Отличный отдых Great stay

I just returned from another trip to Marsa Alam and decided to add another review on the hotel in this region while my impressions are still fresh (otherwise there are few of them in this topic, only two). Wadi Lahmy Azur is the penultimate hotel on the Red Sea (there is another Lahami Bay Resort, but our tour operators do not work with it). Well, between them, Wadi Lahami (exclusively for divers with Spartan conditions, you can’t even call it a hotel). “We climbed into the ...hole of the world” - this is how one Belarusian couple called their video on youtube about this hotel (quite interesting, you can watch it). Well, that's it, the introduction. Now on business.

Buying a tour

I planned in 2020 to this hotel in the month of May. But the coronavirus disrupted plans, and after the resumption of flights to Egypt, I wanted to go in October. But after the price of the tour decreased by more than 7000 UAH, I spontaneously decided to take it a week before departure. And the price kept falling. If I had taken it in 2-3 days, then it was still possible to save significantly.
This once again confirmed that early booking in Egypt was a hit and miss. I tried to find fellow travelers on the forum, some became interested, but everyone was frightened by the long road (it’s about 400 km to the hotel from Hurghada, and there are no direct flights to Marsa Alam now, the airport is generally closed). Therefore, I went with my old friend (an ardent fan of the sea) and her daughter (not a big fan, I had to drag into the sea almost by force).

Flights, transfer
The flight to Hurghada was on schedule (Join Up did not have any surprises this time). And back he presented a pleasant surprise: the flight was supposed to take place at 4 o'clock in the morning, but was postponed to 6 o'clock in the evening, so we were given another half-day of rest. There was no one except us at this hotel, so they organized a personal transfer by car (brand new KIA). The road is good, the traffic is minimal, the driver drove 120-150, we got there in a little over four hours, so I got my well-deserved 10 euros.
We went back by minibus, but it was also just us, the transfer took about 5 hours, but the time flew by pretty quickly (the road home always seems shorter).

The hotel and service
During our stay in the hotel, there were only 27 people (half local) in 200 rooms. We even tried to count them for fun, but we got no more than twenty. There were even fellow countrymen - two couples from Ukraine and one Russian. No more than three people came into our field of vision at the same time. That is, we can say that the entire hotel was at our disposal: in the pool, on the beach and in the sea there was no one except us (maximum 1-2 more people). The choice of dishes in the dining room is modest, but everything is delicious. For breakfast, mostly scrambled eggs, fruit mix (apple and melon). Lunch and dinner: from meat - fish, chicken, beef; garnish: rice, potatoes, stewed vegetables or pasta. For the first three types of soup. Dessert: watermelon, pies, croissants.

Supplement - no problem.
We are not gourmets and came here not to overeat, so we had enough of everything, everything went well with our Ukrainian cognac. Drinks (sprite, fanta, cola) are bottled, so the quality is good. The coffee is delicious too. The waiters were excellent (they are poor guys now have mere pennies) so they received good tips. Room cleaning: for the two dollars left, the cleaner not only washed everything, cleaned it to a shine and laid out a pattern of flowers on the bed, but also changed the curtain in the shower, washed and hung up to dry a T-shirt that was left to sour in the sink (it’s good that you didn’t leave your panties ), and put bunches of flowers on the table near the mirror, on the bedside table and in the bathroom. It was very nice.

Tours
At the reception, you can take a trip to the bay of Sharm el Luli, Hamata, Sattaya (the port is literally a few kilometers from the hotel), as well as motor safari. We bought in the bay of Sharm el Luli (Egyptian Maldives) for 30 euros per person.
We were satisfied: white sand, beautiful reefs, a variety of fish. The weather was windless, so we swam comfortably. If you take this tour, make sure you leave early. Because after 10-11 they begin to bring tourists, the sea is full of people and it’s no longer interesting. And so we managed to swim alone (well, there were a couple more people). Then locals arrived on two buses, it was not overcrowded, and we had to retreat. All Muslim women bathe fully dressed, and some even with a covered face and black gloves. I also took a motorcycle safari, I was alone. This is standard for me: I like to drive an ATV through the evening desert.

Sea
Now about the most important thing - the SEA - for the sake of which they come here, and we came here. I won’t write much (everything is described in detail in the last two reviews). Special thanks to Anna_x103 for posting the maps in the review. Thanks to them, we clearly understood what, where and how.

We were lucky with the weather, the wind was weak, and it was always possible to swim near the outer reef (one day it was even completely calm). The reef is gorgeous, the underwater fauna is very diverse. There are also many interesting things in the inner lagoons. I swam first in them, then through the shallows I swam into the open sea and returned back along the pontoon. On the last day of rest, the sea finally gave us a pleasant surprise: we saw a one and a half meter beautiful moray eel. She swam slowly along the reefs for a long time, as if she was specially posing for us. The video was posted, however, it was not shot very well (a child filmed it). In a local store for $ 15 we bought a phone case for underwater photography, it justified itself. At least one time was enough. True, bloodthirsty fish-surgeons live near the steps of the pontoon, which, guarding their territory, sometimes pinch your heels. Because of this, my companions were afraid to go into the water for a long time.
But then we bought coral slippers, and the problem was solved.

Rest
For a change, we decided to follow in the footsteps of some members of the forum and swim to the famous Banana Reef, which is near the Lahami Bay Resort. We walked there along the mangroves by the sea. The hotel was still closed then, we thought that we bought without problems. We already wanted to go into the sea, but the guard saw us and went to the reception. In order to avoid problems, they called him and explained the situation. Then another one came, then two more. A whole council gathered, discussed something for a long time, called somewhere. Then they gave me the phone and someone (as I understand it, their main manager) said that the hotel is closed if you want to swim - 50 euros per person. Guys, are you really, Sharm el Luli bay costs 30! We walked for so long, we had a child with us, well, let's swim for an hour, and we didn't take any money with us. But in no way. Take money with you and come back tomorrow. No thanks. And we went back. This is how it turned out to be a bummer.
And we, naive, thought that as a last resort we would give the guard $ 5 and swim to our heart's content. But it was not there.
We went back on land. Near Wadi Lahami bought a little. I decided to go out on the track to try to stop a ride (some practiced this way), but the locals from the village dissuaded the divers. They said that the cars were unlikely to stop, strongly recommended to go on foot. We decided not to risk it, especially since it was getting dark, and went along the shore. Just arrived for dinner. Well, nothing, although the final goal was not achieved, but we walked around, saw mangroves with their living creatures and flocks of huge crabs on the beach near the diving village.

Epilogue

The vacation was a success, we got what we wanted: the sea, complete relaxation without dripping on the brain (constant “how are you? ”, Offers of various services, etc. ). The first race, when you swim in the sea in a relaxed way and are not afraid to hurt someone or get a flipper in the face. In one of the reviews, someone did not recommend going now.
And on the contrary, I recommend going right now (of course, who prefers just such a format of recreation). We were lucky, we bought the tour before the introduction of information, there was no unnecessary trouble. Yes, and while visas have been canceled, they saved $ 75, which is also nice. By the way, when we were driving back, the guide said that after the introduction of the tests, the tourist flow dropped sharply. The first time he has no tourists from Ukraine at all. So the prices will definitely go up.
It seems to be everything.