Dhara Residence Grand Waha — Hotel in Matruh

Pros: Staff were kind and tried hard to help by letting us connect to the WiFi. They also kindly sourced some pool towels for us, which we got the feeling was not a typical thing to ask for. Dinner food and service were fabulous. Staff everywhere were so kind and attentive.

The beach and the water were magnificent. I had never seen such white sand and plastic-free surface area in Egypt before, until I realised that the staff pick it all up and dump it in the ditches by the road near the sea. The result is that you almost have to wade through rubbish in order to get to the beach.

Cons: Cleanliness is a big issue. Our room had lots of flies in it, the floor was covered in sand and mirrors had been wiped with a greasy cloth. No beach or pool towels were readily available, and only face towels were supplied to dry off from the shower (which is warm seawater, by the way). Power shortages in the morning meant no AC or bathroom light.

Breakfast was basic but fine, although served in food warmers (those covered steel things) that had clearly not been cleaned for ages, judging by the layers of spinach of tomato sauce on a dish that only offered mashed potatoes. Breakfast and dining tables were left dirty and littered with rubbish for ages, making it hard to find somewhere to eat.

Pool looks lovely in pictures, but it is unsupervised, so kids kept highjacking the speaker and playing ear-splitting Arabic techno remixes all day.

TL;DR: Lovely staff and basically good food, but not really clean enough. Avoid if you’re European or squeamish.

Note: avoid the beach road to get there as it is payable in the day. The bumpy tracks inland are...

We booked the grand waha upon a recommendation. When we arrived, we were greeted with smiles from the hotel staff. We discovered that our booking included breakfast but not the buffet style that was mentioned on booking.com. due to the low no of guests- which we understood.|We soon discovered there was no need for a buffet as the food was plentiful and any of our requests were fulfilled. From the mango and yoghurt I requested for dessert to decreasing the amount of sugar they added to the other desserts. The quality of the food at both breakfast and dinner was top notch and we could immediately tell that care and skill and gone into preparing it. The chef is extremely talented!|The rooms are of a decent standard and the pool is spacious.|The beach was a joy to visit with its fine sands and crystal clear blue waters. |However the star feature of the resort was the service and the people that work there. Mohamed, the head of room service, was friendly and always ready to meet our requests. We especially enjoyed his towel art- my son discovered an elephant, crocodile amongst other wondrous creations waiting for him in the room. |Joseph and Mohammed in the dining room were also courteous and very helpful as were the rest of the staff that were there.|They also sent out someone to the pharmacy to get medicine for us when they heard us coughing- this was without us requesting. |Ihab the manager consistently made sure we were enjoying our stay. |Altogether I would describe this as one of the best resort holidays I’ve been on and I’ve been on a fair few.|Many thanks to all the staff and grand waha for making our stay an...

Terrible experience compared to expectations from photos and advertising ! ||I honestly feel scammed to even call this place a “Resort.”||Cleanliness: 1/10, from the lobby to the rooms. ||There's no such seaview rooms as advertised .. rooms are on ground level can't see the sea and Moreover can't enjoy the sea winds as there's no such insects screen on windows. You want to enjoy sea fresh air ? ... say welcome to army of flies and mosquitos inside the room ||Room service: Non-existent unless you constantly chase them. Even after tipping, basics like water, towels, and garbage bin changes were barely provided after repeated requests.||WiFi: Completely misleading. No connection in the rooms despite what’s advertised on Booking and other sites. If you’re planning to work during your stay, bring your own network.||Pool: Nothing like the photos. It’s basically a salty pond and a graveyard for flies, bees, and wasps. No one cleaned it the entire week.||Food: Acceptable in quality, but far below average in variety and taste. The restaurant is also not kid-friendly—no proper chairs for small children, making every mealtime a messy struggle.||Summary: This place is nowhere near the standard of a decent resort, especially considering the price. Hugely...