Fort Arabesque

"The Positives: Grounds & Cleanliness: The resort itself is vast, immaculate, highly clean, and very well-maintained. Housekeeping & Dining: Rooms were cleaned daily. Dining options were decent once we figured out what to order. The buffet restaurant was acceptable, and Mastika (the Greek restaurant included for West Bay guests at lunch) offered okay food, though nothing extraordinary. House Reef: The main reason for our visit was the reef, which did not disappoint. It is well-preserved, colorful, calm, accessible directly from the shore, and perfect for beginners. The water temperature in early November was pleasant. Spa Services: The massages at the spa were excellent—10/10 service provided by wonderful Thai therapists. Commendable Staff: A shout-out to the lifeguards, dive center team, towel station crew, Mastika staff, and the buffet team. They were genuinely friendly, hard-working, professional, and courteous without expecting or demanding tips. The Negatives & Key Issues: Security & Pre-Arrival Logistics: Booking directly through the resort’s website led to a data breach. We were targeted by endless phishing scams because third parties had access to our personal details. Additionally, our arrival transport was chaotic: the driver was rude, on the phone for half the journey, and dropped us at the wrong reception. He then handed us over to another driver who demanded extra money for a two-minute drive to the correct building. Constant Sales Harassment & Lack of Resort Accountability: Despite choosing a premium resort to avoid pushy sales tactics, we were constantly hounded on the beach by vendors selling photoshoots, quad tours, spa treatments, and wine dinners. The "red flag" system (meant to stop vendors) is ineffective, as we were only informed about it days into our stay. When we raised these issues, the Front Office Manager explained that these vendors belong to external third-party suppliers operating under a partnership, meaning the resort claims to have no direct control or responsibility over their behavior or what they sell. However, as paying guests, we book with Fort Arabesque expecting these partners to be strictly vetted and managed. We trust the resort brand, so deflecting accountability onto external partners is unacceptable. Misleading Excursions, Deceptive Tactics & Lack of Honesty: Tours and services sold on-site are heavily exaggerated verbally with zero written clarity. Simple honesty would go a long way; we would have happily done the quad tour without the exaggerated claims or misleading details (which would have at least allowed us to dress appropriately for the conditions). Instead, we experienced constant dishonesty and childish behavior. The Quad Safari: Marketed as including a "blue lagoon oasis" and 5 minutes of video footage. In reality, the "lagoon" was simply a deep coastal inlet, and the video was not included, When questioned about it, the vendor explained that WE needed to make the 5 minute video ourselves with our own phones during the break, blaming a "misunderstanding". We were then asked for an extra €40 for photos and videos on site. Photoshoot Deception: The photoshoot package was sold with promises of sunset beach photos, which is physically impossible since the sun sets behind the mountains, not over the sea horizon as shown in the photoshoot booklet example. Aggressive Behavior, Disrespect, and Management Failure: When a vendor asked for feedback the next day (Quad Safari), I politely exercised my right as a guest to express our frustration over misleading sales tactics. He reacted aggressively, speaking disrespectfully to my husband and insulting our intelligence. Furthermore, when I tried to swim away to avoid conflict, he pointed at me and publicly targeted me with insults on the beach—to the point where I had to go to the towel center just to complain and request a red flag. We filed a formal complaint with the Guest Relations team. They were initially apologetic and assured us that the vendor had been fired and banned from the resort. However, the very next day, we saw him walking freely around the resort, smirking at us and continuing to sell tours. When we brought this to the attention of Front Office Manager, he was completely caught off guard. It was clear management had zero oversight of who was operating on their premises. While some staff were pleasant—and the Guest Relations team appeared genuinely apologetic and understanding—telling us that vendor had been fired felt like a complete lie. It seems like the staff constantly miscommunicate or mislead even one another, and in the end, it is the paying guests who are left neglected. Final Incident at Checkout: The lack of professionalism continued to the very end. The transfer driver taking us back to the airport demanded an arbitrary €5 "parking fee" that doesn't even exist. Conclusion: When paying double or triple the rate of surrounding resorts, guests expect a restful experience and basic respect. Instead, we experienced non-stop pressure, deceptive sales, aggressive attitudes, and a complete lack of follow-through from management. I strongly advise future travelers to prepare themselves for constant upselling, dishonesty, and boundary-stepping if they choose to stay here. If you arrive mentally prepared to dodge continuous scams, don't mind paying full price for experiences that deliver only 70% of what was promised, and are willing to overlook outright rudeness, especially towards women, you might still have a good holiday here. Otherwise, stay somewhere else."

"We can only comment on the Villa section as we didn’t really venture into the rest of the resort other than eating at the Greek restaurant and getting some spa treatments. We had a swim-up villa with sea-view which was truly lovely, luxurious and peaceful (to the point of feeling eerily quiet whenever we walked around to go to breakfast, dinner or the beach. I don’t think we ever bumped into a single other guest – a bit strange…) Our cleaning staff (Habib and his colleague) were absolutely lovely and kept us extremely well-stocked with everything. The private pool which leads into a long stretch of common pool was blissful even though you will see other guests swimming past your terrace (luckily, we were in the second-last villa so had very few passing “visitors”). While we were in the top row of villas and thus had maximum “sea-view”, it has to be said that this consists of a fairly narrow stretch of water in the distance – which is dwarfed by the main hotel which looms like a large fortress right in front of the villa section and does rather spoil any view. It is also worth remembering that Hurghada is located at the edge of the desert and there is no pretty scenery to look at (other than the hotel grounds, which are beautifully maintained). In contrast to the dusty, barren landscape, the sea in front of Fort Arabesque is a magical world of colourful sea-life. We have been snorkelling in some of the most beautiful spots around the world but I can honestly say that this place beats them all hands/fins down! The corals are absolutely stunning and show hardly any signs of bleaching and the marine life is breath-taking – and exists literally a few steps from the shore! I really hope local authorities are taking all necessary steps to protect this beautiful unique habitat and preserve it in its current state. We enjoyed our dinners at Club 159 where both the service and food quality were great. We also liked the Spanish-speaking entertainment duo who were both talented and low-key (unlike the Ramstein tribute act we encountered on the main resort stage when we went for a walk on the beach one night…!) Dinner at Mastika was also good, although maybe a bit overrated. Breakfast at the Pavillion definitely improved after our first day experience when they forgot our a la carte order and left us sitting there for a good 45 minutes after everyone had left before serving us. While we never got an apology, they did look after us on subsequent mornings and we did enjoy our various ordered egg dishes, as well as the extensive buffet selection. The spa finally… I booked a back, neck and scalp massage while my husband went for an Egyptian massage. We both enjoyed our treatments although they were decidedly on the vigorous side. There is also a decent steam-room and a pleasant jacuzzi (the sauna was out of order). Where the spa fell down was on the organisational level. On arrival, nobody explained anything to us, showed us the facilities or even provided us with towels or dressing-gowns. We had to ask several times before getting towels. As for the dressing gown, I had to ask three different Thai ladies – who all proceeded to look for it in my locker (I think if it had been in there, I would have located it myself…) while I was standing there shivering… not a pleasant experience. The hard-sell of spa treatments conducted by staff on the beach is also annoying. All in all, we did enjoy our stay in the Villas but were reminded that huge, impersonal AI resorts are not for us (and are way overpriced when you do not eat lunch or consume large quantities of alcohol). The fact that management is expanding the resort even further by building yet another section behind the Villa section is a worrying development indeed. When is huge huge enough?"

"We stayed in the last week of October in villa 26 and without doubt had the most amazing experience. The standout parts of our holiday were the Pavilion, Club 159 and Greek restaurants for food. The staff, particularly the two housekeepers who were all excellent and a credit to the hotel. The vibe, if you want an understated feeling that leaves you chilled then this is the place to stay. The house reef was a place that became addictive. The gardens which are without doubt the best I have ever seen and the guys nurturing the gardens should be applauded. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we we booked for the following year on day 5 of our week and when we got home we upgraded to a villa with a private pool. Excellent work from all at the Fort."