Fort Arabesque Resort, Spa & Villas

This hotel was an oasis of calm. Perfect for relaxation and the snorkelling was out of this world!

Wonderful stay. Immaculate hotel, lots of food choices and plenty to do. Beach is great, you can spend days just snorkelling in the bay! Only downside - like most places in Egypt - is the constant sales pestering, but they are polite when you turn them away. The hotel is making loads more upgrades too, so will definitely return!

It was 14 years since we last stayed at Fort Arabesque. We knew it was a good hotel but it has improved in so many ways since we last visited. The facilities, grounds and beach are fabulous. The staff are all so friendly and helpful. I’ve now stayed 3 times at ‘The Fort’ and I’m sure I’ll be back.

A January gem
A January gem. Not too busy. Spotlessly clean. Well maintained. Beautiful gardens. Polite, helpful, obliging staff. Amazing food. Very well managed. Great for adults only at this time of year. Nice beach. Plenty of sunbeds around the pools and on the beach.

We had an amazing stay during New Years Eve - the staff is very friendly and the food was great ! We would be happy to stay again at Fort Arabesque soon.

Simply the best Hotel in Makadi Bay. Especially the staff is great!

This review has been a long time coming! My husband and I had the pleasure of staying at Fort Arabesque twice, with our most recent visit being in September this year. From start to finish, everything was absolutely amazing.

Everything was spotless, from the rooms to the common areas and the beach. Both years, our rooms were stunning—spacious, beautifully decorated, and perfectly maintained.

The food was fantastic, with plenty of options to suit every taste. A special mention goes to the girl at the Pasta Station in the hotel's kitchen—she was exceptional, preparing everything with care.

What we didn’t like was the situation with the sunbeds. Many were reserved for long periods, even before we arrived, leaving no opportunity for other guests to book them, even if willing to pay. The first-row sunbeds were often just reserved as a precaution and left unused, which felt unfair to newly arrived guests like us. While we understand it’s first come, first serve, this policy limits flexibility for newcomers. Hopefully, this will change in the future.

Additionally, the drinks were delicious, but hiring a professional mixologist could take them to the next level. While the cocktails tasted great, we also value presentation—the right ratios, a touch of flair, and fancier glassware could elevate the experience to match what you’d find in a stylish bar. Just a small tip from us as guests who appreciate the aesthetics of both food and drinks.

The standout feature of our stay was, without a doubt, the incredible staff. A special mention goes to Zizo from the entertainment team—his management of the daily and nightly animation programs was outstanding. He brought so much energy and creativity, making every moment enjoyable. Both the guys and the girls, were incredible! They were so approachable, great to chat with, and made every activity genuinely enjoyable. Their energy and friendliness added so much fun to our stay.

Housekeeping on the ground floor was impeccable, with Mohammad and Mohammad Ali proving to be an amazing duo. Their attention to detail and friendliness did not go unnoticed. Mina from the beach bar deserves an amazing praise—he is by far the best waiter we’ve encountered on any holiday. His professionalism, kindness, and efficiency were unmatched. And Rabea at reception went above and beyond to ensure all our needs were met.

We’d also like to highlight Gerghes, the salesperson at the Mini Market by the pool. He’s such a warm and knowledgeable person who clearly takes pride in the craftsmanship of everything he sells. Always a pleasure to talk to, and an exceptional salesman—shopping there was a delight every time!

It’s also worth noting how multilingual the staff are, which made communication so easy and enjoyable.

These employees are absolute gems, and we hope Fort Arabesque values and rewards them to keep them on the team.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay this year and are already looking forward to returning.

First of all I must say that this hotel exceed my expectations. I knew that 4 stars hotels in Egypt can ne better than some of them with 5, but I always look of that with suspicious. This one is definitly better than some hotels with 5 stars in Egypt.
Now, good things are:
- Food: very delicious, better than in three other hotels we were before. Also, spoke with dozen of guests from different countries, and they all had same opinion about food. There's everything for everyone. Also, there's pizza and pasta bar from 12-17h, and some grill food (usually) at beach (where's also dinner very nice by sea).
- Rooms: we got beatiful family room, very big and spacious. Besides room, everything in hotel was super clean, I mean all amenities
- Activity: animation team was really active. Aqua gym, streching, yoga, samba, zumba, darts, volleyball, football, kids disco, oriental dance, music quiz, piano show in lobby. They were very kind every day, with big smile, not too pushy, but trying to involve a lot of people, and also all over the hotel was some of activities.
If I could, I will just advice DJ that after Mini Disco show for kids, continue to play kids song, or at least some appropriate music videos, since a lot of kids stay and play around, and DJ played some videos and songs that really are not for kids
- Noise: despite all of activities, we didn't hear a thing in our room. Isolation is great :) For those with kids, or who want to rest it is big deal
- Service: except for beach bar (where is the most busy, so I assume that's why there are a bit nervous) everyone was super kind. From gardener, to houskeeping, receptionis, bell hop, servers. Good vibes and truly kindness
- Sea: there is a several coral reefs on the beach which is great for snorkling. Rich sea life, lot of different kind of fishes.

Things that we didn't like:

Sunbeds: We almost decide to move to another hotel, when we realized this issue first day. The Hotel policy is that almost all of sunbeds are have reservation with room number, that had to be paid 11€ per day. This is absolutely unreal for us, and All-inclusive concept. We were shocked. This is also caused thah people are waking up at 6,7 am and run to the beach to left towels and "pick" some sunbeds

Policy of Guest: Hotel have two wings (Fort Villas and Fort West) that is for adult only guest. That also means that two flanks of beach is reserved for them. That's problem since they are usually half-empty, especially because in villas there's private pools in every room. So, there is only middle of the beach with people with kids. Combine this with unreal policy of sunbeds reservation, and that's big trouble.

All in all, we liked this place. My opinion is that they should deside is it just for adults or for everyone. I don't know how it is on summer, but during our stay, there was a lot of elder people, not much young people, so I didn't understand the adults only policy.
Hotel is 20min driving from Hotel.
We had flight late in night, and stayed whole day in Hotel, got shower room, stay on night show, which was really nice and better than waiting in lobby.
It's wide, with lot of palm trees, free Gazebo was also great, and again, really clean.
Maybe it's better with couples than for families, but I would recommend Fort Arabesque hotel.

Like always Great stay here! Great staff! Thank you Bassem, Romany, I Dive Diving Center Carlo e Erika, Mizo, Hassan

This Resort is amazing and the service is beyond expectations. The beach is clean and the water is sparkling clear. The staff are all extremely polite and the food in all the restaurants is delicious. I had an outstanding experience here and will definitely be back.