Holiday reviews for Hurghada

7-20 august 2007. the mamlouk is advertised as a 4 1/2 star. although i will comment on many negative aspects i feel that once complete, the hotel will be fantastic (definately a 5 star and miles ahead of its sister hotel next door that claims to be 5 star);. this was also our first holiday in Egypt so i cannot compare like for like. i booked in germany and paid 2400 euros (1600 quid); for a family of four (bargain);. We were the only brits in the mamlouk (perhaps uk companies arent sending people until complete);? A limited amount of brits were in the adjoining hotel and therefore the majority of people there were german, eastern european (russian/polish etc); with a few french and belgians thrown in.

we were told that the hotel had opened in 2006 however it appears that it opened in 2007. this resulted in much of the accomodation still being worked on during our stay with much of the finishing work around the hotel still to do. the Mexican was also not open so we were given an extra voucher for the asian restaurant. its sister hotel is situated next door (sunrise garden beach); however there are little facilities that you can use (more later);.

it was also unfortuate that the large pool was closed due to a burst water pipe meaning that we were allowed to use Garden Beach family pool. (we were eventually allowed to use the pool bar but only after much embarassment and complaining);

So we had a family room, very spacious and clean but with intermittent water supply. the fridge was not stocked with anything and we were told that this is because it is only 4 1/2 star! the furniture is ok in the room but in the public areas (reception and the terrace); the furniture is fantastic.

the beach is pleasant, gently sloping and sheltered however the sand is coarse underfoot like cat litter.

the food in the main restaurant was good but like many all inclusive very samey with only one other restaurant open (asian); the asian itself was out of this world! a good menu with few tables means that the staff have time to give you very good service. the food was amazing and was cooked to your specifications. snacks can be had at the two pool bars or the beach bar (pizza, sandwiches chips);

drinks are all local brews. some of the staff tried to limit the amount of drinks they served but complain to your rep and it sorts itself out.

the entertainment team work hard all day with dance, water polo etc to keep you active. on an evening the entertainment is in the ampitheatre of the garden beach hotel, although first class throughout the week i highly recommend the comedy and the snake show! a minor inconveience is the limited drinks available (only a small cocktail bar and you cannot use the other bars in the garden resort and its a 5 minute walk back to mamlouk); there is also a good kids club with a wide range of activities. (thank you Maya for your hard work you are first class);

without doubt the best part of egypt was the staff (the most pleasant people i have met); and if you make an effort to learn a little arabic it makes a massive impact with everyone you meet with many staff more than happy to help you learn better pronounciation.

Summary: the hotel seemed only half full and on occasion difficult to get a table at meal times. im not sure if this was due to a lack of staff, everyone eating at the same time or what. this could make life difficult when the hotel is full. due to it being a cheap destination it was an ok stay with lots of positives. i would be very interested to see it complete as it should be beautiful but due to the ropey workmanship im not sure it will last. if you fancy a trip to the pyramids book flights and hotel before you go as it works out a fraction of the price the reps charge. i recommend egypt air and asia rooms, we paid 200 quid for flights and 1 night in hotel with view of pyramids whilst the reps were charging 4 times that amount.

As a recently opened hotel our expectations of this four star plus hotel were at least that it would match the four star in which we stayed in 2 years previous in Sharm.

The rooms were fully air conditioned and cleaned daily. The food was very limited and for vegetarians all you could find were chips and cakes.(although the restaurant was clean);. Down at the the beach restaurant standards were not high. Waiters were snorting and spitting and the food down there looked un clean. The burger my fiancee had was certainly not beef and he spat it out before darting to the loo!!

You have to be prepared to get up at 7am to get a lounger by the pool as it is customary for towels to be left out over night or early am and although some can be left all day without anyone turning up, nothing is done!!The pool had algee but after complaining they scooped it out more regularly!!

Night life around there is limited unless you go in to the main drag where there are 3 decent bars. No entertainment was provided at the hotel apart from a kids disco. Queues at the bars are massive as only 1 bar man on at all times.
Advice from us, is only go if you get a cheap deal and are on a diet!! Sharm was better!!!!!!