Годовщина революции или Sinai only Anniversary of the Revolution or Sinai only

Good afternoon, dear lovers of tourism and the Red Sea. So the time has come (although it would be more correct - it has passed) to write a review about the next (second) trip to Egypt. Since our first acquaintance with the country of the pharaohs took place in Hurghada to the accompaniment of revolutionary slogans, it was decided to visit Sharm El Sheikh for the second time. We chose winter time for rest (I like to fall into summer in winter) - exactly on the anniversary of the revolution.
The operator this time was Pegasus. Flight, meeting, transfer - everything was traditional. Without remarks, on time, with smiles. At the airport, they filled out migration cards, wrote "Sinai only" and without any extra questions (and costs) received an entry stamp. The Continental Plaza Hotel is very close to the airport, so after 20-30 minutes (we visited two more hotels) we were already there. Since the time of settlement has not yet come (14-00, and we arrived at 9-00), we tried to resolve the issue of settling immediately. However, "you have to wait" lasted until 12-00. Well there is no way! During this time, we walked around the territory and got acquainted with its sights.
The hotel consists of two parts "Coral" (closer to the sea) and "Fairous" (closer to the water slides). The reception building separates these parts. Since it was winter, the occupancy of the hotel was 40% percent and part of the "Fairose" remained uninhabited at that time. The hotel itself is located perpendicular to the sea. If you look at the sea, then on the right hand is the subsidiary hotel "Continental Garden Reef hotel" - also 5 * with free movement around the territory of two hotels: we could go to them to a disco, and they to us - to the water park. More about the water park - 3 adult slides + children's pool with a slide. He worked according to the schedule, but only the promised heating was not there... (three days later, we still "got" the receptionists and turned on the heating). But I won't get ahead of myself. So, by 12-00 we received the keys to the rooms (and we were four families with a total of 10 heads) and went to rest from the road.

The rooms are typical "standard" class hotel rooms. Quite sufficient size with all the necessary minimum for a comfortable existence for 10 nights. There were no complaints about the cleanliness, serviceability of plumbing and household appliances. The window (balcony) overlooked the pool. Every morning the sun "painted the walls of the white... " building with a gentle light, and at the same time woke us up. In general, I liked the territory and architecture of the hotel, and if we add to this a good location - in a small bay, cascading, hidden from the winds, with a short pier, and even ALL INCL in winter on the beach... Everything! I want back!
Something I digress. So, I continue. I counted 3 pools in the hotel - the previously mentioned one near the water slides (heated on request! ), Under our windows (cold and empty, respectively) and, let's call it "lower", near the beach (it was just heated). The beach is good. The supporting wall created a natural shelter from the wind. Sand. The pontoon is short (20 meters), plastic. There is a bar on the beach - light drinks + flour snacks (like "pizza"). Naturally, all this in Egyptian design - drinks in plastic 0.2 liters each, "pizza" - a distant resemblance to the original name, but on the beach, after all, they sunbathe, and do not engage in gluttony! Sea without comment! Cool reef! The water is clear and salty. Fish - large and small, colored. Sharks are ordinary, white, with teeth : ) But let's not talk about sad things. The weather was amazing - the sun, air and water are our best friends!
Meals - in the central (non-residential) building where the reception is located, there are two restaurants: if you look from the sea, then on the 1st and 2nd floors (and on the 3rd - the reception). Due to the fact that the hotel was not fully occupied, the lowest restaurant did not work. The food is ordinary with a typical taste for Egypt - a lot of pastries, "first", "second", "third"... well, fruits. There were always grilled dishes. In general, you will not be hungry, but without gastronomic claims - the hotel then belongs to the budget "five". Alcohol is also a local spill - for an amateur. If last time we raised glasses with gin for the revolution, then on its anniversary we sat down more on whiskey-cola - in general, drink tea and you won’t be mistaken.
In the evenings, animation was held on the reception balcony - various competitions such as "Mr. Hotel, Miss Hotel, Mrs. Bungalow, Mississippi River... ", and then they turned on the tape recorder and it began: "Girls are standing, standing aside, teasing cocktails in their hands... " . In general, with the evening animation at that time it was rather weak. For comparison, we went to the neighboring "Continental Garden Reef", so they have specials. the room is set aside for a discotheque and a bar is present. Everything looks more solid.

Now a little about the city. We got there too. To begin with, we went to the Old Market to buy souvenirs for home (magnets, trinkets, rags, fruits), and at the same time we ate in one of the fish restaurants (I read the name here on the site, but I don’t remember). Outwardly - an unpresentable building resembling a dining room of some factory, but inside it is pretty decent, the service is at the level, the menu is in Russian, the waiters are in broken Russian, not obscene, but with free English. We ordered a lobster (one for two adults) and a kilogram of shrimp (they cost the same as a lobster) - super shrimp, but the lobster somehow left indifferent. At the same price, I advise you to take shrimp. Delicious seafood soup. So, having refreshed ourselves, we went for a walk to Naama Bay. Wow so district. We didn’t go to the cafe anymore - we walked along the sea, and at the same time bought an excursion to Israel (Jerusalem with a stop at the Dead Sea) in a street agency. Most likely, the price prompted us to take this step - on the street, the ticket cost us 80 USD. from the nose, and the day before at the hotel, the representative of the operator offered exactly the same program for 270 USD. from the same nose... The agency was chosen purely by eye - where the office and staff seemed more decent to us. We agreed to meet the next day (in the evening at 20-00 a bus will pick us up from the hotel) and calmly went to rest. By the way, we moved along the SHES with the help of a taxi, but since there were 10 of us, we used not traditional sedans as a taxi, but local "minibuses" - "killed" blue Toyota minivans. We always rode together without the risk of getting lost, and it worked out cheaper.
ATTENTION! FRAUD! On the day of departure for Israel, in the afternoon we ordered dry rations to take with us at the reception and went to the room to get ready. Somewhere an hour before the appointed time, a phone rang in the room and a man who identified himself as a representative of the travel agency said that the departure was postponed to 22-00. But it is not so easy to "deceive the people who went to the DMB for three years"! The question is - how do the representatives of the travel agency know in which room we stayed and what are our last names? When ordering an excursion, we told them only the hotel, they gave 20 USD each. bail and we were given a time! All! Having called back the contact number left for us by representatives of the travel agency, we expectedly found out that the time remained unchanged - 20-00, and such "tricks" are usually handled by hotel guides - representatives of tour operators from whom we did not buy excursions at exorbitant prices... With such a "radish » We encountered for the first time and it’s good that this number didn’t work for them. Well, God be their judge! So we got on the bus (quite comfortable - in Ukraine only "Gunsel" and "Autolux" will be better) and began to collect the rest who wished to visit the Inhabited Land. We managed in two hours and, without wasting a second, immediately headed to Taba to cross the border. The passage of the latter took another couple of hours, and now on the Israeli side we were seated on other buses (much more comfortable than the Egyptian ones) and we set off towards new adventures. Around 7-00 we had a stop at the Dead Sea, where we could have a bite to eat in a cafe and at the same time try ourselves as a "floater" in the oily waters of the mentioned sea. And all this at an air temperature of 14 degrees Celsius... Fresh. We were in Jerusalem by 11:00, where we had an interesting and exciting tour of the Holy places (Wailing Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, etc. ). With a rich excursion program, they did not forget to feed us on the territory of the Palestinian Autonomy - pretty well. The way back was similar and we returned to the hotel around 23-00. Conclusion: the excursion is fascinating, but tiring. If it is not possible to visit Israel purposefully, then it can be considered as a budget option for exploring the Holy places. That's probably all. . .
Although no, how can it be without extreme? ! The day before departure (01/28/2012) in the evening we also went for a walk along Soho - a short street with neon lights and souvenir shops for foreigners (judging by the prices). For 30 minutes, after walking in both directions and taking a picture for memory, we decided to go to the Old Market again in order to buy fruit for the snowy Motherland. Traditionally, having caught the "minibus" we headed towards the "Old Market" (aka "Old Market"). The first feeling of alertness appeared on the way, when from the car window we began to observe clusters of natives, as well as checkpoints from the police and the military (! ). At the entrance to the destination, more and more streets were blocked by the "siloviki", and there was a manifestation at the "Old Market" itself... We must pay tribute to the driver, who, having arrived at the "final" asked us not to get out of the car, but he went to his colleagues to sort out situations. Upon returning, he said that it was better to return to the hotel, as it was dangerous here (unfortunately, his knowledge of English was only enough for such a description of events). Deciding to follow the voice of reason and buy fruit already in the Ukrainian market, we returned to the hotel. At the hotel, no one knew (or did not say) anything about current events, and only after returning home to Ukraine through the World Wide Web did we learn that on that day at the Old Market there was a robbery attack on a currency exchange office and in a shootout between the police and the attackers accidentally killed a tourist from France and a German was seriously wounded... If we had been there a little earlier...
Conclusions: the hotel is a good budget "pyaterochka". We (with a limited budget) trip cost 1791 "evergreen" for 10 nights for two adults and a child. Recommended for a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Well, if you throw a "fifty kopeck" on top - buy a ticket to the neighboring hotel "Continental Garden Reef hotel" - the architecture and disco are a little more interesting. Although I have already spoken about free movement. Good luck to everyone and many sunny days!