Service, food, territory, pools, beach and sea - at a high level

Written: 5 june 2021
Travel time: 20 — 31 may 2021
Who does the author recommend the hotel to?: For a relaxing holiday; For families with children
Your rating of this hotel:
9.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms: 8.0
Service: 10.0
Cleanliness: 10.0
Food: 9.0
Amenities: 10.0
GAFY RESORT AQUA PARK: THE MOST COMPLETE OVERVIEW OF REST WITH YOUR CHILD

Since the rest was coming with a child of four and a half years, then, this time, we approached the choice of a hotel in more detail than usual. All the requirements were presented to a competent specialist in the selection of tours, Yulia Bazhina. She provided a choice of several hotels, "sharpened" specifically for family vacations. Having carefully studied the descriptions and reviews of tourists, we decided to stay at Gafy Resort Aqua Park 4 * in Sharm El Sheikh (the quietest and calmest place in Naama Bay).
The tour was organized by the Far Far Away travel company, to the service of which there are no complaints at all: patiently, quickly, politely and professionally.

We flew with the Ukrainian charter airline Windrose Airlines. We didn’t buy food on board, because we thought that the prices were too high, and “homemade” sandwiches would be clearly more useful. They took off on schedule. The aircraft cabin is clean and well-groomed, the crew is polite.
Wet wipes and small bottles of non-carbonated mineral water were provided free of charge during the flight. Of the inconveniences, only two toilets in the “tail” work for the entire “Airbus”, and those in front are only “for staff”.
Arriving in Sharm el-Sheikh, they stood in line to present a negative PCR test, which was done in 72 hours. Then they gave the completed questionnaires, received a stamp in the passport and “Welcome”! We walked past a duty free shop, because there was nothing on the shelves except for vodka ...
The host was "TUI Group". Her representative showed us which way to go to the transport, called the number of our "van", but did not show us. I had to with suitcases (it was already dark) to literally push through between the taxi drivers ...
We had an individual transfer, but halfway to the hotel, the representative of the company asked to stop: we drove past his house, “And there is a pregnant wife ... ” In general, he left and we went further without him.
The hotel greeted us with unusual purple lighting and friendly staff at the reception desk. We approached an employee named Rami (Romio Gamal). He speaks and understands Russian very well. After checking the voucher, he offered different options for settling (floor and building). Looking ahead, I’ll say that it’s better to turn to him with all questions - he can “resolve” almost everything with an unflappable smile.
We chose the newer 4th building and the 2nd floor (or rather, it was called “first”, because the one below is the ground floor). Superior room and "deluxe" are located in such buildings. "Standards" are located on both sides of the main pool and the water park and are built in the style of the residential quarters of the Egyptian village ...Their minus is the lack of a balcony and noise

. Between the water slides and the large pool is an all-inclusive bar and music (from 7 am, when breakfast starts, until night). Mostly nice tunes from old movies and "backing tracks" of popular hits like "Yesterday".
Superior room: clean and comfortable room with a small refrigerator, air conditioning, TV (except Arabic, there is one Ukrainian and Russian channels) and a very large and comfortable bed, which is neatly covered with clean linen. There are many pillows and they are comfortable. The closet has a blanket and a safe. For a child, they brought a folding bed, on which an adult can easily fit. All her flaws were hidden by a stunning mattress of 25 cm thickness. On the balcony with a high railing - a table and two chairs. The bathroom has a good hair dryer, a spacious shower, different towels, disposable gels and shampoos.
I agree with some tourists: yes, the repair and furniture are not new, but nothing is falling apart and everything works. There is nothing really "terrible" in the room. And, in general, people come here to the sea or look behind the toilet to study - what condition is the tile in there ? ! If necessary, you can ask for an iron and an electric kettle. Cleaning is unobtrusive and high quality. Cons, if desired, can be found everywhere, but here they are not striking - you need to be aware that you are not going to an expensive "five", but, nevertheless, to a good, but "four". I’ll add on my own that “Gafi” is even better than some hotels with “five stars” ...
It is worth noting just the huge territory of the hotel and spacious pools (deep and shallow, for children, adults and for water games with a ball, in which gates are installed). Therefore, there are never many people in each of them, because they are all dispersed in different "reservoirs".
Everywhere is very beautiful: intricate flowerbeds, flowering trees and shrubs, decorative masonry made of wild stone, bridges and passages, illumination of bushes, palm trees and paths.

Wi-Fi works well in the lobby of the central building and on the animation area near the beach, as well as sometimes in the restaurant and around the pool bar. To connect, you need to ask the reception for a leaflet with a username and password, which works for one week. This service is free. By the way, Facebook works without logging in to the Internet - just start Wi-Fi.
Interesting fact: the owners of the hotel live here.
Above the territory of the hotel, in general, as well as over other hotels in Naama Bay, quite often at a low altitude (you can read the inscription on the “belly” or look at the logo) planes fly by. But, firstly, it does not bother at all and practically no one pays attention to them, and, secondly, the children really like it!
Separately, it is necessary to note the security system: an armed duty officer at the main entrance and a security guard in a booth near the beach (the hotel and its beach are “cut” by several meters of the embankment), duty and video cameras are everywhere (on all buildings and on the beach). If the door handle in the room is pressed for a few seconds in the “open” position (with the lock closed), then an audible alarm is triggered.
It's nice that all the staff greet each guest. In general, the staff is very polite and treats children wonderfully, despite their not always good behavior…
The huge territory is all in flowers, very well-groomed and "green". From morning until evening they water, cut, process ...They wash the tiles and after 17.00 they clean the pools with special underwater vacuum cleaners. Traps for insects hang on the trees, but, nevertheless, mosquitoes still "get it" (a fumigator and good sprays for children and adults can be bought at a nearby pharmacy).
There are many date palms, the fruits of which are covered with special red nets (so that they do not fall on the head and crows do not peck at them). By the way, these birds guard careless vacationers on the beach in order to steal various sweets ...

Fruits can be bought literally twenty meters from the entrance to the beach, turning towards the center (watermelon - $ 3-4 apiece, mango - $ 2 per kilogram). If you walk another 10 meters, then on the right there will be one of the best pharmacies in all of Sharm el-Sheikh. In general, there are only four El Ezaby state pharmacies in the city, and this is one of them. There is an amazing selection of drugs at good prices and, most importantly, a competent pharmacist Nasser (Nasser Behairy), who speaks excellent Russian and English. He not only loves his job, but also professionally recommends the right drug, carefully listening to the symptoms. In general, with such a pharmacy nearby, we are incredibly lucky! Yes, and products for protection from the sun and from burns are also sold here.
Despite the low prices for medicines, Panthenol and baby food are expensive. So, in the pharmacy there are small glass jars with thick fruit yogurt for $ 1.5 ...
Before the trip, we were a little puzzled by the dissatisfaction of some people with the fact that the children's water park (Aquazone) and slides do not always work. In fact, this turned out not to be the case! There is a clear work schedule for "Aquazone" 11 to 13 and from 15 to 17 (do not confuse with Kidzone near the beach - it was closed. You could ride only on the swing located between it and the entrance to the beach). Believe me, this time is enough, especially since lunch is from 13 to 15! Someone wrote that water on large slides is turned on on demand. And this is true: agree, why the system will function if no one goes skating for 20 minutes. But, if you want to move out, then by the time you climb the stairs, everything will be turned on!
About food: there was enough for everyone and everything!
Yes, you need to show or say what you want, and everything will be put on your plate. But that's not a problem at all! You can immediately ask for supplements or come up several times ...Of course, there are queues, but if you are not very hungry or do not want to stand for 5-6 minutes, come to the restaurant not at the opening, but after 20 minutes. In the morning they offer - various pastries, pancakes, scrambled eggs, eggs, mashed potatoes and baked potatoes, cereals, milk porridges, all kinds of vegetables, salads, hard and soft cheese, sausage, yogurt, tea, coffee, cappuccino ...For lunch - various soups, meat and fish, meatballs and roasts, vegetables on barbecue, pasta, boiled rice and pilaf, fresh and grilled chopped vegetables and a variety of salads, fruits, pickled dates, various pastries (sweets and buns), juices, water and alcohol. For dinner, dishes on the grill are added (chicken kebab, kebab, grilled tuna, etc. ).

The restaurant staff, without exaggeration, is running around in the sweat of their brow, cleaning dirty dishes, setting tables and bringing new dishes to the windows. All this is monitored by the general manager Mohamed Salah. It can be seen that a person has gone through a difficult career ladder and knows all the nuances of this difficult work. He not only monitors and directs, but, if necessary, helps each of his employees. And it’s not shameful for him, as a chef, to take a pile of plates and quickly take them to the right rack or, for example, become a substitute for baking pancakes ...
Almost all dishes in the restaurant are prepared without unnecessary spices, so pasta, soups, rice, etc. are quite suitable for children. If you need warm milk in the morning, you just need to take an empty glass and ask the person who “stands on cereal” to pour it.
Every evening after dinner, a projector is turned on in the street and fans can comfortably watch football matches live.
Regarding drinking water: it is in the restaurant and in the bar, located between the water slides and the large pool. It is poured either into glasses or into plastic "one and a half" (no problem).
Beach - on the sand there are free comfortable sunbeds, good umbrellas and comfortable plastic chairs. Sunset in the sea is sandy, there are no corals, but stones fall. In principle, shoes ("corals") are not needed, but it is better to look under your feet. The water is very clean and beautiful fish come across near the shore. If you walk 20 meters, a rocky bottom and a small reef with dead corals begin. The fish here are different in color and size. Pufferfish, stingrays, a parrot, a hornbill fish, a butterfly, a surgeon and others were seen ...Lifeguards with loud whistles are constantly on duty on the shore, who are constantly watching the swimmers.
So the sea here is suitable for both children and adults.
By six in the evening, everyone is asked to get out of the water and leave the beach.
And this is not a whim: we specifically looked at what happens next. Employees clean and clean the beach, and then drag an iron “blank” tied with chains to level the sand. If you think about it, when it gets dark, you can’t clean it up here, but they are trying for vacationers…
On the beach, unlike the pools, modern hits are played.

There is also a bar, but it is paid. A rather strange and even funny system: for example, you order juice (water, whiskey, cola ... ) and the bartender follows it to the free Island Bar by the pool. That is, you wait more time than you would spend on it yourself and then you also pay ...
Playful animators do not let you get bored all day long: Lera (speaks Russian, English and Arabic), Heba (Russian and Arabic), Ika (Arabic and English) and Marcello (Arabic and some Russian and English). And, I want to say that they are one of the best we have seen.
The day starts with exercises, then aqua aerobics, darts tournaments, yoga, dancing (bachata, salsa, etc. ), a children's disco, and in the evening - competitions for adults, national dances and much more.
There is a gym for sports simulators, which is led by a Russian-speaking and very pleasant athlete Arnold. They also do good massages here. On the edge of the beach there are massage tables of the same salon. Behind them is the shop "Aladdin" (that's the name of the owner). He walks along the beach with “corals” in his hands and all the time talks about the supposedly new delivery. He mainly has magnets, Chinese children's toys (for water and sand), inflatable circles, etc. But if you don’t buy anything from him, then his smile disappears and he passes by without noticing ...But next to there is Abdul's shop called "Sphinx". Here, on the beach, oddly enough, you can buy very high quality Egyptian knitwear at great prices.
In addition to traditional T-shirts (for children and adults), there are white unisex tunics with sleeves and a hood that are so necessary for relaxing. They are especially relevant for walking along the beach and contemplating fish - you definitely won’t get burned in them. In general, Abdul is a decent devout Muslim who chooses very high-quality goods for sale, while not overpricing. At noon, he goes to prayer and, trusting people, does not lock the shop...
Rest with a child implies some entertainment. We chose an independent trip to the Old City (4 dollars for a taxi), a bathyscaphe and a dolphinarium.

In the Old Town, everything is clear, and two excursions were bought from the host TUI. Of course, it was possible to take a boat tour with a transparent bottom on the beach, but ...it's just a small vessel with muddy plastic at the bottom ...Therefore, we refused it.
The bathyscaphe cost for three (they paid for two adults, and the child was free) 80 dollars. When tourists were brought to the port, there was a small market with high prices and a bar. Landing on the bathyscaphe was waiting for 30 minutes ....And suddenly, we will buy something ...Then there was a wonderful one and a half hour walk along the sea, during which from the lower deck through the huge windows you could admire the beauties of the Ras Mohammed underwater reserve.
I emphasize that the cost of both excursions turned out to be much lower than indicated in the official advertising booklet of the company, because we began to bargain with the guide and the price “went down”.
In the dolphinarium, I really wanted to swim with dolphins and, naturally, the question arose: would my wife be able to shoot everything on a smartphone.
"Of course, " the guide replied. “They will even show her where it’s better. ”
They picked us up 15 minutes late and we were late for the start of the show (and we didn’t buy an excursion on the beach! ).
On the way, we decided to clarify once again about the shooting.
“What are you doing! Of course you can't shoot! »
“So, we were told that we can! ? »
“You misunderstood it ...difficulties in translation ... ”
In general, we arrived when the fur seals were already spinning balls on their black faces with might and main.
I really liked the show of hefty and very smart dolphins.
At the end, everyone, except those who will swim with them, was asked to leave.
We paid $70 for 15 minutes (they offered another half-hour option).

The dolphins were separated and there were only two of them left in our half of the pool. We thought that we would swim with them, and then the next people ...But no such luck. Again, “difficulties in translation”: six people were called into the water at once, who took turns taking pictures with mammals ...Then a quick dance: you take it by the fins and it drags you with incredible speed to the center of the pool and starts spinning. At some point it is already unclear: where-what ..?
Then the dolphin delivers the partner to the side ...While you come to your senses, others are dancing. Then the swimmers take turns taking the dolphin's fin and rapidly carrying the person through the pool. Let's be honest, there are, of course, a lot of positive emotions and impressions, but we expected something completely different - that there would be no more people in the water than mammals. And one girl was generally brought to tears by the “dolphin tamers” with screams. She tried from afar (from the stands!!! ) to take a picture of her family. The thing is that there is a cameraman and a photographer who immediately transfer the footage to the office. There you can buy your favorite photos for 5 dollars apiece and videos for 35 ...So, the business here is higher than the verses from the Koran about Islam - the religion of peace and goodness ...By the way, in the situation with this scandal, we must pay tribute to the representative of TUI, Mahmoud, who, as best he could, tried to calm the offended tourist ...
Summing up the hotel, we can say the following: service, food, territory, pools, beach and sea - at a high level. The main thing is that the child is happy, who was delighted with the children's water park, the sea and the animators!
...The transfer to the airport arrived 20 minutes late, despite the fact that it was private. Now there are few tourists, so we relatively quickly passed all the controls and checks (removing belts and shoes) and ended up in the waiting area and Duty free. The choice here, unlike the arrivals hall, is much larger, but the prices seemed high. Then there were shops with tea, coffee and souvenirs - everything is the same as on the streets of the resort Sharm, only much more expensive. So, it is better not to postpone the purchase of magnets, key chains, cups, plates or sweets ...

Andrey TSURKANOV
Translated automatically from Russian. View original