More about Sunrise Royal Makadi Resort
Sunrise Royal - a mixed experience
by TripAdvisor Member SurreyReviewer
I and my family have just returned from a two week holiday in Makadi Bay where we stayed at the Sunrise Royal Makadi. An enjoyable stay in a hotel of good quality though not comparable with superior Movenpick Hotels we have stayed in at El Gouna and Sharm el Sheikh.
The complex is a large one and we were fortunate to be allocated rooms close to one of the main swimming pools, restaurant areas and reception. Blocks 14, 15 and 16 are in this area, others are up to 5 minutes away from the beach and main hotel complex.
The rooms were comfortable but by no means as luxurious as others we have stayed in in the aforementioned hotels. The hotel staff were themselves of mixed natures, the majority were most amicable but in the restaurants some of those serving were far from helpful whilst others were frivolous, flippant and overfamiliar. Again not an experience I and my family have had elsewhere in Egypt and not what I would expect in a 5 star hotel.
The largest swimming pools were unheated and in April were far from warm. The benefit was that for those brave enough to swim, there was plenty of room! The poolside area was well catered for with sun beds and large umbrellas for shade but, despite warnings to the contrary, almost all guests reserved sun beds early in the morning and then went to breakfast. We were one of few groups who actually made use of the sun beds in the early morning!
The main restaurant was a buffet style area for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The breakfast was of superior quality to dinner and we chose to eat most evenings in the a la carte restaurants which served Italian, Asian or Mediterranean cuisine. As other reviewers have pointed out, these restaurants could only be booked on the morning of the day on which you wished to eat by queuing from 9.45am. No, to get a table you needed to queue from no later than 9.20am for which you needed a good book, an ipod and a lot of patience whilst standing for up to 30 minutes in the queue!
The Italian restaurant seemed the most popular with guests and was always oversubscribed. The majority of tables in the a la carte restaurants are in smoking areas, most of the Russian and East European guests seemed to smoke making it almost impossible to book tables in the a la carte restaurants in the small non smoking areas. If you ate early, the smokers had not usually arrived! As a non smoking family, the number of tables allocated to smokers was disappointingly high.
We chose not to make use of the beach area owned by the hotel though did walk along the promenade behind it and running through other hotels which were situated in Makadi Bay itself. The bay is in the process of being fully developed and will soon be, in my view, overcrowded!
We expected few hotels to be as yet open and/or built. At least 5 are already operating and as many again are in the process of development. This is not a resort I would choose to return to given the number of hotels surrounding the bay. From what I saw however, the Sunrise Royal Makadi is, at present the best hotel in the region.
Absolutely Perfect
by TripAdvisor Member puddleduckIII
I have just returned from the Sunrise Royal Makadi, me & my boyfriend went for a weeks holiday. The people that have managed to fault this place, must have amazingly high standards! We arrived on a Friday evening, and were absolutely gobsmacked, was so pretty and we could not believe the size!! Pictures that we had seen just don't do it justice! In the lobby we were given refreshing hot towels & a drink! Staff are so happy and friendly, especially when they find out that you are English! Purely because everybody else is so rude to them! We actually felt like celebrities for the week! The hotel is so clean, our beds and towels were changed everyday! The pools were massive!! We stayed on the private beach most days and always managed to find spare sunbeds! There was an amazing coral reef on this beach, I went snorkelling for the first time here and I loved it, we saw so many fish and they come up really close! Food was so good, even for fussy eaters! Meditteranean restaurant was def our favourite, the food was delicious! We would recommend anyone to stay here, was an amazing holiday, everything ran so smoothly and would definately go back again!
Excellent Hotel
by TripAdvisor Member vanillaman
I have just (4th. May) returned from the Sunrise Royal Makadi having spent two weeks there with my wife and two other couples with whom we holiday frequently.
We found the hotel way above our expectations in cleanliness, room service and bar service a( and drink choice).
Anybody who thought that they got serious hassle on the beach really should try Mombassa ! A firm no and they would just have a joke and leave, only once did one get over persistent, and that was the young man selling massages.
The food was excellent, in fourteen nights we only ate at the buffet twice and the Italian was truly outstanding and I have spent £50 a head on worse meals than we consistently got there. The Mediterranean was also top notch except for one night when there was obviously a stand in chef who was not up to scratch and the steaks were overdone and the food generally was below what we had come to expect.
Politeness and a tip go a long way!
We never went to the beach before 10.00 but only once had to wait for a sunbed and never had a problem with the pool beds, although the water was a bit on the chilly side.
The snorkeling off the beach was unbelievable espescially on the Fort Arabesque beach.
So for service, cleanliness, food, weather, and beach I would definitely recommend this resort.
Russia, Jellyfish and wind
by TripAdvisor Member raccas&stella
we have just got back from one week in sunrise royal makadi bay. we enjoyed are stay and we were made very welcome by all the staff. British are the minority however the majority of waiters are much more keen to talk to the brits and they joke often (i could of sold the missus for three camels). the hotel is spot on, very clean and the food is not bad. its has three restaurants and they are smallish so you have to book in advance but they never look full which is odd. the food is ok with the buffet hall displaying a wide variety. swimming pool snack bar is very good serving burgers, hotdogs, fresh pizzas, ice cream and crepes. swimming pools ok, the big one being absolutley freezing, heated pools ok and the family pool isnt bad.
beach is ok with comfy sunbeds (if you can get up earlier than the russians & germans). the sea infront of the hotel is could for snorkelling/swimming/watersports but this time of year its windy and there is lots of jellyfish which you do get used too (they don't sting). you also get hasselled by guys selling you excursions e.t.c
the room was clean but the over energetic male cleaner became our alarm clock at 8:15am . (you don't see any egyptian women about). if you make a phone call and dont get through you still pay.
nightlife was a bit naff, lack of entertainment and the pub is a bit poor having to book the pool table in advance (no footy if england are playing- russians and germans remember!!) the staff are really friendly and work exceptionally hard... all be it i would recommend this hotel.
Great for a relaxing holiday
by TripAdvisor Member clairewyorks
Me and my boyfriend stayed at the Sunrise Royal in february 2007. We chose Egypt to have a nice relaxing quiet holiday, and we did.
When we first arrived, we were a bit taken back by the scenary outside our hotel. There were sheds that people were living in with no roofs, buildings that were left half standing, looked like they had being there years, every 2 minutes there seemed to be a police car with armed police men. It was very scary and intimidating, and as we havent being to egypt before, daunted us a bit, we didnt know what to expect!
As soon as we got to our hotel though, it was so luxourious, even when we arrived at night it looked very posh! The big entrance to the hotel and the reception area was very spacious and grand, had a water feature as you walked in, comfy sofa's/chairs to greet you. The staff were very helpful, they do push for a tip sometimes, but they are never funny if they dont receive one.
Our room was great. The bathroom was large, and very detailed. The shower was spacious and the bed was massive! The wardrobe space was big enough for me and my partner, but was a bit on the small side. Our room was on the bottom floor (there were only 2/3 floors to each block) the terrace was big enough for us, and had a lovely view.
The swimming pools were huge, one was heated, and my partner loved this. The other spacious pool wasn't heated, and was very cold. We ventured into it on one occasion, to get to the bar in the middle. It was fine once you were in, it was just getting in that was the hard part!
The food was delicious, I put on about a stone whilst eating here! We qued 9 out of 10 mornings to dine at the italian, although we did sample the mediterranian and Asian once while we were there, the italian was the best, then the mediterranian came a close second. The asian was nice, just not for us. The mediterranian had a more english feel to their menu, and had a lot more to choose from.
On a morning, i was filling myself with a few croissants with melted warm chocolate sauce, but you could have anything you wanted, cereal, fruit, something warm, toast. The buffet was great, i had spagetti for dinner everyday, then finished off with a burger and chips by the pool area! They also had some yummy chocolate and fruit puddings!
The beach was just right for us in february, it wasn't too busy, and it wasn't too quiet.
There is a little shopping centre about a ten minute walk from the hotel, but apart from that, everything else really is hotel based. You could travel by bus about 15 minutes to the local town, we didnt do this, but was told it was good.
There are 2 main shops on the beach that sell the usual snacks, sports gear, suntan lotions, no english newspapers though anywhere! Be warned the men in the shops on the beach were extremely forceful and rude when trying to purchase things. On one occasion i ended up leaving because they were so rude. Firstly one man tried to sell me something for triple the price, then when we got him down he wasnt happy. In most cases though, barter as much as you can, at least 20/30 percent, if they dont accept, just turn and leave, they will soon be on your tale shouting you back!
Nightlife was good, even in february. There was a good family set, some family music, and some games to get everyone involved. There was also a nightclub, which was family friendly. And wasn't loud, you couldn't even hear the music from outside, was very sound proof! I thought it was ok for an on-site club, but my partner thought otherwise! We were lucky and met two young couples our age so we met them on a night and enjoyed a drink with them.
Over-all the holiday forfilled all of our requirements, and we really enjoyed outselves. It was spotless, and the staff were friendly, i feel it was everything you could ask for. The only downfall i suppose you could say is on a night, we were going to bed around 12 as there wasn't much to do. But thats from a 19 and a 24 year olds point of view!
Otherwise, i have recommended it to others, and will carry on to recommend it.
Good but could have been better
by TripAdvisor Member Copperfields
A new hotel (opened 2005) covering extensive grounds, well laid out site with plenty of space, attractive gardens and buildings. Hotel is about 20 minute walk to the centre of Makadi Bay.
The hotel has a unique checking in procedure which was confusing because our rep' had not told us what to expect, the whole procedure took about 25 minutes. Our room was very spacious and well equipped, the room was in block 12 and every facility was within a 5 minute walk. The room was kept spotlessly clean throughout the week. All areas of the site are immaculate and public areas are cleaned throughout the day. Pools are large and attractive, there was a shortage of poolside loungers and competition was fierce. The hotel pool manager removed any unattended towels placed before 1000 hours but this only caused friction between guests, people occupied loungers not knowing they had previously been reserved and the manager was never around to explain what he had done. We saw many disputes.
Food in the main buffet restaurant was plentiful and well presented but the menu was virtually the same for lunch and dinner every day. The restaurant was heavily congested between 1830 and 2000 hours and had a canteen feel to it; not least because so many parents (not Brits) allowed children to run about uncontrolled, even allowed them to play football. There is an outside balcony area for dining at night but it is not lit, bit difficult eating in the dark! The Parasol Bar area was good at lunchtime, restricted menu but good and quick, nice atmosphere, pity there wern't more tables and parasols to get into the shade for a while.
The weather was great, nice breeze most days. All staff were very polite and very friendly. Newcommers are hassled by agents trying to sell massages, wind surfing, boat trips, snorkelling but once you get signs of a tan they leave you alone.
The hotel shops are small and offer poor value. There are more shops in Makadi Bay but again they are expensive. If you want souvenirs buy them when leaving Hurghada Airport, the choice is better, quality range is good and we found prices were half what the hotel was charging.
Overall a good holiday, excellent value for money, hotel is overated as a 5 star, 4 would be more appropriate.
stuart and davina......funny tummy, and hasserled by the men
by TripAdvisor Member stupigfarmer
hello we have just come back from one week at the hotel, we stayed in block 15, just in front of the pool, my other half and myself got hasseld all the time by people trying to sell you camel rides, massages, and all sorts, PLEASE keep an eye out for the pool staff as they chattered my other half and another friend of ours wife up. Every time myself or my friend left the girls alone for not even 1 minute there would be a man chatting the girls up. we got friendly with two other couples and out of six of us, 5 yes 5 of us got upset tummys. so much so it made us bed ridden and major pain. every were is very very clean. and the waiters are the best we have ever met. once they no you are nice brits the staff love you, o be carefull once the shop keepers no ur English they think uve got £1000 in ur pocket, so banter with them. you can screw them write down on the price of everything. the pool is very nice but to cold, so the warm pool is always packed. the bar staff are very nice aswell. just a little please and thankyou goes a very longway. when ever some one does something for you they all want a tip, and cos im a tight farmer i found this anoying. even if they do something as little as move ur bag for you, over all the hotel is very clean, nice staff, but the upset tummy problem has put us of ever going back, and the pool staff need watching with ur wimon. but the weither was very good. we also found that we paid £250 more than are friends did, per person. cos we booked through going places, rather than thomas cook. regards to all Stuart the pig Farmer& davina
Fantastic place
by TripAdvisor Member KateBull
This place was amazing - rooms, food, hotel grounds just everything.
Weather in february was 35 degrees but the sea temperature was 18* which was a little too cold to be scuba diving in.
Would recommend scuba diving around this area, untouched by humans and the reefs are filled with colourful fish!
Will be going back next year but in October as water temperature is better...
Forum Posts
sunrise royal makadi resort
by Saz2010
anyone know where i can book a room for this hotel??
i have emailed them on the address they have on their website, but had no response.
thanks
RE: sunrise royal makadi resort
by ildibobs
try www.dialdirecttravel.co.uk they may be able to help;.
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