Незапланированный отпуск Unplanned vacation

I returned from vacation more than 2 weeks ago and finally got around to writing a review about the hotel. I flew to Egypt for the first time, before that I had been in Thailand, Germany and Italy, that is, there was something to compare with. The trip was not planned, we just decided with my sister to organize a seaside vacation for ourselves and our husbands before the New Year and began to study the demand and offers of tours. We stopped at the hotel "Island Garden Resort 4 *", taking into account a sufficient number of positive reviews and an attractive price for All incl. After I found the most reasonable price on the Internet, I contacted the agency "Let's go with us! " with a request and where as a result I was offered the same tour for 8 days only with a departure from Kharkov for another $ 100 cheaper. The airport in Kharkov was much better than the airport in Boryspil, where upon arrival we had to wait for transport to get home (not a very convenient time of arrival back). They flew with the Rosa Vetrov airline, the Donbassaero airbus. The plane, of course, has already seen a lot, the seats are shabby, but the service is good, the flight at 3 hours and 40 minutes flew by quickly. At the airport, they immediately issued migration cards with a requirement to pay $ 5 for filling services, but even if you have tolerable English, you can fill them out without any problems in 5 minutes without any payment. Visas: if you do not plan to drive around the Sinai Peninsula and go on excursions to Cairo or Israel, then there is no need to pay $ 25 for a visa on arrival (there is a separate window). With a completed migration card, you go and pass customs control without any problems. We were not asked about the visa at all, although we were warned to answer "Sinai only" if asked.
For a very long time they waited for the departure of buses, near which Russian-speaking guides stood and helped those who could not orient themselves. A small incident happened to us - our hotel was announced 2m for arrival, but as it turned out, neither the driver nor the guide could figure out where he was and where to take us : ) As a result, after several calls to someone and a heated discussion, we were delivered, dropped off, escorted to the reception and said goodbye, and a minute after checking the reservation at the hotels it turned out that we were brought to the hotel "Island View Resort 5 *" on the first coastal, but our own complex. We were reassured, they said that they had already called the car and after 5 minutes we were safely delivered to our hotel. We arrived at about 9 pm, having spoken with the receptionist in English with jokes and jokes, we received the key to the room without any extra charge, as it turned out later, it was a great location - on the 1st floor with direct access through the balcony to the heated pool (room 132). It is customary to pay from 2 to 5 dollars for the delivery of suitcases, this is their bread.
After reading the reviews about the hotel, I was ready for the condition of the room - yes, indeed, repairs were carried out there for a long time, the walls were leaking from the roof in places, the lockers and the TV were old, the doors by the shower were difficult to close (hot water was without interruption), but also safe and fridge and tv and hair dryer were in good working order, no complaints. It was very comfortable to sleep on the bed, the bed and towels were changed every day, although once they forgot to leave one large towel, but after I told the reception about it, the next day everything was in place. Sometimes they left $ 1 for cleaning, but even without it they cleaned normally.

The food was quite varied, you could eat the usual scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs with different additives to choose from, pancakes, there was a choice of chicken and beef boiled, stewed or baked... a variety of local vegetable dishes, a lot of delicious pastries !! ! There was even 2 types of jelly : ) From fruits - melon, bananas, papaya. In between the main meal, you could take french fries, tomatoes, cucumbers, hot dogs with fish or beef at the pool bar or on the beach. From 11 o'clock on the beach they began to give beer, for which no coupons (as mentioned in many reviews) were taken and the taste of which turned out to be quite tolerable. In general, whiskey-cola, brandy-cola were best drunk from alcohol, cocktails were tasteless. If you stocked up on alcohol in duty free, then you just need to take a few packs of seeds with you and they will be happy to exchange them for a bottle of Pepsi at the bar, for example.
The animation at the hotel was very weak, although they tried to group people to play water polo or throw darts, but everything was deplorable and dull with dancing. You can go to the disco at the hotel on the 1st coastline (of our own complex). There is a small hall, a DJ, good music, they won’t give you alcohol or water, but you can have a lot of fun with your company.
Sea! It's just a fairy tale! The underwater world is so diverse!! ! There is nothing to do there without a mask! Many bought a special camera case to take pictures underwater near the reefs. You can just lie down and endlessly look at the flocks of fish swimming past, how they are not afraid to swim up to your feet))
Of the medicines that are better to take with you, I needed hydrogen peroxide, iodine, cotton wool, heartburn remedies and festal.
I forgot to say that knowing English will not help you much in communicating with the local population, as it often turned out that they know Russian better than English. The Russian population on the beach was 80 percent, which is why the Arabs learn our language. And the bracelets! We had a late check-out, the bus was supposed to arrive around 7 pm. We took things out of our room, leaving them with the neighbors in the morning and handed over the keys at the reception, but no one took off our bracelets at all! We were also on the list of those who can have dinner, since we checked into the hotel in the evening. We returned to Kyiv in an almost empty plane - there were 22 people for 180 seats.
I would like to add a lot more about the tour and the staff, but that's for next time!