JAZ Makadi Saraya Resort

"Me and my family had a wonderful stay at the JAZ Makadi Saraya Resort. Special compliments to our wonderful waiter and host Ismaeil. Very kind and hospitable."

"Party of 10 - 5 adults, 5 children (18m to 12 years) staying for 10 nights. We arrived in the evening and was welcomed so nicely by the staff in the reception - the staff also took control of getting our suitcases to our rooms which was lovely as the hotel is so big. Upon entering our room we were delighted by the size of it - there was 4 of us, 2 adults, two children and there was plenty of room for both us to chill as adults but also the children to play in their little enclosed area. The bathroom was clean and well equipt, including little toiletries like body lotion, hand gel and shampoo provided also. The room had a well stocked mini bar which was an extra charge but this was added to you room and you paid at the end. The TV had lots of channels including UK channel BBC and ITV plus we found some football channels. The cleaner was also a hit with the kids as he made us different towel animals and creations everyday! The hotel in general was well looked after, always someone gardening and upkeeping the guest areas. The pools were perfectly clear and the kids pool and one of the larger pools was heated! The food was plentiful with egg stations, pasta stations and every other food you could think of. The pasteries/breads were amazing and also the cereals and yoghurts, including toppings were amazing! Having access to one visit to an Al La Carte restaurant was great and the food in the Amaya restaurant was 10/10 (indian food). The entertainment team were fab! Never out of energy and even in low season perked everyone up and got everyone involved. Shout out to Pola who my son loved!!! The pink pool party was a massive highlight for the kids and the fruit festival which provides you with the biggest juiciest mangoes is something not to be missed. The area outside the hotel was really good, about a 5 min walk to the beach and plenty of shops which the people are poliet and dont bother you if you say no! The sellers on the beach are a bit more pushy but always remain polite. Visit the water park - we went three times and the bus was a quick ride to another hotel which came every 30 mins! The pools are also heated there and the shallowist pool is 40cms so our nephew who is 18 months old was able to stand! Shout out the bar staff around the pool especially Ishmail - he was so attentive and couldn't do more for us! Thanks Jaz Makadi Saraya!"

"Pharmacy: Pharmacists were friendly and helpful, and as you are on site charge you an arm and a leg. For a small bottle of calamine lotion, a small tube of hydrocortisone cream, and a small tube of another cream which he mixed them all and gave me cost me 19.00 Euros. If I bought these three items in the UK, it would have cost me maybe around £5-7 depending on what that third tube of cream was. I was desperate at this point, but I wish I had of WhatsApp’d the pharmacy we stopped at before going to the hotel as they charge everyone local prices (which they did for what we picked up) and will apparently deliver for a reasonable price. So, if you need anything please check out Dr. Madgy Farouk’s pharmacy on Google reviews as you won’t be out of pocket and taken very good care of in the process. I intend to up a review of them as well. Entertainment staff: These guys would come around the quiet pool first thing in the morning to say hello and that is basically all we saw of them except for a few encounters. One in particular, asked if we wanted to purchase tombola tickets for prizes that evening at one point and during the conversation, the person (who I will not name) said they had a target to meet. Now I can appreciate that, however as a guest I do not want to hear about this. We never partook in any activity and what we saw when walking around not a lot of others were either. There was a theatre in middle of the Souk on the property and this is where the entertainment happened (we didn’t go watch anything due to mosquitoes), but my husband made the comment that it is right in the middle of all the shops so afterwards the shop owners can tout the guests into buying souvenirs. Speaking with another British guest: There was another British couple sitting not too far away from us and as we’re at the quiet pool you can’t help, but hear conversations. The other man appeared to have issues similar to ours and I mentioned this to my husband one evening. The next day we were able to speak to the man and he had even more issues on top of the very similar issues as we did. He said a few interesting things as he also does his research and felt like something went wrong with this hotel. Like us, they frequent Tui Blue hotels and I believe Jaz is part of their brand so there is a certain level of expectation. He questioned how the hotel has so many good reviews and came up with a few different possible reasons which after listening to him, I can see how ratings might be boosted. The first possibility is that a lot of the reviews are from Russians, so the hotel might very well be amazing to them. Secondly, that at the a la carte, you will be asked to fill in a little form asking for feedback about the food and service. As these are impeccable, he thought the hotel was using these reviews to describe the food etc. in the hotel as a whole. My thought is that upon check out you will be given a feedback form as well, to rate the entire hotel in multiple areas so there is another chance to pick and choose all the good reviews and discard the rest. Overall lack lustre holiday, poor food, poor drink, dated worn room, and the only thing this hotel has going for it is the staff and grounds. Due to the great reviews and a good price, I had booked it for us again at the end of January. However, after a few days we agreed to cancel the booking and find somewhere else to go due to all of the above. I spent a good amount of time on the EasyJet website while lounging by the pool to find somewhere else so that says it all really. Who spends their holiday time trying to get out of the hotel they are in? Out of all the holidays we have gone on this one was far the worst. Feel free to read any of my other reviews to get a sense of the difference in hotels or how I write about them when good service etc."