It is new year’s day and average temperatures in Jordan are sitting in the single figures. Hotels have the heating turned up full and outside locals are wrapped up against the winter elements. As we leave Wadi Rum desert the sky is grey and hanging low. But as we approach the rocky highway to Aqaba, the clouds part and the car’s temperature gauge starts to climb. By the time we’ve reached the palm tree-lined streets of the coastal city, winter has burned off completely and passers-by enjoy 24 degree sunshine in short sleeves.
Aqaba is Jordan’s city of eternal summer, enjoying warm temperatures all year round. And it has all the trappings of a holiday resort: neon lights, late-night food, and cheesy bars. It also boasts an incredible location right on the Red Sea, with Israel and Egypt in plain sight. Where else can you sit up from your beach chair and see different three countries without turning your head?
So, how to choose the best hotel in Aqaba? In a city primed for tourism, there are plenty of accommodation options to pick from. We were looking for a hotel with direct access to a private Red Sea beach (the privacy factor is important if you’re planning to sunbathe), near the city centre, and with great relaxation facilities on site. We landed on Mövenpick’s Aqaba resort – a five star luxury option right on the Red Sea.
The majority of good luxury hotels in Aqaba (and in Jordan more generally) belong to large chains. As proponents of independent and boutique stays, we were looking for a hotel option that offered top quality facilities and comfort, but still delivered the personalised service you’d expect from a boutique hotel. Swiss hotel brand Mövenpick seemed to offer the perfect compromise.
A friendly doorman greets us at the top of the marble steps and opens the door to reveal a double-height cavern of stone and gold with Arabic-style wooden carvings on the ceiling and a huge fountain taking pride of place in the centre of the lobby. It’s a stately-looking space, but that’s where the formality ends: our check-in experience is littered with smiles and jokes, setting the tone for what promises to be a fun and relaxing stay.
Mövenpick Aqaba is a large hotel built in 2000, and it would be fair to say that the bedrooms and hallways could do with freshening up. However, despite the décor inside the room being a little retro, the real draw is the balcony area. We stayed in a Superior King Room with sea view, and watching the sun set over the expanse of Red Sea beyond from the comfort of our own private space was a highlight.
Mövenpick hotels offer a few really nice extras that make the experience a bit more personal. One such perk – simple but effective – is unlimited soft drinks offered free of cost from the mini bar.
Another is the famous Chocolate Hour. As a Swiss brand, Mövenpick rolls out the red carpet for its favourite export; in addition to ice cream parlours selling Swiss ice cream, there’s one hour of unlimited sugar bliss at each of the hotels, where guests can sample an assortment of sweet treats and chef-manned chocolate fountain.
Mövenpick has pride of place among a handful of luxury spa hotels on Aqaba’s sea front. There are public beaches elsewhere in the city but the dress code is more modest and women especially may feel less comfortable in swimwear. The majority of the seafront resorts have private beaches where sunbathing is perfectly fine. Mövenpick has a generous two-level stretch along the shore where you can relax under a palm tree with a cold drink from the bar – bliss!
If lying on the beach all day is not your thing, the hotel provides a range of entertainment options to keep you busy. It’s a family-friendly resort that caters well to families with children; there is a kids’ club and a daily schedule of activities open to all ages, including fitness sessions, beach yoga, and even dance classes.
Mövenpick Aqaba also has no shortage of wellness facilities. There are three large outdoor swimming pools, a miniature lazy river and a jacuzzi. Palm trees dotted around the pool provide much-needed shaded areas for sunbathing. At the time of our visit in low season we had practically the entirety of pool area to ourselves.
The hotel also has a well-equipped indoor gym, spa area, and a selection of water sports on offer. The Abu Nawwas Fun Pub does what it says on the tin – especially at Happy Hour when local drinks are half price.
And when the time comes to eventually peel yourself away from your sun lounger in search of some sustenance, there’s an impressive selection of dining options on offer at Mövenpick Aqaba.
The Al Shatt restaurant provides a casual option for beachside dining with a family-friendly menu. There is an onsite café specialising in Swiss ice cream and chocolate, and there are two bar areas with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. For a more formal dinner, guests can choose between three different restaurants, all offering a varied menu of high-quality dishes. The Red Sea Grill has an outdoor terrace where guests can enjoy local seafood al fresco against a panorama of the Red Sea bay.
And if you’re celebrating a special occasion there’s also the option to arrange a private candle-lit dinner on the beach at sunset.
We chose Mövenpick Aqaba due to its seafront location and private beach but we arrived half-expecting the experience to be a generic one, as with many global hotel chains. We left, however, very pleasantly surprised. The excellent choice of activities, amenities and food options could have kept us entertained for weeks, and the small extras like the Chocolate Hour give Mövenpick a unique edge, setting the hotel apart from the surrounding competition.
For us, it was the perfect place to press pause on a hectic trip full of activities and to unapologetically do nothing but bask in the sunshine and occasionally leave the beach to refuel at one of the many on site eateries.
We stayed
in a Superior King Room with Sea View, priced at ~130 JOD in low season.
For best rates book directly via the hotel’s website.
This was a media stay – all opinions are our own
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