Steigenberger Aqua Magic
Steigenberger Aqua Magic is a 5-star all-inclusive built around a water park, on Egypt's Red Sea coast in central Hurghada. Families come for its aqua park slides, a 400m lazy river and five pools, with two adults-only rooftop pools for parents, a short airport transfer and the shared ALDAU Art Promenade of shops and restaurants next door.
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Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail: who it suits, what's in the price and the facts to weigh first.
Steigenberger Aqua Magic is a large 5-star all-inclusive in central Hurghada, one of three Steigenberger hotels sharing a site and built around a water park rather than the beach. It's one of the higher-rated big family resorts in the city, and the appeal is the water: an aqua park, five pools, a 400m lazy river and two adults-only rooftop pools for parents. The single fact to check first is the slide height. The main slides all need a child to be at least 120cm tall, so a baby or younger toddler is limited to the Pirate Ship playground and the two children's pools while older siblings ride the rest. The beach is a walk along the promenade rather than on the doorstep, some activities cost extra on top of the all-inclusive, and the resort gets busy in the school holidays. You'll get the most from it if you have children tall enough for the slides and you value a short airport transfer and a water park at the centre of the week.
Best for
You have children tall enough for the 120cm slides and you want an aqua park, a lazy river and five pools, with a rooftop pool to escape to and a 10-minute airport transfer.
Maybe not for
You have a baby or a toddler under 120cm and want the full run of slides, you want to step straight onto a beach, you want somewhere quiet and small or a well-equipped gym matters, since one reviewer found it smaller than you'd expect for a resort this size.
Best ages
Children who clear 120cm get the most. Under that height there's the Pirate Ship water playground and two children's pools, so mixed-age families with an older sibling are well served.
What stands out
The 400m lazy river, two adults-only rooftop pools with butler service, a real 9-hole golf course and one of the shortest airport transfers in Hurghada.
What to check
The 120cm slide height against your children, and that the beach is a 700m promenade walk away, not at the hotel.
Where is it?
In central Hurghada on Egypt's Red Sea coast, about 6km, roughly 10 minutes, from Hurghada airport.
Quick facts for families
What the resort is like
Where it sits, how the large site is laid out and what that means for getting around.
Steigenberger Aqua Magic is one of three Steigenberger hotels sharing a single site in central Hurghada, alongside the beach-front ALDAU Beach Hotel and the adults-only Pure Lifestyle. The three are linked by the ALDAU Art Promenade, an outdoor boulevard lined with sculptures, boutiques, cafes and restaurants, with an events arena and a night club along it. Aqua Magic is the family-focused hotel of the three, built around its pools and aqua park rather than facing the sea.
It's a large resort, 715 rooms in all, so the pools, restaurants and promenade get busy, most of all during the school holidays. The pools and the aqua park sit at the centre, with the main buffet and the specialist restaurants arranged around them and the two adults-only pools up on the roof. Guests describe the resort as modern and stylish.
The resort is in Al Mamsha El Seyahi, Hurghada's central tourist promenade, so Senzo Mall, the New Marina and the town's shops and restaurants are a short walk or taxi away. That central position is one of the things reviewers rate about it, along with how close it is to the airport.
On getting around, the pool and promenade level looks flat and even, which helps with a pushchair, though the rooftop pools need a lift and there's no official accessibility statement beyond the five adapted rooms. If step-free access is essential for your family, confirm the detail with the resort before you book.
Every restaurant and bar
Each place to eat and drink, which meals need booking and where the all-inclusive stops.
The main buffet, the Magic restaurants, the poolside bars and the Magic Lounge all come with the all-inclusive board. Two things carry conditions, and they're the parts families most often misread. The three à la carte Magic restaurants are included only once each per stay, and only on a stay of five nights or more. The three S-Square restaurants on the promenade aren't included at all, only discounted. The detail is in the box below.
Magic Flavors is the main buffet, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with live cooking stations, a smart casual dress code and no reservation needed. It has a kids corner, a set of child-height food stations within the main restaurant, so young children can help themselves. This is the everyday room for a family, with the broadest choice and no booking to think about.
Magic Orient serves Oriental food and drew the most specific praise in guest reviews for both the cooking and the service. Magic Palappa is the Italian restaurant, next to the aqua park pool. Magic Sky is a rooftop à la carte restaurant with a bar and shisha lounge and views over the Red Sea, the golf course and the mountains. All three serve dinner by reservation, and all three carry the once-per-stay, five-night rule set out below.
Magic Blue is a beachside alfresco restaurant and bar at the promenade end, serving snacks and an à la carte lunch from noon to 5pm, included and with no booking, so you can eat near the beach without walking back to the main buildings. Magic Souk is a run of open-air market food stalls on the promenade, with live folklore music and shows, open for dinner and included with no reservation.
The three S-Square restaurants on the promenade, a sushi bar, a noodle bar and a teppanyaki grill, all open for dinner from 6pm. These aren't part of the all-inclusive: guests get a 25% discount on the food and drink rather than eating for free, so budget for them as a paid extra. Long trousers are required for men at the noodle and teppanyaki restaurants.
For drinks, the Magic Splash Bar is poolside by the aqua park, open 9am to sunset, serving beverages through the day and ice cream between noon and 5pm. The Magic Breeze Bar sits along the lazy river, similarly open 9am to sunset with beverages and ice cream through the day. The Magic Lounge is the one outlet open around the clock, with an early breakfast from 5am before the buffet opens and a late-night snack after midnight, which is useful when a jet-lagged or early-rising child is up before everyone else.
How the à la carte restaurants work
Magic Orient, Magic Palappa and Magic Sky each need a table booked in advance, at a screen in reception, and each is included in the all-inclusive once per stay, only if you stay five nights or more and only when a table is free. On a shorter stay you can't use the included dinner at these three at all, so if a special dinner matters, plan for at least five nights and book early. The S-Square restaurants are always a paid extra, with a 25% discount rather than being included.
Rooms and suites
Every room and suite with its official size, then the pools, the aqua park and the beach.
Where you'll sleep
There are 715 rooms and suites, of which 294 are Family Suites. The table below is the full line-up with official sizes; the guidance after it is which suit a family with young children.
| Room | Size | Sleeps | View and layout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Room | 24 m² | 2 adults | A large window front, no view specified |
| Superior Room | 34 m² | 2 adults | Pool, lazy river or garden view; furnished balcony or terrace |
| Deluxe Room | 45 m² | 2 adults + 1 child | Pool, lazy river or garden view; furnished balcony or terrace |
| Family Suite | 55 m² | 2 adults + 2 children | King bedroom and a separate twin room; pool, promenade or souk view |
| Family Junior Suite | 68 m² | 2 adults + 2 children | King bedroom and a living room with two sofa beds; pool, promenade or souk view |
| Aqua Suite | 70 m² | 2 adults + 2 children | King bedroom, a separate twin room and a living area; pool or promenade view |
| Accessible Room | 45 m² | 2 adults + 1 child | Deluxe layout adapted for mobility; pool or garden view |
The two entry rooms, the Standard at 24m² and the Superior at 34m², sleep two adults, so with a child in tow you'll be looking higher up. The Superior is the first tier with a pool, lazy river or garden view from a furnished balcony or terrace, and it's where a rollaway bed first becomes available on request, alongside the cot. The Deluxe at 45m² adds one child. For a family of four, the choice is between three suites. The Family Suite at 55m² is the entry family room, with a king bedroom and a separate twin room, so there's a door to shut on a sleeping child. The Family Junior Suite at 68m² swaps the twin room for a living room with two sofa beds, which gives more shared space but no second bedroom. The Aqua Suite at 70m² is the largest, with a king bedroom, a separate twin room and a living area, the most room for four. A "promenade or souk view" means looking out over the Art Promenade and its Magic Souk marketplace rather than the pools.
Every room has Egyptian cotton bed linen, a marble bathroom with a walk-in shower, a mini bar, an in-room safe, a 32-inch television, air conditioning and a hairdryer. Wi-Fi is free throughout, with two devices covered in the room from Deluxe upwards. All the rooms are smoke-free, with smoking allowed on balconies only. Cots are available on request in the Superior and Deluxe rooms; they aren't confirmed for the Standard room, so ask at booking if you need one there. Five of the rooms are adapted for mobility, to the Deluxe layout.
Pools and water features
Set apart from the aqua park, the resort has five pools covering 2,600m², open from 8am to sunset, plus the 400m lazy river that circles the pool area and is a consistent favourite in reviews for a slow float around the resort. There are two children's pools, shallow and separate from the main pools and the aqua park. Up on the roof are two adults-only Aqua Relax pools, reached by lift, with bar and butler service, so parents can swim away from the family pools. There's also the aqua park's own pool at the foot of the slides, 120cm deep, with Magic Palappa alongside it.
There's no lifeguard on duty at the pools, so children need supervising at all times. Some guests find the main pool cool, with one reviewer measuring it at around 22°C in May, so the aqua park pool and the children's pools tend to be the warmer options, and the rooftop pools are adults only.
The aqua park
The aqua park is a certified water park at the heart of the resort, with a set of slides for older children and adults and a Pirate Ship playground for the youngest. The one rule to plan around is height. Every slide needs a child to be at least 120cm tall, and the Pirate Ship is the only feature open to those below it. The Family Slide, wide enough for three or four riders together on a raft, is the most family-friendly of the tall slides once children reach the height.
| Feature | What it is |
|---|---|
| Space Bowl | An 8.5m-wide bowl you spiral down into |
| Family Slide | Over 2m wide, for three or four riders together on inflatable rafts |
| Free Fall Slides | Steep, near-vertical drop slides |
| Tube Slide | An enclosed tube slide |
| Straight Inner Tube Slide | An open-top slide ridden on an inner tube |
| Curved Inner Turbo Tube | A covered, 360-degree circular tube |
| Pirate Ship | A water playground, and the only aqua park feature for children under 120cm |
The aqua park runs in two sessions, 10am to 1pm and 2.30pm to 5pm, closing over the middle of the day, so it's about five and a half hours of slide time in all. As at the pools, there's no lifeguard on duty and children must be supervised throughout; freshwater showers and towels are provided.
The beach
The beach is a private stretch of sand, and it's the resort's main compromise: it isn't at the hotel. You reach it on foot along the ALDAU Art Promenade to the sister ALDAU Beach Hotel, about 700m away, along a promenade that looks flat. That walk is the drawback reviewers mention most, and it's worth picturing before you book, especially with a pushchair and young children. Some guests mention a resort golf buggy being available for the promenade run, though it isn't confirmed on the resort's official site and may not run to a set timetable, so ask about it on the day rather than counting on it.
Guests describe the sand and the water well once you're there. Egypt doesn't take part in the Blue Flag scheme, so no beach here carries that particular water-quality mark, which is a country-wide thing rather than anything about this stretch.
Babies and toddlers
The kids club and childcare, everything that fills a family day and the days out beyond the gate.
The kids club is the Magic Tots Kids Club, and guests speak warmly of it, with one first-hand reviewer singling out how well the team got on with the children. Confirm the ages it takes, the hours it runs and the cost with the resort before you count on it. There's also a separate Teen Club for older children, and babysitting is listed as available. Supervised activities, a children's play area and a game room are listed too.
For very young children the water sits in three places: the Pirate Ship playground in the aqua park, the two shallow children's pools, and the kids corner at the main buffet, where child-height food stations let them serve themselves. Cots are on request in the Superior and Deluxe rooms, as noted above. The daily entertainment includes an animation team that reviewers mention, though the resort doesn't publish a schedule, so check what's on when you arrive.
Sport, spa and the seaThings to do
Beyond the pools, the all-inclusive covers a good range of sport: table tennis, darts, beach volleyball, football, billiards and a jogging and Nordic walking track, plus an arcade and game room, with tennis courts on the wider complex. The gym has modern cardio and resistance equipment, though one reviewer felt it was small for a resort of this size.
Several things cost extra on top of the board. The Ilios Dive Club runs from the resort's own marina, PADI and SSI certified, with Nitrox, 23m dive boats and children's diving equipment, alongside water sports from banana boats, kayaks and flying ringo rides to pedalos, waterskiing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding, windsurfing and glass-bottom boat tours. The spa, Planet Spa, is shared with the ALDAU Beach Hotel and open daily from 9am to 8pm, with massages, holistic treatments, body scrubs, a Pharaoh massage, hammam rituals and facials, all charged separately.
The golf is more unusual for a water park resort. It's a real 9-hole pitch and putt, a par-3 course laid out by Harradine Golf on Seashore Paspalum, a salt-tolerant turf suited to a coastal course, with 7 bunkers and a total length of 569m off the white men's tees or 470m off the red women's tees. It's floodlit for evening play, with a clubhouse holding a pro shop, changing rooms and showers. It isn't mini-golf: you need a green card or handicap and there's an ability check, so it's an offering for an adult or experienced golfer rather than something children can just turn up and play, and it's charged on top of the all-inclusive. Evening entertainment carries on beyond the resort at the Elements Night Club and The Arena on the shared promenade.
Beyond the resortThe area and days out
Hurghada is Egypt's main Red Sea resort city, a purpose-built strip running for miles along the coast, light on historic sights but strong on the sea and its reefs. From the resort, the central location puts Senzo Mall, the shops of the tourist promenade and the New Marina, about 4.3 miles away with its restaurants and a dolphin show, within a short taxi ride.
On the water, the day trip most families take is Giftun Island, also known as Mahmya, a national-park island about 6.8 miles offshore and one of Egypt's best-known snorkelling and beach days. Glass-bottom and speedboat trips and diving excursions run from the resort's Ilios centre. Further afield, Luxor and its temples are a long day out by coach, around a four-hour drive, or a short internal flight, better suited to a longer stay than a first family week.
Loves and gripes
What guests rate and what frustrates them, how it compares, the journey in, the weather and one note from its past.
Steigenberger Aqua Magic is one of the higher-rated large resorts in Hurghada: around 4.8 out of 5 on Google across more than 35,000 reviews, 5.5 out of 6 on HolidayCheck from over 11,000 reviews with 96% recommending it and 4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor across about 10,800 reviews, where it sits 69th of Hurghada's 333 hotels. The picture across those sources is consistent, so read the themes below as the settled view rather than any single stay.
What families love
- The staff, the most consistent praise across the review sites.
- The cleanliness of the resort.
- The pools and aqua park together, slides for children and a lazy river and rooftop pools for the adults.
- The food at Magic Orient, Magic Palappa and Magic Sky.
- The warmth of the kids club team.
- The short airport transfer, and how practical the family rooms are, down to small touches like a kettle.
Common gripes
- The main pool running cool, measured at around 22°C by one guest in May.
- A gym one reviewer found small for a resort of this size.
- Busy public spaces during the school holidays, a 715-room resort at capacity.
- The 700m walk along the promenade to the beach.
- Diving, golf, some water sports and the S-Square restaurants costing extra.
- No lifeguard on duty at the pools or the aqua park.
How it compares
The closest comparison is next door. The Steigenberger ALDAU Beach Hotel is the beach-front sibling, and it's named best overall family hotel in Egypt in Mumsnet's round-up. Aqua Magic is the waterpark-focused one of the pair, sharing the same promenade and the same beach, so the choice between them is a water park and pools here against a calmer, beach-front base there.
Further down the coast, Jaz Aquaviva at Makadi Bay is the resort to weigh if the water park itself is the whole point. Its Makadi Water World is far bigger, with around 50 slides and a lifeguard at the top and bottom of each one, and the resort is smaller at 487 rooms. It sits about 45 minutes from the airport, though, against Aqua Magic's 10, and it doesn't have the promenade complex or the golf course. So Jaz Aquaviva wins on slide count and lifeguards, Aqua Magic on the short transfer and the wider complex around it.
Getting there and the seasonGetting there and when to go
Hurghada International Airport is about 6km from the resort, roughly 10 minutes by road, one of the shortest transfers in Hurghada. Transfers are usually arranged through your tour operator or the hotel, and taxis are easy to find at the airport. Flights from the UK take around five to six hours, with charter airlines flying to Hurghada through the year. Check-in is from 3pm and check-out is by noon.
The resort is open year-round. October to April is the comfortable window, warm rather than fierce, with a sea around 21 to 26°C. May and September are hot but manageable, and quieter. June to August is very hot, up to 36 to 38°C, and the busiest time with the UK school summer holidays, though the pools and aqua park are the obvious answer to that heat. November to March are the coolest months, still warm by UK standards, with a sea some find brisk.
UK passport holders need a visa for Egypt. You can buy a tourist e-visa online before you travel, valid for up to three months, or a visa on arrival at the airport, which costs 30 US dollars in cash and is valid for up to 30 days. The visa-free arrangement that covers short stays at Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba doesn't apply to Hurghada, so you'll need one of these visas here.
Check the FCDO advice before you travel
Government travel advice for Egypt can change, so read the FCDO's Egypt travel advice page yourself before you book and again close to travel, and take out travel insurance that covers the whole trip. That page sets out any areas the FCDO advises against travelling to and the current safety position for the Red Sea resorts, so it's the thing to check rather than relying on a summary here.
Weather
Hurghada has some of the most reliable sunshine of any family destination, around 3,530 hours a year, more than the Canary Islands, and rain is negligible all year. The figures below are long-term monthly averages, framed for choosing when to go with young children.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22.5° | 11.5° | 0 mm | 0 | 23° |
| February | 23.5° | 12.5° | 0 mm | 0 | 22° |
| March | 26.5° | 15° | 1 mm | 0 | 22° |
| April | 30° | 18.5° | 0 mm | 0 | 23° |
| May | 34° | 23° | 0 mm | 0 | 25° |
| June | 36.5° | 26° | 0 mm | 0 | 27° |
| July | 37.5° | 28° | 0 mm | 0 | 28° |
| August | 37.5° | 28° | 0 mm | 0 | 29° |
| September | 35.5° | 26° | 0 mm | 0 | 28° |
| October | 32° | 22° | 5 mm | 0 | 27° |
| November | 28° | 17.5° | 6 mm | 0 | 26° |
| December | 24° | 13.5° | 0 mm | 0 | 25° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer. The resort is open year-round.
The 2018 incident
In August 2018 a British couple died at the resort. The deaths were investigated by Egyptian authorities and others, and no cause attributable to the hotel's systems was established, with no specific travel advisory arising from it since. It's part of the resort's history rather than a current concern, and it's included here so the picture is complete.
Questions
The things families ask most, the official pages worth a bookmark and when this guide was last refreshed.
How tall does my child need to be for the water slides?
The main slides all need a child to be at least 120cm tall. Below that height the only aqua park feature they can use is the Pirate Ship water playground, alongside the two children's pools. Measure your child before you book if the slides are the main draw, because plenty of four to six-year-olds won't reach 120cm yet.
Is the beach right by the hotel?
No. It's a private sandy beach about 700m along the ALDAU Art Promenade at the sister ALDAU Beach Hotel, not on the doorstep. The promenade looks flat, though it's a walk to picture with a pushchair. If stepping straight onto sand matters, the beach-front ALDAU Beach Hotel next door is set up for that.
How long is the airport transfer?
About 6km, roughly 10 minutes by road, so you're not facing a long coach ride at the end of the flight with tired children. Taxis wait at the airport too if you haven't booked a transfer in advance.
What are the kids club hours and ages?
The resort doesn't publish the Magic Tots club's ages, hours or cost, so email or call to confirm them before you travel, especially if you're relying on a session at a set time or have a particular age in mind.
Can we get a cot for a baby?
Cots are available on request in the Superior and Deluxe rooms. They aren't confirmed for the entry-level Standard room, so if you book a Standard and need a cot, ask the resort to confirm it before you pay.
Is there anywhere for parents to swim in peace?
Yes. Two adults-only Aqua Relax pools sit on the roof, reached by lift, with bar and butler service. They give you a quiet swim while older children are on the slides or at the kids club.
Which rooms sleep a family of four?
The Family Suite at 55m², the Family Junior Suite at 68m² and the Aqua Suite at 70m² each sleep two adults and two children. The Family Suite and the Aqua Suite have a separate twin bedroom, so you can shut a door on a sleeping child; the Junior Suite uses sofa beds in the living room instead.
Do we need a visa, and is it safe?
UK passport holders need a visa: an e-visa online in advance, valid up to three months, or one on arrival for 30 US dollars in cash, valid up to 30 days. Hurghada isn't covered by the visa-free exception that applies at Sharm El Sheikh and the Sinai resorts. Check the FCDO's Egypt travel advice before you book and again before you travel.
Can a beginner or a child try diving?
Yes. The on-site Ilios Dive Club is PADI and SSI certified and keeps children's diving equipment, so introductory dives are usually possible. It's a paid extra on top of the all-inclusive, so ask about prices and any minimum age at the dive centre when you arrive.
Are all the à la carte restaurants included?
Not quite. The three Magic à la carte restaurants are included once each per stay, and only on a stay of five nights or more, so a shorter break can't use them for free. The three S-Square restaurants on the promenade always cost extra, at a 25% discount. Book the included dinners early, as tables are limited.
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Useful links
- Steigenberger Aqua Magic: the resort's own site for rooms, dining, the aqua park and what's included. The full address is Youssef Afifi Road, Al Mamsha El Seyahi, Hurghada, Red Sea Governorate 84111, Egypt, and the resort's phone is +20 65 3465200.
- GOV.UK Egypt travel advice: entry rules, visas and safety updates before you travel.
- Hurghada with little ones: our guide to the wider resort city, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 17 July 2026. Opening venues, activity charges and travel advice change, so check the current position before you book.
