Mangrove Bay Resort

Comentarios destacados

• Nadine A

  21 junio 2018
  THE BEST PLACE IN EGYPT TO DIVE, RELAX, AND HAVE A BLAST!

  I cannot summarize how amazing this experience was without going on and on about it! But I'm gonna try: 1- The Diving Center owners are wonderful people, instructors are extremely qualified and professional, and the diving equipment is top notch. 2- The room was extremely clean and hotel staff are more than perfect and friendly. 3- The hotel is located in a heavenly place; pure nature and beautiful views of the reef and the sea. 4- The hotel clientele is super so everyone is very nice, peaceful, friendly, mind their own business. Overall, I cannot summarize this in any other way... Peaceful, Happy, Relaxing, Professional, PERFECT!

  

• Stuart M

  29 julio 2018
  Peaceful, friendly and relaxing resort with the most amazing diving and all-round service!!

  This was my fourth stay at Mangrove Bay Resort, but the first as a family now that my two children are qualified divers. To say that we had the most amazing 10 days would be an understatement; it was possibly the best family diving holiday we have ever had and we are already planning our return next year! And here's why, (in no particular order because each point is important), for a really super dive holiday you have to consider three key things, IMO, which are: 1) the quality, safety, service & value for money of the dive operator, 2) the quality, variety and accessibility of the dive sites and 3) the quality, service & value for money of the resort. To start with the resort. Mangrove Bay Resort is not a 5-star hotel and if you are looking for top of the range accommodation then this is probably not the place for you. But if you are into your diving, the hotel is perfect. The hotel is well kept; the twin rooms are clean, have air conditioning and are serviced everyday and it offers excellent service in a friendly and personable way. The waiters very quickly got to know us by name and attended to our every need. Nothing was too much trouble for Mohammed and his team and everyone made us feel very relaxed and at home. The food was excellent - there was a wide choice for breakfast which included fruit juices, fresh fruit & fruit salad, pancakes, delicious pasties and homemade croissants as well as cereals and omelettes or fried eggs cooked to order by the front of house chef. As Mangrove Bay operates on a half board basis, we bought a light lunch at the dive centre (toasted club sandwiches, burgers, subs, fries, salad, etc) for well under a fiver! We relaxed and had our lunch in the shaded seated area with a gentle cooling breeze looking onto the idyllic views of the Red Sea between dives. The evening meal was also superb! Eating outside on the terrace area, we were treated to a fabulous buffet meal every night, which included soups, beef, fish and chicken dishes as well as vegetables, rice and potatoes. The homemade desserts were to die for, as was the sweet Egyptian watermelon! The hotel also has a lovely swimming pool and sun-lounge area which was absolutely perfect for a pre-breakfast dip or for topping up on our tans between and after dives. Large beach towels are provided - free! So the resort gets a thumbs up from us! And so on to the dive centre and the diving! Essam runs Ducks Diving which is located within the resort, just a minutes walk away from our rooms. Essam and his wife, Marian are absolutely delightful - way back in 2000 when we first met Essam we knew then that we were in good hands. (My wife wrote in her dive logbook, Essam is brilliant!). Ducks is run in a relaxed, friendly and highly professional way. Safety is of paramount importance to Essam and his team and as a result everything is done professionally and thoroughly. The dive instructors (Gunter and Mohammed) were superb with my children; one did her JAOW and the other his Rescue Diver course. We felt completely relaxed in the knowledge that they were being well looked after. We rented most of our equipment, which was of a really high quality and there was never an issue if we needed to change something or when I left my mask on the large boat from the previous days diving! Ducks has the most amazing house reef which is accessible directly from the resort, (a one minute walk). Here we encountered so much marine life, from giant moray eels, turtles, spotted eagle rays and huge feather-tailed stingrays to the cutest box and puffer fish and colourful dottybacks and dancing anthias! We even spent a memorable morning diving and snorkelling with a dolphin! The hard and soft coral is abundant and in excellent condition. The house reef also has shallow sandy areas which are perfect for dive courses where my children did their in-water training. We were never disappointed, as every time we dived the house reef we experienced something completely different and the night dives were magical! There is a wide variety of dive sites, each offering a different experience. Ducks currently has two zodiacs (speed boats) and one large boat. The zodiacs are used to take divers to dive sites (from one to 10 minutes away) on the inside and outside of the bay, while the large boat takes divers on full day excursions up and down the coast. We dived both the north and south sides of the bay from the zodiac and were treated to some truly excellent dives with a school of hundreds, if not thousands, of redtooth triggerfish on the northside and the most stunning coral gardens on the southside. We also travelled south one day on the large boat to dive with a dugong. The crew looked after us so well and we were most impressed with the thorough pre-dive briefings as well as the scrummy lunch. To summarise, our stay at the Mangrove Bay Resort was so relaxing. Bearing in mind it is a three star hotel, we couldnt have asked for better service and food and a more friendlier, professional staff. As for the diving and the whole dive experience - it was simply wonderful!! If you are a British diver it is well worth considering Mangrove Bay Resort as an alternative to a liveaboard or a resort in Hurghada or Sharm. The atmosphere here is lovely; so relaxed and peaceful, and the diving is excellent. You will be so well looked after by all the team at Ducks that you cant help but have a special time. Theres a reason that 80% of Essams guests are returnees, (including us); we have experienced this hidden gem of Red Sea diving - no wonder we keep coming back for more!

  

• OmarR544

  30 noviembre 2018
  Lovely Place

  In Love with the place. Price for value regarding the hotel is fantastic. I have been in so many places from Safaga up to Marsa Alam i think i love this place the most simply because it has a beautiful beach sandy with beautiful palm trees behind unlike others with rocks and again price for value is super. Regarding the diving (Ducks) a very professional team with a friendly crew and a wide variety of dive sites.

  

• Patti W

  21 mayo 2019
  Rather minimalist hotel, great dive shop

  Booked here because supposed to have best house reef in area. Hotel describes itself as "unfussy", I'd say minimalist. More than a bit dated. AC, when it works, often cut itself off & didn't restart. Light bulbs kept falling out of fixtures. Bathroom had no amenities beyond some hanging soap dispenser & the world's tiniest shower but hot & cold water. Housekeeping did a great job on the room every day. Had sea view room & a fridge & in room safe. One of the few places I've ever stayed that offered NO water for free in rooms. You had to pay for every bottle of water. Had to deal with representative in Cairo to book & I arranged & paid for pick up in Hurghada & transport back to airport in Hurghada. He became almost an annoyance in demanding to know, over a week in advance EXACTLY when & where I'd be in Hurghada. I didn't know yet because I was trying to make arrangements from Luxor. I finally turned it over to my Luxor guide & it took him 2 days to work it out. It wasn't pleasant. But I was picked up in Hurghada by a nice man who stopped along the way for me so I could buy snacks, which aren't available at the resort. The trip back to the airport, the driver dropped me at the wrong terminal & I had to pay to get a taxi to get me to the right terminal. Half board. Plenty of options for breakfast including a big array of pastries. Dinner was a bit more limited in options, I ended up skipping on several days & just eating a late lunch at the mini restaurant at the dive shop which had an extensive menu. Dive shop was GREAT. Ducks made it easy for me when I needed a heavier wetsuit quickly. There was odd weather going on, heavy, heavy wind, colder at night. I had to layer 2 wet suits & a skin suit to stay warm while snorkeling. One of the features of Mangrove is the enclosed bay which keeps it from having the heavy chop of the Red Sea but the wind still pushed it enough to make trying to stay in one place for a picture difficult. Wifi "free" only 2 hours a night AT the lobby ONLY during dinner time. My Egypt SIM worked great. Be aware the hike to the entry into the bay can be a bit long, especially in the sun, carrying equipment & you have to dodge multiple ropes for the boats to get around. But nice coral, not as many new fish as I'd hoped for but the conditions just worked against me, not their fault. Based on the quality of the room, I'd give it a 2. Ducks dive center made the experience come up to a 3. Transportation arrangement should drop it to a 1. But the house reef would have been outstanding in different weather, so I gave it a 4 when it really deserves about a 3. If you come for the reef, be prepared for the minimal accommodations, a potential hassle with transportation & paying for water but a great dive shop.

  

• lyrax3

  11 diciembre 2020
  You get what you pay

  The Hotel has a beautiful parc with lots of trees and shadow. It has two dreamy beaches (unfortunately you cant go swimming directly from the beach since the coralls start immediately). The rooms are average, working AC, only two plugs in the room, everything is a bit old but serves its purpose. Dinner is average but one gets used to it. The diving compensates for everything. Considering the affordable price it still deserves 4/5 stars