Got back from my first ever visit to Hurghada in the early ours of Saturday morning..took a few days to get used to being back home and now I thought I would let you know of my experiences.
In a nutshell, the only reason i would go back to Hurghada is because of the diving which is totally out of this world and an amazing experience. We went with Euro Divers which are based on the beach right by The Grand Hotel. A totally professional organisation that catered for our every need and took us to sites like Giftun island which had something for people of all dive abilities.
Hurghada itself is not that fantastic..our hotel was a nightmare (separate report about that), Thomas Cook were shocking (separate report about that too!) and the children were constantly hassled by men pestering them to buy things..worse for my step daughter as she was always the one they went for first. They simply would not take no for an answer, no hands up or even just ignoring them and trying to walk by did not work as there was another one lying in wait. Even with Rob with us..they still gave us hassle and all shouted the same things..even the taxi drivers gave us nowt but hasle by stopping and pipping at us every minute trying to entice us into their cars. I know these guys have to make a living but people will not buy stuff if they are being hassled. The shops that did the most business out of our party of 25 people were the ones where we got no hassle and were free to come and browse at our own leisure etc.
A good thing is that the hotels are not too far from the airport, so transfer time is quick..very welcome when you are tired at the end of a long journey. Another good thing is that for non divers, there are plenty of things to do and plenty of shops and places to vist ( if you can stand the hassle that is) and there are plenty of good places to eat ( very welcome since the food was diabolical at our hotel and a few went down with food poisoning).. i can recommend The Hard Rock Cafe and a little lebonese place..but unfortunately i don't know what it is called..it is near The Grand Resort Hotel.
There are other beach based activities to do, such as para sailing, the usual rides on the banana boats, pedalo hire and there are some shops that run the safari's on boats out to see the dolphins. There are also the usual places that organise the authentic Egyptian nights and your trips to Cairo etc..but be prepared to haggle.
There is alot of building work taking place..the resort is expanding all the time..hopefully, it will improve the resort..
JustVal I actually live in Hurghada and I totally agree that the taxi drivers are an absolute menace.
I live a 6 minute walk from my work and lose count how many of the drivers peep and toot at me.
Yes it is a pity that the tourists get so much hassle. If you do come back a firm Shokran is enough accompanied by a shake of the head.
I would be interested to know which Hotel you stayed in. You say it was shocking and only hope that you complained to both your representative and the Hotel whilst you were there.
Building work? I don't think it will EVER be finished. The changes we have seen in the 4 years we have lived here is amazing. The Red Sea far outweighs the disadvantages though.
I live a 6 minute walk from my work and lose count how many of the drivers peep and toot at me.
Yes it is a pity that the tourists get so much hassle. If you do come back a firm Shokran is enough accompanied by a shake of the head.
I would be interested to know which Hotel you stayed in. You say it was shocking and only hope that you complained to both your representative and the Hotel whilst you were there.
Building work? I don't think it will EVER be finished. The changes we have seen in the 4 years we have lived here is amazing. The Red Sea far outweighs the disadvantages though.
I go to Hurghada 2 or 3 times a year and absolutely love the place. Yes the taxi drivers are a pain and yes the street peddlars are an annoyance but once your off the main drag its not too bad. I am however suprised by your comments about your hotel? I've stayed in quite a few and found all to be good, especially the makadi bay ones. It would be interesting to know the hotel? All I can say is better luck next time and possibly use the hotel review section as a guidance for your next holiday 
Sorry to hear about your experiences at the grand hotel, We stayed at its sister hotel over the road in the summer and had a really positive experience and are re visiting again next year, The taxis can be annoying but we never really had much hassle and had no hassle from the shops perhaps we were just lucky hopefully we enjoy it just as much next time around, look forward to reading your report though, we nearly booked to go to the grand hotel so perhaps its good we stayed with the grand resort instead.
It was the Grand Hotel and i will be compliling a report..and also, i checked out every type of review and piece of advice i could gain from the HT members who were kind enough to respond to my questions and those who had previously written reports.
The hotel itself was fine, but the staff were terrible, there was a huge mix up over the bookings and we got constant hassle from the staff who wanted us to vacate our room so they could move another family in.....these are just some of the complaints we have about the holiday. Thomas Cook are aware of it as there were 25 of us in the party and all 25 were affected..the rep was involved but did not do anything much to help..he was merely paying lip service..some people in our party did not even have a room for 3 days into a 7 day holiday!!!....i really have a long report to write about this hotel..from the staff trying to con cash out of people, to fiddling the room bills, to the rep forcing an extra £17.50 out of a senior citizen member of the party for him helping her exchange some money ( if i had known about that at the time i would have necked him..)..the food poisoning a number of us got....see my reports..i promise i will compile them in the relevant sections when i have the time ( i am supposed to be working now!!!)
The hotel itself was fine, but the staff were terrible, there was a huge mix up over the bookings and we got constant hassle from the staff who wanted us to vacate our room so they could move another family in.....these are just some of the complaints we have about the holiday. Thomas Cook are aware of it as there were 25 of us in the party and all 25 were affected..the rep was involved but did not do anything much to help..he was merely paying lip service..some people in our party did not even have a room for 3 days into a 7 day holiday!!!....i really have a long report to write about this hotel..from the staff trying to con cash out of people, to fiddling the room bills, to the rep forcing an extra £17.50 out of a senior citizen member of the party for him helping her exchange some money ( if i had known about that at the time i would have necked him..)..the food poisoning a number of us got....see my reports..i promise i will compile them in the relevant sections when i have the time ( i am supposed to be working now!!!)
Please don't get me wrong everyone.. i had a lovely time, the diving was phenomenal and breathtaking, but everything else was not quite so good. I would only go back for the diving.
I do not wish to put anyone else off from going to Hurghada as there is plenty of things there for everyone..it's just that our experiences have put us off.
I do not wish to put anyone else off from going to Hurghada as there is plenty of things there for everyone..it's just that our experiences have put us off.
Hotel report now added.
So sorry to read of your awful experience in Hurghada. Which hotel were you at? You mentioned the Grand but posted a review on the Grand Resort, also the Grand Resort have the card keys which can be deactivated (which happened to us despite having paid for late checkout). I've stayed twice at Grand Resort and four times at the Grand and although we have had minor problems I'm quite shocked to read of such incompetance.
Yes, I agree that sometimes shopkeepers can be pushy. There are two particular people near the Hard Rock Cafe who spring immediately to mind. On the whole though I found staff and shopkeepers to be friendly, helpful and welcoming.
Mytravel/Thomas Cook are no longer taking bookings for these 2 hotels. I have been in correspondence with the hotels regarding how to book them direct and would be happy to pass this information by PM if anyone needs it.
Regards, Caro
Yes, I agree that sometimes shopkeepers can be pushy. There are two particular people near the Hard Rock Cafe who spring immediately to mind. On the whole though I found staff and shopkeepers to be friendly, helpful and welcoming.
Mytravel/Thomas Cook are no longer taking bookings for these 2 hotels. I have been in correspondence with the hotels regarding how to book them direct and would be happy to pass this information by PM if anyone needs it.
Regards, Caro
I thought we werer at the Grand Hotel, and I thought i had posted a review for the grand..we were at the one without direct access to the beach. To get to the beach we had to go through the one across the road. Does that help distinguish? I really thought i had posted for the Grand..but when i looked myself it said Grand Resort...if you look, there are no postings for the Grand since 2006....maybe there is a technical hitch????
It was actually a Thomas Cook holiday we were on...never ever again will i travel with Thomas Cook. I will compile a report in the relevant section about them too as they are totally incompetant also....
There were some shopkeepers that were just wonderful..and they got most of the business from our party of 25..but one of them swore at my kids when they wouldn't go into his shop..one literally had his arms around my stepdaughter to drag her in..which obviously she found intimidating. I jumped in to intervene..and they took no notice ( female and all that) so my son aged 15 had to get abit stroppy with them before they would take any notice and stop mauling at her. If Rob had of been with us..well i think Diplomatic incident would have been the best way to describe what would have happened
At times we literally had to resort to walking near to the road..but then got hassled by the taxi drivers!!
It was actually a Thomas Cook holiday we were on...never ever again will i travel with Thomas Cook. I will compile a report in the relevant section about them too as they are totally incompetant also....
There were some shopkeepers that were just wonderful..and they got most of the business from our party of 25..but one of them swore at my kids when they wouldn't go into his shop..one literally had his arms around my stepdaughter to drag her in..which obviously she found intimidating. I jumped in to intervene..and they took no notice ( female and all that) so my son aged 15 had to get abit stroppy with them before they would take any notice and stop mauling at her. If Rob had of been with us..well i think Diplomatic incident would have been the best way to describe what would have happened
At times we literally had to resort to walking near to the road..but then got hassled by the taxi drivers!!
Hi, from your description you were definately staying at the Grand Resort so you posted your review in the right place. Both hotels are part of the Red Sea Hotel group. The Grand Resort is the newer and plusher of the hotels, across the road from the beach. Personally, I prefer the rooms and decor at the Grand Resort as the Grand is a little shabby and showing its age, but found the service and food to be better at the Grand, especially the Arabesque restaurant.
Its sad to read, but totally understandable that your experiences have coloured your opinion of Hurghada. I really love the place and although I stayed at the Conrad in Sharm in October and have booked the Novotel, Sharm in March, I hope to go back to the Grand in the Summer.
Its sad to read, but totally understandable that your experiences have coloured your opinion of Hurghada. I really love the place and although I stayed at the Conrad in Sharm in October and have booked the Novotel, Sharm in March, I hope to go back to the Grand in the Summer.
Hi caro have you tried direct holidays(think they have just changed there name but not sure what to) we have booked to go to the grand resort next year with them, thought we booked it in august so not sure if they are still taking bookings.
Sorry everyone, i can't find my original post *Merged. Pip 
* but some of you may remember my report about the disasterous holiday we had in Hurghada in December last year..it was disasterous becuase of the sheer incompetance of Thomas Cook and so on and so forth. Won't go over the story again completely but in short, there were 28 of us on the holiday, the hotel over booked and things went downhill from there.
Apart from that, the diving in Hurghada was great......anyway, after 2 months of wrangling by the group leader in the booking, Thomas Cook have compensated us. We got £335 back. We are quite happy with this, it is the equivalent of having Gav ( our son) travel free on the next trip to Egypt!
* but some of you may remember my report about the disasterous holiday we had in Hurghada in December last year..it was disasterous becuase of the sheer incompetance of Thomas Cook and so on and so forth. Won't go over the story again completely but in short, there were 28 of us on the holiday, the hotel over booked and things went downhill from there.Apart from that, the diving in Hurghada was great......anyway, after 2 months of wrangling by the group leader in the booking, Thomas Cook have compensated us. We got £335 back. We are quite happy with this, it is the equivalent of having Gav ( our son) travel free on the next trip to Egypt!
Great news Val! 
We are more than pleased with it..and to be honest, we never toguth we would get one penny. It is more thanks to the persistence of mark, the lead booker in persuing this with endless phone calls and emails that any of us got anything. It was not just us in the party that has received compensation..other people have also had various amounts depending on what problems they encountered and how much they were inconvenienced.
Of course, I feel that everyone should have recieved some form of compensation as there was nobody in the party of 28 who did not suffer in some way, shape or form and had their holiday spoilt. Still, the matter is closed, I await the cheque with eager anticipation while i start trawling the net for bargains and where to book my next trip to Egypt in May.
Of course, I feel that everyone should have recieved some form of compensation as there was nobody in the party of 28 who did not suffer in some way, shape or form and had their holiday spoilt. Still, the matter is closed, I await the cheque with eager anticipation while i start trawling the net for bargains and where to book my next trip to Egypt in May.
Glad to see you were compensated - eventually. Persistance pays off!
Would you travel with such a big party again? Unless there was a discount involved for a large party would it be an idea to check with the operator that rooms/seats on plane are available and then make multiple smaller bookings? I imagine that Grand Resort is not the only hotel to struggle with such a large booking.
We are travelling with Thomas Cook to the Novotel, Sharm on 3rd March so just hoping everything is ok, as its when there are problems you realise if your rep is any good or not. Still plan to get back to Hurghada again though
Good luck with your search for the holiday in May. Great to have extra money towards it!
Caro
Would you travel with such a big party again? Unless there was a discount involved for a large party would it be an idea to check with the operator that rooms/seats on plane are available and then make multiple smaller bookings? I imagine that Grand Resort is not the only hotel to struggle with such a large booking.
We are travelling with Thomas Cook to the Novotel, Sharm on 3rd March so just hoping everything is ok, as its when there are problems you realise if your rep is any good or not. Still plan to get back to Hurghada again though
Good luck with your search for the holiday in May. Great to have extra money towards it!
Caro
A lesson to be learned from some of the earlier posts is that if you really feel aggrieved about a holiday, don't let the holiday company get away with it. Two years ago we went to Cyprus and, as much as I love the place, the hotel was awful (it was closing down at the end of that season). Initially the company we booked through (Travel Republic) thought of every excuse until I sent them some photographs. I asked for 50% of the hotel cost back but settled for 40% plus 5% off another holiday. Luckily we haven't been disappointed too often. As soon as I mentioned Arbitration, which is a good route if you have enough ammunition, they paid up. Never give up. On the subject of Egypt, we were in Hurghada last April (Aladdin beach hotel) and had a super time. Bits of hassle but nothing we couldn't handle and we had 2 girls of 15 & 10 with us. Only got food poisoning on last day !!!Not joking...
alain,
how was the aladdin beach resort? my friends and i are going there at the beginning of april, after a weeks cruise on the nile. reviews on the net seem ok. last year we stayed at the sahara hurghada beach resort which is in the old part next to the hilton plaza, is the aladdin a long way from there?
how was the aladdin beach resort? my friends and i are going there at the beginning of april, after a weeks cruise on the nile. reviews on the net seem ok. last year we stayed at the sahara hurghada beach resort which is in the old part next to the hilton plaza, is the aladdin a long way from there?
Would you travel with such a big party again? Unless there was a discount involved for a large party would it be an idea to check with the operator that rooms/seats on plane are available and then make multiple smaller bookings? I imagine that Grand Resort is not the only hotel to struggle with such a large booking.
The reason why our party was so large as it a holiday with our Dive School. This is common practice amongst dive schools and there are many companies capable of handling such a large booking. Thomas Cook only became involved with our holiday as they took over First choice who we were originally booked with. We have travelled with Panorama and Longwood before with no problems.
We are coming back to Egypt in June and I bet there will be as many people again. The holiday's are always booked well in advance and room arrangements are clearly specified and confirmd with the travel company in plenty of time. Thomas Cook had faxed confirmation to the lead booker that the room requirements were recieved by The Grand and everything was hunky dory. In reality, this was not the case. There were numerous other problems with this holiday that were not related to either The Grand or Hurghada or how may people were in the party but were entirely down to the incompetance of Thomas Cook. eg: We booked extra baggage allowance for the Dive gear and paid £30 in total for both flights. We were told that our confirmation would be at the check in desk. This was not the case and we had all sorts of hassle on the way back home. We finally got confirmation of our booking 3 weeks AFTER we returned back from our holiday.
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