The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

With most hotels in Egypt slashing their
prices and offering excellent holiday packages, this is a great opportunity to
plan a weekend getaway in the country. If you’re considering El Gouna, we
recommend Moevenpick Resort & Spa El Gouna.

Located on a peninsula just a five-minute
walk from Downtown Gouna (Kafr El Gouna) and a five-minute drive from Abu Tig
Marina, Moevenpick Resort & Spa El Gouna offers comfortable accommodation,
tasty buffet dining and a low-key hotel experience.

The hotel has over 500 rooms and suites
with sea-views, garden-views or lagoon-views. A standard double room (around
400LE per night at the time of this reviewer’s visit) is incredibly comfortable
and spacious. The t-shaped room is flanked with a large mirror at its entrance,
followed by a small wooden cabinet that includes a shelf and seat with internet
connection for you to work on your laptop at and store your electronics. Two
twin beds (or a king-size bed if you prefer) are decked in heavenly, soft
bedding and royal red throws, which match the red carpet and the red love-seat
in the corner of the room. The seat faces an LCD TV screen with an adjustable
extension; meaning you can turn the TV towards your bed,
love-seat or balcony. The bathroom boasts sleek tiling, a standing shower, a
vanity table with a mirror and a cupboard as well as a rack of shelves.

A small balcony looks onto your view of
choice, which changes the price of your room, and two wicker chairs face a
small table. We would recommend a ground-floor garden or sea-view room so that
you face the hotel’s beautiful flowers and plants in the morning. Also note
that lagoon-view doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be perched directly on the
water. You may only be able to see a corner of the lagoon from your balcony.

The hotel has four swimming pools, including separated children’s pools. Three of the
swimming pools are supposed to be heated during the winter, but at the time of
this reviewer’s visit in early spring, they were all freezing cold despite the
hotel’s claims. The Red Sea at the Moevenpick is basically shallow, rocky
water that’s perfect for kite surfers and windsurfers but not for swimming. The swimming pools and the several lagoons on site are flanked with chaise
lounges, umbrellas and circular wicker barriers that separate you from other
patrons and give you some privacy.

Moevenpick Resort & Spa El Gouna’s
sports facilities are two tennis courts, two gyms, a
squash court and table tennis. The gym that this reviewer visited was tiny with few outdated
machines and two treadmills. On the plus side, a separate room held a Jacuzzi
and sauna, and a small pool outside is perfect for a post-workout dip. A water
sports booth on the sea provides equipment for wind and kite-surfing as well as
crash courses on both sports.

The highlight of the hotel is its
Angsana Spa. Located five minutes away from the hotel’s main building, the spa
is run by expert Thai massage therapists, is impeccably clean and
provides a very relaxing experience. Prices are high, but if you’re lucky, you
might catch their promotional offers. This reviewer had a 30-minute
massage reduced by almost 40% to around 400LE.

If you sign up for the all-inclusive
package, your buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served at Palavrion
Restaurant. Moevenpick is renowned for its quality dining, and it was a pleasant
surprise to enjoy our buffet meals: freshly baked bread, deliciously grilled
fillet and fried sausages, as well as a variety of different cuisines depending
on the day of the week. There are six other outlets offering à-la-carte
menus and drinks if you wish to break out of the buffet cycle, including Thai
restaurant Bua Khao.

As silly as it sounds, the main
disadvantage to Moevenpick Resort & Spa is the way it’s laid out in
confusing clusters, making the walk to and from the main
building feel like being stuck inside a maze. This reviewer met several equally
confused hotel guests lost along the corridors.

This hotel is a perfect getaway if you want
an all-inclusive deal that offers you everything you need in terms of leisure,
entertainment, sports and dining. If you’re feeling adventurous, take a walk or
one of the hotel’s limousine cars to Downtown Gouna for a stroll through the
square or for dinner at one of its many restaurants. The hotel also provides a free shuttle service
to and from Hurghada Airport.

For more information and reservations, contact
0653544501 or check its website here.