Marriott Reviews

WE STAYED AT THE MARRIOTT FOR ONE WEEK COMMENCING 20/9/08. THE WEATHER WAS PERFECT AT 37 MOST DAYS! IF YOU ARE WANTING AN AWAY FROM IT ALL RELAXING HOLIDAY THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE. THE SITUATION IS GREAT ONLY 4 HOTELS ON ONE STRETCH OF BEACH NOT OVER CROWDED AT ALL AND PLENTY OF SUNBEDS AND FREE! THE HOTEL IS CLEAN, TIDY AND WELL SPACED OUT, EVERYONE IS FRIENDLY AND VERY HELPFUL, NOTHING IS TOO MUCH TROUBLE. THE FOOD IS FINE AND PLENTY OF IT ALL SORTS OF VARIOUS FOODS AVAILABLE. THE SEA WAS FABOUSLSY WARM AND THE BEAUTIFUL COLOURFUL FISH THAT SWIM AROUND YOU ARE AMAZING!TRIPS ARE AVAIALBLE TO BOOK IF YOU SO WISH TO DO TO CAIRO AND JORDAN AND OF COURSE DIVING IS PLENTIFUL. A GREAT HOLIDAY LOCATION AND HOTEL WE WILL BE RETURNING THATS FOR SURE!

We stayed at the Marriot from 19 - 26 Dec 2007. It is a lovely hotel with very good food and good service. The best things were * The trip to Petra (but it is cold there) in Dec * the beach and promenade linking all of the hotels. piers/jetties and the watersports centre * the sea, piers, swimming, snorkelling and scuba If you walk to the end of the pier you can see brightly coloured fish getting on with their lives. The free bus service is good - we liked taba town and brought a shisha pipe, herbs, clothes etc there The Hyatt has the best bar (Rocks and shisha bar) We liked the grotto at the Marriot but it was quiet and chilly. The food - we stayed half board - was buffet style and excellent. First class pancakes, made to order omlettes and bakery choices for breakfast. Beer - Sakara is good. Wine and G&T not so good. Marriot is a bit expensive to drink in compared to say Taba at El Fuegos. It was like summer at a English seaside resort - there was always a cool breeze. But windbreaks protect you on the beach. Not a lot to do in the eves which start at 5.00 as the sun goes down early One of the best family hols we've had

The Marriott is a fabulous hotel.

The staff are friendly and attentive and don't hassle you. It's actually quite difficult to tip, especially the restaurant staff, but a few dollars here and there do make a difference. The bank in the hotel will break up big notes for you to use as tips. The rooms are spacious and well equipped but don't have kettles, so take your own. Air conditioning is included without incurring an extra charge but wasn't needed in April. There are mini-bar fridges with some room for your own bottles of water etc. Balconies are spacious and most have good views. The beds are enormous. One minor point is that the baths are small but the showers are excellent.

Food is very good with plenty of choice. They do vary it most nights but it's all of a similar style. Individually made omelettes and waffles are very good at breakfast. Hygiene is very good everywhere, with no fear of stomach upsets. There's no need to avoid the usual Egyptian no-no's like ice in drinks. The hotel pools are superb. There are plenty of loungers and poolside towels are provided by the pool. One pool is heated and has a swim up bar. The other is unheated and has a graduated 'beach' effect access that's perfect for little children. There's also a small children's pool, completely shaded from the sun with palms. Central to the pools is the grotto bar. It's a bit 'theme park' in its construction but good nonetheless. The beach is sandy with plenty of loungers and necessary windbreaks but the small reefs on this stretch of beach are poor. The reefs off the Sofitel beach, next door, are better, but it's far better to go to the two piers at the far end of the Hyatt hotel beach, especially the longer pier. Some of the isolated islands of reef away from the main reef edge are very good but still not as good as those around Sharm al Sheikh. Be prepared to have your bags checked as the pass from one hotel complex to the other, especially when entering the Hyatt. Their vigilance is much better than the other hotels and should be welcomed. They won't allow you to pass once it gets dark. If you don't snorkel, there are glass bottomed boat trips from the watersports centre, which are surprisingly good.

The shuttle bus will take you up to the town centre but it's completely lifeless. There are a few shops but they're barely worth visiting. The small supermarket sells bottled water a bit cheaper than the hotel does but no alcohol. There's a tiny off licence but it's not cheap. A can of beer is LE15 (about £1.40). Beer in the hotel will set you back LE 28 (£2.60). A bottle of local wine in The Grotto bar about LE 150 (£14). Wine in the restaurant is much more.
Entertainment at the hotel is OK but expensive. The Bedouin night in The Grotto cost about £27 each with no drink included, but you can always have a drink in the bar and watch the entertainment for free.
After you've checked out, you can shower in the spa before you depart.

In short, this is a fairly new and entirely created resort so it lacks the buzz of Sharm al Sheikh. It's safe and perfect for relaxing but don't expect the nights to be very exciting.

After visiting the Marriott for the 8th time I can only say it has consistently provided the best holiday we could wish for. The standards are very high, the facilities excellent and the travel agent Peltours bends backward to help you.
Each time we return a new facility has been added to the hotel or resort but it is still quietly exclusive.
We shall be returning next year for the 9th time and probably the 10th

We booked this as allocation on arrival half board option with Thomson; had choice of Hyatt, newly built Intercontinental or Marriot, which is where we ended up.It was a fab holiday.

The flight out was 4.5 hours, but return flight took 5.5 hrs due to weather conditions (strong winds). Transfer by coach uneventful and efficient, took 45 mins to resorts. It was weird though to land at 5.30pm and it was dark!! The sun sets behind Sinai mountains at around 4.30pm at this time of year so this shortens your day quite a bit, so it's a case of getting up early to catch a good day of sun. There's nothing else in the area except the hotels mentioned above, also the Sofitel. Sofitel;all rooms have sea view, whereas the Hyatt and Marriot you have to pay supplement as not all rooms face the sea. I walked along the beach to the Intercontinental and all the rooms appeared to look over the sea and this looked like a nice hotel actually, but didn't think much of their pool.

One evening we looked around the Hyatt, which is very regal and has so many pools and also shallow pools for kids in designated area adjacent to kids club, with sun beds for the parents too! I spoke to a family at the Marriott and they recommended to use the kids club facility at the Hyatt instead as it was better, but how true i don't know. The kids club is included in holiday costing which is good. Myself and a friend went to stay at the Marriott for 1 week, and were not sure what to expect from this holiday, but it fulfilled everything i anticipated and more. If you're looking for a chance to chill out and just relax in peace, then it's ideal. There's little else to do, unless you're into watersports and the snorkelling equipment is free to use.

The entertainment is thin on the ground and the traditional nights they run are about £17 extra. I felt the entertainment should be part of holiday cost. It's nice being able to walk between the hotels and look round whilst you're there, and there's option to ";dine around"; in other hotels. We like other couples were lead to believe you used your half board option and just ate free in another hotel, but not true. You just get a concession to eat in a different hotel restaurant. We didn't choose to do this, but would have liked to. Holiday cost £324. total for half board booking on internet, no sea view, but room was lovely and had balcony. Overall holiday was fab and i would return to the Marriott, or possibly the Hyatt after looking round. I left my 3 young children at home, but would like to return with my whole family in a couple of years and i would recommend the Marriot for families. The pool is partly heated and is beautiful, with shallow areas, so good for children. We went 3-10 Nov and had couple cloudy days, but otherwise around 28-30 degrees in sun. There was a strong wind and few evenings quite cold, needed cardigan, particularly for stroll along beach.Security is excellent and we felt very safe; they check your bags walking between hotels and on entering.This security is 24 hours.

Everyone expects a tip and this could be a little irritating if you're not expecting it. Best to be prepared and ignore it whilst you're there!! The staff are appreciative if you do tip, but equally fine if you don't, so there's no hassle. There's visiting camels on the land between the hotels should you wish to experience a camel ride and local people selling jewellery which is cheaper than shop at 3 corners. Remember to haggle whenver you can! There is free shuttle bus between hotels which is frequent and runs until late at night, to take you short journey to 3 corners, where there is the only supermarket. Here you buy water cheaply etc, but to my disappointment did not sell alcohol. I had not realised how expensive it was to buy alcohol, or any food from the hotel; really your best option would be to go all inclusive. I don't believe you can at the Marriott though. I nearly had heart attack on first night i bought a Jack Daniels and coke and the J.D. alone was over £5 (over 50 Egyptian pounds). So you need to take a bottle a something with you and if you like a good drink, then don't bother going to this resort....unless you're loaded!! The staff are all very friendly and helpful.

Restaurant was nice and food selection i found good, although on the Egyptian theme night, i found myself wondering what i could have fed the kids. It was all spicy/ bit obscure, but i loved it. My friend just ate rolls and cheese that evening. Thomson rep was helpful, welcome meeting worth going to, and offer lots of trips which we didn't do, but would have liked to.The Petra trip seemed popular, but £130. Were a little pricey after cost of holiday; I took £70 to spent for the week and this is fine if you can starve yourself between breakfast and evening meal and don't drink alcohol! I managed 2 glasses of wine and one whiskey, it was hell!!Of course you can charge it to your room and pay on credit card at the end of your stay. Apart from all that i would definitely go back to the Marriott; it's clean, resort overlooks beach and you can have beachfront room if you choose to. They have a spa, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna; all free for guests, which we enjoyed using too.

It was certainly a holiday to remember and one i would recommend.