Beau Rivage Hotel in Marsa Matrouh, Egypt – a luxury resort hotel

As we settled into our hotel at Marsa Matruh I mused on what makes the perfect stay in this holiday resort town, that’s super-popular with Egyptians but not so well known among the Brits.

We checked in for one night to the Beau Rivage Hotel and the view from the window might have featured on a postcard, overlooking the perfectly manicured lawns and pink bougainvillea towards the pool and the sea beyond.

The perfect beach view

The white sandy beach was a crescent shape, enclosed at each end by the walls of the hotel, with rows of sun loungers and thatched umbrellas. The sea was clear and an intense shade of turquoise, the sun just warm enough for me to soak up like a sponge after the chilly English spring weather.

But this hotel which would normally be packed with wealthy Europeans in high season was practically deserted, unless you counted the workmen scattering bits of wood around the pool area and the distant beat of Egyptian music at the pool side.

The view was certainly idyllic but there was something a little too perfect about this manicured and enclosed heaven. And the extortionate cost of the Wi-Fi made me wonder if I had a big invisible label pinned to me saying ‘Rich European Tourist’.

Searching for local flavor

Perhaps there was real life happening just beyond the hotel walls. I ventured with my friend onto the stretch of beach just outside the hotel grounds.

Here we came across a local man with his fishing rod rigged up on the rocks. Another man was setting a fire with some driftwood, surrounded by his young children. He smiled showing a set of brown stained teeth.

We stopped to chat and showed us the little fish that he’d already caught. He was keeping swimming in a shallow rock pool, to eat later. He invited us to sit and have some of the tea that he was brewing up in the little metal teapot.

Dining on fresh local seafood

Later that evening, we drove into town and checked out the best fish restaurant that our friend from Alexandria could find. Alexandrians are fish connoisseurs, and love their fish restaurants.

Our friend insisted on inspecting the counter of fish on ice, picking out the freshest fish, giant prawns and octopus. The fish feast arrived, seasoned and grilled accompanied by the usual round of meze and salads. We’d over ordered and could barely finish it all.

On the hunt for Wi-Fi

After the meal I was feeling Wi-Fi withdrawal symptoms. I enquired whether we might finish our meal with a coffee in any nearby café that happened to have Wi-Fi.

So we drove around the block to find what looked like an ice cream parlour with pink and purple plastic chairs. It had transformed into an all male coffee bar with not a woman in sight.

Nevertheless we were made welcome and sat down in the corner on a group of traditional wood and brocade sofas. We were surrounded by men smoking their Shisha pipes. Football played on the TV screen above our heads.

The next problem to overcome was to access the Wi-Fi as the password only seemed to work in Arabic script. Have you ever come across this problem when travelling in the Middle East? I’d be interested to know how you got around it.

Technology translations

We scratched our heads and finally asked the advice of the young man sitting next to us with a laptop. I learned that he was a Libyan medical student. He had come across the border from Benghazi with his family a couple of weeks before.

His solution was to use his mobile as a data card. He changed the name of one of his photos to the password we required. Then, he plugged it into my laptop and did a copy and paste of the password into the login box. Ingenious or what!

I spent a happy hour catching up on my e-mails while drinking hibiscus tea. I enjoyed a desert called Sah-lah. It’s kind of white blancmange with desiccated coconut, dried fruit and bananas on top.

Finally my battery ran low and that was the end of the internet connection. Just as well or I might have been there all night.

A perfect holiday at Marsa Matruh is not just the turquoise sea and manicured gardens. There’s also making friends with the real people beyond the hotel walls.

PS Don’t think I didn’t enjoy the lovely surroundings at Beau Rivage. When I mentioned the expensive Wi-Fi to the manager at breakfast he instantly offered me it for free.

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This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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