We arrived late in the evening. The meeting company is the Egyptian Sun Rise. The company's employees are funny jokers. They swear very well in Russian. They know the most sophisticated curses. It was nice to stand in a female company and listen to how they call each other and tourists swear words, where the word "bitch" is the most gentle of all. In our homeland, they would have been beaten for this, but here the country is Muslim and such communication of staff is probably even welcomed. Very amused.
Check-in at the hotel is quite fast, just an hour after arrival and filling out questionnaires and scanning documents. At the same time, things are left on the street and a vigilant hotel worker watches through the window so that nothing happens to him. We were also lucky that nothing was lost.
We flew in with two families and asked us to settle nearby. Friendly staff did just that - they settled us in one building - one family on the right side of the building on the first floor, the second - on the third floor of the left side of the building. It was very interesting then to look for each other in the body. Kind of a free quest. It made us very happy. Although the rooms nearby were free and we could live in neighboring rooms, the hotel management decided that we should take a break from each other.
In the things left at check-in at the entrance, I still had summer things, but they didn’t let me pick up my suitcase at check-in. It’s not a royal business, carry a suitcase to the room. Moreover, the room is on the third floor without an elevator. And just an hour after checking into the room, the suitcases were brought to us. It was very helpful and made us very happy.
Hotel room. The room made us very happy. The windows of the room overlooked the entrance to the building. And although it was already 11:30 p. m. , pleasant loud music was clearly audible in the room from the street, as people had a cultural rest right next to our building. Even with the balcony doors closed, it was fashionable to enjoy the songs of our favorite band Laskovy May. It is better not to open the balcony door in the evening, as the staff is intensively watering the lawns and mosquitoes breed in the flowing water, which will make you a pleasant company all night.
Safe. The key to the safe, which was sent to us in the lobby, stubbornly did not want to enter the lock well, and therefore we spent the first day pleasantly in the room, since there was nowhere to leave money and documents. But after a second appeal in the lobby, a cheerful engineer came to us, who turned the secret of the safe lock on the other side and the key began to fit the lock. True, at the same time, he fell out of the castle all the time, but these were already trifles, to which one can easily get used to after a week of living.
Mini bar. We seem to be unlucky. We had a liter bottle of water for two at the bar, 330 ml of cola and 200 ml of sprite. In principle, this was enough to keep the lips from drying out. You can’t drink tap water, so we immediately poured water into the kettle to make tea. For this, the hotel has an interesting game called "Find an outlet". We found a socket. It is located behind a pedestal on which there is a modern 22 '' TV. Gently pushing the pedestal so that the TV does not blow up, you can easily make yourself tea. But then we decided, in order not to constantly move the cabinet on the floor, to make tea in the toilet, since they also found an outlet there. We didn’t sit down on the only chair in the room, because someone jumped on it before us, and the seat dropped heavily when sitting down, ripping off our priests, who were not used to such jokes.
Air conditioning, thank God, worked. But, when trying to set it up, I also created funny situations when the control buttons just fell out when I tried to press them.
Cards for entering the room. Pleasantly surprised. At first, I was surprised by the first card, to which the electric switch stopped responding right during operation. And then the second card amused me, which stopped opening the door of our room. At the same time, we left the second non-working card in the room. Therefore, in order to somehow get into the room, we went to the lobby, where, after establishing our identities, we were given another card. Thanks to the hotel manager for the daily quests for staying at the hotel. I think tourists from Germany, Romania and other European countries would not have been able to complete these quests and we would have been winners.
Bathroom. Special thanks to the hotel staff for the bathroom. Although no shampoos, gels, soaps were brought to us during our stay, there was a plastic cap for taking a shower. She helped me a lot. When I cut my leg on the beach, I put it on my leg so as not to soak the bandages. It was very convenient to use the sink. Since the water in the sink had been running for several minutes, the water pressure in the faucet was adjusted so that the water ran in a thin stream and did not flood the lower floors. In principle, you could wash your hands and brush your teeth in the shower, for which many thanks to the general manager of the hotel. There is no toilet brush in the toilet, but the toilet bowl could be easily cleaned by hand.
A la carte restaurants also pleasantly surprised us with their service. Sea restaurant Dolphin pleased with free soup with chopped pieces of crab. People with cermet teeth would love to chew through the chitinous casing. You can also order shrimp for $5 per 100 grams and a dry bottle for $27. Entrance to an oriental a la carte restaurant costs $18 per person. But the menu of this restaurant can also be sampled for free in the free PALM restaurant, so we decided that we would rather try hummus in the company of the rest of the hotel residents and not stand out with our thoughtless expenses. By the way, Palm works almost around the clock, however, I don’t know where someone saw seafood there, but there is fish every day.
But, most of all, our guide from the host Ali impressed. The second guide was called Mukhtar, and all the time I wanted to shake his paw. But Ali is something! At the very first meeting with those who arrived, he kicked out several people from the meeting who dared to say that the tours he offered were 30% more expensive than in other places. And that you can buy them right in front of the hotel much cheaper. They did not want to respect the guide and let him earn some money. on the side. We also decided to sort out the prices first, since the order to come to him no later than an hour later with money, documents and a voucher seemed suspicious to us. However, it turned out that way. The order to arrange everything as quickly as possible was so that tourists did not have time to find out the real price of trips. When we didn’t buy anything from him, he started yelling at us, demanded antique certificates, passports, vouchers from us, although just the day before, the hotel took photocopies from them and there was no need to take them.
Then he again demanded to fill out questionnaires, and when he found out that we did not have pens, he said that this was not his problem and tourists should always have a certificate, passport, voucher and a pen in their pocket with them. They took the pens in the lobby, but as soon as he saw that we were carrying the completed documents to him, he immediately got up and left the hotel. He probably wanted to play catch-up with us. We sat down to wait for him, and after 20 minutes the second guide Mukhtar came. We asked him why the guide treats us as if we have captured the Sinai Peninsula and are not giving it back. Mukhtar, more calm, explained to us Europeans that Ali is a very proud person and he loves to be respected. I think at work a person should work and bring profit to the company, and not send customers out. Such a person has no place at work with people.
Otherwise, the hotel is clean, the staff is polite, although with an Egyptian mentality. It’s just that they still don’t realize that they are at work, and I’m not a friend, but a client. And the familiarity of the staff is unpleasant to us.
Since we did not know what to expect, we outlined the budget for our vacation - no more than $ 1.500 for 3 adults.
We began to choose and were surprised to find out that due to the establishment of the minimum cost of tours by the Egyptian government and the opening of Egypt for Russians, prices jumped a lot. Accordingly, hotels in our price segment have decreased and, having studied all the offers, we chose Desert Rose in Hurghada. And they didn't fail! I liked the hotel very much.
The tour was bought, as usual, from the Niko-tour travel agency. Natalya Zaviryukha and the manager work simply. Big thanks to them for everything! Before the trip, we filled out all the documents (health declaration, migration cards) and registration for flights. Apart from rest, there was nothing to worry about)
We arrived at the hotel at 18, so there were no problems with the check-in.
So, why did you like the hotel:
1. Service. The entire staff is very friendly and attentive. Everyone greets and smiles. For 7 days we saw 2-3 unfriendly waiters, but they were not counted, because everyone has bad days. All requests were responded to promptly.
2. Nutrition. After reading reviews about holidays in Egypt, they collected a bunch of medicines and waited for poisoning. The first day was even asked not to add ice to drinks. Then they waved their hands and relaxed. Consumed: ice, tea, juices, wine, beer. There were no problems with the stomach.
The food is delicious and, most importantly, around the clock.
There are 6 organized in the main restaurant! ! Meals In addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner, there are also early breakfasts, late dinners and light snacks at night. Three bars serve snacks throughout the day. The worst of all happens from 18:00 to 18:30. They don't feed! This forces vacationers to line up in a long line in front of the restaurant.
People's love for queues is a mystery to me. Literally on the 19th, the entrance to the restaurant is free, and we never had any problems finding a free table.
The food is delicious. There is always something to choose from. In Turkey, the choice of dishes is larger, but usually there is a lot of everything inedible, filled with tomato or mayonnaise. Everything we've tried at Desert Rose has been great.
3. A la cart restaurants. Continuing on the topic of nutrition. The hotel has 4 a la carte restaurants. Three of them can be visited for free: Lebanese, Mexican and fish (Italian - for money). We have visited everyone.
Fishy - nothing. According to reviews, a more or less tasty plate of assorted dishes for an additional fee of $ 20. They give "sea bass" for free, which is very similar to pangasius (I cook sea bass at home regularly. Doesn't look like it).
Mexican - interesting, but not impressed. The food is ordinary.
Lebanese is love! Delicious and atmospheric. The appetizers, rice, grilled platter are very well prepared and the desserts are just delicious.
4. Territory.
In one of the reviews I read that a large area is a disadvantage of the hotel. In my opinion, this is a huge advantage. Many green, cozy places, alleys that are pleasant to walk along, locations for meeting sunrise and sunset. We were delighted.
5. Beach-sea-pools. The hotel has three swimming pools and an artificial sea lagoon. We didn't swim with them. They chose the open sea for themselves. Here the event is desirable in corals, because there are many stones. The reef is not very bright, but there are a lot of fish. We saw surgeons, and parrots, and butterflies, and many others.
6. Number. We knew that the hotel rooms were old and out of repair. Before choosing a hotel, we saw a lot of photos and videos. So we were ready. We were settled in the 1st building near the reception building. The rooms are really old. And on the first day, all the shortcomings hurt the eye: yellow seams between the tiles, dull plumbing, ancient wooden furniture.
But the next day, we didn't notice any of that.
Most importantly, the room was spacious and clean, with crisp white bedding and towels. We were comfortable in it. Cleaned every day, brought drinking water, sodas and juices.
7. Entertainment. Animation all day. We did not participate in it, but we saw other vacationers dancing, playing sports and doing yoga. In the evening, you can choose between a show program in the amphitheater, live music in the Soda Club or a lounge atmosphere in the Tropicana bar. We almost always settled on the latter option. Once a week, a Cuban party is organized on the beach; on Saturdays, a saxophonist plays in the Tropicana bar. Were there, and there - it was very good.
General impression. The hotel is very good. At the same time, the more you relax, the more you like it. I will definitely recommend him to family and friends.
During the rest, there was one negative moment that was not related to the hotel - the hotel guide of the JoinUp partner company - Sun international.
Of course, we have heard a lot about the "divorces" of tourists by hotel guides. We organize excursions in Turkey and Greece on our own. But Egypt was new to us, and the guide Hassad offered really good conditions. Yes, more expensive than on the Internet, but not by much and with a quality guarantee. We bought a yacht tour and a motorcycle safari from him. As a result, the sea excursion program did not include Paradise Island (although they promised), and you can’t ride ATVs together and change (they paid extra on the spot to ride normally). During the motorcycle safari, they met a family who demanded a refund, because the program also did not match what the Sun International guide at the Albatros Aqua Blue hotel promised them. That is, the problem is not in the hotel, but in the host company.
We have already left Luxor by booking a tour via the Internet.
Twice cheaper than a hotel with good quality service and organization.
But the worst thing is that this same guide sold us seven 9 GB cards, which actually had 4 GB. ! I know that it was necessary to buy more at the airport, but did not have time. At the same time, they were ready for a subscription, but not for fraud.
Recommendation. Never buy anything from hotel guides!!
In general, we had a great rest! The negative from the dishonesty of the guides was compensated by unforgettable impressions and good mood.
In general, the food was fine, we mostly ate in the main restaurant, but there are also a la carte restaurants, we were at dinner in two: Mexican and Lebanese for free by appointment (you can sign up indefinitely) fish seems to be paid. Still need to understand, in one lunch, in the other breakfast, dinner in all)). Well, in general, for a change, you need to go. Several bars, good on the beach, went there for a snack.
There are water slides, a sports pool with paths. Well, we are not swimmers in chlorinated water, the lagoon is the perfect pool)). And if you want the open sea, it’s not a problem either, there are even corals with fish, protective shoes are very desirable there, the bottom is rocky and even hedgehogs have been seen. In relation to the sea, I liked the hotel and there are always free places. On the beach, wi-fi is ok. This time we didn’t buy a SIM card, we managed, it catches in many places, but it’s not really in the room.
You can go outside the territory to go shopping, opposite there are a number of them across the road, the sellers are very intrusive, however, like taxi drivers, they all offer to get to the Senzo mall for $ 5)), and there it takes about 10 minutes to walk. Senzo is an ordinary shopping center, a lot stores of acquaintances (Waikiki, Teranova, etc. ), there is also vodafone, etisalat, ATMs. I liked only the supermarket, where they bought gifts for home. We went on excursions using old contacts through 1sttouroprator on Instagram. An excellent trip, we were in sharm el naga, we liked it very much and agreed on the price.
In my opinion the hotel is worth the money spent. There are no serious shortcomings, but they did not pay attention to the little things.
Boring at the hotel in the evenings! Animation is mostly for children. Animators on the beach, girls, are not very interested in entertaining guests. Everything is dull and boring. Near the pool of the hotel, the guys animators are more fun. There are aerobics in the pool, steppes. In the evening at 23 the life of the hotel calms down! )) Bars turn off the music. There are no discos now. The soda bar is a little more fun. But not for long! ) The food seems to be delicious, but on the 4th day it gets very annoying and I want variety. Honestly, it's kind of monotonous. I want more fish. One kind only. From fruits melon, watermelon, bananas, dates, oranges. Bottled water of 1.5 liters is brought to the room every day. We asked for 1.5 each. Brought without problems 2 bottles a day. There are a la carte restaurants. We did not go to them, but praised the fish and Mexican.
The overall impression is 3+. It's sad, a little expensive for that kind of money, one happiness is a clean sea, a gentle entrance. Other than that, I don't want to come back.
1. Territory - beautiful, well-groomed, many flowers, palm trees, cacti just pleases the eye.
2. Everything is super in the room. The staff responded to any requests and did everything with lightning speed (replace the key, reflash the card, minor repairs in the room, etc. ).
The room was cleaned every day (the main thing is not to waste $ 1 or a bar of chocolate work wonders, they even put live roses in my room three times, a trifle but nice). Water, cola, sprite and juice were brought to the room every day. I don’t know tea and coffee, I didn’t drink in the room, only once, and after unpacking they changed me to new sets. The bed linen is super clean, white, the towels were even more than they should be (everything was changed every day).
She had her own shampoo and other accessories, but also used their cosmetics poured into dispensers on the walls in the shower room and near the washbasin.
The only thing that could be desired in the room was a hair dryer, but oh well, I had my own.
3. Food - the food is good, varied and tasty. I would especially like to note in the service staff of the Mohame Kamal restaurant (the first hall on the street in the main restaurant) the service is 100% (and without a tip), a fine fellow. Always with a smile, everything you ask for is immediately fulfilled (from cutlery, napkins to drinks and much more).
4. Pools - I don’t swim in them, except for entertainment (aqua aerobics, water polo, etc. , etc. ) thanks to the animators for the variety. Special thanks to the animators Yulia and Nastya, you girls are SUPER.
The SEA is the main water for me. Do not forget to take swimming masks with you, for those who swim well there is something to see (of course, with scuba diving in the open sea, the fauna is more saturated, but the hotel also has something to see (but not in the lagoon), in the fall we saw a turtle and a stingray, now March-April is only fish, maybe this time we were just unlucky.
Water park with slides is small enough for me.
5. In A la carte restaurants - get ready that you will be offered a paid menu, but you don’t have to pay anywhere, everywhere you will be served a lot of food that goes according to the standard. It's already to your taste, which restaurant you like. The only thing, although I love spicy food, but in a Mexican restaurant I asked for not spicy, spicy - it's kapets.
6. Of the shortcomings of Wi-fi, what can I say - it's bad. But there are places where it’s not even very bad, if not strange, on the beach, well, of course, at the reception, near the main restaurant, this is if you need to be in touch, I took a break from work, I had enough to communicate with my family.
I wish you a pleasant holiday.