Albatros Blu Spa - Adults Only

“Amazing”

Everything was really great. Food was amazing. Room was really nice and always cleaned really well. Everyone from the staff was really nice and smiley everyday. The hotel is located at the sea which is great and it even has its own lagoon.

“Heaven run by angels”

An holiday is what you make it to be, in this respect the staff at Sunrise holidays hotel help you make the most of your holiday. From arrival to leaving, they will offer you great service, treatments, exclusive dining on the beach. Myself and my wife particularly enjoyed the great laundry service … more

An holiday is what you make it to be, in this respect the staff at Sunrise holidays hotel help you make the most of your holiday. From arrival to leaving, they will offer you great service, treatments, exclusive dining on the beach. Myself and my wife particularly enjoyed the great laundry service managed by Amir. What’s not to like about arriving home and unpacking fantastically laundered and ironed clothing. My wife enjoyed hair styling while I had the luxury of a shave every other day with Sayeed and his team. The restaurants ran by Rewes, Musthafa, David and Mahmoud. The beach where nothing is too much trouble. Sun beds and privacy screens arranged as liked. Mahmoud who provides clean beach towels on request. The room service guys. The animation team, Marvi and his crew. This was our 10th visit, we had yet another fantastic time. Thank you to all at Sunrise holidays.

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“Enjoyed my stay”

Nice hotel. The staff are really welcoming and hospitable. They provide water and soft drinks in the mini fridge, included in the all inclusive. The beach area is really nice and there are usually sun beds free. The room was clean but the decor was outdated, hence the 4 stars. I’ve heard rooms on h… more

Nice hotel. The staff are really welcoming and hospitable. They provide water and soft drinks in the mini fridge, included in the all inclusive. The beach area is really nice and there are usually sun beds free. The room was clean but the decor was outdated, hence the 4 stars. I’ve heard rooms on higher floors have been refurbished though. The atmosphere was nice throughout our stay. The dinner area is open until 1am which is useful if you have a late flight like we did.

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“Heartbroken. 5th visit to this hotel and devastated by the massive fall from grace.”

We have just returned from an 11-night stay, and it is with a truly heavy heart that I write this review. This was our 5th time visiting this hotel. Our last visit was about 6 years ago, and we used to be absolutely massive fans of this resort. Sadly, the hotel has allowed exploitation to replace r… more

We have just returned from an 11-night stay, and it is with a truly heavy heart that I write this review. This was our 5th time visiting this hotel. Our last visit was about 6 years ago, and we used to be absolutely massive fans of this resort. Sadly, the hotel has allowed exploitation to replace respect, rip-off to replace confidence, and cowboy repairs to replace genuine maintenance. It has suffered a severe fall from grace. Here is the honest breakdown of the good, the bad, and the ugly. THE GOOD: The Location: Still unbeatable. It is situated right on the beach with a gorgeous private cove for snorkelling. The resort is oriented sideways, meaning there are lots of beachfront rooms and you are always just steps from the sand. Convenience: It is just a 15-minute drive from the airport if you book a private transfer. There are also plenty of local shops on the main road outside (turn right, 5-10min walk to the roundabout for the start of the shopping area). The Food: Good choice and plenty of variety. The only slight let-down is the usual all-inclusive "bland" dessert selection where everything looks completely different but tastes exactly the same. The Core Staff: On the whole, 95% of the service staff (reception, restaurant, cleaners etc.) were really good, polite, helpful, and friendly. THE BAD: Inappropriate Behaviour: A couple of waiters were the exception to the good service. They took far too much interest in my wife, to the point of bending right down and putting their faces inches from hers when placing a drink down that she had already declined. Firm words did not discourage them, and she felt increasingly uncomfortable, even though they never actually crossed the line. We ended up deliberately avoiding their work areas at meal times. Shocking Room Maintenance (Room 149): We were given an upgrade to a "Premier Beach Front room". The state of it was appalling. The main door looked like it had been kicked off its hinges and just badly screwed back together. The lock was misaligned, the door had holes in it, and the latch plate was buckled and barely hanging on. The wardrobe door was warped and had to be lifted out of its tracks to open. Worse still, the patio door was the wrong size for the frame. It left a permanent 1-inch gap that let the daily heat and nightly mosquitoes straight in. Because there was zero soundproofing with this wide gap, and the entertainment was right next door, we got effectively zero sleep before our 3am Cairo trip, and spending a quiet evening in the room or having an early night was never an option for us. The patio lock was another bodge job barely held by two self-tapping screws instead of proper nuts and bolts. We debated demanding a change right away, but as it was a free upgrade, and based on previous bad experiences at a different resort, we initially chose to push through the problems rather than risk ending up in the worst room they could find for us, especially with building work ongoing at the other end of the hotel. Sunbed Wars: The hotel seems to have increased their guest capacity, but without adding the amenities to match. It was never this difficult to get a sunbed on previous visits. Beds were "claimed" overnight (or ridiculously early) and management did nothing. On our last few days, I went out close to 7am to try and get one of the decent spots (out on the "arm" over the cove, or at the waters edge, or even next to the pool) at least once on our holiday, but they were all already "taken", yet I struggled to see a single person attached to the towels already draped over most of them. On-Site Shop woes: The hotel shops are no longer fixed-price or even fair. Instead, they operate like street hawkers. We liked two papyrus pictures in a shop on the ground floor. We were given a load of waffle sales pitch, told they were unique, one-of-a-kind, and the price included money for the artist. We had to push unnecessarily hard just to get a price out of him as he wanted to keep telling us how unique they were first, but eventually he gave us a number of £112! After a flat refusal, much telling him we were not interested at or anything near that price, and trying to leave the shop at least 3 times, he eventually came down to £35, which felt much closer to reasonable considering the supposedly unique nature of the pictures. However, the moment he took them off the wall, it revealed a stack of identical prints right behind them ready for the next tourist "mug". Despicable deception and attempts to rip off guests from a shop inside and linked to the hotel. Similar disappointing experiences were had at the jewellery shop (a £15 silver necklace that started at £75, for example), the clothing shop, the bag shop (a fake Nike rucksack that started at £55 and came down to £15), and even the sweet shop on site. PRO TIP: Avoid the on-site shops. Head to the supermarket over the road to the left of the pharmacy instead. It has fixed prices and a growing selection. The "Locust" Hawkers: On previous trips, you were approached maybe 2 or 3 times a day, and a polite "No thanks" was respected. Now, the hotel-authorised, uniformed hawkers are relentless. There are 2-3 staff for every single thing (Spa, trips, entertainment), and they approach aggressively, demanding a response before they move on. Even using the Red Flag system from the towel hut didn't stop them; they still badger you to say "Hi" back just to bypass the rule. On our final day, with a Red Flag behind us, I counted that the 3 Spa staff doing the rounds approached us 5 times in a little over 2 hours, and not moving on until I - even with my eyes closed - acknowledge them. THE UGLY: The Drains: On several days, a vile aroma of mould and sewage came up through the shower drain, which could also be smelt outside the room and in the corridors. When we raised this, reception offered a room change. However, because we were already dealing with the litany of maintenance issues in Room 149, we were loath to repack everything and risk moving, knowing we might just inherit a different set of problems or end up near building work. Predatory Spa Staff: This was the biggest disappointment. My wife does not have the strongest personality when it comes to saying no, due to some issues she actually takes medication for. Rather than accepting a firm, repeated "No" from me, a uniformed Spa staff member waited until I went into the water. He then targeted her, manipulating her into agreeing to a sequence of treatments. Because we deliberately didn't carry cash to give ourselves thinking time, he convinced her to charge £120.00 to the room so I couldn't object, even coaching her on what to say to me to justify it. Appalling disrespect for guests wishes and a total exploitation of mental frailties. FINAL THOUGHTS: We still love the location, the resort layout, the town, and the vast majority of the staff. But we are very unlikely to ever go back. If you choose to stay here, keep your wits about you, guard your sunbed, and prepare to be constantly viewed as nothing more than a walking wallet.

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