrea the Rep was a hoot albeit a total professional. Food was good and the staff were so helpful and friendly.
We flew up to Cairo, it is a long day but worthwhile although we would have liked to have spent more time in the museum than visiting the papyrus factory. We enjoyed it so much we are due back there for a week on 8 April - El Palacio here we come! Travelling again with Thomas Cook as they are really efficient and holidaying with them was trouble free.
Fran and Rod Davidson

Had a great weeks holiday at Sunrise Palacio - wish we were still there! The Hotel has a wonderful position set on the Red Sea and built round a large lagoon, which is used far more than the pool. The rooms, which all have impressive views especially those with sea views, are large and kept very clean and tidy by the hotel staff, they even lined up my cosmetics in jar/pot size!
The staff are the most friendliest I’ve ever met and will do everything they can to help you. Top marks go to two of the guys in the Lobby Bar - David and especially Little Mohamed who spoilt us rotten. The Egyptians like the English as we are polite and say please and thank you and don’t order them around as many of the non English guests do - manners matter and cost nothing. There were only about 70 English people there as the majority of visitors are Russians, ex Eastern block, Germans and Dutch.
The food was good with a large choice. The only downer to this holiday was lack of entertainment. There was a nightly show, which only lasted about an hour, but this was quite basic.
The snorkelling is out of this world and it’s like looking at a picture book, the fish and coral are amazing. You only have to walk out a meter or so and just look down to see it all which is good if you’re not very confident in the water.
If you go with Thomas Cook Andrea the rep is fantastic, we’ve never met a rep that enjoys their job as much as she does and she is passionate about Egypt, it’s culture and the people.
We’ll be going back, give it a try.

We were told Thomas Cook part own this hotel and wondered if this had anything to do with being transferred to it seven days before we left. We had originally booked a much smaller hotel in Hurghada and this had been confirmed in writing a month before. No one consulted us about the change, told us the reason for it, or asked what we wanted. It was assumed the upgrade from half-board to fully inclusive made it OK. It didn’t.
We would never choose such a large hotel as Sunrise El Palacio. With over 800 rooms it is well on the way to our idea of holiday hell. Fortunately we were allocated a room that did not overlook the entertainment area so at least our room was fairly quiet.
The first thing we noticed on entering the main lobby was the smell of smoke. There were lots of smokers and only a small part of the dining room is reserved for non-smokers, which can add to delays queuing for a table. None of the outside dining areas are smoke free but tables there are reasonably spaced.
Mealtimes inside, where the better choice of food was, were particularly stressful. There is a constant clatter of crockery and chairs scraping in a room with no sound absorption. You can spend long times queuing for food as it is a buffet without enough room to work well. It is not unusual for people just to push in. Waiters bring drinks but there were seldom enough staff doing this. Staff excellent in every other way, very helpful and friendly.
The food can be good although little choice for vegetarians and it sometimes suffers from not being freshly cooked. E.g. fish doesn’t taste the same when it has been in chafing dish for twenty minutes. Great bread and salads. Shame about the cordial mixed with the orange juice.
Brits are a tiny proportion of the guests. Perhaps Russians are the biggest group plus others from the former Eastern block. The size of the place makes it harder getting to know those you might share a language with.
The best thing for us was the snorkelling at the hotel, which owes something to its design. Two very long piers have been built out over the coral and accommodation blocks go almost the whole length of these. (If you don’t like walking ask to be placed nearer to reception.) There is quite a small swimming pool but an enormous lagoon between the two piers. There is not a lot to see in the lagoon but there is interesting snorkelling from the end of either pier, though probably better suited to good swimmers. On either side you can travel along the deep edge of the reef where fish are plentiful and the coral is recovering.
One of the accommodation piers has access to a very large, shallow area suitable for beginners or child snorkellers. Water shoes are probably more useful here than fins and we don’t recommend going in barefoot. The water is quite shallow and even at high tide someone like Jordan might scrape the coral if not very careful. We managed to get out to the deep water from the shallow area but it is much easier and safer to do this from the end the lagoon or the boat pier.
We did overnight trips to Cairo and Luxor. The Cairo one was very tiring. Both trips included visits to shops (papyrus x2, alabaster and perfumery) all of which are available in Hurghada. More time was wasted because two different hotels miles apart were used on both trips. We didn’t think much of the Sound & Light shows. Where did they dig up the actors who hammed their way through the commentary? Tour guides were nice people but their English is not always clear.
We did one snorkelling boat trip and saw nothing better that what was available for free at the hotel. It was also spoiled by far too many boats all-converging on the same reef. It was difficult to identify our boat amongst all the others and the so-called paradise island was overrun by hordes of tourists and provided no good snorkelling.
Sue & Paul