Израиль вместо Египта Israel instead of Egypt

ISRAEL INSTEAD OF EGYPT.
Hotel Leonardo Plaza Eilat.
Planning a vacation at the end of 2010, we decided to take 2 weeks in March, then another 2 weeks in the summer. Why March is not difficult to guess: the child has a vacation (daughter is 10 years old) and did not want her to sit at home alone, because. the weather at the end of March in the center of Russia is not encouraging. Where to go at the end of March? We wanted to go to Egypt (shark attacks didn't scare us). Hotels were worked out for a long time, but subsequent events forced them to look for a replacement for Egypt. The options were different: first of all, they advised Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, then the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Goa. Everywhere has its pros and cons. And then, somehow by chance, Israel appeared.

We began to work on Eilat, and every day we liked the trip to Israel more and more. Turning to the forum to a resident of Eilat Michael (Mixau), we received detailed information on all issues of interest to us (correspondence lasted for 2 weeks). We stayed at the Leonardo Plaza Eilat Hotel. On March 24, we flew to Israel.
We flew with the VIM-AVIA airline from Domodedovo. I liked everything except: you need to get to the plane, which is somewhere in the middle of the airport, by bus and then stand in line at the plane's gangway, and there is a snowstorm and sub-zero temperatures outside. It was even worse on the way back: they got off the plane, but they didn’t fit on the bus - they had to stand in the cold with the children, waiting for the next bus.
Fly to the Israeli airport Ovda 4 hours. Much has been written about the airport. That's right - this is the runway of a former military airfield in the middle of the desert and a one-story building where passport control is carried out, here is also a miniature Duty Free. Upon arrival, we passed through the line of security officers (there were no questions to us, but some citizens were stopped and asked about something). Passport control is also no problem, standard questions: “Which hotel did you arrive at? ” , “How long will you be in Israel? ” etc. The reverse procedure is more complicated, because interrogate absolutely everyone indiscriminately.
Then we go out to the site, they meet us and show us which bus to get on. They sat on the bus for exactly an hour until everyone was collected and counted. The way to Eilat through the boring desert landscape also took about an hour.

And here we are at the Leonardo Plaza Hotel. There were no problems at the reception: they quickly checked in, got the keys, went up to the room and immediately brought things up. We looked around in the room - the room is large, everything is in place, the most beautiful view of the sea from a height of the 6th floor (in the hotel all rooms have a sea view, direct or side). Balconies are not available in all rooms. The refrigerator in the room is empty, you fill it at your discretion with juices and water from the lobby bar (free of charge). Having settled in, we went to inspect the territory of the hotel, but there is practically none of it. A 7-storey building and small pools enclosed by a fence - that's the whole territory.
Outside the hotel: on the one hand, the city of Eilat, on the other - the Gulf of Eilat of the Red Sea. To the sea no more than 50 meters, BUT through the promenade. The sea… I liked the sea – the purest water, no waves, really cool. The beach is pebbly, the entrance to the water is dangerous due to the presence of rare fragments of broken glass. We immediately bought slippers for the child, they are sold here in many shops between the sea and hotels. The beaches in Eilat are municipal, i. e. anyone can swim and sunbathe with you. For guests of Leonardo Plaza, there is a place on the beach where sunbeds are provided free of charge. There is enough space under the sun on the beach for everyone, but few in the shade. The lack of a canopy (or umbrellas) is a significant disadvantage of all nearby hotels.
To change money is no problem: 5 minutes walk to the shopping center, 10 minutes walk to the city. The airport in Eilat is of local importance, planes arrive several times a day, they do not cause any trouble to vacationers. The hotel guide is not in the hotel - he gave the phone: "If anything - call. "
I liked the Leonardo Plaza Hotel in general, the staff is polite, friendly, many speak Russian. The guys from Sudan clean the rooms, they don’t spin the swans, but there’s nothing to complain about (although there would be a desire). Periodically, a girl came, was interested in the quality of cleaning and asked our wishes.

Meals (all inclusive), does not indulge in a large variety, but everyone has always been to their taste. There were few fruits: apples, pears and tangerines. Dishes are not marked in Russian, but you can always ask the chef (Vitalik) - what is what (or guess yourself). They often warn about eating on Shabbat - we didn’t notice any difference, although we were on the alert. There are no big complaints about the bars, they pour as much as you want and what you want, but they do not always do it quickly, hence it seems that you are being ignored. There is no animation in the hotel, daytime and evening entertainment too, so the contents of the shops from the shopping center to the Royal Beach hotel were known by heart by the end of the holiday.
On excursions we were on a boat with a glass bottom around the bay, around the city with a stop at a diamond factory, visited the Eilat Underwater Observatory - everyone liked it. We went to the Dead Sea and Jerusalem - we highly recommend this to everyone, and individually, not in a group. After a tour of Jerusalem, you can write a small book, in a short review it is impossible to convey all the feelings, all the emotions from what he saw and heard.
Did we enjoy our stay in Eilat? Definitely - YES! We saw a lot, learned a lot, and just rested our soul and body.
Israel or Egypt?? ? This question remains open until next spring, after the planned trip to Egypt.
P. S. We express our deep gratitude to Mikhail (Mixau) and his wife Svetlana for the warm welcome in Eilat, also thanks to Anna (Ariadna 2010) for their responsiveness and goodwill.