Хургада. Хороший отель-четверка. Hurghada. A good quadruple hotel.

I would like to share my impressions about the hotel where I stayed this year. Egypt, Hurghada, Ali Baba Hotel 4*. I was there with my wife and son for 3.5 years from 11 to 25 August 2008. We flew from Yekaterinburg, the All Inklusiv package for 14 days cost us about 110 thousand rubles for three of us. For Egypt and for a 4 * hotel it seems a little expensive. Operator – Tez Tour.
The flight took about 5.5 hours. Arrived in Hurghada around 2 am. Customs cleared fairly quickly. Visa - $15. My wife has a child in her passport, but the visa is still $ 15, as for one, for some reason they did not take a child.
What pleasantly struck me - at the airport on the forecourt there are a lot of TezTurov flags. Flags of any other tour operators have not seen. It feels like you have arrived in the country of TezTour. In the parking lot, half of the meeting buses with the TezTour logo, although the plane was prefabricated from different operators, means half of the tourists from this tour operator.

Our bus was almost completely packed, about 40 - 50 people. Of all the passengers on the bus, only two families got off at the TITANIK 4 * hotel, everyone else was brought to our hotel. This suggests that the hotel is in demand. We flew in with friends, four families with children at once.
They issued us at the reception quickly, we found the way to the room according to the signs along the paths. But we waited for our suitcase for 40-45 minutes. All this time, we were waiting, cursing, because. I wanted to change into something light, wash up and go to bed, but the clothes were in that suitcase. Apparently, this guy from the hall, who delivers the suitcases, picked up several at once, so as not to go once again, and delivered them one by one in reverse chronology, i. e. if we were the very first to settle in the room, then our suitcase was at the very bottom of the cart and arrived last to us. They gave him a £.1 tip and he left. And then another pepper appeared, who brought us another set of linen for the sofa and helped us spread out the sofa. Naturally, he also wanted a tip, also 1 pound.
The hotel room is standard Double. Water is replenished daily in the minibar. Safe at reception. We lived on the first floor and instead of a balcony we had access to a footpath and a playground. This is very convenient: you don’t need to go around the building through the door, but just went straight to the site and the pool and slammed the glass door. By the way, about the doors. Once my wife went out through the glass balcony door and slammed it, leaving the key in the room, and the front door closed with a lock and a chain. I turned to the reception, a man came and within 10 seconds opened the door with his key, and the bonnet with an ordinary cardboard box.
The room had two single beds and a small sofa. We decided to move the beds together so that the son would sleep between us and not file at night, but it turned out that the bedside table between the beds was not removed and did not move. Yes, and the backs of the bed are screwed to the wall, and the beds themselves move without backs.

A small sofa unfolds on the floor and you get another bed, but you sleep on it almost like on the floor. No one slept on it like that, but my son ran and rolled on it with pleasure.
There was only one free socket in the room, so sometimes you had to use the socket in the toilet to recharge several batteries at once (phone, photo, video), there is also one there.
The air conditioner in the room is built into the wall and blows into the center of the room, the direction of the air does not change. To prevent my son from catching a cold, I manually bent the petals of the outlet grille up into the ceiling so that air would dissipate and there would be no obvious draft.
In the bathroom, too, everything is standard. In the bath, the shower is built into the wall, cannot be removed or rotated, so you have to regulate the water temperature while standing under the stream. And you can’t wash a child without wetting his head, and some children don’t like it when water gets on their face. For some reason, there is no cork in the bath, in order to get a little water, you had to stand with your heel on the drain hole. The hygiene kit contains shampoo but no shower gels. And the existing Bodymilk, of course, does not foam and is very thick, it does not shake out. On the toilet, the toilet seat does not keep up, falls, men have to lift it and hold it, or not raise it at all. A bidet-type hose sticks out of the wall next to the toilet. But there is only one valve and the temperature is not regulated (the water is quite cool). But if, with all this, you remember that you live in a 4 * hotel, then you begin to relate to these little things easier. The main thing is that there are Russian channels on TV and a foreign channel with cartoons for children.

The room was not cleaned every day, the maid was lazy. On our tag on the door "Clean the room", which we hung when leaving for the beach, did not react in any way. And as soon as we returned from the beach to the room in order to wash and lie down for half an hour before lunch or dinner, he immediately appeared from somewhere and asked if we needed to clean the room. Looks like you didn't see the tag. Naturally, we wanted to rest and said that it was not necessary now, to which he said thanks and left until the next day. The next day he appeared without us and changed part of the towels and part of the bed linen. Moreover, he could leave only two bath towels for three, but not for the legs at all. Ah and shampoos at all not renewed. And this despite the fact that we left him a tip of 1 pound. And only when we began to leave a tip of $ 1, the cleaning became better ($ 1 is 5 pounds).
The rest of our friends at the reception gave some dollars and they were all settled together closer to the beach. And we were almost at the main building. But this is better, because. during the day we went to the beach twice a day (before lunch and after lunch), but towards the main building much more often: breakfast, lunch and dinner, sit in the lobby, to the safe, to the guides, to the children's room, to Internet, animation, playground, hookah bar in the evening, etc. All this was near us, and friends had to come here more often.
The hotel area is very large, from the main building (where the reception and restaurants, there are no residential rooms) to stomp to the beach far enough, about 500 meters, I measured in the satellite program. Residential buildings are mostly two-, but there are also three-storey buildings. A very large swimming pool (more than 160 m long) with sun loungers and umbrellas was stretched across the territory. Beautiful and interesting. But it is unrealistic to take a place, because. Everything has been busy since early morning. And there are plenty of places on the beach. We came to the beach at about 8-30 in the morning and calmly took a place near the water so that you could see how our son was playing. There, on the beach, adults can also play volleyball, some other game with balls, sit in a bar, drink tea, coffee or beer and juices. In the pool you can play water polo with one goal.
On the territory there is a beach bar and a pool bar where you can order without getting out of the water. If you wish, you can visit some kind of health club near the reception (massage, peeling, masks, manicure-pedicure, etc. ). A man constantly sits nearby and makes henna tattoos for everyone, when he leaves, he updates them for free.
Also, there is enough greenery on the territory: huge flowering bushes, date palms with fruits, cacti. In general, it's beautiful.

Every evening during dinner at the main building, children's animation was held. But the program was the same. In the lobby, if you climb the stairs to the 2nd floor, there is a children's room with toys, where children can draw with paints and felt-tip pens under the supervision of animators.
On the ground floor there is a room with computers for Internet access (1 minute - 1 pound, minimum 15 minutes), slot machines, table football, American billiards. At the entrance to this hall there is a large information stand of various tour operators.
In the evenings, animations for adults are held on a stage on an island in the center of the pool, both just performances and with the participation of vacationers. During the day for adults - all sorts of belly dancing and exercises in the water and near the water.
Currency exchange at the hotel can be done at the exchange office from some bank, which is located right there in the lobby, money is not changed at the reception. You can withdraw money from an ATM, which is also in the hotel. But for the entire period of rest, I saw this ATM working only 3-4 times. With difficulty, I managed to withdraw money, they are never there. Either it is rarely filled or emptied very quickly.
The hotel has three restaurants: one for smokers and two smaller ones for non-smokers. We went to two of them, the menu is the same everywhere. There were constant queues in all restaurants, both at opening and periodically during lunch and dinner, there were not enough places. Cooked well, but the side dish is almost one rice and potatoes in large chunks. Drinks in restaurants and bars are simple, not natural, but you can drink. There are vending machines with different types of coffee. Tea in the bars you make your own teabags of your choice. Beer is so-so, but for lack of a better drink you can. There is one problem in bars - there are not enough dishes. Either there are no cups for tea and coffee, or spoons, or saucers, or glasses for juice.

I took red wine both on tap and in bottles for a fee, also nothing special, so-so. I'm not a gourmet, so it suited me. I practically didn’t take strong drinks, I didn’t feel like it in the heat, but the choice was not bad. Fruit in the restaurants included unripe melons, wood quince, unwashed grapes, and sticky dates. And right there, waiters walked between the tables, offering beautifully cut slices of ripe red watermelon for 10 pounds, various fresh juices for 16 pounds. If you give a banknote of 20 pounds, then they don’t bring change, they consider it a tip by default. If you hold out a 50 pound note, you will only receive 30 pound change. Fresh fruits were also sold in the lobby: bananas, mangoes, oranges, apples, etc. You can also buy ice cream and fresh juices for a fee.
By the way, there were cases of food poisoning in the hotel, it is not clear from what. But right there at the hotel there is a medical center that works with insurance policies. So it's enough to call the policy and they will already be waiting for you at the first-aid post. You can approach the guide and he will show you everything, or ask at the reception how to get there, it's around the corner. There is a person sitting at the reception, he understands Russian quite well. But the doctor will not come to the room, you need to go to him, although everything is nearby.
Russian speakers in the hotel was about a third of all. Another third were Poles, and the rest were mostly Germans. Moreover, the Germans are mostly aged 40-50, while the Russian-speaking and Poles are from 20 to 40 years old and with children.
Opposite across the street from the hotel, Titanik Hotel has a nice water park. There was a bus from our beach every 15-20 minutes. The water park ticket price is $30 but we had one free entry to the water park, we loved it. There are many slides for adults and a couple of children's pools with slides and waterfalls. Definitely recommend to visit. It is better to take a beach towel with you. From the water park you can go to your hotel for lunch, and then return, you just need to warn at the exit that you will return.

There are two more hotels of the same owner nearby: Aladdin 4* and Jasmine 4*. You can visit the territory of all these hotels. Aladdin has a narrow and long territory, while Jasmine, like Ali Baba, is quite wide. But the pools in those hotels are small. In Jasmine there are monkeys and rabbits in cages, as well as some other pens, but they were empty, apparently, the animals do not survive in the heat. In the same place, a train goes to the beach on the territory, for free, the children just ride back and forth. Aladdin has a nice playground with slides. Upon prior reservation, you can visit the restaurants of these hotels at your reception. Our friends went, but they said that the menu is about the same everywhere. Drinks in the bars on the beach can be taken in any hotel.
A good sandy beach near the Jasmine hotel, some people go there. Aladdin's beach is bad - only stones. At our hotel, the bottom of the sea is sandy, but the entrance itself is not very good - about a two-meter strip along the shore of crushed sea stone. But among these stones, the hotel workers cleared two entrances to the sea and you can enter quite safely for your feet. By the way, the hotel sells special slippers for swimming, they cost about 10 pounds. There are also fins-masks for sale, a set for 30 pounds. You can dive, right in 30 - 40 meters among the stones you can see different fish, about 10 - 15 species of fish live there.
There is a Russian restaurant on Aladdin Beach with Russian dishes on the menu. It is immediately visible: a red flag and a hammer and sickle, inscriptions in Russian, Russian music. In the evening, everything is illuminated.
The city of Hurghada can be reached by taxi or just by taxi. One has only to go to the checkpoint, as the guard will offer you a taxi driver. Yes, they themselves offer services, go by, slow down, including minibuses. The price of a minibus is 5 pounds, a taxi is 20 pounds, an orange taxi is 25 pounds or $5. But taxis start at $10, and when you say that you won't give more than 20 pounds, they immediately agree. The dollar exchange rate is a little more than 5 pounds, but they are rounded up everywhere. Drive to the city about 10-15 minutes.
In the city, I bought a local SIM card from the mobile operator Voda-Fon for $15, of which $5 was credited to my balance, and I topped up another $30. I had enough for vacation. The cost of a minute of conversation is about 35-40 rubles, SMS - I don’t remember, but it’s inexpensive. The store is also called VodaFon.

We did shopping for souvenirs both in the city and in shops on the road not far from the hotel, and in the hotel itself. Moreover, the prices are about the same everywhere, even in the hotel, if you bargain and take a few gifts. If the assortment in the hotel seems insufficient, then you can not go to Hurghada, and in the evening, in the cool, take a 10-minute walk to the mall. And if you take into account that you need to pay a taxi driver to the city and back, then it is more profitable to buy on the spot - in a hotel or in a shopping arcade on the road. They are located on the main road behind the checkpoint. When you exit the hotel, about 250 meters to the left, there is a mosque with a minaret, and opposite it are shops. If these shops seem to be few, you can walk another 300 meters in the same direction and there will be even more shops, some of them were built only this year. There, in principle, there is everything for gifts. Everywhere in the stores they speak Russian, there are no problems with the language. At first, the sellers seem very annoying, almost pulling you into the shops by the hand, but if you treat this easier and with understanding, then the irritation on them disappears. Each of them wants to earn money, so they try.
Two or three guides from TezTour and another person from three other operators are on duty in the lobby every day. TezTour guides are on duty from 8-00 to 10-00 and from 19-00 to 22-00, Russian and local guides. You can get any tips on the rest from them or buy excursions. The choice of excursions is quite wide. I took excursions to Cairo to the pyramids for 1 day for $80, Jerusalem for 1 day (by plane) for $370 and the Bedouin for $55. He also wanted to go to Luxor and take a boat trip, but he did not want to deprive his wife and son of his company. Because of the young age of their son, they did not dare to go anywhere. All these hotels have diving centers for amateurs.
We left the hotel in Israel the night before at 20-30, departure from Hurghada airport at 22-00, fly to the border town of Taba for 1.5 hours, then by bus about 40 minutes to the border. There is an ATM at the border in Israel, but it doesn’t work at night, you can’t withdraw money, and you don’t need to. At customs, everyone passed very quickly, except for one tourist, whose passport was checked without explanation for 40 minutes, and we all sat on the bus and waited for him. The guide said that they could delay for checking the passport up to 2 hours without explanation.
On the way there was a stop for 15 minutes - the bus stopped at a gas station, there was a toilet and a shop where they speak Russian, they take dollars. As a result, we arrived at the Dead Lake by 6-00 in the morning. By the way, the Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth - 413 meters below sea level. The place is called Enbokek. The water contains 375 grams of salt per 1 liter (in a simple sea - 35 grams). It has the highest atmospheric pressure, the air is hotter, drier and richer in oxygen.

In winter, they are brought to the Mortvoe Sea at the end of the excursion, and in summer - at the beginning, because. during the day the heat is simply unbearable, the temperature of the sea - as well. There is also a shop where they sell Dead Sea cosmetics. When buying more than $ 150 - taxfree 15% (tax refund). Nearby is a cafe where you can have a bite to eat and drink coffee, tea or cognac. If there are no sheikels, you can pay with both dollars and cards everywhere. Exchange rate: 1 dollar - a little more than 3 shekels, but in stores they round up to 3 shekels. After 2 hours at 8-00 we left for Jerusalem. In Israel, where there are tourists, everywhere they speak Russian perfectly.
Loved the Bedouin tour. On it they give a little ride on a horse, on a camel, on a quad bike, on a go-kart, ride a spider, and then feed and take them in jeeps to the desert to the Bedouins on an excursion before sunset. And finally, they will show a performance with snakes and local dances. In principle, for the price you can visit.
It makes no sense to write about an excursion to Cairo at all, enough has already been written on the Internet. The main thing I want to say is that there, on the pyramids, they are brought in the desert to the observation deck, where several people sell souvenirs. Prices there are lower than anywhere else in Hurghada, 1.5 times. This is if someone has a lot to gain. Everyone speaks Russian and easily discount prices. But at the pyramids themselves, the Arabs are arrogant. Cameras are almost pulled out of your hands, offering to take a picture of you against the background of your camel, saying that you don’t need money, it’s just like that. They will put their Bedouin headscarf on your head, give you a running cane, offer to sit on a camel. But when all this is accepted by you, then the camera is not given away until they receive money. Yes, and they ask quite a lot, 5-10 dollars each. We did not give 10 dollars for 2 frames, we agreed to give only 2 dollars, so this dunce started shouting at us, waving his arms, his eyes goggled. But there were two of us with a friend, he had to give us the camera. Even the policeman paid attention, approached him and began to say something to him. And another policeman allowed us to take a picture with him, charging us $ 1 per frame.
I drew attention to this. When leaving the hotel at night or early in the morning, dry rations were given out meager: a sandwich, a bun, an egg, one-time jam or honey. It would be possible to put a couple of small bags of juice. I took water from the room and did not regret it. I really want to drink during the day, but it’s not always available where to buy, and it’s expensive. On a trip to Jerusalem, the guide told us that you can wear any clothes, there will be no dress control anywhere. It's good that I still went in light trousers. In Jerusalem, several tourists were not allowed into the temples in shorts, they had to wrap large towels around their waists. And women had to cover their bare shoulders with towels and scarves. The local guide in Israel said it was because we got there during the services. And the guides at the hotel didn’t tell me that you need to take a towel for the Dead Sea. I just had to air dry.

Reading reviews of Hurghada, we were preparing for the fact that it would be very hot in August. But the temperature throughout the holiday was about 30 - 35 degrees.
In general, the ALI BABA hotel is not bad. Big beautiful area. Even despite the intrusive paid service and the braked Arabs, the rest left a good impression.
Have a nice holiday everyone!