We stayed at the Three Corners Hotel in Marsa Alam for two weeks in September. We wanted to combine a relaxing sunbathing holiday with getting out and seeing some of Egypt and we used the hotel as a base. We had a fab holiday but wanted to post (what we think is) an honest opinion of the hotel.
First impressions - the hotel and pool area are beautiful. However, the hotel is still very new and the grounds are still being planted and in some parts are quite barren. Given a couple of years for the grounds to establish, the hotel to complete some of the planned facilities and the surrounding area of Port Ghalib to really take off, the hotel will be spot on.
Our room was a very good size and very clean, good bathroom with excellent shower! Maid service every day. Be aware that every room should have a mini-fridge. Our room did not have one. We only discovered that we should have had a fridge four days into the holiday when we read the guest information booklet provided in every room. Guest relations were very quick to sort this out for us though when we realised.
The pool is gorgeous and there are plenty of sunbeds. However, the things that let it down are:
- vendors from the beach and hotel are constantly doing the rounds of the pool to try and get people to book camel rides, quad biking, massages, appointments at the beauticians and reservations for dinner at the beach restaurant or Chez Pascal (at extra cost - not included in the all inclusive package). We gave in on numerous occasions and booked things, but it does get very tiresome (and expensive) being approached everyday in this way. Even pretending to be asleep or listening to your iPod does not stop them!
- the hotel has an animation team and every day there is a full itinery of activities. This is OK if you want to join in with activities such as aqua gym, volleyball, belly dancing lessons, water polo and darts, however, the animation team are constantly circulating the pool area trying to 'persuade' people to join in. We held firm and declined, but it can get really annoying when you're just trying to relax and sunbathe.
- the pool bar only serves drinks in paper 'coca cola' cups. Sensible not to have glass around the pool area, but the cups very quickly leak - so you've gotta drink up quickly.
- Just be aware also that the staff work for very low wages and may look for opportunities to make a little extra money on the side. If there is an additional cost for anything in the hotel, you will be presented with a slip of paper to sign for the item and then this is charged to your room - you will never be asked to pay cash. However, on one occasion we ordered two cocktails at the pool bar and then were told that they were not all inclusive and we had to pay cash for them. We stood firm and said that if there was an additional charge we were happy to sign for them but would not be handing over any cash. The bar man quickly gave up - which told us that he was just 'on the make' - very crafty!
Food. What can we say?! We have stayed at many all inclusive resorts and can honestly say that this has been our worst experience to date. All inclusive food is never fantastic, so we didn't expect gourmet dining - but there is plenty of room for improvement here. The buffet restaurant itself looks more like a school canteen than a 5 star hotel restaurant. Food hygiene is not observed and the food is poor quality, the variety very limited and very repetitive. Be warned that the fresh orange juice you will be offered at your table at breakfast time is not included in the all inclusive package - say yes to this and you will be presented with a bill to sign for it.
Having said all of this, the staff are extremely friendly and will bend over backwards to help you.
Most all inclusive resorts offer some form of A la carte dining option to break up the monotony of all inclusive buffet dining. The only alternative option to the buffet you have at this hotel is Chez Pascal restaurant - very nice, but is NOT all inclusive. Two steak dinners and a bottle of wine can set you back £33. Tuesday nights are 'romantic dinner' nights at Chez Pascal - this is a four course dinner for 25 Euro's per person. We did eat at Chez Pascal's a few times - mostly because we were sick of the really bad food in the buffet restaurant. Food at Chez Pascal is of a good quality - its just a shame that you aren't given the option to book this once or twice a week as part of your all inclusive package.
Most people will suffer from 'Pharoah's revenge' whilst holidaying in Egypt. Not a pleasant experience and be warned that remedies such as Imodium that you might bring with you from home will not do anything to help. But rest assured that all you need to do is visit the on-site Pharmacist who will advise you and sell you the appropriate medicine. Does the trick very quickly - but will set you back about £35 for two people. Still, we were happy to pay for the treatment rather than suffering and it spoiling our holiday.
DO NOT TAKE TRAVELLERS CHEQUES. The hotel will not change them for you and as the hotel is very isolated you have no other option than hoping that your travel rep will be willing to, and have enough Egyptian Pounds available, to buy your travellers cheques from you. Might be worth taking a mixture of Euro's and Egyptian Pounds with you as most things in the hotel not included in the all inclusive package are priced in Euro's and we felt that on a few occasions the conversion of currency was used to the hotel's advantage and we always had to be on the ball with working prices out. Everywhere seems happy to accept Egyptian Pounds, Sterling or Euro's.
Trips. We booked our holiday with Thomson's and booked to go on their organised trips - including:
- Hamata Island Hopper
- Cairo by air
- Luxor with an overnight stay and hot air balloon ride.
All of the trips were excellent - particularly Luxor - but be aware that you are travelling such long distances from the Red Sea that sometimes it feels like all you are doing is sitting on a coach for endless hours. And the drivers are crazy!
Still - we had an excellent time - just wanted to point out some of the downsides.
Everywhere you go outside of the resort you will be begged for tips - even when nothing has been done to assist you. Best to ignore these people unless they have genuinely done something for you and you feel that they deserve tipping. However, we always tipped the drivers on our trips and the guides as they work extremely long hours and work very hard to make sure you enjoy the trip. They get paid a pittance.
We had a great holiday and did all the things we wanted to whilst in Egypt. The hotel is very remote (although you can get a bus from the hotel to nearby Port Ghalib if you fancy a change of scenery - although this is still being developed so there's not actually much there at the moment), but this didn't bother us as we wanted a mix of relaxing and sightseeing which we were able to do.
Would we return to this hotel?? No. Mainly because we've seen the things we wanted to in Egypt but also because the food was so bad.
Happy to answer any queries - just get in touch.
