Grand Makadi Palace Hotel, Makadi Bay, Egypt
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Hotel Description:
This brand new, elegant hotel built in Moorish style offers guests spacious and stylish accommodation. It enjoys wonderful Red Sea views and is the perfect choice for a stress-free holiday in Makadi Bay. loading...
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Grand Makadi Palace Hotel Reviews
" When I read reviews, I hope to get a... "
Submitted By: Mr S Barlow
When I read reviews, I hope to get a genuine idea as to what is in store.
10/10 means no room for improvement and the best available. As I have NOT been to Egypt before I cannot compare with other Egyptian Hotels.
I have however been on numerous ‘All Inclusive Holidays’ in countries which include Israel, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, USA and several European Mediterranean Countries. I accept that the culture and economic status of a country must be taken into consideration when referring to their Hotels and star ratings but I would struggle to describe it better than a 4 star. (And that would be based on the appearance of the complex outside and quality of food.)
As such I submit the following review hoping that it may help. I must stress that I met several Holiday makers who were on there second visit to the resort and they believed it was fantastic. However, they did not have any other experience of Egypt and or in most cases examples of similar types of Complex’s in other Countries.
There were also several that shared our views and some who even disliked it.
In short my review would be similar to Mr K Palin’s review in October 2007 and found his comments helpful. We make the following additional observations:
If you search Google images you will find a Makadi Palace Map. I will refer to this map in my descriptions.
The floor levels do not match the room numbers (Rooms begin 2 were on the 1st floor and beginning with 3 on the second floor) and as the complex is so large, a grasp of how to get around is of great benefit. The shortest routes are frequently to be found along the corridors of the complex. For example there is a lift which is directly in-front of the Discovery Restaurant and one directly to the front of the Melange Restaurant (D). Access to the Grand Hotel is seamless and can be made on all levels behind the Melange Restaurant. You can of course walk outside the buildings to the Grand but stairs become more of an obstacle and require significant diversions.(100 metres) (We have a disabled wheel chair bound child) On this subject, you can access nearly all the complex without having to carry the wheelchair up stairs. The exception is the Rendez Vous (G) where stairs are mandatory. There is also several excellent ramped paths and bridges which eventually encounter stairs at their conclusion and usually at your objective. Going from the Discovery (D) to the Dome (C) is a good example, as is the bridge directly in-front of the Dome.
I found the food in the main excellent and recommend the Melange, Tai (H) and Sunset (I) for service and quality. Sandwiches and ice cream are good at the Rendez Vous (G) but for some reason at 4pm they appear to attract all the patrons of the complex simultaneously! This leads to chaos and the demise of any possibility of being served or serving yourself. Amazingly a short 2 minute walk to the Jokers (F) patio results in immediate service of coffee and tea and in most cases we were sat alone watching the mêlée at the Rendez Vous (G).
The Dome was very impersonal but the choice of food was good. After the first week, the rudeness of a small minority of staff ensured that we never set foot in the place again.
We only went into the Jokers Bar at night which was reasonable but after the first few days became a bit boring. (It was also a bit Smokey!)
As we had two young children (3 & 4) we did not go in the Piano Bar but it appeared very welcoming and did have some-one playing a grand piano most evenings.
At this point I would stress that the complex is far from child friendly if they are non swimmers. Even with eyes in the backs of our heads one of the Animation Team chased our 3 old year with a bottle of water causing him to fall backwards into the pool. The Egyptian life Guard and I were there in seconds to pull him out and no harm was done. The complex is mainly water and the life guards do not work after 5pm.
The Grand Hotel is also a 5 Star Hotel but does not share the ‘Grandness’ of the Palace Complex architecture. That aside, the pool at this Hotel is slightly heated and bearable whereas the pool at the Palace is freezing. (Head north from the Palace to the next Hotel, about half a mile along the beach, they have a fully heated outdoor pool with excellent children’s slides) We spent a lot of time in the daytime of the second week at the Grand and found it a pleasant complex. You can use all the facilities as if you were a resident. The beachside restaurant was excellent at lunch. We did however drop our guard on the last day and ate food from a beachside burger bar at the Grand. Within 24 hours we all had a stomach bug. The food was prepared and served by staff without any regard to the meticulous hygiene regime observed by all other restaurants we ate in and we have only ourselves to blame for ignoring the fact that no one wore rubber gloves and were preparing food with their bare hands by the beach!
The rooms are not finished to a high standard. (Or at least ours was not) The green sofa was covered in stains and the floor was marked from the day we arrived until the day we left with footprints and liquid stains. The hinges on the small built in wardrobe were broken, the doors warped and the veneer peeling. There was a fly screen draped around the head of the bed from a ring suspended from the ceiling. This had a significant amount of trapped dead insects within its folds. The Mini Bar has tree tins of pop at a pound each. two tins of lager at £2 each, two bottles water at £1 each and two small bars of chocolate at a £1 each. There was also a large bag of crisps (very good) at a £1. Trouble was, we emptied the Bar one day and it took 3 days to refill it!
I was approached at least daily, usually when alone, by staff wishing to change 3 pound coins into notes! This always seemed to be akin to some underhand drugs deal and most unwelcome. If all the staff are as good as some of the previous reviewers have stated, perhaps they should have facilitated there need to exchange their coins to notes?
The staff are shipped in on three week basis from as far away as Cairo as there is insufficient populous to supply the demand for staff to all the Hotels. They informed me they were in receipt of around £15 a week and all tips were handed to the team captain to be redistributed amongst the staff dependant on role. I tipped because I wanted to and at times the response was overwhelming. At other times I may as well have insulted them. (This was very evident in the Dome which had by far the most staff in a restaurant and perhaps the highest case of tip division?)
Would we go again? NO. Seven days would have been a better period to have gone for as we all wanted to come home on the 8th day!
Tips:
Be prepared for mosquito’s bites in restaurants and bar.
Take a kettle.
Take clothes hangers.
Take soap. (5 star?)
Do not get a Visa in Britain (Waste of time and cost us £80 with postage when it would have cost £10 each in Egypt.)
You get clean beach towels every day at about 6.30pm.
Children’s channel on TV is good if you like Tom & Jerry.
Buy your Duty Free at the Hotel or return Airport not on outbound flight. (20% cheaper at the Hurghada Airport)
The all inclusive drinks do not include any of the normal selection. There is no Martini or Malibu type drinks, just Egyptian Whisky, Rum, Vodka & Gin. Martini etc could be puchased at £5 a drink!
Watch the price lists, they are sometimes in Egyptian Pounds but sometime in Euro's.
Hope something I have written helps.
10/10 means no room for improvement and the best available. As I have NOT been to Egypt before I cannot compare with other Egyptian Hotels.
I have however been on numerous ‘All Inclusive Holidays’ in countries which include Israel, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, USA and several European Mediterranean Countries. I accept that the culture and economic status of a country must be taken into consideration when referring to their Hotels and star ratings but I would struggle to describe it better than a 4 star. (And that would be based on the appearance of the complex outside and quality of food.)
As such I submit the following review hoping that it may help. I must stress that I met several Holiday makers who were on there second visit to the resort and they believed it was fantastic. However, they did not have any other experience of Egypt and or in most cases examples of similar types of Complex’s in other Countries.
There were also several that shared our views and some who even disliked it.
In short my review would be similar to Mr K Palin’s review in October 2007 and found his comments helpful. We make the following additional observations:
If you search Google images you will find a Makadi Palace Map. I will refer to this map in my descriptions.
The floor levels do not match the room numbers (Rooms begin 2 were on the 1st floor and beginning with 3 on the second floor) and as the complex is so large, a grasp of how to get around is of great benefit. The shortest routes are frequently to be found along the corridors of the complex. For example there is a lift which is directly in-front of the Discovery Restaurant and one directly to the front of the Melange Restaurant (D). Access to the Grand Hotel is seamless and can be made on all levels behind the Melange Restaurant. You can of course walk outside the buildings to the Grand but stairs become more of an obstacle and require significant diversions.(100 metres) (We have a disabled wheel chair bound child) On this subject, you can access nearly all the complex without having to carry the wheelchair up stairs. The exception is the Rendez Vous (G) where stairs are mandatory. There is also several excellent ramped paths and bridges which eventually encounter stairs at their conclusion and usually at your objective. Going from the Discovery (D) to the Dome (C) is a good example, as is the bridge directly in-front of the Dome.
I found the food in the main excellent and recommend the Melange, Tai (H) and Sunset (I) for service and quality. Sandwiches and ice cream are good at the Rendez Vous (G) but for some reason at 4pm they appear to attract all the patrons of the complex simultaneously! This leads to chaos and the demise of any possibility of being served or serving yourself. Amazingly a short 2 minute walk to the Jokers (F) patio results in immediate service of coffee and tea and in most cases we were sat alone watching the mêlée at the Rendez Vous (G).
The Dome was very impersonal but the choice of food was good. After the first week, the rudeness of a small minority of staff ensured that we never set foot in the place again.
We only went into the Jokers Bar at night which was reasonable but after the first few days became a bit boring. (It was also a bit Smokey!)
As we had two young children (3 & 4) we did not go in the Piano Bar but it appeared very welcoming and did have some-one playing a grand piano most evenings.
At this point I would stress that the complex is far from child friendly if they are non swimmers. Even with eyes in the backs of our heads one of the Animation Team chased our 3 old year with a bottle of water causing him to fall backwards into the pool. The Egyptian life Guard and I were there in seconds to pull him out and no harm was done. The complex is mainly water and the life guards do not work after 5pm.
The Grand Hotel is also a 5 Star Hotel but does not share the ‘Grandness’ of the Palace Complex architecture. That aside, the pool at this Hotel is slightly heated and bearable whereas the pool at the Palace is freezing. (Head north from the Palace to the next Hotel, about half a mile along the beach, they have a fully heated outdoor pool with excellent children’s slides) We spent a lot of time in the daytime of the second week at the Grand and found it a pleasant complex. You can use all the facilities as if you were a resident. The beachside restaurant was excellent at lunch. We did however drop our guard on the last day and ate food from a beachside burger bar at the Grand. Within 24 hours we all had a stomach bug. The food was prepared and served by staff without any regard to the meticulous hygiene regime observed by all other restaurants we ate in and we have only ourselves to blame for ignoring the fact that no one wore rubber gloves and were preparing food with their bare hands by the beach!
The rooms are not finished to a high standard. (Or at least ours was not) The green sofa was covered in stains and the floor was marked from the day we arrived until the day we left with footprints and liquid stains. The hinges on the small built in wardrobe were broken, the doors warped and the veneer peeling. There was a fly screen draped around the head of the bed from a ring suspended from the ceiling. This had a significant amount of trapped dead insects within its folds. The Mini Bar has tree tins of pop at a pound each. two tins of lager at £2 each, two bottles water at £1 each and two small bars of chocolate at a £1 each. There was also a large bag of crisps (very good) at a £1. Trouble was, we emptied the Bar one day and it took 3 days to refill it!
I was approached at least daily, usually when alone, by staff wishing to change 3 pound coins into notes! This always seemed to be akin to some underhand drugs deal and most unwelcome. If all the staff are as good as some of the previous reviewers have stated, perhaps they should have facilitated there need to exchange their coins to notes?
The staff are shipped in on three week basis from as far away as Cairo as there is insufficient populous to supply the demand for staff to all the Hotels. They informed me they were in receipt of around £15 a week and all tips were handed to the team captain to be redistributed amongst the staff dependant on role. I tipped because I wanted to and at times the response was overwhelming. At other times I may as well have insulted them. (This was very evident in the Dome which had by far the most staff in a restaurant and perhaps the highest case of tip division?)
Would we go again? NO. Seven days would have been a better period to have gone for as we all wanted to come home on the 8th day!
Tips:
Be prepared for mosquito’s bites in restaurants and bar.
Take a kettle.
Take clothes hangers.
Take soap. (5 star?)
Do not get a Visa in Britain (Waste of time and cost us £80 with postage when it would have cost £10 each in Egypt.)
You get clean beach towels every day at about 6.30pm.
Children’s channel on TV is good if you like Tom & Jerry.
Buy your Duty Free at the Hotel or return Airport not on outbound flight. (20% cheaper at the Hurghada Airport)
The all inclusive drinks do not include any of the normal selection. There is no Martini or Malibu type drinks, just Egyptian Whisky, Rum, Vodka & Gin. Martini etc could be puchased at £5 a drink!
Watch the price lists, they are sometimes in Egyptian Pounds but sometime in Euro's.
Hope something I have written helps.
-
- Date of Holiday:Feb 2008
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:MyTravel
" My husband and I have just returned... "
Submitted By: Mrs W Holt
My husband and I have just returned from a fantastic holiday in the all inclusive Makadi palace. we went over to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary we had a cake made (which was beautiful) we booked into one of the restaurant and when we went to be seated they had decorated the table with a lovely bunch of flowers free of charge this restaurant you do have to pay not that expensive thou.
Rooms were large the beds were super king-size and perfectly clean. You have a TV in your room with some English channels for the little ones, was given clean towels every day and also given towels for the beach the complex looks great when lit up on the night. Was warned about building work next door but we never heard any noise. The bellboys and the room attendants could not do enough for you, the food was good lots to choose from not a lot of English people about but we did go at the beginning of the season.
Beach is lovely but it is rocky when you try to get into the sea but then the red sea is protected for the corals so do wear shoes or you will cut your feet. It does get cold on the nights so do take a jacket you do need to tip we found if you tip in English money you end up changing it back into Egyptian money for the waiters do take plenty of small Egyptian notes for tips and for when you go out on other trips as you will need it for the toilets they will not give you any change (please note very hard to get small Egyptian money so if you can get hold of it save it ).
The entertainment was not that good some nights were better than others you can use the grand Makadi next door but we found that it was outside entertainment and it was cold they do have gas heaters near the tables thou. Please don’t let this put you off we were just expecting more with it been a very big complex we went over to the valley of the kings which was a 4 hour trip each way but worth doing the complex is very clean overall a great holiday and will be going back.
Thank you for a great holiday Makadi palace staff x
Rooms were large the beds were super king-size and perfectly clean. You have a TV in your room with some English channels for the little ones, was given clean towels every day and also given towels for the beach the complex looks great when lit up on the night. Was warned about building work next door but we never heard any noise. The bellboys and the room attendants could not do enough for you, the food was good lots to choose from not a lot of English people about but we did go at the beginning of the season.
Beach is lovely but it is rocky when you try to get into the sea but then the red sea is protected for the corals so do wear shoes or you will cut your feet. It does get cold on the nights so do take a jacket you do need to tip we found if you tip in English money you end up changing it back into Egyptian money for the waiters do take plenty of small Egyptian notes for tips and for when you go out on other trips as you will need it for the toilets they will not give you any change (please note very hard to get small Egyptian money so if you can get hold of it save it ).
The entertainment was not that good some nights were better than others you can use the grand Makadi next door but we found that it was outside entertainment and it was cold they do have gas heaters near the tables thou. Please don’t let this put you off we were just expecting more with it been a very big complex we went over to the valley of the kings which was a 4 hour trip each way but worth doing the complex is very clean overall a great holiday and will be going back.
Thank you for a great holiday Makadi palace staff x
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- Date of Holiday:Jan 2008
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Thomas Cook
" Wow! Fantastic… yes, this is... "
Submitted By: laalaa
Wow! Fantastic… yes, this is definitely a beautiful hotel, fantastic grounds.
I, my partner, and two teenagers (16 and 18 years) went to this hotel for two weeks. We were all impressed and were sorry to leave when the time came. We felt we almost had the hotel to our selves (because of the time of year).
The food was good (not fantastic) and the waiters were very attentive. You dare not finish a drink as soon as there was only a little in your glass left, they brought you another. It amazed me that they also remembered what you drank when you went back another day. My daughter got a lot of attention from the waiters (sometimes a little too much!) this did annoy us sometimes and my daughter sometimes felt a little uncomfortable.
Some advice if you come here in December you will definitely require warm clothing for the evening, warm jumpers and maybe a light coat, we did not bring enough.
The pool looks so tempting, do not be fooled! Only the brave dared to go in. I think we witnessed two go in, within the two weeks we were there; one of them was my son. He said that he would go in, on the last day he decided to jump! I never saw anyone jump out of the water so quick! He reminded of a ninja in one of those films.
You won’t regret booking this hotel; I wish I could go back.
I, my partner, and two teenagers (16 and 18 years) went to this hotel for two weeks. We were all impressed and were sorry to leave when the time came. We felt we almost had the hotel to our selves (because of the time of year).
The food was good (not fantastic) and the waiters were very attentive. You dare not finish a drink as soon as there was only a little in your glass left, they brought you another. It amazed me that they also remembered what you drank when you went back another day. My daughter got a lot of attention from the waiters (sometimes a little too much!) this did annoy us sometimes and my daughter sometimes felt a little uncomfortable.
Some advice if you come here in December you will definitely require warm clothing for the evening, warm jumpers and maybe a light coat, we did not bring enough.
The pool looks so tempting, do not be fooled! Only the brave dared to go in. I think we witnessed two go in, within the two weeks we were there; one of them was my son. He said that he would go in, on the last day he decided to jump! I never saw anyone jump out of the water so quick! He reminded of a ninja in one of those films.
You won’t regret booking this hotel; I wish I could go back.
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- Date of Holiday:Dec 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Thomson
" I just wanted to say that we had an... "
Submitted By: Mr K Harper
I just wanted to say that we had an excellent holiday back in February this year, one of the best we've had. The hotel itself was amazing, very clean with extremely helpful staff, and a good selection of food from all of the restaurants on site. The only downside here was having to book to get into the Carribean or Italian restaurants, and it seemed like they didn't take too many bookings. You need to get in early, like the day you arrive! There are plenty of buffet bars, and you can go to the Makadi Palace and use 2 of the restaurants there as well. We did, and they are equally as good.There are also 2 buffet bars on the beach front, for lunchtime food, and they were very useful, and very good too.
The swimming pools were superb. Being heated helped a lot of course, though this did mean that you had a lot of people from the Makadi Palace coming over, as the pools there are not heated. We also liked that once you had found a place to settle, the staff came along with mattresses for the benches.
We had a Junior Suite, which was excellent, with an enormous bed! They had put in a temporary bed for my daughter, who was thrilled that they came and made it everyday! (She's 7). Our room was only 50 yards from the superb beach, which was clean and had plenty of sunshades and benches.
The only downside of the beach here, is the reef, which has no jetties over it, so to get to open sea you need reef shoes or a long walk around! To be honest reef shoes aren't enough, and we felt it a bit dangerous for youngsters. There was also a huge jelly fish explosion while we were there, which didn't help!
The only other thing lacking was evening entertainment, which consisted of some dreadful singers! We couldn't listen for more than 5 minutes! There were activities for the kids though, and bars for the adults. The nice thing was there were no people rolling around drunk and being a pain, despite the free booze on offer with all inclusive. It just isn't that sort of place (thankfully!).
Overall then, truly great and recommended. Now, there is a big BUT coming......
We wanted to go back next year (2008), but our tour operator merged and so we went to Thomas Cook, who handle all of MyTravels holidays now. After much research by them, it has transpired that no tour operator in England is using this hotel, or the Palace any more. It has effectively been blocked to English travellers. I can't find out why this is, and there is certainly no availability to me online either. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has found this too. What a shame!
The swimming pools were superb. Being heated helped a lot of course, though this did mean that you had a lot of people from the Makadi Palace coming over, as the pools there are not heated. We also liked that once you had found a place to settle, the staff came along with mattresses for the benches.
We had a Junior Suite, which was excellent, with an enormous bed! They had put in a temporary bed for my daughter, who was thrilled that they came and made it everyday! (She's 7). Our room was only 50 yards from the superb beach, which was clean and had plenty of sunshades and benches.
The only downside of the beach here, is the reef, which has no jetties over it, so to get to open sea you need reef shoes or a long walk around! To be honest reef shoes aren't enough, and we felt it a bit dangerous for youngsters. There was also a huge jelly fish explosion while we were there, which didn't help!
The only other thing lacking was evening entertainment, which consisted of some dreadful singers! We couldn't listen for more than 5 minutes! There were activities for the kids though, and bars for the adults. The nice thing was there were no people rolling around drunk and being a pain, despite the free booze on offer with all inclusive. It just isn't that sort of place (thankfully!).
Overall then, truly great and recommended. Now, there is a big BUT coming......
We wanted to go back next year (2008), but our tour operator merged and so we went to Thomas Cook, who handle all of MyTravels holidays now. After much research by them, it has transpired that no tour operator in England is using this hotel, or the Palace any more. It has effectively been blocked to English travellers. I can't find out why this is, and there is certainly no availability to me online either. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has found this too. What a shame!
-
- Date of Holiday:Feb 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:MyTravel
" Overview: Makadi Palace is not, in my... "
Submitted By: keith204
Overview: Makadi Palace is not, in my opinion, a 5* hotel nor is it, strictly speaking, all-inclusive as certain charges apply to various restaurants and bars depending mainly on the time of day you eat/drink there.
It is very clean, well maintained hotel the grounds of which are of a very high standard and at night-time really beautiful. The large pool which runs through almost the entire complex gives the appearance of several pools linked together and several bridges cross the water at various points so you don't have to walk all the way round to get somewhere. Disabled access appears to be good.
Visitors to Makadi Palace also have access to all the amenities at the adjacent Grand Makadi while Grand Makadi residents can gain access to some Palace restaurants or can pay for an upgrade to access ALL Palace amenities.
Rooms: These are clean and spacious and have either a balcony or terrace overlooking the pool, the Red Sea or mountains (desert) depending on which side of the complex you're on.
They're cleaned and the bedding changed daily as are the beach towels. There is TV and a (very) mini bar which you have to pay for. Very comfortable.
Dining: Breakfast is served at both Discovery and Dome. As well as the buffet, there are live cooking stations that serve up fresh omelettes, fried eggs and such like. You won't get the Full English here but there's lots on offer to suit different tastes.
Lunch can be had at Melange (next to Dome) again featuring live cooking stations as well as buffet or Thai Garden restaurant with Asian cuisine or Botanical Garden featuring a Mediterranean menu . This restaurant carries an additional charge. We both favoured either the Sunset Grill which has burgers and the like or the Rendezvous which has quite a wide selection of snacks including, pastries, sandwiches, pancakes, tasty sweets and a delicious beef and cheese baguette with fries. Very yummy this one!
Dinner is served by most of the restaurants. Dome and Melange are the main all-inclusive ones and offers international menu's which change nightly as well as live cooking stations. There's loads to choose from, even for a very fussy eater like me. Dome in particular also has lovely sweets and cakes. You WILL put weight on! Discovery and Thai Garden are with reservation only and Sunset and Botanical garden carry an extra charge.
As a Palace resident you can also try the restaurants over at Grand Makadi. We dined at the Italian (reservation) which does Spag.Bol, Pizza etc. and we were served by a very overbearing chap who asked us if we were ok every 2 minutes or so and another, slightly less annoying bloke. I think they both expected a tip but only the less annoying chap got one.
Poolside: Loads of sunbeds available, even later on in the morning so there's no need to get up at some ungodly hour to put your towels out like some do. Yes, you know who I mean! Tip one of the lads on receiving your first drink with something small like 5 or 10 Egyptian Pounds and he'll look after you all day. When you're finished, tip him again with a 20 Pound note (about £2) and he'll be well happy. Try and stick with one pool boy if you can or you'll be shelling tips out everywhere. We had a great young guy called Sahid (sorry about the spelling) and not only did he look after us every day, he also took us on a guided tour of Hurgardah where, in his own time, he showed us round the best shops for what we wanted and even bartered on our behalf. As an example, we paid around £20 for a load of T-shirts and tops that the shop owner wanted £40 for.
Sahid also took us for an Egyptian meal (not too good this bit for me but managed to eat something...bit of what looked like spare ribs and beans and rice). We finished the night with an Egyptian coffee at a local bar and watched a band. We felt extremely lucky to experience REAL Egypt, something we wouldn't have experienced without Sahid's help. He paid for the meals and coffee AND taxis to get us around. At the end of the night he even paid for a taxi to get us back to the Palace. He paid the driver £50 Egyptian (about £5) which is a lot less than we would have paid had we done it on our own. We gave Sahid 200 Egyptian Pounds (£20) for his efforts and we thought it was well worth it. Smashing lad and he even bought us presents.
Beach: The Red Sea is beautiful beyond belief. Get some sea-shoes, mask and snorkel then take some bread rolls from the breakfast buffet and go snorkelling. Wade out till you get 4 or 5 ft deep then go underwater and hold a bread roll in front of you. In an instant you will be surrounded by the most vibrantly coloured, most beautiful fish you will ever see. Masses of them. This is truly amazing and it will be a highlight of your holiday if you try it. You don't even have to try to stay afloat. The Red Sea is very buoyant and you'll have no trouble. You MUST do this!
Entertainment: The Animation team do their best but unless you're easily pleased, the entertainment on offer is dire. Several singers take turns, at various times, to massacre popular songs with efforts that wouldn't even make it to an x-factor audition. One night we dropped in at the Piano Bar (which curiously has in its centre a grand piano which never gets played) only to encounter some Russian girl strangling the last remnants of life out of "I will survive". We took our seats, stayed about 20 seconds then ran out into the night. "I will survive?" I wouldn't bet on it girl. Best one in the Piano Bar is a young man who plays quite a mean electric guitar but almost everyone else is best avoided. Still, takes all sorts I suppose.
Summary: Great place to stay for guaranteed wall to wall sunshine, good food and a luxurious ambience. I've read lots of reviews about people getting ill but we were fine. We avoided any salads and only ate foods that were freshly cooked in front of us and that were piping hot.
It is extremely difficult to get hold of small Egyptian currency eg: £10 notes (about £1) so take as many £1 coins or Euro's, even dollars, as you can. These are gratefully accepted and it will save you a lot in tips and believe me you will be expected to tip a LOT!
Some of the restaurants and bars incur an extra charge which seems petty considering the all-inclusive items on offer. The Piano Bar is all-inclusive but only till midnight. Order a drink at 1 minute past and you'll have to pay and at 20 Egyptian Pounds (£2) for half a beer it's not cheap. So order, say, 6 drinks at 11.55 and save yourself some cash!
Despite what other reviews say, I found the beer and wine excellent. Curiously, wine is served in very large glasses but beer is only available as 1/2 pints.
Some of the restaurants that charge will pester you to book a table as you laze by the pool. It's up to you but I just say, "Sorry, I've paid an all-inclusive price so I'll eat all-inclusive thank you", or some other spiel.
All in all, a very nice place. I would say it's not suitable for teenagers or young 20somethings. It's a resort bounded by sea on one side and desert on the others so it's very self-contained and you could go stir-crazy unless you take 1 or more of the excursions on offer. We did the overnight Luxor trip including Valley of the Kings and undertook a 2 day scuba diving course which was unbelievable!
We will go back to the Red Sea but probably try a different hotel. As for the Makadi Palace, it's great, so go for it!
It is very clean, well maintained hotel the grounds of which are of a very high standard and at night-time really beautiful. The large pool which runs through almost the entire complex gives the appearance of several pools linked together and several bridges cross the water at various points so you don't have to walk all the way round to get somewhere. Disabled access appears to be good.
Visitors to Makadi Palace also have access to all the amenities at the adjacent Grand Makadi while Grand Makadi residents can gain access to some Palace restaurants or can pay for an upgrade to access ALL Palace amenities.
Rooms: These are clean and spacious and have either a balcony or terrace overlooking the pool, the Red Sea or mountains (desert) depending on which side of the complex you're on.
They're cleaned and the bedding changed daily as are the beach towels. There is TV and a (very) mini bar which you have to pay for. Very comfortable.
Dining: Breakfast is served at both Discovery and Dome. As well as the buffet, there are live cooking stations that serve up fresh omelettes, fried eggs and such like. You won't get the Full English here but there's lots on offer to suit different tastes.
Lunch can be had at Melange (next to Dome) again featuring live cooking stations as well as buffet or Thai Garden restaurant with Asian cuisine or Botanical Garden featuring a Mediterranean menu . This restaurant carries an additional charge. We both favoured either the Sunset Grill which has burgers and the like or the Rendezvous which has quite a wide selection of snacks including, pastries, sandwiches, pancakes, tasty sweets and a delicious beef and cheese baguette with fries. Very yummy this one!
Dinner is served by most of the restaurants. Dome and Melange are the main all-inclusive ones and offers international menu's which change nightly as well as live cooking stations. There's loads to choose from, even for a very fussy eater like me. Dome in particular also has lovely sweets and cakes. You WILL put weight on! Discovery and Thai Garden are with reservation only and Sunset and Botanical garden carry an extra charge.
As a Palace resident you can also try the restaurants over at Grand Makadi. We dined at the Italian (reservation) which does Spag.Bol, Pizza etc. and we were served by a very overbearing chap who asked us if we were ok every 2 minutes or so and another, slightly less annoying bloke. I think they both expected a tip but only the less annoying chap got one.
Poolside: Loads of sunbeds available, even later on in the morning so there's no need to get up at some ungodly hour to put your towels out like some do. Yes, you know who I mean! Tip one of the lads on receiving your first drink with something small like 5 or 10 Egyptian Pounds and he'll look after you all day. When you're finished, tip him again with a 20 Pound note (about £2) and he'll be well happy. Try and stick with one pool boy if you can or you'll be shelling tips out everywhere. We had a great young guy called Sahid (sorry about the spelling) and not only did he look after us every day, he also took us on a guided tour of Hurgardah where, in his own time, he showed us round the best shops for what we wanted and even bartered on our behalf. As an example, we paid around £20 for a load of T-shirts and tops that the shop owner wanted £40 for.
Sahid also took us for an Egyptian meal (not too good this bit for me but managed to eat something...bit of what looked like spare ribs and beans and rice). We finished the night with an Egyptian coffee at a local bar and watched a band. We felt extremely lucky to experience REAL Egypt, something we wouldn't have experienced without Sahid's help. He paid for the meals and coffee AND taxis to get us around. At the end of the night he even paid for a taxi to get us back to the Palace. He paid the driver £50 Egyptian (about £5) which is a lot less than we would have paid had we done it on our own. We gave Sahid 200 Egyptian Pounds (£20) for his efforts and we thought it was well worth it. Smashing lad and he even bought us presents.
Beach: The Red Sea is beautiful beyond belief. Get some sea-shoes, mask and snorkel then take some bread rolls from the breakfast buffet and go snorkelling. Wade out till you get 4 or 5 ft deep then go underwater and hold a bread roll in front of you. In an instant you will be surrounded by the most vibrantly coloured, most beautiful fish you will ever see. Masses of them. This is truly amazing and it will be a highlight of your holiday if you try it. You don't even have to try to stay afloat. The Red Sea is very buoyant and you'll have no trouble. You MUST do this!
Entertainment: The Animation team do their best but unless you're easily pleased, the entertainment on offer is dire. Several singers take turns, at various times, to massacre popular songs with efforts that wouldn't even make it to an x-factor audition. One night we dropped in at the Piano Bar (which curiously has in its centre a grand piano which never gets played) only to encounter some Russian girl strangling the last remnants of life out of "I will survive". We took our seats, stayed about 20 seconds then ran out into the night. "I will survive?" I wouldn't bet on it girl. Best one in the Piano Bar is a young man who plays quite a mean electric guitar but almost everyone else is best avoided. Still, takes all sorts I suppose.
Summary: Great place to stay for guaranteed wall to wall sunshine, good food and a luxurious ambience. I've read lots of reviews about people getting ill but we were fine. We avoided any salads and only ate foods that were freshly cooked in front of us and that were piping hot.
It is extremely difficult to get hold of small Egyptian currency eg: £10 notes (about £1) so take as many £1 coins or Euro's, even dollars, as you can. These are gratefully accepted and it will save you a lot in tips and believe me you will be expected to tip a LOT!
Some of the restaurants and bars incur an extra charge which seems petty considering the all-inclusive items on offer. The Piano Bar is all-inclusive but only till midnight. Order a drink at 1 minute past and you'll have to pay and at 20 Egyptian Pounds (£2) for half a beer it's not cheap. So order, say, 6 drinks at 11.55 and save yourself some cash!
Despite what other reviews say, I found the beer and wine excellent. Curiously, wine is served in very large glasses but beer is only available as 1/2 pints.
Some of the restaurants that charge will pester you to book a table as you laze by the pool. It's up to you but I just say, "Sorry, I've paid an all-inclusive price so I'll eat all-inclusive thank you", or some other spiel.
All in all, a very nice place. I would say it's not suitable for teenagers or young 20somethings. It's a resort bounded by sea on one side and desert on the others so it's very self-contained and you could go stir-crazy unless you take 1 or more of the excursions on offer. We did the overnight Luxor trip including Valley of the Kings and undertook a 2 day scuba diving course which was unbelievable!
We will go back to the Red Sea but probably try a different hotel. As for the Makadi Palace, it's great, so go for it!
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- Date of Holiday:Oct 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:MyTravel
" What can I say about this hotel apart... "
Submitted By: Mr S Mustoe
What can I say about this hotel apart from fantastic. Had a great two weeks at the Grand Makadi.
The rooms are huge and look great. The only grudge that I had was the food at the buffet restaurant which was very poor, as this was my second time to Egypt I already had in mind what a 5 star hotel would provide on a buffet and I’m afraid it did not measure up to magic life in Sharm el Sheikh.
Other than that could not fault anything with this hotel. All the staff are very helpful at this hotel and would do anything for you especially, Hany, who was one of the nicest people I have ever met, he was always checking to see of you were ok and if you needed anything.
Also a word for the rep who was very good as my partner was suffering from a stomach upset for a few days, Lucy. The rep went out of her way to pick her some medicine up and even bought my partner a bar of chocolate, now that’s what I call good service.
Have a great time all know you will.
The rooms are huge and look great. The only grudge that I had was the food at the buffet restaurant which was very poor, as this was my second time to Egypt I already had in mind what a 5 star hotel would provide on a buffet and I’m afraid it did not measure up to magic life in Sharm el Sheikh.
Other than that could not fault anything with this hotel. All the staff are very helpful at this hotel and would do anything for you especially, Hany, who was one of the nicest people I have ever met, he was always checking to see of you were ok and if you needed anything.
Also a word for the rep who was very good as my partner was suffering from a stomach upset for a few days, Lucy. The rep went out of her way to pick her some medicine up and even bought my partner a bar of chocolate, now that’s what I call good service.
Have a great time all know you will.
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- Date of Holiday:Mar 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Airtours
" What a surprise! A real gem in the... "
Submitted By: Mrs E Farell
What a surprise! A real gem in the desert, from the rooms to restaurants to whole ambiance
Food - Simply excellent regarding that this is an AI resort, one of the best I have seen in a long time.
Dome - excellent food, a bit busy at times, but could be because of the great food on the buffets. Discovery- is another gem, for excellent risotto.
Sunset grill has excellent steaks, and great relaxing atmosphere!
Will certainly recommend to all my friends.
Food - Simply excellent regarding that this is an AI resort, one of the best I have seen in a long time.
Dome - excellent food, a bit busy at times, but could be because of the great food on the buffets. Discovery- is another gem, for excellent risotto.
Sunset grill has excellent steaks, and great relaxing atmosphere!
Will certainly recommend to all my friends.
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- Date of Holiday:Jun 2007
- Board Basis:Full Board
- Tour Operator:Airtours
" We stayed here in May 2007 and... "
Submitted By: Mrs J Smith
We stayed here in May 2007 and without a doubt the hotel grounds are fabulous but there is no way this is a 5* Hotel.
The food in the Palace was very disappointing, The Dome was awful, and we saw people standing eating their dinner on one evening as there were not enough tables and chairs.
The waiters were really unhelpful and would not reset a table for you.
The Thai restaurant is excellent but you have to book 24 hours in advance, also the Italian and the Caribbean in the Grand Makadi were excellent but you need to book again 24 hours in advance. The Italian was great for lunch though.
There is no real spa or hairdressers so ladies if you want to be pampered here don't bother. A young woman comes round the swimming pool and tries to book you to have massage - this is done inside something that looks like a Dalek, is very noisy and they never shut up talking to each other whilst doing the massage, this was very expensive and really not worth the effort.
The 'beach' immediately outside the hotel is not a beach - it is dead coral and rocks. To get a sandy beach you have to walk for 10 -15 minutes in searing heat with no shade.
Even then there were not that many fish and loads of jelly fish which they assured us were not dangerous, but very unnerving when you swim into one.
We spent most of our time by the pool which is lovely but we could have been anywhere in the world.
We took a day trip on a boat to Paradise Island - like Bank Holiday Monday in Blackpool! I have never seen so many boats and they had to limit your time on the island as one boat off another on!
We then went to a fantastic reef and the fish were tremendous but the real danger was being knocked out by someone else's flipper there were so many people here.
The Excel flight was atrocious on the way out, no leg room, cramped. On the way back they brought back 2 flights in one on a Jumbo Jet so we had a bit more room.
Everyone in our party of 8 had really bad stomach upsets, cramps and this is the third time we have been to Egypt and have never suffered before.
As for the airport... when you have a really violent upset tum and some bright spark tries to charge you for 2 sheets of toilet paper to go into a filthy toilet.... not funny. The airport has a large cafe and loads of shops - all selling junk.
We really are most disappointed and will not be going back to either Hurghada or the Makadi Palace.
The food in the Palace was very disappointing, The Dome was awful, and we saw people standing eating their dinner on one evening as there were not enough tables and chairs.
The waiters were really unhelpful and would not reset a table for you.
The Thai restaurant is excellent but you have to book 24 hours in advance, also the Italian and the Caribbean in the Grand Makadi were excellent but you need to book again 24 hours in advance. The Italian was great for lunch though.
There is no real spa or hairdressers so ladies if you want to be pampered here don't bother. A young woman comes round the swimming pool and tries to book you to have massage - this is done inside something that looks like a Dalek, is very noisy and they never shut up talking to each other whilst doing the massage, this was very expensive and really not worth the effort.
The 'beach' immediately outside the hotel is not a beach - it is dead coral and rocks. To get a sandy beach you have to walk for 10 -15 minutes in searing heat with no shade.
Even then there were not that many fish and loads of jelly fish which they assured us were not dangerous, but very unnerving when you swim into one.
We spent most of our time by the pool which is lovely but we could have been anywhere in the world.
We took a day trip on a boat to Paradise Island - like Bank Holiday Monday in Blackpool! I have never seen so many boats and they had to limit your time on the island as one boat off another on!
We then went to a fantastic reef and the fish were tremendous but the real danger was being knocked out by someone else's flipper there were so many people here.
The Excel flight was atrocious on the way out, no leg room, cramped. On the way back they brought back 2 flights in one on a Jumbo Jet so we had a bit more room.
Everyone in our party of 8 had really bad stomach upsets, cramps and this is the third time we have been to Egypt and have never suffered before.
As for the airport... when you have a really violent upset tum and some bright spark tries to charge you for 2 sheets of toilet paper to go into a filthy toilet.... not funny. The airport has a large cafe and loads of shops - all selling junk.
We really are most disappointed and will not be going back to either Hurghada or the Makadi Palace.
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- Date of Holiday:May 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Panorama
" Hurghada airport is a great deal more... "
Submitted By: Miss T Lee
Hurghada airport is a great deal more civilised than Sharm El Sheikh but the rigmarole is the same.
I'm not as agile and able as I once was, and the walk to our room from reception, where we were dropped with our luggage, was a little bit longer than I would have liked, but there you go.
We went as a party of seven in three "Junior Suites" which were just large rooms with a king size bed, small couch and chair in.
The rooms were kept nice and clean, the towel boy came by each evening to swop over the beach towels and leave us a large bottle of water, and we had no complaints whatsoever about the service we received.
There were none of the little extra's like we have found at other 5 star hotels in Egypt, such as arranging one's towels or pyjama’s into interesting shapes or sculptures, but so what?
We were on the 2nd Floor, quite close to the lift overlooking the rectangular pool, so that's the pool we used all the time. It also meant that when the three boys were on their own and we were in our room we could keep an eye on them.
They were old enough to look after themselves, and just old enough to try to get beer out of the waiters! (The age for drinking alcohol there is 18)
The Thai restaurant was absolutely lovely. I am a vegetarian and they were able to cater for me without too much hassle. The Dome always had good food and plenty of choice. They have a small children’s section with things like pasta, chips, angel delight, and stuff like that.
We could use the facilities and restaurants at the Grand Makadi because we only had three restaurants, but that may be different now. We ate in the Italian at the Grand twice in our two weeks and weren't disappointed. The salad bars in both the Dome and the Italian were great!
At lunchtimes we ate in a little restaurant just to the side of the Dome and, again the salads were lovely.
Sometimes, if the boys wanted an afternoon snack, we went to the pancake bar in the middle of the facility.
The entertainment was interesting. My husband, his dad, and our oldest nephew drank too much beer whilst watching the team perform exerts from the Rocky Horror Show twice! Sad git's!
We took US Dollars to tip with because it's just impossible to get hold of low denomination Egyptian Pounds and we found that a dollar a round of drinks for 7 of us was fine.
They will give you just the same civility and standard of service if you don't tip, but I know their income is very low, and we don't like to take advantage.
We wouldn't hesitate to go back and the only reason I don't want to recommend it to you, dear reader, is that you might go there too and crowd me and my family out!
I'm not as agile and able as I once was, and the walk to our room from reception, where we were dropped with our luggage, was a little bit longer than I would have liked, but there you go.
We went as a party of seven in three "Junior Suites" which were just large rooms with a king size bed, small couch and chair in.
The rooms were kept nice and clean, the towel boy came by each evening to swop over the beach towels and leave us a large bottle of water, and we had no complaints whatsoever about the service we received.
There were none of the little extra's like we have found at other 5 star hotels in Egypt, such as arranging one's towels or pyjama’s into interesting shapes or sculptures, but so what?
We were on the 2nd Floor, quite close to the lift overlooking the rectangular pool, so that's the pool we used all the time. It also meant that when the three boys were on their own and we were in our room we could keep an eye on them.
They were old enough to look after themselves, and just old enough to try to get beer out of the waiters! (The age for drinking alcohol there is 18)
The Thai restaurant was absolutely lovely. I am a vegetarian and they were able to cater for me without too much hassle. The Dome always had good food and plenty of choice. They have a small children’s section with things like pasta, chips, angel delight, and stuff like that.
We could use the facilities and restaurants at the Grand Makadi because we only had three restaurants, but that may be different now. We ate in the Italian at the Grand twice in our two weeks and weren't disappointed. The salad bars in both the Dome and the Italian were great!
At lunchtimes we ate in a little restaurant just to the side of the Dome and, again the salads were lovely.
Sometimes, if the boys wanted an afternoon snack, we went to the pancake bar in the middle of the facility.
The entertainment was interesting. My husband, his dad, and our oldest nephew drank too much beer whilst watching the team perform exerts from the Rocky Horror Show twice! Sad git's!
We took US Dollars to tip with because it's just impossible to get hold of low denomination Egyptian Pounds and we found that a dollar a round of drinks for 7 of us was fine.
They will give you just the same civility and standard of service if you don't tip, but I know their income is very low, and we don't like to take advantage.
We wouldn't hesitate to go back and the only reason I don't want to recommend it to you, dear reader, is that you might go there too and crowd me and my family out!
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- Date of Holiday:Jul 2006
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Airtours
" Absolutely stunning, exactly how the... "
Submitted By: snook
Absolutely stunning, exactly how the brochure explained, no nasty surprises. It was perfect.
The hotel was spotless, the staff went out of their way to help (not just because they were getting tips). We got a free upgrade to a junior suite which was like an apartment we thought we were sharing it was that big! Stunning views of the sea and gardens. We were right on the beach.
The food was fantastic with a choice of Lebanese, Italian, barbeques, Caribbean. We tried them all it was nice being made to feel so welcome.
We did a couple of trips one out on a sea trip snorkelling, taking us to Giftun island, and the other quad biking ...both were excellent value for money, and even managed to have a ride on a camel during the quad bike trip ...it’s the third time now to Egypt and we were so impressed we have booked to stay again in October.
In particular one member of staff called Hany (he was a shift leader on the door in green polo shirt) made us so welcome he met us twice during our holiday and took us to some places we might not have gone to, and got us some fantastic bargains on presents, he was a gem.
We took him out with us one night to the Hard Rock Cafe in Hurghada and he cried, he was so overwhelmed. He was happy to come out with us for nothing in return.
What a fantastic country and people ... can’t wait to return.
The hotel was spotless, the staff went out of their way to help (not just because they were getting tips). We got a free upgrade to a junior suite which was like an apartment we thought we were sharing it was that big! Stunning views of the sea and gardens. We were right on the beach.
The food was fantastic with a choice of Lebanese, Italian, barbeques, Caribbean. We tried them all it was nice being made to feel so welcome.
We did a couple of trips one out on a sea trip snorkelling, taking us to Giftun island, and the other quad biking ...both were excellent value for money, and even managed to have a ride on a camel during the quad bike trip ...it’s the third time now to Egypt and we were so impressed we have booked to stay again in October.
In particular one member of staff called Hany (he was a shift leader on the door in green polo shirt) made us so welcome he met us twice during our holiday and took us to some places we might not have gone to, and got us some fantastic bargains on presents, he was a gem.
We took him out with us one night to the Hard Rock Cafe in Hurghada and he cried, he was so overwhelmed. He was happy to come out with us for nothing in return.
What a fantastic country and people ... can’t wait to return.
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- Date of Holiday:May 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Direct Holidays
" We have just returned from a week at... "
Submitted By: icn1
We have just returned from a week at the Makadi Palace. If you want a complete chill out in beautiful surroundings with excellent service this is the place for you!
The hotel is immaculate, the gardens are beautiful, the service is excellent, and the food is good.
We preferred the Discovery Restaurant for breakfast as it was quieter and more relaxing than the Dome, but still with a good choice of hot and cold food.
At night we tended to prebook the speciality restaurants which were excellent, the Thai was really good and the Caribbean was fantastic (our favourite).
The staff were polite and charming and they couldn’t do enough for you! We took our own snorkels (John Lewis £15) and went snorkelling every day the fish were amazing.
You can buy under water cameras from the hotel shop.
We would definitely recommend this hotel and will be returning next year.
The hotel is immaculate, the gardens are beautiful, the service is excellent, and the food is good.
We preferred the Discovery Restaurant for breakfast as it was quieter and more relaxing than the Dome, but still with a good choice of hot and cold food.
At night we tended to prebook the speciality restaurants which were excellent, the Thai was really good and the Caribbean was fantastic (our favourite).
The staff were polite and charming and they couldn’t do enough for you! We took our own snorkels (John Lewis £15) and went snorkelling every day the fish were amazing.
You can buy under water cameras from the hotel shop.
We would definitely recommend this hotel and will be returning next year.
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- Date of Holiday:May 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Direct Holidays
" Beware: Went to this hotel in March... "
Submitted By: Miss L Jones
Beware: Went to this hotel in March 2007 for 1 week. On checking in, they said that they had given us a suite free of charge!
It was a huge room but was dirty and looked like a butlins chalet. It had 5 windows and a balcony overlooking a building site. There was also a security guard sat outside our window at night. We demanded to change rooms.
They were not very accommodating and told us to come back in the morning. We eventually changed room which was not as big but comfortable.
It was a good 10 mins walk to the main pool as complex is so big. Not enough beds at the beach, and most of the good pool beds were gone by 7.30am.
Pool boys were lovely and put umbrellas up for you and put your towel down.
Hotel was very nice, very big, did not know where any of the restaurants were as complex is so big and there were no signs.
Rep meeting was all about selling trips we asked about info about the hotel but we were told to ask at reception!!
After the 3rd day of eating at the buffet (same food all the time) we found the Grand Makadi hotel next door and could use their facilities, but they could not use ours. We went to the Italian which was fab, and the Caribbean which was also good.
The food was far better at this hotel and in my opinion I would save your money and go to this hotel.
Entertainment was very poor. Cheap alcohol that you could not drink.
Staff were far too friendly, you did not get a minute’s peace, they were asking to change English coins into notes. Word gets around and they would hassle you, but in a nice way.
The party of 4 all suffered from sickness and diarrhoea, we thought it was food poisoning until we got back to the UK. We actually caught a virus.
I will never go back to Egypt, the airport was a nightmare. No air conditioning people begging for money, security and passport control taking your bags a asking for £1.
Toilet attendants took all toilet rolls and were asking for £1.
Biggest scam: scales at check-in were broken and they were trying to charge for excess baggage, they were pocketing the money. We demanded to see a rep but no reps are allowed in the airport!!!
If you are looking for a quality 4-5* holiday at reasonable prices all inclusive, please go to Tunisia at the Iberostar Phenicia. We have been 5 times and love the place. The food is fantastic, (never had a dodgy tummy) weather is fab, people are amazing. Can't speak highly enough f the place.
Good Luck!!
It was a huge room but was dirty and looked like a butlins chalet. It had 5 windows and a balcony overlooking a building site. There was also a security guard sat outside our window at night. We demanded to change rooms.
They were not very accommodating and told us to come back in the morning. We eventually changed room which was not as big but comfortable.
It was a good 10 mins walk to the main pool as complex is so big. Not enough beds at the beach, and most of the good pool beds were gone by 7.30am.
Pool boys were lovely and put umbrellas up for you and put your towel down.
Hotel was very nice, very big, did not know where any of the restaurants were as complex is so big and there were no signs.
Rep meeting was all about selling trips we asked about info about the hotel but we were told to ask at reception!!
After the 3rd day of eating at the buffet (same food all the time) we found the Grand Makadi hotel next door and could use their facilities, but they could not use ours. We went to the Italian which was fab, and the Caribbean which was also good.
The food was far better at this hotel and in my opinion I would save your money and go to this hotel.
Entertainment was very poor. Cheap alcohol that you could not drink.
Staff were far too friendly, you did not get a minute’s peace, they were asking to change English coins into notes. Word gets around and they would hassle you, but in a nice way.
The party of 4 all suffered from sickness and diarrhoea, we thought it was food poisoning until we got back to the UK. We actually caught a virus.
I will never go back to Egypt, the airport was a nightmare. No air conditioning people begging for money, security and passport control taking your bags a asking for £1.
Toilet attendants took all toilet rolls and were asking for £1.
Biggest scam: scales at check-in were broken and they were trying to charge for excess baggage, they were pocketing the money. We demanded to see a rep but no reps are allowed in the airport!!!
If you are looking for a quality 4-5* holiday at reasonable prices all inclusive, please go to Tunisia at the Iberostar Phenicia. We have been 5 times and love the place. The food is fantastic, (never had a dodgy tummy) weather is fab, people are amazing. Can't speak highly enough f the place.
Good Luck!!
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- Date of Holiday:Mar 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:MyTravel
" Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic.... "
Submitted By: Mrs E Whittaker
Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic. This is the third time we have been to the resort.
First time only the Grand was open and we saw the palace being built, second time saying in the Palace, part of it was open and the remainder still being built and the last time we stayed in the Grand and upgraded our bands to use all the facilities of both hotels.
The whole place is amazing and just keeps getting better each time we go; this is one place we will just keep going back to.
You can guarantee sun, friendliness, clean and beautifully presented hotel, extremely good value for money
Like I said at the start, just fantastic.
First time only the Grand was open and we saw the palace being built, second time saying in the Palace, part of it was open and the remainder still being built and the last time we stayed in the Grand and upgraded our bands to use all the facilities of both hotels.
The whole place is amazing and just keeps getting better each time we go; this is one place we will just keep going back to.
You can guarantee sun, friendliness, clean and beautifully presented hotel, extremely good value for money
Like I said at the start, just fantastic.
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- Date of Holiday:Mar 2007
- Board Basis:All Inclusive
- Tour Operator:Direct Holidays
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Advice: Be very careful and look after yourself, don't even use the water to brush your teeth
Activities:
Good for: Beach