Jaz Aquamarine — Hotel in Red Sea

The first time I was at this hotel with my family was in December 2023. The hotel made a great impression on us - great restaurants, swimming pools, slides, great service (I recommend the beach bar where you can eat good snacks and the waiters are really friendly) Therefore, we decided to stay again - why risk it, it's better to take something more expensive but proven... Another stay 22.12 - 29.12.2024 - the same impressions, everything was great - we had a great vacation.

Unfortunately, the charm was gone at check-out. At 06:00 during check-out I was asked to pay 70 USD for using the mini bar. Something didn't add up right away because I estimated the amount for this service at about 40 USD, but ok, I politely paid and sat down to wait for the bus. After about 5 minutes I was called to the reception with a demand to pay another 40 USD for the same service. Surprised, I asked for a list of items I had allegedly taken from the mini bar, after which the "super polite" gentleman rudely replied that I should remember exactly what I had taken. My patience ran out and I demanded an invoice with a detailed list of items. My surprise reached its peak when I saw 2 pieces of paper (printed out a moment ago) - the first for the amount of USD 70 for the "lobby", the second for USD 40 for the mini bar - no list of items / services.

I explained helplessly that the lobby was some kind of mistake because we had never used such services, but the impudent gentleman at the reception was adamant and from the corner of my eye I could already see the security guy readiness.

There was little time, because the bus was supposed to arrive soon, so I decided to pay, claim my rights and get my money back after returning. I also thought about calling the police, but I don't think it would change anything because after about 20 minutes of talking in English, the impudent gentleman at the reception asked me the question "Do you speak English?" I was stunned once again and realized that he probably didn't understand 80% of what I said. (I regret not saying yes I don't). I decided to pay the last 40 USD in cash and then another shock - it turned out that my dollars are not acceptable in Egypt because they are slightly taped . Everything is fine except that these dollars were given to me as change in this very hotel!

Another issue is the touts for trips, photos, etc. - we always avoid them, but we agreed for a photo session at sunset - I paid 10 USD, received a receipt and verbal information that if we don't show up, the amount will be fully refunded. After a whole day of excursion, we decided to skip the "session" because we would get our deposit back anyway.

The guy at the reception added fuel to the fire by telling me that this receipt is invalid and is not from the company working on the hotel premises - total nonsense because they have their office on the hotel premises right by the beach / water slides. In conclusion, I was robbed of $80 and I will definitely not leave it at that.

For those who decide to stay at this hotel anyway, I suggest that you ask for a receipt for the mini bar and other alleged services every day and settle the payments at least the day before checkout, so that you have enough time for such a situation and to pursue your rights.

The guy at the reception was exceptionally impudent and aggressive - I hope the matter will be thoroughly investigated.

Unfortunately, this incident has completely ruined the hotel's reputation and we will definitely never come back here.

We encountered incredible rudeness and, let's be honest, theft.

answer for feedback from Mohamed Wafa:

I completely disagree with your answer which is a lie.

I agree with the amount of $40 but I do not agree with $70 for the alleged "lobby" which I never used. I demand a detailed invoice and a refund or I will seek my rights in court.

Or I was cheated at the reception or the cleaning service steals from the mini bar (based on other opinions I am not the only person cheated). The items from the mini bar were not...

We stayed at Jaz Aquamarine from 25th Feb to 7th March. The hotel is lovely, and we felt it was definitely worth 5 stars. On arrival at 2000hrs they had allocated a 1st floor suite but as soon as they realised my friend had mobility issues,  they immediately said they would prepare a ground floor room.   They suggested we relax with a drink or go and eat in the restaurant for a short time. All the rooms appear to have a double bed and separate room with two single day beds. We were told they would keep our suitcases at the front of the hotel with the bell captain until our room was ready, and then we were shown to our room by the bellboy. The 17 pools are lovely - although we only used a couple of the outdoor heated pools, some people were swimming in the unheated ones. We always found plenty of sunbeds to laze on and read our books.  There were various bars around the pools where you could get coffees, drinks & and ice crea at any time.

All the staff were so friendly. Everyone was polite & courteous and so helpful at all times and this was across all of the hotel from the Managers, waiters, gardeners and even the young lady who was an assistant in the ladies toilet during the evening was always very polite & pleasant.  I would like to mention that the gardens were always beautifully kept with meticulous attention to detail.

Our room attendant was called Hammel and he was such a lovely man. He kept our room immaculate.  He always made clever towel art from peacocks, a dog, elephant, lobster,  swan, dolphin & a boat. He was so polite and nothing was too much trouble.

The reception staff were very professional and always expedited everything quickly and with a warm smile.  If we asked them anything ,hey always gave us an answer or found out immediately.  The large bottles of water were replaced as soon as the room was tidied each day. Once or twice I wanted extra water, and just left the empty bottles outside the room, and when I returned,there were new bottles in the room.  Also,the bag of beach towels was always replenished if we put the used ones outside the room.

In the main Topaz restaurant , the buffet was great,and although I'm gluten intolerant,  I found many items to eat. On arrival in the buffet restaurant I would take my Arabic gluten free restaurant card (which I'd printed at home but also had a mobile version of it) and I could show it to any one of the plentiful staff and they would photograph it and immediately summon the Head Chef (mostly Muhammed Abdul - sincere apologies if I got the name wrong you were so helpful ) but whichever chef came out of the kitchen they went to great trouble to point out which dishes available on the servers contained 'no gluten'.  They were aware that cornflour is ok for coeliacs and would always say 'its ok as it's made with cornflour'.

At breakfast, I could have omelette (or scrambled/ fried/ boiled eggs) and plenty of choice of yoghurts and fresh fruit, herring/ mackerel, as well as porridge and rice pudding.

The chips were always cooked separately in fresh oil, and the spit- roasted chicken was always available..

For dessert there was always loads of fresh fruit, various rice puddings, jelly, chocolate pudding ( made with cornflour)  and often they bought out a vanilla panacotta or gateau if I asked for a gf dessert...

Overall, I had a fantastic experience with the food and didn't have a single stomach issue during my 10 days. The gluten-free bread was a little like a white rusk and hard, so I avoided this.  Maybe next time I will take a loaf of Schar bread and crackers with me, but it wasn't an issue. The choice for my friend was huge with pasta dishes, such as bolognese and all kinds of stews and meats, fried Maryland style chicken,  pizzas, pancakes, fabulous pastries and desserts.  He ate everything and enjoyed it all. We were able to book 5 á la carte meals as we were there for 10 days and ate at all the restaurants - the Makai Tukai ( Asian Fusion) was fabulous ( Sweet & Sour chicken with fresh ginger & pineapple and...

The hotel is beautiful looking and kept to a clean standard. The animation team work extremely hard. However - the following are a couple of reasons why I don't believe the high standard of these reviews...

Firstly myself and my partner left here on Friday afternoon after a week in the sun. We were asked twice in this time by animation staff to leave a review DURING our time on holiday. Now this team were really good but to overhear one of them saying that they are pressurised into getting guests to leave reviews was shocking. Because of their lovely nature, people oblige. They say that they have to get a certain amount every day and take photos to prove that they've got this review. This covers up real lower star reviews such as the one I'm leaving now and left a bad impression for us hearing this. Ask yourself why you have to push your staff to get reviews? Good service = good reviews without any pressure. Looking at other reviews on here, people have been questioning this for years with the management saying that this doesn't happen. I can tell you that it does.

Both myself and my partner have been very ill. We had diarrhoea since a few days into the holiday. In fact, it was a running joke amongst people in the hotel because so many people experienced this. No amount of medication helped and we didn't eat very well for the last few days. There isn't what we would call a large food selection based on the size of the hotel. On arrival home, I vomited to the extent of the doctor wanting to put me on a drip because of severe dehydration, unable to even keep water down. We will never return due to this alone as we have never been so ill after returning from a holiday - including Egypt recently, too. We hadn't ate since leaving the hotel either. As for the expected reply about free stool testing at the local hospital - knowing that this hotel pressurises staff into gaining positive reviews and that they had very bad press for food issues/illness some years ago - would I believe a local hospital to give accurate results? Definitely not. I do however know that I travel regularly without this issue and I know how and what I ate and drank. I don't need a test to tell me that the issue comes from this hotel - there was nothing else at all that it could be.

The staff were so helpful. It's a shame that somewhere, something has gone wrong to cause illness (poor hygiene and/or cooking practice) and an influx of what I believe to be forced reviews. If by some miracle you get to see this review, please think twice about your holiday here and maybe look at a hotel with less but more accurate reviews. Your stomach will thank you!

edited to add after the reply from management

No we didn't complain about staff asking for reviews. Why would we? The staff were lovely and embarrassed to be asking. Why would we want them reprimanded when they were worried already about getting enough reviews? It's the hotel management at fault, not the staff. People should be aware of this. Asking for 5 star reviews and offering to help do them for the people who aren't very technically minded is out of order. We could name the staff but again - why would we? Wonder why there are so many reviews guys? Here's your answer... They're forced. By very kind staff who are hard to say no to.

As for the Italian meal. The guys there were brilliant. My partner hadn't eaten since breakfast, and I hadn't eaten at all that day. You missed out that the waiters were asking where I was at breakfast, and my partner saying that I was ill. As your staff were very much aware. I went out for the meal, as booked, even with a "dodgy" tummy. Straight after that we went back to the room. My partner left much of his meal. This in no way reflected on how amazing the staff were hence my review on the night.

we told various staff members about stomach issues throughout our stay. The worst of it LUCKILY came after we arrived back home (with no other food consumed only water). If we'd have stayed any longer, it would have been a very...