Jaz Makadi Saraya Resort

The best hotel ever i liked everything really and the staff so friendly all smiling and the food is good and also the animation team was so amazing

We recently stayed at Jaz Makadi Saraya and overall had a very enjoyable holiday. The pool area is lovely, the resort is well maintained, and there are plenty of activities and attractions right on the doorstep. Most of the staff were friendly and helpful, with some being exceptionally welcoming throughout our stay.

There were, however, several frustrations.

One issue was the online booking system for the à la carte restaurants. It was often slow, unreliable and prone to glitches, turning what should be a simple reservation process into an unnecessarily frustrating experience. The resort's very slow WiFi only made matters worse.

We also discovered that darts were only available during designated entertainment team sessions rather than being freely accessible throughout the day. If you enjoy playing casually, a useful tip is to bring your own darts, as you can then make use of the dartboards whenever they are not being used for organised activities.

Housekeeping was inconsistent. On several occasions four used towels were replaced with only three clean ones, resulting in repeated trips to reception. Empty water bottles were sometimes removed without replacements being left, again requiring a visit to reception. Shower gel dispensers were also allowed to run empty and were not always replenished promptly. None of these issues were major on their own, but together they became quite irritating and created an unnecessary amount of hassle during the holiday.

The pool towel system also felt unnecessarily complicated. Towels are exchanged through housekeeping, meaning you have to try and time replacements with when your room is being serviced. It would surely be far more efficient to have clean towels available at dedicated poolside and beachside stations, with collection points for used towels, as many other resorts do.

The food was acceptable rather than outstanding. The all-inclusive alcohol was unfortunately of a very poor standard. The gin spoiled most mixed drinks, while the white and rosé wines were, in our opinion, undrinkable. The red wine was just about acceptable, but certainly not something we particularly enjoyed. When the ice cream machine broke down there was no alternative available, which was also disappointing.

One concern was the presence of birds around the pool bar food preparation areas. We regularly observed birds landing in and eating ingredients that were later used to prepare food, including the flour used for pizzas and the pancake mix. On several occasions food preparation appeared to continue afterwards without any obvious cleaning or replacement of the affected ingredients. This was not pleasant to see and did not inspire confidence in food hygiene standards.

The room air conditioning was effective but very noisy and regularly disturbed our sleep.

On a positive note, the breakfast bag provided for our early excursion was excellent. Ordered through reception before 9pm the previous evening, it contained a cheese sandwich, cupcake, bottle of water, carton of orange juice and some fruit. It was a thoughtful touch and much appreciated before a long day trip.

Another highlight was the water park, which is included as part of the resort offering. It was excellent, with a wide variety of slides suitable for different ages and confidence levels. Our children absolutely loved it and returned several times during our stay. The lifeguards were friendly, attentive and appeared genuinely engaged in keeping guests safe.

The animation team also deserve a special mention. They brought huge amounts of energy to the resort, worked incredibly hard and did a great job encouraging guests to join in activities without being pushy. They really helped create a fun atmosphere around the pool and during the evening entertainment.

However, the biggest issue by far was smoking. To be fair, this may not bother everyone, but as a non-smoking family from the UK, where smoking is now far less common in public spaces and the culture around smoking is very different, we found it extremely noticeable. Smoking appeared to be permitted almost everywhere, with no clearly designated smoking areas. Whether relaxing by the pool, sitting outside, watching entertainment or walking around the resort, there always seemed to be someone smoking nearby.

This is, of course, a matter of personal preference, and guests who smoke or are accustomed to a different smoking culture may not see it as an issue. For our family, however, it had a significant impact on the enjoyment of the holiday because there was simply no way to escape cigarette smoke.

Overall, we liked the hotel, the pool, the water park, the animation team and the location, and there is a lot to recommend about the resort. Most of the shortcomings could have been overlooked. We could tolerate the mediocre food, poor-quality alcohol, housekeeping inconsistencies and occasional service frustrations. Unfortunately, the constant exposure to cigarette smoke is something we would not choose to experience again.

For that reason alone, despite many positive aspects of the holiday, we would not return.

Wonderful hotel with amazing staff. Suitable for family with kids. Big pools. Delicious food. Grill restaurant food taste was great