Steigenberger Aqua Magic, All Inclusive

My worst experience ever — a true embodiment of unprofessionalism, negligence, and blatant disrespect. From the moment we arrived, the situation was already unacceptable. The reservation manager, Mr. Abanoub Tharwat (as identified by the receptionist), insisted on charging an additional 6000 EGP for my son, who had only just turned three years old. This charge was entirely unreasonable, as a child of that age incurs virtually no cost to the hotel. Despite calmly attempting to discuss the matter, I was met with rigid, dismissive responses under the pretext of “hotel policy.” Left with no real choice, I was forced to comply. What made matters worse was the appalling attitude displayed. Instead of handling the situation with professionalism or basic courtesy, Mr. Abanoub’s demeanor was openly disrespectful, accompanied by condescending and insulting looks that strongly suggested prejudice. As an Egyptian guest in my own country, I found this behavior deeply offensive and unacceptable. While I have unfortunately encountered subtle discrimination abroad, experiencing it here, in what claims to be a five-star establishment, was shocking. The food was another major disappointment. While there was a wide variety, the quality was nothing short of disastrous. Meals included burnt items such as meat and kofta, uncleaned shrimp, and—most disturbingly—desserts containing hair and even dead insects. Such severe lapses in hygiene and quality are inexcusable, especially for a hotel that markets itself as five-star. Even significantly lower-rated hotels maintain far higher standards. The children’s pool, an area that should be prioritized for safety and hygiene, was in a deplorable state. Broken tiles caused injury to my wife, resulting in damaged toenails and bleeding while she was accompanying our child. Additionally, the presence of dead insects in the water slides raises serious concerns about sanitation and the health risks posed to children. The staff behavior throughout the stay was consistently rude and unprofessional. Basic service appeared to be contingent on tipping, which is entirely unacceptable. Housekeeping neglected to clean our room despite clear signage and direct verbal requests. Restaurant staff ignored us repeatedly, and on one occasion, when I simply asked for a spoon, a waiter rudely told me to fetch it myself—even though clean cutlery was readily available in front of him. It was evident that service was selectively offered only to those willing to tip. All of these issues are documented with photos and videos, including an image showcasing the ironically poor “view” from our room in this so-called five-star hotel. In summary, this experience was deeply disappointing on every level—service, hygiene, safety, and basic human decency. I would strongly advise others to reconsider before staying here.

In general it is good with very friendly staff in cafe and restaurants

Overall, my stay was below expectations. The biggest issue was the air conditioning. It was very weak and the room never became comfortably cool. When I reported it to the reception, I was simply told that the hotel was fully occupied and that the weather was hot!!!!  the location of the room was difficult to access, especially when traveling with children and a stroller. I hope the hotel will improve theair conditioning system and consider assigning more accessible rooms to families with young children. These changes would significantly improve the overall guest experience.

I had high expectations for Steigenberger Aqua Magic, but unfortunately my experience did not match the reputation of the hotel. The first disappointment started at check-in. I booked two rooms and sent a request in advance asking for adjacent rooms because we are one family traveling with children. The hotel is very large and consists of several buildings, so it is simply not reasonable for my children to stay in one building while I stay in another. At reception I was told that there were no rooms of the same category available in the same building. To solve the problem, I agreed to pay around €100 to upgrade the second room. However, even after paying for the upgrade, the rooms were still not next to each other. They were only on the same floor despite my repeated request. To make matters worse, I received the key to the first room after approximately 3:00 PM, while the second room was not ready until after 6:00 PM because housekeeping had not finished preparing it. Waiting several extra hours for a room after paying for an upgrade was very frustrating. Then, on the day of departure, shortly after 12:00 PM I received a call asking me to check out immediately. I found this difficult to understand. If the hotel expects guests to respect the official checkout time, then guests should also expect their rooms to be ready at the official check-in time. The standards should be the same for both sides. Another disappointing policy was the specialty restaurants. Although I booked an All-Inclusive package, I was only allowed to use one specialty restaurant because my stay was less than five nights. I do not think this is a fair policy. If a restaurant is fully booked, I completely understand, but if tables are available, all All-Inclusive guests should have the opportunity to dine there regardless of the length of their stay. Restricting access only because of the number of nights makes the All-Inclusive experience feel unnecessarily limited. I also felt there was a noticeable difference in how some guests were treated. I paid in foreign currency just like many international guests, yet I noticed that the building assigned to us was occupied mostly by Egyptian families and its overall condition was not maintained to the same standard, especially the unpleasant smell around the ground-floor bathrooms. Another incident happened at the swimming pool where my children were told that inflatable toys and floats were not allowed, and we immediately respected the rules. However, only a few minutes later we saw children of other nationalities using similar inflatables in the same pool without being stopped. This made me feel that the rules were not being applied equally to everyone. I also remember another situation at reception where a foreign guest requested to change rooms and was offered several alternatives. When I requested the same, the receptionist briefly searched and then told me that no rooms were available. Seeing another guest receive multiple options while I was told there was nothing available left me questioning why the same level of service was not offered to me. I am not saying this based on rumors; I am simply describing my own experience during my stay. I sincerely hope the hotel reviews whether its procedures and policies are being applied equally to all guests. Despite these issues, I would like to thank the restaurant staff, housekeeping staff, and cleaning team. They were always friendly, professional, and helpful, and I truly appreciated the way they treated us. The hotel itself has excellent facilities and great potential, but the inconsistent service at reception and the feeling that some guests receive better treatment than others had a significant impact on our holiday. I hope the management takes these comments seriously because equal treatment, fair policies, and better organization at check-in would greatly improve the guest experience for everyone.

The food was good. The animation team was okay. The staff were condescending, which was a negative for the hotel. Everything was clean and in good condition... but I'd like the pool to be cleaned more frequently.