If you do not take tours from the Guides, they immediately change their faces, stop communicating, show their discontent!
30.11. 22 - 11.12. 22
December, the wind season has begun, so we considered the hotel, always in the bay, without wind. In your favorite Hadaba, this is Ras Um El Sid, in which, in fact, there are only 4 hotels and a very inhumane price tag. We looked towards Faarana Reef 4 (on the mountain, reviews are not very good, the reef is a bomb, probably the best in Sharm), but our travel agent (Daiquiri, Andrey, hello! ) matched us with Novotel Palm 5 in Naama Bay for the same price. The second line, across the road from Novotel Beach, with a shared beach and bar. In Naama itself, they walked along the “golden mile”, they had never been in the bay, but, judging by the map and reviews, there is no wind. We took Novotel. And they didn't regret it. Very nice, calm, quiet hotel.
We arrived at the hotel at about 13.30, immediately put on the bracelets and sent for lunch, came from lunch and were taken to the settlement. I think we were very lucky, they settled in room 4138, and not on the mountain. Standard. In terms of size, it's pretty decent.
Everything works, everything is there (safe, mini fridge, kettle, tea, coffee, bathrobes on demand, shampoo, soap, shower gel, a small clothes dryer). Not killed. A shower room with a tropical and a simple watering can (they say someone didn’t have enough hot water, so we didn’t have enough cold : )). Huge bed with a very cool super hard mattress. Veranda with two chairs and a table. Yes! Soundproofing is amazing! Neighbors can not be heard, from the word at all! Even under the front door, the gap is closed with a rubber strip.
Kinds. The views are just lubok. Like an old Windows screensaver. Simply awesome beauty: greenery, flowers, palm trees, a mountain - and against their background are snow-white two-story houses with turrets. He never stopped admiring and admiring, morning, afternoon, evening. Hoopoes are picking something in the lawn (hoopoes, they are such hoopoes ....), little white herons, turtle doves, three or four healthy hawks are running around. In short, the zoo and beauty. Shear, mow, water.
True, when watering (water purified from sedimentation tanks) smells slightly, the water flows downhill and accumulates there in a puddle that must be crossed. In general, a very beautiful and quiet area.
Beach, sea, beach bar. You have to get to the sea. Across the road (translated by a special person with a red stick, nowhere else like this, Dreams and Solymar run across the road, and we are important, we cross with a red stick), through the territory of Novotel Beach, 5-7 minutes, maybe 10. Absolutely relaxed and even very nice.
Palm canopies from the sun, old, but intact, heavy wooden deck chairs covered with soft mattresses. The beach is large, there is a lot of space, there are always enough sunbeds, even if not on the first line from the sea. Our people, out of habit, occupy the first line, run in the morning, put down towels, then they don’t appear until 11 o’clock.
As a result, sometimes misunderstandings occur, although the hotel rules say in Russian letters and words: towels left unattended for more than half an hour are confiscated by beach fights, which, by the way, abound. There are no problems with this: a bunch of cameras are stuck around and where your towel has gone is found out by the cameras and by counting the handed-over towels. (In other hotels, you can run into a fine for a towel. For loss. Bucks at 20. ) The question is, why? Well, why are you taking sunbeds? Well, they are always there. Yes, not quite in the surf, but not a kilometer from the sea either. Is it really difficult to pass these 10-20 meters? As an example: a man comes, lays down on a towel of a young married couple, a scandal begins, a showdown, he screams, I laid down here ... or put it down ... It turns out from the cameras: yeah, I did. At 7.15. I arrived at the beach at 11:25. And at 9.20 the beach fight took the towel, because
there was a stream of people who woke up and had breakfast, and there was no one at this place for a long time (maybe the person forgot the towel? ).
Sea. The sea is great! Sunset in the sea - sand. Corals can not be worn. Children expanse. True, the level rises quickly, then the reef begins. The passage (swim) to the reef, which is always occupied by pensioners standing in the passage up to the chest (throat). The reef goes in three lines from the sea, the most lively one is naturally on the third line, closer to the sea, there are many different fish, squids, I even saw blue rays, big Napoleons - in general, a feature of the new hotel, to see - swim - there is something and where. The best place in the whole bay is the third line, between the fence of Novotel and Solimar. Not Ras Um El Sid and not Ras Mohammed, not the reef wall of Hadaba, but very, very worthy. Moreover, this is a bay and, even with the wind, just a small ripple and a wave.
People, do not step on the corals and do not touch them with your hands: not only will they die from this, but you can also get scratched not sickly, but it heals very difficult and for a long time. People, don't feed the fish! Not only is the fine of 2000 bucks, but when feeding from fish, wild fish appear, and then they are surprised: why did a shark come from somewhere and bite it by the butt? No need. Enough to look at someone, why gather a crowd around you. Do not try to touch beautiful fish with your hands - you will run into a lionfish or other poisonous, but very beautiful fish, you can earn anaphylactic shock, even death (look at examples on the Internet, it's impressive).
Bar on the beach. 10:00 a. m. to sunset. Beer, alcohol, alcoholic mixtures (it’s hard to call it cocktails) such as gin and tonic, rum-cola, tequila, vodka with juice. Juices from packages (rather nectars, but tasty), diluted juices (yupi), water, tea, coffee from a coffee machine, croissants, cakes for a snack, ice cream (after 12).
Paper 50 and 200 gram cups! Beer is poured because of the foam, 130-150 grams, but you can take as many glasses as you can carry. They pour it into their own glasses, no problem: someone brought ordinary plastic half-liter ones, someone came with thermal mugs, my wife and I bought 350 gram ones from hard plastic (they didn’t find it anymore), for some ridiculous price, and we went to the bar with them. Queues, oddly enough, either do not exist, or are small and move quickly, the bartenders are great, move if a larger queue forms, or the boss helps, or other assistants run in. Also, after 12.00 they start frying French fries with either a hamburger or shawarma, some salads. In principle, if you wish, you can not go to the hotel for lunch, but have a snack on the beach. At the bar they sold mangoes (3-4 bucks and strawberries 2 bucks), people take it. Although 40 meters away, on the promenade, near the pizza hut cafe, an Arab sells mango (1.3-1.5 bucks per kg), strawberries (1 cu.
e), guava, tangerines, plums and many other fruits at a very reasonable price (December prices! ).
There is only one bar in the hotel, near the canteen. From 10.00 to 23.00 (like? , I didn’t stay that long). Everything is the same as on the beach. Only everything is fried and ice cream from 16.00 to 17.00. Also paper cups 50 and 200g. They also pour into their glasses without any problems, and there is almost never a queue. Near the bar there is a stage where animation was held in the evening, there are speakers from which the whole day is quiet, unobtrusive, light relaxing music sounds, creating an atmosphere. Sit with a glass of wine, look down, that's all.
Canteen (ibn restaurant). Since the hotel was closed for the duration of the summit on ecology and opened after it, upon our arrival the hotel had just begun to fill up and the canteen was wildly relaxed. For the first two or three days, I generally thought that I had not seen worse food anywhere.
Not that there was little food, it was in bulk, but what was, you can eat with great difficulty: undercooked, overcooked, oversalted, overpeppered, tasteless and not salty, it was almost impossible to guess what you would eat edible today. I never thought you could ruin a fried chicken. (Honestly, in my heart I was even glad that the food was not very good, my wife would be persuaded to be thinner, I had plans to go around the fish and other restaurants of Naama Bay, not all of my plans were destined to come true : ))). But, surprisingly, every day everything got better and better, and by the end of our holiday it was completely corrected. No frills (the canteen is still), but there was something to eat normally, everything that ended was updated quickly. From the very beginning, the chef's beef was on top, and then in general - you will lick your fingers. Grill every evening: either chicken, liver, or cradles, or hamburgers, always grilled vegetables. No one will leave hungry : )
Staff. Mo-lod-tsy. Just good guys. Reception - applied 4 times: check-in, check-out, ordered bathrobes, restored the dead keys to the front door. Everybody. Quickly, intelligently, without ignoring, show-offs and baksheesh demands.
Bartenders. The bartenders are fast. And why should they not be fast, they don’t make cocktails, only beer and alcohol mixtures, as I understand it, this is the policy of the hotel. And the choice of alcohol, by and large, is small. If the bartender at the bar suddenly leaves, then any (any! ) nearest waiter, seeing a guest approaching the bar (or the wine rack in the dining room), runs to serve him. The waiters (they are dish cleaners, wine carriers, etc. ) are generally interchangeable and mutually supportive at their best. If suddenly someone is sewn up somewhere, any free or senior people rush there to help. Here we, of course, sometimes tossed baksheesh to them. Now a dollar, then a chocolate bar. Because well done.
Talk to them, say thank you, ask how you are doing (this is where the break in the template is, when you don’t have it, but you have it), that’s it, friend at once. Many very pleasant, smiling and kind young Egyptians. There are, of course, unpleasant, as without them. But very little.
Here the dishes are washed badly. Sometimes even very bad. But then again, there is always dishes: plates, forks, cups. Maybe that's why they don't wash very well because they try to be quicker? Somehow after dinner we were sitting with my wife and a glass of wine kala bar in the relax zone, some big boss from Novotel arrived and did a meeting there, at the next table: I gathered, you see, all sorts of managers, staffs, boss, etc. . , in short guide. And flogged them not childishly. (I, of course, do not boom boom in Arabic, but the general atmosphere, intonations and facial expressions are very familiar). Someone small even fired. Maybe after that everything was fine in the canteen?
Cleaners. Are removed. They walk back and forth along the washed with a smart look.
They are sweeping something, they are pretending to be a worker. The room was sort of cleaned, the bed was made, towels were folded, even changed, like, water was put on. Cleaned before lunch when we were on the beach. Somehow he (the cleaner) tried to come after three days, do the cleaning, yeah. So I, too, although not in Arabic, like their big boss, can swear. He was sent, and I didn’t see him again after dinner at the room, although it’s clear that he came, yeah, sort of cleaned up. People left a dollar, so he twisted some beautiful garbage out of towels, littered the bed with flower petals, stsuko. We did not leave a dollar. Chocolate only, bitter, Spartak. Zhaaadnye.
Animation. No, she is. Children's disco, miss hotel, competition of couples, karaoke. Everything is calm, unobtrusive, but sometimes very hilarious. The main active animation on the beach and in Novotel Beach, there is a drive, there is movement.
In the morning, there is a warm-up on the beach, water aerobics in the Beach pool, there is also foamy fun, darts, volleyball, young active animators, etc. , etc. In the evening, there are dances in Beach, live music, animator competitions and all kinds of other active crap. If you want to be active, go to Novotel Beach, it's fun there. But there is one thing: in the beach bar, Palmovtsy is not poured .... Pichalka….
Take a walk. Here to take a walk in Naama without any problems at all. Especially after the environmental summit. You can slap two roads to the Golden Mile: - along the bottom, along the embankment along the hotels with a huge number of all kinds of restaurants (most belong to a la carte hotels, but which are even easier to get into for money). The decor, for the most part, is stylized, very, very good;
- on the top, along the hotels. If in the direction of the Golden Mile, except for the casino, no shops, no restaurants, nothing. But the road was made - a sight to see! Lighting, pergolas, lots of benches.
Everything looks very bombastic. If you go to the left from Novotel Palm, you will reach shops with a fix. prices: Bassemi (it sounds like it) and a freshly opened Mango market. There you can buy a lot of necessary household and not only trifles. I will not write about other shops, shops and the Golden Mile.
I will write about pharmacies: the medicines in Egypt are excellent, the prices are sooooo adequate. PRICES for medicines are written in the PRINTING way on the boxes. If other prices break you, they try to fuck you! What to buy - read on the Internet, what can not be exported / imported into your country - too.
Summing up: we really liked Naama Bay, the bay is simply magnificent! Novotel too. Will we come here if the opportunity presents itself? Yes, yes, and yes again! Again, there are many other interesting hotels in Naama Bay that you should try to visit, although they don’t look for good from good, and Novotel Palm for us is already a proven worthy option.
Let's go back to accommodation. I gave a big Roshen chocolate bar as a present, but this did not affect the quality of the room, I didn’t like the room - dark, gloomy, with a view of some kind of transistor. She asked to change, gave $ 10, they offered another room with a view of the roadway, which also did not suit us. They said that options for other rooms could be offered only the next day. I didn’t really want to spend the second day on moving and arranging, because. I had a 79 year old mother and an 8 year old son with me.
We were already ready to check in for one night in the first offered room, but then a miracle happened: the second guy from the reception said that he would offer a room that we should like. We went to look, on the way they told me that it was just a gift, that this was a completely different category of rooms. Indeed, at first glance it was clear that this was a great room: bright, spacious with a view of the pool. Plus, bathrobes were immediately brought, which was very nice. After that everything was great.
I definitely recommend this hotel for a relaxing holiday. The pros are described in previous reviews. The disadvantages are minor: there is no toilet on the beach, but because everything is close, you can easily walk to the nearest building, where it is; another minus is the weak water pressure in the shower, the watering can is small in diameter. On this, perhaps, from the minuses all.
They came alone, with friends and with their children. Always happy with a friendly and hospitable environment, attentive staff and helpful staff. The accommodation has always been wonderful, taking into account our requests and wishes.
In 2021, we visited here twice, in late May - early June, in late October - early November. We believe that it is this time that is comfortable for relaxation: there is no sweltering heat yet, and the sea is already warm.
We always rest on the territory of the Palm, because here we like a large well-groomed area, remote from the road, which allows you to relax in peace and quiet. And the beach is 5 minutes walk. Nice walk, good for health.
We believe that Novotel has the best beach in Naama Bay. The entrance is gentle, convenient even for small children. And for those who like to swim in masks - a real space and great pleasure.
The guest relations staff always work with great attention. Special thanks to Guest relation Lada and Alexandra, who solved all our problems with early check-in and stable wi-fi in the room, were always attentive to all our requests and even small whims. Their entire group, which also includes Yaroslava and Ekaterina, was always ready to help, prompt, answer any question. And of course, a special thank you for the birthday cake for my husband's birthday. That kind of attention is always nice.
I would like to acknowledge all the employees working in the catering service. How much they have done to comply with sanitary standards in this difficult time of the incidence of COVID. The serving of dishes has changed, only by the kitchen workers, the appliances are in a separate plastic bag, the tables are regularly disinfected. It is gratifying that many employees have been working for many years and recognize us by sight. Abd El Sattar - deputy food manager, very stern in appearance, but very attentive to guests, especially to those who are not the first time resting at the hotel. He very strictly monitors that the service in restaurants is at the highest level, the waiters work quickly and courteously. I would like to mention the chef of the restaurant on the territory of Palm Ashraf. He is always very attentive to the guests of the hotel, often goes out into the hall to see for himself which dishes he likes best, whether everything is in order on the distribution tables. And what sweets are prepared! Especially for theme nights.
Therefore, many thanks to the whole large team of hotel staff, who from year to year make our holiday wonderful and sincere, that we want to come back here again and again.
The group of animators are great smart people, every evening different programs: live music, international dance show, singers, colorful dances in the style of Egypt. We also recommend going to the spa. Regarding the cuisine, the food is varied, delicious. There is always meat and fish to choose from (several types), fruits, vegetables and a lot of sweets are always in large quantities. For those who love coffee in the restaurant there are two coffee machines that make quite tasty coffee!
I will say this, I definitely recommend Novotel for a vacation! You will get a lot of pleasure and impressions.
The beach is super, with a gentle sandy entrance, the highlight of the beach is a coral reef with unusual fish.
Attentive not intrusive hotel staff, room service at altitude. Very interesting evening entertainment.
Delicious, varied cuisine.
I recommend.
We also arrived at the hotel quite early but we were immediately settled. Other members of our family also rested with us and the hotel took this into account, they were given rooms next to each other, which is very nice. The hotel itself is very cozy, with a beautiful, green, well-groomed territory. The rooms are clean and comfortable, there are air conditioners everywhere, cleaning every day with the addition of branded hotel cosmetics, upon check-in a set of protective equipment was provided in the form of masks, gloves and alcohol wipes. The restaurant is large, the terrace overlooks the sea. The cuisine is varied, there is always a choice of several types of meat, fish, side dishes. Fruits, vegetables and sweets are in abundance.
A nice bonus, the restaurant has two coffee machines that make quite tasty coffee. The pool is large and clean, next to the pool there is a bar with cool drinks. Now about the beach. It's just a delight!! ! The beach is flat, clean, sandy and very large! Plenty of sunbeds. The entrance to the sea is gentle and sandy, there is a pontoon (30 m), at the end of the pontoon there is already depth, there is also sand at the bottom. The highlight of this beach is the reef! Just 10 meters from the shore, there is simply an extraordinary underwater world with many corals and fish. It's just an incredible pleasure to snorkel and watch the fish.
It is worth noting that everything in the hotel is so well thought out that from any point in one minute you can walk to the restaurant, to the beach, to the reception or to the pool. Also the hotel is in a great area where you can go out and walk in the evening.
I would also like to commend the work of the staff! She is top notch and everyone is very friendly and helpful. It is immediately clear that the selection of personnel is approached with all responsibility. Animation at the highest level: live music, international dance show, guest singers, national dances.
I was pleasantly surprised by the compliment from the hotel in honor of congratulations on the wedding - the cake that was brought to our room.
Novotel Sharm El Sheikh is love at first sight!
We will definitely come back and recommend to all our friends.
Thank you for the incredible emotions and mood.
1) It's actually quite inexpensive, given the beautiful sea, good beach, first line, all inclusive and good service. Do not look for flaws for this price, just enjoy your holiday.
2) Sharm el-Sheikh is not that unimpressive - in principle, I am not a fan of noisy entertainment, but there are places to go and where to spend your money)) by the way, in the fixed price there is a good choice and reasonable prices) the Coptic church and the new the mosque is very beautiful, the museum is interesting, seafood in restaurants is decent, nightclubs are noisy and cheerful (we went to Mahoni to eat seafood)
3) The beach is very nice. I won't say that it's big, but there is enough space. Gentle entrance, sand and reefs - just wonderful. In the morning, Napoleons sail up - they swim nearby, apparently waiting for food)) but you can’t feed the fish in Egypt! nevertheless, the view is amazing!
Surgeons living on the reef are quite aggressive, be careful with them) There were always enough sun loungers, if not at the first level, then at the second there will definitely be a place. Those who write that it is necessary to take up seats in the morning - well, I don’t know, maybe there was some kind of special one-time influx)) In general, for the sake of the sea, you can close your eyes to many things. But a couple of times the sea was dirty and it's terrible. Perhaps the tide brought waste products, but the fact that people treat nature this way is beyond words. Cellophane bags, cups, leftovers of food floated - of course, the hotel had nothing to do with it, but the mood falls. In the same Spain, the beaches are cleaned daily, well, the contingent of vacationers also plays a role, I hope these were isolated cases. And in the morning the sea was just amazing. Again, I’ll make a reservation - I can’t say that it was an ideal beach (in Sahl Hasheesh, honestly, it’s better), but very worthy. By the way, if they say that this is the best beach in Naama, how much worse are the others???
In the evenings, it seems, there was a tide. This was noticeable by the fact that the distance to the reefs increased significantly. The bar on the beach is not bad, the fries are very tasty)) the beer ends instantly) The towels are large and fresh, the sun loungers are not new, but strong. After a gentle entrance, a small strip of reefs begins and, it seems, these are the only decent reefs among the neighboring hotels.
4) There is a promenade and it is pretty! Not far from the hotel there is a point where they sell mangoes. Prices are the same as in Naama shops. It was nice to walk in the evening
5) Room ...Well, let's just say - do not make a tragedy) Large bed, fresh linen and towels - bath, for hands, for legs, of good quality. Good TV, air conditioning was not very noisy, mini bar is replenished only with water - a liter per person; tea, coffee, sugar as usual, an old hair dryer. There were reviews of strong audibility - nothing like this was observed in our room.
It was deaf as in a tank) Room on the first floor in the building near the pool overlooking the garden. The room was clean, in general. The old curtains and the upholstery on the sofa were a little straining, all the time it seemed that they were very dusty, but apparently this is from old age. In the photos from the site, the rooms seem fresher, but do not forget that the hotel is still not the first youth)) The cleaning guys are great.
6) Staff. Everyone is very polite, always a smile on his face and it is not artificial. And the staff, and the administration, and the girls of Guest Relation - everything is on top. There were a couple of moments when the staff felt a little tense attitude in our direction - a smile and a greeting in Arabic immediately changed everything. So, start with yourself - your friendly attitude can significantly improve your vacation).
7) Nutrition. Controversial question. On the one hand, it is quite enough, on the other hand, there are tasty things, but there are not very tasty things).
If you don’t try to “beat off” the cost of the tour with food, then you can always take something to your liking) Breakfast is excellent in my opinion: scrambled eggs, falafel, croissants, yogurt, butter, cheeses for an amateur, I tried sausage once) coffee from the machine, pancakes with chocolate. In general, pastries are very tasty, desserts were not particularly interested. From fruits, she ate mainly grapes and melons. There would be more porridge, it would be generally wonderful. Lunch and dinner - I took soup (vegetable and bird tongues - delicious, once - delicious soup with seafood), rice and mashed potatoes are very good, fresh vegetables and stewed eggplants have always been. The beef was soft and tasty, the chicken was often tough, as were the potatoes. Fish - once at a time it wasn’t necessary, sometimes very tasty, sometimes not very)) So it was possible to eat hearty and, in principle, tasty) another question - in 10-12 days, it really can get boring. The restaurant / dining room itself is very modest) the waiters do their job, clean, cover, in general, they try.
No need to order drinks, go to the bar, they will pour you. Enjoyed dining on the terrace by candlelight. But on the last day, for some reason, soup cups and tea cups disappeared very quickly, and it wasn’t there for a long time, maybe there was a big race)) There was always ice cream, including on the beach.
8) The territory is nice, pretty, green and small) The territory is washed, cleaned, cleaned, flowers bloom, hoopoes and crows fly. There is only one pool, small, we swam once during the pool party and that was enough. The sea is better) There is nowhere to walk around the territory, if you really want to - you can go across the road to the second building of Palms, there are like three pools.
But there is a promenade nearby, so if you are used to urban European hotels, where history begins outside the territory, then on the one hand it will seem to you just a large well-groomed garden, on the other hand, if there was nowhere to go outside the hotel, then spend time constantly on its territory would be difficult.
Now about what did not interest me - there is animation. The girls are trying. Even went to yoga on the beach. Every evening there is some kind of performance near the pool bar. There is no bar in the lobby, there is no separate seating area in the lobby. Not critical. (in the same Sahl-Hashish in the lobby concert hall (air conditioning + drinks) every evening there were live performances of artists + animation on the territory of the hotel) But I'm not a fan of animation, nevertheless the guys tried - thank you very much for that. The gym is very simple, treadmills, dumbbells, conditions are minimal - although no one really used it in such heat.
The local population in the hotel - it is strange to read reviews that it annoys someone, people, like people, behaved quite well.
Bottom line: a simple hotel, the employees are trying, the price-quality is adequate, the staff are great, the food is average (but you don’t have to think where to eat)), the beach is very good, the sea is excellent. Will I come here again? - if the price is lower in neighboring hotels, I will most likely go to them, if, in principle, I come to Sharm again)))) But I want to say a big thank you to Novotel for a very good and budget vacation! ))