Как отдохнулось) How did you rest)

Greetings to all who rested in Egypt and those who are still going to do it! I would like to add my “5 cents” about the Grand Plaza Sharm hotel. Rested from 25.04. 08 to 04.05. 08. Before the trip, I read a lot of things, there were a lot of negative reviews, I was preparing for the worst. Turns out it wasn't all that bad!
I want to be objective. The advantage of the hotel is - very large, just a huge territory!! ! Everything is green, beautiful, well-groomed, it is a pleasure to look, what vegetation, what buildings. On the territory of a bunch of bridges, 5 pools. True, only one is heated, and in the pools there is only chlorinated water, there is no sea water. The first three buildings of the hotel (No. 1.2, 3) are the first line, overlooking the sea. Next comes the reception, which divides the territory in half, and behind it the remaining 3 buildings (No. 4.5 and 6) - in my opinion this is the second line, because it is far from the sea. We lived in the first building, there were no problems with settling in, they just asked for a good room and invested 30 dollars.
We had a family room on the ticket, and so, there are no such numbers there and they are equated to improved (Superior). That is, we would have lived in Superior for anyone, but paid extra for proximity to the sea. Our friends lived in an ordinary standard room and did not give anything when they settled, so they were settled in the fourth building. I visited them and compared the rooms, they are no different, all the furnishings and furniture, everything is the same, except that our room was larger because the voucher was not a standard, but a family room. I emphasize that the only difference in the rooms between all the buildings is the proximity to the sea. If you want to see the sea from the terrace or balcony - don't be stingy and put down your money, if you don't want - your right. Our friends were very pleased with their fourth building, and we were the first))))). To each his own))).

T. to.
the hotel is new - everything is brand new in the rooms, the beds are so wide that you can sleep not only with two, but with three (of course, if you are not a heavyweight)))))), the rooms are spacious, and the family room is generally huge. Everything you need is there, cleaned regularly, no theft (we really did not skimp on leaving 1 dollar tip every day). I really liked that there are a lot of palm trees and flowers on the territory, beauty, and in the evening it is all highlighted, every palm tree, every flower. Very beautiful.
The hotel is really half Italian, half Russian-Ukrainian. There are also Germans and Poles, but they are few. Almost all the staff speaks fluent Russian, so if you do not know English, then this will not be a problem. It is probably true that the Italians are accommodated in the first three buildings, closer to the sea, without any additional payments, nothing can be done, but if you also want to settle near the sea, just tell the reception about it and give the money!
Food in restaurants is quite tolerable, a lot of things, of course, without excessive glamor, brilliance, but very edible. Everything is clean and white, the waiters take the plates before you have time to finish your meal)))). Of course, by the end of the holiday, the food becomes boring, but the choice is large. Yes, indeed, the set of dishes is almost always the same, but there are a lot of them. Almost everything is delicious. In general, the food is appetizing, you won’t stay hungry, and I’m generally silent about pastries! I rate the food 4 stars because there was no sophistication. Of the fruits, there were constantly in any quantity (by the way, they also took them to go) oranges and bananas, mnyama, took my soul away! There are 3 all-inclusive restaurants on site. All drinks are free except for fresh juices and cappuccino. Of the local alcoholic drinks, very decent beer, Stella Artois, only Egyptian, and the wine is also not bad, it was red, white, pink ....

I didn’t like the fact that there are paid restaurants and bars on the territory, in my opinion it’s stupid, I bought an all-inclusive system, but it turns out not all. In the early days, while orienting what and where. And further. After 11 pm all drinks in bars become paid. A huge minus is the cocktails they make, awful, I tried it once, didn’t take it again, they nailed it, it’s impossible to drink. And all this "happiness" is served in tiny plastic cups. It's a shame for a 5 star hotel! Juices also want to leave the best. There are no packages, but only powder ones. I have something to compare. I was in Hurghada at the Palm Beach Resort - they made such cocktails there, they decorated it like that, the juices were also normal from the packages !! ! In addition, clean drinking water is not supplied in the room, as is customary everywhere. I had to buy more. All this is of course trifles, but still.
I think that plastic cups and powdered juice are due to the fact that the hotel is very huge and it is really difficult to introduce such “luxuries” that are already familiar to everyone in such a territory. But Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite - at least fill up!
A few words about animation… Animation is divided into Russian and Italian. The Italians are given the best places and much more entertainment. There are no complaints about the guys from Russian animation, they try as best they can. But the level is not the same, it gives the impression of a pioneer camp. Claims need to be made by the hotel management, it should look deeper! Italian animation is indeed at a much higher, simply worthy level, and ours, in comparison with it, is a kindergarten. Although if you are going to rest with your company or as a couple, you will not need animation at all, because you will find something to do.
Now according to the weather of the weather and the sea.
Please note that the hotel is located in a windy area, not in a bay. The sea is almost always stormy there. When we arrived on the first two days the sea was calm and on the last day too. All other days are a storm. And during a storm you can’t swim and look at the corals and the sea is cold and the wind is very strong, so you don’t want to swim. There was a day when I didn't even swim. There is a small puddle where corals are cut down and you can enter the water from the shore, but you can’t swim there. I only swam from the pontoon once. There is a very strong current and the sea is cold. The best option is to walk along the corals in slippers from the shore, where the coral reef ends, you can swim and watch the underwater world. But this is only when there is no storm!!! ! I was lucky - I swam a couple of times. Super fish, all sizes and colors!! ! In general, as I understand it, the sea in this area is not the best, because it almost always storms.

The corals near the shore are already dead, petrified, and when the water subsides (during low tide), it seems that there is a dirty sea around, but this is not so. I thought so upon arrival, but the next day the water in the sea rose and it became clear that this is a deceptive impression and this view is created due to petrified corals. If you walk along them further inland, then the living ones begin there! It’s very beautiful, just buy slippers, otherwise you can get hurt there and all kinds of living creatures. 3 times I saw either small moray eels, or water snakes. I'm attaching a photo, take a look! To be honest, if there were no storm and such a strong wind, there would be no complaints about the sea, the sea is very clean and beautiful!
From excursions we went to Jerusalem, we liked it, but we were very tired! Very, very hard trip! On the border with Jerusalem, we stood only 3 hours, although the guide from the turtes (Timur) promised that a maximum of an hour.
Separately, I want to write about the guide at the hotel. We drove from the Turtes company, aka Travko. The guide at the hotel is Tamer Lan, or as the Russian-speaking people called him Timur. Before that, I read about him on the Internet that he is just super-duper! I don't know, maybe we were so unlucky, but I didn't like it. Such a swagger, like he says, I'm such a one, if you have any problems in the hotel or in the city, contact me. I'll decide everything, they say, I mean something here! In fact, it's just talk. And his assistant - it's not at all clear what. When we went on an excursion to Jerusalem, I went with my things (there were quite a lot of things + plus pillows) to the bus (my relatives were delayed) and this assistant pointed me to the bus, they say, over there. Well, I sat down and almost went to the mountain of Moses, an excursion! He's just an idiot, doesn't know anything, doesn't do anything, and messes around.
And Timurchik not only deceives about excursions, to my question they say, I heard that people stand on the border with Jerusalem for 5 hours, is it true. He is so confidently lying, we have everything under control, a maximum of an hour! So, not an hour, but more than 3 hours stood!!! ! Further, we ordered an excursion to the bathyscaphe from him, asked for Thursday, and he mixed up the numbers, and Wednesday came out (we didn’t check) and we had to saw tired on the bathyscaphe right after Jerusalem, thanks to Timur. Upon arrival, he asks for all return tickets for the departure to be provided to him, and even takes them. It just doesn't fucking make sense. And then returns. So I don't know. What did he copy for himself there, but 4 days before our departure, at the door of the room, an envelope with the following content: dear guests, tomorrow you have a flight at so much, vacate the room before 12. We are to him, they say, we have 4 more days, and he like a ram looks, then he began to tell something to his assistant. We thought everything was settled. Yeah of course.

In the morning, the janitor knocks on the room, saying that you are already finishing today, we are back to Timur anyway, they say. He began to apologize, saying that it was not his fault, he promised fruit in the room, but we did not wait for anything))))) Well, at least the situation did not happen on the contrary and they did not forget about us upon departure! )))))))))

In general, I liked the rest. I would go there again if it wasn't so windy there. I love the warmer sea and I love to swim, but it turns out I didn’t swim. The room, the food, the staff, everything suited me in principle.
We also went on quads, from the beach, though for 25 dollars. from a person. They all arrived dusty, but satisfied and happy))))
I wish you all a pleasant holiday!!!!!
If you have questions write