Xperience Sea Breeze Resort

"This was our second visit to Xperience Sea Breeze and unfortunately we left with quite mixed feelings this time. There is still a lot to like about the hotel, particularly its fantastic staff, but several aspects felt noticeably poorer than on our previous visit and we’re now unsure whether we would return for a third. Room & housekeeping - We arrived at around 8:15pm and check in was prompt. As returning guests we were given green wristbands, which was a nice touch. We had requested Block 14 before arrival and were told this had been noted, but that work was being carried out on the nearby spa and they didn’t want us to be disturbed. We were therefore allocated Block 11, which we were told was “much better”. However, we passed Block 14 numerous times throughout our two week stay and never noticed any disruptive noise or work taking place. Unfortunately, Block 11 was particularly disappointing when paying extra for a “swim up” room. I use the term swim up VERY loosely! There is a substantial area of grass between the terrace and pool, as well as a low hedge preventing direct access. The only way between the room and pool involved crossing the grass, despite signs specifically telling guests to keep off it. For us, this made paying extra for a swim up room feel like a complete waste of money. If easy access from your terrace to the pool is important to you, I would not recommend paying extra for one in Block 11. This was the main reason we had requested block 14 as we knew from our previous visit that this gave the best ‘swim up’ access and block 11 has arguably the worst access. The bed, however, was extremely comfortable and our cleaner was fantastic. Unfortunately we didn’t catch his name, but he was always kind, polite and helpful and occasionally left lovely towel decorations for us. We had a few maintenance issues during the stay: the air conditioning stopped working once, the toilet flush button became stuck and our room key stopped working on one occasion. To the hotel’s credit, all three were resolved promptly. One frustration was the communication around housekeeping. A small notice in the bathroom explains that towels will only be replaced if left on the floor. As I naturally leave used towels neatly folded on the rack, it took us several days to realise why ours weren’t being changed. Even more surprisingly, while packing to leave after two weeks we found a card tucked underneath the television explaining that bed linen would only be changed if the card was placed on the bed. We had never seen it, meaning we had unknowingly spent the entire two week stay without requesting a linen change. We completely understand sustainability policies, but information like this needs to be more clearly visible to guests. Food & à la cartes - The à la carte offering has changed since our previous stay. Previously there was a small additional charge, whereas guests can now visit each of three restaurants once per week: Indian, Mongolian and the beach BBQ. During a two week stay this meant two visits to each. We didn’t use the beach BBQ as it hadn’t been particularly recommended by other guests. The Indian was very good on both visits and one of our better meals at the hotel. Unfortunately, the Mongolian was problematic both times. The concept is great: you choose your own raw ingredients, sauces and noodles, you hand over your bowl and your seat number and it is then cooked and returned to your table. On our first visit, however, several meals appeared to become mixed up, including mine being returned with seafood that I hadn’t selected. Another member of our party had to remake her bowl completely. We assumed this was an unfortunate one off, but returned several days later and experienced the same problems. An egg I had added to my bowl appeared in my partner’s meal despite him specifically not choosing egg, while mine came back without it. Our food was also noticeably overcooked, with vegetables burnt black on one side, and we overheard many other tables reporting incorrect or overcooked meals that evening. One couple got up and walked out leaving their entire meal on the table. The staff were apologetic and tried to resolve the problems, but after it happened on two separate visits the cooking/numbering system clearly needs improving. Mixing ingredients between meals could also be a much more serious issue for somebody with an allergy or dietary restriction. Overall, in our opinion the quality of the à la carte offering has declined since our previous stay when there was a small charge. We also had an issue at the live pasta station in the main buffet restaurant. Pans were being reused between guests without being cleaned. I ordered penne with béchamel, mushroom, garlic and onion, but it was cooked in a pan still containing remnants of the previous guest’s tomato based sauce. The béchamel immediately mixed with the residue and turned orange. The vegetables were cooked extremely briefly and the garlic was left almost raw. It spoilt what should otherwise be a great made to order station. Coffee machine quality was also strangely inconsistent. It was perfectly fine for several days, then suddenly developed an unpleasant stale/gone off taste that made it genuinely undrinkable. Entertainment - The entertainment team themselves were friendlier and more approachable than the team we encountered on our previous visit, but unfortunately we felt the actual offering, particularly in the evenings, had declined considerably. The daytime programme was much as we remembered it, with beach yoga, Zumba, darts, water polo and a weekly foam party. The evenings were very different. The entertainment team would generally sit together around a table until around 8:30pm, when two members would get up and start the mini disco. This usually involved a small handful of children gathered in a circle for a few songs and often felt quite half hearted. The main entertainment would follow, usually an external dance act, singer or similar, lasting around 1 to 1.5 hours. The entertainment team mostly remained at the side of the stage during this, keeping children from going onto it and occasionally encouraging audience claps. Once the main act finished, they seemed to disappear almost immediately. There is also a Sunday night pool party, which has the potential to be a really fun event but in reality lasts for an hour, approximately 9:30–10:30pm. At 10:30 the lifeguard blows the whistle, everyone is quickly ushered out of the pool and the entertainment team immediately disappear. That’s essentially the end of the night’s entertainment. This was one of the biggest differences we noticed as returning guests. On our previous visit, the entertainment continued after the main show with games, music and dancing. The team would get guests involved and there was a genuinely fun atmosphere until around midnight. This time, by around 10:30pm the lights would be on, nobody would be DJing and the entertainment team had vanished. Most nights we simply went back to our room. Entertainment is obviously subjective and some people may prefer quieter evenings, but the lively atmosphere we remembered from our previous visit was noticeably missing. Wi-Fi - The Wi-Fi was probably one of the weakest aspects of the hotel. Guests are given a login code lasting seven days, so anyone staying for two weeks needs to go back and get a 2nd. Between the two of us we ended up with around four or five different codes because of connection problems. For the vast majority of our stay the Wi-Fi simply didn’t work properly. Our phones would show they were connected but there would be no internet connection, and we often had to turn Wi-Fi off completely before our mobile internet would work. Fortunately we’d purchased eSIMs before travelling, so it wasn’t a major problem for us, but I wouldn’t recommend relying on the hotel Wi-Fi. The hotel’s biggest asset: its staff Without question, the biggest asset Xperience Sea Breeze has is its staff. They genuinely cannot do enough for you. A special mention has to go to Shady at the top pool, Romany the lifeguard and Al at the bar, who were incredible throughout our stay. Our room cleaner was also wonderful. Staff like these make a huge difference to a holiday and are a real credit to the hotel. The snorkelling from the hotel’s beach jetty is another huge positive. The marine life is fantastic and it’s absolutely worth bringing a mask and snorkel. A couple of tips outside the hotel - The hotel shop is expensive and I would also approach some of the shops opposite the hotel with caution. Prices aren’t displayed and we found that asking the price of something could result in a cost seemingly being decided on the spot, often followed by comparisons with what the item would cost in the UK. You’re in Egypt, not the UK, so I didn’t find that a particularly relevant comparison. We also used the hotel’s bus to visit Naama Bay. The bus itself was convenient, but when we arrived we were dropped outside a shop where somebody immediately approached us and claimed we needed to go inside to get a “ticket” for the return bus. This wasn’t true. While inside, we eventually agreed a price for a purchase only for a completely different amount to be entered into the card machine. Thankfully I spotted it before paying and had it corrected. This isn’t something I blame the hotel itself for, but it’s worth mentioning so other guests using the bus know they do not need to obtain a return ticket from the shop. Would we return? This is difficult because there are still things Xperience Sea Breeze does extremely well. The staff are exceptional, our bed was very comfortable, the Indian restaurant was great and the snorkelling from the jetty is fantastic. However, as returning guests we couldn’t ignore the areas where this stay felt worse than our previous one. The disappointing location and design of our supposedly swim up room, unreliable Wi-Fi, problems on both visits to the Mongolian restaurant, issues at the pasta station and particularly the decline in evening entertainment all added up over a two week stay. We returned because we had enjoyed our previous holiday here. Unfortunately, this time we left with genuinely mixed feelings. We haven’t completely ruled out Xperience Sea Breeze, but after our second visit we’re no longer sure we would choose to return for a third."

"We stayed all-inclusive for 10 nights. First impressions were not great, with a broken fountain at the entrance and a persistent smell of effluent in the lobby. Check-in at around 1am was quick and friendly, though, and after discovering there was nowhere open for food or drinks, reception unexpectedly sent food and soft drinks to our rooms free of charge. That was exceptionally thoughtful and set the tone for the staff throughout our stay. The staff were by far the hotel's strongest point. They were friendly, attentive and genuinely keen to make guests happy, often remembering our drinks and bringing another before we had finished. Rooms were clean and the resort generally well maintained. Food in the main restaurant was very good, with a different theme each evening, and breakfast was better than average. However, food availability outside the main meal periods was poor for an all-inclusive hotel, particularly later in the evening. The choice at the pool/beach restaurant was also very limited. The biggest disappointment was the bar provision. After 6pm, the only bar open was the Tiran at the very top of the resort, despite the hotel having a lovely beach and sea views lower down the hill. This meant there was effectively nowhere to sit by the sea and enjoy a drink in the evening. The Tiran then closed promptly at midnight. For us, this significantly reduced our enjoyment of the resort and made the all-inclusive offering feel unnecessarily restrictive. Drink quality was also fairly poor. Sakara lager was good, but the wine and spirits were well below the standard we would expect. The reef is quite small, with a small swimming area, but quality of snorkelling was very good - best seen in the morning before about 10.30am and after 5pm. The resort itself is built on a steep hill, with reception and the main restaurant at the top and the beach at the bottom. Our sea-view room was lovely and worth the roughly £200 extra. There were plenty of daytime activities, including pool volleyball. I would not normally join in with this sort of thing, but it was fun and well organised. Evening entertainment was mixed quality, although I did win the "Mr Hotel" competition, so at least one evening was excellent entertainment :) We booked two excursions through the team on site and had one very poor experience and one merely OK one. As they are a separate company, I have not reflected this in the hotel rating. Overall, we enjoyed parts of our stay, largely because the staff were exceptional. Without them, I would probably have rated the hotel a solid 2 stars. Their service lifted it considerably, but the restricted bar opening times, limited food availability and poor-quality drinks stopped it being anything more than around 3.5 stars for us. We would not return."

"Another lovely holiday at Xperience sea breeze! Our second time here. We would love to come back and celebrate new year with you all 🎉 It's always the lovely funny staff that bring us back 🫶 Like another family! Special mention to Kero the hero (main Barman) Meoman,Reda,Bola,Beshoy,Gerges,the wonderful Chefs in the restaurant by the top main pool and Kerolos.They all work so so hard and can't do enough for you as always 🫶 and also Ahmed who works in reception.He is always so welcoming! And kindly said "Welcome home" 🥹 Thankyou again Xperience! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"