В целом неплохо Overall, not bad

We stayed at Stella Di Mare Makadi Beach for two years in a row. They turned out different. As we were informed by a local guide from TEZ TOUR on one resonant issue, the concept of the hotel has changed. Not for the better, of course. And not just on one point.
We chose the hotel according to several criteria: price-quality ratio (rating of reviews on Turpravda), the presence of a live reef and flights with respect to decent airlines WINDROSE or UIA.
The hotel is pleasantly impressive: a large, clean area, beautiful pools, a huge beach area with enough sunbeds on the sand and on the grass, a cozy restaurant with good food. A nice bonus is the opportunity to visit the Gardens area, where there is an artificial wave pool and two children's water slides.
Have been to all 4 a la carte restaurants. Liked Italian (pizza), Chinese (interior, sushi). Did not like Indian and especially Lebanese (poor quality of service, poor cuisine)

The rooms are acceptable. Not a fountain, but you can live. It's not even about the old repair, but about its quality. Tiles and plumbing were installed by local Dzhamshuts: obliquely, crookedly, just to be alive. On our second visit, there was a weak flow in the shower, although our room was exactly one floor lower, under last year's. An additional couch (there were three of us) was placed creaky with a torn mattress. They made me change the mattress. The couches were all creaky. The TV remote did not work well and on both of our visits was missing the back cover of the battery compartment. There is no air conditioner remote control. Not convenient. Especially at night, when you had to get up to turn it off or change the air temperature. There is a free safe and kettle in the room. Bathroom combined. There are two wardrobes. Quite spacious balcony. Cosmetics were given out: soap, shampoo, lotion, etc. There was only water in the fridge. Refilled every day, one bottle per person.
The coral reef pleased with the diversity of flora and fauna. To the left of the pier, it is more colorful and lively than to the right. I didn’t swim far to the right, but I believe, judging by the reviews, that there is also something to see there.
It’s a long way to go to the end of the pier, but along the way, at high tide, you can observe marine inhabitants: stingrays, octopuses, hedgehogs, small moray eels (or were they snakes) and numerous colorful fish. Not reaching 30 meters to the end of the pier, you can go down to the sandbank. A delight for those who can't swim or with small children. True, this year a motor boat often sailed to this site for disembarking (landing) passengers, which caused dissatisfaction with people swimming there.
An excellent place for swimming from the shore was found to the right of the beach, on the border with a neighboring hotel. On an artificially created spit, at the end, there is a ladder for descending into the water. There you could perfectly swim in clear water and swim with a mask or on an air mattress. But you must definitely look carefully under your feet - we met hedgehogs and stingrays in shallow water (coral slippers to help).
We walked along the shore of Makadi Bay to the neighboring hotels on the left. The hotels of the Jaz chain liked the beach with the ability to enter from the shore, the neighboring Cleopatra has a large beautiful territory, but it seemed to be poorer in palm trees and other green spaces than our Stella or the same Jaz. And Cleopatra's beach is in trouble. Noticeable by the lack of people in this area. They have only two options to get into the sea: at the end of their long pier, swim around the moored yachts, or go to a nearby hotel.

We went on a free tour from TEZ TOUR to the shops of Hurghada. You can't choose stores. We were taken to a Turkish leather and fur salon, a beauty salon, and at the end to a souvenir shop. Didn't like the trip. In addition to the second salon, where we bought a couple of packs of local tea, everything else is designed for a very picky customer.
Our second excursion was from a local guide on a yacht to Soma Bay. We rode on a banana and a bun, admired the most beautiful underwater corals, fished and landed on the island of Utopia. It was a little embarrassing that we were the only foreigners on the yacht. This day was a day off in Egypt and the locals took the opportunity to walk their large family. It was a little noisy from children's screams, but it didn't spoil the trips.
Last year we went to Paradise Island. It is located opposite Hurghada. Along the way, we stopped to view corals. Soma Bay is incomparable. Much weaker. After the island we rode on a bathyscaphe. Did not like. Poor visibility, poor corals.
Now about what left an unpleasant aftertaste from a repeated trip to the hotel. Comparing 2018 and 2019. Both times we arrived at the hotel at 9:00 am.
18 years old - immediately upon arrival, they put on bracelets.
19 years old - they warned that the bracelets would be put on no earlier than 11.30 (end time for the second breakfast). The room, like last year, was given at 11 am. But this time I had to go to the reception again to get the bracelets. It’s good that we already knew where you can drink water and coffee without bracelets. They don't serve food at the reception. Two hours from the road to sit without water is hard. The hotel management for this is a huge minus.
18 years old - suitcases were brought to the room by car (there are options on the wheelbarrow)
1919 - the porter simply dragged our two suitcases by hand along the path to the room, we carried the third suitcase ourselves.
18 years old - the air conditioner in the room cooled perfectly and even had to turn it off at night
19 year - for two weeks of residence, the air conditioner broke down 3 (three) times. He was brought to life by a kick (restart), but this was enough for several days. At the same time, his work was very noisy and poorly cooled.
18 years - in the pools a ban on swimming in cotton (cotton) T-shirts. Synthetic is possible.

19 year - a ban on swimming in pools in any T-shirts. At the same time, local women bathe in completely closed beach suits. Only after the expressed indignation began to turn a blind eye to it. The ban applied only to the pools of the Stella Beach Hotel. Gardens allowed in synthetics. Hotel concept!
18 year - at the end of the pier, two ladders worked to descend / ascend into the sea
1919 - the right staircase was closed all the time of our vacation, which created congestion on the only working left staircase.
18 years - for tips, the waiters tried to please in the restaurant and on the beach during the day.
Year 19 - after receiving a tip, we did not see more waiters. Even a request after 15 minutes to repeat did not bring success. Evaporated instantly.
18 years - only bottled beer
1919 - only draft beer (diluted, like all drinks from vending machines). Bottle left only in Gardena.
I will add about the weakened since last year free wi-fi at the reception. It was amazing to look at the people gathered near the central fountain to get an Internet connection. Last year, you could connect to free internet while sitting in a restaurant or on a summer covered area. In the rest of the territory only for a fee.
In general, we had a good rest, but there will not be a third time. We are looking for consistently high quality service.