IL Mercato Hotel and Spa

After a long journey Check in was a bit long. After giving all documents we were told to wait. 30 mins later we were allowed to check in - a little bit inconvenient with 3 young children at 12pm at night.

After receiving our cards and going to our room. We kindly got a lift on the golf buggy assisting us with all our luggage. The family room which we booked we were disappointed with. It had 2 bedrooms with no beds in one room and just a king size bed in the other. After letting the member of staff know on the phone we got 1 extra bed. So we had one in one bed and 2 in. Our king size bed it wasn't ideal but we was all tired so 4 in a bed.

The next day we met with our rep Anwar and he kindly arrange for us to have another room with a balcony which we booked. Second room was much better. Not as spacious but preferred the balcony. However we did ask for a travel cot which we got the next day but it was for a newborn not a biggish 1.5 year old. We did ask twice for a bigger one but didnt get one. So he was in the middle of me and my husband for the duration of the holiday. Then we had a bigger one placed in our room on our last night. Which he did sleep in and we got a better night sleep.

Hotel facilities were pretty good we started off at the splash park which was pretty good but found the music really loud. You couldn't hardly speak other. All pools are clean and well looked after. We preferred the top pool on the roof. Would be nicer if the bar was near the pool though.

Shocked to realise no ice cream available during the all inclusive. We bought ice creams for kids in bar but watch your change!! I paid with english pounds and my change was given back to me in eygpian pounds and dollars. As i sat down to check the change on my phone the bar staff member then approached me and said it was wrong!! As he could see i was double checking my change.

Burger and hot dogs with chips in between meals. Food is nice but not much choice. You do get used to it though and is presented well. Sometimes can we be slightly to busy for the freshly cooked food. We did get funny tummies whklst there too. So did a few people that we met. Take imodium with you it will come in handy. Beer is okay after you get used to it. But I found any other alcohol not enjoyable. So we just mainly stuck to soft drinks. I think drinks could be served in better quality cups too. The plastic cups were that thin and cheap they hardly help.your drink without a spill.

The hotel we found didnt really have much atmosphere at night. I think during our 11 night stay there may have been 4 things on. Other times it was just music and nothing going on. There is also quite alot of building work going on which it should really state when booking. It did not affect us but it looks pretty scruffy and its pretty dangerous too.

Day Reception staff are good and will be happy to help, however night staff were slightly different.

Ahmed our cleaner was amazing! Everyday he left a character made from towels for our kids on thier return which they loved. Very helpful too if we needed anything.

Also the man on security on the front gate was very knowledgeable and very friendly to us. He was just a kind gentlemen with very nice manners and made us feel very welcome.

Issues with kids club. They went twice - the lady who worked in the kids clubs seemed very patient and kind towards my children and they enjoyed going. She also did face painting and mimu discos In the evening. 3 occasions we turned up at the time specified on the door and kids club was closed no explanation and no staff member knew anything. I saw the lady and asked if it was going to be on anytime soon and she shrugged her shoulders like she didnt know either. When we noticed it was back on there was a different lady who couldn't speak any English at all. I signed both my children in and after 20 minutes my eldest child walked up the stairs and said there was nothing to do. I went down to check on my 6 year old and he was walking around the ground floor crying and looking for us. She had just let them out !! Good job we didnt arrange to go anywhere away from the hotel. So unorganised!! Another couple had thier 2 younger girls walking around lost in the hotel too. Very dangerous with the pools. Absolutely terrible!! Not professional at all. If that happened in the UK the company would be in trouble and get closed down as its not safe.

We did enjoy our stay in Eygpy but would not say this was a 5 star resort. Places to visit at night are Soho Square, Naama Bay and Al Sahara Moske. Also snorkeling is a must in the red sea. Its amazing. We used the free transfers from the hotel to go to both beaches. We also did the pirate ship excursion which was really worth it. We snorkeling and visited White island and it was well worth it. The sea was like a hot bath. Worth a visit to the water park if you have kids. Lots of choice and slides are pretty good.

As a family we did love Egypt but did expect a little bit better quality of the resort.

I would not rate this as a 5-star hotel. In my opinion, it is much closer to a 3-star property.

Housekeeping was a major disappointment. During my 15-night stay, the room was only properly cleaned around twice. Towels were rarely changed, and even basic items like toilet paper were not replenished unless we asked. The overall standard of cleanliness was far below what I would expect from a hotel of this category.

The food was also very disappointing. It was extremely repetitive, with very little variety from one day to the next. After such a long stay, there were hardly any different options available.

The Wi-Fi was another constant issue. It kept disconnecting throughout our stay, and we repeatedly had to go to reception to ask them to fix it, only for the same problem to happen again.

The staff were generally rude and unwelcoming. Instead of making guests feel valued, they often made us feel like we were an inconvenience. The level of customer service, housekeeping, food quality, and overall experience simply did not meet the standard of a 5-star hotel.

Unfortunately, I would not choose to stay here again.

We truly enjoyed our stay at El Mercato hotel. Everything was excellent—the staff, the food, and the overall atmosphere. It was a wonderful and relaxing holiday . They are doing a great job excellent and keep it up.