In news that rocked the travel industry, tour operator Thomas Cook went into liquidation this week.
Some 150, 000 British holiday-makers were left stranded across the globe with a huge repatriation program launched to bring people home.
All future flights and package holidays with Thomas Cook have been cancelled too – and it’s not looking good for the worldwide collection of hotels owned by the travel giant.
A number of resort and hotel brands are owned by Thomas Cook, including Sent ido, Sunwing, Sunprime and Smartline.
The latest hotel brand to open under the same umbrella was Cook’s Club, a design-led but affordable hotel group aimed at the millennial generation.
Recognizing a change in appetites among young people, Thomas Cook retired its Club 18 – 30 brand late last year and switched the focus from hedonism to health.
Gone are fishbowl cocktails and all-night parties, replaced with vegetable smoothies and properly crafted drinks.
Hotel spaces are designed to be as beautiful, and as Instagram-friendly, as possible, down to the unicorn inflatables scattered across the surface of the swimming pools.
It was a huge overhaul and, on the surface of things, seemed to be successful.
The first to open in June 2018 was Cook’s Club Hersonissos, on the Greek island of Crete, with seven new hotels opening under the brand in little more than a year .
Cook’s Clubs can be found in Gambia, Turkey, Mallorca, Bulgaria, Greece and Egypt.
The latest was Cook’s Club El Gouna, located on the water’s edge of a luxurious man-made lagoon just north of Hurghada.
This hotel, on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, only opened its doors in August, and only had its launch party two weeks ago – now, before it had even got going, its future is uncertain.
On a very recent trip to the hotel, I found an understated decor of brushed concrete, Bedouin-style floor cushions, palm trees and wooden decks.
The muted gray and brown colors chosen for the hotel contrasted sharply against the piercing blue of the swimming pool, and the murky blue-green of the lagoon beyond.
Gray sunbeds around the water’s edge were as comfortable as real beds, with matching bean bag chairs scattered beneath the shade of umbrellas.
A variety of food stations , from wood-fired pizzas to fresh grilled meats to salads and burgers, were built into the ‘Cantina’ to feed guests on either a bed and breakfast or half-board basis.
Even the fitness facilities were gorgeous, dumbbells and benches carved from polished wood and presented beneath a bamboo canopy.
It’s a real looker of a hotel, and as someone sitting nicely within the target demographic of 20 to 35 years old, the appeal was obvious.
With virtually round-the-clock DJs stationed at the poolside, it was common on my trip to see the young and beautiful people of Egypt (as well as holidaymakers mostly from Germany) draped over fruit-shaped inflatables sipping on Aperol spritzes .
A huge sign at the poolside had light-hearted messages such as: “Keep your fluids – in certain circumstances, the exchange of body fluids may be a good idea but … spit, snot and pee do not belong in the pool! “
El Gouna itself is a network of 36 twisting and interconnected islands, all made by hand only three decades ago by construction company Orascom.
The desert was carved away to entice the ocean in, and now the resort boasts three huge marinas, two golf courses, 11 spas and around 2600 hotel rooms – all under a blanket of year-round sunshine.
Tuk tuks crawl over the resort like colorful bugs, whisking visitors around for a mere 15 Egyptian pounds (around £ 1 sterling) per person per trip.
Popular restaurants include Morgan’s Beach Restaurant, where all-you-can-eat seafood buffets showcased some of the best seafood in the region, and Captain’s Inn Steak House, where dishes were presented sizzling.
Day trips to the uninhabited island of Mahmya, where pristine coral reefs are surrounded by dusty mountains, are plentiful and worthwhile.
Boats frequently make trips to ‘ Dolphin House ‘too, a patch of the Red Sea where dolphins swim alongside snorkellers and effortlessly overtake luxury yachts.
All of these trips and more were arranged easily and quickly in typical package holiday style by a Thomas Cook rep, popping up at the hotel in his sunny yellow uniform and speaking proudly of the 178 – year-old company he worked for.
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Due to open in El Gouna this November was Casa Cook, another Thomas Cook-owned hotel brand with a similar design aesthetic but an even more luxurious travel experience.
It’s not yet clear what will happen to the Cook’s Club hotels, and to the Casa Cook group.
The arrival of these two brands – Cook’s Club and Casa Cook – gave Thomas Cook a 21 st century update – though it appears to have been too little, too late to save the travel giant.
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