If you have chosen Egypt for your vacation, do not consider only Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, but try to discover something new, yet less publicized, but one that will turn your vacation into a series of happy, serene days. We are talking about Marsa Alam, the youngest resort in the country. In addition, it is the southernmost resort and so far the cleanest. One of the best hotels here is Desert Light Solitaire Resort Marsa Alam 4 *, pleasantly impressive and surprising tourists with a high level of service. Literally, every guest is welcome here, regardless of his citizenship or religion. The full name of the hotel is not always used, more often it is used without the first two words. In Solitaire Resort Marsa Alam 4 * everyone can find what he likes. For some, this is a good beach vacation, for others it’s interesting excursions, for others it’s exciting diving, and for some it’s just silence, peace and tranquility.
Location
Marsa Alam is a small but very beautiful town and at the same time a resort that is still actively developing. The hotels here are located quite apart. Therefore, choosing the Solitaire Resort Marsa Alam 4 * as your vacation destination, you can fully count on spending your vacation away from the hustle and crowding of the people. You also need to be prepared for the fact that most of the time will have to be spent on the hotel’s territory, since it is 25 km from the nearest city, which is Marsa al-Alam. You will need to get there by taxi or by bus, but they do not go often. Only 1 km from the city 15 years ago, an international airport was opened, accepting flights from many countries, but Russia is not among them. Our tourists arrive by charter in Hurghada, from which to Marsa Alam is more than 270 km, or 3 hours journey (if you do not transport tourists to other hotels). About the same from the hotel to Luxor, and to the famous Elba Nature Reserve a little less - 250 km.
Territory
Hotel Solitaire Resort Marsa Alam 4 * occupies an area of 210,000 square meters. The territory is quite large, but every corner of it is carefully groomed. Despite the fact that there is a hot desert around (in Marsa Alam, only 6 mm of precipitation falls annually), all the buildings and facilities of the hotel are buried in greenery and flowers. Around there are many palm trees of different types, beautifully trimmed bushes, flower beds, neat lawns. Paths and alleys paved with paving slabs are laid throughout the territory, benches are installed in some places, and there is a beautifully decorated stream. Among the greenery harmoniously located villas and bungalows of the hotel, swimming pools, sports grounds, bars, restaurants, parking.
Infrastructure
The Solitaire Resort Marsa Alam 4 * reception is located in a separate building, which also has a lobby bar and a disco. The reception is open 24 hours a day. The staff is welcoming, but speaks Russian poorly. Here you can leave things in a locker room, and hand over valuables to a safe, exchange currency, rent a vehicle, call a doctor, order a taxi, buy excursions, hand over personal items for washing, dry cleaning, and ironing. The hotel has the conditions to combine rest with work. For such guests there is a business center and a modern conference room equipped with new modern equipment.
For the convenience of tourists, the hotel has opened shops - on the territory and on the beach, which offer beach products, clothing, souvenirs, Egyptian-made cosmetics.
Rooms
Very well thought out tourist accommodation in Solitaire Resort Marsa Alam 4 *. Reviews on the living conditions and condition of the rooms are quite favorable. The hotel buildings are 8 two-story villas and many one-story bungalows. The view from the windows depends on the location of the building and can be either on the territory or on the sea. The design of the rooms is not very luxurious, but the apartments are fresh and pleasant, the windows are large, panoramic, on the second floors there are balconies, on the first - cozy terraces. Hygiene rooms are equipped with a bathtub with a soft hose shower, washbasin, hairdryer, bidet and toilet. Individual hygiene products are provided on the day of arrival and are replenished as necessary.
Room Categories
Standard - up to 37 squares. Each room has the ability to install an extra bed or cot. Equipment - a set of high-quality furniture (beds, wardrobe, wicker chairs, table, soft chairs or a small sofa, mirror), safe (free), mini-bar (for a fee), air conditioning, telephone, TV (3 Russian channels). Of the 118 rooms in this category, 22 are connected room types.
Superior - up to 48 squares. The rooms are one-room, but with a seating area.
Suite - up to 50 squares. One-room rooms, with a very spacious living area and entrance hall, are located only in the bungalow.
Family - up to 7 squares. Two-room rooms include two bedrooms (there is an internal door) and a hygiene room.
All rooms are cleaned very high quality, pillowcases, sheets and towels are changed on schedule.
Nutrition
With regard to food at Solitaire Resort Marsa Alam 4 *, the opinions of tourists are approximately the same. Everyone notes the excellent quality of the products (no spoiled, yesterday's leftovers for processing) and excellent taste of the dishes. Complaints can only be found regarding uniformity.
The hotel restaurant, where breakfast, lunch and dinner is organized according to the self-service system, has a pleasant design using natural building materials, which creates a special atmosphere during meals. There are no queues, a free table is always available, the waiters are helpful, attentive and nimble, there is no dirt anywhere, the dishes are whole and clean, there are enough napkins. For breakfast, the menu includes cereals, milk, butter, pastries, coffee, tea, juice, egg dishes, sliced sausages, cheeses, side dishes, salads, fruits. For lunch, there are always several beef dishes, chicken, fish dishes, side dishes, salads, soups, a large selection of fruits, desserts. The dinner menu is about the same as the lunch menu, plus poultry and grilled foods are served.
In the Solitaire Resort Marsa Alam 4 *, vacationers can visit several bars - in the lobby, at the disco, on the beach, by the pool. Unusually delicious pizza is baked at the beach bar, and light snacks are offered by the pool throughout the day.
Drinks at the hotel (according to tourist reviews) are offered undiluted and of high quality. They can be taken according to the all-inclusive concept throughout the day - from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. Only wine is given out only at dinner.
Entertainment at the hotel
Interesting and varied leisure activities at the Solitaire Resort Marsa Alam 4 *. Marsa Alam and any other locality are not nearby, so the bulk of the time tourists spend on the hotel. At their disposal are two large swimming pools with clear water and different depths, an excellent gym with large panoramic windows that overlook the sea, a spa that offers a steam room, sauna, jacuzzi, massage room (all for money). Sports enthusiasts can use tennis courts for free (only lighting is paid extra), a billiard room located in the disco building, various sports grounds on the hotel premises and on the beach. Exotic lovers have the opportunity to ride camels and horses in the surrounding area.
So that tourists do not get bored, they are entertained from morning to night by a team of animators. The program includes morning exercises, water aerobics, sports and comic games, evening contests and shows.
For children
The hotel offers the smallest guests a children's pool, a mini-club where tutors are engaged with the kids, a playground for games. In the rooms, upon request, staff install cots, the restaurant has highchairs and a separate menu (for babies older than 1 year). If necessary, parents can entrust their child with a caring nanny.
Children under 12 years old without extra bed are not paid.
Sea
On the coast, literally a minute walk from the beach, is Solitaire Resort Marsa Alam 4 *. Egypt owes much of its popularity to the Red Sea. In the area of the hotel it is particularly blue and clean. In the waters near Marsa Alam, because of the resort’s novelty, you can still find dugongs (prototypes of mermaids), exotic hammerhead sharks listed in the Red Book, swim with dolphins and turtles, and there are a lot of small beautiful fishes. The beach of the hotel pleasantly surprises with its length (about 500 meters) and cleanliness. Free space and a sunbed here can be found even in peak season. There are two calls to the sea - from the shore, where it is shallow for a sufficient length, and from the pier. In shallow water there are corals, so it is advisable to have special shoes. The pier from the hotel is 75 meters long. Sun loungers are also installed on it, a bar is equipped, a rescue team works, and the depth of the sea here is from 8 meters or more.
The only drawback of the beach is that there are waves on some days, and lifeguards do not allow swimming in depth.
Entertainment outside the hotel
Despite the fact that the Solitaire Resort Marsa Alam 4 * is located somewhat detached and there is nothing special to do outside, tourists can spend time on excursions. It is most convenient to get to Luxor, Cairo, Hurghada by air from the airport of Marsa Alam, as it is somewhat tiring on the bus. A small nuance: there are no excursion companies here, only the hotel’s tour operator, working out of competition, which means that it is competitively priced. Those who do not want to travel so far can get a lot of impressions from walking on ATVs, go to Abu Dabab, one of the most beautiful bays, visit the reserve, take a walk on a yacht. But the most popular form of entertainment here are snorkeling and diving. It is for their sake that many tourists come here, because such an underwater world, as near Mars al-Alam, is nowhere else. Plus, here you can find several wrecks, which is also extremely interesting. Equipment is issued in numerous diving clubs. They organize trips to the sea on motor boats with a mandatory dive.
Additional Information
This hotel was formerly called Best Western Solitaire Resort 4 * Marsa Alam. Subsequently, the first two words, meaning the name of the company to which it belongs, were replaced by Desert Light. Best Western is a well-known company, which includes more than 4,000 hotels worldwide, and everywhere they are really the best in terms of quality of service and provided service. Solitaire Resort in Marsa Alam is the only hotel of this company in Egypt. It is aimed at tourists who appreciate a calm measured rest away from worldly fuss. It will be especially good for those who are looking for some privacy on vacation, and those who like diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, land windsurfing (sailing by land), wakeboarding, kiting. For all these activities, there are special centers near the hotel where beginners are trained. It will also be nice for parents with children. They will appreciate the cleanliness around, an excellent sandy beach, a large area of shallow water. This hotel is least suitable for those who expect from the holidays in Egypt enchanting parties and entertainment in night clubs.
Solitaire Resort Marsa Alam 4 *: 2015 reviews
Opinions of tourists on this hotel are basically the same. Noted advantages:
- order and cleanliness in the rooms, in the territory, in the restaurant, on the beach;
- great cleaning;
- the functionality of appliances and sanitary ware in the rooms;
- tasty and quality food;
- wonderful territory, green, beautiful;
- beautiful beach, spacious, comfortable;
- well-equipped pier;
- perfect service;
- diligent, professional, honest staff (no cases of theft have been noticed);
- good animation;
- convenient location of the buildings (there are no extraneous sounds that interfere with the rest).
Disadvantages highlighted by tourists:
- long road from the airport;
- not very convenient entry into the sea from the coast;
- far to go on any excursion;
- few Russian-speaking staff.