Movenpick Aquaba

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King Hussein Street
Aqaba, Jordan 77110
+962 (3) 2034020Website
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LeighTravelClub: First Reviewer

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Very Nice Comfortable Hotel

September 29, 2009
Rated 5 of 5 by garymarsh6 from Gravesend, United Kingdom

The Mövenpick hotel Aqaba.

The Mövenpick Hotel in Aqaba is situated in the Western part of Aqaba on the shores of the Red Sea. It is a 287 bedded hotel right near the beach 87 of the rooms are suites which are either 1 bedroom or two bed roomed. The main part of the hotel is across the busy coastal road on a steep incline to get into the reception area. The hotel is divided into two halves the newer building is on the slope and the older part in an annex reached via a bridge with a selection of shops incorporated into the bridge. The shops were selling quality goods, leather, perfumes, clothing and a souvenir shop.

The older part of the hotel is near the private beach but from what I overheard from other guests was that it was better to stay in the newer part of the hotel.

There are four swimming pools in the hotel and various bars, several eateries plus a coffee shop and patisserie, a spa,and gym.

We arrived at the hotel after landing at the nearby ferry terminal in Aqaba. The journey took approximately 15 minutes. Arriving at the hotel the bus stopped at the security check point and a policeman checked underneath the bus with a mirror on a long stick. Security seems to be taken more seriously here than in Eygpt. The bus drove up a very steep incline to the reception area. There was a security tented area to the side of the hotel we all had to go through for a bag X-ray and to walk through a scanner. The security staff were quite friendly. Again as was the case in Egypt the suitcases were not checked and were left near the main entrance where we collected them and entered the hotel.

The reception area is a vast hall with a large water feature in it. The hall is furnished with nice chairs and sofas some of which were in the Arabic style. They were very sumptuous and comfortable to sit in. The receptionists were very friendly; they all spoke excellent English and were very welcoming and informative. I wanted to make a reservation at the hotel at Petra and the concierge arranged this for us and with a very good discount. At first he was unable to get through by telephone and said that he would arrange it for me. By the time I reached my room the phone rang and he had organised it.

We were on the sixth floor with nice views over the old part of town and Eilat in the distance which was highly lit of a night time. The room was quite large with a couple of chairs a table and chairs side board television safe fridge and aircon. There was a good bar area and a well stocked mini bar and built in wardrobe. The bed was extremely comfortable and had a topper on the mattress which you just sunk into.

The bathroom was ok and the shower was over the bath. It wasn’t the biggest bathroom I have seen but it was adequate for our needs. The toiletries were very good from the minerals of the Dead Sea. The towels were nice white and fluffy which were changed each day.

At the front of the hotel there is a massive pool area and patio area decked out with tables, chairs and umbrellas and you can order food or drinks here and make use of the coffee shop and patisserie. It is known as the palm court as it is surrounded by massive palm trees. There are lots of flagpoles with a selection of international flags flapping about in the breeze. Looking out towards the port there is a gigantic pole with an absolutely massive Jordanian flag

We ate in the main restaurant one evening and for breakfast each day. It was a buffet affair with a wide selection of food of international dishes. It was very extensive with a wide choice of food and everyone could eat here as there was such a selection no one would have starved. The buffet must have been at least 100 feet long. The chefs stood behind their sections taking pride in the presentation, carving meats and serving very sizeable portions. They were very friendly and chatty. The tables were tastefully decorated with crisp white linen and the chairs were very comfortable. The wine waiter offered a good selection of wines.

For breakfast the buffet was very well presented and you could literally have anything you wanted from cereals, fresh fruit, yoghurts a wide variety of juices, all kinds of cooked breakfasts including bacon. The patisserie section was brilliant with lots of variety of breads, croissants pastries and preserves. Coffee was free flowing and all in all the food here was served nicely and in very clean surroundings.

The main bar is very nice there are lots of comfortable sofas large coffee tables but it Is quite dark. There is a fairly extensive bar menu and remember these bar snacks are of gigantic proportion we ordered a pizza snack and it was the biggest pizza I have ever seen. Neither of us were able to finish it and I do hate to waste food. We could have just shared one. There is a nice outside area on the balcony over looking the central courtyard which is decked out with nice comfortable chairs overlooking the harbour. Down near the beach there is a fun pub and they offer a cocktail of the day which is very nice.

There were other restaurants down near the beach and surrounding the swimming pool. It was nice to be able to eat and drink out in the open with great views of the beach and the harbour area. There were lots of activities going on at the beach and you could go diving from here. The service was very efficient and the food of a very good standard and lots of it too. The Jordanians do not skimp on portions.

Aqaba is Jordan’s only sea port in the south of the country in a special duty free zone. It is quite a large town of just under 100,000 people and is an important major city whose main industry is now tourism. There are a number of archaeological sites and some historical buildings going back over 4000 years. Compared to Eygpt it is very clean. There are the inevitable MacDonald’s and the usual type of fast food establishments we have here the difference being that you could ring up and order a takeaway MacDonald’s and there seemed to be lots of young lads driving round on mopeds delivering the meals.

Aqaba is surrounded by mountains and as previously stated it is on the coast. I Don’t know if I would want to spend a week here though. It is hot and there are things to do but it is not that interesting place for me. It is very easy to go into Israel at Eilat and potentially a trip to Eygpt although I wouldn’t bother to be honest as the coastal areas are not that interesting in Egypt. Other trips on offer are trips to Wadi Musa to take part in a dessert safari and have tea or dinner with the nomads this is extremely expensive and the people I met said it was not worth the money. You can also visit Amman and the Dead Sea. There are quite a few activities involving water sports, speed boats, banana boats, wind surfing, scuba diving or snorkelling as there are some splendid coral reefs near by there are glass bottomed boats to go and see the coral reefs.

There are a wide selection of shops around and remember that this is a duty free zone so a lot of things are cheaper than in other places in Jordan. It was a pleasure to shop here as you were not hassled. The Jordanian people we came in contact with were very friendly cheerful and helpful people. Please remember to respect the local customs and it is not permitted to sun bath topless here. It is offensive to walk around in skimpy clothing and as it is a Muslim country please remember to cover up if venturing into religious sites.

In summary.

It was a very good quality and comfortable hotel with excellent clean facilities. It is in a good position in Aqaba and in a fairly quite area. There are quite a few local activities to take advantage of although I could not imagine any one wanting to stay for more than a week as I would get bored but apparently some people do. I would highly recommend this hotel as a base to stay in Aqaba. One thing you are more or less guaranteed is the sun which is always a bonus. I have no hesitation in recommending this hotel.

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From journal Wonderful Jordan

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