Serenity Alma Heights

Everything was great! The location was convenient, the room was clean and comfortable, the staff was friendly and helpful, and all the amenities met my expectations. I had a pleasant stay and would definitely recommend this hotel. Thank you!

We just got back from 2 weeks at Serenity Alma Heights and we had an absolutely fantastic holiday. Here is my honest review.

Overall we had a fantastic holiday, is this a 5 star hotel? I'll be honest and say probably not, but that is ONLY because of cosmetic improvements that really do need to be made to give it that final luxury feel, if you can get that right, you'll put Serenity in a whole different league!

Location - 35-45 minutes in a taxi to Hurghada Marina, 25 minutes to Senzo Mall, about 30 minutes private transfer from airport. Location is not the best as there is literally nothing around, you have to get taxis everywhere, it didn't bother us too much as there was plenty to keep us occupied in the hotel and we were aware of the location before we booked. I'm sure in a few years time Makadi Bay with be bustling with some external bars, shops and restaurants, but for now, its taxis, but they are very cheap so it's no big deal.

The hotel and grounds - Beautiful grounds, impeccably clean, looks a little dated in places, but I know they are renovating as much as they can, this is difficult due to it being an all year round location but they are working on it. Reception is beautifully decorated, the lobby is breath-taking. The restaurants, bars and other common areas are equally as impressive. The corridors to the rooms feel a little worn but I only saw the corridor for our block so I can't say if that's the same throughout.

Food - The food is fantastic, the choice at the buffet for all meals is varied and very tasty, the chefs take care to prepare new dishes and choices every day. We were there for 2 weeks and I don't think we ate the same thing twice. We had the option of 6 visits to the A La Carte's (3 per week) but sadly only managed to do 3, they book up very quickly (through an app in reception) which is why we didn't manage to do the rest, so I suggest booking them as soon as you get there so you aren't disappointed. However, the 3 we did do, Mexican, Italian and Asian, were excellent, our favourite being the Italian, chefs kiss!. It would be nice if you could offer up more time slots though to allow guests to be able to enjoy all the visits they are allowed, we were disappointed that we couldn't try the Indian or the Moroccan especially.
The food at the pool Snack Bar was just as good, incredible pizzas - highly recommend.

Room - We booked a family room which consisted of balcony, main room, door to twin beds, bathroom. 2 TV's, kettle, safe, iron and ironing board, toiletries etc. The room was clean and very comfortable with an incredible amount of storage, finally a hotel that realises a family needs more than one small wardrobe and a chest of drawers! I could've slept in the wardrobe! The bed was fabulous, large and very, very comfortable.
Mini bar in room is refilled with water on a daily basis, would have been nice if it was refilled with other drinks daily too, to save us having to take glasses up from the bars. The only disappointment in the room came from the flooring and the bathroom. The flooring was cracked with loose tiles and grout coming out every time we walked on it, we had to wear flip flops so as not to cut our feet and the bathroom was tired, very clean, but tired. The grout which should be in between the tiles was all over the tiles making it look shabby and tatty, the shower drain cover was too small for the hole and again, there were a few cracked tiles that had been hastily repaired, very messy silicone around the shower fixings, that kind of thing. We didn't complain about any of this as the room was so clean and comfortable that we really didn't care, it didn't affect our holiday in any way shape or form, however the Animation Team (I'll get to them shortly) do ask for feedback on a regular basis and we had told them our observations a couple of times, NOT a complaint, this was literally the only thing we could think of as everything else was first class. We got invited to reception to resolve, again we said no complaint, but the team bent over backwards to make us happy (even though we weren't unhappy), offered to move rooms but we had been there for 10 days already and it really hadn't bothered us. But they wouldn't take no for an answer on trying to make it right, a testament to how much the staff care about the hotel and their guests, we thank them very much for our late check out, it was very much appreciated but not expected at all.

Waterpark - The waterpark is out of this world, so many slides, the wave pool is powerful and great fun, plenty of sunbeds and shade. We had a wonderful time down there numerous times during our stay, you will not be bored! The only comment I would have, and it's not the staffs fault at all, was the rudeness of some guests, pushing a child out of the way to get to the front of the queue, hogging the rubber rings even when there is a queue of people waiting to get one, sadly not everyone is brought up with manners.

The Fairground - lovely, but we didn't use it too much, although it is free to use between 7pm and 8pm, by the time you've spent a day at the pool or out exploring, then got showered, changed and eaten, we were never there in time. And whilst I understand that 7-8pm is a great time for smaller children, I think there could be a better way to allow older children who don't go to bed so early the opportunity to use their free rides once all the wee ones have gone. But there are lots of great rides and a fabulous atmosphere down there, the kids will love it.

Pool - The Pool area is stunning, with well kept gardens, a beautifully shaped pool with several bridges over and ample amount of Sunbeds, didn't see any sunbed wars at all really, but that is more due to the staff (again I'll get to them in a minute). The pool itself is a great temperature, clean and plenty of room for just chilling on a Lilo or messing around with the family, but again, the cosmetics of the actual pool itself could be better, wonky tiles, grout not in between the lines but over them, even loose grout in the actual swimming pool and my husband cut his shoulder on an badly finished edge tile. Apparently the pool was closed and emptied in January for 2-3 weeks for renovation but I saw no evidence of the renovations. This may sound like a silly observation but it's the little cosmetic things that could really elevate the overall aesthetics of the pool and the hotel as a whole.

Animation and Entertainment - The team work so, so hard and they all have such a fantastic energy. They organise morning and afternoon activities which are wide and varied for those who want action packed and those who want something more sedate. They also look after the evening entertainment in the Amphitheatre, then afterwards in front of the lobby bar and they are very very good at what they do.
Amphitheatre external entertainment was good the few times we went although we preferred to stay around the lobby but the Open Mic nights the team did were good fun and a lot of laughs. The external entertainment provided in the evening in front of the lobby bar, whilst the amphitheatre shows are on, usually a singer or a duo, were all excellent but the hotel needs to address the children issue, climbing up the lighting structure and just generally causing havoc. I sat one night and watched 2 kids do handstands ON the stage whilst the singer was live, nearly kicking her in the face, then, on the same night to the same singer, 2 little girls run riot over that stage, actually changed the settings on the mixing desk and broke the vocalists mic stand. When she came back to start her next set, she couldn't sort the sound and had to call someone to help her, whilst we'd all been subjected to 30 minutes of background music with an overbearing "hiss" through it because of what they did. The parents did nothing other than laugh and take photos of their "clever little girls". I know this is not the hotels fault, it is the parents, however, I am sure there is something that could be done to stop them running feral when no one is there, be that a member of staff on duty or a lock on the mixer, I don't know, but it was unfair to guests having to listen to bad sound, unfair to have to watch uncontrollable kids create havoc and more importantly, unfair to the singer who suffered broken personal equipment and had to try and sort it all out alone.

Kids Club - Our son went to go once but said it was full of much smaller children so he didn't want to stay and he was as happy as a clam anyway in the swimming pool, but from what we could see, the kids do loads of activities, we saw them out and about on park many times during our stay and the kids did look like they were having a blast. The Kids Club Leaders always looked like they were having the best time with their little tribe!

Arcade - Our son loved the VR room, additional charge payable when you check out but there were some really cool games which he loved.

Staff - I am writing this bit separately as the staff 100% made this an unforgettable holiday, more so than any others we have been on. Every single member of staff we met was kind, polite, cheerful, nothing was too much trouble, it feels wrong to single out some when there is a whole, very well oiled, machine of staff that all deserve the recognition, but there are a few that deserve their own mention.

Mohammed - Housekeeping room 6229, we had a lot of fun with Mohammed, engaging in "towel wars" though he didn't know many, get learning Mohammed, we kept trying new ones with the help of YouTube and Mohammed even came for lessons on how to do characters that we made for him. He is an all round lovely man and we wish him and his wife all the very best on the upcoming birth of their 3rd child!

Mohammed - Pool Staff, the Egyptian Freddie Mercury, we miss you! Mohammed couldn't do enough for us from day one. Kept his area of the pool immaculate, helped with sunbeds, parasols, cleaning up cups and rubbish and so much more. He enjoys playing with the guests throwing things into the pool or joking around and is quite happy being thrown in himself too, an all round good sport. Not one to sit under his brolly all day either, he was there in the thick of it looking like he had the best job in the world! Thanks for 2 weeks of pool fun Mohammed!

Hossam - Buffet Restaurant Waiter. We were so sad that he had time off during our last week of our holiday, always the brightest smile and the most helpful, Harry LOVES you and has promised he is coming back to this hotel when he is 18 for his first adult holiday so he can get you back for all the "got you" moments. Hope you had a wonderful time with your family and keep up the great work that you do.

All the staff at the pool bar, I'm sorry I can't remember all of your names but you were all kind and attentive, coming round to top up drinks or serve us at the bar. And every one of you, always a smile and a hello and a great memory for whatever we were drinking! Filled up our own insulated mugs too (gamechanger!!)

All cleaning and Gardening staff working tirelessly to keep the whole hotel spotless, constantly sweeping, picking up rubbish, polishing every surface, pruning and planting, you are the real heroes here and I'm sure don't get as many mentions as the more client facing team members, but your work is definitely not going unnoticed.

And finally on the staff mentions, The Animation Team (ALL OF THEM), but as always there are ones you get to know best, so in particular, we'd like to give a massive shout out and thanks to:- Tilly, Julia, Adela, Sami - You guys rock! There is no other way to put it. Bouncing off the walls with energy, working so hard and looking like you love every single second of it (which I know you do). It's a hard job that you guys do, especially in that heat, but you wouldn't think it to watch you all every day. Full of fun, great ideas, passion and joy for the job you do. Nothing too much trouble, always ready to stop and have a chat and a laugh with the occasional throw into the swimming pool, Harry loves you all, as do we and we will miss you, (with an extra special mention to Tilly from Harry, your slide buddy!) If only I had my time in your job over again, I would've given my right arm to work with a team like you, keep up the good work and enjoy every week of every season! Maybe our paths will cross again someday in another place, who knows, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Overall we had a wonderful holiday, we've come back happy, relaxed, recharged and with some incredible memories to last us a lifetime.

Yes there are some cosmetic improvements needed but these absolutely did not affect our holiday in any way and, hand on heart, I can honestly say that yes, I would 100% recommend this hotel to anyone.

Take care to you all at Serenity and thank you for a truly memorable holiday!