Rixos Premium Magawish Suites & Villas

We recently stayed here with family and with friends, and although there were definitely some positives, overall we came away disappointed. We are extremely well travelled and have stayed in luxury resorts all over the world, so we aren’t comparing this with an average hotel. For us, it simply didn’t live up to the standard we expected from a Rixos or from a resort with such high ratings. The resort itself is absolutely huge and there are some excellent facilities. The gym is very good, the spa was nice, and Mostafa at the spa was phenomenal. Housekeeping was also great, our room was cleaned very well and the housekeeping staff were attentive throughout. We also met a handful of genuinely lovely staff and some fantastic bartenders who looked after us really well. We did tip them generously, so I can’t say whether that contributed to the level of service we received, but they deserve recognition regardless. We also want to mention the lifegaurds and bar staff by the main pool across from laguna rooms, they were brilliant and so friendly and we had chats with them daily. Unfortunately, one of the biggest things we noticed was how tired and unhappy many members of staff seemed. A lot of them appeared exhausted from working incredibly long shifts. It was also really uncomfortable to witness members of management shouting at both male and female members of staff in front of guests. It didn’t create the atmosphere you would expect from a luxury resort, and at times we genuinely felt sorry for the staff. Entertainment was good, ,much better than some hotels we have been to in Egypt. The restaurant booking system was another frustration. It was incredibly difficult to get reservations at sensible times, with us regularly only being offered times around 9:30pm or later. Yet when we actually went to the restaurants, there would often be plenty of empty tables. It just didn’t make sense, but maybe this was due to staff shortages? There is a lot of food choice across the resort, but quantity doesn’t necessarily mean quality. The majority of dishes arrived only slightly warm rather than hot, and overall we wouldn’t describe the food as consistently five-star quality. That being said, the Turkish restaurant was phenomenal, as was the Greek restaurant. Unfortunately, at the Greek restaurant our children’s prawns were served slightly raw. The staff did apologise profusely and replaced them with properly cooked ones, which we appreciated, but obviously raw prawns being served to children was concerning. Another issue was cleanliness outside of the rooms. While housekeeping did an excellent job, the wider resort often felt dusty and wasn’t as clean as other luxury hotels we have stayed in. The beach in particular had a surprising amount of litter and at times looked dirty, which is not something I would expect from a resort at this level. Getting a sunbed was also far more difficult than it should have been. The pools were extremely busy and we regularly struggled to find beds, and the same applied around parts of the beach. For such a large resort, it didn’t feel as though the facilities had kept pace with the number of guests. they say they have a policy where after an hour they take towels off unnoccupied beds, but we never seen this happen. At 7:30am onwards, beds were reserved with towels and people would walk off for breakfast and not return till after 9am. Considering we paid in excess of £12k for a suite for 9 nights, I would expect a sunbed somewhere near my room. somedays we walked 10-15 mins with the kids just to go to a dead pool with no service. One of our biggest concerns was that we travelled with friends who stayed in a separate room, and both families came home with extremely bad upset stomachs. Of course, I can’t say definitively what caused it, but all of us becoming unwell during/after the same holiday was worrying, particularly as this is the first time we’ve experienced anything like this despite travelling extensively and to a neighbouring hotel 5 times previously and never had this issue. The other thing that really left a bad taste was the constant pressure to leave five-star reviews. We were repeatedly asked to review the hotel in restaurants, bars and the spa, and on several occasions staff attempted to take our phone and select the five-star rating themselves and submit the review. We refused. We also felt that, after refusing on one occasion, the service towards us noticeably changed and we were largely ignored afterwards. We did see someone have their phone taken off them and the member of staff posted a 5 star review for them and then took a picture of the guests phone and whatsapp'd someone the picture of the review. Because of that experience, it did make us question how representative some of the extremely high ratings online really are. I can imagine a lot of guests simply feeling awkward and going along with giving five stars when a member of staff is standing beside them asking them to do it. Reviews should be completely voluntary and reflect what the guest genuinely thinks. To note, we never ever had this issue at the hotel in Sahl Haseesh down the road - on any of the 5 occasions we stayed with them. My overall impression is that Rixos Premium Magawish is trying to expand and accommodate far more guests than its current staffing levels and infrastructure can comfortably handle. There is so much potential here. If they invested properly in staffing, looked after their employees, improved cleanliness and consistency, sorted the restaurant booking system and stopped pressuring guests for reviews, this genuinely could be a 10/10 resort. At the moment, though, our experience was around 4/10. There were some lovely people and some very good facilities, but unfortunately the negatives outweighed the positives for us and we wouldn’t return. I also want to add, that some days there were stalls selling $15 fresh coconut drinks - at an all inclusive "5" star resort, where people are paying thousands to stay, its a bit of a slap in the face to then ask customers to spend another $15 for a bit of coconut water... We wish we booked back at the hotel we usually stay at in Sahl Haseesh, quality over quantity! We wont be back here. Trip advisor needs to look into the majority of reviews here, as alot of them are forced 5 star from staff putting guests in awkward positions and forcibly clicking submit and 5 stars by taking their phones. Terrible really. Not like their other hotels in Turkey. If you like the Fancyness and Facilities, come here, but if you prefer Service, well cooked food, cleanliness, sunbed availability and a nicer atmosphere, go somewhere else.

We arrived at the hotel today and checked in 41212 room, expecting a comfortable start to our one-week family vacation. Unfortunately, our experience on the very first night has been extremely disappointing. Despite having made a reservation for a family of three, we were informed upon arrival that our 10-year-old child would have to sleep on a sofa bed. To make matters worse, we were kept waiting until 3:00 AM for hotel staff to finally arrive and prepare the bed. Furthermore, although our reservation clearly included three guests, no towels or slippers had been provided for our child. These are basic necessities that should have been arranged before our arrival. It is unacceptable that a family with a young child should have to wait until 3:00 AM for something as basic as a properly prepared bed. What should have been a relaxing and enjoyable beginning to our holiday has instead turned into a frustrating and exhausting experience. We sincerely hope that the hotel management takes this matter seriously, provides an appropriate explanation, and takes immediate steps to ensure that the remainder of our stay meets the standards we were promised.

What a magical experience this has been ! Have been to so many places but this was one of a kind ! The hospitality and food are just too good.. no words Ahmed hamdy in reception has been exceptional and helped us a lot in managing our holiday experiences here … Housekeeping in building 69 has been top class ! Hats off to the team here .. We promise to come again and extremely highly recommend our friends to visit here from the UK! Love you all ! Heavenly experience!

Very good service. Professional waiter Mina Marco. Very polite, knowledgeable about service, refined, and unobtrusive. Pleasant to converse with on any topic. Attentive and helpful.

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!