Pickalbatros Villaggio Resort - Portofino Marsa Alam

“Best resort we've been to!”

As someone who has been to multiple resorts with family, I can confidently say that Portofino Villaggio is the resort for all. We travelled as a large family with a total of 30 members with ages ranging from as young as 6 months old to elderly people aged 70+. The resort had multiple locations and … more

As someone who has been to multiple resorts with family, I can confidently say that Portofino Villaggio is the resort for all. We travelled as a large family with a total of 30 members with ages ranging from as young as 6 months old to elderly people aged 70+. The resort had multiple locations and activities that suit all. We stayed from Thursday till Saturday and left Sunday evening. The resort is very large and is great for nighttime strolls. A great plus is that the resort has bikes that you can ride round and are available for use from 8am till 8pm. However, I believe it would be beneficial for all if the bikes were available till midnight seeing as there are still activities open till late in the night. The pools: There are a lot of pools with different depths that suit all ages and all levels of swimming experience. The infinity pool (located next to the Mediterranean restaurant) is the biggest pool and has the most activities. We also attended the fruit festival which was near this pool and is definitely recommended for all, the mangoes were delicious! The beach: The beach is very beautiful and sandy and we had a lot of fun snorkelling and seeing the variety of colourful fish. We also went snorkeling at the jetty and I must say it is definitely recommended. The view underwater is much more stunning that above water. There are also life jackets available and life rings in the water for people to hang on to. As someone who has family members that can't swim I really believe everyone should have the chance to see the fish. I would suggest for the resort to build a glass tube that goes underwater, similar in idea to the aquarium area in the zoo. The aqua park: Aqua park was super fun with multiple slides and areas for all ages. Would definitely recommend to try out all slides cause each offers a unique experience. There is also ice cream offered near the aqua with four flavours (chocolate, strawberry, mango, and vanilla). I would suggest going early so that you can get whatever flavour you want before it runs out. The food: The food was great with a huuggeee variety. We tried out all restaurants as well as an a la carte restaurant called Shellfish until we were all super full. The food is always fresh and there is never a moment in time that passes by unless a restaurant or bar is open serving food or snacks. A great plus is that the resort also accommodates everyone by offering early breakfast (5 - 7am) and late dinner (10pm - 12am). It also accommodated our family member who has a gluten allergy. From all the restaurants we tried I'd definitely recommend El Khan, it has very delicious food and isn't as crowded as compared to the other restaurants. The bakery is also delicious and made freshly. I'd recommend eating the fresh Egyptian bread and croissants from the restaurants but if you want delicious desserts then go to the bakery in the lobby that's open from 10am till 7pm. It has fresh desserts that change daily. The rooms: We booked a total of 7 rooms and my family ended up located in room 3207 with a pool/aqua view. The room was a family room and was very spacious. It had a living room with a TV, a balcony, two bathrooms with showers, two bedrooms, and a small fridge. The bathrooms were very clean and had the necessary toiletries provided like tissues, soap, conditioner, shampoo, shower gel, body lotion, and a dental kit. The living room also included a small kitchen with a kettle, tea and coffee. The beds were very comfortable and all the rooms were very clean as the cleaning staff passed by the rooms on a daily basis to restock toiletries, replace the towels and clean the beds. The staff: All staff is very kind and friendly. They're always willing to help at any time with a smile on their face. If you have any questions or requests the lobby tends to be the most helpful place you can go to. The staff is also very coordinated with each other making the service smooth sailing and easy. In addition, they have a common WhatsApp group chat for lost and found in case you lose anything during your stay there. The VR (Virtual Reality): The VR was an absolute unreal experience for all! Its super fun and has multiple different games. Definitely a unique activity offered that I haven't seen in any other resort. You simply receive VR tickets from the lobby that you can use during your time in the VR. Our only issue with the VR was the timing and lines. The VR is available from 7pm till 10pm located above East & West (L'Asiatique) restaurant. This is a very odd timing as dinner opens at the same time and, from experience, by the time we got to dinner and finished it was too late for the VR. I would definitely recommend for the VR to open until midnight or to open earlier. In addition, one round takes 5 minutes which is a bit long considering that the VR is only open for 3 hours. Additionally, the system for the lines for each activity needs to change. There is no system so everyone just stands around the activity until the person inside finishes and then its a race as to who can get there first. This causes multiple issues between people who keep arguing as to who was first. I would suggest for the VR to change to one of three systems: 1) A ticket system for each activity so that every person knows which number in the line they are. 2) A screen system where you register yourself with your name so that they can call you to the activity when it is your turn. 3) A registering system with time slots that you can book during the day and if you don't arrive during your time slot then you can try again the next day. Overall, this is a very great resort. We also saw that the resort was working on building an amusement park, something we are all very excited about. Definitely recommend for all! This resort undoubtedly deserves a longer stay than 3 days and we will definitely consider coming back again. It has so many great places for photos. 10/10!!

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