Reviews of Movenpick El Gouna Resort Hotel, El Gouna, Egypt

El Gouna - Egypt

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Nov 2008

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

AmyLouise123

Comments:

I absolutely loved my holiday, its the second time ive been to the same location and the same hotel. There is so much to do, during the day and the night life is excellent for anyone in their early 20's. I will definately be going back!

Advice:

AMAZING

Activities:

Quadbiking through the desert, Go Karting, Fishing, Cultural Activities, Beach, Watersports, Clubs.

Good for:

Beach 

Our stay at the Movenpick was...

Overall Rating:

7/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2008

Tour Operator:

First Choice

Submitted By:

Mrs S Quigley

Comments:

Our stay at the Movenpick was not the best hotel choice, we've had much better in Egypt. I would rate the hotel 3* it certainly is not 5*. We booked 2 rooms for 2 adults and 2 teenage children. They gave us 1 room on the 2nd floor and the other on the 3rd floor on opposite sides. This was not ideal and the hotel made no attempt to change this. The First Choice rep. (Tina) was useless! The location and externals of the hotel are lovely with great views. We didn't spend any time at the main pool as it is very noisy with music going all day, plus all of the sunbeds were taken very quickly. As we were in cluster 7, which is furthest away from the reception and facilities, we used the lagoon pool, quiet and relaxing with plenty of sunbeds. This hotel is very expensive, you will pay £1.50 (15LE) for a can of coke and £3 (30LE) for a can of Heineken (Sakara is £2.70 a bottle). Lunch at the pool bar starts at around £4.50 (45 LE) upwards. We did lunch there most days out of necessity rather than choice, until we sat in the pool watching the chef cooking and saw all the little flies landing on the food with no attempt to cover it! A waiter blew his nose in to a tissue, didn't wash his hands and put the tissue in to an ice bucket. Cups and glasses only get rinsed under a running cold tap and are not washed! A cheaper and more hygenic option is to buy drinks, crisps and snacks from the supermarket opposite the bus station in El Gouna downtown (50p for a 2 litre bottle of coke). Downtown and Marina are easily accessible using the shuttle bus which comes every 20 minutes and costs just £2 (20LE) for an unlimited weekly ticket which can be purchased from the bus driver. Both are still expensive but a little cheaper than the hotel prices. It is a cosmopolitan area for Egypt, but I do think the prices are over inflated. For the first two weeks of school holidays in UK it was very quiet. We didn't eat at the hotel in the evening and the entertainment did not entice us to stay in the hotel for a drink or three! A taxi to Hurghada new downtown from the hotel costs £10 (100LE). Although the centre of Hurghada is not to my taste, it's like Blackpool on a busy Saturday, it is a lot cheaper and you will find lots of bazaar's and McDonalds, KFC etc. A large Sakara costs around £1.50 (15 LE). As we are purchasing an apartment in the Al Ahayaa district, which is between El Gouna and Hurghada old town, we will be visiting Egypt more over the next few years, but El Gouna will be for Sunday evenings when my friend is working in Smugglers english pub and for occasional shopping trips. It is just too expensive. We will not stay at the Movenpick again.

The flights with BA were great,...

Overall Rating:

6/10

Board Basis:

Half Board

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2008

Tour Operator:

Kuoni

Submitted By:

Mrs E M Carsley

Comments:

The flights with BA were great, all connections were on time and we had no problems at the airports. The Movenpick was clean and the rooms were comfortable with good airconditioning. However, the food was very second rate, we wished we hadn't bothered to pay for half board . We only ate dinner there twice in the end. The hotel pool was tiny and the only entertainment was a duo, one man, one woman, who couldn't sing!!

The hotel had no atmosphere and it was not a good place to spend the evening. This was quite important as it is so far from the centre of Cairo. The staff were polite and efficient and at no time did we feeled hassled by anyone. Overall,not really value for money as the holiday was quite expensive.It was not the best place to spend a week, we wouldn't stay there again, it might be better to stay somewhere with more character.

We have just returned from a...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Apr 2008

Tour Operator:

First Choice

Submitted By:

Mrs C Anderson

Comments:

We have just returned from a week in this beautiful hotel. The whole resort itself is purpose built on islands and lagoons - and owned by one very rich man who owns Mobinil - Egypts biggest mobile phone network. You can see his villa from the hotel beach...and although the hotel is nice - his villa puts it to shame! His intention apparently, was to build a luxury resort for absolutely everyone to experience a high quality experience - which he has basically done extremely well! The resort is flooded with restaurants, bars, amazing beaches and fantastic diving facilities.



The Movenpick hotel overlooks turquoise waters and beautiful beaches. The hotel has some lovely restaurants (fairly well priced - please note the wine and spirits can be a little pricy) - and fantastic service in each of them.



There is a house reef right in front of the hotel, you can stroll for about 20 mins before you start to go above knee deep! Take snorkels and masks with you - hiring can be pricy. We saw rays, squid, crabs, reef fish, sea cucumbers - and had an amazing experience. There is a company called Dive Tribe who can also arrange snorkelling trips - very good so we hear!



All of the pools are lovely, lots of sunbeds and also with a swim up bar. The purpose built lagoons are there for you to try snorkelling, sailing, windsurfing etc and are great fun to splash about in.



We went B&B and on average lunch cost between 100 - 150 Egyptian - approx £10 - £15 - ranging from soups, sandwiches, swiss cuisine, burgers, pasta, pizza - a little of everything. The buffet in the hotel was fairly good - but could get a little repetitive - costing 150 Egyptian per person - £15 - plus approx £13 for a bottle of wine and £3 for a bottle of water. On site - the Thai restaurant is fantastic - food, wine and service all perfect - we had 2 courses, a bottle of wine and some water - total of £28. Al Sayadin - the fish restaurant, leaves a lot to be desired...bad service and under cooked fish - not a good combination! So leave that one alone...or ignore this and try it for yourself! One persons bad experience cannot account for the overall reputation...



In addition, the restaurants in down town El Gouna / Abu Tig Marina can be reached via a luxury taxi for £1.50 per car or in a Tuk Tuk (motorised bike type thing!) for 50p per person. Bargain - and a very exciting ride! You can eat in one of many, many restaurants - Italian, Tandoori, Lebanese, Vietnamese, Egyptian, Med and French food. Abu Tig Marina is a haven for the rich - with huge yachts...very interesting people watching in the evening after a nice meal! Meals cost between £20 - £35 for 2 people. Again, 2 courses with wine and water - and always very good service.



We have visited Egypt many times and although this isnt the hottest resort - clocking in between 32 - 38 degrees in April - the wind is very deceiving. Being situated right by the sea, the breeze (which isnt apparent all of the time) can cool you down enough to make you feel cooler - we saw alot of very burnt blistered people. So bring a high factor and reapply every 2 hours - you then cant go wrong!



If possible, learn a little bit of arabic - the locals really appreciate this as most of the tourists dont even try. Say Good Morning - "Saba El Kir" - and watch the smile creep across the face - say thank you - "Shukran" - and maybe "El Hissab Minfadlak" - can we have the bill please - and experience an even higher customer service. Thats not to say you have bad service if you dont speak it, but try it out...and see what happens!



Lastly, you may find airport staff, loading the baggage onto the xray machines/coaches etc - and the toilet attendants asking for "baksheesh" - tips - please do not feel obligated to give them anything - as tipping is not actually allowed. They will try though - and if you feel they have helped you, then maybe give them something. But do not feel you have to - everyone will always try their luck! We base the tipping on good service only. A good phrase to know is "La Shukran" - no thank you - especially when coming out of the airport upon arrival - you may find strange men trying to take your bag to carry it for you. Just be firm and polite and you will be fine. But please do not worry or think they are rude - the average wage out there is approx 50 egyptian per month - approx £5. Makes you think...



Im happy to offer advice on hotels, activities and historial tours in Luxor, El Gouna and Cairo, so if you want more info, just drop me a line!

Having paid extra for some...

Overall Rating:

7/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Feb 2008

Tour Operator:

Discover Egypt

Submitted By:

Mr J Marland

Comments:

Having paid extra for some de-luxe accommodation over and above the standard hotel included in our package, I was disapointed with this Hotel. If your idea of luxury is stone floors and really naff iron furniture, then you will love it. For my money I expect something better, and would not rate it any higher than two stars. It also took us a couple of days to find our way around the labyrinthine grounds, mainly due to poor signposting. On the plus side the the facilities and location are excellent. The breakfast buffet was excellent, but way too much food for that time of day. The evening buffet was OK but expensive and you didn't even get a cup of coffee.

Just got back from a week at the...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Jan 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mr G HILL

Comments:

Just got back from a week at the Movenpick, El Gouna. It was great! the hotel is very clean and all the staff were friendly and helpful. Be aware some of the rooms like ours was a long way away from reception and the restaurant where breakfast is served. It takes a little while to orientate yourself around the hotel and the pools and the lagoons.



Weather wise it was low 70's during the day and then UK temperature at night i.e.cold you need a jumper and even a coat. There is a wind everyday which is why its cold at night. We tried the fish restaurant at the hotel El Seyadin and it was lovely not cheap but good food.



Make sure you go 'downtown' you can walk there from the hotel or take the bus from the hotel it costs about £1.50 for a weekly ticket. Try a 'tok tok' they are fun the drivers are bit mad.



Go to the Marina its lovely and the boats have to be seen to be believed they are huge. Make sure you go the english pub 'smugglers' and say hi to Franco the barman! The restaurants are pretty good standard although not that cheap. We ate well and no dodgy stomachs, be aware that alcohol is not that cheap and the measures are small. The beer is best value its about £2 for a large bottle of sakara gold which is drinkable.



Try quad biking in the desert its great fun !! My friend went scuba diving and said it was brilliant!



If you want to go to El Gouna and not feel crowded then this time of year is best although its not that warm.



The hotel is not 5 star in my opinion but 4 star and breakfast is excellent! I will def be going back and the Movenpick is where I'll stay every time!

Well, we have literally just...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Feb 2007

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mrs S Wood

Comments:

Well, we have literally just returned from the Movenpick, El Gouna.



The view over the pools to the sea from the lobby was out of this world. It was fantastic!



Could not fault the hotel at all. Huge grounds and gardens and its right on the beach.



Lots to do in day time. Kite surfing, snorkelling, bike hire, health club, library, squash or just lazing about like we did! Was 26 deg when we there and Feb meant to be worst month.



Food fantastic. Never seen so much choice for breakfast. Great restaurants, especially the Sea Food and Thai.



Staff really friendly and could not do enough for you with sincerity, not just out for a tip. Spotlessly clean everywhere. No litter at all and the public toilets immaculate all day.



We were lucky enough to have a lagoon pool, sea view. Spectacular. The room was huge. Two queen sized beds and the biggest bathroom ever. The beds were changed at least twice in a week and fresh towels everyday.



We had red roses left on our beds on Valentines Day!



Shuttle bus to down town and Marina good, regular, cheap but slow and uncomfortable but can also use ticket for the shuttle boat too. We opted for the Tuk Tuks. A great experience! Mad drivers but only cost £1 and very fast.



Hotel has 2 resident camels on the beach which you can ride. Brilliant experience.



All the pools fantastic but main pool un heated and freezing. Lagoon pool was gorgeous. Never a problem to get sun loungers and the fantastic pool staff bring mats to you and beach towels are free to use fresh daily. They even sweep the beaches every evening by hand! Spotless.



Only down side was not a lot of entertainment in the evening at the hotel but we were early season and the buffet restaurant caters more for Continentals in the evening but there is still plenty of choice. Movenpick ice cream is to die for!



Easy to get to down town or Marina in the evening for a meal by Tuk Tuk or shuttle bus and they run till late. Recommend Bleu Bleu at the Marina or Kiki's Italian above Casino in Down Town. Two courses for two with wine and coffee about £20! Gets very chilly at night so need cardigan or jacket.



Went on trip out to Mahmaya Island. A brilliant day! Saw dolphins. Island had pure white sandy beach. Coral just off the beach where u could see all the colourful fish. Lovely buffet lunch provided. Lovely day.



We did not do it ourselves but the Luxor 2 day trip is meant to be amazing from what we heard. Have to be up at 4.30 am for 6 hour trip, stay over night and have hot air balloon ride early next day. Will do it next time.



We were not hassled at all by anyone except people hovering outside the toilets at Hurghada airport on our return. They wanted money in exchange for 2 pieces of toilet paper! There were signs to say no tipping. The toilets were filthy but the only dirty ones we saw.



There are loads of tacky shops at the airport too where you may be ripped off.



All in all, a fantastic holiday. Highly recommend the Movenpick. We will return!

This place is amazing! Working...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2005

Tour Operator:

Airtours

Submitted By:

Miss S Hayns

Comments:

This place is amazing! Working as a manager in a 4* hotel back in the UK I’m a pretty difficult person to please when it comes to accommodation. Moevenpick have however thought of everything.



The breakfast buffet is huge and kept us going until evening. We ate in all of the restaurants, and each one impressed us greatly. They even have their own ice cream shop open until 11pm each evening, serving the most delicious assortment of famous "Moevenpick" ice cream.



The Piazza within the hotel has entertainment nightly and even puts on a disco for children each evening between 8-8.30pm.



We went in July and it was scorching. Although it was obvious there were alot of people around, the pools and beach were always deserted. No matter what time you turned up at either there were always plenty of loungers and quiet spots.



Our standard room was huge and came with a beautiful sea view. All the staff were fantastic.



Even if I tried I couldn’t fault Moevenpick El Gouna. It was amazing value for money and the service was top notch.
Reps very good, any problem they will try and sort but what they cant sort is a bad hotel, people went to a 4 star and found 2/3 so also reps are always around they are always with people complaining.



I would recommend anyone wanting to go to cayo to stop next door at a adults only hotel, very nice clean and 4 star



Would we go back no. At least not to that hotel you save and book 4 star you want four, this was our honeymoon and was spoilt by upset tummies that could be prevented.

This was our first trip to Egypt...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

Bed & Breakfast

Date of Holiday:

Nov 2004

Tour Operator:

Longwood

Submitted By:

Miss D Sines

Comments:

This was our first trip to Egypt and it certainly would not be our last. The hotel was superb, very clean and the grounds are magnificent. The staff were so friendly, everybody including reception, waiters, cleaners. They were all so polite and helpful. The food was excellent especially the breakfasts.


El Gouna itself offers plenty to do. Shops, restaurants, even an Irish pub! Again all the shop owners were friendly and helpful not at all pushy. We came away with several phone numbers and email addresses. Everywhere we went in EL Gouna it was very clean. We are looking forward to our next visit.