"We booked this hotel expecting a 5 star experience, but unfortunately it fell very far short of the standard we expected.
On arrival, we were immediately underwhelmed. The hotel felt surprisingly small, and we genuinely wondered whether we had somehow missed another part of the complex. The food facilities in particular are very limited, and we struggled to understand how the hotel would cope when operating at full capacity.
We travelled as a group of 18, and sadly around three quarters of our group became unwell during the holiday. We appreciate that illness can happen when travelling to Egypt, and we went fully aware of that possibility, but the proportion of our group affected was extremely disappointing and much higher than we anticipated.
Food & Drink
The food was one of the biggest disappointments. The choice was very limited, and there were particularly poor options for children. As a family group, we ended up having little choice but to eat out on several occasions, which isn't what you expect when you've booked an all inclusive 5 star hotel. They offer theme nights but the food seems very much the same, not ideal for 14 nights.
Drinks were all included with a good selection however most were served from bottles and were very warm throughout the day.
The use of paper cups at night when there weren't enough plastic cups was also disappointing and certainly didn't feel like a 5 star experience.
The best bar experience is in Mermaid where you can watch football and play pool which seems like the better evening option due to poor entertainment.
Pool
The main pool was closed for more than half of our holiday, and this was not due to guest behaviour or misuse. There appeared to be an ongoing issue with the chemical levels. On the days the pool was open, the water was so uncomfortable that it was difficult to stay in for any length of time, with burning eyes and skin.
Having the main pool unavailable for such a large proportion of a holiday was a major disappointment.
There is a small wave pool which is turned on every hour and some slides that have set times of use through the day.
A positive is there are no towel wars. Plenty of empty sun beds while the hotel was quiet and tips to the towel man meant be put them ready for us every morning.
Entertainment
The entertainment programme lacked variety and enthusiasm. The hotel also appears to be very heavily geared towards Russian guests, which was noticeable throughout the entertainment. Unfortunately, this sometimes resulted in tension and conflict during games and activities that should simply have been fun for everyone.
The evening entertainment area itself is also very dated. There aren't enough chairs, meaning many guests have to stand, while the bar is very small with no tables. There is even a cocktail sign displayed at the bar despite cocktails not actually being served there. The whole area feels overly formal and uncomfortable rather than somewhere you can relax and enjoy the evening.
Rooms & cleanliness
The hotel also appears seriously understaffed when it comes to cleaning. On some days our room wasn't visited until late afternoon, meaning we were having to call reception for clean towels. On some occasions, this resulted in the room not being cleaned at all.
Even when cleaned, the standard was very basic. When we arrived, my feet were filthy simply from unpacking and walking around the room.
After raising our concerns with management, we were offered a deeper clean, which we appreciated, but unfortunately even this did not bring the room up to the standard we would expect from a 5 star hotel.
Walking around the hotel there are some cleaners using cloths to clean floors with little chemicals being used.
To be fair, after some friends in our group checked out and left feedback, members of management did approach us and make an effort to improve things for the remainder of our stay, but this was too late.
They arranged some additional touches, including a British banquet one lunchtime, which was lovely, and extra coolers after we raised concerns that the daytime beer was being served warm.
We appreciated the effort, and it showed that improvements were possible. However, our feeling was that these changes came far too late. If the hotel has the facilities and resources to provide these things when guests raise concerns, they should really be part of the normal service expected from a 5 star hotel rather than something introduced towards the end of a holiday following complaints.
The photographs and videos advertised online are technically a representative of the hotel, but they have clearly been filmed and edited very cleverly to make the facilities appear much larger, more impressive and more luxurious than they feel in reality. Seeing the hotel in person was a very different experience from what we had expected from the advertising.
Ultimately, we made the best of our holiday and enjoyed ourselves on the days when we were feeling well. Our group tried not to let the problems ruin the trip however we could not help but feel very disappointed.
One of the biggest positives was the staff, particularly the outdoor bar team. They were friendly, hardworking and genuinely helped create what little atmosphere there was. They were, without doubt, a highlight of our stay.
Unfortunately, though, friendly staff couldn't compensate for the number of negatives we experienced.
For a hotel advertised and sold as 5 star, we expected considerably more, particularly in terms of food choice, cleanliness, facilities, pool availability, entertainment and overall standards.
Sadly, based on our experience, we would not return and would not recommend this hotel to anyone expecting a genuine 5 star holiday experience."
