My wife and I stayed for one week at the all inclusive Grand Makadi. Due to a delay in having a room ready on our arrival we were upgraded to a junior suite with a sea view. Our room was very large with a super-king sized bed. The junior suite had a sofa and two comfy chairs as well as a coffee table and writing desk. There was a vanity and plenty of storage space for clothes and bags. It is Egypt and as such the bathroom is below par compared to European hotels, but it is not significant enough to spoil the overall impressive room standard.
The hotel has four restaurants and I would recommend booking one of the 'a la carte' places each night as we found the buffet disappointing (although not awful). The Italian, Caribbean and Lebanese restaurants all have decent menu choices and the food is a good standard for an all inclusive venue. As a note on this, ALL inclusive is a bit of a misnomer as any; non Egyptian drinks, room service, bar drinks before 10am or after midnight and anything from the lobby bar, are NOT included in the package. So long as you know this before going, you shouldn't be disappointed.
The beach is on a coral shelf so you will absolutely need beach shoes to go into the water, you can buy them from a shack on the beach itself, but I would recommend going to the small store in the lobby which is independently owned. The store will sell them for half the price of the beach shack.
When the tide is out you can walk waist deep and see magnificent fish swimming around your feet! If you sneak out a bread roll from breakfast you can feed the fish like they were in a tank, quite spectacular.
You can borrow snorkeling gear from the beach shack free of charge for 1 hour sessions if you wish.
The service of the waiting staff at the Grand Makadi is excellent. In all of the bars and restaurants the staff seem to genuinely enjoy their jobs and are generally friendly and attentive. The staff work very hard and can be non stop at busy periods. Tipping is up to you, sometimes we did and sometimes not. There was no difference in the high standard of service we received due to leaving or not leaving a tip.
The grounds of the Grand Makadi are lovely, and very well tended by an army of gardeners. The grass is lush and the many tall tress make an attractive setting all day and into the night.
The pool is vast and sprawls around the Caribbean restaurant making distinct areas. I would have liked a 'quiet area' dedicated part of the pool as screaming teenagers can get irritating, but it is big enough to find a place to bob about comfortably whatever your mood. There is also a separate pool for small children. The hotel in general is very family friendly, however there is not a great deal of entertainment or activities for older children. If you plan to take energetic teenagers, there maybe better choices out there.
We did not venture out to the town in Hurghada as we needed nothing that the hotel couldn't provide. Again, if you are the party seeking all night type then this may not suit you.
The evening entertainment is fairly poor, from a 'gap year student' style animation team, to an almost comical lounge singer. This should not put you off however, as it is mainly a background to a pleasant evenings drink around the terrace pool.
The large majority of the hotel's guests are German, despite this, we could always find vacant sunbeds around the pool or on the beach every morning, although by midday the choice would be very limited.
The Grand Makadi is very much a 5 star hotel for Egypt. It should be kept in mind that there is no internationally approved standard and it's not going to compare with the best 5 star hotels in Mauritius for example. However, we have been to 5 star hotels in Egypt before and this is the best by a country mile. I would certainly recommend for couples and families with younger children.

1 week all inclusive at the Makadi is a great vacation. I had 4 months earlier been at the Sheraton in Soma Bay who is superiour to the Makadi as a romantic getaway, but now with my 5 year old kid along the Makadi was a much better pick.
The place is flawless once you get into the routine of the "all inclusive" schedule. Learn how to reserve tables and understand the "upgrades" they sell. We upgraded 2 dinners (Beach sunset + BBQ, abot 20 Euro PP) and both was fantastic. If you go, do this, its well worth it!

The pool is huge, beach is nice with a good reef about 100 meters out. Only thing I dont like is the crazy middelaged german ladies getting up at 5 am to reserve sunbeds. If you are one and read this, please, you are on holiday, relax! They need to add some more sunbeds at the beach.

There is a very nice selection of resturants covering any need you have. I got very fond of the caribian style one by the pool. Tasty food and charming staff. There is also an italian and arabic resturant. Both needs reservations so plan ahead. But again, for a really great food experience say yes to the people who sells he theme dinners. They really are worth it.

So to wrap things up. I would go back any time for a family holiday, for a romantic getaway I would pick the Sheraton in Soma Bay. My 5 year old kid first question at the airport, was "When can we go back"

Highlights,
Rooms, food, reef, afternoon coffe and icecream

Lows,
Only english kids club, crazy sunbed huggers, no wifi

Just returned from a weeks (too short) holiday at this stunning hotel, truly deserves its 5 star rating.
Usual hassle at the airport for Visas, One interesting thing... I had no english notes only scottish & Visa guy wouldnt accept them, they were £15 each. but then got told if I had US dollars to go to another desk where the guy charged us $15!! no explanation for this!
this was our 4th trip to egypt in 3 years, best hotel by far.
A bit out of the way but no need to leave the resort.
Definetly aimed at the couples market.
The drive down to the hotel takes your breath away & you feel like royalty!
The arrival was very nice,drinks in the reception while you checked in then bell boy arrived & showed us to our room & gave us loads of information about the hotel.
We arrived at 2230 but the italian restuarant was kept open for us to get some dinner, pizza was superb!
The room was very nice, nice touch was the beach bag with fresh towels, Blackout curtains made it easier to sleep after sunrise.
We got up each day around 9am & had no problem finding a pair of beds with sunshade by the pool.
There are 4 resturants to use, the main buffet is very clean & well laid out with a nice outdoor area, fresh omlettes, fried eggs & pancakes cooked infront of you.
3 Other resturants, Italian, Caribbean & Libian/ Oriental
to eat here in the evenings you need to book during the day but the italian & Caribbean are open during lunchtime, just walk in.
the libian/ Oriental has 2 meal times 1830 & 2015 with musicians & a belly dance show while you have your meal.
The beach bars/ lunch food was very small portions, burgers were gone in 2 bites but very tasty.
The animation team were a disgrace, one very poor Blues brothers show all week, We had a chat with the general manager & he said the same & they are currently making changes to this problem.
All of the staff were great, couldnt do enough for you, especially
Emad at the terrace bar always made us feel so welcome.
We went to have a look at the Makadi palace one afternoon & asked to see a room for a possible return trip, all the rooms are either junior suites or family rooms, they were superb.
Free shuttle bus to Hurghada one night was the usual hassle from the shop owners, we went to Hard rock Cafe, asked for small Nachos & the plate put any UK restuarant to shame, we couldnt finish them, then the main course was the same.....huge! £38 for 2 starters, 2 mains, onion rings & 4 beers, great value.
Changed our dollars at the Egypt bank desk (1000- 1300 daily) in the hotel lobby, as at the reception desk the rate was very poor!
Free wifi in reception & internet cafe on the beach.
Buy your beach shoes in the shop inside reception not on the beach only £3 or £6,50 at beach shop.
To sum up..... the best most luxurious relaxing holiday we have ever had!
booked through Flyglobespan.co.uk but can also book with redseaholidays.co.uk

We arrived hot and bothered after a five hour flight and a long queue at the egyptian airport as you have to fill in a visa form. We were sat in reception and given a registration form and a cold drink which was much appreciated. On the transport to the hotel we were told we have an introduction to the hotel at a meeting in the morning.

There are seven restaurants to choose from but we mostly stuck to the one on the beach, it had everything you could need. The waiters and all hotel staff are respectful, courteous and work hard. The hotel is clean and well looked after. It was very quiet and no rush or queues for any facilities. Food and drink was plentiful and free bottled water was included with the all inclusive price - as much as you want every day. A lovely extra we liked was the beach bag that came with two clean towels in every day, what a luxury. Some days you had to be early to get seating on the beach, although there was the pool areas with sunloungers to choose from.

One evening we went on the transport to Hurghada town - dont bother. It was like Southend on sea. If you do cover your all inclusive bracelet or they hound you as they know where you are from. Males in the street made unwanted comments and you were approached from all sides and hassled. Not nice, we went back to the hotel where we were to collect our transport and had a drink there not bothering to venture out again.

The hotel was quiet and there seemed mostly adults, a few children not many. There didnt seem much for children to do being out of the town and not near any other facilities. I would recommend the hotel for adults wanting a good value break the peace and quiet was wonderful. The weather was exceptionally hot be ready for this. I am a sun lover however, i still burnt regardless of the cream i applied.

The staff like to be tipped although they do not push this. They earn very little and it seems the norm to tip them. They cannot do enough for you - its quite embarassing having your beach towel laid out for you, however, they want to do these jobs for you and feel this is why they are employed.

At the Makadi Palace the neighbouring hotel which is part of the same group there is a cash machine which we used having gone without any egyptian currency.

In the evenings there is some sort of basic entertainment which we werent expecting, a vague murmer of old chart songs song and some wacky dance routines, however, this wasnt all evening only for about an hour and tolerable.

There are tennis courts and a little water aerobics each day, they gym was outside and upstairs and extremely hot. Although clean and well cared for you had to pay to use it, there were no free weights for the bars and the stepper machine i used was broken and had no read out. Didnt bother again went running - that was very hard and i wouldnt recommend it unless reasonably fit !!

Brilliant good value break - thoroughly recommended.