All the same Egypt
We returned from Hurghada last night. For the first time we came to Egypt with my daughter in 1999, at the Marlin Inn hotel. We went in February, in Kyiv it was snowing, cold, and arrived in the summer. for the first time there was euphoria from the hotel and from Egypt and from excursions. There were no charters yet and the plane flew first to Cairo - there were 2-3 days, then to Hurghada - for rest and excursions. The next year, they persuaded dad to go - the whole family went. Then they began to go every year, I liked it so much. My daughter especially liked it, she and her husband began to travel - he also liked Egypt, they experimented with hotels, but Marlin was the best (price-quality) and returned there again. My husband and I began to travel to Thailand more. In 2007, a granddaughter was born. Began to think where it is possible to go with the child. In Marlin, repairs are no longer available. Tai - far - dite will not stand it. We decided to go to Egypt. In September 2008 we went to Sunny Days El Palacio 5 stars. So: we flew from the tess of the tour, recently the tess for Egypt have been working quite well. The hotel was chosen carefully. In September there were a lot of people! the hotel was 120% full - a few of ours, a few Germans and very hungry Poles, Poles, Poles. It was terrible. In the dining room, they pulled out spoons, dishes, queues for 40 minutes. All inclusive - on the beach only beer, no wine, all the time arguing with the bartender. or there is no wine, or there is no opener or no glasses, and when they complained to the manager, the wine appeared, but they poured half a glass, you have to stand in line to take something: juice, cola, alcohol. VERY boorish attitude of bartenders on the beach to Russian speakers . in Russian, even if you speak English, they may not pay attention, and they also sold bottles of alcohol, so they didn’t want to pour it. The first time I encountered this, or they talk on the phone for 5.10, 15 minutes, and the people stand and wait ! and I, with a child in my arms (because he is bored to stand and he strives to climb somewhere), stand and wait for juice, and this impudent Arab sees that the people are standing, and some with children and zero attention! and once he just started to scoff when I asked for apple juice, he says, it’s over, I ask for another, too, then there is no glass, (and the child is in his arms). Even the Germans could not stand it, they began to swear with him! I went and complained to the manager - immediately the juice appeared and glasses!
The dining room (I don’t dare to call it a restaurant) is always full of queues, the tables are all occupied whenever you come, there are no appliances, they begged for cucumbers and tomatoes for breakfast, because. we don’t eat cabbage, cabbage and carrots are from salads, since the waiters liked us, and they brought us that meat. sometimes vegetables, sometimes fruits, otherwise you would have to chew unboiled and poorly cooked muck, everything is very overcooked, or half-cooked, smelly fish, fruits - one kind of green orange or unwashed quince. In general, a paragraph! The room was cleaned by a Negro (not an Arab). Once they came - he cleans - he tries - he says give me money for cleaning well, my husband gave 2 dollars, he was so offended that he gave so little, and immediately left, even forgot the mop, they didn’t give him more money, baksheesh didn’t affect at all on the quality of cleaning. Bedding and towels changed every day.
Lagoon: the water is muddy, rubbish is floating (onion husks, watermelon and melon peels, etc. ) although the fish swim, the music is very, very loud and for those who want a little silence or with small children, it is better to lie down at the end of the lagoon or on beach with corals.
Sea It is certainly a "wonderful song". pays for all the shortcomings! You need to take slippers for walking along the corals (but you can buy it nearby in the store) - you can cut your legs - a mask and a tube. at low tide the water is knee-deep, at high tide it is chest-deep, at the end of the beach it is deep, but there are many fish, hedgehogs, corals, and various living creatures in shallow water, and especially at depth. I took bread from the canteen and fed the fish from my hands. This can only be done in Thailand. The sea, of course, pays for everything. The Red Sea is one of the most diving. The clearest water and tame fish. And the fish-dogs play like that! The only huge plus!
There is no internet in the hotel! We went to the city to Marlin Inn and worked on the Internet there.
We realized that it is IMPOSSIBLE to go there during the season! And in general, the management of the hotel has changed and the “Russians” have been treated very boorishly and familiarly (especially the lower staff), which is very annoying. Therefore, this year we decided to go to Marlin - the repair seemed to be over, but we contacted friends and they said, book at another hotel. Of the 800 places, 130 are filled. Repairs are still underway. Tez tour bought the entire Marlin Inn and gives a penny to the hotel, and it has a big rise on tours, so the hotel has the strictest savings. There is no food, although people from the Urals like it. But we still remember that Marlin! So with frustrated feelings began to think where to go. We chose the Grand Hotel. I hasten to say that I did not regret it.
Have read the reviews. We found out that the worst thing is that they demand a fee for a normal settlement. We decided to eat. Rested from 15 to 30 May.
Arrived normally, crowds of people at the airport. For + 5-10 dollars to the visa, local Arabs offer a VIP passage, but since we were 4 adults, we stood in several queues and while one passes it’s time to run to the second, in short, we managed in 30 minutes. I leave the building with a suitcase - customs says - a large suitcase - let's look. I told him - there is food for the baby, no, come on. I cut the film on the suitcase, opened it, rummaged around and saw baby food (we took EVERYTHING with us) and says let's baksheesh! I tell him why? And for taking the film off the suitcase! Well, we laughed and went to the bus. The hotel was brought quickly. We filled out the cards, received the keys to the rooms, wrote down the numbers on the suitcases - (we were told that the rooms overlook the garden and pool) and went to look. It turned out that the building is far away, but the territory is very beautiful and green, walking is a pleasure, but the view is... construction and Arabs looking through the windows and garbage, and even on the 3rd floor, which is hard with a child - there are no elevators.
My daughter and my husband went to change the room, and my son-in-law and I stayed to wait for the porter to tell us where to go to the new room and feed and change the child. They fed me, changed clothes, mine came - they say for $ 10 (they demanded at the reception! ) They gave other rooms. We went there, and the porter was standing near the reception and waiting. Those. they have such a practice - the Slavs are settled on a construction site in order to take money for the settlement. They don't joke with the Germans like that - if there is the slightest violation of the rights of the Germans, they write a complaint and adju. And the "Russians" spoiled. Lots of rooms available, not many people. Right after the holidays. Numbers from 23-25 people have increased a lot especially with children. Mostly Germans. The hotel management is German, there is no boorish attitude towards guests. In general, very few places are allocated for the Slavs, if there are free ones, the hotel is German.
From the bad (if you really find fault): There is no elevator, even a cargo one, they dragged their suitcases themselves. In the rooms, the service is unimportant - they repaired the safe for 4 days, sometimes you have to go yourself for shampoo, towels, napkins, they give you immediately and apologize. The rooms are cleaned unimportantly and they come to clean during rest hours, when we slept with the child, so as not to clean. Mosquitoes are poisoned, but there are a lot of them - small children are bitten, and there are a lot of them in the rooms - we took fumigators. At sea, boats smell of gasoline and a film on the water in the evening, but if the tide is high, if the tide is low, this is not. All! nothing more bad!
Everything else is just good! If something is bad - Tell the guide - they will do it.
The staff on the beach is not arrogant, they behave culturally - they flirt with Russian aunts who are looking for entertainment, they do not allow themselves anything like that with the rest. The beach is huge, rooms on umbrellas - you won't get lost. Plenty of umbrellas and sunbeds no need to run early in the morning. We came at 9-9.30 and took good seats. Beach towels in the room, ie. at 17 o’clock you don’t have to take it and no one kicks you out of the beach – you lie down as long as you want. The sea is normal, clean, the entrance is sandy, sloping, the fish swim simple, they can be fed with bread, but they often bite. The first week the water was cool 22-23, the second week brought warming up to 24-25 degrees. There are 2 slides on the beach - EVERYONE rides! , 2 large swimming pools. There is a fish restaurant, but a bit pricey. The hotel has free internet and billiards. You can pay on the territory of the hotel by bank transfer, which is convenient - you don’t have to carry money with you - I signed the check, took a copy. Music does not interfere on the beach, the animation is good and not intrusive. Italians. They work very well for both children and adults. They hold a children's disco, and then the singers sing for adults. Or a show. There is a diving school. The territory is large and green and beautiful. There are playgrounds and a games room. For children, free drinks on the beach and free feeding at lunch are very decent! Nearby there are shops with water, beer, liquor, duty free, many cafes, an expensive pharmacy - there are cheaper ones nearby.
The restaurant is a separate story. My family is very sensitive to food and this is one of the most decisive factors for us. RESTAURANTS 2. One European - chef - Europeans. Second east. Breakfasts are the same - in both restaurants - potatoes, pasta, cutlets or meat or bacon - variety, scrambled eggs, eggs, yogurt pancakes and much more, and for dinner different goodies like lamb on a spit, baked lambs, turkeys, chickens, beef, rice, pasta, 2 types of soups, several times there was delicious red fish, dor blue cheese almost every day, cold snacks - in general, this variety affects the figure, cold salads - you can’t count everything. Fruits - apples, peaches, apricots, watermelons, melons , sweet varieties 20 + oriental sweets. In general, the restaurant can be described half a day. The most important thing is that you can bring water and other drinks to the hotel, but not brazenly, but hidden in your purse, no one climbs into bags, and you can take out fruit and other food from the restaurant, but also not insolently, but putting it in an opaque bag . Many Germans picked up cheese cutlets and buns for breakfast and dined on the beach.
In the first week of our vacation, there were few people and the restaurant was free, for 2 weeks a lot of people with children and old people (from 55 to 85 years old) came and the youth came to the cellar. And we had to stand in line for a bit - 10 minutes, but no more!
Across the road is the Grand Resort Hotel - 5 stars. The territory is very beautiful - you can walk freely and eat there too, but for money. The hotel is all inclusive. Beautiful fountains, cafes, etc.
Since we were with a child, we only went fishing. With Teztour for $ 40 according to the program, they caught and swam fish, and then they decided to rent a boat themselves and go fishing - which they regretted - they got sick, and they didn’t catch almost any fish, but they paid $ 220 for the day, but they were alone on boat.
A lot more could be written, but one thing I can say is that the hotel is good, you can go with small children and with big and young and not so. If you are interested in anything else - write - I will answer. I'm picky, but I love this!
