Хороший отель за свои деньги Good hotel for your money

Hello everybody! My long review will be about holidays in Egypt and at the Aladdin Hotel in Hurghada. I will try to tell you what worried me when I was driving. We rested as a family from October 23 to November 8.2018.
WEATHER
Excellent. The water in the sea is not lower than 25 degrees. Air 30 - 35. In the evening it is also warm: trousers + T-shirt. Only a couple of evenings they put on sweaters. For three days (not in a row) there was wind. Then it is a little uncomfortable to get out of the water, but in general it is not critical at all. Be sure to take sunscreen with you and use it constantly. Even if there is a tan, you can still get burned. If the skin is very delicate, I recommend buying a white T-shirt with closed shoulders and swimming in it for at least the first days.

THE AIRPORT

We were worried about filling out paperwork and annoying Arabs, but everything turned out to be very simple. Upon arrival, in a friendly crowd, go to passport control. There is a booth where you can immediately buy a visa ($ 25) - they stick it in your passport.
Then they give a piece of paper to fill out - take a pen with you. Exactly the same is filled upon departure. There is nothing complicated. In Latin letters, you must indicate: last name, first name, place of birth, date of birth, nationality. There is a complete feeling that the piece of paper is filled out for profanation - no one there is staring at it intently. Then they also check your passports, visa and exit for luggage.
After collecting your luggage, you can buy an Internet SIM card - a kiosk is nearby. We took vodafone. The minimum amount is 4GB 10$. Internet worked well. There are also toilets next to baggage claim. Immediately upon exiting the door are guides from different hotels and meet. The bus stop is also nearby.

SETTLEMENT
We arrived at the hotel at 12 at night. There were no more people. Gave "for tea" and got a good number. After checking in, we went to the lobby for a late dinner. Of course, there are no frills there: tea, sandwiches with their terrible cheese and sausage, buns. Eating enough.

ROOMS
The territory of "Aladdin" and "Jasmine" is common. We saw that people also live in the Jasmine houses. How to understand where what numbers?
Ask where the sea is. All houses "Jasmine" on the outskirts of the beach. If you leave the central doors of the lobby, it is to the left. If you go out to the right, then they lead to Aladdin. The building is long, solid 2-storey. There's a family room. Opposite are smaller houses for couples.
The quietest rooms - whose windows overlook the pool, but are located away from the pool - in the depths of the alley. At the beginning of the alley, you can hear music from the pool (from 10 to 18) and evening music from the lobby bar, there is also a playground, which will not add silence either.
We lived on the 1st floor. We liked that we could go outside through the veranda. Kittens came to visit us, of which there are 6 pieces. The children enjoyed feeding them. And there was no need to jump up the stairs.


Now about the number itself. Good for 4 stars.
You open the door and you immediately enter the children's room. To the left are two 1.5-inch beds with good mattresses, a bedside table. Opposite, a cabinet with a simple TV (few channels).
Further corridor. To the right is a closet, refrigerator, safe. The safe didn't work, but to be honest, we wouldn't use it. When you see the key to the safe and the cunning faces of the Egyptians, there is no desire to keep money there. If there is a code in a suitcase, you can safely store cash there. Better yet, keep the principal amount on the card. There are safes in the lobby, but I can't tell you the prices. There is also an ATM in the lobby.
To the left is the door to the toilet-shower. Everything is clean, tidy and in order. There was always hot water.
Directly the main room for adults. Large bed with orthopedic mattress. Bedside tables. Opposite is a large cabinet with a mirror. TV set. Good. There is something to see. Large swing windows. Exit to a small terrace with 2 chairs.
We paid $1 a day tip.
Cleaned up always great. Towels could be changed at least every day. Bottled water daily. All without problems.
The room has 2 air conditioners in 2 rooms. They work noisily. We turned on before going to bed for 30 minutes - it was enough.

BEACH
10 minutes walk through the well-groomed territory of the hotel and you automatically get to the Jasmine beach. To the right is Aladdin Beach and behind it is Ali Baba Beach.
We always rested only on the Jasmine beach. He is the best. Wide, gradually increasing depth. The bottom is only sand! You can safely swim barefoot and do not need any slippers. On the right (not at depth) there are boulders - there are small fish for small children.
After the buoys through 5-7 meters corals. Two large natural and to the right a submerged boat. There are a lot of different fish there - no excursions are needed. We saw a turtle there (after dinner, when there were fewer people), and squids.

The depth there is decent, so the children definitely need vests / armlets.
There were no more vacationers - only the beach staff folded mattresses. While changing, my daughter put the phone on the mattress. Late in the evening they found out that there was no phone. Security for the species looked in our room)) and on the beach. Naturally, nothing was found. The incident spoiled the mood.

NUTRITION
It's important to remember a few things here. 4 star hotel - no special frills, but you will not stay hungry. The staff is trying, but in their own way: in Egyptian and masculine way))) The food is still not the same as at home.
Every day there were delicious oranges in unlimited quantities, grapes, fresh dates, pomegranates, melon (tasteless).
Fish in the form of a fillet, but we did not like it.
Sausage meat (soy horror), stewed beef, liver, grilled sausages, grilled chicken. Stewed vegetables: beans, eggplant, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, potato pancakes, 3 types of rice, spaghetti, omelettes, pancakes, donuts, different types of cheese...
Vegetables: cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, zucchini, carrots, salads, sauces and gravies...
Soups the Egyptians, in principle, do not know how to cook. Usually it is a broth in which a little bit of something floats.
Delicious muffins: buns, cakes, pies, sherbet, coconut sticks ...The last days of rest they even began to give ice cream: in tiny cups 1 portion in hand. We do not drink alcohol - I will not orient.
The waiters are mediocre. Sometimes you had to go for tea yourself - you would not interrogate anyone.
There are enough tables in the restaurant. I didn't like the cleanliness of the plates and cups. They were visually clean, but when you take it in your hands, you sometimes feel like a plaque.
The concept is purely among the Egyptians and ours is very different. We always washed our hands before dining. means. I took wet wipes with me and wiped plates, spoons, forks. The whole rest they drank "enterogenmina" and took "stopdiar" from the stomach - nothing happened. There is a pharmacy on site.

Didn't go in - I don't know the prices and assortment. Precisely - you have to bargain everywhere, even in a pharmacy.
If you are going on a long excursion where they promise to feed you lunch, do not count on it. Usually they serve cold rice (I won’t be surprised if the leftovers from the plates are dumped back into the common cauldron), cold chicken pieces. On the banana island we were treated to unwashed fruit. Therefore, it is better to take food from the hotel. We also took a stick of raw smoked sausage from home - it helped us out on trips.
There are 2 restaurants in the hotel: Italian and Mongolian. Went to Italian for "Italian pizza". A thick pancake of dough, some vegetables, a lot of cheese and a big name. They didn't even go to Mongolian.
For food I put 7 out of 10. But here I am very picky and the hotel is still not 5 stars.

AQUAPARK
The water park also played a significant role in choosing this hotel. We actually only went there once. The slides themselves are good - the children liked it.
But the water in all the pools is sooo cold and uncomfortable to ride. After 2 hours the children froze and we left.

ENTERTAINMENT
I must say right away that we are not lovers of noisy gatherings and discos. On the territory of the hotel in the lobby in the evenings, an Egyptian sang. People bought something in a bar and sat and listened. There are animators not on the territory of Ali Baba - they danced some songs with children. I don't know about disco for adults.

SHOPPING & SHOPPING
The location of the hotel is wonderful - you can safely go out and walk along the street. There is nothing particularly impressive there: hotels and shopping arcades. Outside the hotel is safe. Locals know that tourists should not be offended. Tourists just need to get used to constantly beeping cars, pestering taxi drivers and sellers, and clearly saying “no”. In extreme cases, quite arrogant types can be threatened with the tourist police - they are very afraid of it, but it doesn’t come to that.

By the way, there are police posts along the way. Remember that the country is Muslim and dress appropriately: trousers, long skirt, t-shirts without a neckline and with closed shoulders.
Where is what.
Exit the hotel and turn immediately left and walk on the LEFT side. In about 30 minutes you will see a huge number of shopping arcades on both sides of the street. Remember that you can bargain everywhere - feel free to divide the price by 2. They sell clothes, souvenirs, oils, perfumes, towels, swimming accessories, teas, mangoes and medicines ...In Egypt, medicines are much cheaper than ours, the quality is not worse. We always bring from there for ourselves and for our parents. At the very end of the street there is a fish restaurant - a branch of the famous "Star fish". We went to the bored Arabs, asked for a menu. Menu: the name of the dish, the number of grams is not specified, the price is not specified. The cryptic phrase “market price” is modestly written, i. e.
we will look at you, estimate the number of stars of your hotel and then we will give you a price. Behind the restaurant at the very end of the street (40 min walk) is a fixed price shop. There you can safely buy sweets and etc. for gifts. On the way back to the airport, your guide will stop the bus at a roadside shop and even give you a 5% discount. But the prices for the same sweets will be 2 times more expensive, so it’s better to buy in a fixed price in advance.
If you leave the hotel and turn left again, but go on the RIGHT side, in 20 minutes you will follow the signs to a large shopping center "Senzo Moll". Look interesting. Prices for clothes are the same as ours. The assortment is specific - with a Muslim bias. There is McDonald's. We went to the grocery store. They bought local juices: $ 1 bottle (mango, papaya, all kinds of exotic). And, of course, they bought mangoes. 1 kg - $ 2. Street vendors have the same price. In the store on the territory of "Ali Baba" 4 euros.

TOURS

I strongly advise you to watch the videos of Valentina Anisimova on the U tube. She talks wonderfully about the nuances of rest in the country. She also has a website where she sells excursions. Prices are 2 times lower than guide prices. The quality is similar.
In general, most Egyptian excursions are not interesting. The desert is terribly dusty and muddy. Corals and islands - crowds of people, yachts, security issues (read the reviews of tourists).
The pyramids are very far and tiring - 8 hours one way. Gotta love Egypt
We went to Luxor and were satisfied. Drive 4 hours. Passing through the city, it is interesting to look at the local customs in the outback. You see a lot of monuments. Naturally, we were brought to an alabaster "factory" (a store with shelves), where all the products are "handmade" (thousands of figurines are made by 3 lazy Arabs). For an additional fee (you can bargain) we went along the Nile to a banana island.
You can go: look at the Nile and how crocodiles are washed in a cage, how bananas grow, make freshly squeezed juice from sugar cane, and eat a bit of unwashed fruit))).
The rest of the trips are a waste of money.
On excursions, beggars are everywhere. The boy from the boat helps dad to steer and at the same time plaintively begs for "only" that oiro. A toilet costs 2-5 pounds, but for you the price may jump sharply again to the mystical tou oiro (the price drop is influenced by the indignant “what!? ”). As you silently walk from the monument to the bus, you can see the price of the figurine drop from $20 to $2.
These are the features of the country and they need to be understood: an unfamiliar Egyptian smiled - he will ask for money, he wants to help you photograph - he will ask for money, gives you a cardboard box - a fan - he will ask for money ...

EVICTION
Our flight was at 5:30 pm. was taken from the hotel at 14.00 (check-in for the flight in 3 hours). The room must be vacated at 12.00. Bracelets are not cut off - you can eat, the beach is allowed.
If you check out and leave late, the hotel is obliged to provide you with an empty room for 20 minutes to wash! You can extend the use of your room for an additional fee.
Perhaps everything. Who read to the end, well done! )))