The accommodation rating system in Egypt is different from that
which you find in developed countries and the Arab Gulf. Many
unsuspecting visitors to Egypt arrive with the impression that
they are going to stay in a luxury or deluxe resort/hotel/cruise
ship because their travel-agent has promised them a “5*”.
While not disputing that there are hotels, cruises and resorts in
Egypt with a true 5* standard, the majority of the hotels with the
5* rating do not live up to what many travelers expect as
compared with their other world travels. The true 5* places are
few and far between in Egypt with the Grand Hyatt and Four
Seasons chains as exceptions.Those chains do provide true
5* service but that also comes with a price.
Ratings in Egypt are based on facilities. In order to receive their
rating of stars, the hotel/resort/cruise ship must be able to
present a range of facilities. Among them are in room TV,
minibar, pool, licensing to serve alcohol, several restaurants,
and amongst others, access to the beach if it is a Red Sea
destination. Of course the hotel itself must have a certain
standard, but more often than not, the traveler will find that even
5* hotels/resorts/cruise ships have gloomy rooms with stains on
the carpet, cracked tiles in the bathroom, peeling paint, TV’s not
working or with poor reception, empty minibars and so forth. If they
have the required facilities and if the premises and rooms are kept
clean, there is a good chance a hotel will have a 5* rating. It must
be stressed that it is not necessarily like this in ALL 5* rated hotels,
but it is often the case.Maintaining or refurbishing hotels/resorts
/cruise ships is usually instigated the minute before the whole
structure crumbles and maintenance is usually not an ongoing
issue which if it was, would probably improve accommodation
standards.
The same as written above also applies to hotels/resorts/cruise
ships with a 4* or 3* rating, but often the visitor will not feel as
disappointed with the gloomy room and the cracked tiles if they
have paid for a 3* hotel than they will in a 5* hotel.
The average traveler will probably find that 5* hotels/resorts/cruise
ships in Egypt are the equivalent of 4* or in some cases 3*, as to
compared with the rating systems of other destinations around the
world. If the traveler is aware of this before booking their 5*
accommodation this would then avoid most of the bad press
regarding the many great and unique hotels in Egypt.