Your rating of this hotel:
7.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms:
10.0
Service:
10.0
Cleanliness:
7.0
Food:
4.0
Amenities:
3.0
REVIEW ABOUT TRAVEL IN THE UAE
2 weeks ago we returned from the UAE, having visited the Coral Beach Resort 4 * (Sharjah). First time in the UAE.
Prior to that, they rested many times in Turkey, and in Egypt, and in Tunisia, they were in Israel. In order not to repeat ourselves, we finally decided to change the situation and see another Arab country : -)
Moreover, the reviews on the Internet, the reviews of friends said that the UAE is a chic rich country where you should definitely go. Which is what we did.
About flight and airport:
It all started with the fact that our tour operator brought to the airport (an hour and a half before departure) our documents (tickets, vouchers, insurance, visas). If you are not aware, then for citizens of Ukraine it is necessary to obtain a visa to the UAE (this is not the visa that is put in the passport as a Schengen one, for example, this is a visa on an A4 sheet with passport data and a photograph of a tourist).
So, on one of the visas, we noticed that the photo of one of the tourists does not completely match, while the full name and passport data are correct. It seems that in the photo the person has changed a lot and has aged 30 years. Before the trip, I read reviews that it was very difficult to go through customs control. Naturally, we panicked, knowing what strict customs requirements in the UAE were, we were afraid that a person would not be allowed through customs, etc. , but the representative of the tour operator (“NEWS TRAVEL”, Kyiv, Ukraine) assured that before passing through passport control side and everything will be settled, besides the embassy has been warned and everything will be in order. Of course, no one met us upon arrival, so we could only hope for the best. Thank God it passed. Luckily, we passed both the luggage and the retina of the eye very quickly. Maybe because the flight was at night and only a few planes landed at that time.
By the way, our flight was delayed: there - for 3 hours, back - for 2 hours.
About the country and about excursions:
Our plane arrived in Dubai in 5 hours. I must say right away that on the way to the hotel we were dumbfounded by the number of construction sites, cranes, etc. It was as if we had arrived not at a resort, but at a construction site.
Huge luxurious buildings alternate with high-rise cranes, beautiful architectural mosques and poor buildings like cheap old-fashioned shops. In the complex, it all looks a bit ridiculous, but nevertheless it gives the impression of a developed rich country.
Dubai is undoubtedly a luxurious place. You definitely need to travel around the city, visit all the famous sights (seven-star hotel (Sail) - Burj Al Arab, the tallest building in the world - Burj Khalifa, Palm Island, Dubai Sky Mall and others).
At the hotel, the guide offered us excursions, but the cheapest one is $100 and up (per person).
The hotel guide also sends you on a tour of Dubai (two types: modern and historical); and the capital Abu Dhabi; and to the Indian Ocean; and on a tour of the Emirates of the country, etc. We decided to combine all these places and rented a car. Renting a 2009 Toyota Corolla is inexpensive: $37 per day + gasoline, which is just a ball at our Ukrainian prices. For two days we rode around the Emirates (Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah), swam in the Indian Ocean, walked around Dubai, visited the Dubai Zoo (admission about 50 cents), Al Mamzar Park (admission fee, about 8 US dollars). It is a pity that we did not manage to go to the capital, there was not so much time.
As for shopping, many people come here for gold and fur coats, but personally we didn’t buy any of the above, because I don’t like Italian gold, and mink coats are not of very good quality, although the price is very reasonable, even cheap.
About the hotel:
There is a construction site next to the hotel, everything is rattling, the cranes are humming. .
Some kind of nightmare ...The first days were shocked and regretted that they did not go to Turkey. Later, of course, they got used to it and stopped paying attention to the construction, but still the first impression was blurred. The hotel consists of one building (6 floors), restaurant extensions, beach area.
The service at the hotel is just wonderful, the guys work perfectly, they are well-trained in a way that I have never seen in any country. Tipping at the hotel, as I understand it, is not accepted. The waiters, the restaurant management jumped around the tourists just like that. Very welcoming and friendly. Several times during dinner or lunch, the waiters presented the kids with soft toys, and I wore oriental sweets for both lunch and dinner, although they were not on the menu (one of the waiters saw that this was one of my favorite dishes).
The food was All Inclusive, but the problem arose with drinks during the day. So we were in the UAE during Ramadan, we were not spoiled with drinks.
It was just terrible, since we had to pay extra for "all inclusive" and there was no even thought that we might be missing something! ! ! I had to go and deal with the hotel manager, they called our guide. In the end we were allowed to drink drinks in the hotel restaurant, but being on the beach it is very inconvenient to go to the restaurant to drink a glass of cola or juice! ! ! This is a very big drawback. Last year, during Ramadan, we rested in Turkey, what a fast! Drinks flowed like water, the food was the most diverse, the show was every day! And then ...No words ...As for food, the food is always the same, a couple of times in a large cauldron they made a real, very tasty pilaf with several types of meat and baked vegetables. We didn’t go hungry, but for a lover of delicious food, there’s nothing special to do here. The hotel has an Italian restaurant, which worked only 1 time in 10 days, and then on a paid basis. We didn't go there.
Entertainment. There was no animation in the hotel.
Of the entertainment on site - a water slide in a large pool (where people after one came out with rewound heads), paid billiards, paid tennis court, free gym. We liked to sit in the jacuzzi, but it can hardly be called entertainment ...In general, at the expense of animation in this hotel, one could die of boredom. It's good that we took crossword puzzles and playing cards with us.
Air and water temperature in August:
The air temperature exceeded 50 degrees Celsius. The water in the Persian Gulf is VERY warm, I can’t say exactly how many degrees, but it feels like you are bathing in a warm bath. It is very nice to swim in the bay early in the morning. When you get out of the water at 6 in the morning, it gets quite cold. The Indian Ocean is much cooler and more pleasant in this regard.
Summary:
Compared with Turkey, Egypt, the UAE is famous for the Emirate of Dubai, a truly chic place.
There is practically no history in this country, no significant historical sites, only these majestic glass buildings and man-made wonders, recently built.
During the holidays, we met a large number of people who have already been to the UAE many times and say they will come again. What they find in this country, I did not understand. For me personally, this trip is informative and sightseeing, nothing more, I don’t want to come back here. Is it possible to go to Abu Dhabi, where we did not manage to get, especially since there is a chic Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, where the second part of the film "Sex and the City" was filmed. It is very interesting to visit there. Perhaps after visiting the UAE you will fall in love with this country and will go there as often as possible, but I prefer to invest my long-awaited vacation and my money in learning new countries. In any case, I do not advise you to go to the UAE during Ramadan.
During this period, many sightseeing places are closed, you can’t eat, smoke, drink on the street.
If you have additional questions - write! With pleasure I will give you a sheep! ! !
2 weeks ago we returned from the UAE, having visited the Coral Beach Resort 4 * (Sharjah). First time in the UAE.
Prior to that, they rested many times in Turkey, and in Egypt, and in Tunisia, they were in Israel. In order not to repeat ourselves, we finally decided to change the situation and see another Arab country : -)
Moreover, the reviews on the Internet, the reviews of friends said that the UAE is a chic rich country where you should definitely go. Which is what we did.
About flight and airport:
It all started with the fact that our tour operator brought to the airport (an hour and a half before departure) our documents (tickets, vouchers, insurance, visas). If you are not aware, then for citizens of Ukraine it is necessary to obtain a visa to the UAE (this is not the visa that is put in the passport as a Schengen one, for example, this is a visa on an A4 sheet with passport data and a photograph of a tourist).
So, on one of the visas, we noticed that the photo of one of the tourists does not completely match, while the full name and passport data are correct. It seems that in the photo the person has changed a lot and has aged 30 years. Before the trip, I read reviews that it was very difficult to go through customs control. Naturally, we panicked, knowing what strict customs requirements in the UAE were, we were afraid that a person would not be allowed through customs, etc. , but the representative of the tour operator (“NEWS TRAVEL”, Kyiv, Ukraine) assured that before passing through passport control side and everything will be settled, besides the embassy has been warned and everything will be in order. Of course, no one met us upon arrival, so we could only hope for the best. Thank God it passed. Luckily, we passed both the luggage and the retina of the eye very quickly. Maybe because the flight was at night and only a few planes landed at that time.
By the way, our flight was delayed: there - for 3 hours, back - for 2 hours.
About the country and about excursions:
Our plane arrived in Dubai in 5 hours. I must say right away that on the way to the hotel we were dumbfounded by the number of construction sites, cranes, etc. It was as if we had arrived not at a resort, but at a construction site.
Huge luxurious buildings alternate with high-rise cranes, beautiful architectural mosques and poor buildings like cheap old-fashioned shops. In the complex, it all looks a bit ridiculous, but nevertheless it gives the impression of a developed rich country.
Dubai is undoubtedly a luxurious place. You definitely need to travel around the city, visit all the famous sights (seven-star hotel (Sail) - Burj Al Arab, the tallest building in the world - Burj Khalifa, Palm Island, Dubai Sky Mall and others).
At the hotel, the guide offered us excursions, but the cheapest one is $100 and up (per person).
The hotel guide also sends you on a tour of Dubai (two types: modern and historical); and the capital Abu Dhabi; and to the Indian Ocean; and on a tour of the Emirates of the country, etc. We decided to combine all these places and rented a car. Renting a 2009 Toyota Corolla is inexpensive: $37 per day + gasoline, which is just a ball at our Ukrainian prices. For two days we rode around the Emirates (Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah), swam in the Indian Ocean, walked around Dubai, visited the Dubai Zoo (admission about 50 cents), Al Mamzar Park (admission fee, about 8 US dollars). It is a pity that we did not manage to go to the capital, there was not so much time.
As for shopping, many people come here for gold and fur coats, but personally we didn’t buy any of the above, because I don’t like Italian gold, and mink coats are not of very good quality, although the price is very reasonable, even cheap.
About the hotel:
There is a construction site next to the hotel, everything is rattling, the cranes are humming. .
Some kind of nightmare ...The first days were shocked and regretted that they did not go to Turkey. Later, of course, they got used to it and stopped paying attention to the construction, but still the first impression was blurred. The hotel consists of one building (6 floors), restaurant extensions, beach area.
The service at the hotel is just wonderful, the guys work perfectly, they are well-trained in a way that I have never seen in any country. Tipping at the hotel, as I understand it, is not accepted. The waiters, the restaurant management jumped around the tourists just like that. Very welcoming and friendly. Several times during dinner or lunch, the waiters presented the kids with soft toys, and I wore oriental sweets for both lunch and dinner, although they were not on the menu (one of the waiters saw that this was one of my favorite dishes).
The food was All Inclusive, but the problem arose with drinks during the day. So we were in the UAE during Ramadan, we were not spoiled with drinks.
It was just terrible, since we had to pay extra for "all inclusive" and there was no even thought that we might be missing something! ! ! I had to go and deal with the hotel manager, they called our guide. In the end we were allowed to drink drinks in the hotel restaurant, but being on the beach it is very inconvenient to go to the restaurant to drink a glass of cola or juice! ! ! This is a very big drawback. Last year, during Ramadan, we rested in Turkey, what a fast! Drinks flowed like water, the food was the most diverse, the show was every day! And then ...No words ...As for food, the food is always the same, a couple of times in a large cauldron they made a real, very tasty pilaf with several types of meat and baked vegetables. We didn’t go hungry, but for a lover of delicious food, there’s nothing special to do here. The hotel has an Italian restaurant, which worked only 1 time in 10 days, and then on a paid basis. We didn't go there.
Entertainment. There was no animation in the hotel.
Of the entertainment on site - a water slide in a large pool (where people after one came out with rewound heads), paid billiards, paid tennis court, free gym. We liked to sit in the jacuzzi, but it can hardly be called entertainment ...In general, at the expense of animation in this hotel, one could die of boredom. It's good that we took crossword puzzles and playing cards with us.
Air and water temperature in August:
The air temperature exceeded 50 degrees Celsius. The water in the Persian Gulf is VERY warm, I can’t say exactly how many degrees, but it feels like you are bathing in a warm bath. It is very nice to swim in the bay early in the morning. When you get out of the water at 6 in the morning, it gets quite cold. The Indian Ocean is much cooler and more pleasant in this regard.
Summary:
Compared with Turkey, Egypt, the UAE is famous for the Emirate of Dubai, a truly chic place.
There is practically no history in this country, no significant historical sites, only these majestic glass buildings and man-made wonders, recently built.
During the holidays, we met a large number of people who have already been to the UAE many times and say they will come again. What they find in this country, I did not understand. For me personally, this trip is informative and sightseeing, nothing more, I don’t want to come back here. Is it possible to go to Abu Dhabi, where we did not manage to get, especially since there is a chic Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, where the second part of the film "Sex and the City" was filmed. It is very interesting to visit there. Perhaps after visiting the UAE you will fall in love with this country and will go there as often as possible, but I prefer to invest my long-awaited vacation and my money in learning new countries. In any case, I do not advise you to go to the UAE during Ramadan.
During this period, many sightseeing places are closed, you can’t eat, smoke, drink on the street.
If you have additional questions - write! With pleasure I will give you a sheep! ! !
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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