rated the Moevenpick Resort El Quseir as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We booked the Movenpick Resort El Quseir for a week's beach holiday for total rest and relaxation, with snorkelling thrown in for good measure. Last year we had more time and had done Cairo, Luxor, and Sharm. This time we wanted a lovely hotel with a real sandy beach...and that's exactly what we got.
The hotel is a two hour transfer south of Hurghada. We'd endured a 32 hour delay from Manchester curtesy of Excel Airways so arrived at 4am in the morning. Our Longwood rep was fantastic (as is usual with Longwood) and had provided us with icy cold bottles of water for our onward transfer.
The Movenpick hotel is an award-winning eco-friendly, architect designed resort. It is a series of domed bungalows in warm sandstone, each with a couryard overlooking either the sea, the pools, or gardens full of date palm trees. It is built around Sirena Beach in El Quadim Bay and is about 3km outside of town. There is only another two hotels on the same stretch of coast.
The rooms, half of which are non-smoking, are extraordinarily clean, as is the whole resort. One day we even saw staff sifting the sand on the beach and removing any sharp shell so no-one would hurt themselves. We had a huge bed with the fluffiest pillows I have ever seen, the towels were also the softest ever!
Our mini bar was replenished every day with bottles of water which made a pleasant change from having to buy it elsewhere we have stayed in Egypt.
When we stayed at the end of August the hotel was only 60% occupied. We were the only British people there, guests were mainly Swiss or German. There was no loud animation team, just a programme of daily activities posted on a wall near the main pool. No-one tried to solicit you to take any trip and you could have such things as a lesson in Arabic, an Egyptian cookery lesson, or a tour round the hotel. There is an archery range, tennis courts, volley court on the beach, you can be as active or as lazy as you wish. The hotel has its own camels and horses, which make an appearance on the beach each day. The camels were even fitted with bags on their rear ends so they did not soil the beach!
There is a wellness centre at the hotel with a gym and jacuzzi. Massages are offered ranging from 60 to 160LE. We took the hotel's camel safari one evening, venturing into the desert at 5pm accompanied by a local Beduoin man. The hotel had even sent us along with a ruck sack with water and fruit which we ate sat on a rug half way round our trail. Our two hour trip cost equivalent of £10. The hotel operates its own free shuttle bus each evening for the five minute drive into town. It collects you after an hour.
As for food and drink, we had the usual high standard of Egyptian breakfast...cold cuts, cereals, any type of egg dish you wanted cooked in front of you, yoghurts, fruits, croissants and amazing Swiss raspberry jam. The bread was simply excellent, sprinkled with saffron, poppy seeds and carraway. We saved money by not going half-board with Longwood as evening meal worked out at about £14 instead of their £17 supplement. There are four restaurants on site to choose from each evening. Seagulls a la carte was suprisingly the cheapest. Three evenings a week the fisherman's hut on the beach is open. This has to be booked the previous day and the hotel will take you the two minutes drive down there so you don't have to walk along the beach. This is a magical experience, small tables and cushions on the beach, with that days catch bbq'd for you.
Lunch was invariably a shared sandwich (full of Red Sea prawns for about £2.50) or pizza (for only £3) at one of the two swim-up pool bars. All round the grounds are ice cream stands with adverts saying 'It isn't just ice cream, it's Movenpick ice cream' and having sampled a fair few of their flavours I can agree with this boast. The coffee flavour with caramelised hazelnuts was gorgeous! I will return if only for more of these.
The main pools near reception were the first we found,(one full size, one paddling pool for kids, one pool with swim up bar...connected by waterfall) but once we found the other pools one day after a stroll on the sea front walkway we never left it. Only about 4 of the 20 or so sets of padded sunbeds and wind-breaks were ever occupied so we frequently had the whole pool to ourselves. By both pools there is towel service where you are given big fluffy towels. They encourage you to keep these for two days (bearing in mind the hotel's awards for being eco-friendly) and on your balcony you will find a discreet low level drying line to air things overnight.
The most idyllic place in the whole resort was the 'Top of the Rock' bar. It is located on the rock jutting out into the sea and has two levels of comfy padded seats, lit up solely each evening by candles and lamps. So utterly romantic and the best place to watch the sun go down over the mountains, sipping a cocktail before dinner, then back again after eating for a night cap and a smoke of an apple flavoured shisha pipe. The staff at this bar almost glided round you, providing top-ups for your drinks and an amazing array of snacks. A guitar player strumming away in the background only added to the magic.
This hotel is reviewed by the National Geographic as one of the 'most paradisical hotels in the whole of Egypt' and I certainly agree. No-one hassles you, there are more than enough sunbeds round the pools and down at the beach, the staff anticipate your every need, the sea is so warm and clean with fish of every colour and variety. There was no need to go on boat trips to snorkel, we simply walked into the sea. There is also a dive school here, Subex, which seemed incredibly efficient. One night we sat on the Top of The Rock and watched the sea lit up turquoise in patches by the lights of the night divers. Before sun-down you can also see the eagles circling over the hotel.
For people with young children there was a kids club run by three young Egyptian women. Each day we saw children being entertained on the playground, or in a huge Bedouin tent set up for them on the beach. From the lack of noise from children around the resort I can only guess that they were being well-entertained and occupied!
All in all, we would rate this as one of the best hotels we have stayed in the world over. It truly is a romantic, classy, retreat from reality. I am almost loathe to post this review in case the secret which appears to be the Movenpick El Quseir is discovered!
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claire from Ulverston, Cumbria travelled to Moevenpick Resort El Quseir with
Longwood
on a couples holiday.