Hi Dave and welcome to the forums.

Have you spoken to your Tour Operator regarding your concerns?

Hi Dave

It may be possible to change as Glynis says you really need to speak to First Choice or whoever you have booked with, also have a back up hotel in mind, so go on their web-site and see what is still available for your dates and size of party, they may charge a per person admin fee though.

However, it you do end up having to go there you may be worrying un-necessarily if you look at a huge proportion of the hotels in the Red Sea Resorts they all periodically have a set of bad reviews, things flare up during the really hot weather over there. Take sensible precautions, make sure any food you eat looks OK, they used to do 'show cooking' so some of the food is cooked in front of you and therefore you know it's hot, if a tray of food looks a bit 'messed about' and like its been there for an age, go on to one that doesn't.

I would never re-fill my drinking water out of the water butts that are postioned round a lot of AI hotels, as people put their plastic cups up to the spout and if they are ill or more likely just getting over being ill then the virus or bacteria could be passed on to you via the spout going into your plastic cup.

Buy little bottles of water outside the resort if possible or stick to things like 7 up & fruit juices that have either been processed to death or straight from a carton or bottle so can't have anybody elses bugs in them.

if you do get ill there is a tablet called Antinal that they sell in all the chemists.

Be aware that it is not immodium like a lot of people seem to think, it is actually a broad spectrum anti-biotic; Some folk seem to take it as a preventative, but i would buy some and keep it in reserve, but not use it unless I actually got ill for more than 24 hours. (ie something more serious than just adjusting to the heat).

It's actually quite a nice hotel, went there 3 years ago. I had one afternoon of jippy tum, ate a cream cake off the lunch time buffet knew it was a mistake to eat fresh cream in a really hot climate, the other three in my party were not ill at all. We ate in the a la cartes where I think the food is cooked to order, so less suspect.

Just to follow up on Doe's advice re Antinal

if you do get ill there is a tablet called Antinal that they sell in all the chemists.

Be aware that it is not immodium like a lot of people seem to think, it is actually a broad spectrum anti-biotic; Some folk seem to take it as a preventative, but i would buy some and keep it in reserve, but not use it unless I actually got ill for more than 24 hours. (ie something more serious than just adjusting to the heat).

Antinal is an antibiotic designed to deal, amongst other things colitis. It is not registered for use in the UK. If it is registered for use in western countries it is only available by prescription. The name of the active ingredient is Nifuroxazide and is sold by prescription only under different brand names in some other countries.

Antibiotics kill all bacteria in the stomach, so they kill they good ones as well as the bad ones. Remember also that when you take antibiotics you should take the whole course, not just enough to stop the immediate problem.

Thanks Graham. I hope I didn't come across as encouraging the use of it, as that wasn't my intention.

I just wanted to put the information out there as to what it was, i'm also not in favor of casual use of antibiotics, only I know when folk have spent maybe thousands on their holiday they kind of want to get back to it as quickly as possible.

Someone also told me that another problem with antinal, (although not as important as it being over used) is the widely fluctuaing price of it when some of the chemists see you appoacing. I think it's only suppose to be a few LE's but when they see desperate holiday makers walk in suddenly the price increases ten fold.

On the plus side I have been to Egypt 5 times now and none of us have needed to use it yet, hope I haven't jinxed us by saying that now !

No you didn't Doe I thought it would be a good time just to elaborate on your info.

Someone also told me that another problem with antinal, (although not as important as it being over used) is the widely fluctuating price of it when some of the chemists see you approaching. I think it's only suppose to be a few LE's but when they see desperate holiday makers walk in suddenly the price increases ten fold

I know we are heading slightly off topic here and I will have a word with myself however you are correct in saying the prices fluctuate widely and this has got worse over the last year or so.

A tip for you if you do need the chemist is if your rep is Egyptian ask them if they will get it for you or ask at your hotel reception, it was our rep at the Tropicana Jasmine that advised us to do this as locals pay only a fraction of what a tourist would pay.

There is a whole dedicated topic to help here http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/forum/preventing-tummy-upsets-t23153.html

Hmm only a few days until departure . Highy unlikely FC will let you change due to reports of stomach issues . If it had been 6 weeks or more away yes you probably would of been able to change for a fee but im very doubtful now .

Dave it will be very very hot there right now and I would expect a general increase all over Egypt at this time for the dreaded Pharoahs revenge . Once you get one bad review , all those that have had a problem will jump on too making things look worse than they possibly are .. if you still want to change but FC wont budge take all the precautions Chris has mentioned and enjoy BUT personally I would advise the same no matter what hotel you are staying in .

Perhaps the OP is in the travel agents at the moment trying to sort it out Lyn, i dont think I was paying attention therefore didn't realise how imminent the departure was. i'm inclined to agree that they are unlikely to be able to sort out a change at this late stage. it is such a shame that the incidences of stomach upsets go up in the summer as that is when lots of famlilies want to travel due to main school holidays. I do know that the management of this hotel take such things as hygeine very seriously so if there are any problems they do try and get on and sort them out quickly. We were invited to a managers cocktail party at the end of our holiday (rather than the begining like many places do) so that they could assess if guests had enjoyed themselves and we were encouraged to bring up any causes for concern so that they could improve on their customer service.

Hi all

Thanks very much for all of your advice and apologies for not responding sooner but i have had internet problems.

FC would not let me change and reported that they had problems in june but these were now resolved, and that a Deep Clean team had been sent into the resort and as of last friday had not had any repotable illnesses apart from the odd grazed knee etc..

I have however taken advice from a Solicitor specialising in Travel and I have been informed that if i find that a lot of people in the hotel are ill when i arrive - I can request a move to another hotel, or if this is not possible a flight home. He has advised me to make note of everything and to report any illness within my party and to get it documented

Once again Thanks to all who responded.

dave

hi we stayed here i think about 2-3 years ago and if i remember correctly they had the same problem then.
so meny people getting ill so first choice sent a team over to investigate and make sure hygene standards were kept up.
also did a deep clean then.
it was ok when we were there no problems that we seen just the usual upset bellys from people over eating or over drinking in the hot sun.
think they tend to have this though in any all inclusive hotel..
you will love the hotel it is huge and great for kids as they have kids clubs to give you a break.

I'd say go and enjoy your holiday Dave. We work hard for them and whilst nobody should be in the position where they have this sort of thing hanging over their holiday Im sure that most guests will be fine . You will hear stories and even talk to people who have upset stomachs , unfortunately fair to say it's kind of par for the course in Egypt as the summer temps rise. Go with an open mind , take all the recommended precautions , relax and dont let it spoil your holiday .

lots of other things get the blame for it , including having air conditioning too high , handling the money but we dont get it in other countries when we have the air conditioning on so Im inclined to think it is mostly food hygiene practices.

Have a good read through this topic so you are prepared Dave. It's a sticky at the top of the Egypt board so is easily found for future reference http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/forum/preventing-tummy-upsets-t23153.html