Taba, Mariott Taba Heights Beach Resort Review

Overall Rating

Beach.

The hotel is not a 5*, and it has a long way to go before it is.
Terrible food.

I booked a family holiday through Peltours who advertised in the Daily Mail. The Marriott Beach Resort in Taba is advertised as a 5* Hotel. I can assure you that it IS NOT A 5*! They play on the fact that once you are there, it is very difficult to go anywhere else. The Rooms are average 3*, and there are no tea or coffee making facilities, and no complimentary water, which is essential for washing your teeth with. They charge you approximately £1.00 per bottle, and if you use the bottle in your room next to the bar, it costs you a fortune, as they add a room tax and then another tax at the end of the bill. They tried to charge me for items missing from the mini bar on a day I was in Cairo on an overnight excursion. When challenged they said they would take it off the bill, but it was still there on my day of departure and we had to go through the same thing again!! Room service is very expensive, and the food quality is poor. The Conrad in Cairo is a proper 5* hotel, and it is cheaper than the Marriott.

It is well documented through out the Trip Advisor website comments that the food is very poor in quality and quantity. The soup is very watered down, and it is a shame that the breakfast orange juice is made from orange powder, and it depends who mixes it whether you can taste the orange or not!

The service is very slow if you are at the hotel when it is more than 30% full. Having spoken to a Marriott representative on many occasions while I was staying at the Marriott, they are fully aware of the food situation, but the hotel is running at a loss, so they have to cut down on the food and staff costs to recuperate as much as they can. They are hoping that most of the guests will decide to use the Tuscany restaurant. My family ate in the Tuscany twice out of the two weeks, and it cost approximately £70.00 on top of the £12.00 voucher for 4 people without wine. The food was not that brilliant, and the service was very slow! What I would suggest is that you go to the shops area and try the Flying Carpet (this cost a family of 4 with wine and 3 courses - £40.00), or the Pub Tandoori (Limited menu but very good). That's if you want the 40 minute round trip (that's if you get a seat on the shuttle bus!!!! On occasions we waited over 1 hour because the buses are always full by the time they get to the Marriott, and they only have two buses). Remember that you have paid for a 5* hotel and that is what should be delivered. Speak to your representative and tell them you want something done about it! My representative Peltours were very unhelpful, and there was a queue of people waiting to complain about the food and the rooms. While I was staying, the capacity was 70%. The hotel just could not cope with it!! They didn't have enough food in the kitchens to cope with the amount of guests, so when it was gone they just stopped replenishing the dishes. One night I had to queue for 30 minutes for a table, and then it wasn't clean, and all that was left by 9.00pm were scraps. My family had a bowl of soup and that was it!! This is not acceptable for a Marriott Chain Hotel. The staff are fully fed, but the guests are left hungry. When this happens you will not find a member of staff anywhere, and the reception staff suddenly don't understand you!! I had to spend over £600.00 on food to feed my family for the two weeks, even though I had paid for half board.

I have complained to the hotel while I was there and when I got back. The response from the general Manager is that I paid for 2 rooms for 2 weeks Half Board. He is offering me 7 nights, 1 room, no food and no flights. It is a shame that Marriott takes this attitude.

Peltours were my tour operator, and again they are only interested in the money not the customer. They are not interested in discussing compensation of any kind. Their response is that they have had good reports in the past. Obviously not people who are used to staying in real 5* hotels.

I have contacted ABTA who are interested in taking this case further.

Members' Comments onJOANNE AGIUS's Review

• VikkiVaughan on 4th Jan 2008

  I disagree with this review because... I have been to Marriott Taba Heights, and have experienced the hotels facilities and amenities first hand, and find this review to be a total misjudgment of what the hotel has to offer. It seems that people are wanting to pay three star prices for 5 star hotels and expect too much!!! I will be returning to the same hotel in June 2008, and will report on the current state of affairs and believe this review is an unfair representation, and as such should be removed or amended.

• JKBLondonUK on 19th Feb 2008

  I have just returned (16.02.08) from a week's holiday at the Marriott Hotel in Taba, Egypt. I was a repeat client of Peltours, having previously stayed at the Marriott in March '06. What a disappointment! Vikki Vaughan, like you I was a big Marriott fan. However, I told the reception staff on the last day that next time I visit the area I will be staying at the Hyatt. The food was really bad compared to 2 years ago. The staff appear to be upset if you complain, but they do nothing to address the problem. There are hygiene issues with flies on food left uncovered at breakfast time. I constantly had to argue with the staff about my change (a problem seemingly endemic in Taba Heights), and when I went to try to buy some postcards on the last day, the barman in the Lobby Bar told my friend that he did not understand why I was so upset as "you are rich, you are on holiday!". So that makes it alright to rip us off then. I tried to buy some stamps and I was told they cost SIX TIMES more than their face value because "I have to go to Cairo to get them". Yeah right! At least Reception only claimed they cost twice face value as they had to get them from Taba! We tried the other Hotels on the 'strip' for coffees snacks etc. The Hyatt generally does not rip you off, but watch your change if paying in dollars as the standard practice is to give change in EG pounds and skim a few off (yes I know they are equivalent to 10p each but it all adds up over a week). The Intercontinental Terrace cafe initially told me that 2 coffees were 25% more expensive than the price in the menu, even accounting for the sales tax and service charge. It was only when I queried the bill that the coffees were suddenly cheaper. And you have to do this every time you buy food or drink, or shop at the supermarket in the El Wekala resort (ESSENTIAL for bottled water). It's actually really annoying. Service charge and sales tax are compulsory in Egypt as I found out from one rep when I was having a rant. Check the menu as sometimes prices are inclusive of taxes and sometimes not. We also had a few mini bar items added to our final bill. I flatly refused to pay for them. And if you go, take a travel kettle and proper teabags. You can get a very good one with small cups included for £12.99 from Argos. I personally cannot stand lukewarm Liptons tea, but some people may not mind so much. And no, I am not a senior citizen! To summarise: stay at the Hyatt, buy water from the supermarket at El Wekala/Three Corners, and check your change.

• scottiscool on 24th Feb 2009

  I recently went with Pel Tours to the Mariott Taba Heights and feel the need to correct some of what was said in this review.
  
  While the service was a little slow at times it wasn't aweful - although I had heard it was much slower the week before (half term week). Other than this in my opinion everything was fine, and I didn't meet anyone in my week there who thought otherwise. Its not a 5* - but in most places you look its not advertised as such, the Mariott themselves say 4* I believe - thats certainly what we were told.
  
  In my opinion bottled water is essential for drinking, but not brushing teeth (I was told by everyone I asked not to bother and didn't - I'm fine.) And isn't too expensive.
  
  The Shuttle Bus was full at times, but there was always space and it runs regularly enough, at the end of the day your on holiday and in no great rush so what does it matter if you have to wait half an hour (which is only if you just miss one bus by a minute or two and wait till the next - they run every 30 minutes, and stick to it well).
  
  They booked and ran all our trips brilliantly. When I got food poisoning I tried to go on a trip I had already booked, and the Pel Tours rep took me to a hotel they used locally where I could rest for the day (I couldn't cope with the heat). The food poisoning wasn't their fault, I got it from a place outside the hotel on another trip, and they dealt with it really well and made the best out of a bad situation for me. All credit too them, my only disappointment was not seeing Petra - yet another reason for me to return.
  
  Finally what the other comment said about being overcharged I didn't notice, and I'm the sort of person who checks! There may be tax and/or a service charge onto of x% but if you read the menu properly it will say so. Also the service charge isn't a tip and I don't think goes to the waiter/tress so make sure you tip on top - its a way of life in Eygpt and the only way they survive, they don't get paid more than a retainer really.
  
  One thing that is right is that the Hyatt down the road does look very nice to me from the outside, even if the pool is slightly less interesting. And wherever you stay walk down to the Hyatt (5 minutes along the beach from the Mariott) to go snorkling, there is a much better reef their than outside any other hotels.
  
  I'm just about to book a fortnight holiday and seriously considering going back to the Mariott, it was a lovely break, and I still have to visit Petra. it's a great hotel.