Отличный отель Excellent hotel

I have long wanted to visit Jordan and now it happened! While everything is in my memory, I will immediately leave a review, since they really help travelers. So we chose this hotel based on reviews and did not regret it. As noted earlier - convenient location, very friendly (not speaking Russian) staff. Daily cleaning, change of bed linen and towels, comfortable beds, large rooms, new plumbing, the room is equipped with everything you need. Upon check-in, we asked (on the fingers : )) for a room with a sea view. We were told that now everything is busy, and tomorrow such a number will be free. We somehow didn’t really hope, but the next day we were really asked to move to a room on the 5th floor with a sea view! No tips or extras! Wi-Fi disappeared a couple of times, but at the reception they instantly solved the problem: somehow they set up the router and Wi-Fi flew! They asked for a kettle, an adapter (adapter) - they immediately brought everything to the room. A bit ashamed, but we never left a tip, sometimes we forgot, sometimes there was no change. But this did not affect our accommodation and attitude towards us. All the staff were very attentive, hospitable, friendly and at the same time unobtrusive.
Breakfasts are monotonous, but we did not leave hungry: sausages with scrambled eggs and vegetables, stewed beans, fresh vegetables, fried eggplant, boiled eggs, processed cheese and jams, cereal, milk, toast, halva. Dinners are also said to be the same, so we did not take them. You can dine in the city. Of course, in a cafe in the center, prices are high, but you can walk further away and eat cheaper.
I'll tell you about the beaches, as we were a little confused by last year's reviews. When booking a tour, we received a bonus from TUI - free access to the beach of the B12 club - thank you! In general, any paid beach in Aqaba costs 10 dinars or 15 USD. The price includes a transfer, a sunbed, a towel, and on this particular beach - water. On another paid beach, Berenice is not allowed with her own water, you need to buy it there. We liked the B12 beach, clean, equipped, not crowded. Two minuses - it's not the sea, but the lagoon, and construction next to all the noise. Another minus - they are delivered there late - at 10.30 departure from the Mina hotel, back at 14 or 16.30. We had breakfast from 7 to 10, but usually by 9 we were already completely ready, and we had to toil for 1.5 hours. They take more fun to Berenice - at 9.10 and 11 in the morning. There, too, everything is very well-maintained and beautiful + pools and animation, the sea with corals and fish. But not with your own food and water!

Another beach in Aqaba is the public free south or "South Beach". We read that you can get there by city bus and tried to find it for two days. It turns out that this bus was at one time in 2018, but then local taxi drivers expressed dissatisfaction with this and the authorities listened to them and canceled the bus. And now there are no other ways to get to this beach except for a taxi for 5 dinars. Free shuttles that bring tourists from the Tala Bay zone to the city and then go back will not take you, as well as buses that take tourists to Berenice using tickets purchased from hotel guides.
Of course, there are no amenities on the southern beach, we did not see sunbeds, but the sea is of course super. Right by the shore there are corals, fish, hedgehogs, slippers are a must! We saw a tank flooded literally 30 meters from the shore. A little further and to the left there is a flooded plane, and 600 meters to the right - a huge ship (they didn't see it, but people told). There are cafes and toilets. The plus is that after swimming, we laid out everything we had, ate (and not only), took delicious coffee in a cafe and sat on the shore watching the most beautiful sunsets!
They wrote a lot about the city beach, I note that yes, everything is true! And a bunch of locals, and close attention to us, tourists. There are no changing cabins, as the locals bathe dressed. We got to this beach 2 times, once when we arrived from Petra in the afternoon, and the second when we went to the desert at one in the afternoon. Those. the day is broken, and it makes no sense to leave the city. Yes, even before leaving at 7 in the morning they ran to swim, at that time it was more pleasant there : )) The water is 24 degrees, for me it is very warm and comfortable. The sea is clean, the beach, as they wrote here, is not very good.
In general, there is plenty to choose from and where to swim. Well, there are of course more expensive hotels with their own private beaches.

In general, I really liked Jordan. People are much more friendly and helpful than in the same Egypt. I walked alone through the streets and through the market late at 22-23 hours, completely calm. If you stop and start looking around, someone will immediately come up, help and orient you where to go. The people are not arrogant and not aggressive. The only irritants are teenage boys with close attention to women. On the local beach, such children asked our tourists to cover themselves with at least a towel. Honestly, I support them, well, you have to respect the country where you are going! Is it difficult to put on a closed swimsuit and throw on a pareo? And wear a bikini by the pool or on those beaches that I wrote about.
There is no shopping here, quality souvenirs are expensive. We bought coffee with cardamom, in the market and in stores there is a large selection of it from 4.5 to 9 dinars per kg. Packed in 250 and 500 gr.
Excursions were bought at a local travel agency, there is one large one next to the Hilton hotel, with Russian-speaking girls. An excursion to Petra cost 90 USD (without lunch), to Wadi Rum 40 USD. (with lunch), the Dead Sea has different prices and fillings. The excursions were well organized, with Russian-speaking guides, on comfortable buses, everything was right on time, no problems arose. Impressions of course super-duper! In general, it is very comfortable in Aqaba in December, it is hot during the day (we got tanned in a week), and in the evening you need to throw on a sweater. But late beautiful sunrises and early awesome sunsets! These are very beautiful sights that we don’t see in our cities, and we need to go for this, and not for garbage on the beach : ))