Taba, Mariott Taba Heights Beach Resort

Overall my family liked the hotel, except for the breakfast. We had all inclusive plan, dinner and supper were Ok, but we didi not like the breakfast. The rest was OK. And it didn't cost tons of money.

I stayed for 7 nights at the Marriot in Taba Heights. On the 2nd day I got food poisoning from something I ate in the resort. I spent the rest of the trip in my room feeling awful. The buffet food is awful and the night life absolutely non existent. I would definetely not recommend this resort to anyone, if you do go be so careful what you eat!!!!

Taba and the Marriott make for a perfect holiday which is why we are returning for the 6th time in 2 years. The hotel staff are friendly and efficient and nothing is too much trouble.The food is excellent with a wide variety. However, if your idea of a good holiday is plenty of night life and plenty of alcohol, don't go! If you want a totally relaxing holiday then there is nowhere better and I can thoroughly recommend both the resort and the hotel

Val Neil

it was a great vacation at Mariott Taba Heights Beach Resort the staff is very welcoming and service is very good.christine haddad

Having just come back from Taba, I can say we were pleased with our holiday. The rooms we had were most acceptable, spacious with reasonably comfortable double beds. The hotel reception looks classy as does the pool and beach front areas.

The food was buffet style with a different theme every night (not for the deserts though, these appeared to be the same every night). On the whole the quality of food was good however we were always early to dinner so I don't know what it would have been like toward the end of service. One small point by the end of the first week there it was clear that the restaurant didn't have a hoover as the floor was constantly covered in crumbs.

We found the staff friendly and we were please to find they never once asked for tips. Security at the front door was very evident, inspecting all bags that came into the hotel.

We booked the holiday with Peltours and this was the first time we had been to a welcome meeting where the presentation was informative and we didn't feel the excursions were pressurised selling.

Diving and watersports were good though it all adds up to an expensive two weeks bearing in mind its a small resort with nothing to do outside the hotel and watersports facility, other than the golf course.

Water and drinks at the hotel are expensive and it would have been a nice touch to include complimentary water daily in the rooms especially bearing in mind its claiming to be a 5* hotel and charging 5* prices.

The only issue we had was with the sun loungers around the pool, if you didn't join in with the 07:30 brigade reserving beds, there was little chance of claiming one after breakfast(10:00).

Overall a good holiday slightly spoilt by the sun lounger fiasco though we were lucky to have a grassy area outside our room which was great.

I have already recommended this hotel to friends and I would visit again perhaps only for a week though as it is very hot in August 45 degrees+ and 38 in the shade.

My partner and I went to the Mariott Taba Heights in June 2006 and thought it was one of the best holidays we have been on for value for money, so much so that we are returning for a second helping this June 2008.

Having read the recent reviews I am quite concerned that people have expected too much of such a wealth challenged country. You have to remember that when a hotel advertises itself as a particular star rating, you have to look at which country it is in.

However, as much as I like the Marriot hotel Egypt, I would rate it as a 3/4 star. The hotel is lovely, as the hotel lobby with the waterfall as you walk down the stairs is beautiful, leading onto a marble floor and fountain that sits centrally outside, which then flows to the waterfall they have created over the pool area. It is just amazing to see that they've put so much thought into the hotel design. The hotel grounds are vast and very pretty, the rooms are quite spacious too, with a lovely veranda leading onto a garden outside. The swim up bar is fantastic, and if you're feeling a little peckish you can sit and eat on the underwater seats there too.

I remember the food there being adequate, and never once had a problem. Having read some of the reviews, they're probably the typical egg and chips spanish holiday people that spoil things for everyone else, so if you're reading this and that sounds like you, then I would recommend not to bother with this resort and do us all a favour.

Obviously things change over time, but I can not believe that it has changed so dramatically. The only thing I can complain about is the Egyptian wine, which isn't as nice as i'd like. The red wine is about palatable, but that's not really down to the Marriott as this is a muslim country.

We also did a trial dive in the Red Sea, which we loved, and our instructor was the best ever. He was really friendly, helpful, and took things at the pace you wanted to go at. Would definitely recommend learning to dive here.

In conclusion, the hotel was great, the room was great, the room service was lovely, staff were polite and courteous and the food was adequate.

Overall very disappointing, there seems to be no proper management control of the restaurant or staff. Most wander about aimlessly instead of clearing tables and checking on food.

Never had any hot food, always cold. Spent the second week of holiday eating outside the hotel!

There are some visitors to this resort that seem to want to ruin it for everyone else by their actions, i.e. destroying the reefs, eating everything in sight and drinking themselves into a permanent stupa!

Just returned from the Marriot Hotel at Taba and as we'd used this guide prior to going it is only fair that we give our tuppence worth in return.

Location:- A new resort on the Red Sea being financed to the tune of billions of dollars by Egypt's largest conglomerate as they set about developing the 'Red Sea Riviera'.

Taba airport is about 40 minutes drive away over an amazing road cut through the rocks. The resort is miles from anything and you are unlikely to leave it except perhaps for an excursion and those lose a great deal of attraction in the summer heat.

The resort:- 4 big 5 star hotels, a golf course, a town centre - which one day might have shoppers, an assortment of newly constructed apartments and a diving centre. This covers a large area of ground and shuttle buses are laid on - these don't work to any obvious schedule or planned route and 2 or 3 come along at the same time after having waited an age. If they just gave hotel residents one of the wee golf buggies to run around in everything would be sorted.

Security:- very visual - if you have been on the shuttle bus and you're being dropped off at your hotel, after being at the three others, your bus will be getting mirror checked for bombs for the fourth time - access to each hotel is through an airport security style door though not seriously enforced for obvious holidaymakers. There was also a presence of security around the pool area at the marriot at times - yet no lifeguard.

Rooms:- very nice indeed, air conditioning a blessing. Do not use the mini bar - take their stuff out and fill it with your own. The chocolate costs an absolute fortune so take your own.

The staff:- excellent. None of this looking for a tip all the time stuff that you experience elsewhere in Egypt and they are so happy if they are making you happy.

The food:- The big dining room:- trying to please the whole world - bread lovely, sweets tasty and lots of choice, main courses - never anything particularly great - you tend to take a bit of everything and end up with a mish mash.

Tuscany Restaurant :- lovely ambiance, good service, reasonable value, food ok but just ok.

El Fuego:- in the town - run by the marriot - food decent - service decent - great value.

Beach Bar - great kebabs at lunchtime.

Deep Sea World :- the food there is fantastic - the veal piccata is to die for - far superior to Tuscany's.

The Beach:- wonderful - private - no hassles and the sea is clear and warm and the best bit is that only 100 or so yards offshore you can walk out to the coral beds and snorkel around them awesome - and open to everyone.

Overall - you can read 3 books in a week - it's a place for a rest and a place to chill out - only go if that's what you need.

Would we go back?

Yes, for sure.

I would recommend a stay at Mariott Taba Heights Beach Resort to anyone who wants to just chill out, there is no pressure from the locals unlike other places you visit. There are no restrictions ie the pool never closes and you are free to do whatever you please and not made to feel uncomfortable. The only complaint we have is the Peltours rep has no enthusiasm to help you out and offers no alternative when he tells you he can't arrange a trip! It was explained to us when we enquired to go on the Dolphin Reef trip that unless 6 people came forward they could not warrant going. As this was something we really wanted to do we asked on a regular basis and was told ' No ...sorry 'We only had a couple of days left and in desperation we phoned his Manager who advised us to go independently..................this was so easy once we were pointed in the right direction therefore we didn't miss out and had a lovely day! The annoying thing was that we discovered that a family of 4 were trying to go also and all it would have taken was the rep to organise it, he obviously couldn't be bothered and I feel that was very unfair as these opportunities don't occur very often. My advice is if you really want to do something look for other ways of getting it..............In all it was a great holiday !

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.