taba

Written: 8 january 2011
Travel time: 17 — 26 november 2010
Who does the author recommend the hotel to?: For a relaxing holiday; For business travel; For families with children
Your rating of this hotel:
7.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms: 6.0
Service: 6.0
Cleanliness: 6.0
Food: 9.0
Amenities: 7.0
First time traveling to Egypt. And we chose this hotel because of the proximity to Israel and Jordan, because. the main goals of the trip were holy places (Jerusalem, Bethlehem, St. Catherine's Monastery). The hotel was also chosen by comparing reviews on the Internet. On the way from Sharm to the hotel (6 hours drive) I remember the words of Islam's Pegasus Tourist guide (he lived in Ukraine for 3 years): "Egyptians and Russians are very similar! " They immediately seemed like a joke complement to me, but at the end of our stay in Egypt, when they began to put us on the wrong plane at the airport, my wife and I were finally convinced that this was so! And there were many reasons, ranging from fast driving, the sudden end of gasoline in the tank of a minibus and the search for fuel in the stone desert, the lack of surrender and exchange for small coins, and many other general carefree cunning features inherent in our both great nations, miraculously won many obviously losing wars.
Movenpick (MRT) was placed, as expected, at 14.00 (2 hours had to hang out and wait for distribution, despite 10 pounds of baksheesh to the receptionist on the advice of the guide Islam / listened in vain - it's my own fault /). Placed in the right wing (from the border with Israel) overlooking the sea, which was paid in advance.
Hotel pros:

1) a good beautiful place;
2) a large (Compared to the neighboring Hilton) beach and the sea with reefs, grottoes near the right side of the beach (besides all the diversity of the marine world, the day before departure I saw a 3-meter shark near the beach);
3) clean, beautiful, well-groomed territory;
4) responsive staff / There are many reviews on the Internet that the hotel staff is more friendly to Europeans, but we did not feel this ourselves - the attitude is equally helpful and friendly to everyone, a few are very creepy in front of representatives of the EU countries. And they try to contemptuously ignore Russian speakers (especially, I noticed, this was possible for a short brunette from a restaurant). And 20-30% of the CIS countries rested there with us, and the rest were the Balts, Poles and other Slavs of Europe, Italians, Spaniards, French and British mostly. Well, again, many of us are servile to foreigners (to the question of the similarity of Russians and Egyptians ; -) ) /;
5) Excellent and varied food in its monotony (every day of the week - the national cuisine of one of the countries of the world). Always for lunch and dinner - beef, fish (such as ice), chicken. Of the truly national dishes - one or two per day (by the way, I really liked the lasagna and some spicy Mexican toast sandwiches). Alcoholic everything is initially diluted, but rum is tasty and is in great demand among everyone, both in bars and in a restaurant. Good red wine. Pepsi-Cola is fabulously delicious there! I recommend the scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs and sesame buns. I really liked dates, guava, greens, pastries, meat dishes.
Cons of MRI:
1) In the room there was a very poor electrical contact of the window sashes to turn on the air conditioner (one torment was not only to securely close them, but to fix them in a certain precise position). At night, the air conditioner did not cool, but drove hot air, while some relays clicked terribly all night behind the false ceiling in the hallway);

2) Hot water (3rd floor) for 9 days was 2 times and then occasionally during the day, and water at room temperature poured;
3) The furniture is very worn for 5 *. The legs on the wheels by the beds were weak, constantly breaking, and it was clear that they were being repaired often and sometimes unsuccessfully. The safe of the room is cunning in its simplicity - you can’t figure it out right away;
4) Cleaning is so-so - do not leave any tips (2 times in total the figures were spun for 9 nights);
5) Neither the Pegasus guides nor the hotel administration warn at all about the dangerous inhabitants of the local beach (after the trip, I found on the Internet those who were seen in the sea and tried to grab them with their hands and were shocked - there are a lot of poisonous and dangerous creatures there! );
6) The last 2 days we were tortured by mosquitoes in the room (fumigators did not help, we took spirals and matches), as well as carnivorous small flies on the beach (there was NO RESCUE FROM THEM ALREADY! );
7) There is no shopping - for souvenirs and T-shirts as a gift we went to the Hilton, for little things at the bus station, there are no pharmacies there either.

On the day of the meeting with the Pegasus guides, they terribly (and very soulfully convincingly) frightened everyone that if tours to Israel and Jordan are not bought from them, then the minimum that threatens is problems with leaving for their homeland, and the maximum is slavery among the Bedouins in lost rocky desert. It was especially funny later to remember their horror stories about the "black Egyptian Sinai stamp" and entry cards, which only they have!! ! At the same time, once in a restaurant, we witnessed how with an elderly woman who bought an excursion to Israel, these guides had a tantrum when she attacked the guide she came across with accusations that she had to stand on the bus for 7 hours, etc. . P. adventures. (Tips: 1. When buying excursions not from Pegasus - do not order lunch packages at the reception - there will be intrigues, but go to the bus stop and buy everything you need on the road . ; 2. Do not lie on the beach all day and do not drink alcohol before climbing the mountain of Moses 3) When crossing the Israeli border, be prepared for standing from 2 to 8 hours and a complete total search with predilection). We took the Israel-Jordan tour for $320 ($380 - Pegasus) from Saif Tour (we contacted them in advance). The pilgrimage and excursion to Petra and Aqaba were successful (only the Dead Sea beach was not liked, it was not lucky). But the Saif tour let us down with an excursion to Cairo (it did not take place - the dates were mixed up and with the conquest of Mount Horeb - they did not recruit people). We had to take a trip to Mount Sinai from Pegasus, but we did not regret it, because. The ascent took place on the Memorial Day of St. Catherine of Alexandria on November 24. We were very lucky with the guide Kamal - a very decent, kind, ingenuous and intelligent Muslim! My wife and I will always be grateful to him, because. he helped each of the group during the ascent, descent and throughout the trip, both in word and deed, and attention and even money. There are few such good and bright people in any country... It's a pity.
But in general, we are satisfied with the trip, all plans and dreams were fulfilled (except for a trip to Cairo), because we were ready for all the surprises and difficulties, thanks to reviews about Egypt and hotels on the Internet.
If you want a relaxing holiday, then come to this hotel or Salah-ed-Din Village 3 * near the island of the Pharaohs or Sofitel, Marriott or Hyatt (our fellow travelers were very pleased with them), but having arrived on the days of Muslim holidays (as we did on Eid al-Adha hit) - do not expect silence - there will be no silence from the arrogant and ill-mannered vacationers of the "Israeli Arabs" !! !
Translated automatically from Russian. View original