TUI BLUE Crystal Bay

To say this hotel is excellent is an understatement! We went as a family (2 adults and 2 children 12 and 16yrs) in a deluxe seaview room. Plenty of space, cleaner was great. We did not come across one member of staff that didn’t look like they wanted to be there, every single one was friendly, went out of their way to do whatever they could to ensure your stay was exceptional. Thankyou especially to Essam the chef, hamed at the pool bar and the amazing entertainment team including Momo, Olivia and Boudk!! They treated us like family and because of them we will be returning next year (and we never go anywhere twice!). You can use the waterpark I. The next door hotel, a very short walk. Good for an hours entertainment then back to our calm and quieter surroundings! There was something on every night to watch. Nothing too extravagant which is what you’d expect in an Egyptian hotel to be honest as we’ve been to others and it’s the same, but we did go on a bus to a party one night all inclusive and there was a Beyoncé tribute and then a band and they were brilliant! We had a great night! The biggest positive was the food! I am coeliac so must eat gluten free and from our first visit to the buffet restaurant I was taken care of. The luxury of so many different restaurants was made even better by all the staff knowing I was gluten free and to say I was treated like a queen is another understatement. I was not poorly once, and I ate pretty much everything I wanted. If the menu item had gluten in it they would make me my own! In yades restaurant where we chose to eat most lunchtimes Sayed looked after me exceptionally. They pizzas and pastas are lovely! He made me my own fish fingers one day as I fancied them! Nothing is hard work for any of the staff. In the Egyptian restaurant Khatab and Mahmoud were amazing! We went on a private speedboat with falcon excursions and again it was fantastic!! We had the best week! Thankyou!

We visited this hotel in May to celebrate a family member’s birthday, but unfortunately the experience was a huge disappointment. We arrived late in the evening and, when we went to get food from the buffet around 8pm, we were shocked by the quality. The food looked as though it had been sitting there for hours — it was dry and lacked freshness. The choice was very limited, mainly seafood and fried options, which did not suit us. We expected much more variety from a five-star hotel and were disappointed that there was very little we could eat on our first night. When we arrived at our room, we were also surprised by how different it looked compared to the pictures online. The room felt very outdated and did not meet the standard we expected from a five-star resort. We raised our concerns several times with the TUI representative, but unfortunately we did not feel much was done to help move us to a more suitable hotel. Although our room was upgraded, the overall experience still felt like a let-down. The drinks at the bars were another disappointment. The cocktails often had bits in them and did not feel like the quality we had been promised. When booking through TUI, we were led to believe that branded drinks would be available, but this was not the case when we arrived. The entertainment was also very limited. There were occasional singers and dance teams, but the quality was not what we expected. There was very little atmosphere around the pool area, with no music or activities to keep guests entertained throughout the day. Overall, we felt the hotel did not live up to its five-star rating. We spoke to many other guests during our stay in May, and a common complaint was the food quality and lack of choice. Unfortunately, we would not return to this hotel or Egypt based on this experience, as the standards were far below what we expected. In our opinion, you get what you pay for, and this hotel did not provide the five-star experience we were expecting.

Our junior suite was so beautiful with an amazing view and kept spotless by Mahmoud who left me a lovely birthday towel art. We had breakfast every day in Yades with Samara, Rady, Ali Ahmed who always looked after us and knew our morning drinks, think I tried nearly everything on the menu, the Egyptian breakfast was delicious.   They all sang happy birthday and put a lovely banner up on the day. Yades in the evening was fabulous and we felt had greatly improved in flavour and presentation, Chef Yanis has certainly brought Greek flavour to Egypt, the sea bass and shrimp salad were delicious, thanks to Ali Ahmed and Mohamed. We absolutely love Elia, the team are fantastic and just heartwarming to see our dear friend Ahmed Elminiawy, my birthday was made very special by Adam, Sayed, Rady and Ahmed with a delicious cake and singing. The salmon, beef steak, risotto, calamari and mushroom soup among my favourites. Manohar is excellent, fantastic authentic flavours and great presentation, the Goan shrimp curry is delicious and the garlic naam.  Thanks to Samara and Adam and Ahmed. I know i've missed people, I try and get their names as we go. Last but not least Ahmed Ragab who is an excellent bar man, and an alround lovely man he kept us constantly supplied with drinks on the jetty and works really hard. Cannot wait to return and see all our friends again, special thanks to Catherine who makes every stay perfect for us.

This was the most amazing holiday we’ve ever had. We’ve been to Turkey for 20 years thinking we couldn’t beat it and this hotel has knocked it out of the park !!! The staff are the best of anywhere we’ve ever been they can’t do enough for you. They remembered our love of coffee on a morning and red wine on a night. Yades staff remembered our beers every lunch time and always brought them as soon as we sat down. We spent most of our holiday on the pontoon and the adults beach bar waiter was the nicest man he always came to check we were ok and if we needed any drinks. It was like having a friend honestly the best staff ever. The only problems we had in 2 weeks was the Egyptian Al a carte which was a complete let down to the resort and should have been the highlight of an Egyptian holiday. The staff were so rude and dismissive we actually left before desert and went back to the buffet for that instead to our usual amazing waiters. The Indian, BBQ and Mediterranean al a a cartes were absolutely amazing the Indian was the best we’ve ever had All in all the best most relaxing 2 weeks ever and we can’t wait to come back well done crystal bay hurghada ❤️

First the positives - attentive staff, amazing well kept gardens, very clean in public areas, and food was excellent in all restaurants. The Indian was the best as was the BBQ. The food was beautifully presented and plentiful. Staff wore PPE when dealing with food, aprons and gloves. Really easy to book restaurants via app and there were plenty of places considering the hotel had 70% occupancy. We stayed in the Suites with a sea view and I have to say, room size was amazing. Large bathroom with separate toilet, separate bedroom, lounge (with x2 single beds), walk in closet, mini bar. Areas to improve - Our room was a little dated, minor scratches on furniture and a very worn picture on the wall that really needed removing or replacing. Cocktails are a bit hit and miss, especially when bar staff are busy, either too much alcohol or bland in taste. I think to maintain consistency in cocktails, would suggest bar staff training. The hotel grounds are massive, so if you have mailability problems, I would suggest booking a pool view, as sea view or partial sea view are an 8 minute walk to the main building. Entertainment - mainly singers in the evening with the Entertainment staff dancing. Would benefit with a planned programme with a mixture of entertainment rather than singers. That said, the violinst in the main restaurant in the morning was amazing and really enjoyable to listen to.