Cleopatra Luxury Resort Makadi Bay

We arrived at 11pm, at the reception they told us they had no reservation for us and we are booked at another hotel, after some discussion and with our voucher proving the reservation, they told us that they are overbooked and informed our travelagency in the morning that they don't have a room for us. We had no information of these changes from our travelagency, after many phonecalls and discussions we arrived 2h later at another hotel which didn't fit the criterias of the Cleopatra, and where the restaurants already where all closed. This was the worst welcome experience ever.

We had a reservation booked weeks ago, when we arrived late in the night, we were told that the reservation was cancelled due to overbooking! We had to go to another hotel at 1 a.m in the morning. Do not recommend at all!

We went as a young couple ( 27 & 28) from Ireland at the end of September to celebrate our anniversary. Temperatures were around 33-35° each day with a good breeze that made the heat easy to cope with. We paid €84 extra to be upgraded to a premium deluxe twin, slightly unfortunate with the twin bed considering it was our anniversary but we made it work. The room was updated and clean, we received large bottles of water each day. Do not drink the tap water or use it to brush your teeth! Use bottled water. Our location was lovely, along the Red Sea and the atmosphere was relaxing and beautiful.

We stayed at the Relax Pool for our entire stay and were served by Ahmed Moustaffa who was by far the best bartender. He came round in the early morning with bottles of water and cappuccinos, then once he knew our order would already have it ready for us. He was so friendly and was always asking did we want or need anything while sunbathing. Absolutely brilliant customer service from Ahmed!

The noise level was quiet mostly, especially at the relax pool, this was for 13 years old and up so it was majority people in their 40s+. We could hear other hotels music from across the way. But this didn’t bother us. My partner enjoyed the activities provided by the entertainment team, he took part in the Flying Yoga, Aqua Gym, and Archery (with an extra charge of $5)

What we did notice is as an English speaking couple from Ireland, we were the only ones. Every other family here is German, Russian or Dutch. It didn’t bother us too much, as we were treated the same by the staff. If you want a bit of craic at the pool, you might need another language.

The food - this was a normal all inclusive buffet which a good selection. Like any abroad buffet it won’t taste the same as home as it’s cooked differently. The à la carte restaurant Villa Mare was lovely, however our lasagna was definitely microwaved as it came out 2 minutes after ordering.

A few tips!

• Get the red flag from the lifeguard for your sunbed, you will be pestered by sales people (if you’re at the relax pool - stay on the islands as they don’t come over the bridges)
• if you need anything from a pharmacy use Self - Care pharmacy which delivers to the hotel at the cheapest price (stay away from the hotel shops as they mark the price up x4)
• Learn your bar staff names, Ahmed took care of us the whole holiday and we appreciate him the most, give this man a promotion! 🫶🏻