This is a honest review we stayed here 21/10/15 - 2/11/15
our room 1118 was perfectly located on the first line next to the pool and closest to the beach and the amazingly beutiful coral reef.
The room itself was a large size and was sufficient the furniture, furnishings and fitting are quite tired and is really overdue a refurb but how much time do you really spend in your hotel room. There was always hot water and a nice bed. The cleaner worked very hard to keep it clean and was always very friendly.
Food is not great but when you take into consideration what little of our holiday cost actually goes to them then you may think differently. There was a large amount of russian's in the hotel who at meal times would rush in the resteraunt pile plates of the food that they could not possibly eat then just leave it which must be very frustrating for the chefs.
Breakfast you have to be up early to be guaranteed pancakes or doughnuts that my daughter liked. There was always lots of fresh bread though butter was often hard to come by but if you ask a waiter they will get some. There is a egg station fryed or omlette though there was only one chef so the que was long(maybe if the hotel put 2 chefs there it would quicken things up). The tea was lovely though...This is a honest review we stayed here 21/10/15 - 2/11/15
our room 1118 was perfectly located on the first line next to the pool and closest to the beach and the amazingly beutiful coral reef.
The room itself was a large size and was sufficient the furniture, furnishings and fitting are quite tired and is really overdue a refurb but how much time do you really spend in your hotel room. There was always hot water and a nice bed. The cleaner worked very hard to keep it clean and was always very friendly.
Food is not great but when you take into consideration what little of our holiday cost actually goes to them then you may think differently. There was a large amount of russian's in the hotel who at meal times would rush in the resteraunt pile plates of the food that they could not possibly eat then just leave it which must be very frustrating for the chefs.
Breakfast you have to be up early to be guaranteed pancakes or doughnuts that my daughter liked. There was always lots of fresh bread though butter was often hard to come by but if you ask a waiter they will get some. There is a egg station fryed or omlette though there was only one chef so the que was long(maybe if the hotel put 2 chefs there it would quicken things up). The tea was lovely though actual cups were not always available and trying to carry boiling hot paper cups to your table is tricky. I ate yoguart with honey most mornings there were pastries though they were quite bland and all tasted the same. There was mashed potatos and fried veg with chopped up hot dog also available.
Lunch is in the main resteraunt though we really only ate from the beach snack where it was chips, pizza, spicy hot dog, battered fish in a bun. unlike the resteraunt we had no difficulty getting food my advise is to wait after the rush so you can sit and enjoy the scenery. My mum enjoyed the battered fish and the chef who was friendly would make some fresh for her!
Drinks are served in small cups and were often warm I would suggest to take a beaker with you as its barely enough though you can get 2 drinks at a time.
I can not comment on the mid morning pastries and coffee as when we got there it had all gone.
Evening meals again if you dont get there first then you are not going to get anything nice. There was rice, veg, meat kofta, fish though be prepared to que while others just push there way in and hope that there is something left. one night there was a beef in a creamy sauce that was nice we also got some brownies, meringes and macaroons and an almond syrup cake over our time at the hotel that we enjoyed but these were not available every day so we often settled for just something so not to be hungry. The food did not represent delicious egyptian food though they do the best they can with the budget they have to work with .
The a la carte resteraunt is a set menu there was a salad table for your starter though there was nothing left the time we went. main was rice with chicken thigh and liver and pud was a piece of cake and fruit done by waiter service. It was nice not to have the hustle of the main resteraunt though it more of the same except for the chicken.
It was haloween while we were there they did a special night in the resteraunt now if the food was like that every day there would be no complaints.
Again though the food isnt brilliant but you wont starve the staff are lovely and work so hard to do there best.
ice cream is a small cone with small scoop one day the server actually flattened the top with a knife so is not really worth the walk to the top pool.
The pools are nice the top pool is quiet and the bottom is more lively with music at certain times of the day. Franko was nice he played music that my daughter requested and we always found a lounger.
The childrens entertainer isnt very good as she speaks very little english only russian my daughter wanted to get involved one evening but found it very difficult as she could not understand the russian instructions maybe just a kids disco would be better so they could just dance?
The water park is actually in the next hotel 5 minutes walk from hotel reception the kids enjoyed it but check the opening times as it only runs a couple of hours at a time. As a suggestion the music round this pool on the time we went was hip hop that had some explicit language my 6 year old does not need to hear how to fu** that bit** this is clearly an area that children play. may i suggest chart dance music to not cause offence.
Now I come to the absolute jewel in the crown of this hotel its the coral reef it is beyond words it is so beautiful we enjoyed snorkelling there every day and we also tried the scuba diving through our new friend on the beach mahmoud who is part of the dive centre. He is lovely we enjoyed talking with him. He arranged for us to do a taster scuba session at the hotels reef I would recommend everyone to try this we purchased the photographs that are amazing.
We had some pictures taken in the hotel by hussain who was very friendly and are a treasured momento of our time in sharm el sheikh
I must say a special thank you to Ahmed the catering manager who was so kind and went out of his way to try and make our stay nice.
We went a few trips the tiran boat trip was lovely was nice to get a sea breeze and food onboard was lovely though non of the coral was as good as that of the hotel. Quad bike trip was good fun, soho square is nice but not really where you get your bargains try old market or namma bay to try out your haggleing skills.
out of the hotel be aware of the camel men they are very friendly but dont get on without agreeing a price as they are quite agressive and try to take advantage with the price. taxis are also tricky you have to walk out of the hotel again agree a price before getting in and be clear the currency you will pay them with. it would be convenient if the hotel had there own taxi that was a set price from within the hotel. Ladies if you are not comfortable with beeing leered at then cover up.
To sum up our holiday the hotel did not meet our expectation of a 5* but as this was a cheaper option that is reflected in the quality of the food and room. Though im sure at one time it would have been fabulouse it does need some work. new management have taken over and I think that this hotel will improve and they can only do this by English people visiting enableing them to raise the standards.The coral is amazing and it is the highlight of the hotel.
We enjoyed our stay and would like to say thank you to all the lovely staff and managment who work so hard.More
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