Trip to Royal Grand Sharm Hotel (2016)
Somehow it so happened that for a long time we go to Egypt in the Red Sea in winter to visit fish, bask in the sun, taste oriental exoticism. The exception was the year when there were unrest and the revolution that overthrew Mubarak, and last year when I did not dare to fly, because. before trying out a hospital bed in intensive care. I grabbed my heart (years after all! ).
And then my wife's anniversary, and my sons suggested that my mother fly to Egypt. Well, how is it possible to let a woman go alone, but to eastern countries! I had to try to fly as a "rapist and slut" of a suitcase, as well as an escort in the "wild wilds" of Egypt. The family of my friends, who had never been abroad before, and whom I had long been inciting for this business, also joined us. For my part, the sense is “I can’t cope with the suitcase, a friend will help. ” With him - I'm still not the first time abroad, but suddenly there is a conflict - I'll sort it out. And together it’s easier to capitalize vodka and whiskey. In general, everything seemed to work out, the selection of a hotel and flights began.
The sons decided that mom can only live in a 5* hotel, we are looking for Anex, Joyne, Koral. Either the hotel is not suitable, then the time. A friend still had to close one business, also a hitch. And then my son urgently needed to go to Europe (Dresden, Munich) on business for 10 days by car. And when everything slowly finally adds up, it turns out that there are no charters either from Zaporozhye or Dnepropetrovsk, you can’t normally fly from Odessa. Or Kyiv, or Kharkov. In Kyiv there are flights to Hurghada, from Kharkov - only Sharm. Yes, that's what the periphery means! To Kharkov - 4-5 hours by train, but landing in Zaporozhye at 1-15 at night, in Kharkov at 6-01, and wait for the plane until 15-10. But. . . the women agreed, but we "had it! ", we can sit longer! It was decided, through Kharkiv to Sharm El Sheikh! Departure 20.0216 - Arrival 27.02. 16.
Let's go. Everything is on schedule. I haven't been to Kharkov for a long time! The huge station is almost empty, because the Crimean and Eastern directions are closed. And I remember the times when there was no place to sit in the waiting rooms. We handed over our luggage to the luggage room, found McDonalds, drank some coffee, had a little debate about where we would have lunch, because Neither the station nor the airport prices suited us. We agreed at the "Pot-bellied Hut" on Sumy, because no one else suggested it, and soon, having collected our little things, we drove there. It was convenient there, no one touched us, we ate calmly, marked the beginning of the trip and from the square. The Soviet, now the Constitution, went to the airport.
Yes, at one time so much money was invested in the terminals for the EURO-12! Two huge empty terminals, among them an old airport with columns. Our terminal is on the left, we arrived quite early, there are almost no people (only 7-8 flights per day), the attendants are almost invisible. Already at the entrance to the terminal security control, frame, baggage check. We went through all this, then there are benches, chairs. We still need to wrap the suitcases with foil. The cost of this service at the airport is 100 UAH. For a suitcase or bag. Yes, and back from Sharm, you need to do this procedure, so we bought a roll of film for wrapping in Zaporozhye.
You can eat at the airport, and drink too, but looking at the bored bartender, we took an espresso and recharged with what we "had". Cognac "Shabo" went for a sweet soul. Leftover appetizer too. Well, do not throw it away before customs inspection!
The registration time has come. Now "Anex" flies on its charter wings, the airline "AzurAvia". The plane is a Boeing, apparently after repairs, the Americans do not put artificial leather on the seats. I am satisfied that my legs fit between the rows and that I was comfortable, although this is not always the case.
Charter aircraft cabin from AzurFvia
I fit in a chair.
But we are still, having passed customs and passport control, in the waiting room (second floor of the terminal). The women went to study Duty, we are waiting for landing.
The boarding passes through the sleeve, the guides smile, the people settle down, exclamations of joy, the nervous laughter of some women (I think that this is after the road to the track).
The plane taxis onto the taxiway and stops for an hour. There are some negotiations, the commander reassures the passengers. It turns out that one passenger has a very high blood pressure, she cannot fly, she is removed from the flight.
In general, we are already in the air, we are flying! Instead of lunch, they serve sandwiches (a roll, cheese, a little sausage, a leaf of lettuce, filled with sauce, but edible. ) There are juices, tea, coffee. The flight lasted about 4 hours, it was already dark outside, the lights of Sharma were visible, they sat down normally, to applause. Sharm was an hour late.
Yes, the body survived the flight normally, did not kick.
They brought us by bus to the entrance to the terminal, then a counter where representatives of the host country should distribute immigration cards. Market dialect of the Arabs, attempts to line up the crowd, and all this in order to breed newcomers for money. Trying to prove that we will issue immigration cards incorrectly, and they will do it better, did not affect me. I calmly demanded cards for myself and my fellow travelers, the Arab changed, I stood my ground, demanding what I should be given without question, he only said that “show the tickets”, I waved them in front of his nose and we went to fill out the cards.
I am writing in such detail so that our people understand that the Arabs are obliged to issue immigration cards to them, but filling them out by the Arabs themselves or for baksheesh is another matter. Everything is simple there, everything is written off from the passports in Latin letters in the required columns, on the reverse side in the column - Special marks are written SINAI ONLY, if you do not leave the Sinai Peninsula, otherwise you go, here you buy an Egyptian visa for $ 25 in the bank window . Maybe I’m writing so extensively in vain, but when I saw how resignedly our people give money to arrogant representatives of the travel company for nothing, I could not help but write. We witnessed a scandal, when passports were taken away from already heavily drunk people, and I don’t know what it was - extortion or deportation. We go to the border guard, who slaps a Sinai stamp on my passport and on to my suitcases. Having found them, we go to the exit, there are buses from Aneks and the attendant distributes them among the buses according to the lists.
It was already dark when we arrived at our ROYAL GRAND SHARM hotel, which is located in the Hadaba Ras UM El SID area, where the best hotels in the area are located. The bus drives up from AL FANAR street, the facade of the hotel is beautifully illuminated, palm trees in front of the facade are also illuminated with LEDs.
Luggage is being unloaded, we are invited to have dinner first, and then check into the hotel. This proposal was enthusiastically accepted, because officially dinner at the hotel has already ended. The restaurant is here on the same floor, waiters run around, a menu with meat and fish dishes, vegetables and fruits is offered; to them drinks, white and red wine, beer. Strong drinks were not offered, but there is a lobby bar next to it, and you could have a drink even stronger, but first you need to “grow thick”, i. e. register and get accommodation.
And everyone slowly moves from the tables with food to the reception desk. I warned my people in advance that I was not going to pay extra money for a sea view, for the first room to the sea or to the pool. Not worth the room where I will mostly sleep, well, or change clothes.
I was offered room 412 in the main building on the fourth floor. My only condition is that I do not appear at the reception in the morning to change the room (so that there are no surprises). "Good! " - "Good"! ! A tag with the room number on the suitcase - they promised to bring it to the elevator and to the room themselves.
Huge room - 32 m, plus a terrace, with half a room.
This is room 412 in the hotel
There is a toilet with a toilet bowl, a bidet, a large washbasin with everything you need, a separate shower room (not a cabin! ). Two huge built-in wardrobes, two separate beds, both along and across, well, and little things: a chest of drawers, a dressing table with a mirror, bedside tables, wicker chairs and an armchair, a coffee table, a small refrigerator, a safe, beach chairs with a table on the terrace. You can get tired by listing everything!
The terrace is very large, the sea looks out
Everything is like that for my wife, I ask, “what, should I go change? ”. “What, let’s go explore the territory! ” Then a suitcase arrived, baksheesh - “one dollar”, we took a shower and looked at the surrounding area.
Our main building has four residential floors, the side wings are three-story, and there are two-story bungalows on the territory and there are villas.
Entrance to the main building from the sea or descent from the main building to the sea. It's hard to say !
To get to the territory of the hotel, you need to go down (which is unusual! ), and then either to the sea, or to the pool, or walk along the still unknown paths of the park. Beautifully illuminated bushes and trees, water murmurs from pool to pool, a moonlit path above the sea. Music sounds from the top platform. Delight, beauty!! ! And most importantly - the night, but warm, we are in T-shirts! First impressions of the hotel are very positive. We're going to rest, after all, on a trip - a day.
So, we have eight days of rest in Egypt. Hotel ROYAL GRAND SHARM 5 *, reviews about it are various, mostly good. The territory of the hotel is 52.000 sq. m, 350 rooms. The main building of the hotel is interestingly designed. It is attached to the slope, and when you drive up, you see only a two-story facade, and there are six of them!
Two-story facade of the hotel, also the 6th in the building
The building houses the main services, reception,
several shops, here is the main restaurant "Caravanserai", it is on the right, then its large terrace overlooking the sea. It's nice to eat food and enjoy the sea. We leave the doors of the main building to the terrace in the center, there is a large stage where all evening performances are held, there are tables, you can dance. The area on the left is dedicated to the A’La Cart “La Seppia” restaurant (one visit is free), there is also a lobby bar that is open until 24 hours.
Main Terrace
If you go down the stairs to the 5th floor - there is a SPA - a salon, saunas, a hookah, a disco, a doctor, a pharmacy. The remaining floors from the first to the fourth are residential.
Here we go down the stairs, but it is better to take the elevator
In order to go down to the sea and to the hotel territory in general, you need to take the elevator and move down to the first floor. I repeat, this is unusual, because to buses, to a restaurant or reception - press upstairs to the 6th floor.
From the central exit of the main building at the bottom we get to the pools with beautiful bridges. Near them is the Gulf Stream bar, where from 10-00 until sunset you can drink drinks, fortified and non-alcoholic, there is a coffee machine, and at lunchtime they serve pizza, prepare quite tasty hot sandwiches with various fillings, Greek salad is also worth attention.
Central pool, Gulfstream bar peeking out to the right
Gulfstream Bar
Next, you can go along the paths to the promenade that runs along the beach, take towels there and decide where you will go to the beach.
Promenade along the beaches
The beach is 230 meters long, sand is poured, but towards the sea there is a steep coast, there are a couple of slopes to the sea and there are small patches of sand in shallow water.
Beach, steep bank behind the fence
The rest is coral reef. Exit it along the pontoon bridge, which is located at the left edge of the hotel's beach.
Exit to the pontoon
Pontoon near the reef
Next to the top is a diving club, as well as daytime entertainment (bocha, volleyball court, animation, etc. ). In that area, we settled for a beach holiday. There is a coral reef nearby, where there are a lot of fish, and they go out into the shallow water for photo shoots. The baited body fish Kuzya lives there, a rather large size, feeds from the hands.
This is the same Kuzya, I liked the Ukrainian bread, unlike the hotel bread.
The coral reef is not bad, as for reefs near hotels, however, I did not meet moray eels, but the rest of the underwater world was there. I think that we were lucky that one fine day 3 cuttlefish swam up to the pontoon. My opinion is marriage games. It is interesting how they changed colors - from light brown in white stars to soft pink.
Cuttlefish sailed to the shore
They showed off near us and sailed away.
The sea was (according to my feelings) - 24-25 degrees, the air was also somewhere, but in the shade. One day the sea was full of sheep and the pontoon wobbled quite a lot, but there were no fewer fish underwater.
In the first hour we started moving towards the taverns. We pass by the beach bar "Blue water",
Bar translates as "Blue Water", not Bluewater.
The coffee machine is set up very well there, the bartender pours spirits well, beer is poured from bottles, a little appetizer before dinner; then the pool, it is not heated, 17-18 degrees, few people flop there, but I need it.
We wash off sea salt with a friend, then we swim to the bar!
Fresh clean water washes away salt, the body invigorates in such water, relaxation disappears, and we swim to the Gulfstream bar with a breaststroke. Wives watch us along the shore. There we either stop for lunch, or, taking it for heating, at the room to dine in the main restaurant.
In the bar you can eat sandwiches with various fillings, pizza, delicious Greek salad
In terms of nutrition, there are enough meat (without pork and venison) and fish dishes. On the grill they bake chicken, pieces of fish, make pizza, two or three types of soups, vegetables, fruits, salads, fillings for them are offered. The food I would call international, local dishes are rare. There were no days of national cuisine, which were in Hurghada in the local hotel restaurants, by the end of the week everything was already boring. As I joked - “I would already have a borzchechka or... soup and with giblets (Vysotsky-second part)” But everything is edible, we did not observe any disorders. I won’t say anything about cooking, not my bread, but my wife wore all sorts of shaking sweet dishes, and all sorts of pies and puffs. That is, they are. Schedule - breakfast from 7 am to 10 am, lunch from 1 pm to 3 pm, dinner from 7 pm to 9 pm.
Friends signed us up with them at the La Seppia restaurant. I was convinced that there was nothing to do there, I had never eaten such a disgusting dinner in restaurants, beef boiled to the fiber with a couple of pieces of potatoes once fried and it was not clear when the drained salad was made. Good for free (free), or maybe because, but such a quality of food.
In a restaurant
Service. I didn’t see our room - fight, but the room was clean and tidy, shampoos were replenished, those towels that needed to be replaced were replaced. The bed was changed daily, figures with flowers appeared on it. In general, what should be in normal hotels.
Beds with flowers from room-boy
Shows and entertainment. Various performances were organized daily on the large terrace. These are Arabic dances, and skirts, and a fakir show, and a fire show, and all sorts of things, both from animators and artists from outside. Constantly in the evening they sang, and in good voices, two Irina, one is more inclined to perform rock, the other is closer to the stage. Girls - animators did not let you get bored with their enthusiasm. This is both during the day and in the evenings.
Belly dance
I was not interested in excursion service, especially at the prices of Anex.
Already at the meeting, the Anex guides again began to talk about the fact that without their participation you don’t go anywhere and don’t go, you will be deceived, you will end up in the police, etc. etc. Naturally, someone falls for this and walks, looking around, suddenly problems arise. This is all nonsense!
Remember, on vacation you are absolutely free. No one has the right to control when and where you went out, where you bought excursions and souvenirs. To move around the city, it is enough to have only a passport. And he is unlikely to be needed.
What else interests you - there is no free WiFi, paid 24 hours - 75 LE at the reception, the password changes. Currency can be exchanged at an ATM on the 5th floor near the hookah bar. There is also a medical center and a pharmacy. In order not to go far, there is also a disco, drinks are paid there.
Yes, I think that this hotel is not for children, it is very difficult to go into the sea, there is practically no place for them to relax in the sea.
Very steep banks
But... there is a children's pool, playgrounds. Yes, I forgot, there is also a heated pool, but I was not interested in it, so I forgot about it.
Pool and playground at the bungalow
One of the days, when our friends went on an excursion to Jerusalem, we decided to walk around the Old City of Sharma, not far away, but I have never seen such a deserted city. The shops are half closed, if you show any interest, they will run after you, grab your hand, just to come in and look. Suddenly, deign to buy something! As much as I love bargaining in Arab shops, but when I saw some kind of begging look from the merchant, I did not go in, as if you would go in and buy something for alms. Empty, without tourists and not like Egypt.
We decided that we would stop our adventures in Sharm, rest, sunbathe and swim in the Red Sea, especially since time is short. Departure on February 27 at 9-50, the transfer will come for us at 5-30, or even earlier (missing day), it turns out only six out of 8 days of rest. A very convenient schedule for your own charter for the tour operator.
The last evening in Sharm. Sorry to leave. It is amazingly warm, the sea sparkles from the veranda, the full moon, the glare of lanterns in the emerald pool from the illumination, we are sitting at a table, drinking whiskey, wine,
Last day at the hotel
We listen to beautiful singing (actually, they sang quite well! ) And we think that we should already go to pack our bags to leave for home. They said at the reception when they wake us up, the elevator lowers us to our room, we throw things into the suitcase and we are ready to fly. The alarm will just ring!
In the morning we got up, brushed our teeth (yes, I didn’t mention that upon arrival you have two 0.5 liter bottles of drinking water to drink and brush your teeth, and then you can take them in any bar) and go up to the reception by the elevator. We hand over a magnetic card - a key, two cards for towels, in return we get a so-called dry ration - breakfast, bracelets are cut off and nothing more connects us with the hotel. A bus is coming, we are loaded into it, in half an hour we are at the airport of Sharm.
Immediately at the entrance, a security check. The conveyor for things, a frame for the tourist. If you call, then manual inspection. Male customs officers inspect, or rather feel with their hands, men, customs officers - women. On the contrary, I didn't see it. I haven't seen hand scanners like in Europe either.
This is a preliminary screening. Ahead is still the same, but shoes are removed (keep this in mind! ) and passport control. The border guard slapped the second stamp, and you are no longer in Egypt. The airport hall is half empty, we are waiting for boarding.
While we are waiting, I will tell you about one previously unfamiliar method of begging for baksheesh.
I went into the men's room, I'm sorry, I did my business, I don't see how to wipe my hands after washing them. No napkins! And the cleaner is standing near the container with toilet paper, tears it off and says "baksheesh - one dollar. " I sent it in all languages, but then it turned out that they even have a price for such a service. But maybe he can offer you to wipe your hands yourself, for money, of course.
It's time to board the plane. There are two buses, loaded and go to the plane. There, near the conveyor, our suitcases and bags are lined up in the cargo hold. It is announced - “we go out in small batches one by one, look for our things and hand them over to the loader”, who puts them on the conveyor, and the luggage goes on the plane. And we are waiting for something. Luggage unpacking is over, we are put back into the buses, we drive around the plane to the passenger ladder and enter the plane. Service, however! This is how the security system in Egypt is now set up.
The plane is not bad, after repair, maybe the same one that we flew to Sharm, but the crew is different and surprisingly consists of only men, pilots and flight attendants, and not stewardesses. It's rare to see this, I see it for the first time.
The flight went smoothly. When approaching Kharkov, clouds descended, but passed through fog, drizzle and we were jumping along the runway. Hares, which skipped us on takeoff, did not react to the arrival. Next, the usual passport control, on the track we dismantle the suitcases. In time, we look at what we can catch a high-speed train in Zaporozhye, call two taxis and we are already at the South Station. The cost of a taxi from the airport to the station is UAH 65, station taxi drivers asked for UAH 120. Don't be fooled!
Next - Ukrainian routine! The carriages are equipped with soft seats, such as aircraft, chairs, there is no buffet on the train, it takes 5 hours to travel, if you want - sleep, if you want - read, the train will take you home, it will drive along the rails.
Zaporozhye railway station, then a minibus, and we are at home, a week of summer holidays in Egypt has passed, we are getting used to the slushy Zaporozhye winter.
Conclusions: I recommend the ROYAL GRAND SHARM hotel for a holiday in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Despite the minor (for me) shortcomings, the hotel is in a good location, it has a good coral reef, the area is quite green, there are many pools. Service is good.
The hotel is rather old, it already needs cosmetic repairs somewhere, but it can still accept not very fastidious guests. I give him 4+.
Landscapes of the hotel will be in the photo album. I'll add it! Ask questions!
