We (couple in our twenties, living in Switzerland) spent a week here at the beginning of February 2013. I will start with the positive aspects of the hotel and then move on to those issues I feel could be improved to make this a truly excellent hotel.

Positives- The hotel grounds are immaculate and a great deal of work clearly goes into keeping them that way. The garden, cleaning, reception, bar and restaurant staff are all generally very friendly and professional and work very hard. The rooms are modern and clean and well maintained. The food in the restaurant was varied, tasty and well presented. We especially enjoyed the Egyptian themed evening and would have liked to see more typical Egyptian food in the buffets in general. We had excellent weather the entire time (temperatures in the high twenties, bright strong sunshine and clear skies). We went on two trips (offered by Yasser from FunFly); the desert safari and the boat trip to Giftun island. In general we enjoyed them both- saying that both days were long and hectic and they crammed a lot into a short period of time. Being Egypt organisation and time-keeping were not exactly the strong point of the trips (!) but they were enjoyable and good value for money and we felt well looked after. We also enjoyed the food on both trips.

Negatives- The staff selling all manner of trips and services on the beach can be very intrusive, pushy and demanding. This is partly a cultural issue as personal space and privacy are obviously not seen the same way in North Africa as they are in Europe but I think that it is important that the management address this. They should realise that some people will want to try out absolutely everything on offer but others, like us, are not interested in henna tattoos, watersports and camel riding and would prefer to be left in peace and quiet to enjoy the beach and the weather and to relax. The incessant attempts by these staff members to sell their wares is exhausting and irritating and on a few occasions when we politely but firmly declined the service on offer (for the fifth or sixth time!) several of them were rude and aggressive (especially the henna tattoo person). Given that these people are employed by the hotel (or at least permitted by the hotel) and you cannot avoid them if you are in the hotel grounds, it is very important that the management realises that this is very irritating and should be done away with. It is enough to make guests aware of what is on offer once (at check-in with a brochure perhaps) and then leave them to make their own decisions- pressuring guests and harassing them is not OK at all.

The second negative, in my opinion is the 'animation' (entertainment) team. We saw two shows, one of which was really not very good at all (Egyptian show I think) and another (Mamma Mia, believe it or not) which was much better, mostly as a result of one very talented dancer (Paolo) and several others with actual skill. In general the shows should have fewer participants but should use actual trained dancers/performers rather than an assortment of people who clearly do not have any proper background in dance...! On another note, the amount of noise made by the team, who insist on screeching and screaming around the pool area and on the beach several times a day (especially 'Ziggy' with his horrendously irritating voice resembling an animal being slaughtered) is very annoying and totally ruins the natural tranquillity any relaxing atmosphere... In general the 'animation' team along with the people peddling their wares on the beach came across, unfortunately, as immature and disruptive. This is in stark contrast to the other staff in the hotel who were mostly excellent.

One last thing I found distasteful was the way the manager singled out the two black members of the team and made, in my opinion, very racist comments about them in front of the entire hotel... Perhaps this is another 'cultural' thing but joking that 'you can't see them when the lights go out' and asking them to do their 'special' African dance came across as unbelievably insulting and belittling and from a European perspective, very racist... In general I didn't appreciate the way the manager treated the other staff, at one point berating the head chef for not coming on stage quickly enough by saying 'hurry up, nobody is going to wait for you'...! If I was told once he was the General Manager I was told a thousand times- someone needs to take their ego down a notch and learn some manners, in my opinion.

If these problems were addressed then the hotel could provide a truly excellent place for people to relax and enjoy themselves.

our stay lasted for 5 days and 4 nights on All-inclusive basis (soft all-inclusive).
The Food is really good, the animation team is really friendly as well as the whole team.
The rooms are clean, not really spacious but good. You can see the sea from almost 60% of hotel whether you are in rooms or restaurants or the pool.
Would love to go again.

This is my second stay at Mercure Hurghada, it met my expectation, the people strive to serve you at their best.
It started with a smooth check in and the lovely smile of Jasmine who introduced the hotel to us in a short tour, Special thanks to Mr. Elia "Deputy GM" who was helpful and active every where in the hotel.
Thanks for the animation team for their wonderful shows every night, specially Notre dam show.
Thanks for the people at the restaurant, the Chef's they are doing a great job to make you enjoy every single meal.
The hotel offers you every thing to enjoy your stay, all kinds of water sports , boat trips, tennis table, Billiard, Football court, tennis court, horse riding, camel riding, Spa, Sauna, Gym. all of this services are offered in a high standard.

The hotel has a gift from God which is the spectacular view of the sea and the beach is very well equipped and you can enjoy swimming with no stones or coral at the sea
The kids area is very nice. However it should be improved by adding more outdoor activities for kids.
I highly recommend this hotel to enjoy the red sea and to charge back your batteries.

We spent an wonderful week 20-27.1.2013 with my 6 year old daughter in Mercure Hurghada. We had AI, and it was very good choice. Food was very good. Anna my daughter enjoyed the pool and the kids club, Special thanks to Kidsclub lady (forgot the name Sorry). Also thanks to entertainment group.

We will be back!