Iberotel Lamaya Resort Reviews

Just returned today from Lamaya and it was a great 2 weeks. The Hotel is everything we expected. The rooms are spacious and the cleanliness is second to none. Our room boy Ali could not do enough to please. A different towel deooration on the beds every day. The food is varied and we found that there was enough choice each day to have something different. Even Carey at 9 years did not struggle to eat at least 3 courses. The Sweets are amazing. The entertainment is not quite up to scratch yet, but the animation team are doing a great job. They are very good with the kids and will not pester the adults if they know you just want to lie and relax. Debrah our rep was also very good and was only too pleased to help. We did the Safari trip to the desert and it was amazing. Quad bikes, Camels and Horses, a meal with the Beduins and entertainment. The snorkelling is also amazing either from the jetty or the beach. The only downside to this holiday was we were flying with Monarch Airlines, delayed going and delayed coming home, I hope never again. There was no sound available on both journeys to watch the films being shown and on the return no ice for the drinks and very limited snacks. Duty free goods on the plane also very limited. We would definately go back to this resort and could recommend if you want a relaxing holiday. p.s. dont fly with Monarch.

After seeing some reviews from other guests we were concerned regarding the quality of the hotel,staff and the value for money of the holiday. Usually we go for BandB option in Luxor at the Winter Palace but fancied a change of scenery after our 5th visit there and encountering some really inconsiderate rowdy british tourists and their children.

Be reassured that if you are looking for peace and quiet then this is your haven, plenty of Pool area and beach to tune out and get some RandR. We upgraded our room to Superior Family and as there was only 2 of us we had too much space, the huge walk in shower was divine and the rooms were very very clean. The food was varied some European and some were traditional dishes, both were excellent and no tummy upsets.The Beach bar menu was limited but the main restaurant was open if you did not fancy fast food. The staff were attentive and not intrusive just willing to help and seemed happy, a bit unusual these days but were really pleased to serve you. The day and evening entertainment were provided by the Animation Team and you either joined in or didn't no pressure.

If you worship the sun and like vegging out then this is ideal and while there is not much happening outside the hotel and only a few shops within, we never seemed to get bored.As for the beach etc, really good reefs to explore even if you don't go into the water a Jetty in the bay gives you a view of the marine life on offer and the beach is shingly but as we are not ones for making sandcastles it was good for looking out to sea from your sunlounger. We have booked again for July and probably book again for Feb 2008.On a last note when did you last have a Cocktail party held by your Hotel Manager and his deputy heads on your last evening thanking you for your visit and asking how they could make your holiday better, well we have never experienced it and felt it very attentive.

Hope this helps you book your perfect holiday away from it all.....Bliss

We spent the first week of December in this fantastic hotel,rooms excellant very clean, food good, hotel manager and staff could not do enough to make your stay enjoyable, plenty of room around the pools and on the beach, the day out to Luxor is well worth the travel, we enjoyed our stay so much we have booked to return this September for 2 weeks.

Thomsons intend to include this holiday in their Platinum range from Autumn 2006. If they persist in doing so then it will not be safe to go on a Platinum holiday in the future. This is an out-and-out family resort for those that like a more attentive, some would say intrusive, type of holiday. You simply are not left alone by an all male staff continually seeking tips or an opportunity to flirt, perhaps more, with female holiday makers.

We were sold this resort on the basis that it would be a quiet get away from it all holiday; this is not the case but, if entertainment is what you want, then it has to be said that the entertainment staff work hard and do their job very well.

The accomodation is very good and the air conditioning works! Beware at peak times, however, because you might find that the water runs out just before dinner time and you shouldn't expect the satelite TV to work, especially if you are from the UK.

The food looks great but appearances are deceptive; the quality is extremely poor and it tastes disgusting. You are not always served what is on display, especially if you are not a Thomson Rep! Everybody, and I mean everybody, we spoke to - Italian, German, Dutch, French and English - complained of frequent stomach disorders. Everybody had their theory but none of us found the answer and none of us will be going back there again.

Snorkelling saved this holiday for us, the Red Sea is a fantastic place to dive but there are many places in the world where the same could be said - we shall visit one such place next time.

Although I have said that the hotel facilities are excellent - there are many disappointing aspects to this resort.

Good points first:

All the room were large and accommodated 4 beds while remaining airy. Most of the rooms either overlooked the hotel pool and bay or pool and Red Sea (some unlucky people may get views of the road) The rooms are well maintained with excellent room service - the towel displays were really unbelievable on occassion.
1 English TV film channel with Euronews (not so good)
Fridge - no stock
Walkin shower
Air conditioning

Food - okay but repetitive and usually only luke warm, apart from the Pool Bar who served freshly prepared Burgers, pizza, chicken and beef sandwiches and hotdogs.

Hotel management - they are really out to please the British (only fourth group to stay in the hotel)- nothing was too much trouble

Beach and bay - absolutely lovely, the sand is very gritty but you can walk out from the bay into some wonderful corals. Nice jetty for snokellers.

Pools - you can use any of the 6 pools within the Lamaya or Samaya hotels (its hard to spot the difference between the sister hotels) 4 were heated to around 30 - 32c the other 2 were comfortable cold pools. Kids loved them.

Entertainment team - very friendly amusing evening performance (rather suggestive at times and many not really be suited to young children - however I believe this may go over the heads of younger children). plenty of sport like activities on offer throughout the day.

Negative side:

Drinks - no internation drinks available at all. The hotel drinks all tasted of aniseed and mixers apart from coke and sprite tasted watery and weird.

Isolation - this is not the place to visit if you like to venture out. There really is nowhere to go. The many trips they seem to offer are vert similar - the visits to the desert can be done by jeep, camel, quad bike, or horse but once you have done one visit the only real differences is the mode of transport.

Luxor may only be maximun of 4 hours away, but you have to travel up to meet the tourist groups adding another 3 hours to the journey each way (with young children we did not bother to go). Sea trips all similar. It really is isolated.

Hotel Staff - the hotel staff are all Eygptian men (only 1 German women employed by the hotel)they an unsual perception of English women, although extremely helpful do not engage in polite conversation as this may result in harassment and unwanted advances.
On the plus side they played football with the youngesters which compensated somewhat with the lack of Kid Club engagement (do to being German staff with limited English so children felt totally left out and did not attend).

My husband experience was that it was the longest 2 weeks of his life. If you wish to sunbath or snorkel this is your place, other than this there really isn't much to interest people. It is going to take a few years to develop into an area.