Island Garden Resort

Don’t laugh, but we are at the airport waiting for our return flight with time on our hands, and what better way to spend it by writing a review about these two great hotels. We were accommodated at the Sunrise Garden Beach but could use the facilities of the Mamlouk as they merge into one and there are no wristbands. The gardens are beautiful and well maintained. There are five lovely pools, which included active, adult and quiet pools. There are 2 beach bars, 2 lobby bars, 4 pool bars, 2 patio bars, English pub with disco and Billiard Bar. At night even the beach bars were open until midnight and there was entertainment spread throughout the complex with the entertainment team working hard throughout the day to keep people entertained. It is typical of entertainment in Egyptian all inclusive hotels trying to please all nationalities. but it is ok for a laugh!

We have stayed in a number of hotels in Hurghada and Sharm and agree that the food at this resort is far superior to any other we have stayed at, other guests we spoke to also agree. There are 2 main restaurants, which are often very busy, and had a dining hall feel, but the food seemed good, although we cannot really comment as we only ate there when we first arrived. After that we ate in one of the 4 a la cartes every night and the Italian for lunch. No booking is required for the Italian at lunch; the food is great, fresh pizza, fish and pasta dishes and lots of other choice plus waiter service at your table, and a great view of the Red sea. Sayed, Mohammed and Ahmed provided excellent friendly service under the watchful eye of their excellent manager.

Booking for nighttime at the a la cartes is simple. You book via a computer in guest relations and there are no restrictions on how often you eat at these. The food and service was excellent in the Asian, Mexican, Egyptian and Italian. A special thank-you goes to Sabry and Kamil in the Mexican who worked extremely hard and provided us with seven a star service. Always smiling they could not do enough for us. The alcohol was decent quality. We really enjoyed the red and white wine and the cocktails. The beer varied depending upon which bar you went to.

Our room was large and in a good state of repair with no mould or cracked tiles; large comfortable bed, bathroom with bath and shower and air-conditioning that worked.

The only negatives that we can comment on is that the reef at the end of the pier lacked coral and tropical fish so the snorkelling is very poor but there are numerous boat trips available, which depart from the end of the pier. The bonus is that you can walk straight into the sea from the beach and was waist deep in a few steps.

There are a number of shops in the complex however just outside the hotel there is fixed price shops and a large shopping mall with lots of shops and a McDonalds!

Whichever hotel you decide to stay at you will have excellent facilities on your doorstep. The staff and management are very friendly and will repay kindness and manners with excellent attentive service.

This is our 9th visit to the Red sea and we can honestly say this is the best all round hotel we have stayed at. The food, drink, hospitality and surroundings cannot be faulted.