Готель із нюансами Hotel with nuances

The hotel is not so bad and not at all "horror, horror! ", But there are many nuances, because of which the rest in it may not like. Maybe even most people don't like it for sure. Also, respect all the nuances before buying a tour of El Hyatt.
I personally enjoyed the holiday. Probably because the cost of the tour, which included flight, transfer, accommodation and meals, was less than the cost of tickets from Kiev to Sharm and back. I was purposefully going to Dahab or Sharm in the Nabq area, where you can ride a kite. Obviously, at a low price, this option is quite normal.

Who is guaranteed not to like the hotel?
1) For those who want to live by the sea - everything is clear. El Hayat is located on the second line of El Salah Street, the central artery of Nabq. Porto Beach is a 25-minute walk away.
Previously, the hotel rented the much better beach "Pattaya Beach", which is located 10 minutes walk from the hotel. Now "Pattaya" is under repair.

2) Those who want to swim a lot in the sea: ) Forget it. The sea near "Porto Beach" is shallow (as everywhere in Nabq), to a moderate depth, where you can swim, you have to go and go. There is no own pontoon on the beach. Security guards try not to let the pontoons of the neighboring Regency Plaza and Coral Sea hotels.
3) Those who want to see fish. They are also not to be seen on the Porto Beach. You will have to take a tour or go to one of the paid beaches of Sharm (the best, without a doubt - El Fanar, also good Rif Beach and Farsh Beach).
4) Those who are accustomed to a high level of service. Unfortunately, El Hayat has nothing to offer here.
5) Those who are accustomed to modern rooms.
6) Those who are accustomed to a varied and high-quality diet.
7) Those who are accustomed to a rich entertainment program ...
8) Those who come on vacation to "visit with a view of the sea" (although, even in El Hayat, some managed to gather before lunch) ...
9) For those who are very sensitive to cleanliness (note the "Rixos" or "Steigenberger").
10) For those who seek peace and relaxation - in "El Hayat" somewhere there is something noisy during the day by the pool and in the evening. If the room goes to the bar by the lower pool, the evenings can be quite boring.

Who can El Hayat suit:
1) Those who are looking for a very budget vacation
2) Who is ready to go to the sea and fish to other beaches
3) Who wants to use the services of numerous kite stations Nabku
4) Who is going to spend an hour on excursions (including to Israel) and who only needs to spend the night
5) Also, "El Hayat" is an immediate choice for party girls who plan to "tear" Sharma discos at night and take a nap and soak by the pool during the day.

Now about your experience.
I came to El Hayat just in the most "hellish" period between the two Christmases, when scandals broke out at the reception every day, and many guests either moved to other hotels or stayed, but with a sense of resentment and dissatisfaction.

I especially didn't have any problems with the settlement. The plane arrived at about seven. About the eighth was already at the hotel. I greeted the managers in Arabic and asked them to give me a room with a view of the pool (also in Arabic, believe me, it's not difficult to memorize a dozen or two phrases). Asked to wait half an hour. He walked through the area (it is small), when he returned - he got a room in the 23rd building, with a window to the amphitheater and a miniature balcony in the courtyard. Everything in the room was clean and almost everything worked. Decorative lights near the bed did not work. It's scary, of course, but not deadly. The connector of the computer network near the bed did not work (by the way, there is a Wi-Fi reception at the reception).
Also, the TV remote control switched channels, adjusted the volume, but categorically did not want to turn off the TV, for this you had to get out of bed and press the button. Horror, but I managed. Especially since three of the 18 channels were Russian and the rest Arabic, two of which showed films in English with subtitles.
No kidding, but at first I was nervous that for ten days there was never hot, or at least warm water. The choice was between cold and summer. He later became philosophical and declared a decade of hardening. Although, of course, after that, there is no need to talk about the presence of any stars in the hotel.

I also didn't like the food at first (to put it mildly). I did not notice such terrible unsanitary conditions as some of them, but the poor choice of dishes upset me. As well as some problems with utensils. There were sausages only once in ten days for breakfast. And yes - ful, rice, boiled tomatoes, beans.
Cucumbers and tomatoes and cheese (as everywhere). Low-fat sausage and cheese. The pancakes were greased in the evening, and early in the morning they were greasy and cold (so we can assume they were not there at all). Omelettes were made in two pans, so sometimes you had to wait for them. There was no fruit for lunch and dinner until the New Year, which seems nonsense. After the New Year, green melon pieces (no) and oranges (delicious) were put up for lunch.
Trouble with drinks in the dining room (it is clear that the restaurant "Pharaoh" considers the rank of the canteen more). Coffee is only soluble in jars. Coffee cups ran out quickly, replenishment had to wait a very long time. Instead, you could use plastic cups. Which also sometimes ended. Spoons are also only plastic.
You pour juices (from concentrate) for breakfast on your own, for lunch and dinner - you stand in line to be poured into a plastic glass.

In the same queue for beer (in plastic cups, constantly running out, which caused scandals) and wine (appeared several times for dinner, in plastic cups, ended faster than beer).
Meat and fish for lunch and dinner were almost always available, but they could not always be eaten. Sometimes they greased the grill. The chicken was steadily burned to the state of coal, and the sausages and cutlets did not turn out well. Fish - from quite tasty to frankly inedible. Goulash is not bad, rolls were sometimes, boiled pork.
Salads for the New Year were frankly strange, so people ate tomatoes and cucumbers. After the New Year it got a little better, there were even attempts to make a Greek salad (but without oils). I really liked boiled lentils and blue caviar.
The dishes sometimes ran out, which was downright annoying. Or, say, I was surprised by the situation when there are plates, but no forks.
On the other hand, many guests were taken to their rooms by plates, cups and spoons.
The tables were cleaned, but the lack of staff is obvious. That's why most tables are untidy, especially at lunch and dinner. Also frustrating is the lack (almost always) of napkins.

The hotel area is small and beautiful - a lot has been written about it. Unfortunately, not everything is so clean in the "backyards", those who like to walk the side streets, in "El Hayat" should not do it.
By the way, about the gym. They write that he is not in the hotel. It does not. It is under the open sky, under repair, like the whole spa. I once explained to the manager that I really need to visit there from time to time and asked him to provide access to the simulators. It turned out to be easy, because the door to the spa from the side street never closed. So I went to the gym every day. The manager directed the cleaners to remove a thick ball of dust from the dumbbells and benches.
Obviously, I became the first visitor to the hall in a few years. From the props - a bench with a barbell for bench press and a set of "pancakes", a set of dumbbells from 12.5 to 25 kg, a trapeze for traction on the "wings", traction on the triceps. Other simulators do not work, but what is available is enough.


Pools - three of them + puddles for kids. The smallest pool is heated and still quite pleasant to swim, except that small. Large pools, upper and lower, cold. However, you can dive into them, swim a little before jumping into the warm pool. As a bonus, the staff will be amazed if you swim in the warm pool after sunset and even after dinner.
Of the minuses - the space near the pools is small, the beds are close together, they are not enough for everyone.

Bari. On the beach - paid. In the lobby - respect, it is not - it is only paid cocktails or real coffee (also paid).
Poolside bars are open periodically, everything is constantly ending, however, if you do not make this tragedy, then a little pour into the body of rum-cola or "Steele" could almost always be.
In the evening, the bar by the lower pool becomes the epicenter of the party. Sometimes very loud. It was annoying that some visitors were shouting very loudly, and mostly obscenely.

By the way, about the contingent. Mostly Ukrainians and Belarusians. The arrivals of guests from Kazakhstan rolled in waves. There were many Poles. All others were present in an "artificial" version and got to the hotel through booking. com. There were a few Italians, Turks, a few Chinese, a Japanese couple, a couple of Germans, Armenians, Hungarians, and, of course, a number of locals, who, however, did not cause problems like some.
The main problem of the contingent is permanent and public obscene swearing.
It is clear that the Cambridge graduates will not stand in line for El Hayat, but the level of some guests is simply shocking. It's fun, but at the same time sad, to watch scenes from the frozen 90's. All these quasi-boyish manners and ponts. "How are you, brother? ", "Cho for deeds, root! " And in the same spirit. Gold chains, "drop" glasses, tattoos, deliberately inhibited movements and card pronunciation in the nose.
However, this is not the worst option. When a drunken aunt falls by the pool in the morning, yells at the whole hotel, as if "everything is eating. ". and which "everything goes ... " and "which hotel hu ... " It's a little stressful. As well as three seemingly pretty girls with blue eyes, who in the first hours of the hotel managed to get drunk in the trash and burst into the pool shouting "Belarus is breathing, ... " (further cut by censorship).

However, the audience at the hotel somehow changed in waves and there were some great moments. The water polo game Poland-Ukraine-Belarus was fun.
Surprised Chinese couple, stuck by the pool in wetsuits. The real explosion was the arrival of five cheerful girls from Ukraine, who danced on any occasion, including by the pools. Once upon a time there were Italians, one of whom was an animator, but came to "El Hayat" to rest. How this Celentano lit up!

Local animators are guys from Ukraine and a local one, their boss is a girl from Belarus, in principle, they did something, but these are not the ones that hotel guests are used to, so to speak, better. There is actually no special animation in the hotel. Sometimes morning yoga is performed, several times there was aqua aerobics. Once it was similar to a mini-disco, a competition for Mr. and Ms. Hotel and disco, but everything is quite weak.

What is good about the hotel? Most will like the architectural style - "El Hayat" was created as an imitation of the Karnak Temple. Evening interesting lighting (sometimes does not work on all buildings). Interesting room design.
The area is quite green, although compared to "normal" hotels there is nothing so special. After the New Year, they started to include a fountain and two artificial waterfalls - they create the appearance of a certain atmosphere.
I also personally liked that the hotel is close to the Costal Road promenade, a path that runs between a number of Nabku hotels and beaches. In fact, the beach "Porto Beach" is located approximately in the middle of this promenade. Good place and just for walking and jogging. In the morning before breakfast I ran from the hotel to Porto and then along the promenade north past Baouf International (closed), Regency Plaza, Sea Beach, Jazz Mirabelle, Albatross Modern, Steigenberger. Barcelo "and then on a long pontoon by the sea, with a view to run out on it at sunrise.

In the evening, before dinner, there was a "southern route" - from "Porto Beach" past both "Coral Sea", "Aurora", "Lagoon Vista" (under repair), both "Rixos", "Rixos", "TUI Mejik Life", "Amway Owen" "Grand Plaza" and "Parotel" (formerly "Radisson Blue") to the "Nubian Village" with the intention to run the distance before the sun goes down. He came back, not in a hurry, on foot, making a stop to listen to live music in "Rixos".
The guards at Costal Road sometimes try to ask questions, but because there are so many joggers, they don't particularly bother. The universal key is greetings in Arabic. If you can connect a few words in Arabic, you can count on the best attitude and support from the locals.

What? Yes, many have noticed changes for the better after the New Year. Some attribute this to the "riot" staged by dissatisfied guests on the eve of the New Year's party. But this is not the case.
On the eve of the New Year, the hotel hosted a meeting between the manager of the local management company (arrived from Cairo for a day) and either the investor or the investor's representative (stayed at the hotel for two days). The lady spoke perfect English, but it seemed to me that she was German. It was about the gradual introduction of basic services and step by step reaching the level of the former "El Hyatt Swiss Inn". After all, once the hotel was a quality "four", known not only for its architecture, but also good service, as well as incendiary parties (the hotel had its own disco, when they were still few in Shesh).
Actually, it was with this manager, jumping on him suddenly, I agreed to visit the gym. And then we talked a bit about why the hotel is "sick" (I remember it completely different). He said that so far the hotel is just "starting".

After working for ten years without repairs and renovations, it was preserved for two years, until it was sold to another owner. Today the hotel was deconserved, but, as you know, over the years it has somewhat "worn out". It will take a long time to restore it. The owner plans to restore the hotel and only then bring it to European tour operators. Currently, the hotel is booked only for tourists from the CIS and for occasional tourists from booking. And for very little money. Sometimes it's funny to listen when someone complains that the hotel does not pull for 4 stars, but at the same time he paid less than for the worst "three" somewhere on the third line.
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The same summarizing. If you want to relax and do not want to wash a tent - "El Hayat" - a possible choice. If you are raising money for a brand new snowboard and there is nothing to spend, and you want to buy a little summer in the middle of winter - "El Hyatt" is also suitable.
If you are sensitive to the level of service - so far "El Hyatt" is not recommended. Maybe later. But then it will cost a little more money.
However, for any money and in any hotel you can relax well and you can relax badly. It does not always depend on the hotel, but almost always - on the person. Good Egypt to all!