Makadi, Egypt
Makadi Palace and Grand Makadi hotels are almost like a village, which is well planned - beautiful gardens and amazing pools - and as there appears to be no boundaries between the hotels they kind of merge into one. The benefit of staying at Makadi Palace is that you can dine at either hotel which then offers such a vast selection of restaurants; we only got to try three of the speciality ones - the Caribbean, Thai and Lebanese all of which were superb!
The first few days were spent relaxing by the pools and on the beach. Being a bit uncomfortable with sea swimming, I left it to Chris to take Ruby snorkelling and introduce her to the underwater delights. Such a vast array of creatures to see, from the myriad fishes to eels and sea anenomes. I did venture in once for a few minutes but dashed out again as soon as I saw a rather large eel!
Chris and I took advantage of the beach massage twice, which was very relaxing and de-stressing. To hear the waves lapping the shore just added to the wonderful experience.
On the Monday, we booked to go on a jeep safari which turned out to be great fun. I can highly recommend the thrilling, if bumpy, ride through the desert. We enjoyed visiting a Bedouin family, saw a little of how they live and experienced camel riding before they provided us with a superb meal. After watching a gorgeous sunset, we hurtled back through the desert in the care of our capable, if rather crazy, driver!
A very early start on Wednesday! With an 05.40 pick-up from the hotel, we went on a day trip to Luxor. I had been before, but it was 23 years ago, so I was really looking forward to revisiting a few of the amazing sites. Our first stop was at Karnak Temple, where our guide, Emad, led us through, with clear explanations about the way the temple was built and what a lot of the hieroglyphics mean. After lunch, we took a boat across the Nile to visit the Valley of the Kings and marvelled at the ancient tombs which were so beautifully decorated - it's staggering to remember how old they are! Our day out ended with a visit to a local alabaster shop and then a quick stop at the Colossi of Memnon before the long drive back to Makadi.
Chilling out was the order of the day for our remaining time at the Makadi Palace, especially after the exhausting day in Luxor! Many guests were staying for Christmas, so the atmosphere was quite festive and Santa made regular appearances for the children.
Makadi Palace is the perfect place for a relaxing winter break. For me though, I do like to be able to wander out of the hotel and experience the resort, but this is not possible as there really isn't anywhere to walk to, though a courtesy bus does operate regularly to Hurghada, which is about 25 minutes away.
I regularly hear about tummy upsets and poor food quality in Egyptian hotels but was amazed at the high quality of food available, both in the buffet and a la carte restaurants - and we tried quite a few! The choices were many and varied - I've never seen so many types of bread, and the deserts... well...!
If you are interested in visiting Egypt or would like to know about my trip to Makadi, I'd love to hear from you.