Mercure Hurghada Hotel

The hotel's location is good and the grounds are well-maintained. The sheer size of the complex with its many rooms is also impressive. However, the rooms are a bit dated now and could really use a renovation. The food is okay – neither bad nor particularly outstanding. It just lacks that certain something. Unfortunately, the service overall was disappointing. We were almost never actively asked if we wanted drinks and usually had to get them ourselves from the bar. It seemed that attentive service was more dependent on tips. Especially at the beach bar, some staff members appeared unmotivated – sometimes working with one hand on their phone while preparing drinks rather carelessly with the other. In my opinion, the hotel is more of a 3-star standard than the advertised 5 stars (e.g., according to Trip). On the positive side, I'm hopeful that things will improve after the planned renovation. For comparison: I subsequently spent three days at the Sunrise Garden Beach Resort and was impressed by how smoothly and high-quality everything was organized there.

The rooms inside were a bit small and old, but the exterior views were absolutely gorgeous, and I really loved the architecture.

The front desk staff were rude and tried to scam us out of 100 yuan by claiming that our online order required offline tax payment. We couldn't be bothered to pursue it, but such clumsy tactics only bring shame to your country.