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Good afternoon (morning, evening or night)!!!
As promised, I am posting my impressions of a trip to Egypt, to the Domina Coral Bay - Oasis hotel. Why did I choose this particular hotel? The answer will not be clear. . .
My family and I flew to Egypt for the first time, before that for many years we flew on vacation to Turkey (different cities), and when we got together in Egypt, I started browsing the Internet for various hotel options and reviews about them.
The task was one - to find a five-star hotel with AI categories - all inclusive, and preferably with an affordable price.
The tour operator (back in the spring) offered several options, but there were problems with the issuance of the next “new sample” international passport. The deadline for issuing which was dragged and pulled, they say, Moscow still won’t send it to us.
In the end, when I received the document, it turned out that all the hotels that were affordable for us were sold out and they only had “luxury” rooms that cost twice as much.
Naturally, they began to look for alternative options, and this is what the Domina Coral Bay hotel turned out to be. I have read a wide variety of reviews about it. It even turned out that there is an unofficial leisure club in this hotel, and my friend, who has repeatedly rested in it, also recommended it, especially since the price for two adults and a child (10 years old) for 10 nights was 65.000 rubles! ! ! Keep in mind that this is the Oasis building - it is considered an economy class. The dates of the trip are from 2 to 12 July 2008.
We flew with Transaero Airlines and for the first time in my life, a charter flight there and back took off on time!! ! Upon arrival in Egypt, there were no problems. The only advice for those arriving in Egypt for the first time - unlike Turkey - you yourself buy a visa stamp at the airport and stick it yourself on the free page of your passport, otherwise we were shocked at first by the attitude of the Arab customs officers who, at passport control, without explanation, gave the passports to our compatriots and wrapped them back.
We got to the hotel quickly - in 15 minutes. Having prepared, in advance, 20 bucks for the receptionist to give a good number, he took them back at checkout. Now they are afraid to take money, and they don’t even take a passport in their hands, only a photocopy, they will make it for you there for free.
We were placed in building 34, which made us happy! Walking to restaurants or to the beach is quite close, so we didn’t even use “taf-tafs” (open buses). The room, of course, is far from 5 stars, but everything suited us. And the view and air conditioning, and furniture. The audience in the building was mixed, but over the past 4 days the Italians moved in. This was reflected in the noise from the rooms (and they say that the Russians are the noisiest - not true) and in the increased number of shampoos, soaps and towels (they just didn’t always put a foot towel on the floor)!! ! It can be seen that the Italians did not leave a tip for the servants!
There was a “disposable mini-bar” in the room, upon arrival they put 2 bottles of water and 3 cans of carbonated drinks in it, if you want this every day, pay extra.
The most expensive thing in a hotel is WATER! An unusual combination like 5 stars and "all inclusive", and water for money... This is not pleasant. You can buy it in the store, but spend $ 2...
We went to the city and there we already bought 6 liter bottles for 1 dollar. Simple poltorashki in the old town sell for 2 pounds. 5 Egyptian pounds is 1 dollar. This is the standard rate for shopping, but the hotel changed even higher.
Although there was a safe in the room, I used a free safe near the reception, just no one could remember the code to at least open it.
By calling the service number to the service department, without any additional payments, an electric kettle was brought to the room. To drink "native" tea yourself. Let me explain why in Egypt tea and coffee in restaurant bars can only be obtained during breakfast, and for lunch and dinner only water and soft drinks, or low-alcohol drinks such as beer and wine. If you want tea - you have to go to other bars, again an inconvenience...
Strong alcoholic drinks, local production, were in the bars, but I would not advise you to drink in its pure form. Well, they do not know how to make decent wine and even vodka. There is no "culture of drinking", what to take from them - a Muslim country. Better order cocktails.
The juices in the bars are not freshly squeezed, but natural, I myself witnessed how the waiters opened dozens of juice boxes and poured them into cooling machines.
Try the guava juice - I really liked it!!!
Of the strong ones, they drank only what they brought with them and local beer. After lunch in the bars you can have a snack of pastries, fruits and ice cream.
Evening animation is specific, no, not bad, but we, accustomed to having fun in Turkish resorts, wanted something different. Although the guys were great, they danced very professionally, it can not be compared with a trip to the “show - 1001 nights” there dancing at the level of village school amateur performances. Although the place is very beautiful, many were photographed. There we liked the program (free) for the "local beau monde" more, that's where the guy - the dancer lit it up !! ! For the first time I saw oriental dances performed by a man, and when he also began to dance on the drum - well done, very spectacular!
We didn’t go on distant excursions, such as “pyramids”, “mountains of Moses” or “to Jerusalem”, not at that time of the year, seeing how others arrive tired and exhausted by buses and heat - I don’t really want to experience it myself. And approximate phrases: - If I had known, I wouldn't have gone, they didn't inspire optimism. Next time maybe. . .
The most beautiful thing in Egypt is, of course, the SEA!!!
We drove mostly just for him! I have long dreamed of scuba diving there. But what about scuba diving - just with a mask and snorkel - the same pleasure and unearthly beauty !!!
Are you afraid of fish? For $20 you will be taken for 30 minutes on a special "coral" boat. It is double, you just lie down on a soft seat, look out the underwater window and slowly you are taken along the coral reef!!!
I recommend visiting the Turkish (I wrote about its charms in previous reviews) bath (Hamam) and ask for an “Ottoman massage” there, this unforgettable pleasure (done with four hands) costs $ 30. And it takes 50 minutes!
I will not expand on the delights of diving, whoever has tried it already knows, and who wants to dive, you have to experience it yourself. There are 2 options - either you do not like it, or you will become a fan for the rest of your life!!!
In terms of cost, on average, 2 dives will cost you $100. This is with lunch, drinks and a boat trip to some kind of coral reserve.
But back to the hotel.
As I wrote above, our hotel was called "Oasis" - for the clients of which (free of charge) only 2 restaurants are intended, the main "Coral" and the additional "Elmastaba" in which we went only 2 times, each time we did not really want to have dinner with fried meat . Yes, and they fry it not according to ours...
The assortment in restaurants is quite diverse, but the cuisine is specific, if in the first days we imposed huge portions on ourselves, then in the last, we even rarely went for lunch, it was enough to have breakfast and then dinner. There is quite a variety of meat, fish too, vegetables, fruits are always in abundance, melons, apples, peaches and very sweet and seedless grapes!
But there were troubles, and diarrhea did not bypass us! We sin on seafood. The roofing felts are not fresh, the roofing felts of our land stomach did not immediately accept octopuses and sea cucumbers, but after 2-3 days of disorder, seafood was bypassed. So advice - stock up on pills and not just from the stomach, but also for the efficiency of the stomach.
Yes, and one more piece of advice - before the trip, check with your mobile operator - do you have international roaming enabled? MTS let us down. When buying a SIM card, I immediately asked to turn on roaming for me and wrote an application (this service is free). As it turned out, I did not have roaming...
When returning home, I went to the office of the Orenburg MTS - to check why there was no roaming. Having found my data on the computer, the manager said that I only have the International Access service, which means that I can call abroad, but there is no roaming. - Maybe you forgot where to put a tick, the representative said. I asked to turn ON ROAMING for me, they brought another form - I filled it out, but it says - activate the service "International access" !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! - What's again?? ? - I was indignant. I need ROAMING so that I can call from abroad, and this is, they say, now we will turn on roaming...
Hmm. . . service. . .
In order not to be left without a connection, they bought an Egyptian SIM card from an Intourist representative there for 25 bucks, 10 of which are put on the account. They called Russia and Sharm without any problems, but it was impossible for us to get through, even our Egyptian friends later told us - we dial your number, and they answer us - such a number does not exist... Levak...
Shopping in Sharm is best done at the Old Market in the old town, because everything is very expensive in the elite Nayami Bay area !! ! The only thing that our tourists bought there was excursions - 2 times cheaper than in a hotel.
There is no need to save on safety, but it turns out that even the host country does not guarantee payment of insurance for risky tours - quad bike, rafting, diving, etc. This is all at your own risk. Decide where to buy. . .
The best way to get there is by taxi, but bargain till you drop! To Nayami Bay - a taxi costs a maximum of 4-5 dollars, usually 3 bucks, for 5 you will be taken to the old city.
And another piece of advice, it is not allowed to take any shells out of the country, let alone corals, the minimum fine is from $500, at the entrance to the airport the detectors shine through all your belongings, and several times! And all your perfumes, deodorants and even the smallest metal things - check in the general luggage, and do not take it with you on the plane - they will take it away! We lost our manicure set like that, okay, we had plain metal, but many gave away gold-plated ones...
Returning to the hotel, I will say that you can live and relax in it, although the color differentiation of pants, uh... bracelets exists there. In a bar belonging to another hotel in the same Domina complex, they may not give you anything, although it’s good that in our bar the waiters also broke off representatives of the “elite” buildings, they say you only have until 6 pm, so hell!
During the animation, waiters walk along the tables and offer drinks and snacks than God, or rather Allah, sent. They don't take money for it. You simply sign an invoice (without prices) to your room number and then at the reception, at a convenient time for you, you can pay, but the prices... For a bottle of beer, a glass of juice and a cup of coffee (which you can take in other bars completely free) we were billed $13.
The territory of the hotel is cleaned very cleanly, all the green oases are constantly sprayed with chemicals from the "living creatures", but at this time and in the next few days, it is simply impossible to be near them, the stench. . .
There were always enough beach towels and sun loungers (on the beach), finding enough free sunbeds near the pools is a big problem if you only take them early in the morning. In the salt lake and did not swim, why? We've come to the sea!
There, on the beach, they will rent you (if you don’t have your own) masks, fins and even underwater cameras, the frames of which will then be transferred to you on a disk. Rent of such a digital camera from 20 euros per hour. Marine life - FULL!! ! From harmless fry to stingrays and sharks! Yes, it was sharks, our “neighbor” on the beach was constantly filming an underwater video, we didn’t even suspect, and then he showed us a reef shark on the monitor screen, filmed 10 meters from the pontoon. I personally saw stingrays and spotted moray eels, I even swam after moray for about 10 minutes. Our neighbor almost sat down on one small one on the beach !! ! At first they thought the sea snake, until she began to hunt, looking for someone among the beach stones, then we saw who it was. And only half a meter from the shore. Why did she almost sit down?
There are a lot of special plastic semi-sitting chairs on the beach, which you just lower a little into the water and take a sunbath with pleasure, swaying on the waves! So she was going to put exactly this one, right on the moray eel...
On the central pontoon there are 2 pools, fenced under water with a net from marine life, for those who are afraid, but even there, quite often it turned out to be full of various living creatures, from harmless to quite dangerous. So be careful!
Do not forget to take sunscreen with you - it is very cruel, but the water in the taps is very soft, the soap does not wash off well, and it is also not recommended to brush your teeth with it, only with drinking water.
There are many shops on the territory of the hotel, but it is better to buy souvenirs in the old town. There is also something to read, but the cost of books (in Russian) is from 4 dollars. We usually bought one and exchanged the second for a similar one.
When shopping - bargain and fight for every dollar! Such is their culture, you can and should bargain - even in restaurants.
And don't be too lazy to learn at least a few phrases in a foreign language, English, Italian, French - it doesn't matter. Your "service capabilities" will increase many times over. Everywhere I tried to speak only English, the attitude of the staff everywhere changed only for the better. One of the waiters even started to complain to me about RUSSIAN tourists, they say they are stupid, they don’t want to learn at least one foreign language, they say they ONLY speak their own language, but you (he’s talking about me) have very good English, what country are you from arrived? - I say: - From Russia! He has a panic in his face, immediately recovers, saying that not all Russians are stupid... At the end of the conversation, he already addressed me only as sir !! ! - Nicely!
Holidays in Egypt are quite satisfied, without much enthusiasm, but acceptable.
The weather in the first 5 days was not very hot, within 35 degrees, then it only grew and grew. If they have the end of July - the beginning of August - this is the season, I can imagine how hot it can be there, and people are GOING!!!
So those who are going to Egypt in the summer - do not be afraid, you can live !!!
I do not indicate my coordinates (the spammers got it).
If you have any additional questions, please ask
As promised, I am posting my impressions of a trip to Egypt, to the Domina Coral Bay - Oasis hotel. Why did I choose this particular hotel? The answer will not be clear. . .
My family and I flew to Egypt for the first time, before that for many years we flew on vacation to Turkey (different cities), and when we got together in Egypt, I started browsing the Internet for various hotel options and reviews about them.
The task was one - to find a five-star hotel with AI categories - all inclusive, and preferably with an affordable price.
The tour operator (back in the spring) offered several options, but there were problems with the issuance of the next “new sample” international passport. The deadline for issuing which was dragged and pulled, they say, Moscow still won’t send it to us.
In the end, when I received the document, it turned out that all the hotels that were affordable for us were sold out and they only had “luxury” rooms that cost twice as much.
Naturally, they began to look for alternative options, and this is what the Domina Coral Bay hotel turned out to be. I have read a wide variety of reviews about it. It even turned out that there is an unofficial leisure club in this hotel, and my friend, who has repeatedly rested in it, also recommended it, especially since the price for two adults and a child (10 years old) for 10 nights was 65.000 rubles! ! ! Keep in mind that this is the Oasis building - it is considered an economy class. The dates of the trip are from 2 to 12 July 2008.
We flew with Transaero Airlines and for the first time in my life, a charter flight there and back took off on time!! ! Upon arrival in Egypt, there were no problems. The only advice for those arriving in Egypt for the first time - unlike Turkey - you yourself buy a visa stamp at the airport and stick it yourself on the free page of your passport, otherwise we were shocked at first by the attitude of the Arab customs officers who, at passport control, without explanation, gave the passports to our compatriots and wrapped them back.
We got to the hotel quickly - in 15 minutes. Having prepared, in advance, 20 bucks for the receptionist to give a good number, he took them back at checkout. Now they are afraid to take money, and they don’t even take a passport in their hands, only a photocopy, they will make it for you there for free.
We were placed in building 34, which made us happy! Walking to restaurants or to the beach is quite close, so we didn’t even use “taf-tafs” (open buses). The room, of course, is far from 5 stars, but everything suited us. And the view and air conditioning, and furniture. The audience in the building was mixed, but over the past 4 days the Italians moved in. This was reflected in the noise from the rooms (and they say that the Russians are the noisiest - not true) and in the increased number of shampoos, soaps and towels (they just didn’t always put a foot towel on the floor)!! ! It can be seen that the Italians did not leave a tip for the servants!
There was a “disposable mini-bar” in the room, upon arrival they put 2 bottles of water and 3 cans of carbonated drinks in it, if you want this every day, pay extra.
The most expensive thing in a hotel is WATER! An unusual combination like 5 stars and "all inclusive", and water for money... This is not pleasant. You can buy it in the store, but spend $ 2...
We went to the city and there we already bought 6 liter bottles for 1 dollar. Simple poltorashki in the old town sell for 2 pounds. 5 Egyptian pounds is 1 dollar. This is the standard rate for shopping, but the hotel changed even higher.
Although there was a safe in the room, I used a free safe near the reception, just no one could remember the code to at least open it.
By calling the service number to the service department, without any additional payments, an electric kettle was brought to the room. To drink "native" tea yourself. Let me explain why in Egypt tea and coffee in restaurant bars can only be obtained during breakfast, and for lunch and dinner only water and soft drinks, or low-alcohol drinks such as beer and wine. If you want tea - you have to go to other bars, again an inconvenience...
Strong alcoholic drinks, local production, were in the bars, but I would not advise you to drink in its pure form. Well, they do not know how to make decent wine and even vodka. There is no "culture of drinking", what to take from them - a Muslim country. Better order cocktails.
The juices in the bars are not freshly squeezed, but natural, I myself witnessed how the waiters opened dozens of juice boxes and poured them into cooling machines.
Try the guava juice - I really liked it!!!
Of the strong ones, they drank only what they brought with them and local beer. After lunch in the bars you can have a snack of pastries, fruits and ice cream.
Evening animation is specific, no, not bad, but we, accustomed to having fun in Turkish resorts, wanted something different. Although the guys were great, they danced very professionally, it can not be compared with a trip to the “show - 1001 nights” there dancing at the level of village school amateur performances. Although the place is very beautiful, many were photographed. There we liked the program (free) for the "local beau monde" more, that's where the guy - the dancer lit it up !! ! For the first time I saw oriental dances performed by a man, and when he also began to dance on the drum - well done, very spectacular!
We didn’t go on distant excursions, such as “pyramids”, “mountains of Moses” or “to Jerusalem”, not at that time of the year, seeing how others arrive tired and exhausted by buses and heat - I don’t really want to experience it myself. And approximate phrases: - If I had known, I wouldn't have gone, they didn't inspire optimism. Next time maybe. . .
The most beautiful thing in Egypt is, of course, the SEA!!!
We drove mostly just for him! I have long dreamed of scuba diving there. But what about scuba diving - just with a mask and snorkel - the same pleasure and unearthly beauty !!!
Are you afraid of fish? For $20 you will be taken for 30 minutes on a special "coral" boat. It is double, you just lie down on a soft seat, look out the underwater window and slowly you are taken along the coral reef!!!
I recommend visiting the Turkish (I wrote about its charms in previous reviews) bath (Hamam) and ask for an “Ottoman massage” there, this unforgettable pleasure (done with four hands) costs $ 30. And it takes 50 minutes!
I will not expand on the delights of diving, whoever has tried it already knows, and who wants to dive, you have to experience it yourself. There are 2 options - either you do not like it, or you will become a fan for the rest of your life!!!
In terms of cost, on average, 2 dives will cost you $100. This is with lunch, drinks and a boat trip to some kind of coral reserve.
But back to the hotel.
As I wrote above, our hotel was called "Oasis" - for the clients of which (free of charge) only 2 restaurants are intended, the main "Coral" and the additional "Elmastaba" in which we went only 2 times, each time we did not really want to have dinner with fried meat . Yes, and they fry it not according to ours...
The assortment in restaurants is quite diverse, but the cuisine is specific, if in the first days we imposed huge portions on ourselves, then in the last, we even rarely went for lunch, it was enough to have breakfast and then dinner. There is quite a variety of meat, fish too, vegetables, fruits are always in abundance, melons, apples, peaches and very sweet and seedless grapes!
But there were troubles, and diarrhea did not bypass us! We sin on seafood. The roofing felts are not fresh, the roofing felts of our land stomach did not immediately accept octopuses and sea cucumbers, but after 2-3 days of disorder, seafood was bypassed. So advice - stock up on pills and not just from the stomach, but also for the efficiency of the stomach.
Yes, and one more piece of advice - before the trip, check with your mobile operator - do you have international roaming enabled? MTS let us down. When buying a SIM card, I immediately asked to turn on roaming for me and wrote an application (this service is free). As it turned out, I did not have roaming...
When returning home, I went to the office of the Orenburg MTS - to check why there was no roaming. Having found my data on the computer, the manager said that I only have the International Access service, which means that I can call abroad, but there is no roaming. - Maybe you forgot where to put a tick, the representative said. I asked to turn ON ROAMING for me, they brought another form - I filled it out, but it says - activate the service "International access" !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! - What's again?? ? - I was indignant. I need ROAMING so that I can call from abroad, and this is, they say, now we will turn on roaming...
Hmm. . . service. . .
In order not to be left without a connection, they bought an Egyptian SIM card from an Intourist representative there for 25 bucks, 10 of which are put on the account. They called Russia and Sharm without any problems, but it was impossible for us to get through, even our Egyptian friends later told us - we dial your number, and they answer us - such a number does not exist... Levak...
Shopping in Sharm is best done at the Old Market in the old town, because everything is very expensive in the elite Nayami Bay area !! ! The only thing that our tourists bought there was excursions - 2 times cheaper than in a hotel.
There is no need to save on safety, but it turns out that even the host country does not guarantee payment of insurance for risky tours - quad bike, rafting, diving, etc. This is all at your own risk. Decide where to buy. . .
The best way to get there is by taxi, but bargain till you drop! To Nayami Bay - a taxi costs a maximum of 4-5 dollars, usually 3 bucks, for 5 you will be taken to the old city.
And another piece of advice, it is not allowed to take any shells out of the country, let alone corals, the minimum fine is from $500, at the entrance to the airport the detectors shine through all your belongings, and several times! And all your perfumes, deodorants and even the smallest metal things - check in the general luggage, and do not take it with you on the plane - they will take it away! We lost our manicure set like that, okay, we had plain metal, but many gave away gold-plated ones...
Returning to the hotel, I will say that you can live and relax in it, although the color differentiation of pants, uh... bracelets exists there. In a bar belonging to another hotel in the same Domina complex, they may not give you anything, although it’s good that in our bar the waiters also broke off representatives of the “elite” buildings, they say you only have until 6 pm, so hell!
During the animation, waiters walk along the tables and offer drinks and snacks than God, or rather Allah, sent. They don't take money for it. You simply sign an invoice (without prices) to your room number and then at the reception, at a convenient time for you, you can pay, but the prices... For a bottle of beer, a glass of juice and a cup of coffee (which you can take in other bars completely free) we were billed $13.
The territory of the hotel is cleaned very cleanly, all the green oases are constantly sprayed with chemicals from the "living creatures", but at this time and in the next few days, it is simply impossible to be near them, the stench. . .
There were always enough beach towels and sun loungers (on the beach), finding enough free sunbeds near the pools is a big problem if you only take them early in the morning. In the salt lake and did not swim, why? We've come to the sea!
There, on the beach, they will rent you (if you don’t have your own) masks, fins and even underwater cameras, the frames of which will then be transferred to you on a disk. Rent of such a digital camera from 20 euros per hour. Marine life - FULL!! ! From harmless fry to stingrays and sharks! Yes, it was sharks, our “neighbor” on the beach was constantly filming an underwater video, we didn’t even suspect, and then he showed us a reef shark on the monitor screen, filmed 10 meters from the pontoon. I personally saw stingrays and spotted moray eels, I even swam after moray for about 10 minutes. Our neighbor almost sat down on one small one on the beach !! ! At first they thought the sea snake, until she began to hunt, looking for someone among the beach stones, then we saw who it was. And only half a meter from the shore. Why did she almost sit down?
There are a lot of special plastic semi-sitting chairs on the beach, which you just lower a little into the water and take a sunbath with pleasure, swaying on the waves! So she was going to put exactly this one, right on the moray eel...
On the central pontoon there are 2 pools, fenced under water with a net from marine life, for those who are afraid, but even there, quite often it turned out to be full of various living creatures, from harmless to quite dangerous. So be careful!
Do not forget to take sunscreen with you - it is very cruel, but the water in the taps is very soft, the soap does not wash off well, and it is also not recommended to brush your teeth with it, only with drinking water.
There are many shops on the territory of the hotel, but it is better to buy souvenirs in the old town. There is also something to read, but the cost of books (in Russian) is from 4 dollars. We usually bought one and exchanged the second for a similar one.
When shopping - bargain and fight for every dollar! Such is their culture, you can and should bargain - even in restaurants.
And don't be too lazy to learn at least a few phrases in a foreign language, English, Italian, French - it doesn't matter. Your "service capabilities" will increase many times over. Everywhere I tried to speak only English, the attitude of the staff everywhere changed only for the better. One of the waiters even started to complain to me about RUSSIAN tourists, they say they are stupid, they don’t want to learn at least one foreign language, they say they ONLY speak their own language, but you (he’s talking about me) have very good English, what country are you from arrived? - I say: - From Russia! He has a panic in his face, immediately recovers, saying that not all Russians are stupid... At the end of the conversation, he already addressed me only as sir !! ! - Nicely!
Holidays in Egypt are quite satisfied, without much enthusiasm, but acceptable.
The weather in the first 5 days was not very hot, within 35 degrees, then it only grew and grew. If they have the end of July - the beginning of August - this is the season, I can imagine how hot it can be there, and people are GOING!!!
So those who are going to Egypt in the summer - do not be afraid, you can live !!!
I do not indicate my coordinates (the spammers got it).
If you have any additional questions, please ask
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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