We stayed here in March 2020 and I was a little bit nervous as we had previously been to Sharm and I absolutely hated it, but this was fantastic.
It took a while to get from the airport to the resort and to say there was NOTHING there would be an understatement, there are hotels on one side and desert on the other, so don’t be expecting to have a walk out! But once were there I was really impressed. The grounds were absolutely spotless, they were vast there was so much space! Each block was it’s own grounds and each day you could find a different path to walk.
We were given a room which overlooks the playground, I was worried that there was going to be a lot of noise from kids but actually it was really quiet.
Check in took AGES, we were all sat down, brought drinks then it seemed to take forever to get our paperwork but the bar was open so husband went in search of drinks. We were taken to our room in a golf cart which was fun, our luggage was delivered by a porter.
Our room was massive, as you walked in there was a big wardrobe, loads of shelves and drawers with the safe. The bathroom was straight ahead, it was big enough, not giant but enough for us and well kept. Our housekeeper lined up all our toiletries really neatly every day and left towel art on the loo for us.
The bedroom was HUGE, for reasons unknown we had bunkbeds as well as our double bed, the only downside to the room was the balcony didn’t really get a lot of sun because it was quite enclosed. This was the case for most on the resort. The room was spotless.
As I mentioned the room was really quiet, all the paths kind of wound around all the other blocks and ended up in the main communal areas. Reception was really bright and airy there was a couple of shops too plus the entrance to an adults only bar which came in useful late night. There was also the entrance to the Terrace bar which we didn’t really use because it was quite cold outside on an evening, but it was it was really pleasant.
The main buffet was in a block outside of reception and before most countries had even heard of the pandemic the restaurant had installed hand sanitising stations. There were loads of seats inside and outside, as well as designated kids areas with a small buffet for them. The buffets were kind of spread out which meant sometimes you are winding around from one end of the restaurant to the other, if you want a salad and then you want meat it was quite a trek with people bumping into each other. I think it could’ve been laid out better but the food was absolutely fantastic, the salads were brilliant, I always grumble that when abroad chefs always put random things in their salads like bits of fish or bits of ham but all of the vegetables were actually separated out for you to make your own salads as well as there being lots of mixed dishes. The deserts were phenomenal, there were absolutely loads of baklava and different things to choose from and, hallelujah, loads of fresh fruit which is great. Every day there were different hot dishes as well as low-calorie dishes - so much to choose from! At breakfast they serve freshly squeezed orange juice which tasted so sweet and fresh, the food at breakfast was good too with the usual hot and cold offerings. Service was quick and friendly. We didn’t try any of the individual restaurants, except for one, which was so uninspiring it was just a waste of time, it didn’t have much atmosphere and was a little bit deserted, we just prefer the main buffet restaurant.
The snack bar which turned into the main bar on an evening, had good food during the day (burgers, salad wraps etc) including a fresh pizza stand and ice cream parlour. There was a little stage that did disco or karaoke kind of entertainment (not really for us, there was a lot of Russian karaoke!) it was March so it was cold and even though I had a denim jacket with me I wish I had brought something a little bit warmer. The main amphitheatre turned out to have some really good entertainment, put on by ‘professionals’ as well as the staff. With the exception of some random thing where everyone was pretending to be a baby, we thought it was good. Dancers, comedy etc. and we went every night which is not like us at all!
Afterwards, if there were enough people about they opened the nightclub. It was actually really good, the décor, the music – everything.
The pools - there was just so many pools! It wasn’t until our last day we found another two, tucked away near the blocks to the rear of the resort. There were family pools, sports pool where they did the water polo and a section for laps, kids pools.
We spent most of our time at the beach which we loved, each beach umbrella had 4 loungers and then around the sun loungers they all had their own windbreak. Not that it was particularly windy, but it was kind of like you had your own little area. The sea was lovely and warm, we could walk straight in (in March!) it was clear it and we snorkelled, there wasn’t a great deal to see but it was it was nice to do.
The entertainment team were really good, the came in a gang on a morning, going round and jigging everyone up. They were respectful if you didn’t want to be disturbed – you could get a red flag from the towel place and put it on your umbrella so they knew not to bother you. There was abr just near the beach, plus the towel station. Sometimes the chefs came out and did a bit of show cooking of brought food.
There were loads of activities like water polo, quoits, volley ball, plus gods knows what, at the end of the week they did an Olympics where people who had joined in all week were divided into two teams and did all of the activities as teams. On the evening in the amphitheatre they did a presentation which was really funny and everyone got medals. It was fun. The only thing I think was missing with the entertainment was that some activities were not very well advertised, like the archery which was also miles away from the beach, people didn’t know when it was on or where to do. We missed out on so much. At 5pm they had Zumba lessons but no one ever turned up because they didn’t realise it was on. Although it was a bit difficult to find because it was by the children’s play area - but otherwise we thought the entertainments team fantastic. They all spoke loads of different languages and were from all over the world, they seemed to be really well looked.
On an evening we tended to watch the show and then just go inside for a drink, I think in the summer, when it’s warmer and you can sit outside all night it would be really nice. The service right across the hotel was fantastic. I’ve already mentioned how well everything was kept and there were teams of gardeners around every day sweeping and pruning. Plus loads of great spots to get pictures.
I would have no hesitation in recommending it and I would also be very happily go back to Macardie Bay because although there is absolutely nothing there we thought it was a brilliant location for great value.