THE SHORT STORY

We've done the all-inclusive thing several times in many parts of the world, so we're used to what that means (buffet meals, local alcohol, etc.) but this place really tried to cheap out on everything. Some staff were great, others the complete opposite, and likewise there were some good and bad things about this resort. It has great potential but isn't quite "great" yet.

SHOULD YOU VISIT?

If you know what you're getting into, don't have high expectations for food and drinks, and are looking for a budget-priced vacation on the Red Sea at a resort that is actually on the beachfront, then you should be pleased here. Many other resorts actually aren't on the water but rather are in walking distance or offer a shuttle van back and forth. It was definitely a bonus here to have the beach just a short stroll from our room. However, if you want to be near a city/town or have some nightlife, you should consider staying in central Hurghada, though it is costlier, more crowded, and many of the hotels do not have beach access.

STAFF and SERVICE

Staff and service was very hit-or-miss. I ordered the same cocktail from their own "specialty" list on 4 separate occasions, and each time it was made differently. Some bartenders were friendly and working hard to earn a tip, but others would just hang around by the glasses and not approach anyone or make eye contact. The housekeeper who cleaned our room daily did a really impeccable job, even straightening the belongings I had tossed on the desk, neatly organizing our shoes on a rack, etc. Other guests did not have the same experience and were complaining that their floors were still sandy and hadn't been swept the entire week.

FOOD

The buffet had little variety and everything was extremely bland in both restaurants. The soups were basically pots of the previous day's leftover noddles/rice/veggies with some "broth" -- the most watery soup I have ever had. And it was like this EVERY day.

Even on a few days when the hotel was fairly empty, it still took forever to get a drink brought to your table. (They don't have a drink station/bar in the restaurants because they can claim an extra "star" if they serve the beverages at meal times.) Half the mornings, we were done with our breakfast before getting the coffee we had ordered when we were first seated. When we did get coffee, it came with no milk and we had to go to the cereal station to get some.

RESORT

The resort itself was nice, fairly clean, but in need of some maintenance. The beach area was nice but there isn't much of a sandy area, and the small strip of sand that's there is mainly covered in beach chairs. There are two pool areas, one with two large water slides (though the slides are only running when there's a staff member around to run and monitor them, and the schedule seemed completely random). There is a "show" every night in the lounge, but I've seen much better at other resorts.

There are two buffet restaurants, a lounge/bar by the lobby, a central "pool bar" (really just a bar in the pool area) and two smaller pool/beach bars. They have varying opening hours, which got a bit confusing. The smaller restaurant isn't open for lunch. Both restaurants only serve soft drinks, beer, and wine. The main pool bar isn't open until around noon, and they have some snacks there throughout the day (usually just chicken wings and french fries). The pool bars close around 5, though the small ones often stopped serving earlier than that, and then the main one opens again 2 or 3 hours later. The lounge also had varying hours.

On the plus side, even on days when the hotel was more crowded, we never had trouble finding sun chairs to lounge on -- although the ones at the beach were typically full, you could always find a few around the pools.

RECEPTION and ROOMS

Upon arriving, we stayed only one night (before we left for a cruise) and the staff knew that (a) this was the first night of our honeymoon and (b) we were returning in a week to stay for another 6 days. For this one night, they gave us a really awful (and tiny) room all the way to the left side of the resort, facing an ugly concrete wall and the construction site next door. Despite having told them in advance that it was our honeymoon and being guaranteed that we would have a normal double bed, we were given two single beds that could not be pushed together because the nightstand between them was attached to the wall. They told us "it's just one night," that they were very booked and very sorry, and they promised repeatedly to rectify the situation with a "very nice honeymoon room" when we came back after the week-long cruise.

So we go on our cruise, come back 7 days later, have to wait to check in (as did dozens of other people) because the rooms weren't ready, and were finally brought with our luggage to our "very large" room...yes, large indeed. Large enough for 3 beds. 3 SINGLE beds. That can't be pushed together because of the nightstands between them that are attached to the wall, just like the other room. The staff suggested that we "just pull the beds out," away from the wall and nightstands, and then push them together in the middle of the floor. That would have put the bottom of the beds up against the cabinet/TV stand, leaving no way to actually get around the room.

We told the bellman we wouldn't take the room, as it was not what we had paid for, took our suitcases ourselves and went back to the front desk with the key. We got the same song and dance -- "we're very full," "that's all that's available," blah blah blah -- and reminded them that we paid for a room with a queen or king bed. Hey, it's not our fault you overbooked lots of people in nicer rooms and now don't have any available. Once we made it clear that we were going to stand in the lobby with our suitcases until the situation was fixed, there was "suddenly" a room available that was "reserved for another guest." Yeah, ours was reserved too! This room had a king size bed....and was right next door to the first room they'd tried to give us half an hour earlier, making it pretty obvious that the room was indeed ready and available. After talking with other guests, we discovered that only people who insisted on their correct accommodations or who slipped some extra money over the counter "to say thanks" actually got nice rooms. Throughout the whole week, a lot of guests were griping about not getting the room they paid for.

Many acquaintances from our cruise who also came to stay in the hotel had similar problems, but few of them got decent solutions. 3 couples had to stay in the awful, tiny rooms with twin beds for the first few nights and then had the "privilege" of packing up and moving to another room for the rest of their stay, and they even had to follow the 10am check-out time and wait til the 2pm check-in time for the new room.

Some rooms have balconies, and some ground-floor rooms even have large patios. It is possible to get adjoining rooms and family rooms, but 2 groups we met both had problems with actually getting their two adjoining rooms next to each other, again with "just stay here tonight and we'll fix it tomorrow or maybe the next day when some more people check out" excuse. They really seemed to have overbooked the "nicer" rooms.

We visited this resort for a week during the first week of November and we were not disappointed. It was not far from the airport (we had free transfers)and as per other other posts in does seem like its in the middle of nowhere. But, it was a great choice of resort and would definitely recommend others to stay there:-

Good Points

Fantastic Service & Staff that I cannot praise enough
Good food (especially breakfast)
Good choice of drinks
Good entertainment
Nice Room
Ok location
Free Wifi
Free water in mini-fridge everyday
Friendliness of other residents at the hotels (Mostly non-English speaking European)
Safe in room

Things to Improve

We went with our 4 month old baby and it would have been nice to have a lift for the buggy to our room (although I'm sure they would have changed our room if we had asked)
Food can be a bit repetitive, but still very nice
Wi-fi only in restaurant opposite bar and near pool

But all in all a great trip. We used the Hotel's taxi service to go to Luxor for the day and they found us an English speaking guide that took us across the Nile and to the Valley of the Kings for an excellent price. We got there and back safely and in good time.

We have no complaints and would highly recommend if you're going to this hotel. We have nothing bad to say at all. In fact, I've even kept in touch with one of the staff members who was picking up some english from me.

Don't hesitate to book a room here, it's value for money

I hate to say that I was tricked and payed money for nothing cheap local drinks that taste like puke food which not good cooked and cause you to lax all the times.... amazed by how staff is sexually harrasing tourists and touch them sometime when ever possible and when they are away from being observed .... rude security staff speciall with Egyptians ...the reception or front desk employees and fooling tourist for extra money shame on them .. I would love to appreciate anything Egyptian as Egyptian but this resort is shame on the map of resorts in Hurghada .... and I will never ever visit it again .... I spent the worst vaccation ever and my fiancee been harrassed by workers over there .... I won't repeat that nightmare ever sorry to say that what an embaressment for me as Egyptian

Neither the events that took place in Egypt nor the ones held in the region have influenced Service quality in tourist centres on the Red sea coast.
I have full right to write this, that we just returned from the two weeks stay in hotel Palm Beach Resort in Hurghada. My experiences from 3 holidays, spent in this hotel 2008-2010
I described in the review in October2010.
As in previous years, we met on all places of the hotel all staff members hard working with polite behaviour. They stated that their country will be in a better condition in the future while talking to them.
Again in this year we were surprised of inovation , as wind protection on the beach, or new expansion of food and drink supply among others.
In this year we took advantage of opportunities to enjoy the beauty of the Red sea directly and more conveniently from the area of the hotel.The ships of the organisation Aquariusredsea starts from the hotel to the diving and snorkeling tours to coral gardens by the nearest islands. The centre provides training for beginners and experts and inform about their activities on their websites.
In hotel you can do maximum for your health, not only in swimming and on sunbath, but also with the help of health center Horaspa, which offer all from massage till to use of bodybuilding and fitness training equipments,
Altough this hotel lie on the north end of the town Hurgaha we had enough sufficient possibilities for buying of souveniers and other things not only in the hotel but also across the street in the neighborhood of pharmacy.
We will certainly go back next year.