It was with a building sense of excitement when our taxi crossed the wooden bridge to Kings Island and our resort hotel in the middle of the Nile. Unfamiliar late night shadows contrasted with well lit tree lined driveways. Eerily quiet. Blissfully warm night with air the consistency of soup.
And then nothing.
The security people just raised their heads and feigned indifference – no need to pass the bags through – no need to inconvenience us.
Just as well, as there was no help with the bags either .
We dragged our cases to reception.
This was an underwhelming experience, with the clerk so rapidly processing us, whilst chatting to someone who wanted to change $30.00
It was difficult to know what was being said, and to whom.
Duly sanctioned, and with the vaguest of details, we hopped on a golf buggy and to a room.
Not to our room – or least room type we wanted to avoid ( those with interconnecting doors).
So we changed rooms. To the ground floor.
Mistake.
The air con failed. Very, very,cold but really bad musty smell – an obvious air con malfunction.
After just a few hours sleep we visited reception and er.. changed rooms once more.
I have to point out by this time we realised that there were very few guests here and many rooms unoccupied ( so why did they give us such a poor room?).
So having moved into the new and latest room, things were much happier – I have to say that that front desk staff that morning were so much more helpful.
Off to breakfast, previous nights experience forgotten.
Breakfast everything ( and I mean everything) you could wish for; friendly staff, excellent displays no rush, lovely breads : great selection available. I loved the muesli and the fresh dates.
The only thing missing was : guests – it was painfully quiet. And peaceful. Lovely.
We explored the hotel / grounds / island in a very Victorian way, ie getting lost , and walking around in circles.
So much to see and mostly just a few dozen couples about.
The hotel has some great facilities, the two large infinity pools were just what you would have imaged when you booked up back in the days of winter. The pool and bar staff friendly and helpful. Very relaxed. No hassle, no worries, and no forget the sun tan lotion in the 40C heat.
There is a separate adults only pool and shaded / sunbathing area. Hardly needed the week we were there.
A real factor in choosing this hotel was its location and the extensive, well maintained grounds.
On both counts the Martim Jolie truly exceeded our expectations. The gardens are well maintained and constantly watered, and attended to. It makes so much difference to the hotel. Exceptional floral displays, competed with great Nile views.
It's a hassle free environment. Days were spent in serious relaxing mode.
The evenings were just as quiet.
There are three restaurants and the main bar also has a good menu.
Good choice, but with smoking allowed inside I find this intrusive. It certainly was warm enough to sit outside.
We ate in the Buffet restaurant only on one night: there was nothing wrong with it – just we enjoyed the Italian restaurant so much more.
There is a French styled restaurant – however for the same reasons we did not visit that either.
The Italian restaurant was our first love. Excellent fresh and beautifully prepared food, cooked in front of us,. Delivered with much humour and help from very polished waiting staff. It was a highlight of our day to eat here. Good choice and excellent local wine. We left as friends. Delightful.
There was also the gift shops and bank.
We did however use the hairdressers / beauticians. I had a pedicure (yes I know but it was very good), and my wife had several treatments including nails,.The pampering session was something she clearly enjoyed.
Apart from the tennis there was some organised events – all of which seemed to be rather unnecessary in the 40C heat .
We did visit the zoo, which is located on the eastern side of the island. As with everything connected to the Martim Jolie everything is done to a high standard, with the animals well cared for, and displayed well. There are some casualty inmates, like the pelican who in the wild lost the top of his bill. We liked the donkeys and ducks.
One of the best ways to judge any hotel is when things go awry, and how quickly , and in what manner the response is. We experienced some difficulties with a short term hotel guest and his party. This was tactfully and swiftly dealt with by the duty night manager, who by personally intervening prevented a poor situation escalating. His actions were fully supported by the personable and highly professional General Manager. Indeed, the hotel staff, and particularly, the management responded magnificently in difficult circumstances., and take full credit for decisive action.
Overall our impressions were that it was a lovely resort with very good facilities, great staff and superb restaurants.
It was a pleasure to stay somewhere away from noise, and the hassle.
Would we return ? Most certainly and we would definitely recommend it to others.
Room Tip: The M J has an unusual room arrangement, in that the interconnecting rooms (those for families) are...
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
