"We visited in September as two 38-year-old women. We’re not big drinkers or party people; we tend to like a mixture of relaxing, exploring and sightseeing on holiday, so hopefully this review is useful for anyone with a similar idea of a holiday.
The Good
Our initial impressions were really positive. The resort itself is lovely and very large, which we appreciated. There are three different pools, plenty of areas to wander around and access to a private beach.
Our room was excellent: large, clean and well maintained, with a jacuzzi bath and a great view across the resort towards the distant sea. The room was also very well stocked with bottled water and other drinks.
This was our first all-inclusive holiday, so we can’t really compare the food to other resorts, but overall we thought it was good. We felt there was plenty of choice and generally found something we fancied. Depending on your package, there are also options to dine down by the beach, which makes a nice change from the main restaurant.
The cleaning staff were absolutely lovely throughout our stay. Unfortunately, we both became unwell during the holiday and when we asked for something plain to eat, food was brought to our room, which we really appreciated. Having a pharmacy and doctor on site is also very reassuring, particularly when you’re abroad.
The not-so-good
One of our biggest disappointments was the sea. The beach itself is lovely, but the water was surprisingly rough and choppy. Initially we assumed we had just picked a windy day, but unfortunately it was like this throughout our stay. We had imagined calm, relaxing snorkelling from the hotel beach, but only ended up snorkelling there once and eventually paid for a separate boat trip to enjoy it properly.
As non-smokers, we also struggled a little with the outdoor dining areas. If you want to sit outside and enjoy the view with breakfast or a meal, you also have to accept people smoking around you. It felt somewhat weighted towards smokers, while as non-smokers we often had to choose between sitting inside or sharing our meal with cigarette smoke. We would have loved to enjoy breakfast outside with the view too. Designated smoking and non-smoking sections would be a much better compromise and give everyone an equal opportunity to enjoy the outdoor areas.
The main pool could be very lively. It wasn’t loud all of the time, but when the music was on, it was really loud, often with fairly heavy dance music. At times it felt slightly mismatched to the clientele – you’d look around and see lots of people quietly sunbathing or trying to read while loud dance music was blasting out. To be fair, there is a quieter pool elsewhere in the resort, so you do have the option to escape it during the day. Unfortunately, our room overlooked the main pool, so when the music was playing it was also very noticeable from there.
The entertainment team themselves were genuinely lovely, friendly people. We didn’t take part in the daytime activities, although we regularly heard plenty of laughter from guests who clearly were enjoying them. The evening entertainment just wasn’t particularly to our personal taste; we preferred the singers and performers to the audience-participation activities, which felt a little forced to us – but that is entirely subjective.
Our bigger issue was actually the layout of the evening entertainment area. There is no front-facing audience area – seating runs along either side of the stage, so everyone watches from an angle. On one evening we actually ended up behind the stage because there were no other seats available. There also simply aren’t enough seats. This seems particularly strange given the large amount of underused open space nearer the main building, which in our opinion would be far better suited to a stage with proper front-facing seating.
A few smaller niggles: the Wi-Fi was intermittent and the power occasionally cut in and out. We appreciate electrical supplies can be less reliable than we’re used to at home, but at night the switching made a loud noise that woke us a few times. Neither was a major issue, but worth mentioning.
One experience with reception at the very end of our stay did make us particularly uncomfortable. We are a lesbian couple and, while in Egypt, had generally told people we were sisters simply to avoid any potential awkwardness. As we were checking out and waiting to leave for the airport, a male member of reception staff began questioning our relationship and repeatedly asked whether we were actually a couple. Eventually we said yes.
We immediately wished we hadn’t. This led to an onslaught of very personal and sexual questions and comments, including “Can I watch?”, “Can I join in?”, “Who is the boy?” and repeatedly telling us how much he liked us both.
We’re British and our default response to awkward situations is often to laugh them off, which is what we did at the time, but it became exhausting and increasingly uncomfortable. We were checking out of the hotel and speaking to a member of staff at reception – we shouldn’t have been put in a position where we were fielding sexual questions about our relationship. Whatever somebody’s curiosity or cultural differences, this simply wasn’t appropriate or professional.
The shops within the resort are also extremely expensive. Things like crisps, cashew nuts, biscuits and a carton of milk were generally around £3–£5 each. This became surprisingly annoying because although there is plenty of inclusive food, if you just fancy something small and simple between meals, your options are limited. A “snack” tends to mean another pizza or burger rather than some crisps, nuts or biscuits. Small ice creams are available as part of the all-inclusive.
You also get approached fairly regularly while relaxing around the pool by people selling perfumes, excursions, massages etc. Nobody was particularly forceful and a polite no generally worked, but after several days it did become tiresome when you just wanted to switch off.
Excursions
We think the excursion companies operating within the resort would benefit from clear, fixed prices rather than everything feeling like a haggle. We appreciate they may be independent from the hotel, but when they operate from within the complex, inevitably the experience reflects on the resort.
We also had an uncomfortable experience after becoming ill and asking to move a trip to the following day. We were initially told no, but then told it could be changed for €20 cash. Later, the original person who sold us the excursion seemed genuinely confused about why we had been charged and apologised. Clearer pricing and policies would make the whole experience feel much more trustworthy.
Outside the resort, be prepared for plenty of negotiating around taxis, trips and extras. At times we felt a little like walking moneyboxes! We enjoy exploring independently, but constantly wondering whether a price or extra charge was genuine could become tiring.
A few tips we wish we’d known
• Download the inDrive app. We found this generally much cheaper for taxis than arranging them in other ways. There can still be some negotiation and it’s worth making absolutely clear what you’ve agreed to pay, particularly if anything is arranged outside the app, but overall it worked well for us. When being collected from the hotel, just let reception/security know the number of the taxi coming to collect you so they can allow it through security.
• Stock up on simple snacks before arriving if you can. With the prices in the resort shops, we genuinely reckon even buying crisps, nuts, biscuits etc. at the airport beforehand would probably work out cheaper! There is loads of food included at the hotel, but sometimes you just want a packet of crisps rather than another pizza.
• Visit Sahl Hasheesh if you want calm water. We took a taxi there and the difference was huge – beautiful, still blue water and much more relaxing swimming/snorkelling. There is also an artificial sunken city with coral to explore underwater. It’s not far from the resort and you can get a beach day pass, so we’d definitely recommend it if calm sea swimming is important to you.
• Ask the pool staff for a “Do Not Disturb” sandbag. We only discovered this after about a week when another guest told us! You can hang it by your sunbed and it greatly reduces the number of people approaching you to sell massages, excursions, perfumes etc. We really wish someone had told us about this on day one.
Overall
There is a lot to like here. It’s a beautiful, spacious and very clean resort, our room was excellent, we enjoyed the food and felt there was plenty of choice, and several members of staff were genuinely lovely.
For us personally, though, it didn’t quite hit the mark as a relaxing base for a holiday combining pool/beach time with exploring and sightseeing. The occasionally very loud main-pool atmosphere, unusual entertainment setup, persistent selling, excursion experience and rough sea were probably the things that took the shine off what is otherwise a very nice resort.
The interaction at reception on our final night was also an unfortunate way to end the holiday. It was one individual and we wouldn’t want to suggest it reflected every member of staff we encountered, but it was inappropriate and made us uncomfortable.
I can absolutely see why other people would love the resort, particularly if you enjoy a lively all-inclusive and like having everything on site. For travellers more like us, I’d say it’s a good resort with plenty of positives, but there are definitely a few things we wish we’d known before booking."
