Fort Arabesque Resort, Spa & Villas — Hotel in Makadi Bay

Detailed Review – Fort Arabesque Resort, Spa & Villas||I recently stayed at Fort Arabesque Resort, Spa & Villas and would like to share my experience.||Location & Natural Beauty:|The biggest advantage of this hotel is its location and natural surroundings. Makadi Bay is one of the most beautiful spots on the Red Sea, and Fort Arabesque has a stunning beach. The water is crystal clear, the beach is long, and the coral reefs make it perfect for snorkeling. The wide beach doesn’t feel crowded, though the sunbed reservation system can sometimes be confusing.||Rooms & Housekeeping:|The rooms are reasonably comfortable, especially the villas, which offer a more private experience. Standard rooms, however, feel a bit outdated and need renovation. Cleaning is generally okay, but sometimes small items like towels or shampoo are missing.||One of the most uncomfortable aspects was the housekeeping team waiting in the corridors in the mornings asking for tips. At times, I felt almost afraid to leave my room. This behavior creates unnecessary pressure on guests and is very unpleasant.||Food & Restaurants:|The buffet is large, but dishes can become repetitive after a few days. Breakfast is standard, and while desserts and some hot dishes could be improved, hygiene is generally okay but could be more consistent. Main restaurants are better than the buffet, offering a more pleasant dining experience.||However, drinks in the main restaurant were served very slowly, and many staff seemed unwilling to serve without tips, which made guests feel uncomfortable.||Lobby Bar Experience:|I had a negative experience at the lobby bar. After midnight, all drinks are paid. I ordered a glass of white wine and was told it cost 5 €. I said I would pay in Egyptian pounds, and the bartender told me it was 500 EGP. I paid, but later realized this was incorrect. When I asked reception, I learned that 500 EGP is actually 9–10 €. During this time, the bartender put the money in his pocket instead of the cash register.||The next day, the department manager returned the excess payment to me politely, but I left it in the tip box instead. This incident clearly shows that some staff may try to mislead guests, so it’s important to stay alert.||Renovation Works & Noise:|Another significant issue was ongoing renovation work, especially along walking paths near the pool. The work created dust, littered the area, and the noise seriously disturbed guests trying to relax. The renovations were accompanied by small trucks and construction workers. Both the truck driver and some workers watched people in the pool and the sea, which made guests feel uncomfortable.||Service & Staff:|The staff attitude varies greatly. Some are very friendly and helpful, while others are indifferent or even rude. Communication at reception and restaurants could be more professional. The management should enforce stricter quality control.||Activities & Entertainment:|The hotel is suitable for those seeking peace. There’s no loud animation team; it mainly caters to guests looking for a quiet holiday. The spa and pools are nice, but options for active entertainment are limited.||Negative Points:| • Ongoing renovation/construction affecting peace.| • Construction dust, noise, and disruption near the pool area.| • Workers and truck drivers observing guests in the pool/sea.| • Sunbed reservation issues.| • Food hygiene and variety could improve.| • Many staff only serve properly if tipped.| • Housekeeping asking for tips in the corridors.| • Slow drink service in the main restaurant.| • Misleading payment incident at the lobby bar.| • Some rooms need renovation.||Overall Impression:|Fort Arabesque is great for enjoying the natural beauty of Makadi Bay, especially the sea, beach, and snorkeling opportunities. However, service quality, staff attitude, dining, and ongoing construction can significantly affect guests’ comfort. If your priority is just a beautiful beach, you may enjoy your stay. But if you expect professional service, peace, and safety, you might be...

I recently stayed at Fort Arabesque Resort, Spa & Villas and would like to share my experience.

Location & Natural Beauty: The biggest advantage of this hotel is its location and natural surroundings. Makadi Bay is one of the most beautiful spots on the Red Sea, and Fort Arabesque has a stunning beach. The water is crystal clear, the beach is long, and the coral reefs make it perfect for snorkeling. The wide beach doesn’t feel crowded, though the sunbed reservation system can sometimes be confusing.

Rooms & Housekeeping: The rooms are reasonably comfortable, especially the villas, which offer a more private experience. Standard rooms, however, feel a bit outdated and need renovation. Cleaning is generally okay, but sometimes small items like towels or shampoo are missing.

One of the most uncomfortable aspects was the housekeeping team waiting in the corridors in the mornings asking for tips. At times, I felt almost afraid to leave my room. This behavior creates unnecessary pressure on guests and is very unpleasant.

Food & Restaurants: The buffet is large, but dishes can become repetitive after a few days. Breakfast is standard, and while desserts and some hot dishes could be improved, hygiene is generally okay but could be more consistent. Main restaurants are better than the buffet, offering a more pleasant dining experience.

However, drinks in the main restaurant were served very slowly, and many staff seemed unwilling to serve without tips, which made guests feel uncomfortable.

Lobby Bar Experience: I had a negative experience at the lobby bar. After midnight, all drinks are paid. I ordered a glass of white wine and was told it cost 5 €. I said I would pay in Egyptian pounds, and the bartender told me it was 500 EGP. I paid, but later realized this was incorrect. When I asked reception, I learned that 500 EGP is actually 9–10 €. During this time, the bartender put the money in his pocket instead of the cash register.

The next day, the department manager returned the excess payment to me politely, but I left it in the tip box instead. This incident clearly shows that some staff may try to mislead guests, so it’s important to stay alert.

Renovation Works & Noise: Another significant issue was ongoing renovation work, especially along walking paths near the pool. The work created dust, littered the area, and the noise seriously disturbed guests trying to relax. The renovations were accompanied by small trucks and construction workers. Both the truck driver and some workers watched people in the pool and the sea, which made guests feel uncomfortable.

Service & Staff: The staff attitude varies greatly. Some are very friendly and helpful, while others are indifferent or even rude. Communication at reception and restaurants could be more professional. The management should enforce stricter quality control.

Activities & Entertainment: The hotel is suitable for those seeking peace. There’s no loud animation team; it mainly caters to guests looking for a quiet holiday. The spa and pools are nice, but options for active entertainment are limited.

Negative Points: • Ongoing renovation/construction affecting peace. • Construction dust, noise, and disruption near the pool area. • Workers and truck drivers observing guests in the pool/sea. • Sunbed reservation issues. • Food hygiene and variety could improve. • Many staff only serve properly if tipped. • Housekeeping asking for tips in the corridors. • Slow drink service in the main restaurant. • Misleading payment incident at the lobby bar. • Some rooms need renovation.

Overall Impression: Fort Arabesque is great for enjoying the natural beauty of Makadi Bay, especially the sea, beach, and snorkeling opportunities. However, service quality, staff attitude, dining, and ongoing construction can significantly affect guests’ comfort. If your priority is just a beautiful beach, you may enjoy your stay. But if you expect professional service, peace, and safety, you might be...

This was my fourth time here and oh boy, it has gone downhill fast since the times Max was the manager. Back then the hotel, he and his team were so good that although I booked for only 1 week, I ended up staying a month and a half. Today's there's not even a memory of that level of service or what it used to be. Instead the new leadership apparently has decided to milk as much money as possible from tourists.

Laundry services - a ripoff compared to any of the neighboring hotel (2.5€ for a t-shirt, vs 20LE in the neighboring hotels). "All inclusive" is not really all inclusve - you still need to pay almost constantly for evertyhing. Beach is large but they've packed it with so many constructions that it was way overcrowded and crammed. Almost 90% of the umbrellas are reserved for weeks. If you want to reserve, you have to pay 10€ per day. Otherwise good luck finding one. Sure, probably at the end of the long beach strip, on the 10th row of umbrellas there will be one free. There are areas of the beach where you can´t go and are reserved for those in villas.

Internet / Wifi is abysmal. Barely got 1Mbps (compared to 65Mbps in Prima Life) and it constantly dropped connections (every 30 minutes). For two days it simply wasn't working in a whole section of the building and the one single IT person in charge of all tech infra in the hotel (apparentky they only have one) couldn't do anything.

Had numerous incidents with the managers at the reception and their terrible attitude - especially one named Mina Ramzi with an extremely aggressive demeanor - and guest relations didn´t care -. For example, once during lunch I touched a metal container where the food was offered, and got a huge electrical shock. The manager initially didn´t believe it, then he blamed my feet for being wet and me getting electricity "from the ground" (although I was wearing rubber sandals), then when he himself touched the container to "prove" how wrong I was and also got a shock, he finally ran to call presumably maintenance. Not a word of apology. Two days later, it was still unfixed.

Want to take a glass of wine from the restaurant to the reception bar (which are side-by.side)? You can't. You have to leave the glass at the restaruant and order another one at the reception bar.

The night shows were also terrible - singers that not even autotune could help.

Lots of similar small incidents that ruined the whole experience and show that the shift has focused from providing an enjoying experience (as it was in my past stays) to being a money-milking machine.. All the problems were reported, wrote numerous time to Guest Relations, absolutely nothing was done. Zero.

On the good side, the house reef is stil great, and most of the ground staff is actually kind and helpful, but again - you can swim to the reefs from either of the neighboring hotels.

TL;DR - Extremely downhill evolution, additional money required for everything, don´t recommend. 100% I will not return until I start reading reviews that the policies and attiudes have been completely reversed.

To the "reply" below, why should I bother, and why would you need that info?. You didn't care while I was in the hotel, you didn't care when I spoke repeatedly with managers and guest relations, you suddently start caring now because I wrote a negative review? I see people complaining over and over about the same things (and even some new that used to work when I was there but apparently no moer do), so clearly you don't care.

Instead of asking for more info about me, or writing spin / canned replies about how much you care about feedback and how suddenly sorry you're for this and that, how about instead you go and fix things?...