next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

lynwestie

2012-05-06 10:01:23

Bored on a bank holiday weekend I have been doing some research and think I've narrowed down to :.

1) The sunrise royal makadi resort in Makadi Bay .. I know Pat's been here a couple of times . looks lovely but Im a bit concerned because temps there this easter looked considerably less than in Sharm and easter is end March next year.. Quite early . Also they seem to do different A/I rates and all TC package customers seem to be on an Ultra a/I deal which includes the 7 a la cartes and branded drinks . No way im paying a package price because it will cost us about Ã‚£1000 more but the Bed bookers prices seem to be the standard or light A/I which doesnt include all of the above . Hmm wonder how much an upgrade is there if it comes to that .. does anyone know

3) The threee corners Ocean view in El gouna .. Looks good but Same concerns about the weather . TC are selling this as an adult only although I've seen comments elsewhere that other companies are sending children there .. Would I need to worry anyway if George is 16 next year ??

4) Dahab .. Moving further up towards Taba I think this would be much warmer at end March and would give the men some challenging dive opportunites but Im struggling to find accomodation that Im happy with . Hilton Dahab would be the obvious choice for a good deal but reading the reviews not convinced . Any other suggestion for good atmosphere and Plenty English guests . The other guests plays a big part for me .

minione

2012-05-06 21:16:19

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

Hi Lyn, we are off to Makadi Bay next month, I will check out the diving and snorkelling for you. The hotel we have booked this year is getting great reviews on another site.I will let you know about the area on our return. X

doe

2012-05-06 23:11:39

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

Hi Lyn, Its really difficult to know what to suggest. I have a good price from easyjet holidays for the Iberotel Makadi Oasis, this Autumn but reading the reviews I don't think it attracts many Brits.

The Three Corners Ocean View would probably be the best mix of guests over Easter but the weather could be a concern I was worried about it & we travelled about 3 weeks after you will be travelling. That said in the middle of March, I have been round a pool at the Rennaisance in Sharm where people were so cold they were using their towels to cover themselves up.

I have looked at Dahab before, but never seen any good AI's the only hotel I ever fancied there is the Meridien, but it is a BnB.

starry

2012-05-07 13:49:35

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

That's funny Lyn, think we were having a conversation about Marsa Alam and who goes there now and uses Marsa Alam airport. I see that First Choice/Thomson are going there, so maybe another place to research! :rofl

doe

2012-05-07 15:42:39

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

Hello ladies :wave:

Taking about Marsa Alam, dont know if any of you have seen this, but I thought it looked nice and is about to open so at least it would have had all the snagging done by next Easter (well one would hope so :rofl

)

http://www.firstchoice.co.uk/fcsun/page/search/searchresults?sttrkr=mthyr:05/2013_durT:7/w_ls:false_tuidesc:001689_resel:true_tuiacc:047365_day:11_mps:9_isvid:false_dufp:0_sda:true_pconfig:1|2|0|0|0|/_acc:55319_tchd:0_rating:0_dess:true_act:0_jsen:true_resc:3086_hffp:0_attrstr:||||||||null|null_mdest:false_tinf:0_mnth:05_desc:428_bc:17_margindt:7_tadt:2_numr:1_atfp:0_spp:mainSearch_depm:7_tuiresc:003406_dur:7_dtx:0_df:false_dxsel:0_ratfp:0_dac:*LN_imgsel:0_loct:0_tsnr:0_bbfp:0_year:2013_dta:false_

I reckon that the diving would probably be good there, well it is reputed to be good in that resort not that I would be indulging myself.

xxx

pat

2012-05-07 15:58:40

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

Hi Lyn,

Don't know if this helps or not, but have spoken to someone I know who visits Makadi Bay 4 times a year, and asked him about the weather in March ...... this was his reply:

"March in Egypt is the time of year when it starts to warm up. We go to the SRMB every March and fully enjoy it. The days are quite short but nice and hot ... mid to late 20's, but the nights can be cool, as you say a light jacket or cardie is worth taking. It also depends on the wind, sometimes it is windy, no 2 years are the same, but still a nice time to go. One thing I would say is to book late March rather than early March. We have been in Feb and the weather can be mixed"

Hope this helps.

Pat

starry

2012-05-07 16:00:48

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

Looks nice Chris

Is it only available from May though :think

doe

2012-05-07 16:08:34

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

Not sure Lesley, I think that was just the date that the first choice system picked up when i logged in to put it on here as an example. :think

I think Easter Sunday next year is something like 30th March. I believe travel republic are doing it as well, but not sure how that would be as they will no doubt use an easyj flight, book the hotel and give a choice of transfers. I quite fancy it but probably would hold off booking until some reviews are around.

Pat, That was what I heard about the weather. March is a sort of transition month & by April it normally comes good. We had pretty good weather in El gouna in April a couple of overcast mornings & only one day off six the dive boats could not go out due to the weather/wind - apparently there is no point as visability is poor.

xxxx

lynwestie

2012-05-07 20:17:21

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

I see that First Choice/Thomson are going there, so maybe another place to research!

Evening laydees and thanks for all the lovely help . Hmm looks like Marsa Alam could be back in the running here Lesley . Dont suppose EJ fly there though which could mean a package that pushes it out of range .. Will do some checking . That Hotel looks good chris but when I search it for Next Easter it's not coming up :think.

Sharon I looked at the hotel you are going to .. Reviews are really good and lot's of English by the looks of it but I would want the hotel right on the beach and have you seen the price of that one :yikes

Thanks for checking for me Pat.. We would go over Easter which falls right at the end of March next year , 30th so it would be 1st week april really . We always go to sharm same time so are used to the shorter days and I wouldnt be concerned about it be chillier in the evenings . I think I was more concerned about the day temps and whether the weather patten is very different to that of Sharm . But if its mid to late twenties thats absolutely fine.

lynwestie

2012-05-07 20:18:26

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

Is it only available from May though

Ah right maybe that's next may then :think

Shame looks like only a wed flight at the moment to Marsa.

doe

2012-05-08 16:01:12

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

Mmm.

It's really odd about that new Concorde hotel in Marsa Alam when I try & get a price for it from travel republic.

It gives a choice of two flights, a low cost one & a charter one and both are to Marsa Alam (not Hurgharda, like we thought they might be) which is good.

But the bad thing is I can get flights for Sept/Oct 2012, but I can't get any up for March/April 2013 or the hotel either on TR. So strange.

It isn't with first choice until the start of their summer 2013 season in May.

- shame as it looks lovely and the marine life/diving there would be good.

I could be tempted to go there in sept/oct 2013, but it's too far away to even contemplate. :rofl

So no good for you Lyn, back to the drawing board.

xxx

lynwestie

2012-05-08 16:30:27

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

I really think that new one would be a good choice for Oct and I could be tempted if we swop things around a bit or even go twice with just a week in the summer somewhere . For now though looks like it's between the sunrise royal Makadi or the three corners ocean view . I never seem to get bored with Egypt

doe

2012-05-08 20:08:31

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

I think they are both good bets, I would go to either of them :tup

I don't seem to get bored with it either. The only thing I dont like is the flight.

The one in Marsa Alam will be there for another year :rofl

xxx

pat

2012-05-08 20:14:18

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

Hi Lyn,

Do you use Trip Advisor? If so, I can give you a contact name of somebody I know who has been to the SRMB 20++ times, and what he doesn't know about the hotel isn't worth knowning LOL!!

Pat

lynwestie

2012-05-08 20:33:19

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

I think i've seen him on there whilst I was reading through the other evening .. Was he from Liverpool Pat ??. Might be an idea to check if he knows the situation on this ultra a/I .. I know it's given to those with a thomas cook package but hotels4u also part of TC have it for a good price DIY .I doubt very much they would be able to tell me accurately if their price was ultra or standard . Might be best to email the hotel to get it clarified.

pat

2012-05-08 20:43:37

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

Hi Lyn,

Yes, he is from Liverpool ...... his name is John, although must admit I've never seen any post from him on here, not unless he uses another name?? Would definately be worth checking with him regarding the all inclusive as he is on first term names with all the Management of the hotel!

Pat

doe

2012-05-08 20:54:46

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

I seem to remember from when I was investigating the SRMB that for some reason the two tier system for the AI was only in place for January, February and March :que

Don't know why, maybe it was an experiment for the quieter months, to see if they could fill the rooms up by offering a cheap deal as it seems to be a very large hotel, maybe it was a way to fill it.

Don't know if that helps though as that might be when you would want to be there Lyn. :think

It must be confusing offering a 2 tier system of AI, I suppose they give guests different wrist bands. It wouldn't bother me not being able to get premium drinks, but if the buffet is a bit busy it's nice to have the option of included a la cartes.

xxx

pat

2012-05-08 21:14:09

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

Hi doe,

Yes, I read that too, but I believe this 2 tier system no longer exists, although not 100% sure? Probably another way of trying to rake in more money??

When we were there in 2008/09, both times it was only one system if booked with TC, and that was Ultra All Inlcusive. However, the only thing really worth having on the Ultra was the fact that you could use the a la cartes as many times as you wished. I don't drink spirits myself and was happy with the local beer and my husband doesn't drink alcohol at all, however, I didn't see any top brand sprits on show when there ....... i think they were kept under the counter and had to ask for them? As for other things that were included with the Ultra ...... wind surfing lesson and a hair cut ..... don't think I would trust them to cut my hair LOL!! Although they would have a problem with my husband ...... he doesn't have any LOL!!!

Pat

doe

2012-05-08 21:23:12

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

Hi Pat

LOL at the windsurfing lessons and the haircut :rofl

, they wouldn't be for me either.

I'm sure the two tier system was new this year, because that was when I was thinking of going but booked El Gouna instead.

I guess if it was a success in terms of filling rooms they will probably do it for Jan, Feb & March 2013.

It's fine provided people understand what they are booking & that by taking the lite or whatever it was called they are saving a bit. The real issue would be when folk don't realise I suppose & when they get there can't use the a la cartes, it probably causes a bit of bad feeling.

A lot of booking web-sites don't explain things clearly enough in my opinion.

Doe

lynwestie

2012-05-08 21:41:57

Re: next Easter.. makadi bay, El Gouna or Dahab

The problem is the bed bookers dont make it clear on their rate and by the time you get your confirmation it's too late . From reading through a topic tonight it sounds like it was just late bookings for Feb/march and it would be a pretty safe bet if you made a booking through hotels4u it would be the ultra. Im going to keep checking and may message that guy over on Ta Pat. Thanks for that x

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