Magic Life Sharm el Sheikh Imperial

2 readers found this review helpful

We stayed at Club Magic Life for my dad's 60th birthday and were not disappointed! The hotel complex was incredibly clean and well kept; there were so many staff you could not count them! The swimming pools are very nice, as are the other activites on offer. The heat in Egypt however is unbearable and the shade by the pools is a lot better! Make sure you try quad biking across the desert!
The only downfall was the cost of the holiday, but I guess you pay for what you get. Booked on travelrepublic but soon after discovered the same deal on tripbox.co.uk around £80 less. Was gutted but overall, this was a brilliant holiday.

1 reader found this review helpful

We stayed at the hotel Oct 2009.Food was fantastic but some other vistors were very greedy and rude to the lovely staff.The room was lovely in the garden area ,quiet pool, has our children have grown up it was brillant but again some some guests tried to spoil it.Luckly i am a very light sleeper and woke at 05.oohrs so i was able to sit by the pool to read by 06.00hrs so i choose the area i liked has i am not a sun worshipper and wanted shade.I attented the exercise classes everday it was brill.We did nt go to the shows.WE had been told the reef was very good but we did,nt like it outside the hotel,but the trip to vist other reefs was very good.Outside the hotel campus was not to good has i don,t like being pestered .I would vist again because it was so good. BIG MINUS WAS THE FLIGHT HOME FULL OF VERY NAUGHTY CHILDREN WITH PARENTS IGNORING THEM IT WAS HELL.Throwing food ,climing over seats ,the parents won,t bother about this being said about their children because i they laughed at each antic!

The Staff at the hotel were brilliant, really friendly Thats the good part of the holiday. The food wasnt great, after a couple of days it felt like you were eating the same thing everyday and there was only two speciality restaurents which we struggled to get a reservation for. The last two days of the holiday we spent in our room due to a stomach upset.
Although there was a good selection of pools they were soooo cold we hardly used them. To say that Thomson have this hotel as their premier collection I would hate to see their standard hotels as to us it was more like a 3star hotel and it cost us more than a holiday we had to the dominican republic where the hotel there was fantastic. We will not be booking with Thomson again.

6 readers found this review helpful

This was our first trip abroad with our 3 year old son. The hotel was recommended to us by a family member and it was certainly a good recommendation. We had a lovely relaxing break and did nothing but sit by the pool or on the beach all day, which we have never done before. The weather was just right for our little boy and we had 25 to 28 degrees everyday. It was a bit windy on a couple of days, but still very pleasant. You are only about a 10 minute drive away from the airport after a 5 hour flight from Gatwick. The hotel check-in was very efficient and we were soon in our hotel room. We found out that Thomson only allocate garden view rooms and we were not given the choice to upgrade to pool view or sea view either by Thomson or the hotel which was disappointing as the hotel was less than half full in December. The bedroom is certainly not 5* standard but having said that it was very clean and certainly big enough. The hotel grounds are beautiful and very well maintained. There is food is good and is available at all times of the day. The Magico restaurant has a wide choice for breakfast and is open until 11am. There are baguettes available from the pool side most of the day if you don't feel like making a visit to one of the hotel restaurants for lunch. Cakes are also available from mid-afternoon, which our little boy loved. We dined in the Magico restaurant every evening due to the wide range of choice it offered for our son, along with the casual atmosphere. It is self service and dinner has a different theme every night, but you can still go for the standard dishes of pasta, pizza, rice, salad etc if you don't fancy it. The waiters are very friendly and very good with children. We sat inside for breakfast and dinner as it was nice and quiet. On the swimming front, the main pool is lovely, warm and very big. Again the areas are kept very clean. Our son enjoyed the little pool and the large steps of the main pool. The beech has a children’s area and we were able to lie on the sun loungers and watch our son on the swings and slide. The entertainment around the hotel is very much geared for the Germans / Russians but stopped for 2 hours over the lunchtime period. It actually wasn't too bad as it was nice to have music in the background. The relax pool seemed a very peaceful area (no music, entertainment team or young families) but the water was freezing cold which is unfortunate as it is in a lovely area and it would have been nice to have had a dip once my husband and son had their afternoon naps. The spa and beauty team will hound you when you first arrive and I had 3 massages during our stay for 75 euros. They were relaxing, but the service was not always great once they had your commitment and the actual massage staff speak very little English. The entertainment team is mainly from Turkey, Brazil, Austria and Germany. The majority of them are friendly but one or two would not give eye contact. They put on shows in the outside amphitheatre most evenings which can't be missed. There are blankets available to keep you warm - we laughed so much my husband and I were crying - it really was that bad and we mean really bad!!!! Our son enjoyed it though and we would certainly try pantos at home now! We hear it was no different though in any of the other hotels. Finally, we had no problems with tummy bugs or other illnesses. We took out antibacterial hand gel which we used regularly, but the hotel is lovely and clean, and I don't think we would have had a problem had we not had it. Food is washed in mineral water and they work with a British Company in terms of their hygiene standards. There is no need to worry about taking out local currency either. Everything was priced in Euros in the hotel. Don't forget the insect repellent.
We very much enjoyed our stay and we would certainly go back.

3 readers found this review helpful

Anyone who complained about this hotel needs their head looking at. My partner and I have just come back from there yesterday.
We had an absolutely amazing time. The food was fantastic, the staff were fantastic, in fact everything was fantastic! We tried all of the 'A La Carte' restaurants and couldn't fault any of them.
We were concerned about eating in the main buffet and getting bored - how wrong we were. Magico was themed each and every night and so much food we couldn't believe our eyes it was so impressive and tasty.
The hotel was huge and impeccable!! Spotlessly clean the cleaners and the gardeners were always on the go, as were all the staff and such nice friendly people. They genuinely seemed to enjoy talking to and helping us.
For us the only down side was the fact that as the hotel was mainly filled with rude Russians and Germans (obviously they aren't taught manners!!) the entertainment was geared more for them than us English who were in the minority.
Our favourite bar was a quiet one called 'Eagles Lounge'. The barman, Wael William was probably one of the nicest, most helpful and most genuine people we've met.
We met quite a few Brits at the hotel, not one who had complained about anything. Not one complaint about illness or bad belly. Apparently most people get upset stomach from the money which carries a lot of germs. You're safest bet is to take some anti-bacterial cream like you find on hospital wards and use every time you touch the money.
All in all a fabulous hotel and we would definately return here and recommend to friends and family

4 readers found this review helpful

This was our first holiday to Egypt and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The hotel was fantastic. I had no complaints at all. It was clean, excellent choice of food, friendly helpful staff and a beautiful beach. It was the best holiday I have ever had.
The excursions were excellent and well organised. I would definately take the Red Sea Cruise again and Quad Biking. Cairo was a lovely place to visit and I would definately recommend ugrading to the VIP, which is only £35 extra per person. It was well worth it. We had a Mercedes Benz with our own chauffer and our own guide who travelled with us. We were able to spend as little or as much time in each place as we wanted and the car was air conditioned - which was well needed in the heat!!
Be aware of entering the pyramids if you have a fear of small tight spaces. It is a long way down and very claustrophobic. Note that you are not allowed to take cameras into the pyramid with you.
We have booked next year at the Coral Sea Resort and I am sure we will have another fantastic time.

2 readers found this review helpful

booked with Thomson premium but got put on a First choice flight wern't very happy as we had paid extra for leg room but never recieved it. NO English people at ALL. The hotel was full of German's and Russian's who are not very "warm" to the English, food was discusting beach was like cat litter and the rooms could of been better for the price, reception tryied to put us in tis room what over looked a jigger which was full of wierd people. spent £500 on doctors bills because my boyfiend was in so much agony from food poising not very nice, wouldn't advise young coupls to go here.!

Great Hotel lovely Grounds, Staff where willing to help at all times, food was fantastic,
Group of Nine had a great time in the resort, Rooms cleaned every day and fridge supplied with refreshments daily, Not many English mostly Russians and Germans but this made the Holiday more enjoyable as no pubbish behavour.

4 readers found this review helpful

We have been to Egypt many times before and this was by far the best hotel we have been to. The food was superb, with lots to choose from, although too spread out. The entertainment was good, most hotels in Egypt do not have any entertainment and this was a nice change, with something for everyone. It started with a show every night and was followed by music and dancing and the entertainment staff were brilliant, getting everyone involved. BUT and a very big BUT………
I caught a stomach bug called SHIGELA FLEXNERI, probably on the last night in the Brazilian restaurant. This disease is acquired from eating contaminated food. 'Contaminated food may look and smell normal but can become contaminated by infected food handlers who forget to wash their hands with soap after using the bathroom'.. What a lovely thought!!!!!! I only ever ate in the hotel. By the time I got home I was confined to bed for ten days with violent diarrhoea, fever and abdominal pain. I lost 8lbs in 3 days and was very de hydrated and could not even get to the doctors. I had tests done and it came back as SHIGELA FLEXNERI, which is a notifiable disease and I have had to give all the details to the public health department who will be investigating but probably won’t be able to do much as I caught it abroad.
Such a shame, this is a great hotel but is obviously plagued by sickness, probably down to bad hygiene, which unfortunately you can’t see……

2 readers found this review helpful

We are a party of 4 adults and had a really great time at Magic Life. As other people have said, we were greeted on arrival with drinks which was wonderful.
Our rooms were large and airy, overlooking the Relax Pool which was a great place to sit and read a book and was, as promised, very relaxing. No children used the Relax Pool during our 14 days.
The food was superb - we enjoyed the buffet at Magico which served anything you could want - salads, fresh fruit, cakes, pastas, all kinds of meats both barbequed and in sauces, lovely fish, Chinese, Mexican - you name it. The A la Carte options were a bit hit and miss, we enjoyed the Egyptian the best, then the Italian. Too much meat for us at the South American (have an appetite when you go here). The fish restaurant was disappointing and most guests didn't really like it.
The beach area is a little run down, new sunbeds are needed and some maintenance to the windbreaks and tables. The sand on the beach is really just the same as the desert sand and more like cat litter than the fine golden sand you often get in the Med.
The staff were really really great. Especially the waiters in Wunderbar (Ami and William) and the waiters in Magico who actually used to look out for us arriving each day and come over for a chat.
We went on the trips to the Pyramids (don't miss it - quite an experience), the Red Sea Cruise which was unforgettable and the Bedouin Night - more sitting about in cat litter drinking mint tea (which we found strange), but the stars, the telescopes and the enthusiasm of the Bedouins kind of made up for the fact it was a bit rubbish!
Only real downer on the whole holiday was that 3 out of 4 of our party went down with tummy upsets - really bad ones.
How we got this I will never know because the hotel is spotless, the food well cooked and we all washed our hands in antiseptic gel used in hospitals (our friend is a homecarer) every time we touched money or before and after food!!
Won't be going back - enjoyed it once but couldn't face being ill like that again.