Strand Beach Resort Taba Heights — Hotel in South Sinai

I’ve stayed in more than 100 hotels around the world 🌍, but unfortunately my experience at Strand Hotel in Taba was by far the worst.

We booked the Junior Suite – supposedly the best and most expensive room in the hotel – and what we got was shocking.

Cleanliness: The room was extremely dirty. Walls and tiles were cracked, carpets never cleaned, and piles of dust were visible. Even worse, two days into our stay we found a stranger’s underwear on our bed. When we reported it, the cleaning staff simply took it away without apology or explanation.

Housekeeping: Every time we asked for shampoo, they brought us used bottles. Conditioner wasn’t available at all. Despite repeated requests (at least 4 times), no one came to properly clean or even provide us with supplies so we could do it ourselves.

Room Issues: My parents had to change rooms five times during their stay due to various problems – broken fridges, toilets that wouldn’t flush, or other malfunctions. The bathrooms are also positioned directly along the corridor, which means everyone walking by can hear and even smell what’s happening inside.

Facilities: The pool is huge, but not clean. I personally had to save a child from drowning because the lifeguards were distracted chatting with women. Towels, chairs, and even personal belongings were being stolen around the pool area. Dining was overcrowded – 80% of the time we had to wait for a table. Food was repetitive, low quality, and didn’t feel fresh at all.

All-Inclusive Service: Honestly the worst I’ve seen. Beer was always served in small plastic cups, always warm – never cold. When I asked for cold beer, I was told it’s “unavailable.” Even basic water bottles weren’t included – you had to pay extra. I mean, what kind of all-inclusive is that?

Staff Attitude: Most of the staff weren’t friendly at all. I don’t expect a big smile, but at the very least a “Good morning” when greeted would have been basic hospitality.

Logistics: The Junior Suite was a 5-minute walk from the lobby ( no air conditioning in lobby ), pool, and restaurants, which was very inconvenient. There is only one tiny, smelly elevator servicing a wing with more than 200 rooms, often requiring 5+ minutes of waiting.

Surroundings & Activities: There is absolutely nothing around the hotel – no supermarket, no restaurants, no shops. At night, there are no real activities for kids, only a short 1-minute camel ride (of course with an extra fee).

Positives: The view from the room was nice, the beach is beautiful, and the air conditioning worked very well.

But overall, this hotel is nowhere near 5 stars. At best, I would rate it 3.5 stars. Cleanliness, service, and management are far below acceptable standards. With better care, this property could be amazing – but as it is now, I cannot...

We just got back from a two week holiday, we arrived on the 28th August 2025. We stayed in room 2263 with a lovely view of the salt lake. Room was very nice, cleaner kept it nice and clean, bedding was changed every day same as towels if needed. From the time we arrived all staff where very attentive, they all looked after us and anything we wanted they got. Food was nice, if we need anything in particular the chef made it, which was amazing, never had service like this from any other hotels I have stayed in before. Ameina was a young girl who always greeted us with a lovely smile and a wave as we entered the restaurant, which was lovely, made us feel very welcomed. The two head restaurant managers that looked after us were amazing, could not do enough to help us, they both deserve all the credit, work so hard to make sure you have everything you need, if there is something that's not there they got it for us, couldn't of done anymore for us, would like to thank them so much, and for that great service alone, would make us want to visit again in the future. |The two guys that work on the bar in reception are lovely, always waved everytime we walked passed with big smiles on there faces, always remembered what drinks we had and done them immediately and brought them to the room we liked sitting in.|The man who worked in the bar around salt lake, was lovely greeted us everytime we went there also remembering what we drank, wish I could say the same for the main guy who worked on the bar around the main swimming pool, found him very miserable, noticed he always served his own people (egyptian) and left us to last, never smiled, put us off using that side altogether, plus very noisy, we preferred the salt lake, calm, relaxing, all staff including life guards very friendly and spoke every day. Beach was nice, just a shame about getting in there, very up and down with the rocks which made it hard to get in and out. Would like to say how we noticed how all staff including the gardeners how hard they all work, they deserve to take the credit. Only a few things I would like to say that the hotel could do with is, more bins put around pool areas, salt lake and on beach, so much rubbish everywhere, due to people being so lazy and leaving rubbish behind, as they can't be bothered to walk to the nearest bin. Hotel could do with a good paint to bring it back to its original self. We just want to say a big thankyou to all of you for a lovely holiday and making us feel very welcome, we had a great time and hope to be back in the future, will recommend this hotel to our...

From arrival to departure, everything was amazing. The moment we entered, the reception staff were incredibly accommodating. We stayed in the First-Class Junior Suite at the top of the building, which had a huge terrace—perfect for sunbathing when you're tired or simply want to relax in private.

There are four pools in total: three outdoor and one indoor near the gym. One of the outdoor pools contains seawater pumped directly from the Red Sea, and it's kept very clean thanks to regular maintenance by the staff. The entire pool area was spotless.

The hotel also features a spa (for an additional fee), as well as a pool table and a table tennis table for some extra family fun.

The drink service was outstanding—fast, and always delivered with a smile. I can’t stress enough how polite and hardworking the staff are. They never ask for anything in return, but I was happy to tip them because their effort truly showed.

The hotel is located away from the city, in a stunningly beautiful area. I'm a landscape photographer, and I thoroughly enjoyed capturing the picturesque hotel and the surrounding mountains.

Now on to the food— Every meal was different and delicious. Breakfast had a good variety, completely different from lunch and dinner, and the kitchen served up new and exciting dishes every day. There's a reason this hotel receives such high praise—the service is phenomenal. They make you feel truly special and welcomed.

My girlfriend is vegan, and the kitchen staff went out of their way to prepare special vegan meals just for her. That kind of accommodation made her entire stay feel even more worthwhile.

Housekeeping was also next-level. Near the end of our stay, they started leaving cute towel animals on our bed every morning, and we genuinely looked forward to seeing what they’d make next.

If you're looking to explore nearby, the closest city worth visiting is Dahab. It’s beautiful, especially the seaside restaurants with tables right by the water—you get to enjoy great food with an amazing sea view.

A final shoutout to all the managers and staff working under them— The service you provided made the journey from Sharm El Sheikh more than worth it. I would absolutely love to return on my next...