Fort Arabesque

"We had a truly wonderful stay at the Fort, in a villa. The villa was so spacious and beautifully appointed with extras such as blackout blinds, welcome fruit, wine and cakes, drying racks, sun loungers, a beach bag and a stocked mini fridge including pringles and chocolate. It was also such a treat being able to have our clothes washed and ironed during our stay. It’s not often you return from holiday with a suitcase of clean clothes! Our dedicated beach cabana with coolbox was really appreciated considering how busy the beach was with other hotel guests, and it was just steps away from the fabulous house reef. We have snorkelled all over the world and the sorkelling here is simply fabulous. The reef is so colourful and vibrant with an amazing variety and quantity of fish of all sizes. The lifeguards work hard to keep people away from the reef when entering and leaving the sea and we were impressed at how respectful people were of the reef, especially considering how close it was to the beach. So bring a mask and snorkel and don’t miss out on the magical underwater world! The al a carte restaurants were also wonderful - the quality of the food and service were first class. We couldn't fault it in any way. This includes the Greek restaurant which is a great addition. We would also recommend the spa - we had a fabulous 2 hour experience which was one of the best spa experiences we’ve had, and we've had many! Finally it wouldn’t be right for me to not mention the staff who all worked so hard to make our holiday as enjoyable as possible. Every single one of them greeted us and served us with a smile and made our holiday so special. We spent a day in Luxor and the hotel kindly provided us with a breakfast bag to take with us, which was ready for us in reception at 4am as requested. Honestly, nothing was too much trouble and the service we received was always 1st class. If we could suggest some improvements, one thing would be to not allow smoking in the restaurants and to have dedicated smoking areas only. This would improve the dining experience for everyone and allow non-smokers to sit outside in addition to inside whilst eating. The hotel should also consider introducing more toilets around the resort as there really aren’t enough for the number of people. And from a sustainability point of view the hotel should consider how to reduce their plastic usage, particularly in terms of water bottles and straws. But otherwise, this is a fantastic hotel and although we very rarely return to the same place, we will most definitely be going back."

"We are staying at Fort Arabesque for a week, having upgraded to the Presidential Suite (lucky us 🙂), which is a lovely room with fabulous views. We popped into the West Bay buffet restaurant as it was closing to pick up 4 small cakes to have back at our room on the balcony with a cup of tea, something we have done in this resort for many years, this being our 4th visit over 6 years. As we were leaving the restaurant, one of the servers stopped us and, in front of other guests, told us that we could not take any cakes out of the restaurant. Embarrassing right! We explained it was just 4 very small cakes, but he was adamant that this was not allowed anymore. We said we were doing nothing wrong is a 5 star all-inclusive resort, so he shouted for the restaurant manager to come over. More embarrassment 🙁 He came over and insisted we either eat the cakes in the closing restaurant now or pay for room service. We again explained that all the guests we know who come here (and we know a lot) all take cakes back to their rooms and have done so for years, and it was only 4 very small cakes! He then insisted we walk to the West Bay reception to talk to the manager there, which we reluctantly did. The reception manager was more understanding of our request and gestured to the restaurant manager to let it go, but he would not back down. Instead, in front of even more guests, he explained that he had worked in hotels in 5 other countries and none of them allowed 4 small cakes to be taken to your room, however, each country he listed we have also visited, and the opposite was true. Even more embarrassing, right? Eventually, he tried to take the plate so that he could deliver it to our room, I said that was ridiculous, so we took the small plate back ourselves. So be warned, if you come to stay at Fort Arabesque, forget taking any cakes back to your room to have with a cup of tea on you balcony. You will be publicly reprimanded if you do! Apart from that, it's been a nice holiday so far, but we are not sure we will be returning after last nights odd experience as it leaves you feeling more than a little uncomfortable and unwelcome."

"Myself and my husband had the best holiday. So much so, we have just booked for next year. Villa was beautiful, very clean and the bed was super comfortable. We had a bottle of wine , snacks and cakes in the room when we arrived. Lots of toiletries, which was amazing, fluffy bathrobes and slippers. Also a little gift in the room. Mini bar is the best, restocked constantly with drinks, chocolates, crisps and nuts. The house keeping team were perfect, rooms cleaned to a high standard. Nothing was too much trouble. Turn down service in the evening and left little cookies. The swim up!!!! Amazing, comfy sun loungers and sun all day long. Pizza delivery to the villa is a nice touch. Pool was a little nippy. Free laundry service was really great, they even stitched a rip in my husbands top. The resort is beautiful and has its own herb garden, immaculate. There was a broken handrail one morning and by the afternoon, it had been repaired, staff work hard and are friendly. The breakfast at the pavillion was 10/10 and lunch dinner at club 159 were also amazing. We loved the staff at the pizza pasta place. Very warm and very funny. Bolognaise was very good. Couldn’t fault the beach service, our drinks were there before we were and always checking in to make sure we were ok. The beach is well looked after and the sea is stunning. Can’t wait to come back next year."