Egypt Escapes Avis 

We just organised and booked one our bucket list holidays, a multi-city cruise and stay holiday to Egypt!
Already living in the eastern Mediterranean, the itinerary was pretty complex, but we contacted Egypt Escapes and spoke to James Clark, from our first conversation, the process could not have been easier.
James was polite, attentive, thorough and extremely efficient, he went out of his way to tailor make the perfect package, and being available to alter and adjust on numerous occasions.

Mr James Clarke was extremely helpful which made the booking easy and gave us confidence in the service. A follow up question was answered very quickly and satisfactorily.

I spoke to James, he wss very polite and friendly. Rang me precicsley when he said he would. Answered all my questions and reassured me he would be avalible if i have any future questions. They did all the planning for the trip and so far it has been easy and quick.

details of our cruise were provided in accordance with our request. Susan Wilson was very polite very prompt and made sure all our requests were catered to thank you Susan.

Egypt Escapes is a company that works only for those looking for holidays on the cheap.
They provided us with an Egypt holiday recently with a cruise down the Nile followed by a stay in Cairo. The cruise boat (SemiRamis I) was very ‘tired’. It claimed to have been renovated a year ago but we saw no sign of that. We walked through other vessels which were ALL much more modern.
Then the hotel in Cairo which claimed to be a 4 star ‘boutique’ hotel (Pyramids Valley, Giza) was more like a backpackers hostel! Broken tiles on the floor and walls of our room , view from the window was of the neighbouring property 1 metre away, the lift door was broken with a jagged piece of metal sticking out etc
Recommend to book with other travel agencies.

Sold as a Luxury 5-Star Reality Was a 2-Star at Best

We booked this hotel through Egypt Escapes after it was sold to us as a luxury 5-star experience. Unfortunately, the reality was nothing like what was promised. This was, in our experience, closer to a 2-star property at best.

The hotel was tired, poorly maintained, and far below the standard you would expect from a genuine luxury resort. Cleanliness was a serious issue, facilities felt neglected, and the overall atmosphere was disappointing and uncomfortable. It felt nothing like the “incredible” hotel we had been assured we were booking.

What made this worse was discovering that just a short walk away was the Red Sea Resort, a far superior resort that was actually cheaper than where we had been placed. That was incredibly frustrating.

A local taxi driver even told us the hotel had changed its name and that many reviews were unreliable, which raised further concerns. While I cannot verify that independently, it added to our unease given our own experience.

My biggest issue is with being misled. If a hotel is marketed as luxury, it should meet that standard. We trusted the recommendation from Egypt Escapes and feel badly let down.

I would strongly advise future travellers to research carefully and not rely solely on how this property is marketed. Sadly, this trip was a huge disappointment.

We booked our holiday with Egypt Escapes and to be honest, I didn’t really check the hotels they booked for us at the start and end of the holiday. I only noted that they were “5 star all inclusive” – Big mistake.
They put us in the El Karma in Hurghada prior to the coach journey to Luxor and we were only there from 10pm until being picked up at 4am. The place was a bit of a dump and miles out of Hurghada. This meant that after being picked up at 4am we were still picking people up at other hotels and hour and twenty minutes later.
The El Karma “all inclusive” didn’t include a glass of wine or wi-fi, so we were glad we only had to endure the place for a couple of hours.
We arrived at Luxor at 10am where we were given a small glass of orange squash – this was all we were given between 4 am and 1pm when lunch started.
On arriving at the Royal Viking, our guide “Zac” asked for £20 each for the “tips” which we all handed over. This was to be a common theme as everybody, everywhere wanted tipping. One of the worst parts of the experience was on the final morning when we were getting ready to leave and sat in the main reception with the rest of the group. The Manager came over and “demanded” to know why we had not made any tips at the reception? We had tipped practically everybody apart from the ships cat, but he was very aggressive to everyone there wanting to know who we had tipped and how much.
So to the cruise itself which was ok. It was a nice to see the world go by and visit the various temples/excursions but to pay £520 for myself and my wife for the excursions was excessive to say the least. The guide Zak was pleasant, but unfortunately his ability to speak clear English was very limited due to his accent so we spent 7 days listening to him but couldn’t really make out much of it.
Due to the horrible hotel Egypt Escapes had put us in prior to the cruise, I checked the accommodation Royal Lagoons, that we were going to for the final few days after we returned to Hurghada from Luxor. The hotel had received 3 one star reviews in the past week.
I asked Zac who worked for Sun International if they could find us an alternative hotel and showed him the reviews. He spent the next 6 days every day saying he would fine out and try and change it but of course he never did. I also contacted Egypt Escapes who had not interest whatsoever of trying to help so we actually ended up going to the Royal Lagoon which was every bit as bad as people said it was – see photos.
The Royal Viking on first glance seems very nice and it is but it also very much needs a refit and update which all the fellow guests agreed. The fridge hardly worked and the one in the room next door had to be replaced as it didn’t work at all. It was a bit of a pain having to boil the kettle on the floor as the cable didn’t reach, and there weren’t any power points at the side of the beds.
We didn’t have the drinks package and unless you are a complete alcoholic there’s no need to. The drinks are reasonably priced, and the wine was very nice.
The food was ok.
One thing however that I found really annoying – They charge you for water!!!!
They also charge for Coffee and Tea and they’d charge you for Oxygen if they thought they could get away with it.
So all in all it was ok but I wouldn’t book with Egypt Escapes. Once they have your money they don’t want to know. They also booked us into the cheapest budget hotels they could in order to maximise their profit.

30 March

I’ve just read the reply from Egypt Escapes and would just like to add-

At no time whatsoever did they mention budget hotels - if they had I wouldn’t have booked them.
So I challenge you- show everyone where budget hotels are mentioned.

The rep did say other hotels could be available but we would have to pay more money but why should I?

A reputable travel company would make sure the hotels are not budget (especially for the price you’re charging) and we must have been really unlucky to stay at the only 2 hotels Hurghada that charge for wine and beer.

You don’t seem to have mentioned the “tipping” debacle or the excessive price of excursions or the guide not being able to speak English very well, but then again I’m not surprised.

Nile cruise good
Tours booked through them in Cairo a rip off.
Charged £200 for tour guide for one morning at the pyramids for four of us. We could walk less than 1 minute from our hotel to enter and had to still pay entry fee. When we booked the tour we did not read the small print and of course assumed the price we paid for a tour would include entry which is approx £10 per person. The tour guide will be paid around £5, so a clear £195 excess! Shocking!!! My husband has since contacted them to air his dissatisfaction. They agreed we should not have been charged, so refunded the entry fee + £20 good will gesture. Hence I've bumped them up a star. You are still better off sorting trips in Cairo once you are there.

Excellent service in planning and execution!
Every stage was a delight, all transport arranged and on time, hotels and the MS Viking were excellent!
Would recommend 👍😊
Thank you
Gary

Really helpful and engaging service from the start. Would definitely recommend to the travelling novice.

It was a pleasure to book this holiday, Sara was the perfect agent. Looking forward to the trip.

We spent 4 nights of a 7 day cruise on the Nile BELOW DECK despite booking a mid deck cabin. No view. No fresh air. I am mildly claustrophobic. Bad luck no other cabins available. Would not have taken this cruise if we’d been told of Egypt Escape’s contractual break with our booking. But no. Not until we are on the boat late at night are we told we’ll be below deck for the next 4 nights. And being told ‘it’s a nicer ship’ doesn’t make up for our crocodile view of the Nile. The crew was nice.

Just returned from a Nile cruise and a couple of days in Cairo, I was a bit apprehensive as I was travelling solo bu my fears were totally needless, everything was organised superbly
.All the flights were as booked, there were people there to meet me and show me to my taxis, which were always on time, the cruise was superb, as were the excursions- staff on the boat were excellent. The price quoted was reasonable and no hidden extras.
I will definitely be using Egypt Escapes again.

gary parker was extremely polite and efficient and booked my trip without any hiccups whatsoever. a delight to speak with and very informative too

James was very helpful and knowledgable when booking our holiday. He made sure everything was what we required for our multi centre trip to Egypt

It was a pleasure to make this booking. Susan was lovely. Reassuring, sensible and very efficient.

Booked a Nile cruise with Egypt Escapes and spoke to Gary who was very helpful and informative throughout

Waited for all travel documents to be sent through and received them in the evening
Ours were all in order but we were also sent full documentation for another holiday including all details bit surprised
Admin error ?

very easy to book friendly staff

Serah was fantastic.
Friendly , informative, great to talk to.
Great experience.
Bucket list holiday booked. 😁

Gary was very helpful and all documentation arrived promptly