Отель не разочаровал. Оценка 7,5 The hotel did not disappoint. Score 7.5

We rested at the Delta Sharm Resort from December 24 to December 31.2018. I wanted to write a detailed review about the hotel and not only (maybe many will need information about interesting places that can be easily reached from the hotel, prices for fruits and souvenirs).
The strengths of the hotel are the area and location. The territory is really huge (they give out a map that is easy to navigate), surprisingly well-planned and well-groomed: stone and wooden structures, cactus hills, many types of palm trees, flowering and weaving shrubs, even for the first time we saw a flowering banana with fruit ovaries. Fountains were turned on at lunchtime, and backlighting was turned on in the evening (pools, palm trees, buildings, and lanterns along the paths were lit, in general, it was beautiful). Sometimes there were not very clean small reservoirs or small idle fountains, but these are isolated cases that did not spoil the overall picture. The hotel consists of 196 houses, some of which are used as a hotel, others are rented out (both foreigners and locals rent them). The presence of Arabs living there did not bother us at all, and the hotel staff was very friendly and always in a hurry to help (for example, when we were taking pictures near the pool, a boy who gave out towels came running and offered to take a picture of us together).
The hotel, as many have already written, 11 pools. During our stay, 1 pool was heated. The pools are interestingly designed and decorated, of different shapes and sizes, with grottoes, several levels, bridges. It was nice to just lie next to any of them during the day or sit in the evening. I think that even at the height of the season, such a number of pools makes it possible to exclude the accumulation of people in the pools themselves and near them. The jacuzzi didn't work. Maybe it doesn't have heating.

For comparison, I saw a swimming pool in another hotel - just a rectangle between the houses (like a sports one for swimming, only smaller) - no fantasy. I don’t remember the name of the hotel (it seems to be five-star), we brought tourists there after the tour, and the houses there are like chopped rectangles - just Gaudi’s nightmare (as you know, this brilliant architect did not recognize straight lines). In the Delta, all the houses of different shapes, in the Arabic style, with wooden elements, in general, the territory, buildings and pools are positively impressive.
The location of the hotel will not appeal to lovers of the first line, because it is far from the sea. But active tourists who like independent trips will like it, because the main exit of the hotel goes directly to Peace Road - the central highway of Sharm el-Sheikh. Minibuses and taxis run every minute on this road in any direction. The fare in the minibus (blue bus or microbus in the local manner) is from 2 pounds per person (actually the cost is 1.25 pounds, but we always gave 2 each - this is to the Old City and Naama Bay), to distant areas ( Nabq) - 3-4 pounds. You should not pay more than 1 dollar for a taxi (I read that you can get there for 10 pounds), but we didn’t use a taxi, so I can’t write about taxis in detail. Again, I want to note that when we went on excursions to pick up tourists in five-star hotels located on the first line, they were so out of the way that it was simply impossible to leave them for some parts of the city without a taxi. Knowing this hopeless situation, the taxi drivers who were on duty near those hotels were aching for a fare of 10 dollars. Maybe for tourists who are not going to leave the hotel for the whole week of rest (or two), this is not critical, but for us it is extremely important. Including, it was not difficult to get to the beach of the hotel, which is located in Naama Bay. It was possible not to become attached to the hotel's transport, which went to the beach on time and for which you sometimes had to queue - you go out to the minibus, 2 pounds and on the spot!
I will continue about the good. The beach is also good. Many wrote that it was small, cramped - yes, this is true. On the first day, when we arrived at the beach at 10.30, there were no free sunbeds or towels, we stood for an hour, waiting for additional ones to be brought from the hotel. Then everyone settled in, and in the following days they brought more. The sunbeds were put at the butt... but in general, who among us did not rest in the Crimea, where one could only stand on the beach due to overcrowding))) (this is of course a joke, in the end everyone was lying on sunbeds - there were no problems). BUT! All this is nonsense compared to the sea and corals! The beach is located between the beaches of the Hilton and Novotel hotels, and I think this is the best place in Naama Bay (I then went to the right and left of the beach for almost the entire bay, there are practically no corals on other beaches, only stones, besides, there were pontoons with boats from which emitted a strong and unpleasant smell of diesel fuel). There was no pontoon on our beach. At the entrance to the sea, the sand, having entered about waist-deep, stumbles upon stones (I recommend buying coral slippers, we took 2 pairs for $ 5 - quality for one trip) and a bunch of fish of 3-4 species are already scurrying there, then sand again, and here behind the buoys, which are located near the coast, the most interesting begins - the corals are beautiful to the right, and even more beautiful to the left! And the fish there... I wanted to count the number of species, but I could not (at least 30 species will be for sure). Of the most memorable: stingray, lionfish, Napoleon, squid, sea urchins, parrot fish, butterfly fish... Corals of various shapes and colors. It was possible to swim for hours, but given that it was winter and the water temperature in the sea felt no more than 22 degrees, it was possible to swim for up to 40 minutes in one run. I can also recommend getting a full face snorkel mask (with 5 valves can be bought for $20) and enjoy the contemplation of the underwater world.
Regarding the location of the hotel, you can also add that not far (from the main entrance to the right and across the road) there is a Carrefour supermarket. True, we were not very impressed with the supermarket compared to similar ones in Europe. And if you cross the Peace Road from the main entrance, take a little to the left and go deeper into the block, you can find several streets with shops (clothing, sporting goods, fruits, pastries). There are almost only locals and you can feel the real local flavor. Although the prices there are more expensive than in the Old Town (Old Market), it is close to the hotel. There are also mosques there.

From the hotel they take you to Naama Bay for free every evening at 20.00 there, back at 22.00 or 22.30. You can go for a walk, it’s quite interesting, a lot of hookahs, cafes, everything is bright, but I don’t advise buying goods there, since it’s cheaper in the Old Market area. Old Market is located three kilometers from the hotel (go across the road from the main entrance and go left if you turn your back to the hotel). Naama Bay is located five kilometers from the hotel (walk to the road from the main entrance, do not cross, go right). On the minibus, as I wrote above, 2 pounds per person for one trip to any of these areas, it is better to give a calculation or ask for change (the drivers themselves do not give change, because many tourists do not know the fare and give more).
Now for the negatives. Since there are many houses in the hotel, the rooms are different: some are more modern, with a fresh renovation, such as studios, some are older. We got room number 204 in house number 80, rooms number 207.209 in this house were overlooking the pool, ours - overlooking the quiet street of the hotel. The room itself looks like a small apartment with an entrance hall, a bedroom and a large loggia with a wicker table and three armchairs. The room is not the first freshness, but not critical. Here the quality of cleaning leaves much to be desired. Even the left chocolate bar did not save the situation. I had to wipe at least the surfaces of the tables myself, the rag was black. The bedding was never changed for 7 nights, however, the towels thrown on the floor were replaced. At first we wanted to change the room, but then, given that the more modern rooms were located near a noisy external road, we changed our minds.
Food can also be attributed to not the strongest sides of the hotel. On the first day, it seemed to me that the edible was 20-30 percent of the proposed assortment. When they got used to it a little, they began to navigate and form a more or less tasty menu for themselves: vegetables with dressing, chicken, beef, desserts, coffee with milk. Sausage and cheese are such that it is better not to even try. You won't be hungry for sure, but gourmets are not here. The very view of the "restaurant Family" canteen, the windows are dirty. There is also a restaurant "Friends", there from 9.30 to 10.30 there was a continental breakfast (did not try it), and from 15.00 to 16.00 pizza was baked there. But we only used the bar there. Everyone knows about Egyptian alcohol, namely its low quality. In the Delta, as for me, it was possible to drink only beer (it was bottled), but they poured it only into disposable cups of 150 grams. Wine is such a shmurdyak that it is impossible to take a sip. Stronger drinks were tried only in the form of cocktails, well, such... Non-alcoholic Fanta, Cola and Sprite (which, among other things, were poured in the "bar" on the beach) were very good - not diluted, from bottles. I can’t compare food with other hotels in Egypt, but it cannot be compared with European hotels.
In general, on a 10-point scale, I can rate the hotel 7.5 for the beach, territory and location. The reduction in points for the room and food is small, since we practically did not stay in the room, we only slept, and we didn’t make a cult out of food))). By the way, I read reviews about five-star hotels, the cost of a tour for two people is 400-500 dollars higher (for example, about the same Novotel), and everywhere there are the same problems with cleaning and food (even judging by the reviews, cleaning was even worse there , despite the fact that people left $ 1 for cleaning every day, and we did not).

Considering the cost of the tour in Delta Sharm, as well as all its advantages, I think that we can recommend it and come back here ourselves again.
I would like to complete my review with information that is not related to the hotel, but interesting for all tourists - about the cost of goods (on what we ourselves made a mistake and what for how much you can really buy). I recommend buying everything in the Old Market area (although everyone writes that prices are lower in stores in the Nabq area, but this is not the case, besides, Nabq is far from the hotel). So the real prices in the Old Market area as of the end of December 2018 (haggle until you hear such options):
- teas of all kinds and tastes - $ 1 per 200 grams (we bought in the Naama Bay area for $ 1 100 grams - lost twice);
- black cumin oil - 8 dollars for 300 ml (we bought a type for 10 dollars in a cheap store in the Nabq area, again we lost 2 dollars);
- mango - the lowest price is 2.5 dollars per 1 kg, in the area of ​ ​ the hotel I had to take 4 dollars. Although here it should be noted different sizes and varieties of mangoes, on which the price depends;
- chocolate in the form of multi-colored sea stones in jars of 500 grams - $ 1.75 the lowest price (we first bought 2 cans for $ 5 in a store in Nabq, then another $ 2 per can);
- coral slippers 2 pairs for 5 dollars (choose at least a little decent quality, otherwise terrible China);
- a full-face snorkeling mask $20 with side filters in the area of ​ ​ the ears, if without them, it can be cheaper (you need to carefully measure different options on your face so that it fits like a glove, fits especially tightly under the chin);
- a SIM card of a local operator - we took Vodafone at the airport, there was more than 4 GB of Internet and unlimited calls to local numbers - 8 dollars. The quality of the Internet is just excellent 4 G, while we spent only 0.5 GB per week. You could even watch videos on youtube, but there was no time for this;

- Turkish delight (with nuts) small boxes for 1 dollar, but they are very different, there were also small 2 boxes for 5 dollars. And we learned by the piece (separately packaged two-color ones) in a store where there were no tourists at all - 1 piece 1 pound, i. e. per dollar should be at least 17 pieces. By the way, the taste is very even nothing, they regretted that they did not buy (we were treated to 1 piece by an Arab in the store);
- natural bedside rug - $25;
- scarves like too not synthetics - 2 for 5 dollars.
I will be pleasantly surprised if someone reads my review to the end, and I am glad if it is useful to someone. Have a good holiday everyone! And let reality surpass all your best expectations!