A Week on the Red Sea
By mid-October, Berlin had already made up its mind: grey skies, short days and that first cold wind that tells you summer is not coming back. So my girlfriend and I did the only reasonable thing. We packed light, flew south, and spent a week in a villa on the Red Sea at Fort Arabesque, in Makadi Bay, just south of Hurghada.
Hurghada is often associated with huge, busy all-inclusive resorts, and if that is the image you have in mind, Fort Arabesque, and its villas in particular, will surprise you. From the moment we landed to the moment we left, everything about our week felt calm, private and quietly taken care of. It did not feel like a resort we were staying in so much as a place that had been prepared for us.
From Berlin to Makadi Bay
We flew with Condor from Berlin to Hurghada, connecting in Frankfurt. If you would rather avoid the stopover, several airlines also fly nonstop from Berlin Brandenburg, in around four and a half hours.
What made the difference, though, was what happened after we landed. Instead of looking for a shuttle bus or haggling with taxi drivers, we had a private transfer waiting for us at the airport. A short, quiet drive of about half an hour down the coast, with the desert mountains on one side and the sea on the other, and we were there. After a long travel day, it was the perfect way to arrive: no queues, no waiting, no crowded coach stopping at every hotel along the way.
A Resort Within the Resort
Fort Arabesque is a large property, divided into three areas: the family-friendly Beach Resort, the quieter West Bay and, at its most exclusive end, the Villas. Staying in a villa means living in a world of its own within the resort.
It starts with check-in. Villa guests have their own separate reception, away from the main lobby, so instead of joining a queue with suitcases, we were welcomed and checked in calmly, as if we were arriving at a boutique hotel rather than a resort. That first impression set the tone for the rest of the week.
Our Villa
We stayed in a one-bedroom swim-up villa: around 55 square metres, adults only, with a king-size bed and a private terrace with sun loungers that opens directly onto the pool. In the morning, all it takes is to open the doors, cross the terrace and slip into the water before breakfast. It is one of those small luxuries you get used to frighteningly quickly.
Inside, the villa had everything we needed to never leave if we did not want to: a coffee machine, a minibar replenished every day, snacks, and room service whenever we felt like eating on our own terrace rather than going out. The villa area is quiet and private, and between the pool, the terrace and the sound of the sea, there were whole afternoons when we simply did not move.
If you want the very best of the villas, there are also nineteen sea-view villas at the highest point of the resort, and two-bedroom villas for families or friends travelling together. The sea-view ones are limited, so they are worth booking well in advance.
Dining Like a Villa Guest
The resort runs on a premium all-inclusive basis, which, in practice, means that over a week, you eat and drink a lot. And very well.
Villa guests have access to the Pavilion, the fine-dining restaurant reserved exclusively for them, and to Club 159, which ended up being our favourite place of the whole stay. You get a table right by the sea, the atmosphere is always lovely, and on some evenings, there is live music to go with dinner.
Over the week, we also tried Mastika, for Greek food and seafood on the beachfront, the Asian restaurant, the Mexican restaurant, the beach club, and the buffet of the West Bay's main restaurant. With so much choice, a week was not long enough to get bored, and every meal came with the same attentive, warm service we found everywhere at Fort Arabesque.
The Reef, a Minute from the Beach
The real treasure of Fort Arabesque, though, is under the water. The house reef starts so close to the beach that it takes less than a minute's swim to reach it. You put on your mask and fins, walk into the sea, and almost immediately you are floating above coral in every colour imaginable, surrounded by fish.
We both snorkelled on the reef and saw plenty of marine life, shoals of fish and wonderfully coloured corals. Having a reef like that right in front of your sunbed is something very few places in the world can offer.
For me, the reef was also a classroom. The resort has its own dive centre, iDive, and during our stay I dived and completed my PADI Rescue Diver certification. It deserves an article of its own, so you can read all about it in Becoming a PADI Rescue Diver in Makadi Bay.
One small request if you snorkel or dive here: never stand on or touch the coral, and use a reef-friendly sunscreen. The reef is a protected natural area, and it is the reason this place is so special.
An Egyptian Massage at the Spa
One afternoon, we booked an Egyptian massage at the resort's spa, and it was, without exaggeration, one of the best massages I have ever had. After days of swimming and diving, it was exactly what I needed, and the kind of experience that makes you wonder why you do not do this more often at home.
Doing Nothing, Beautifully
We did not book a single excursion, and that was entirely the point. In mid-October, while Berlin was getting colder by the day, we had warm sunshine every day, a sea warm enough to stay in for hours, and nothing on the agenda except deciding between the pool, the beach and the reef.
A week like that does something to you. By the third day, you stop checking the time. By the fifth, you have forgotten what the weather is doing at home. By the seventh, you are already planning how to come back.
Why We Would Go Back Any Day
We would go back to Fort Arabesque any day. For the villa and the privacy that comes with it. For the reef, less than a minute's swim from the beach. For the food, of which there is always plenty. And, above all, for the service: from the private transfer to the separate reception, from room service to the staff in every restaurant and bar, everything was handled with a care that made our week feel truly special.
Before You Go
- Flights: Condor flies from Berlin to Hurghada via Frankfurt, and several airlines fly nonstop from BER in around four and a half hours.
- Transfer: book a private transfer from Hurghada airport. The resort is about half an hour away, and it makes arriving infinitely more relaxing.
- Visa: EU citizens need a tourist visa, either as an e-visa in advance or on arrival at the airport, usually paid in cash. Your passport should be valid for at least six months beyond your arrival date. Check your government's travel advice before you go, such as the Auswärtiges Amt in Germany or Viaggiare Sicuri in Italy.
- Which villa: the one-bedroom swim-up villas are adults only, perfect for couples. If you want a sea view, book early: there are only nineteen.
- Book your dinners: ask about Club 159 early in your stay, and try to get a table by the sea.
- Reef essentials: bring your own mask if you have one you like, reef shoes or fins, and reef-friendly sunscreen.
- Time difference: Egypt is one hour ahead of Berlin for most of the year.
- Tipping: tipping is part of everyday life in Egypt, so keep some small notes with you.
