At the airport for a visa still paid $ 27, although we know exactly what it costs $ 25)) Enjoy the moment and excitement among those who have just arrived)). . You are in the mood to argue and defend your right, we did not ...Although there is no point in rushing to the bus, it will leave only when it picks up everyone who arrived on the list. Be prepared that from the airport to the hotel to go another hour from Pence only Hotel Utopia-you have the opportunity to walk through their territory, go to their beach, the reception. As for their sunbeds and warm pool on the beach, I will not say for sure.
Right at the reception you are offered to change rooms for the best for $ 10 per day from the room. We had booked bungalows.
Probably the oldest hotel buildings, the area around them is a bit run-down, but it is being actively restored and landscaped, the furniture is old but new tiles on the floor, replaced faucets, tube TVs, there are several Russian channels to the beach, although far from restaurant and reception. A matter of taste, we were all satisfied. Our friends promptly moved to rooms in the building, for an additional fee. Yes, the rooms are newer, more spacious, even bed linen, sheets look more expensive. There are flat-screen TVs, the bathroom is decorated better, from the balcony overlooking the pool. Large unheated pool, bar works, seems to have ice cream, but not exactly not visited.
There are no mosquitoes, flies on the beach, disinsection every night. Poles who rest there constantly, come with fly swatters)) - take into account. Another life hack was windy, as warned. .
If you take a place near the barn, where beach towels are issued, there is no wind at all, there was a strong wind closer to the sea for a couple of days, it seems only a few rows of sunbeds, and the difference is noticeable. For almost a week lunch was held in a restaurant on the beach, it's great.
FOOD. A question that worries many. Given that this is not our first time in Egypt, and not even the seventh ... , I take the courage to say that the food is quite acceptable, a solid 4. Maybe someone lacks variety, but given the cost, good. You are offered a lunch break to order seafood for dinner on a separate menu, for an additional fee, we took grilled shrimp, cooked in a sauce of 15 euros per serving (about 0.5 kg), delicious. Fresh juices on the beach for an extra charge. Vegetables - fresh, stewed, fruits, chicken, beef - every day, cheap fish - often, last winter rested in Sharm in a 5-star air, the food was identical. Water in the cooler can be collected.
You can't take food out of the restaurant, but you can), no one makes any remarks. There are two bottles of water in the room every day. Coffee, tea, sugar, kettle in the room. Room cleaning daily. Towels were changed, but not daily. The New Year's table was delicious, shrimp and crabs were added to the general menu. Crabs and squid were again twice during the holiday. There was no Christmas super evening, of course. At the bar, alcohol is not diluted, they do not sniff, they do their job. The staff is not rude, friendly, no incidents for 10 days of rest.
The internet in the hotel lobby is fast and not very fast. Game at the reception, one tennis table, a little, two billiards. There is a pharmacy on the territory, the choice is small, but if you leave an order, in a few days you will receive medicine, the prices are reasonable. Next to the pharmacy there is an entrance to a small indoor heated pool and a sauna. Admission to the sauna is $ 30. Opposite the main entrance is a souvenir shop.
Tourists are mostly from Ukraine, Poland, Germany and Slovakia.
Beach. Given the cold cyclone that raged in Egypt (during the hour of our stay in Sharm it was raining and in Hurghada it was snowing) only a cold wind reached Mars Alam. Because of this, swimming was almost comfortable, you only had to run to the wind to reach deep water and adjust that you need to jump out of it quickly (the water did not change the temperature, I think about 23 degrees). With children, a good sunset in the water is gentle, long shallows. Daily outflow. For comparison -went on foot to the left)). . there, about 3 km (40 minutes slowly) is the Novotel Hotel, they have a chic wooden pier, where descending the stairs into the water immediately dives to great depths and enjoy the magnificent reef. But not everything is simple - the first time we came there without equipment, barely, but persuaded the employee to give us masks to swim (they have them for rent on the pier) - $ 3. He was happy that we praised this pier and the reef.
), shark, turtle, good reef. They take a bus to Port Galib, from where all the same boats leave. Promised 2 stops, there was only one, explained that it was windy, but not sure. From the boat you are taken on an inflatable boat, thrown there at great depths, besides you there are a bunch of people from other boats who are trying to stay close to their accompanying noise, disorientation and panic. For those who do not swim well and children, I do not recommend. If you wish, you can dive, feel like a diver, the option is valid for $ 25 one dive. Given the impressive winds when returning, stock up on nausea pills. On the way back (around 16.00) to the bus we asked for a short stop at the pharmacy and near the fruit - we were not denied.
We took an excursion to Luxor. I will dwell on this a little more.
I must admit that this is the same case when you probably had to take a tour from a reliable, albeit more expensive operator, with whom you flew.
The price is only $ 5 higher, but you can at least claim what you have been officially promised. I have not encountered this before. We took advantage of the services of a fast-paced Egyptian young man who trades on the beach, taking orders for a tour at a table with the words Taxi in the lobby of the Utopia Hotel, Mustafa, nicknamed "Memo", Royal grand sea, it seems. I DO NOT RECOMMEND. Fooled, twisted, promised - did not fulfill, dishonest and insidious. Except for us, deceiving everyone who rode with us on the bus to Luxor, the program of the tour is distorted (promising the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, there were only queens), robbed children of the same price as adults, promising a smaller bus to go faster. . . etc. ). The road takes at least 5 hours at one end, whatever you promise). Toilets on the road are paid, change the currency for local money, because you pay three times more. The WC costs approximately 5 Egyptian pounds. The hotel offers another trip for a couple of hours to the nearest town of El Quseir.
They ask if anyone wants to, but they accompany you all the way in order to drag you to the appropriate store for tea, butter and mango at the finish line. Mango in the winter of 2022 costs $ 4.5, packed at least as in a plastic box, the weight of which you also count, no matter how scandalous. The hotel repackaged in a cardboard box from under the water, at the airport remarked that the cardboard can not be carried, you need to repackage, for the first time ...Just put in a bag, not obvious and no one cooked, but keep in mind .
The decency of the staff in the final of the holiday proving the fact that thanks to my unsurpassed tour operator Oli, from Profitour, and decency! hotel staff, I almost managed to return the earrings I forgot in the safe. . I'm waiting for the transfer from the tourist who picked them up at the hotel reception the day after departure.
I hope my review will make your stay at the hotel easier.
The airport in Marsa Alam is small, everything went quickly, visas were taken from the bank for 25 USD. e.
And so, we drove to the hotel for about an hour, arrived almost at lunchtime, took the documents, filled out the questionnaires, and we were sent to dine at a restaurant on the beach. After lunch, we came to the reception and they were immediately ready to settle us in the bungalow that we had booked.
We said that we would first go and see without suitcases, knowing that the bungalow there, to put it mildly, was not very good. They brought us to No. 108, everything in it turned out to be sad and dull, and we refused, they said that they were ready to pay extra for the standard. We were escorted to a double standard No. 324 on the 1st floor, and we were 2 + 1, I asked where the child was - they said they would bring a bed, but then there would be no turning around at all, they asked for a bigger room. We were offered a room on the second floor in a turret opposite the main restaurant No. 463. The room turned out to be spacious, 3 full beds, a sofa, a table and 2 chairs, a bath and a bidet. If not for the pot-bellied TV, in general, everything would be fine. And most importantly, a stunning view through the panoramic windows of the pool with a bar and the sea could be seen in the distance, like in a restaurant on disposable plate coasters (placemats). Surcharge for 7 nights was 28 c. u. e. , they asked how much it would be for a family room - 70 c. u. e. , (a family with 2 children was offered for 80 c. u.
), we decided to stick with the big standard. When booking a bungalow, you should not hope for a comfortable and bright room, and then write a review that only camels can live in it ...Either take the standard right away or pay extra on the spot and everything will be ok.
They asked for a Wi-Fi password - the hotel does not provide it, but a Vodafone representative connects it for free, you can use it in the reception area. It was enough for us to use Viber and Facebook, photos / videos were uploaded, youtube was also uploaded by the child, when it flew off, I again went to the Vodafone counter and they entered me in a new way, it began to work generally fine.
The beach - since there was a breeze, we chose sunbeds in the 3rd row from the sea - you could always find a free one, we came by 10 in the morning. As soon as we approached, a beach worker appeared, who brought mattresses and handed out towels. When the breeze blew, it was necessary to lie down on a sun lounger and it became more comfortable to be on the beach.
They rode a camel along the beach for 15 USD. e. in 30 minutes and 40 c. u. e. per hour. They offered quad bikes 1 for 20 c. u. e. /hour, children free of charge. There is a diving center.
Didn't see dolphins or turtles. But we saw a lot of beautiful fish. After lunch, the sea left, the corals were exposed, and of course our people tried to go through them, and for this a fine was immediately whistled by the guard, as and when they swam over the reef. In the first week of January, the sea and air were +25-26.
Animation - it was, but unobtrusive, they called only for volleyball, everything else was quiet. The mats were laid out for charging, if no one comes up, they are collected back. It was the same with darts - they hung it out, but they didn’t invite them to play, whoever wanted to came and played himself, the same in bocha. There is also a large tennis court on the beach, in the play area behind the reception there is billiards and a small tennis court. Several times curly Lucas took the children to the mini club, where they painted, inflated balloons and played hide and seek in the amphitheater.
In Utopia, there are animators our compatriots, perhaps that's why it's more fun there.
There were shows in the evening, but either the contingent of vacationers got caught, or the reason was in the show and animators, but there were very few people who wanted to watch or participate. Even at the mini disco, sometimes there were 2 children (. If the show was in front of the entrance to the reception, then there were at least a few people, but there were very few in the room. On such days we went to have fun in Utopia, there was a disco and karaoke.
Food - I was pleased that with a small selection, everything was deliciously cooked. For the first time we were not hungry, but we didn’t gain extra pounds either)). The child didn’t have enough fries and ice cream (. On the day when there was fish for dinner, there was nothing to feed at all, except pasta with cucumbers (. They gave squid several times. Coffee for breakfast is terrible, if you take it at 7 in the morning, it still looks like coffee , and at 9 - water with water. From fruits - once strawberries, and so melon, guava, dates, tangerines.
Sweets for lunch are also more for everyone. There was a good choice when there were oriental sweets at dinner - everything was delicious. And sometimes the cakes are interesting, we took more jelly.
The snack was at the pool bar only pancakes, tastier than at breakfast, we didn’t see anything else, because we were by the sea until 16-30, then we came to the indoor pool. Immediately there was a water temperature of +31, and then they made +38 ...it was too much, but this did not stop us, they left the door open to make it at least a little easier to breathe). In the outdoor pools the water was cold - no one was swimming.
The staff is polite. In bars, I ordered 3-4 brandies without any problems, they poured that much. Yes, in plastic cups, but once I saw an unwashed spoon, I thought that it was better than they would give in a dirty glass). Beer was poured from glass bottles, they made a milkshake - milk + syrup, we liked it. The bar at the reception was open until zero hours.
There were no huge queues anywhere, only somehow a lot of people gathered at the grill for Christmas. By the way, there was no Christmas dinner, in Utopia there was, and we had a regular one, and in the evening a dance performance of a swirling skirt.
At lunch, the beach was somehow not organized, the line started from pasta to the bar, in the middle there was pizza, but in order for the child to take it, it was necessary to defend it also for stewed vegetables, side dishes, etc. , there was no other way (. And fresh cucumbers with tomatoes were placed inside so inconveniently that there was always a queue. In order to have a larger assortment of dishes, you need to come to the beginning of the meal, after 40 minutes half was removed. Yes, and be careful, the restaurant has a stand with fruits and freshly squeezed juices - they paid, were at 3 c. u. This was not written anywhere, the newcomers did not know, the seller with the vitamin inscription was not always in place, people unknowingly took juices, and then he demanded payment from them.
There were no sanitizers on the tables in the restaurant, as in Utopia. Everything except meat dishes, you can take yourself, the staff is all without masks.
There are a number of shops in front of the hotel, the prices are too high, but if you take a few goods, they make a good discount, there is also a cafe, there are also Bedouin cafes on the beach, fruits and juices are sold nearby, and a kiosk with tunics and scarves, their shop is and in front of the hotel. Near the reception there are also 2 shops, one with bags, the other with souvenirs. There is also a stall near the pool, there are chips, slippers, masks, air mattresses, etc. There is a pharmacy on the territory, but everything is 3 times more expensive than in Hurghada and Sharm. They bring medicines to order.
The territory is well-groomed, the cleaning of the rooms is not very good, like the bed - it is all in spools, it is not very pleasant to sleep on it. Soap is added to two dispensers, paper is brought, tea / coffee / sugar is replenished and water is 0.6 per person.
Summing up, we had a good rest on the Red Sea as a family, got tanned, and did not overeat)).
Knowing that the price of the tour was low compared to other hotels, we did not expect a luxury holiday, everything was within the limits. There were never any annoying factors. Do not forget that this is the Egyptian four. Thanks to my husband for the wonderful winter holidays and the beginning of the year.
We stayed at the beginning of December 2021. What can I say, the hotel is 3, there is something to compare.
Pros: this is the SEA, the entrance is gentle, pleasant sand, with the kids it’s just that. You go a little further into the sea and see corals (even a mask is not needed, the water is clear) and shoals of huge fish. Probably from "+" everything.
Now the cons: the food is monotonous (rice, pasta, potatoes). Vegetables are plentiful and always fresh. The meat is put in portions (it’s hard to call it a portion, smearing on a plate), you ask for an additive, they don’t give it. Sweet table - these are three types of cakes and dates. But whatever it is, you won't go hungry. Alcohol bodyazhat specifically, but the beer is delicious. There is no animation, not only are you sitting on the street on dirty beach mattresses, but the show itself sucks (I advise you to go to a nearby hotel).
Staff snickering, until you give a dollar, they will ignore you and do everything on a blunder. The hotel is designed for foreigners, there is discrimination against the Slavs (alcohol is poured into us in disposable glasses and 30 grams each, Europeans are given glass and full ones). And yet, I don’t know, maybe I was so lucky, but this is not a windless bay. On the beach, the wind was from morning to evening, it was much warmer in the water. Yes, do not take a bungalow, a barn for pigs, which you still have to look for. With a scandal, they moved to the standard, earth and sky.
The beach is wonderful, there is a sandy shallow entrance, diving is beyond praise, there is a whole diving center on Utopia.
Meals for 3 stars: a lot of vegetables in various forms, different meats 2 times a day, Sweets, fruits, alcohol is terrible like everywhere else.
Wi-Fi on the first day asked to connect for 1 day ($ 3) and then it automatically connected when you come to the lobby and there are not many people, but you need to sit for about 5 minutes. Calls to viber did not go through, but messages easily.
There are shops on the territory and right behind, but there are no terminals ANYWHERE, please take cash with you.
We went to El Quseira for $ 6 from the hotel, but it doesn’t matter - they are taken to a very expensive pharmacy, incomprehensible shops, but it’s cool for an excursion - the fear of God, like in Indian films)))) but this is their life and that’s all them well. We went on yachts on turtles, but it’s better to choose the White Island - there are also turtles, but also an island)))
Of course, this is the closest point to Luxor. Excursions were ordered from the guys on the beach and from the person who was recommended in Egypt by a travel agent.
Contingent: Germans, Poles, Ukrainians, Czechs. There are practically no Russians.
The staff is wonderful, professional, the animators Marco and Company are a separate pleasure! After 22-00 at the end of the official part of the animation, you can come to an authentic institution on the beach and continue chatting with friends (naturally, this is not included)), but it’s very good that there is, because there is only desert around - this is not Naama Bay for you.
Bottom line - a great hotel, would go again.
Cleanliness is very important to me. It was clean everywhere... I liked very much that there are terraces in the restaurant, it's nice that the tablecloths changed every day, the dishes were all clean, not only washed, but also fried. I would like to note the work of the cooks, waiters - they are all super: fast, high quality, tasty and clean, and most importantly, pleasant, all the staff are polite and attentive to the guests!!!
The highlight of this hotel is of course the animation!!!
Very nice guys, they always know how to entertain guests !!! ! Dancing, stretching, water aerobics, yoga are all the work of these talented guys!! ! There is a hookah bar on the beach, I recommend it, they will always politely meet and see you off, very warm and cozy! There is also a fruit kiosk on the shore, where they make delicious fresh juices.
The sea is fabulous, a lot of corals, a variety of fish.
The overall impression is the bomb!!!
Dinners were always near the sea, a fabulous place, I recommend!! !
Beach. On November 28.2021, the temperature is 27 degrees, the sea is 24. A light pleasant refreshing breeze. Reef. Immediately go left to the beach of the Utopia hotel. The most important information is Utopia and Rensi one network. You can safely use their beach, entertainment, territory, water slides for children, go to their evening programs and discos! This is what our guide told us. We were very happy, as advanced snorkelers will be interested in the reef, which is opposite the flagpole of Utopia, a landmark for a small rock sticking out into the sea.
The most important question I asked about Marsa Alam, is it windy? No, it's not windy. Closed bay. Sometimes the breeze is stronger sometimes not a single leaf moves at all. But we swim all the time for an hour and a half. Children will be fine here. 2 playgrounds, gently sloping beach. But Marsa is not Charm. He's just different. But it's worth a try. Once again, don't rate a good hotel if you paid $18 per person for a room!
The food is weak, there are no delicacies, the hotel is for non-choosy.
But there were still two types of meat dishes for lunch and dinner: chicken, beef, liver, turkey (simply gorgeous). Fresh vegetables + sauces, stewed vegetables and of course eggplant (that's what they are good at! ). And there are always soups for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is the usual Egyptian (European type). Baking is the same. Two kinds of any fruit for dinner (pomegranates, oranges, bananas, guava, apples, pears, melon). For lunch there were dates, figs.
A couple of days after arrival, for some reason, lunch was moved to a restaurant on the beach: everything seems to be the same, but the feeling is somehow poor, but the pizza there was quite tasty. Non-alcoholic drinks in the bar are tasteless, local, similar to cola, sprite and fanta in color and on the label on the bottle. Tried it once, never wanted to again. Beer is good, tasty from glass bottles - Radler. There is a shop in the lobby where you can buy Schweppes Tonic and Coca-Cola - $ 2 a bottle of 1.5 liters.
They took gin at the bar, added the bought Schweppes Tonic, squeezed out the lime taken for lunch or dinner with them from the restaurant - it turned out delicious. We didn’t try pure alcohol from the bar, we tried it in previous hotels - I didn’t like it).
The beach is not very big, but it was always easy to find a place. Wooden sunbeds are old, some broken. Mattresses are mostly good, they are removed at night in a closet, where towels are given out. When you receive a towel, you ask and they bring you mattresses to the selected places.
The staff is very friendly. Almost everyone knows a little English, some even Russian. Any masseurs, photographers offering excursions on the beach are not intrusive.
Animators worked quite actively. Pilates, volleyball, dancing - all on the beach. The hotel is quiet during the day. By the end of dinner, the music and show program begins. It's pretty loud. You can hear it from all the rooms, as the buildings are located in an amphitheatre.
Ends exactly at 23.00. I liked the fire show and dance with skirts. The presentation of the fakir (lying on broken glass and nails, etc. ) is also not bad. Evening show program at the booth near the entrance to the lobby. They seem to be trying to stick to the program.
Near the hotel there are many interesting places for snorkeling. Thanks to Evgenia Kartashova and her Neptunych for the reef diagrams and video describing interesting places. And also vitold Z for advice on snorkel spots. Thanks to them, I was driving more or less knowing where to go and swim. When we arrived, there was a strong wind, it began to subside on the 4th day (by the way, I advise you to take clothespins with you to dry clothes so that nothing is blown away from the balcony by the wind). Due to the strong wind and waves, it was problematic to get to the outer reef. Sailed in the bay and inland lagoons between Utopia and Novotel until it was calm. Very interesting architecture of the southern reef of the bay - many gorges, canyons, arches. And a huge variety of fish.
I really liked the flocks of eel-tailed catfish moving along the bottom. On the Rat stone (as Yevgenia Kartashova called it in her reviews), beautiful crabs basking in the sun were often seen.
The north reef is a little different. At any time of the day with different lighting conditions there is something to see. Even small corals when entering from the beach are also interesting. In the inner lagoons, we met crocodile fish, plataxes, gobies, lionfish, blue-spotted rays, a couple of times a broad-tailed stingray came across, once a bracken was caught eating. We saw a beautiful little red nudibranch "Spanish dancer" (did not dance for us, only crawled along the bottom), very long, about a meter, sea cucumber Synapta maculata. When the wind and waves became less, several times they swam to the outer reef. On the northern outer reef every time we saw turtles, eagles, huge flocks of hornbills and kyphosis ply along the reef.
Beautiful bumps with fireworks from small pseudoantias, green and black and white chromis.
When there was still a wave, sharks were seen in the distance several times, when it was calm they were not seen anymore. Once, with a wave, he swam from our bay to the pier of the neighboring Novotel Marsa Alam hotel, sailed for about 1.5 hours. I walked back for about 40 minutes, talked along the way with an Egyptian who sold souvenirs on the shore. The Novotel pier is only allowed from 8 o'clock. Once I came, not knowing, by 6.30, they didn’t let me in. He walked about 50 meters from the pier, reached a knee-deep depth in shallow water and, almost clinging to the corals with his stomach and pushing his way through the algae, went out to the outer reef and swam to our bay admiring the beauties and inhabitants of the reef. When we arrived after 8 o'clock, they let us in without any problems (however, the bracelets of our hotel were hidden under long sleeves). On the southern outer reef, nothing of the big ones was lucky to be found, of the interesting things - flocks of large squids, high-bodied Lacedra.
I liked the beauty of both the northern and southern outer reefs.
In general, we are very satisfied with the rest, we went beyond the sea, the sun, a beautiful reef and its inhabitants - and we got all this in full.
We arrived at the hotel at 9 pm. We were told to go to dinner and then they would give us a room. Ate. There was a grilled chicken, I basically ate it. The manager began to build a comedy, they say you have a regular number or a good one? ! I say - as good as me.
Settled. The number is sad. Mattresses are a PAIN!
By the way, do not expect that the room will have soap or shampoo or something else. They pour something into the dispensers on tap and on the last day they mixed it up and I ended up washing my hair with liquid soap, not shampoo.
The food is delicious but very small. In one week there were twice mango, once steak and tuna.
Animation is weak. Morning and evening after dinner.
Prices for space excursions are twice as expensive as in charm, and sometimes even three. In Sharm, for example, a trip with diving, lunch, snorkeling and transfer from the GUIDE costs $ 45, but here you give $ 75 only for transfer snorfing and lunch (respectively, also on a boat). This is without immersion.
The nearest city is 25 km. Outside the aisles of the territory releases on receipt.
Mostly in the hotel Poles and Czechs. Very few Germans and Ukrainians.
The reef here is the same as in charm. Very windy. The red flag hung all week.