Glad to hear the food has improved.....it sounds better than when we were there!
Just as an aside.....I certainly didn't want burger and chips, haven't been to Ibiza and didn't have an alcoholic drink for the 2 weeks I was there so didn't get dehydrated, but still had mildly upset tum for a few days. I guess it just proves that different people have different levels of expectation when it comes to food quality.
Mandy

Didnt mean you mandy. There were plenty of people in the hotel while i was there that were drinking loads night and day and then wondered why they got ill...... maybe it was the food?!!! Nope!

You right many different people have different expectations for food but the fresh pasta cooked for me every lunch and dinner at the Holiday Inn in Taba was right up my street.

Those who want burger and chips must have been those complaining.

It can't have been just the drink. Not unless parents are giving their young children alcohol.

I agree the pasta is nice....but not for lunch and dinner everyday for 2 weeks
Personally....I am pretty sure that although the food was boring, it wasn't that that was making people ill. When we were there it was in the high 40's everyday, and I think the change of temperature had as much to do with it as anything else. A/C on too high and ice cold drinks are a lot for delicate western tums to cope with!!!
Mandy

I agree, when we stayed at Radison Taba, the rep there "Liz", told us if we come in from outside to sit in the shade for 5 minutes. We followed her advice and it worked a treat.

Even before we went into the room we stopped in the shade for a bit, then went into the room, the A/C was on just a bit to cool the room.

Dont subject your body to sudden temp swings is the motto.
Never suffered a iffy tummy

regards

Garry

My partner and I were at the Holiday Inn, Taba from 24th January until 7th Feb.

We loved it there! It was one of the best holidays either of us had had.

We both had reservations after reading the negative and mixed reviews, but went with open minds and were very pleasantly surprised.

The food was wonderful. We had fresh salads almost every day and neither of us suffered ill tums. There was a large variety of food every day and we both put on a lot of weight! There were also different themed evenings, including an Egyptian evening with bar-be-que - yum!

The staff were amazing. There really wasn't enough they could do for us. They work so hard for so long without days off for months and they still always have smiles on their faces.

The weather was a real mix. The first two days were very cold, cloudy and windy, but we still sat by the pool in our jumpers - desperate for tans! We were rewarded by brilliant blue skies and high 20s from the third day onwards and there were only occasional grotty days for the rest of the fortnight.

This is very much a resort for people who want a VERY quiet, relaxing holiday. As previously mentioned, the nightlife isn't great, but we weren't too bothered by that. The belly-dancing was hilarious though! One night, after she'd finished, the dancer left the bar and proceeded to extract a mobile from her person - heaven knows where she's been keeping it!!!!!!!

The swimming pools were really big, but sadly empty for the majority of the fortnight. The big one was absolutely freezing and not heated in the slightest. It was literally like stepping into an icy bath. The circular one is supposedly heated but was still far too cold. We kept mentioning it to the staff and they said it was being fixed, the next day it was slightly warmer, but from then on it was just as cold as before.

The rooms were lovely and the towel-art on the beds was incredible.
We did get a chance to speak to the management at a cocktail party they held. They were very responsive to any criticism and listened carefully to what we had to say.

We will definitely be going back there in the future. It was an absolute bargain.

lulubear, im so glad you enjoyed your holiday, as you said this is indeed a stunning place. I think our only problems last august were in that the hotel was full(absolutely) and as it was new perhaps they had not anticipated the problems with this...i left this discussion as there were comments that people with tummy upsets must have been boozing heavily as we are non drinkers we agreed with everest in that there must have been an awful lot of drunk kids too as many were ill while we were there .i do believe there were just too many people there in pool...however i cannot fault the beauty or the hospitality of the place it was wonderful and i would go again..im so glad you enjoyed.
taffycat

Hi Taffycat!

I really appreciated your honesty when you went in August. It made everything easier to expect and prepare for. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you and others for preparing us for what to expect - that really helped!

The hotel wasn't full at all when we were there, but I can imagine it is really hectic when full. It's just a shame we didn't get the full advantages of the pool! I went in the big pool once (literally!!!!) and after doing 20 lengths, it took 3 towels, a jumper and a coffee to get rid of the goosebumps - and also to regain feeling in my fingers and toes! The red sea was much warmer.

I don't know if they did the meet-n-greet cocktail party when you were there, but when we went, the manager told us that unfortunately First Choice and Eclipse have taken the hotel off their books. This is largely due to the negative reports which people have been posting. I think it's such a shame as it is a really lovely hotel and the only way they can improve things is by listening to their guests and making the differences. One person who left a week before us was apparently going around the pool with a pen and paper, asking for complaints, which they were going to take to their holiday company when they got home!!!!! For goodness sake, it's a ridiculously cheap holiday - some people were there last minute for £290 each AI for 2 weeks!!!!!!! (Not us, we paid slightly more than that!)

Anyway, I hope others reading this will be open-minded and enjoy it as it's a gorgeous venue and like I said before. We will DEFINITELY be going back! We told the manager we'd like to come back and he gave us his personal email address to sort out a "deal". We weren't the only ones he did this for. Actually, it's really funny, there was a couple of complaining gits, who weren't happy with anything - you know the type, only happy if they're miserable! Well, nothing was right for them for the whole holiday and they were SOOOOOOO annoying, complaining about food, rooms, weather, trips, drinks, life etc.... But when we told them what the manager had said about doing a special rate for returning, they were saying "oh, a special discount, oh yes, we'd come back!!!!!!" For goodness sake...

Lulubear, Which travel agent did you use for your booking.

Is the Hotel in the grounds of Taba Heights, Was looking for a exact location.

Many Thanks

Garry

Garry, the HI is much further south of Taba Heights. It's about a 15 min drive north of Nuweiba.

Dear Mr Nutter!

As Everest said, the hotel isn't in Taba Heights, it's about 30 mins drive from da Heights. It really is in the middle of nowhere, completely isolated. There's a restaurant about 15 mins drive away - but we didn't try it, you'd have to get a taxi (or camel) to take you there. There is a new hotel being built right next door, which should be ready this year, and there are building sites up and down the coastline and some derelict hotels, which are no longer used. It's quite eerie really. Don't let that put you off though.....If you require a relaxing holiday, then this is the place for you. There are plenty of excursions on offer, we went up to Waterworld (at Taba Heights), which is a brilliant water sports centre, and went on a glass-bottomed boat. It was so incredible! At the water sports centre, they do snorkelling, scuba diving, wind-surfing, parascending etc. (The transport up to Waterworld was included in the price of the whole trip £14 per person - definitely recommended).

We also went to St Catherine's monastery and Dahab, which was a good day out.

You can go on trips with a company based in the hotel - Nature tours - , their prices are a couple of quid cheaper than the holiday company's, but people who went with them to save a couple of quid, didn't necessarily get what they would have done with the holiday company. There were a couple who went on the (leaking) glass-bottomed boat and hated it. It was in a different venue and they said they were out for only 15 mins (as opposed to our hour) and saw the same beer can 3 times and one of the crew was sea-sick!!!!!

Nature were also very naughty because they were telling people not to go to the shops in the complex, as they were over-priced and they could arange a shopping trip to Dahab instead. They lost a lot of business for Victor and George, who are absolute gentlemen and will NOT force you into buying anything and let you browse at your leisure. This wasn't the case in Dahab, where most shopkeepers were trying to drag you off the streets and the quality of the goods in the hotel is a lot higher then Dahab. Especially the paintings, as someone else posted previously.

The Holiday Inn is no more. It has lost the HI franchise and is now called the Holiday Resort.

From what we saw of it last year, I am not surprised. Some people may disagree, but that's our thoughts.