Hauza Beach Resort Review

“I will apologise in advance for the long post but we...”

Written on: 12/01/2009 by swinstan (1 review written)

Bad Points
pools were cold

General Comments
I will apologise in advance for the long post but we had such a great time here with such wonderful people, they all deserve this excellent recommendation. The Hauza Beach Resort is great but the staff absolutely made the holiday for us.

We had a 10-day stay from Jan 1st 2009 - that is husband, two adult daughters and me. We had a wonderful time, attributable mostly to the warm welcome and excellent service provided by all the staff. We were welcomed immediately the taxi arrived and they knew who we were without even having to give our names. Check in was efficiently conducted and the transfer to our rooms complete with luggage was similarly very smooth.

Room layout is in typical style of two standard doubles, en-suite with bath and shower over. We had a balcony with sea view, close to beach and pool. Bed linen was clean and mattresses looked quite new. Most importantly, they were well serviced and kept very clean. The same was true of the public areas " everywhere was clean, tables cleared immediately and there always seemed to be someone cleaning the toilets.

Bars and restaurants were staffed by some amazingly friendly and obliging staff. Nothing was too much trouble and they often pre-empted any requests. They soon worked out what we liked to drink and delivered a regular supply right on cue. They were courteous and very entertaining. They were always polite, despite the way some of the guests seemed to speak to them.

Food also was excellent, contrary to some of the comments made previously. Every day, the buffet included soups, then the line started with some sort of pasta such as cannelloni, lasagne, then rice, often some fish dish, then something from the griddle " maybe burger, fish, minute steak, then there were veg in sauces like cauliflower cheese, aubergines and usually potatoes in some form. There was also some meat-based dish, maybe braised or a stew, and then there was some sort of simple roast meat " chicken, duck, or beef. Separately from this, they always offered a range of simply cooked veg. As if this isn ' t enough, there is a salad bar with a range of different salads daily and a pasta corner. The chef here would put together a pasta dish especially for you. With range of ingredients (varied daily) and a choice of tomato, bolognaise or b chamel sauce you could make up your own combination or get one of their excellent chefs to make you something magical. All the pasta was freshly made from scratch and is some of the very best we have tasted, including on visits to Italy. As if this weren ' t enough, in the evenings there was always an outside counter offering barbecue or stir-fry. On different nights, we had kebabs, steak, chops, chicken, fish or seafood. Also outside was a stone oven supplying freshly made flatbread. Desserts were also home made and to die for. There were never fewer than 12 choices and often more, excluding the fruits and dates on offer. They tended to be sweet, some with honey and coconut but there was also gateaux and other cakes and puddings.

Breakfast buffets included all the usual " bread, croissants, cereal, eggs - scrambled and boiled, different types of beans, pancakes, cold meats and cheeses and a huge range of sticky buns and pastries. What was the pasta corner for other meals was now the omelette corner. Same principle, pick your own filling " or have freshly made fried eggs instead. See them flip the eggs! The only absence is bacon. This is because of their religion. They do not eat pork in any form and they are not permitted to handle it, which means you won ' t get roast pork or ham either. Instead, they provide some sort of thinly sliced cured beef for breakfast, which isn ' t a good substitute in my mind, but they are trying. If you really can ' t survive without the breakfast bacon just don ' t go to Egypt. Try Skegness instead and leave these places to people who want to experience new and different cultures.

The beach was narrow but a good length along the whole site and the hilly site allowed for sunbathing terraces up the incline. Our snorkelling was limited by windy weather. It was January after all. But what we did manage to do was great. In the shallows, the fish would come right up and almost eat from your hand. On a seasonal note, the days are quite short at this time of year and evenings can be very cold " too cold to sit outside " so take something warm.

The only downside was the site being built into the side of a hill, with so many steps and inclines. On a positive note, it permitted some amazing landscaping for the jungle pool and allowed for many more rooms to have the sea views - and it possibly saved me from at least some of the inevitable weight gain. If you do have mobility problems though, there were ramps and slopes to accommodate wheel chairs.

On tipping, nothing seemed to be expected " no one stood waiting for a tip. We gave nothing until the very end and some staff even tried to refuse the tips. The excellent service we experienced was given unreservedly and I think it ' s partly in the nature of the people and in the culture of the hotel.

We would go back again without hesitation.