Club Paradisio El Gouna - Red Sea — Hotel in Gamsha

Update - 2nd 3 week stay: Not much has changed (modernization/renovation) since my last visit about 6 months ago. I feel as though service improved, but not enough to increase my rating. In my opinion, the facility may be regressing in some areas; breakfeast and lunch meals on occasion suffer from key personnel being off; meals are more hit and miss verses my first stay. Guest dining attire does not meet the restaurant standard set by the hotel, but it's not enforced, so you have guests eating at the main restaurant barefoot, in men's swimwear (verses shorts), etc... The lack of loose sand on the beach also detracts from an otherwise very attractive beachfront. *I like El Paradisio, but in the hotel business attention to detail along with modernization is critical and if management is not careful, the hotel may cease to be viable in El Gouna with so many other facilities competing for guests. Definite Pluses The Annimation Team, Evening entertainment, recreation options, yoga, tennis, darts, volleyball, etc... Hotel events are also great, such as pool parties, outdoor grilling, breakfeast or diner dining on the beach, snacks & cocktails at the pool bar, and carried around to guests on the beach are some of the things along with freindly caring personnel which keep me coming back. 1st stay: The Club Paradisio has almost a carribian flare because of the beach umbrellas. The grounds and lobby areas are average but well kept. Service is adequate but could use improvement in the dining and bar areas. Rooms: would benefit from a general modernization - renovation effort; lighting, especially in the bath is dim, room does not have enough outlets to accommodate charging of multiple devices (phones, laptops, electric toothbrushes ...), television channels for German speakers is limited to 2 programs, and one can not vary the TV's position for better viewing; sat/cable box just sits awkwardly above the TV, not professionally installed? Bath - shower tiles, fixtures, and caulking - could use a refresh. Room would also benefit from more clothing storage or shelves for longer stays. Dining facility: Sometimes, service is good and sometimes non-existent. I normally don't comment on food as it is subjective, but to date, 15 out of 20 days were good to excellent in preparation, display, and seasoning. The breakfeast meal needs improvement; fruit is either not ripe or ripened almost to spoilage, omelet-egg station does not exude appetizing cuisine, and the juice is really fruit flavored water! Staff is, for the most part, friendly. However, more smiles by waiters and beach-pool attendants would improve...

I have stayed in El Gouna a number of times, usually at Movenpick but tried Club Paradisio this time as it was significantly cheaper. Overall the hotel is similar to Movenpick in style. The hotel staff are all amazing, Ossama, who kept the room spotless the whole 10 days, he even gave us extra coffee every day, after we asked on the first day, 2 sachets just wasn't enough. Walid at the Zen Pool, who was very attentive to all guests, even, on occasion, delivering drinks to guests who were on their terraces that were overlooking the pool. Rang from the entertainment team was such a lovely person and good sport she was a very active participant in the water polo games. The entertainment in the evenings was very good and they put in several large shows. The hotel is a bit further out from downtown than other hotels I have stayed in but there are always tuk tuk to take you wherever you needed, although we did walk into downtown one evening, it was a pleasant stroll of about 30mins. I have knocked a star off for the room, as our safe didn't work, not a major problem for us though and having paid for a sea view, I wasn't expecting a room with what I would actually call a partial sea view because it was a bit distant over the top of another block of rooms. The room was not decorated as a sea view room either. After staying at other hotels, I was mostly disappointed with the beach at Club Paradisio, it wasn't the nice pale yellow/white sand, it was very dark and gritty, almost like builders sand. It was very popular with the German guests though, so there was plenty of room around the pools. The sun loungers were very comfortable but longer towels would be a good idea due to the loungers getting very hot, they have a vinyl cover, which meant that any part not covered by a towel could burn your skin. The biggest downside was constantly being hassled by staff to leave a review, when you are new and the staff don't know you, different members can ask you to leave a review 4 times in one evening, it quickly became very annoying. After a few days it settled down as the staff moved on to newer guests. Overall it was a lovely place to stay but there are mostly German, Swiss and French staying there, so if you want to be surrounded by British people, this isn't the place, the staff love the Brits though. My friend had never been to Egypt before and was very impressed, saying they would...

The hotel offers a superior location at the Red Sea and has a pleasant size. It takes only 30-40 minutes from Hurghada International Airport to get there. The majority (~85%) of guests is german speaking. In general we had a pleasant stay. Still there are some facets that might be improved. I would recommend a visit depending on the preferences one has. For surfers, sports- and beach lovers it’s an excellent choice, while for gourmets or party tourists there are better options. Accordingly it’s a good fit for couples, families or senior citizens.

Overall service is, as typical for Egypt, exceptional.

The spa provides good services, e.g. shaving or massages for a fair and negotiable price.

It is the place to be for any surfer that wants to have good wind during the majority of his/her stay. We had great wind - 4+ Beaufort nearly every day. Tennis courts are okay, I liked that they are not clay, but asphalt. The provided rackets are of good quality. The golf court (by Steigenberger) is nice, but the gras could be greener.

Food quality is great, but 2-3 showcooking stations are not enough during the main season. Fresh smoothies would also be great for breakfast. The partner Hotel Steigenberger Golf is definitely ahead when it comes to food and drinks, luckily labranda guests may visit its restaurant (take the boat shuttle from the golf court to have a fast shuttle service). Eventhough the facilities were renewed lately it’s obvious that these are matured (not only restaurants and bars, but in general) Additionally, the service sometimes was overwhelmed in the Marco Polo Restaurant. The all-inclusive supply could also be enlarged e.g. Ice Coffee or Mojito cost extra. Still the beverages are of good quality (mostly by Pepsi/ local producers).

Trips by meeting point are also recommendable.

I hope my review helps with your...