Hello everyone.

Returned from LTI last night but what a fantastic place!

Yes, you wil be able to have inflatables in the pools, they are all massive (3 in total plus tiny one for babies near the sports/billiard bar) and loads of kids and adults alike had inflatables.

I must say I was quite perturbed by all the speedos, thongs and boobies that were on display, not that I'm a prude or anything but it just isn't nice seeing tubby men wearing tiny thongs!!

We had a great experience atf this hotel, all the staff are so friendly, I think they like us brits because we give them time of day, not like the Russians who are quite often just plain and simply rude, the barmen don't like them either, you see them pulling faces behind their backs!

Throw any questions at all at me, I am happy to respond.

Sorry, me again, can't remember who was asking about kebabs but here goes.

Yes they do kebabs, at the tropicana restaurant just off the beach some days they just have the ordinary elephants foot kebab meat and some days it was chicken, they also had those (can't spell it but..) shish kebabs that they do on a stick, they were fabulous but they don't half attract the flies which kinda puts me off a bit. Also in that section they have a clay oven where they make fresh pizza to order, just basic tomato/cheese/sausage/chicken/peppers/onions/mushrooms but I have to say it is the nicest pizza I have ever tasted and the queue was always quite large for those unless you saved yourself for a late lunch - it quietens down around 2.30pm its open from 1-3.

Thanks Suze, for the info on the hotel.

My hubby loves Kebabs and me pizza so thats good. Were the pools still cold?

Do you have any pics you could share?

Phil I will PM you, but itsgreat to know that there will be two 5 year old girls out there too for my daughter. beginning to think we were the only ones mad enough to take the youngsters to such a hot country!.

Cheers

Nicola

Hi Nicola, not long now eh!?

with regards to the pools and the sea for that matter, something we found really really freaky was that in our first 5 or so days the sea and pools really were quite cold and you just had to kind of launch yourself into them and grin and bear it til you got used to it but then after those first few days, we were about to brave the sea for yet another snorkelling trip and it really was like stepping into a warm bath, too hot in places and as you swam further out to sea next to the coral shelf there were pockets of warm and cooler waters but in general it was as warm as my bath

The pools also seemed to have a change of heart and became more and more towards lukewarm as the holiday progressed. The pools are fabulous, all huge and all have swim up bars - say Hi to Shawky - he is a real gentleman!

I'm afraid I haven't any pictures yet - I didn't take my digicam opting for my new underwater 35mm camera of which I have used up 6 films, yet to be developed but i am requesting they go onto CD so that I can post them. As soon as they are received, I will post and let you know where to find them.

Happy holidays everybody

Hi Suze,

Thats funny that the water seamed to heat up. had you just got used to them or had they just got warmer. I can't wait now to get there. What underwater camera did you get as I am looking into buying one at the moment.

look forward to seeing a few pics. Cheers

Nicky

hello guys and gals...i am going to grand azure in june (good deals on teletext!).... just wondered if anyone has any views on the hotel in the last couple of weeks/months regarding aircraft noise....is it that bad?

When in June are you going and how good a deal?
We have to go during half term so have to pay silly prices dor the privalige, but if prices do come down a lot a week or two later, may have to consider next year going then.

Nicky

we are going mid june...flying excel airways from gatwick...heard mixed opinion about them! dont want to say exactly how much but under £450 pp...a good tip is to phone one agent, get a price and then take about £20 off pp and phone another agent with 'your' price and see if they will match it...worked for us!

Was that for one week or two?

We bought flight and accommodation separately as that worked out cheaper than brochure prices.

I am sure you will have a wicked time.

We have been told that if you are stayinig in the resort you don't need to buy visa's is this true??
Also we are taking the two little ones and were wondering wether people recommend having the jabs, they are up to date with tetanus and polio but not too keen to get hep A. What have other people done?

Suze, what was the wether like how hot was it?
marie and Phil

Our doctor recommended Hep A and typhoid, we have decided that the children will have the jabs on the basis that prevention is better than cure.

OK a couple of questions to answer so here goes.

No it wasn't just a matter of getting used to the water, the temperature of the water did change quite dramatically - freaky I know but thats how it was! Thinking back now, we struggled more and more with the heat as the holiday went on, it probably climbed a degree a day!

The underwater camera I purchased was one recommended elsewhere on this site by username snorkelbabe - it is a Vivitar Amphibia, looks like it came from fisher price only cost about £30 but does the trick I got a couple of films developed there but wouldn't recommend it to be honest because the quality of the actual photograph isn't that good - thats why its cheaper! from memory I think the thread was entitled "snorkelling in the red sea questions and queries" - have a look see if you can find any tips there.

Plane noise, yes they can get really really loud, to the point one day when I was sat in the room getting ready to go out and thought we were going to be involved in another 9/11 - right drama queen aren't I! - but I must say we didn't hear any at night.

As Briar says, loads of posts on Visa's elsewhere but briefly, just write "Sinai only" on the back of your white landing card and tell them you aren't doing any excursions and they will let you through no probs. Sorry Briar for going

Finally, weather...hot hot hot, I like the sun and could stay out in it for a good few hours the first week but in the last few days we were doing an hour then it was under the umbrella for some shade for the rest of the day.

Look at this weather link for your weather reports, they are pretty accurate.

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/Egypt/SharmElSheik.htm

Have fun everyone, I'm starting to turn green with envy now

hi everyone ,
i just cannot stay away from this website its so addictive is'nt it !
with so many great reviews from people thats just got back !
cheers suze for the info on the kebabs ,personally i prefer the camels hoof kebab rather than the elephants foot (it tends to be a bit chewy )
the pizzas sound good too !
did anyone have any bad hangovers with the local beer or what ?
i am tea total myself ,just asking for my wife , and if you believe that you will believe anything !
on a more serious note , how far can you go out in the sea before the sharks get you ?
not long now ! counting down the days ! keep those great reviews flowing and do'nt take life so serious
till next time skullyxxxxxxxxxxxxx

hi suze thanks for all the info, weve still got 7 weeks to go starting to worry abit about the heat hope we can cope with it. the waterfall pool looks fantastic, was the hotel really busy , was there plenty space by the pools, there will be 10 of us. saying that people usually disappear when they see us all. did you try any of the other restaurants in the evening if so how did you rate them? any one else going first two weeks in july?

Hi to everyone, im a new member whos just found this site. Im going on the 14tn july from Manchester.It all sounds great. Most of the questions i had have already been answered in the previous pages.I did email the hotel last month and asked about dress code for the restaurants.
I got a fast response saying that shorts are welcome no problem.
Really looking forward to it. 9 weeks and counting.

Hi KKazz

We are flying out from Manchester 10th July for 2 weeks, gonna be hot I'm told well into the 40's, looking forward to diving and relaxing, Hotel sounds great, done a few 5* hotels in Spain last year, hope this is as good as most have described. Just had our jabs for precaution - looking forward to eight weeks time, anyone else out in July????

Nigel

Hi Suze,

Thanks for the info. May get one of those cameras then. So the weather got hotter and hotter, I was hoping it wouldn't be too humid out there at this time of year with taking young kids, but I guess we can always go inside if it gets too much.

two weeks on Monday now for us.

Nicky

Hi all

Welcome to Egypt.

This is being sent via the Hotel internet.

The wow wow factor has not disappeared yet. It is fantastic. It is warm with a cool breeze.

WORD OF WARNING TO ALL TRAVELLERS.

Please dont get caught out at the Airport if you are travelling with My Travel.

We were told our hand luggage had to be weighed. Maxium weight was 5kg. We were over and had to remove stuff. They even weighed handbags. We put the excess in our suitcase, but was still over and was expected to pay an excess. We did not have the english money to do so and no credit card. This could have resulted in us losing our holiday. The travel agent had not warned us of the problemsd as this came into effect on the 1st April. In the end they wavied our fee. Thankfully.
The lady at the My travel desk said quite rightly that we could go into the departure lounge and stock up on duty free which would take us over the limit and know one would be able to check.

We could have left our books behind and bought them in the departure lounge.

I will complain to going places when I get back as I felt this spoilt the start of our holiday.

Please dont get caught by this unreseasonable practice.

Also if you choose not to buy a visa and write sinai only then decide you want to do a trip it is easy to get a visa. The rep adviced us that the trip to the airport costs peanuts and we can buy a visa there.

To everyone that is coming out here soon it is paradise and you will love it. The food is excellent, rooms are fab, staff friendly, and drinks well they keerp flowing. No giner beer so far. Sorry to ???

Will tell you more when I get back.

My warning was important so that know one else gets caught as we were not thwe only ones to get stung.

hi pushkins 59 thanks for the info regarding the airport, was this happening to everyone going through , or just my travel folks. was the 5kg allowance per person?the place sounds better each day!! . hi also to hotrodder we are there until the 14th july probably barracading ourselves into the rooms not wanting to go home. 48 days to go!