Al Ismailia Vacations from $1,564

The property is beautiful. It's a sprawling resort with areas outdoors in the woods near a cascading springs that I enjoyed sitting at. I liked the lobby, the swimming pools and the exercise room. Checking in was easy. You're sat in the very nice lobby and you're greeted with a nice apple lemon ginger juice while the check in is proceeding. The staff is very nice, attentive and professional. The room is very nice, nicely decorated and the linen is crispy clean white cotton. The appetizers in the lobby were very good. But the drinks are crazy expensive. There were a few glitches: my minibar was empty. This is an expensive hotel. When I brought this issue to the management, they offered to fill it. But it did seem to me as if they were cutting corners. Also, my room was dark. The lighting was dim and not enough to read. It was a room to just retire to and go to bed and watch TV. It's unpleasant to not have enough light in a room, especially if you want to read. In the daytime, the room tends to be dark in the part away from the window. When I brought this matter to the management, they offered to upgrade me to a suite. However, the sitting room in the suite was even darker while the bedroom was brighter. I thus declined the upgrade. The lobby is very nice but it too needs a bit more lighting in some spots. I had to look for a corner with enough light to read the menu and see my food. The drinks are crazy expensive. But overall a very nice stay.

Hot showers

friendly staff, clean rooms

It’s situated within the medina which is ideal although you will need to walk a little way from the Main Street to access it. It was down a dirty alleyway with some cats and poo which wasn’t nice. It’s not their area but perhaps they may need to consider how to make that first area more appealing to guests as it looks awful. Inside it was a very nicely decorated Riad. Breakfast was good and useful. I would say if visiting in winter months that this Riad was very cold. The air con didn’t seem to work in heating up the room. This was the one place where I could see my breath so that was a bit of a drawback. I’m sure in the warmer months it’s very comfortable.