Rooms need repair! Cleaned daily. Towels, bedding - white and fragrant! The heated pool is closed by windproof buildings (this is the Nabq area! ). Burn - a bomb! Drinks - whiskey, gin, vodka, beer, rarely when they ran out. Food is a choice for a 3-star hotel. Everything is there - there is a choice. Only coffee is an instant hymn!
The beach is full for January ...ah! Constant wind to swim, you need to walk 200 meters in coral on the shallow sea. To the beach walk 20 minutes. or delivered free of charge from the hotel. We went, if we were not on excursions, to the beach Farsha! On a local minibus - 1 dollar per person. Entrance to the beach - 4 dollars. But there is no wind, there is a pontoon and very beautiful corals and fish! ! ! !!
And yet ...In winter, choose buildings with odd numbers. The sun is falling on them and it will be warmer! ! ! ! !
Second shoreline. Shabby hotel. The territory in principle saves the whole picture. Beautiful, neat, very green.
Beach
Far, far away. Transfer to the free Porto Sharm Beach. You need to get a coupon at the reception. Transfer at 9:30 from the hotel and back at 13:30. The beach itself is lousy. Sunbeds and umbrellas are available. The outflow is 100 meters, and then there is a depth but the buoys can not swim. Not a sandy event. There is no pontoon. Only on the nearby beach. but that to the right that to the left is far. Bar on the beach is paid. There is music. Zero animations.
Food
Really as for Egypt very greedily. In fact, they went to those waiters and begged to be given a spoon or a cup of coffee. But we were not rude and did not shout, like everything was a joke and brought normally and quickly.
It was possible to eat so as not to die of hunger. And not at all. If you are with a child, there is really nothing to give but lean rice. There was almost no fruit. Soup is disgusting!
Saved sweet, and it was quite a lot and delicious and coffee solution, which on the 4th day was very tasty for me.
From drinks ....water in a cooler, circles, fanta is poured into 100-gram plastic cups. 5 bottles of beer on tap for the whole hotel, no wine and more ! ! ! ! !!
Number fund
Room we got in the building 25, number 22. in principle. white towels, white sheets, anti-allergy pillows, plasma TV with one Arabic channel, air conditioning is not noisy, working, safe did not work (asked to do, came and clicked and then said do not do, and we stopped walking and asking).
After the first night we left a dollar for a tip, he cleaned us well, changed towels, bedding, folded my makeup very well. Swan floated on the bed. Asked to clean the drain in the bathroom (there is no shower, and bath with shower) and then did not clean. It was worthy to take a shower, and in 10 minutes the water is knee-deep!
The next morning did not leave a tip, it was clear that he did not sweep and so on top of the type removed, and offended because the swan did not fold (who did not understand it's sarcasm!
There is a refrigerator, working but without a bar.
There is a heated pool.
The pool bar is free but there is nothing except when and some fig whiskey!
If your tour will cost for 7 nights for two a maximum of $ 500, you can, if more expensive then NEAAAAAAA. With children in general in any way. no sea no food no animation. they will be evil there!
We were saved by the fact that we went on excursions almost every day, which included lunch or dinner.
Last night we went to the old town by minibus and paid 20 pounds for two. One dollar for one man is expensive
1 dollar about 15-16 pounds.
Bargain everywhere.
Who loves seafood, I recommend Fares (Fares) is very tasty and high quality.
But order fixed prices from the menu, not something that depends on weight. They can fool.
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!
At the entrance you will find a dark reception with dirty doors and a staff desk that does not understand either Russian or English. We arrived late in the evening, but we had the strength to choose a more or less normal room. The first one they showed us is 12 m, it stinks of sewerage and nothing works. The second one is even worse. 3rd - everything seems to be working, but a wildly cold room and a view of the wall. Okay.
Dirty and stinky throughout the hotel. The staff works only after the scandal at the reception. Staff smoke hashish in the open!!!! ! Then, in a dead state, they stand behind the counter!! ! (That's horrible! ).
No one is responding to your requests.
The food is complete rubbish! I have not seen this in Egypt yet (I, an experienced traveler, have been to many hotels). Completely unsanitary, dirty and stinky. There is not even drinking water. They pour water from the tap into an old shabby barrel from supposedly a coolerab, which is so dirty that it’s scary to approach!! ! You will not see juice. it is a concentrate powder that is kneaded to the state of tinted water. Cola is poured by dirty and filthy staff into plastic disposable glasses (and God forbid more !! ). Dirt!!!!! ! Meat - 1 time per day, and then these coals are called chicken !! ! In my presence, a guy was frying eggs and the handle of the pan fell off. No beer or wine!!!! ! They don't have alcohol either! There is only one answer to all: it's over. Coffee is impossible to drink! In Ukraine, homeless people are better fed at social dinners than here!! ! There were scandals every day, people moved in crowds to other hotels. And on New Year's Eve, instead of a cake, they brought us a dummy !! ! For advertising and hid it back. People who write about tolerable nutrition, what do you feed your loved ones at home? hay?
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=uepBE5uAjeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=N_iQRlppC48
There is no alcohol at the bars, snacks are out of the question, tourists are treated like animals. All claims include frost. The animation is so weak it's almost non-existent.
Our vacation was spoiled by the TUI operator, who sold us this hotel for a lot of money. Avoid the hotel.
1. We settled closer to 14.00 (arrived at 8.00), although later it turned out that the hotel was half empty. Settled in a room (for $ 10), where they did not even change the bedding from previous guests, there was hair and sand on the floor. She found a cleaner, said that he would do everything, we left. Bottom line: I swept my hair under the bed and made the beds. But here's a "miracle": he turned the sheets upside down (they found out because the edge of the pillow was stained with chocolate by the son, they found this stain in the legs), he didn't change the duvet covers - he just tucked them in !!! ! We went to the reception - they changed it with a favor by the night)).
2. Dinner was spent in search of plates (and all with chips or cracks), forks, cups. I thought: well, it happened, tomorrow will be different! NO!!! ! There were searches and begging for dishes every day (on the 2nd day I bought myself a mug and went with it). The first three days there was only mackerel and liver (from meat). Then the tourists were indignant in the dining room, flew plates with "food" on the floor, called the manager. Only after that the next day there were some salads, chicken, melon. By the way, the melon was the only fruit, and even then not always, and the last 2 days oranges - EVERYTHING! Pieces of chicken or sausages were put on a plate with the look of "so that you choke! ". About the second time in general I am silent!! ! True pies, donuts and buns were sooo delicious! Every day! The staff walked around in dirty, greasy clothes (someone in what) right up to nausea (((.
3. Bars always run out. No one has heard of snacks! The bartenders left with the words: wait 5 minutes. and disappeared for 20 minutes. Wine and cocktails seen only a couple of times. Coffee is only instant, although there were 2 coffee machines (they worked 1 time at New Year's dinner). The bartenders drank and smoked without being embarrassed by tourists. And in the evenings they even let their hands go (she herself watched 2 young girls shy away from the bartender).
4. Animation. Wow, that's a different song! I will list their events: 1st day - Mr. Hotel, performance for the new year, dance of two boys under ONE! a song on the pool in splendid isolation, an attempt to organize a darts, and calls to go to a paid disco. In the evenings from them - nothing! When we asked about some kind of action plan, they said that they themselves did not know anything. The flaky ONE ball was given out in strict secrecy. 2 beaches declared. NO! They take only one (700 m to go to swim). There is no gym, no hammam, no sauna, no bath, no cinema. Here is such a "fun" holiday. Only the territory of the hotel was pleasing: flowers, greenery, fountains, paths, lighting.
We found out that the owner has recently changed... and these are "miracles" !! ! Read all the reviews - don't spoil your holiday!