Tivoli Hotel Aqua Park

We paid for what was advertised as a 4-star, all-inclusive hotel, but unfortunately our experience was nowhere near what we expected for the money we paid.

The reception service was particularly disappointing. One member of staff, Achmed - pictured below was extremely unhelpful and rude. On more than one occasion, when we approached reception with questions or queries, we were made to feel as though we were an inconvenience. On one occasion, we were simply told, “not my problem.” When you are staying at a hotel and paying for an all-inclusive package, this absolutely should be their problem.

We arrived at around 11pm, and despite having paid for all-inclusive, we couldn't even get a bottle of water or a soft drink because the drinks service apparently stopped at 10pm. What was most frustrating was that nobody seemed willing to try to help or find a solution.

The all-inclusive offering itself was extremely disappointing. The bar regularly ran out of vodka and brandy — at least twice a day during our stay. On one occasion, my fiancé was given what was supposed to be a full cup of brandy, which he drank straight, only to discover that it was clearly not alcohol.

There were also numerous things that we expected to be included in an all-inclusive package but weren't, including beer and wine outside limited hours, espressos, hot chocolates and other drinks The lemonade was essentially soda water, and the cola regularly ran out. On occasions when bottles were brought out, they had been left sitting in the sun and were extremely warm.

When drinks were available, they were served in very small plastic cups. At the pool bar, almost every time we wanted a drink, the person behind the bar was a cashier who couldn't serve alcohol, meaning they had to phone somebody else to come and serve it. This became very frustrating.

The restaurant was another major disappointment with a very poor selection, particularly at breakfast and dinner. Beer was apparently only available during lunch, from 1pm–3pm and even then it was served in tiny plastic cups and was often very warm.

If you're travelling with children, be aware that there are no ice creams or slush puppies included on site, so you'll need to go to the supermarket if you want these.

Pool and safety concerns

The so-called “aqua park” was also extremely disappointing. It was only open for a couple of hours and even then only around 2–3 flumes were open at any one time.

The jacuzzi is also on for 2 hours per day and the once we went into it we had to ask for it to be switched on and it was very dirty and cloudy within the pools

More concerning, however, was the condition and apparent lack of maintenance around the pool area

During our stay, a tile actually broke in the pool while we were there. We had to remove the broken tile ourselves from the pool and alert the lifeguards because we were concerned that somebody could stand on it or cut themselves. This is particularly worrying in a pool being used by children.

We also noticed pool lights hanging off and screws visibly loose in and around the pool area. There were areas surrounding the pool that were visibly snapped, damaged and broken. There were also electrical cables/electrics around the pool and hotel areas that did not appear to be safely secured or properly protected. This is extremely concerning in an environment where water, children and large numbers of guests are present.

These are not minor cosmetic issues — they are basic maintenance and safety concerns that we would not expect to see at a hotel advertising itself as 4-star. Photos will be attached to this review so potential guests can see the condition for themselves.

Another issue throughout the hotel was the amount of dead bugs and insects left around the property. We repeatedly saw dead insects around various areas of the hotel, and they appeared to remain there for days without being cleaned up. It gave the impression that basic cleaning and maintenance were not being properly managed.

What made the aqua park experience worse was the attitude of some of the lifeguards. Children and adults were being whistled at for screaming when coming down the slides because they were having fun. There were constant whistles around the pool, with children regularly being stopped from laughing loudly, shouting to one another, jumping or simply enjoying themselves. Yet the lifeguards themselves would sometimes jump or dive into the pool and behave however they wanted. The rules felt very inconsistent.

The animation team do try, and the boys in particular were lovely, but the entertainment became very repetitive. The same activities and shows seemed to be repeated, while the evening entertainment mainly involved getting guests up to perform, sing, etc. There is also poolside food and drink available, but this comes at an additional cost.

The pool table isn't included either and requires payment. On one occasion, security came over exactly an hour into our game and took the balls away, despite nobody waiting to use the table. After speaking to a manager, we were allowed to continue, which makes the whole situation even more frustrating.

The WiFi at this hotel is practically non-existent, and you are also charged to use it. In this day and age, this is another disappointing additional cost, especially at a hotel marketed as 4-star.

On our last day, despite not leaving until around 7pm, our all-inclusive bands were taken away and the bars and restaurant were apparently contacted and told not to serve us. Again, the way this was handled was incredibly rude and left a very bad impression at the end of the holiday.

There were, however, some positives.

Achmed, who works with the excursions, was absolutely lovely. He was friendly, funny and entertaining and genuinely helped make our holiday a little more enjoyable.

And then there is rafaey, the cleaner, who was by far one of the best things about the hotel. He was extremely friendly, kind and approachable and did everything he could to help us during our stay, even bringing us a kettle when we needed one. He genuinely went above and beyond and made our stay more comfortable. He deserves recognition for his attitude and customer service.

The operations manager was also very helpful and would rectify problems when we brought them to his attention. However, the fact that we found ourselves spending so much time inside dealing with problems rather than outside enjoying our holiday says a lot about the overall experience. It felt as though everything seemed to be an issue at this hotel and required us to raise it before anything was done.

Overall, I am not someone who normally complains and I understand that no holiday is perfect. However, for the amount of money we paid and the standard that was advertised, we expected considerably more.

In our opinion, this hotel is nowhere near a 4-star standard particularly when it comes to customer service, food, drinks, facilities, cleanliness, maintenance and the all-inclusive offering. There were simply too many restrictions, shortages, additional charges, maintenance issues and poor experiences for us to feel that we received value for money.

The pool and electrical safety concerns are particularly worrying. A broken pool tile that guests had to remove and report, loose screws and pool lights hanging off, damaged areas around the pool, and electrics that did not appear to be safely secured are things that should be dealt with proactively by hotel management — not left for guests to discover and report.

The amount of dead bugs left around the property for days also added to the feeling that basic maintenance and cleaning were not being properly managed.

We will be including photos of the issues we witnessed including the damaged pool areas, loose/hanging lights and other maintenance concerns, so potential guests can make their own informed decision.

Sadly, we would not return or recommend this hotel, especially if you are booking it specifically for the 4-star/all-inclusive experience. For us, it simply did not live up to what was advertised or what we paid for.

AVOID AVOID AVOID This place isn’t even a 1 star hotel absolute dump! We checked in at 12.30am and checked out at 9am. This is our second time in Egypt and honestly this hotel was absolutely AWFUL! Walked into the room to find door would barely close, dead cockroaches in the room, and the stench of cigarette smoke hit you as soon as you walked in. I walked round the room to find the bedding on our 2 single beds MOULDY with curly black hair on the covers. Left over food in draws and fridge to then see my white socks underneath WOW they were fully black from the floor. We went straight to reception to speak to them to be greeted with rude and arrogant staff saying was too late at night to do anything for us. Due to the time we had no choice but to sleep there with a blanket I brought for the plane. 8am next morning we were in reception manager agreed to see us and said they could spray the room we explained this was not good enough. Breakfast was left over cakes from the day before wrapped in cling film and drinks was WARM water from a water cooler! TUI rep never turned up to welcome meeting and when we mentioned complaint they became rude and hostile. We eventually ended up checking out and paying to stay in a different hotel for the remainder of our holiday. We are frequent travellers who have stayed in 2* to 5 * hotels and this was Honestly the worst 10 hours we have ever had. Please if you have booked request a change this hotel does not deserve anyone to spend their well earned money to arrive to that!