I must explain my "3" rating. We stayed at the Sport hotel for 3 nights in late July, 2006. The hotel itself is excellent -- spotless --they are obsessed with cleaning. Modern, great room (large, clean, with a balcony and view of the Red Sea). Clean, large pool, with a pool bar and plenty of pool chairs. Exceptional breakfast, lunch, and dinner. BUT we have never seen or heard so many children in one hotel. When we arrived, we actually thought there was a field trip or some kind of event event going on, because anywhere you were -- the pool, the dining room, the lobby -- was FILLED with kids running around. Because of this alone, I would give it a 1 rating.

We don't know if the hotel caters to children (like Las Vegas' Circus Circus) and is always filled with them, or if this was just an exception due to the war going on in the North (we met a number of families who had come to Eilat because they were from the North and were no longer safe). But regardless, little kids heavily outnumbered adults.

We were so impressed with the food, which was beautifully presented, plentiful, extremely high-quality, well-prepared, and fresh from their kitchens, BUT could never seem to enjoy any of our meals because the dining area was FILLED with little kids. As if the sheer numbers of little ones was not bad enough, the main problem was that many of them were of the screaming / crying / running around uncontrolled / climbing all over the hotel's furniture variety. We were at breakfast on our last day, and 3 little kids were climbing all over the dining room booths and the ledges which surrounded them, with neither the parents, nor the hotel staff, saying anything. Don't get me wrong, we love kids, but draw the line when they are screaming in our ears or otherwise intruding on our experience, or just plain destroying property!

On the plus side, staff were extremely friendly, welcoming, extremely hardworking, and helpful. They really work hard and go out of their way to make your experience a good one. We lost our cell phone one day, and not only did several staff members stop what they were doing to help us look for it, one of them gave us his phone to borrow. (!) (Another staff member had found it in the dining room and turned it in to security.)

So make what you will of our experience -- great hotel and great staff, but it felt like a kindergarten / day care center where the children are allowed to just run wild. This is not the hotel's fault, of course, but if they are in fact catering to families with kids, they might want to reconsider or at least limit their bookings.