Rixos Premium Magawish Lotus

We’ve just spent a lovely week at the Rixos Premium Magawish Suites and Villas. What made it really special were the staff who were all very friendly and provided excellent service. We particularly loved Peoples restaurant, both Ali and the manager were excellent and made our stay particularly enjoyable. We also loved spending our evenings at the Lobby bar, Mina Marco looked after us and provided excellent service. The staff at the Lotus bar were also lovely and would go out of their way to help you. The grounds and facilities were stunning, excellent holiday!

Best service shuttle bus in Rixos magawish Mr Mahmoud A Elkarem the best of the best many time in this hotel and service always at top level

My wife and I booked a last-minute holiday to Rixos Premium Magawish to celebrate my birthday. Having visited Dubai extensively, we fancied somewhere different. We had been to Egypt previously and had reservations about returning, but reassured ourselves that Rixos was a premium luxury brand and that we could reasonably expect a genuine five-star experience. How wrong we were. Accommodation – A Promising Start On arrival, we were offered an upgrade to a swim-up room. A nice gesture, although this was the category of room we would ordinarily have booked anyway. The room itself was clean, serviced daily and perfectly acceptable. Unfortunately, the terrace received very little sunshine, which rather defeated the purpose of having a swim-up room. We subsequently discovered a large, peaceful swimming pool directly opposite our accommodation. It was spacious, quiet and generally deserted. This was one of the few genuinely enjoyable aspects of our stay. Food – Quantity Is No Substitute for Quality The hotel boasts an impressive selection of restaurants offering Italian, Indian, Chinese and other international cuisines. Unfortunately, the quality of the food was consistently dreadful. Offering numerous restaurants is meaningless if the kitchen teams cannot deliver authentic, properly prepared cuisine. If you advertise an Italian restaurant, employ chefs who understand Italian cooking. The same principle applies to Indian, Chinese and every other cuisine. We found the food thoroughly disappointing across the resort. The emphasis appeared to be on quantity and presentation rather than flavour, authenticity or quality. Dining also felt extraordinarily rushed. On one evening, we were seated, served and finished within approximately 35 minutes. The waiting staff seemed more interested in clearing tables and moving guests along than allowing them to enjoy a relaxed evening. This is supposed to be a luxury resort, not a conveyor belt. Drinks, Snacks and Service – An Obsession with Tipping The selection of drinks was surprisingly poor for a hotel positioning itself at the premium end of the market. The in-room snacks were equally underwhelming: a tiny Twix each and some distinctly unappetising local crisps. Hardly what one expects from a luxury all-inclusive property. We do not drink alcohol, so our requirements were straightforward: water and the occasional soft drink. While relaxing around the pool, I would often walk to the bar, collect our drinks and leave the bartender a dollar tip. I have absolutely no objection to tipping for good service. However, what became increasingly apparent was an uncomfortable expectation that tips should be forthcoming regardless of the service provided. On one occasion, having not visited the bar because we didn’t require any drinks, the bartender shouted across the swimming pool, “Boss! Boss! Do you want anything?” He then walked around to approach us personally. Rather than feeling attentive, the interaction felt intrusive and motivated by the expectation of another tip. Throughout our stay, we encountered staff whose limited English made meaningful communication difficult. More concerning was the lack of professionalism, discretion and the ability to build genuine rapport with guests. Some interactions felt immature and overly familiar rather than respectful. My wife also felt distinctly uncomfortable with the behaviour and attention of certain male staff members, which she experienced as sleazy and disrespectful. A five-star hotel should ensure that female guests feel completely comfortable and respected at all times. Rixos would benefit enormously from investing in proper hospitality training, particularly around professional boundaries, communication and appropriate interactions with international guests. Private Boat Excursion – $800 for a Misrepresented Experience We booked a private boat excursion through a hotel-associated provider. The initial asking price was an astonishing $1,950. Following negotiation, we agreed to pay $800. For that considerable sum, we were promised four stops, approximately four hours on the water, a packed lunch and a refrigerator stocked with chilled water and soft drinks. What we actually received was substantially different. The packed lunch consisted of sandwiches that were so unappetising we considered them inedible. The supposedly chilled drinks were warm. Although we saw dolphins, one planned stop was unsuitable for diving because of rough conditions. We subsequently visited White Island, where we spent approximately two hours. The advertised four-stop itinerary simply did not materialise. To make matters worse, the boat’s captain spoke virtually no English, meaning he was unable to explain the locations, marine life or anything else we encountered. For $800, we expected a professionally organised private excursion with appropriate hospitality, communication and delivery of the advertised itinerary. Instead, we felt thoroughly short-changed. Food Poisoning – The Final Straw On the penultimate day of our holiday, I ate smoked salmon at the Turquoise restaurant which appeared to have been served while still frozen. I subsequently became seriously unwell with gastrointestinal symptoms that I believe were caused by food poisoning. Five days after returning to the UK, I was still confined to bed, having required hospital treatment, including an intravenous drip, and commenced a course of antibiotics. While I cannot medically establish the precise source of the illness, the timing and my experience with the food at the hotel have left me deeply concerned about its food handling and preparation standards. What should have been an enjoyable birthday holiday ended with a thoroughly miserable journey home and days of illness. The Final Insult – Begging for Tips on the Airport Transfer Having not travelled by organised coach transfer for many years, we were astonished by what happened on our journey back to the airport. With approximately 30–40 passengers on board, the representative actively solicited tips for himself and the driver, circulating an envelope amongst the passengers. There is a significant difference between voluntarily rewarding excellent service and being placed in an uncomfortable position where gratuities are openly requested. After a holiday in which tipping already seemed to dominate so many interactions, this was a particularly unpleasant final impression. TUI, as the tour operator through whom we booked, should take a serious look at the standards of the hotels and associated services it promotes. A Resort That Did Not Feel Geared Towards British Guests During our stay, the overwhelming majority of guests appeared to be Russian. I would estimate approximately 99%, although that is simply my personal impression. There is nothing inherently wrong with a resort attracting guests from any particular country. However, British travellers should understand that this hotel did not feel particularly geared towards their expectations, especially regarding food, communication and service style. In our experience, the standards of hospitality fell a very long way short of what we associate with genuine five-star international hotels. Our Verdict – Never Again Rixos Premium Magawish has attractive grounds, spacious swimming pools and clean accommodation. Unfortunately, these positives are comprehensively overshadowed by poor food, rushed dining, uncomfortable service interactions, excessive expectations around tipping, a disappointing and expensive excursion, and serious concerns arising from my illness. Luxury is not simply about impressive buildings, numerous restaurants and attractive swimming pools. It is about exceptional food, attentive but discreet service, professionalism, consistency and making guests feel genuinely valued. Rixos Premium Magawish failed to deliver on almost every one of those measures. We paid for a premium holiday and received an experience that was anything but premium. We would not recommend this hotel to British travellers expecting genuine five-star hospitality. We will never stay at another Rixos property anywhere in the world, and after this experience, we have absolutely no intention of returning to Egypt. One star. Thoroughly deserved.

Shuttle bus very good zain from retention

Everything was perfect!!!Ahmed and Mustafa was the best!!!