| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
j wildman from l/spa travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
first choice
on a friends holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 11 2007 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location |  | | Staff |  | | Food | | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: we went for a week in nov, paid £100 extra for sea view which from our balcony was not very visable,reported to reception they kindly offered to put us in a marine room for an extra £100! which meant i would be paying £200 just to be able to see the sea! food was not great apart from the lunch at pool bar which did really nice sandwiches. there was absolutley no entertainment, apart from water polo 3 times a day, very clean complex and staff work very hard to ensure you have a good time but some go a bit ott and dont leave you alone especially 2 girls,would not stay again, will be complaining to first choice about "sea view".
Click here for more information on this hotel, resort and region
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Jones from Fleetwood travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
First choice
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 12 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location |  | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We really enjoyed our Xmas holiday to this hotel.
The staff were very friendly and helpful, cleanliness was good and the food was ok. There was definately something to suit everyone, as our party consisted of two adults, two toddlers and an OAP.
Fantastic beach right on the doorstep for the essential snorkling, clean, well managed with good facilitys (beach bar, childrens playground etc) Excellent kids club and mini disco.
The animation team could not do enough to make you feel more at home, and the entertainment was varied and enjoyable with lots of places to escape to if it was not your cup of tea.
The gala dinner was amazing and the hotel really surpassed itself with the xmas festivities.
Only downside was the pool, not heated as stated and in poor condition, needs complete overhall and better depth notices. I jumped in on the 3rd day and badly sprained an ankle as pool was too shallow (I was not the only person to sustain an injury during our stay) but the doctors clinic on site was fantastic and the hotel were very good.
Only other gripe was that this was a large complex which made it difficult to get around if you have reduced moblity, but the staff were very good and would stop in there little golf buggies and offer a lift if you were struggling.
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jamie & michele from dartford travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
you travel
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 12 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: All inclusive-youre joking!!! I've never had to pay for so many extras whilst staying at an all inclusive resort.
We booked to stay over new year and were hoping to see the new year in, in style.
The gala dinner was very well presented but try and get a drink after 11pm on new years eve and you've had it. We were told to pre-book drinks at a price of £37 English for a bottle of wine that you can buy in your local supermarket for £5.
There were alot of Jordanians staying at the hotel over new year and I've been told of several reports regarding them spitting, urinating and washing their clothes in the hotels swimming pools!
They do not belive in queing for anything and this lead to problems at meal times etc....the Radisson website states that there is entertainment 3 nights aweek(didn't happen)you can get snacks in the someplace else bar at night(no food ever on offer).
The Italian restaurant(£10 English extra to have the meal)I am amazed that radisson can rate this hotel as a 5 star hotel. I would have felt more at home in faulty towers!!! what a shame when you pay in the thousands to go away.
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Geoff & Sandra from Leicester travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
1st Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 11 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel and gardens are spotless with staff working round the clock to maintain this.
Good points regarding the food are the bread,soups,salads and sweets which are really excellent.
The main courses are very bland apart from the odd dish.
The omelettes at breakfast are also very good but the fruit juice is the syrup type and tasteless.
The location of the hotel is very remote but the setting against the mountains is stunning.
All of the staff were very helpful and a special mention to Akram who I think actually works for the Egyptian Tourist Office - He was very efficient and also very comical.
We went on the Quad biking trip which was brilliant.
The Blue Hole trip which involves jeeps, camels, snorkelling,eating and shopping is also very good.
The Jerusalem and Dead Sea trip was worth the effort but it is very tiring and involves a very long day.
We were quite surprised by the entertainment which involved two different duo's.
The first duo involed a male keyboard player and a female singer and they were quite good.
The second duo, which I think were the Greenland Band were hilarious and we still cannot work out if this was deliberate or not.
The local dancers which included a spinning man act were also watchable.
With the sun setting at about 5.00pm, everybody seemed to disappear to their rooms for a couple of hours, because there was not a lot else to do until dinner.
Would re-visit for a very quiet and relaxing holiday but the main course food needs to improve.
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j.h. from leeds travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
thomsons
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We had a quick check in at the hotel, which was good as we'd had a seven hour delay at Manchester and wanted to get to bed. the food was very nice, there was something for every one. there was always lots of cleaning going on.
We had no problems getting water, we could get as many bottles as we liked, there were no problems at the bar,although all-inclusive finished at 11, you could stock up on extra drinks before 11, we found staff friendly and you dont need to tip, there are tip boxes if you want to though.
The cleaners were constantly on the go, although very clean, this hotel is not a 4* or 5*. the hotel is isolated, we knew this, so wasnt a problem, we did 2 trips, quad biking and red sea cruise, both very good, the entertainment is not good,but the singing duo were hilarious(this wasn't there intention!) the jetty into the sea was great, and the sea was warm.
Very good for snorkeling. I think this is a quiet time for the hotel, and maybe a good time of year to go,the weather is great and it was very relaxing.
The down side was I had a dodgy stomach for 1 day, but I didn't feel ill with it, my husband on the other hand still had a bad stomach when we came home, he didn't let it spoil our hols though, other people we met didn't have trouble with 'taba tummy' it doesn't affect everyone!
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Youngs from Castleford travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Thomsons
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel located in beautiful surroundings,mountains in the background, nicely kept gardens, short stroll to quiet beach and amazing red sea, snorkelling and just swimming here is fantastic,lots of differant types of fish.
Hotel rooms very clean,this hotel in my opionion needs closing down and refurbing, the pool area was disgusting, where you got drinks from the pool bar it was smelly and dirty the bin was always overflowing with dirty plastic cups spilling over onto the floor.
I was always asking them for clean plastic cups and prompting them to change the water as the container was always running out, if you didn't ask them to change it they wouldn't do it on the own accord, unfortunatley this goes for everything to do with catering at this hotel ie: running out of ice cream everyday, crockery, cutlery, napkins, chips, ketchup the list is endless.T
his was our 1st all inclusive experience I had much higher expectations.
Food we thought was ok, there was always something you could eat even if it was a plate of bread and butter the bread is gorgeous and always fresh.
The majority of the hotel staff were very polite and courteus and most of all very patient as they were overworked working 12 hour + days and nights and there wasn't enough of them to accomadate all the guests, also the very rude and obnoxious isralia's had some kind of power over them so us english got a bit of a raw deal....
Entertainment is nil there's 1 small bar and seating area outside with a singing duo on everynight but you have to be there early about 19.30 if you wanted a seat but I assure you there not that good to make an effort to be ready early.
There is nothing for kids really a half hour disco every night that plays the same tape every night, 2 pool tables which was always taken over by the isralies oh and a dvd which they showed every evening in the ampitheatre outside, and thats entertainment...
We will not be returning to this hotel again or the resort, it was very remote and very difficult to get around, we booked two excursions which we hadn't planned to do as they are quite expensive but we really needed a change of scenery and to have a rest from the chaotic atmosphere around the pool area everyday it wasn't relaxing at all which was a real shame.
Very dissapointing all round if you are planning on going to Taba don't stay at the Radisson it certainley is not a 5* more like a 3*
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Michelle & Paul from Manchester travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: On arrival at the hotel we were quite impressed. The check in at the reception was fast and our cases were delivered up to our room (its a good idea to leave a small tip of about 50p) We had a lovely view on the third floor over the gardens and the sea. The rooms were very clean with nice comfy beds.
The next day we went for breakfast and believe me it was not somewhere you could go and relax in the morning, finding a table wasn't a problem although it was just so busy. All hustle and bustle with alot of the guests in the hotel very rude, not naming names but they weren't the English ones!
The pool was a huge area lovely and big, although the hygiene was a big problem certain guests we found were urinating in the pool, and at one point even on the bar at the pool! This we found was repulsive and did complain to the rep.
The food was ok quite alot of quests did have upset tummy's, I was ok although I do think it had a lot to do with me not eating any meat, I was a vegi for the entire week as I did not want to get ill. My boyfriend who did eat the meat had a bit of the taba tummy!
We didn't go on any of the trips as they were quite expensive and had only budgeted anyway just for the holiday. The Cairo trip by air was £175 each although there were cheaper trips like the boat trip for £38.
The sea here is brilliant for snorkeling I would say that this is the best part of the holiday for us! You can see some amazing fish, the beach is very rocky here but its not a problem for snorkeling as there is a jetti that you can snorkel off.
All in all this resort is very remote, you cannot walk outside the hotel, if you want a relaxing week to do nothing apart from soak up the sun and go snorkeling then its ok, if not then its not the place for you as there is very little for you to do.
The entertainment is virtually non existent! So don't expect any big shows going on in the hotel! Also August was extremely busy too many guests and not enough staff!
We did have a nice holiday here as we met some lovely people, although we definitely will not be travelling to this hotel again, the hygiene and lack of entertainment did it for us (although I must say the hotel rooms were cleaned every day and to an excellent standard)
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Field from Hook travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Thompson
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: All Inclusive - Ha Ha...runs out at 23:00 and boy watch those prices then...on several occasions there were near riots because the hotel start cutting back on the Water, telling us we couldn't have any...
As a family of 6 I can honestly say that there is no way that we even came close to eating or drinking or receiving entertainment to the value of the Inclusive price.
As you can see from the Star rating the cleanliness of the hotel was excellent and the speed at which things where cleaned away ie dinner plates, glasses rubbish so on... second to none. A good tip is to tip the cleaner when you first arrive to ensure good service while you are there. Not necessary but it doesn't hurt bearing in mind what they actually earn.
The Food.. well none of my family are fussy eaters and not inclined to week dispositions - the first 3 or 4 days were good but it became same-oh same-oh and bearing in mind that 5 out of 6 or us ended up with extreme stomach upsets in the first week.
The Ala carte restaurant in also open for your use but be careful, we managed to get stung for a 2 dinners by taking the (pushed)recommended choice even though I made quite clear we were all inclusive. So don't be thick like me and sign anything. (the 1st night)
The Hotel staff were second to none and in my opinion deserve medals for their patience and kindness, there were the odd rude, sneaky and downright grumpy ones with double standards who altered their behaviour depending on the nationality they were dealing with but that was rare. Thankfully
We found that it was the Guests that were ignorant and rude and childish and in some cases downright nasty.
Entertainment of any quality was non existent for the whole 2 weeks and believe me I am easy to amuse and the pleasures to be had were all at extra cost, which we were forever being offered - pool part(special ticket for free drinks) beach party (special ticket for free drinks) BBQ (special ticket for free drinks) everything was chargeable. So when you consider that my husband paid nearly £900.00 just on excursions for us, these extra ticket pushers got a little tiresome and a cheeky really.
Since the only reason I would be in this hotel would be on holiday, then the answer is no I would not return, there was not enough to make it a holiday Movies, swimming, food, nice rooms I can get at home, without the harassment and rudeness of the huge numbers of Israeli guests.
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MCMILLAN from DAGENHAM travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
THOMSON
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The rooms were alway cleaned and perfect presentation. The pool was a toilet for certain guests and that included the grass areas, pool and showers. We often see guests weeing and on one occasion trying to poo on the grass areas around the pool.
Due to certains guests and probems with them we as the english got moved to another resturant the a la carte and did not get the same options of food as the other guests. What food we did have was cold and tasteless. We nicknamed the resturant as THE ZOO AND THE POOL BAR AS THE ANIMAL ENCLOSURE. This was the pool bar and fight club for the english verus certain nations. They do not know how to queue, eat with knives and fork or clean up after themselves. The floor was also a table for them.
I could honestly say I did not know who the entertainment team was and for children all there was was a pirate dvd which didnt play properly.
The hotel staff at front of house level should be paid danger money and given a medal for what they are put through by certain guests.
Gemma the thomason rep tried to talk to management, but they were too slow in helping. She tried her best and in the end moved us to the sofitel. This hotel is a five star hotel and dont let Dan Gemma manager tell you other wise.
As for radisson it is a two star hotel and not a four star hotel. They will have to do a lot of work on it and stop certain guest from running the hotel instead of the weak management, who think that a free meal at the a la carte resturant, bath robe/slippers, fruit and tea and coffee facilities in your room will make you want to stay there with these guest.
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carroll from london travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We always go on all inclusive holidays as we have always found them very good. The cleanliness of the rooms by the cleaners are of an excellent standard, every day there would be a different animal or design made up or our towels. the cleaner also knew when we went for breakfast so wouldn't disturb us.
The cleanlines of food and bar ares is a different story- the bar areas stank, we witnessed a young boy urinating on the bar in the pool and being given a round of applause by his family.
I don't know if that is acceptable to you but it certainly isn't to me!!!!
The swimming pool which could be lovely if they spent time cleaning it was filthy and had bits floating in it, aswell as other guest fully dressed in it.
There wasn't a great choice of food and was never anything child friendly.There was every other nationality themed evening accept for english.
Entertainment consisted of an hour in morning and an hour in afternoon, which was water polo and water areobics.
Childrens evening entertainment consisted of a fifteen minute tape being played (the same one every night)to which the children danced. My seven year old was bored after the first two nights. And WHAT adult evening entertainment.
The entertainment which we watched consisted of fights and rows between other guests, the arrests of people because of drug use. What wasn't at all funny was having a serverly bad stomach for best part of a week which all of us had at some time during the holiday.
We felt very sorry for hotel staff, there isn't enough of them to cater for how many guests there are.when you did get served they were polite and helpful.
The thomson rep we feel was far too young for this hotel, she did absolutly nothing about our complaints and concerns.
I would certainly advise anyone who hasn't already booked to go here, not to.
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Jules and Mart from Brum travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Independent
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We had a great 7 night break at this hotel.
We used the a la carte restaurant for our evening buffet meals as part of the AI. I would recommend this to couple and families with teenage children as it was much quieter than the mayhem next door. You just need to wear long trousers and not shorts.
We enjoyed the food, planty of variety throughout the week, especially the fish.
We used the beach as it was much quieter than the pool area, again lots of kids but this is to be expected in peak season.
Our room was lovely, very spacious and clean with a gorgeous sea view.
The setting is lovely with the mountains behind, but be aware that other than trips you are more or less confined to the complex.
We went on the two hour quad biking and had a great time - book at the beach hut as it's cheaper than with the reps for the exact same trip.
If you want to gp on the Petra trip book early as apparently there are not English speaking guides everyday, and a list of names has to be sent to Jordan by noon on the day before the trip (something to do with Visa's I think). We missed out on the trip because of this.
I had a couple of massages in the spa which were very reasonably priced.
I found the snorkelling off the beach a bit disapointing, especially after a few days, but this is probably cause i was spolit on my last beach holiday to the Maldives. Most people found the snorkelling good.
The only things i didn't like about the hotel was the fact that the staff were always trying to sell you "extras" such as wine, beach bbq, etc
Also that there was no "adults only" bar and there were a lot of kids running round the bar.
Overall I would go back to this hotel in the future, but I would return off peak when ther are no kids there
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Janice Whiteway from Askam In Furness travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Thomson
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I had read quite a few reviews about the hotel before going so was aware that it may have shortfalls. But I was unnecessarily worried.
Our rooms were spotless with our cleaner leaving bedlinen sculptures every day and, when our daughter was unwell, he left her a bunch of flowers. Each evening had a theme, albeit very similar to each other, but the food was excellent each time.
We tried to sit in the same area each morning and evening so we had the same waiters so that after a few days they watched out and we received excellent service. We were more than happy to tip although these are shared out between all staff apparently.
The only complaint we had was some parents are happy to let their children run wild in the restaurant and watching some children pick up food and then return it to the serving dish is very off putting.
The location of the hotel in our opinion was mind blowing. We arrived at night so seeing the fantastic mountains the next morning was amazing.
We knew the hotel was miles from anywhere, but this was the first holiday we have had for a long time where we quite happy to "be imprisoned". A couple of organised trips relieved any cabin fever and allowed us to see more of the country.
We were more than happy to spend the days swimming and snorkeling in the amazing Red Sea. I went thinking we mights see a few fish, but the numbers and variety was fantastic. Entertainment? Well the children asked if the could go to the karaoke which was the paid singer performing. Say no more. We were more than happy to go to the amphitheatre cinema most nights: our drinks in hand and a box of popcorn.
We do live in the country though so this was quite sufficient for us. We more than enjoyed the fortnight and would go back tomorrow if we had sufficient holidays.
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rob,nita,stuey and shell from cannock travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
thomson
on a friends holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: A most enjoyable holiday. Excellently located this hotel is perfect for rest and relaxation, the staff are brilliant and nothing was too much trouble. The rooms were very large and spotlessly clean and the food was really enjoyable with a wide range of food available and cakes to die for !!!
The entertainment was not up to much however we already knew that from previous reports and i do not want to whinge because it did not spoil the holiday. This was our first time in Egypt but not the last as everyone in our party had a brilliant time.
The weather was fantastic. We believe it was marvellous value for money and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone.
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David from Lancaster travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This hotel is immaculate and lives up to it's 5 star rating, rooms cleaned tidied every day and an army of staff working on keeping the grounds in tip top condition.
Anyone visiting this hotel will not be dissapointed except for the die hard whingers, the staff cannot do enough for you as soon as you arrive to the day you leave.
Food was excellent, ate in the a la carte restaraunt most nights (as part of the all inclusive package) very relaxed.
Hotel location is also very good with its own private beach and a cral reef accessable to snorklers with a variety of marine fish.
Knew about the entertainment or lack of it before we arrived, although most nights we were in bed by 10pm after a hard days sunbathing. One night there was an egyptian trio playing native music which was excellent, better than the Isrealli easter sunday festival which occurred inside (whats with all the handclapping?).
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Dave Edwards from Cardiff travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Longwood
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 02 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Beautiful low rise hotel right on the "beach"; very clean and grounds well looked after. Lovely large rooms with big double beds.
Very windy on the beach 5 days out of 7 (red flag flying) but plenty of windbreaks and sunshades on the beach as well as plentiful sunbeds. Sunbeds appeared to be at a premium however by the large pool, which seemed pretty cold on my one attempt.
Food varied a little in the buffet restaurant. Each night had a different theme. The food on some nights was varied and very good eg Oriental night but other evenings was bland with little choice of vegetables. Breakfast was fine and lunch could either be taken in the buffet or in the "Mirage" restaurant above the pool if all you wanted was pasta or a salad.
As has been said before, the local drinks are not up to much - the beer is OK, the spirits are OK with mixers (but the "Scotch" has to be tasted neat to be believed!!) and the wine is absolutely dreadful! We took our own wine box.
Entertainment seemed to consist of a duo in the Coral bar whose repertoire varied from poor to appalling.
All in all a beautiful destination for a chilled out break if you don't want to do anything much for a week.
Plenty of excursions available but all seem to require very early starts and long travelling days , with the exception of the watersports excursion which was a 10 minute minibus ride away.
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parkinson from abergavenny travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
portlnd direct
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 02 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Very clean and friendly, if you wan't nightlife look elsewhere, we did not and this suited us to the ground.
Nice beach and facilities. Great holiday.
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george@barbara Taylor from Newcastle travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Thomson's
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 01 2006 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed in Radisson SAS in Taba.
What can I say except this was 10 star not 4. Food, rooms, staff and location was excellent.
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Anna from Bath travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Thomsons
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 12 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We had a fabulous break in the sun, not too hot - but compared to the UK in December, it was a good temperature.
As most posts say, the staff were very helpful, friendly and genuine (not just after their tips, and if they were it was not obvious!)
We wouldn't usually choose a place where there are going to be a lot of families, but here it was not a porblem, even at the start of the Xmas holidays - it's big enough not to feel swamped by kids.
The food/buffet was amazing, my boyfriend is a fairly fussy eater and filled his plates everyday without fail! The only comment I would make was some things were overly salty for my taste, not a great issue I'm sure you'll agree! I ate salad every day and drank drinks with ice cubes in and no illness.
The trip to Cairo, booked with Thomson, was good value for money, fantastic guide once in the city. But I felt others by Thomson appeared a rip off (eg nearly £40 for a 1/2 day trip to shop in Dahab, and hour's drive away, but same price for full day into Sharm, 2 hrs away?!). Thomsons' trips somewhat lacked imagination so speak to other companies' reps (I'd recommend Longwood, who we went to Eilat/Dolphin Reef with).
Take planty of books, and be prepared for being on the edge of the middle of nowhere! An amazing place to chill out, eat, drink and be merry! We'd book again tomorrow... Surely the best recommendation any holiday can be given?!
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D Keeling from West Mids travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were more than 6 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 12 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just returned from a fabulous 2 week stay at the Radisson.
Could not find any fault with food accommodation or service from staff who we found to be very pleasant and obliging. Hotel pool and beach facilities were of high standard.
Entertainment was basic but bearable. The only problem we had was with flies around the pool which was a bit of a pain,but saw hotel staff several times taking steps to deal with this.
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Simon from Durham travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Thompson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 12 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just came back from this hotel at the weekend. I'm happy to say its one of the best holidays i've been on.
Wasn't aware that Taba is a military air port before we travelled. But was pleased to find that there was a friendly welcome and professional service.
Took 40mins to get from the airport to the hotel. Via a mountainous road, which at least we found interesting.
At the hotel greeted by waiters serving drinks and cold flannels. With Music and Dancers at the enterance.
Travelled with Thompson who made the check in very easy. Bellboys direct you to your room, and carry all your bags. Rooms are of good standard with a massive bed and lots of storage space.
The food choice is fantastic. Its not what you would have in England, but that is why we liked it. Managed to try a new meal every night, that we would never even think about having, and loved it!
Only problem was that the hotel started putting chips on at afternoon meal time. Due to some bedwetters that refused to try anything different. We felt that spoilt the menu, as different types of potato dishes were served before.
Waiters are excellent, always friendly, and with getting to know you, have water poured and your drinks ready before you even sit down. And table cleared of plates straight away after finishing. Just sit down at a table and bar staff you come serve you in the bars. No need to ever get off your chair and order.
But this only comes with treating all staff with respect and smiling alot. They love it!!! Try and speak the langauge it helps even more.
All workers have a sarcastic sense of humour, but just give as good as you get, and it becomes fun.
Entertainment duo as described by other reports on this site. Wasn't the best, but turned good when the women partner ran off stage one night and never came back. The bloke on is own is quite good (but cheesy).
Could write for hours about this hotel. But i'll just sum it up and say its great!!!
P.s Shop workers in hotel are pro hagglers, so be prepared. Also if your wife is with you they always ask to trade her.
But use this to your advantage, and say you are affended, and that he must drop the price even more before you walk out the shop.
P.p.s Complement gardeners on their work, we did and my wife was given a big bouquet by our gardener one night whilst walking back from the bar. With nothing but good intentions than to make her happy.
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Mark from Licnolsnhire travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Longwood
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 12 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: What a great hotel!
Stayed here for a week in December 2005 and had a fantastic time.
The food is really good. I'm a Diabetic, so the quality of food is very important to me and I was not dissapointed here.
All meals are a buffet stle, with waiter service for drinks, which are brought very quickly and often refilled without asking.
Lots of choice at all meals, with different themes each evening (Mexican, Oriental, Asian, etc..). Lunch and evening meals have a grill where food is cooked to order. This can be anything from steak, crab, roast beef,etc.. Didn't see a huge choice for vegetarians.
The hotel is very clean, with a huge number of staff seemingly dedicated to just maintenance. The gardens are beautiful and lush.
Plently of very comfortable sunbeds around the pool and even a few hammocks. Pool is on two levels, with a seperate childs pool. There is also a swim-up bar.
Rooms are nicely appointed, with air-con and balcony, plus TV with English channels.
The hotel location is perfect IF you don't want to do anything but stay by the pool or on the beach. There is no where else to walk to - even another hotel.
Every member of staff speaks really good English and and is more than willing to help.
The entertainement during the day was OK. The typical aerobics and darts. The evening entertainment was poor. Same couple of locals singing the same songs every night. The only let down in this other wise great hotel.
Final comment. Shop around for this hotel with all the companies. I paid £320 for a week all inclusive with Longwood Holidays. At the same time, other companies were advertising this at over £200 more!
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mhacha from west mids travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 11 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The SAS Radisson in Taba, is a very secluded hotel, in a picturesque setting.
The buildigs ,grounds and gardens are beautiful, and well looked after, there is a 400m private beach, and behind the hotel, a stunning mountainscape.
The hotel is in a very peaceful location, and is the place to go to totally unwind.the staff are very friendly, if not a bit un organised, as they seem to thrive in a chaotic manner.
My only concern was that there wasnt enough bar or restaurant staff, you did have to be patient to get a drink, or the attention of the restaurant waiter.
The food was adequate if you are not a fussy eater, but there could have been a little more choice.
I would advise people to go and enjoy yourself at this lovely relaxing hotel in a terific location.
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Pasadena from Birmingham travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Thomson
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 11 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel, the grounds, pool area and beach were very clean and well maintained. Plenty of sunbeds and clean towels. The rooms were large clean and airy, with plenty of storage space, satelite TV, a safe and fridge.
The food was good, hot and plenty of it although the choice was not huge (this is only my opinion based on stays in other AI hotels) The bar area looked a bit dated, but maybe that was the desired effect, but there was a large choice of drinks, beer was on tap and apparently was very good and a tip its stronger in the Somewhere Else Place! The staff were friendly and worked very hard to make your stay enjoyable. If I had to find fault with anything it would be with the Thomson Reps, who seemed keener to sell the trips than give advice on the hotel and the facilities, so when you arrive find out exactly where everything is, the opening times and if they are included in the AI package.
Say this because I went with friends who stayed another week and having now returned told me, we could have eaten in the A la Carte restaurant, which apparently has a buffet too! Something we weren't told by the reps, who told us we got a discount if we ate in there but they didn't tell us there was a buffet. However if you want to totally recharge your batteries this is the place for you.
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Martinn & Emma from Bath travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Fabulous location and immaculate grounds. Set on the beach with beautiful crimson mountain scenery away to the rear.
Reception staff are well organised and very helpful. Check in is a doddle and staff bring your luggage to your room and again collect it for you on departure.
Rooms are spacious, air conditioned and very clean with extremely large and comfortable beds.
Buffet food is plentiful with a good variety. Allow for sometimes warm presentation as it cools after cooking and also be prepared for somewhat fatty and chewy lamb and beef as is the Egyptian way. Plenty of chicken, turkey and fish dishes to compensate. The staff also organise an outside buffet once a week (chargeable) which is nicely presented.
Pool and beach are excellent with sunbeds and free fresh towels available daily.
Drinks are locally produced spirits and bottled soft drinks served by the glass. Service is mainly great and gets better with staff aquantaince. Wine is offered by the glass with meals.
The kids club is superb and run by very friendly staff who will even take the kids to lunch and dinner and then on to the kids disco.
Entertainment is low key and relaxed and you can join in if you wish.
5 minutes up the road is a Waterworld Centre (free shuttle bus every hour) which offers water sports, diving, glass bottom boat trips and sailing activities for the more active.
A perfect place to relax, unwind and enjoy the sunshine and setting.
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steve and debs from aylesbury travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
eclipse
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Anybody travelling to this hotel will be very happy with there choice. Although entertainment is not the best this is a superb hotel in a great if quiet location.
The food is good and the staff are great and will do anything to help. Just treat them as they treat you. The trip down to the hotel is breathtaking.
Would suggest two weeks if you want to do the trips. The hotel is very clean. All in all well recommended.
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Sandra dray from London travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
longwood
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: After reading previous reports we were a little sceptical about going to the Radisson, well I must say that on arrival all our worries melted away.
The hotel is a good looking place, extremely clean and made a good impression. Booking in is fast and efficient the reception staff are very good indeed and speak reasonably good English.
The rooms are a really good size and best of all the beds are comfortable which is a real bonus, bathroom is decent size too and always clean fresh towels and bed linen everyday.
The staff we found to be very helpful and would do anything they could to make your stay with them a happy one.
The food is of a good standard, I am a fussy eater but always found something to eat and never went hungry. Both my husband and myself got a dodgy tummy but this was due to the extreme heat and different food, drink plenty of water and it will usually clear in a couple of days, if needs be there is a good doctor in resort who will sort out the problem really quickly.
Entertainment is very bare bones and needs a bit of a shake up, saying this it really didn’t spoil our holiday.
The hotel is very much in the middle of nowhere but if a quiet and relaxing time is what your after then this is just the perfect place to be.
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Chris from Essex travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Libra
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Upon arrival my first thoughts were what the hell have i done.
On the way to the hotel you have to go through the Taba border which is full of 10 year olds with automatic machine guns which all ogled at my Mrs.
On arriving at the hotel the staff were ignorant, rude and unhelpful.
The room was ok but not cleaned on a regular basis.
The food was damn right discrassful and we ate nothing all week.
we both had diariah and sickness all week.
We took a trip to Isreal for the day to swim with the dolphins this was booked through Libra and although extremly expensive was the highlight of the holiday. Although crossing the border is a nightmare.
I will never ever use a radisson again let alone the poxy holiday company. Egypt is dirty.
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T Ralph from Reading travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This is a fabulous resort, if you are going along to simply sunbathe and relax (which is what we did). The hotel grounds and our room were incredibly clean. All staff were very polite - even though some spoke very little English. The only thing that the hotel needed was more adult entertainment in the evening! The singers were ok, but a little boring every night as they covered the same songs!
The food was of a high standard, and there was always fresh food cooked in front of you if you wished. Breakfasts offered fresh omelettes, pancakes and waffles. Lunch and dinner offered a pasta station. There were theme nights too, offering food selections from different countries.
Sunbeds and umbrellas were spread along the length of the beach. Considering we went in the height of the season, there were always sunbeds spare. The sea was magnificent, offering reefs full of the most fantastic fish. We were given new towels everyday in our room, and for sunbathing.
Both my husband and I had upset tummies for a short time. This must be expected, especially when the temperature you are in is hotter than your blood! Make sure you take the precaution of drinking water at room temerature, as cold water can give you a stomach chill. There is no need to stay away from ice cibes either, as they are made from bottled water.
I would visit this hotel again without a doubt, this really was Taba paradise.
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Lisa Walsh from High Peak travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Longwood
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I have just returned from spending 2 weeks in this hotel.
After reading all the reviews I was 'wary' to say the least. However, it wasn't as bad as I expected.
The hotel is located just out of Taba Heights and there is nothing either side of it which means that unless you go on trips you are confined to the hotel.
The hotel itself is always being cleaned and the gardens are well looked after. The staff are very friendly and every staff member you pass be it a gardener or waiter they all say hello.
Our room was lovely, we had a massive bed and had a sea view (sort of). It was kept spotlessly clean and the cleaners were apologetic if they didn't clean your room in the morning - although I have to say I wasn't impressed by the knock at the door every morning at 9am asking if everything was okay with the room!
The bars were small and the service wasn't the best as the staff did tend to chat to each other, but they were always friendly and polite when you were served.
The glass sizes were small and the soft drinks were dispensed from a large bottle. This often meant that drinks were warm.
The best barman was by far Sayed (small guy), he always had a big smile and cheerful attitude and would go out of his way for you.
Word of warning.... beware the gin!!! it appears to be tequila!!! make sure you ask them to check it first.
Foodwise - mmmm not that great. I am a fussy eater so didn't expect to be amazed by the food. Quite often the food was lukewarm and there wasn't a great deal of choice. The evening meals were themed the best night was definitely Italian (Fridays), as there was pizza, chicken off the bone, loads of choices for the most fussy of eaters!
Entertainment - bless her! there is a singer in the coral bar, but she isn't the best. She did struggle with the english songs which didn't go down all that well - the Egyptian songs she occasionally did went down well though.
Both myself and my boyfriend had really bad stomachs for 10 days of this holiday - I can't say if it was the heat or the food though.
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jay from midlands travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
thomas cook
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This is a lovely hotel in that it is well presented,but both of us were ill while we were there, and after visting the doctors when we got home we were found to have samonella, which had been contracted at the hotel though not sure which food caused it.
We didnt drink any of the water and also didnt drink any alcohol either,so it can only have been the food.
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justine from northants travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
first choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The raddison is a lovely hotel in the middle of nowhere which we knew before we went there so this wasn't a problem.
The rooms were cleaned very well, food was good, staff were friendly. The beach is ok the sea was lovely, snorkelling was brilliant which was mainly what we went for.
We also did the trip to dolphin reef in Eliat which was great. The dolphins swim in there own enviroment, and you just swim along side them wich is a wonderful experience.
The whole place is very laid back and you feel very at home there.
The only problem we had was that althought we followed all the rules to aviod taba tummy( drink botteled water, dont eat too much fruit etc, too much sun ) we still had severe diahorrea, luckily I got it on the last day we were there and my hubby on the day we left.
Thought it has so far still stayed with us and we have been home 3 days!! When we got back on the coach to go to the airport loads of people we discovered had had it too, most of them had been in bed for up to three days. It also only seemed to be our hotel that suffered with it as people from three courners, hyatt and holiday inn were fine.
That was the only bad thing about the holiday though so just stock up on imodium and enjoy!!!
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Sue Malloy from Billericay travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Longwood
on a singles holiday.
There were 1 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just come back from a week spent at the Radisson with my 7 year old daughter. I found the hotel to be clean and extremely pleasant.
The rooms are lovely.
The hotel I thought was 5 star.
If you find a problem with the food then well all I can say is you must be extremely fussy. There was always several choices which included pasta, fish, meat, salad, and the desserts were wonderful.
I found most staff to be friendly.
I think it is very hard to find fault with this hotel and would definitely go back again.
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Claire and Jenny from London travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Libra
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Where shall I start? Probably by saying don't EVER go to this hotel if:
A) You are women travelling with no men
B) It is Easter
We had 2 different hotel staff trying to force themselves into our room on seperate occassions for kisses and 'extras'.
The Israeli's at the hotel over Easter were rude, had no manners and I have never seen so many chauvanistic men in my life. If you call standing at the front of the dinner queue to have the ladle snatched from your hand and some big hairy man physically push you out of the way a holiday, then I'm staying in the UK. All the families had around 10 kids each who they reserved sunbeds for and never used them.
The reception staff were unbelievably rude and dismissive. We had a lot of problems with our room which they were completely unhelpful about.
The food was OK to begin with - quite a lot of choice and the Maitre D was brilliant. However after around 3 days, both myself and my sister had serious diahhorea which continued well into our fourth week of being back in the UK.
The cleanliness was OK - the complex looked like a giant rockery to be honest.
Entertainment-wise there wasn't a lot going on except a room with a mini-stage that was supposed to be some sort of 'disco'. I only went in there to laugh at the 19-year old English holidaymaker girls that were copping off with the DJ and his mates. Desperate is not the word!!!!
All in all, a few of the staff members were OK but the majority were letcherous and I would definitely NEVER go back there again.
LIBRA HOLIDAYS
Speaking as an ex holiday rep myself, I am shocked at the lack of customer service skills Libra reps have.
I suggest Libra train their reps to listen to guests and try to resolve issues rather than completely ignore them. Our three were useless.
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Susan & Shane from surrey travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
longwood
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I was very apprehensive about coming to this hotel as I had read the previous reports, so when I arrived was waiting for everything to go wrong. Well I was in for a surprise. My husband and I have travelled around the world and I must say the standard of this hotel, the staff and also the Longwood rep Liz was excellent.
The hotel was excellent, couldn’t ask for any more from staff. The rooms were cleaned every day and clean linen and towels also changed daily.
Food was very good, catered for all tastes, there were two sittings which I did both and never had a problem getting a table. We stayed at this hotel over the Easter period and it was full to capacity but never once did we have a problem getting a clean table or having to wait on food.
The staff were excellent, very friendly and helpful.
Entertainment was good, you had a children’s disco early evening and at 10.30pm they had a show on followed by an adults disco.
In the Coral bar you had a singer this was more background music which was good. This bar had a lovely terrace area where you could enjoy a drink and a chat.
During the day there were various activities on. In particular a children’s club although we had no kids with us I did take a look at the club area, which I must say was very good, it had plenty for the kids to do and this was opened twice a day for 2 hours each time.
I would definitely visit this hotel again. In fact we only had a week here and I could quite easily have stayed for two weeks.
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Susan & Shane from Surrey travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Longwood
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I was very apprehensive about coming to this Hotel as I read the previous reports so when I arrived was waiting for everything to go wrong. Well I was in for a surprise. My husband and I have traveled around the world and I must say the standard of this hotel, the staff and also the Longwood rep Liz was excellent.
The Hotel was excellent, couldn’t ask for any more from staff. The rooms were cleaned every day and clean linen and towels also changed daily.
Food was very good, catered for all tastes, there was the two sittings which I did both and never had a problem getting a table. We stayed at this hotel over the Easter period and it was full to capacity but never once did we have a problem getting a clean table or having to wait on food.
The staff were excellent, very friendly and helpful.
Entertainment was good, you had a children’s disco early evening and at 10.30pm they had a show followed by adults disco.
In the Coral bar you had a singer this was more background music which was good. This bar had a lovely terrace area where you could enjoy a drink and a chat.
During the day there were various activities on. In particular a children’s club although we had no kids with us I did take a look at the club area, which I must say was very good, it had plenty for the kids to and this was opened twice a day for 2 hours each time.
I would definitely visit this hotel again. In fact we were only here for a week but could quite easily have stayed for two weeks.
The resort was good Lovely gardens kept spotlessly clean.
The Radisson has its own private beach which is lovely it has plenty of shades and beds so no matter what time you go to beach you can be sure of a bed and shade. There is also a beach bar which is very handy.
The Pool area was also kept very clean, with plenty of beds and shades and same as beach you could get a bed any time of day.
There is a Gym which I thought was very well equipped. You can us the sauna or steam rooms at a very small charge. Gym is included in your all inclusive.
We did two trips One to Petra which is very good it’s a long day but would recommend doing it. Although wouldn’t recommend children going on it, think it would be too much for them especially on the coach.
The second one we did was to Massada and the Dead Sea, this is also a long day but have more stops. I loved this trip, putting the mud on and washing in Dead Sea was absolutely hilarious, very good fun. This I think is suitable for children from the ages of 8 upwards. On both trips your Lunch is included and I must say on both occasions was very good.
The only thing I will say it wasn’t as good as Sharm el Sheik for snorkeling.
But have to say it again had a brilliant holiday, Staff very helpful and Food Excellent.
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Kevin from Romford travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Libra
on a friends holiday.
There were 3 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just read Joanne's review, seems like we were on the same trip to Petra. I agree with her regarding the Road Race and this was frustrating!! As for the cost it was worth the money to visit Petra, a once in a life time trip for £150 including visa costs etc, a wonderful day.
Taba is not a resort but a destination with hotels, even the most basic checks before booking the holiday would have highlighted this. The hotel is in a lovely location with stunning views adding to a very relaxing break.
The hotel is very clean and well kept, I was in a room block next the lobby/main hotel block, not sure if I would have been happy in one of the blocks further away. The grounds of the hotel are well laid out, with plenty of room around the pool or at the beach for relaxing, also most sunbeds have cover which is important, during the day the beach bar and pool bar had a good supply of drinks with quick and helpful service.
The rooms were a good size and kept clean, the bathrooms are of a slightly lower standard nothing to do with cleaning but wear and tear.
The food was good given it was buffet style with lots of choice, it was difficult to find clean tables at lunch/breakfast if you went in an hour after they started the sitting, however there was space outside the main area or the waiters would set up a table for you.
Evenings meals were in two sittings, no problems with the 19.00 hours sitting.
Service could have been better but.... more on this later.
Most people scored the hotel down on entertainment, I was pleased to see it was not as bad as I was led to believe. We had pool activities in the morning, dancing games by the pool, water polo in the afternoon (although no one played the option was there) kids disco every evening and nightly entertainment at 22:30, I thought this was too late but it allowed people to have a late dinner at 21:00 hours. On top of this there were pool competitions and a good kids club 2 sessions X 2 per day taking kids off your hands for 4 hours at no extra cost!!
In the evening there were two bars, sometimes I waited 5 minutes to get a drink (not a problem) more to do with other guests jumping in!! One of the bars had nightly live music however it was frustrating knowing when the singer was on break or not!!
The disco bar is quite small and smokey from 22.00 hours but quiet earlier in the evening, watching the kids disco was quite good fun.
Now back to my but..... Not sure what some people expected but for £420 AI it represented a great value holiday...
On top of the Petra trip there is the trip to Cairo at £88, a long day 03:20 start until midnight, but again seeing the Pyramids at Giza worth the money and time.
If you go, enjoy.
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Joanne from Aberdeen travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Libra
on a friends holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 03 2005 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I had read all the reviews on this posting prior to travelling and went with a totally open mind.
The positive things I have to say about the hotel:
- The hotel itself is gorgeous, no doubt about it, 4* surroundings
- The food being buffet every day is varied, there is always a chicken dish, a fish dish and a beef dish, the salad bar is excellent and there is a pasta booth where you can get a fresh pasta dish made up albeit with the same tomato sauce.
That is where the compliments end however! The staff are just so rude.
Dinner times became a chore starting first of all by trying to find a clean table which was properly set up. Getting served water was no problem but trying to get some wine (especially white) was a joke, and don't drink the rose, it tates like red wine watered down. We arrived on the Saturday and by the Wednesday we thought that they were watering down the white wine and adding red cordial to the red wine. We complained after 2 days and saw a slight improvement, this only lasted a day.
There is a general reluctance to serve alcohol to you, and the bars are terribly understaffed and even when there are only a few people at the bar the bar staff would prefer to get on with the setting up/washing glasses than serve customers.
The Libra rep only gave information about ways you could spend more money on Libra, we had a day trip to Petra which cost £107, which although magnificent was not worth the money for the hassle to get there. We spent 2 hours at the border crossings, then the holiday company for some reason did not know there was a marathon being run that day, a border to border one which meant the road was closed for 2 hours which wasted 2 hours of what was an expensive trip (apparently they just materialise and are not organized months in advance). Petra was worth a visit but only if you can get there yourself and spend a couple of days there.
Watch out if you eat at the a la carte restaurant, they charge you for the water! And a bottle of L'Anson cheap £15 a bottle champagne costs £180!!!! Ask to see the wine list as they try to sneakily give you sparkling wine at a cost of £80 a bottle! That is sterling NOT Egyptian Pounds!
The lazy boat trip is expensive but well worth it, also trade description act should apply to the rep's description of swimming with dolphins! They are wild and you can't touch them, it is an amazing couple of hours which is best spent at the dolphin sanctuary NOT the marina, miss that one out if you can. The dolphin sanctuary is amazing, part of the hippy trail in Eilat. I was just glad to get out of the hotel.
A 4* plush hotel with rubbish service not even worth 1*
I am sorry to say the staff really do ruin what could be a most enjoyable holiday, go to the Hilton if you can, the reports we got from people who stayed there were glowing!
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NATALIE from MANCHESTER travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
LONGWOOD HOLIDAYS
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 12 2004 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Me and my boyfriend really enjoyed ourselves on this holiday it was exactly as i expected.
The hotel was in the middle of knowhere but i was aware if this before booking and didn't make a difference to our holiday what so ever.
Cleanliness was excellant we even got patterns made out of petals and our towels which was a very nice touch.
Food was lovely and a big enough selection for anyone, did miss the bacon & sausages on breakfast tho!!
entertainment was brilliant on new years eve really enjoyed myself.
Staff were really friendly made a few very nice friends which I did spend my new year with dancin on chairs obviously very drunk by this time.
Bit disappointed with drinks finishing at 11.00pm on new years eve and the over priced bottles of "cheap" champaigne available.
But if I wanted a very relaxing holiday I would visit this hotel again but would not fly to Israel as we did, as crossing the border was ridiculous the time wasted and security checks took hours, and not the 45 minutes we were told.
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chris lyttle from shanklin isle of wight travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
peltours
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 11 2004 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed at the sas in November 2004, our room was very nice and clean, fresh towels every day, nice touch. The food was of good quality, really enjoyed the Italian night, waiting for a drink was a nightmare, wine by the glass eh.
The location was barren to say the least. The hotel staff friendly and spoke great English.
The entertainment was a joke imatation was the name of the group clueless. Very cold of a night time colder than the isle of wight.
We had a great time with the locusts swarms everywhere no fun I can tell you. In the bar paying guests come first i.e. Vodka and Coke with the smallest piece of lemon I have ever seen, cut with a laser gun, big chunks for paying guests, strange but true.
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Kieron Rablah from Biggleswade travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Libra
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2004 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: The hotel was very well presented; the grounds especially were very well maintained. Our room was cleaned every day and everything worked fine. Our only problem was that the beds had a very thick blanket and no top sheet. This took a couple of days to sort out.
The food is fantastic. I don't eat meat but that wasn't aproblem as the fish was always excellent. The deserts were fantastic.
If you go to Taba for anything other that the sea and sun then you havnt done your research. The snorkeling is fantastic. My whole family went out every day and my 5 year old has the memory of swimming with a turtle actually with several turtles. The visibility is superb and there is plenty of coral if you hunt around a bit; the further away from the beach you go the better it gets.
There is nothing at all around the hotel. There are a few birds around, we saw odd buzzards,hawks and some pretty small birds like wagtails, stonechats and some cool looking wheatears.
The staff were very polite to me though my wife did say that she felt they were off hand with her.
I have no comment on the entertainment as having a 5 year old with us means that you tend to go to bed early and get up early, however during the day the activities seemed to keep the older children happy.
Only areas of criticism would be that there is no health and safety measures around the pool. The drainage system around the pool edge is flush with the pool edge and I was one of several people who stepped straight through it and cut my foot. The tiled floor has patterns of lethal slippery tiles and loads of people slipped over the poolhas walkways and stepping stones that are an accident waiting to happen.
Lastly, when a holiday is this much value, sadly it will attract the type of person who thinks it's ok to just let their children play unsupervised and form into a gang who swear loudly, bully smaller children and generally behave as though it were break at school;all day. The same parents blow smoke all over you around the pool and wear thongs (should be a maximunm age limit).
But thats the price you pay for going on a good value holiday.
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Gillian & Andrew from Southport travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Longwood via Teletext
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 10 2004 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We were initially apprehensive about this hotel after reading reviews on several websites. However, we were very pleasantly surprised when we got to the hotel complex.
As long as people are prepared before they go they will have a fabulous time. There really is nothing to do outside of the hotel complex, and all that is offered is as much food and drink you can possibly gorge yourself on. The snorkelling is great and if you're lucky you may even see a turtle.
The excursions offered by Longwood looked amazing but unfortunately while we were there, there was a bomb at the Hilton and we didn't really feel too safe travelling through Israel, but we will go back and do some of the trips.
The food was really nice and there was plenty on offer each night - even for the fussiest eater (me!). If you didn't want to eat buffet style there was an a la carte restaurant where the food and service were fantastic. Be warned, if you eat there early on in your holiday - you will be there every night.
The hotel staff are so friendly and really do work hard to make your stay enjoyable.
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Bill Turville from Aylesbury travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Libra
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2004 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Was quite relieved to find standards at this hotel much better than expected, having read a lot of the previous reviews. I can only assume that the problem with overcrowding due to holidaying Israelis at weekends is much more pronounced during the peak summer months.
We went the last week in September, and although there was quite an influx at the weekend it did not present any problems. Apart from that, I can only assume that some of the previous contributors have spent much time in countries like Egypt, where 5 star hotels are not going come remotely close in standard (or price!) to 5 star in hotels in Europe.
We paid £414 for 7 nights all-inclusive with flights, about the cost of 3 nights without food drink or flights in a 5 star hotel in London or Paris - do the math!
All of that said, the rooms were excellent, the hotel was luxurious, in beautiful surroundings.
The beach was fine, but the sea inclined to be a bit rough when we were there and the beach snorkelling not as good as Shark's Bay, Sharm, where we stayed last year.
The food was a bit uneven, but there were plenty of good things on on offer every day to satisfy most people. The beer was fine, the Egyptian wine pretty poor (as usual), but the cocktails excellent.
Overall the all-inclusive package worked a lot better than some we have experienced in Egypt
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Coral Buchanan from Brighouse travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Longwoods
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2004 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed at the Radisson in September and felt compelled to write something having read the previous negative reports. This made us seriously wonder if we had made the right choice!
We had a great week. The room was spacious well presented and comfortable. The housekeeping was excellent and the room done twice daily.
The food was not the biggest selection we have seen but what was there more than met our tastes. We had an excellent meal at the Italian. The hotel was not busy and there was no problem getting a table at whatever time we chose to eat.
The location was splendid-the backdrop breathtaking.
There was no problem finding sunbeds and shade and the hammocks were a nice touch.
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Coral Buchanan from Brighouse travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Longwoods
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2004 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed at the Radisson in September and felt compelled to write something having read the previous negative reports. This made us seriously wonder if we had made the right choice!
We had a great week. The room was spacious well presented and comfortable. The housekeeping was excellent and the room done twice daily.
The food was not the biggest selection we have seen but what was there more than met our tastes. We had an excellent meal at the Italian. The hotel was not busy and there was no problem getting a table at whatever time we chose to eat.
The location was splendid-the backdrop breathtaking.
There was no problem finding sunbeds and shade and the hammocks were a nice touch.
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peate from Blackpool travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
peltours
on a singles holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2004 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We visited the Radisson on the 6th September for one week. On arrival at the hotel the first impression we had was nice efficient hotel, wrong, we waited 45 minutes after arriving to be given our room key by staff who did not want to be bothered by guests.
No explanation was given as to the layout of the hotel or which restraunts to use for which meals.
On arrival at our room we were pleasantly surprised, very large and clean.
The food was very average if not poor, the service was poor. All in all would not go to this hotel again or for that matter to Taba the whole area is like one large never ending building site.
I would not use the tour company again the only time you ever saw the rep was to sell you an overpriced excursion.
This hotel is not a 3 star hotel never mind a 5 star. The mainly Egyptian staff all need a course on guest relations.
They also stop your all inclusive facilities after noon on your last day so you have to pay for everything including drinks (& water!) After this time.
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Tom from Farnham travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Libra
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: My partner and I have just returned from a weeks stay at the Radisson SAS resort, Taba. We travelled with Libra holidays on an all-inclusive basis.
The hotel itself is a modern building with well-maintained gardens, large rooms and good air-conditioning.
The pool area was grossly overcrowded with loud music being played throughout the day. The beach is man-made with gravel, stones and sand, although it is an all-together more relaxing atmosphere than the pool. That is however if you can find a sun-lounger, I found myself trailing along the beach at 8:30 in the morning searching for somewhere to sit.
The main restaurant is Olivos, serving buffet style breakfast, lunch and dinner. The buffet is always extremely overcrowded with no staff willing to help find you a seat. There is a very limited choice of food for lunch and dinner with virtually no attempt to vary the menu. To say the food is poor is an understatement, some days it was literally inedible.
In the evening as part of the all-inclusive package you can eat in the ‘Italian restaurant’ Cucine. However I still remain unsure what was Italian about this restaurant, it was simply the same revolting food in a calmer setting.
The lack of customer service in this hotel appalled us. The majority of the staff are friendly yet completely incompetent. We had to wait up to 10 minutes to be served a drink in the restaurants. The reception staff are particularly bad, they are completely unwilling to help and extremely rude.
I work for an airline and have travelled extensively throughout the Middle East, yet this is by far the worst hotel I have ever stayed in. We didn’t pay a great deal for this holiday and I was not anticipating anything amazing. However for a supposed 5 star hotel I expected more than 2 star standards. I suggest that the holiday companies re-visit this hotel, as it cannot continue to be advertised as a 5 star resort
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Phil Davies from Windsor travelled to SAS Radisson Hotel with
Longwood Holidays
on a family holiday.
There were 3 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2004 |
rated the SAS Radisson Hotel as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Modern building with large rooms, cheerful & helpful staff, great weather. Excellent sea swimming, snorkeling & scuba diving.
Poor room security (broken or temperamental locks on main door, inter-connecting door and patio doors), poor food with no option for a-la-carte on occasions, grossly overcrowded from Thursday until Sunday with weekending Israelis.
The resort is spacious, modern and well maintained. Guest rooms are clean and larger than average with excellent air conditioning, however lack a kettle. Water from hot and cold taps is identical, with both being tepid!
Check in and Checkout was simple and as efficient as it could be when dealing with coach loads of guests at a time.
Lounger and sunshade facilities were fine, although insufficient in quantity for the number of guests. I had to get up at 7.30 each morning in order to reserve loungers with shade for my family, as failure to do so would have meant us having no where to rest throughout the day.
The beach is not golden sands, more yellow sand with a gravel and stone mix. It is not suitable for small children as there is too great a risk of cuts and injury from small stones. You absolutely must us beach shoes.
Beach bar was great, but the main hotel bar was simply too small for the volume of customers – we regularly gave up in the evening after waiting 10 minutes to be served.
Main restaurant is buffet style. Attempts are made to vary the menu, but cannot disguise the very limited choice of chicken & pasta on offer every day. Buffet is very, very busy at breakfast and also for the second dinner sitting at 9.00 pm. My advice is to breakfast before 8.30 and if using the buffet to eat at the 7.00 pm sitting. At other times the buffet is, quite simply, an absolute zoo and a really un pleasant experience! We regularly opted to eat, at an additional cost, in the a-la-carte ‘Cucine’ restaurant where there was some choice and the atmosphere was far calmer. Should we have had to do this, at a claimed 5* resort? I don’t believe so.
Upset stomachs? Of course … us and everyone else we spoke to! I don’t believe this was down to poor food hygiene but instead was simply due to the very hot climate and a change in food and water.
The main issue, and a serious one, was the overcrowding of the hotel. There were simply too many guests for the pool, beach, bar and restaurant facilities, especially at weekends when Israeli families visited. When I raised this with the Guest Relations Manager, she acknowledged the problem but claimed that the hotel needed to do as much business during the peak summer season in order to make up for lower business levels in the winter months! Either she thought I was a fool, or she was a fool herself!
Overall, this holiday was value for money rather than a bargain. No way was it a 5* vacation experience, 3* maybe just. We would not go back to this resort during the peak season because of the overcrowding, but for a winter sun break it may be fine. Go here if you want marvelous swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving and lots of sun. Do not come here expecting peace, quite and anything other than basic subsistence-level food.
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