The Intercontinental Taba Heights Resort Hotel is an Egyptian Five, which is part of the Intercontinental line of hotels. It is located on the Sinai Peninsula, and possibly embodies all the charms with which the ancient land of the pharaohs can attract tourists. Here are beautiful white beaches with clean sand, and mountains, and the clean warm waters of the Red Sea. As befits a hotel of this class, Intercontinental Taba 5 * provides its guests with the maximum number of services of very high quality, as evidenced by the numerous responses of tourists. In this hotel you can not only relax on the sea (especially since this resort complex is on the first line of the beach), but also make profitable purchases and travel to local attractions. The Pearl Bay of Sinai, on the banks of which the hotel is located, is even called the local fjord for its rugged beaches and magnificent landscapes, as well as turquoise colored water. The hotel is open year round and is considered to be the best in Taba.
How convenient is the hotel
It can be said that the Intercontinental Taba Heights Resort is in an ideal location. Of course, if you come here from Cairo or Sharm el-Sheikh, then this is far away. The capital of Egypt is five hundred kilometers from the hotel, and the main city of the Sinai resort is two hundred. Therefore, getting here from Sharm is quite a long time. However, Taba itself has an international airport, where direct flights fly from Russia, in particular from Moscow. From there, go to the hotel a little more than thirty kilometers, so the transfer does not seem tedious to you. Moreover, the hotel has a good fleet of vehicles - air-conditioned Toyota cars.
Not very far from the hotel and to the center of Taba - seventeen kilometers. But most importantly, the hotel is located in such a place that the coasts of three neighboring countries - Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia - are visible from its territory. Guests say that special contemplation is their contemplation at night. The shores are buried in lights, and you can’t literally take your eyes off them. In addition, to the border with Israel - only thirty kilometers.
Egypt, the city of Taba
This is a border point that is pleasantly different from its counterparts in other countries in that, instead of barbed wire and embankments, it offers guests greenery of the gardens and sea ​​waves. Here you can take leisurely walks and enjoy the tranquility, contemplating the untouched nature. Or use the resort’s ideal excursion location to go to Petra, Eilat, Mount Moses or the Monastery of St. Catherine.
The city of Taba is good for relaxing at any time of the year. It is worth trying the local coffee with cardamom, falafel and salhab (rice pudding with fruit). All this can be ordered at any of the beach bars. All hotels near Taba are fashionable "fives", very comfortable and with high quality services. Local reefs are distinguished by extraordinary fish, and their flora and fauna attract divers from all over the world and are in no way inferior to the luxurious underwater world of Sharm or Dahab. On the island of the Pharaohs, where the residence of the famous Saladin was, you can visit its museum and fortress. It is also worth a ride along the Red Sea Riviera, which is located near this town and is a chic resort area.
Territory
Hotel Intercontinental Taba 5 * is a large beautiful five-story building, elongated in length and consisting of three buildings. It is built in a style that combines elements of Spanish and Arabic architecture. The buildings are interconnected by gardens, and each of them has a special name: “Atrium”, “Pentagon” and “Crescent”. There are also freestanding bungalows. The view from any building is very beautiful - on the one hand the outlines of the mountains, and on the other - a sea of ​​turquoise color.
The territory of the complex is simply huge, considering that while relaxing in this hotel, you have the right to walk in the parks and paths of four neighboring hotels. Each of them has its advantages. The Intercontinental Taba Hotel itself has luxurious gardens, probably the most beautiful in the area. They are very green and beckon to relax in gazebos and on benches. On the territory of the neighboring Miramar Hotel there is a salt lake that attracts with its healing properties. A whole department has been opened with convenience stores and shops where you can buy not only beach items and sun creams and oils, but also various Egyptian souvenirs - perfumes, papyrus, stones, as well as local sweets, in particular halva. If it’s not remoteness to change money at the airport, you can do it right here - there is a bank in the hotel. Near the reception you can use the free Internet. The hotel complex itself was planned very well, between the desert and the sea, and is a kind of oasis town.
How is life here
Intercontinental Taba Hotel has a little more than five hundred rooms. Among them there are rooms for one and two guests (there are four hundred thirty-three), as well as 8 suites, one of which is “Presidential”, and 27 junior suites. All rooms are air-conditioned, and each of them has the necessary amenities for living and recreation. They are spacious, bright and clean. An excellent bathroom with a hairdryer, satellite TV with four Russian-language channels, a minibar with drinking water, a set of devices for making tea and coffee, space for work (if you can’t even get away from work on vacation), and Internet access is good speed (but paid), safe for storing valuables. A bathrobe and slippers are also provided to make you feel more comfortable.
The Intercontinental Taba Heights has a lot of rooms with sea views, and they populate there without any additional charges. The rooms are clean, clean well and linen and towels are changed every other day. All plumbing is working properly, bathtubs and showers are modern and comfortable. Each room has large balconies. If you had the first floor, then at your service is a huge terrace with green lawn grass and flowers. Some of the rooms are designed for disabled people. If you are traveling with a child who is not yet twelve, and you do not require an extra bed for him, then he lives in a room for free - this is one of the bonuses of the hotel.
Gourmet Hotel
Intercontinental Taba Heights Resort is a real celebration for lovers of good cuisine! It has four restaurants, and each of them is good in its own way. Let's start with El Mar. This institution, as its name implies, specializes in seafood and fish. It is located right on the beach and is open exclusively for dinner. This is one of the most romantic places in the hotel. Enjoying the amazing taste of freshly caught clams, crayfish or grilled fish, you can watch the sunset over Aqaba Bay.
The Lagoon Bar and Restaurant mainly offers guests dishes of Spanish and Arabian cuisine. It seems to be in harmony with its menu architecture Intercontinental Taba Heights. Its terrace also offers views of the sea, and even on the shores of neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Another restaurant where you can contemplate the expanse of water is the Bay View. It is located in the main building and is open all day. In it you can have breakfast, and lunch, and dinner. Dishes of different nations are popular here, but sometimes there are thematic days, such as Italian, French, Cuban, Greek and so on. The main restaurant is famous for grilling - here you can try lamb, barbecue, squid, oysters.
And finally, Bird Nest introduces tourists to the delights of Thai cuisine. Of the bars, visitors especially recommend Splash near the main pool. They mainly make good hot grilled snacks and serve various drinks. The Reef Bar has good ice cream and English tea with pastries. A cafe "18 Hole" in the SPA center specializes in light and healthy food and fresh, which is especially good for dieters. Tourists say that local food often depends on the day of the week. For example, the best pastries on Tuesdays, and on Wednesdays - the most delicious seafood for dinner, in particular crabs.
Services
Intercontinental Taba Hotel is designed not only for relaxation, but also for organizing and conducting various seminars and conferences. Therefore, a good business center is open here, where you can print documents, send a fax or work online. There are also three large meeting rooms where about seven hundred and fifty people can meet. In addition, a whole range of tourist services is offered.
Intercontinental Taba gives you the opportunity to rent not just a car, but even a car with a driver. Own transport is free of charge in the hotel. The hotel has an office for organizing various excursions. In addition, anyone who wants to go to any place located within five kilometers of the hotel can use the free tuff-taf minibus. It allows you to get to any of the four hotels of the Iintercontinental Taba Heights 5 * resort. She also carries those who wish to the local El Vecala market.
In this hotel you can become a completely new person in every sense of the word. To do this, you just need to visit the spa in Intercontinental Taba. There you will find not only the luxury of a sauna, hammam and massage, but also a whole range of special procedures for the care of both face and body. This hotel also offers a thalassotherapy course. And sports lovers will find here a fitness room with exercise equipment, and tennis courts, and a large golf course, and various types of entertainment on the water. There is even a playground to play squash. There are many services for children - a nanny, a special club, two swimming pools. For games, there is both a room and an outdoor area, equipped in accordance with all international safety standards.
Staff
Intercontinental Taba employees speak many languages. It is mainly English, Arabic, French and German. Although many already communicate in Russian. They are very attentive and take into account any of your needs. Even at a late arrival - at two or three in the morning - you will be fed a dinner consisting of cold appetizers.
Good here are young and conscientious animators who love their work and try to charge travelers with positive emotions. On the beach, they regularly exercise, in the pool - aerobics classes, and in the rest of the territory they occupy guests with latin dances, volleyball and other entertainments. In the evening, various shows begin (fakirs, bellidans, Nubian dances), discos, including those with laser accompaniment. There is even live music with a Filipino duet.
Bartenders and waiters always smile and keep up with everything. If they don’t have enough local rum, they will pour Cuban to you. In general, according to tourists' reviews, the staff is very friendly, always on time and promptly resolves various issues, treats all tourists equally and without any discrimination, at the same time does not differ in obsession. If something goes wrong for you - TV, air conditioning, appliances in the bathroom - one call to the reception, and the problem will be fixed in a matter of minutes.
Sea, beach and pools
Intercontinental Taba Heights has its own beach, which is located near the main building. It is sandy, with a convenient entrance to the water. However, there is not a very diverse underwater world - the beach is actually only suitable for swimming, as, for example, the Mediterranean coast. There are many corals along the coast, as elsewhere in Egypt, but a special path has been cut through them into the water. Although the presence of special shoes would still be useful. The sea itself is very clean. Equipped beach - there are sun loungers, deck chairs, umbrellas. Towels are issued without deposit.
On the territory of the neighboring Sofitel Hotel, which is allowed to be used by guests of the Intercontinental Taba, there are beautiful corals and beautiful fish that you can watch for hours. There are good corals near the beach of the hotel itself, it’s only worth a little distance from the places of mass bathing and swim along the shelf. Therefore, you will not even need to book a special tour - you can explore the underwater world yourself. On the territory of Sofitel there is also a more convenient bottom for entry, there is a small pier.
Near the beach of Intercontinental there is a water entertainment center where you can go diving, go skiing and so on. In addition, on the main territory of the hotel there is an indoor pool and several open (in one of them the water is always warm because it is heated). One of the ponds has the shape of a fountain in which you can sunbathe. All pools are very clean, they are constantly cleaned and the temperature is checked. Two of them are connected in cascade. The water is pleasant for swimming and does not smell like bleach. For children built two special pools.
Excursions
One of the bonuses of how the Intercontinental Taba hotel is located is the opportunity to go on excursions to neighboring countries, namely Israel and Jordan. Some vacationers return to this hotel precisely because it is the most convenient for visiting these states. They visit Jerusalem and the Dead Sea in Israel, and Petra in Jordan. From the hotel it is very convenient to go to Mount Moses (about an hour). However, climbing there is only possible at night, and it is very difficult. Therefore, comfortable shoes for lifting are simply necessary. Twenty minutes from here to get to the island of the Pharaohs.
It is also worth a trip to the monastery of St. Catherine - one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world. Here you can see the Transfiguration Basilica, a variety of chapels (including the Burning Cupids), as well as the well of Moses. All are included in the UNESCO list. The famous desert ATVs, a trip to the picturesque Colored Canyon and swimming in the Blue Lagoon are also very popular. All this is also within walking distance. They also recommend visiting an artificial salt cave in the city of Taba, where you can get a forty-five-minute rehabilitation session that has a healing effect on the body.
Prices
Of course, we always count money to figure out how to organize a budget when traveling to Egypt. Intercontinental Taba is one of the most popular hotels, and prices for travel packages for various tour operators start at forty-two thousand rubles for two for a week (with the all inclusive system). Eleven to twelve nights with half board will cost 56 thousand at least. To smoke a hookah, you have to pay three dollars or fifteen pounds.
As for the purchase of souvenirs and products, tourists recommend not buying them in a shopping complex at the hotel, but taking a free shuttle bus to the local market, where the state supermarket is located. The prices there are very low, since mainly the goods are intended for local residents. If you want to play golf, then it costs about thirty-five euros for two hours, along with the services of an instructor. Do you prefer to pay for everything with Egyptian pounds? Then change money in the hotel bank - everywhere they consider the dollar as one in five, and the local exchange rate is 5.5. The cost of excursions to Israel and Jordan at the hotel is about one hundred ninety to two hundred dollars per person. A trip to the Colored Canyon by jeep - $ 45. Excursion to the island of the Pharaohs - about fifty, if you sail on a yacht.
Intercontinental Taba Reviews
This hotel was chosen by guests from the former Soviet Union. There are many vacationers from Russia and Ukraine, as well as local residents. Although recently citizens of the European Union have come - Poles, Germans, French. In general, reviews say that the contingent of vacationers is very decent, and there are no drunken scandals. Tourists like room decoration (some notice that they are decorated in a colonial style), spacious living quarters, stunning views of the sea or mountains. The hotel is called charming and very comfortable.
Good feedback on food - guests say that they were fed a lot, tasty and very diverse. Seafood, pastries and a dessert table are especially praised. In general, there are so many dishes that in two weeks of stay not everyone had time to even try. Those who have been to Israel claim that the five are fed worse.
Tourists note the good organization of excursions and a rich program. Fans of a calm and measured rest are also very satisfied. The hotel is also very suitable for couples and tourists with children. Many recommend Intercontinental Hotel for a return visit and hope they can return there again.