Hey Jilly, I'll let you know about the allergy warning stuff after I've been there in September. My daughter is allergic to dairy and soya, so allergy ignorance in catering is one of my my pet hates. I'll keep you posted.

Talking about the entertainment at the Hyatt, i thought the egyptian dancer was really good, he had like a layered "skirt" which he spun around his head, i know that sounds weird but it was quite fascinating to watch, the egyptian girls were also good dancers and far more entertaining than the russians, there was more of a story and reason to their dance routine.

They are called the "whirling dervishes" or something similar! and yes, they were excellent. The same people did the show at the Hyatt, Marriot and Sofitel. Very enjoyable.

Thanks Gixer, "whirling dervishes", that sounds better than some bloke swinging a skirt round his head

Andy,

Whirling Dervishes, thats right! Does sound better.

We were supposed to go to the Bedouin Night but as I was ill, we cancelled. Im sure it wouldve been good. Youre right Briar, even a singer or some music we could dance to on the terrace. The On the Rocks bar was practically empty, and the waiters were trying their best to keep you amused by chatting etc. Most folks played cards or read books in the bar.

Im sure lots of people have complained about the lack of entertainment or at least some kind of variation on the theme. The management really are losing out as people would stay on in the bar and buy more drinks!

Anyone I spoke to said they couldnt even be bothered going out in the evenings, just had dinner and retired.

Anyway, it didnt stop my enjoyment, I wanted to relax and thats exactly what I did.

Jilly

Same for us Jilly, we spent the majority of our evenings on our balcony with our boxes of wine The kids got into bed and watched cartoon network, so everyone was happy!

Hi Guys

Yes we had a lovely time at the Hyatt, thanks. You're right about the heat. One day I went to get 2 bottles of water from the shop & by the time I walked there & back, I felt really rough & ended up going back to our room & slept for the whole afternoon. Unfortunately we didn't drink nearly as much water as we should (we were told to drink 3 litres per person per day) & as a result we had a bit of an upset tummy too.

I emailed the hotel 3 weeks before we arrived & asked for a top room room but unfortunately we were allocated a ground floor one. However our room was larger than average & in addition to the shower, we had a plunge bath which was big enough for 3 adults! We were in room E118 which is by the rocky hill & very close to the jetty but far away from everything else!

The food was lovely & varied. I absolutely adored the waffles in the morning & a couple of evenings we raided the kids food - I can't resist spaghetti bologneise!

The snorkelling was brilliant, although it was spoilt slightly by the jellyfish. We were told they are the non stinging variety, but I wasn't going to find out!!! (having grew up in Hong Kong, I'm phobic about them!).

I celebrated my birthday whilst we were out there & the hotel delivered a birthday cake to our room - we didn't even mention it so they must have seen it from my passport - we thought it was a really nice gesture.

All in all we had a wonderfully relaxing time.

Ronnie

hey
quick question does the hotel have a pool table and how much does it cost!!

cheers

There was a pool table near the el fresco restaurant/lap pool i thought i saw a sign saying it was 5LE an hour which is about 50p. it was an outdoor table so not the sort of quality you get in a pub or snooker hall here, there was also a games arcade with the usual type of machines.

sounds good thanks for the quick reply. sure i will have more questions as the time gets closer!

Hi Ronnie, you must have passed our rooms to get to the jetty! We were right opposite where the 'security' guard sat just under the hill. I thought the security was a joke really, I mean that poor man sat there all day, not looking particularly vigilent. I felt sorry for him and took him some crisps and biccies!

The jellyfish did sting, but not for long, only a few seconds. Didnt see that many over the two weeks, although one particular day there were quite a few.!

Jilly

Hi Jilly

I could have probably seen your room from our patio!! Did your room have a good view of the sea? It was a hike to everywhere else, wasn't it?? We felt really sorry for the security guard who seem to be on 12 hour shifts in that heat.

Someone told me they picked the jellyfish up & they didn't sting - they must have lied!!!! What I found strange was that a couple of times when we visited the jetty, the sea was really calm so we headed back to our room for our snorkeling gear. By the time we got back to the jetty 15-20 minutes later, it all changed & was really choppy.

Did you take any underwater photos? We did & they were rubbish!!!

Ronnie

Can anyone tell me whether there is a golf course at this hotel, please? And if so, do they hire out clubs or do you have to take your own? Thanks.

Sam,

No golf course as yet but there is one currently under construction, altjought I think it will be next year before its complete

Hi Ronnie

Yes, Im so sure your room was very near to ours. We were bound to have seen each other! You mightve seen me trailing about in a long bright turquoise kaftan thing?? Got lots of admiring glances and compliments, so you couldnt have missed me

The rooms werent really that far from anywhere, ( except the towel station )but in that heat it might as well been a mile!

Wasnt that a lovely thing to have gotten a birthday cake?? My son was 13 the day after we arrived, I thought about asking for a cake but I didnt like to.

The first week, the water was so so calm, it was like a millpond. I talked to a couple on their third visit, and they said it had never been like that. NOt a breath of air. The sea was rather roughish the second week.

I have left my underwater cameras into the chemist, so I will let you know. What I did was, at the little jetty, I just stood on the steps and took pics of the fish as they swam past. Some of the pics are so good, you wouldnt even think there was any water!!!

My only bugbear was the towel scenario, if we were at the jetty, we couldnt be bothered trailing away back up to give them back in. We asked our cleaner to bring us some and we just kept them in the room!

Purrfect should be home soon, cant wait for her report. Didnt see her either!!
Jilly

Hi Jilly

I'm sure I've seen you around. We may have even have chatted on the jetty!

I wish we went the week before now, as the only day that was like a millpond was the first full day after we arrived (1 July) & there were an abundance of jellyfish. The rest of the week, as you said, was a bit choppy. My husband loved it but I was a bit wary.

I thought it was lovely of them to bring me a cake on my birthday, made me feel really special!!!!! Unfortunately it was the day before we left so we didn't really eat that much so we left it for the cleaning staff.

What was the presidential suite like? Bet it was out of this world compared to our humble rooms!

I mentioned about the towels on our feedback form - other hotels let you have clean towels if you hand your old ones in at the end of the day but not the Hyatt, so we just kept ours overnight & exchanged them the following morning for clean ones.

Let me know how your photos came out. I took a few from the jetty with our digital camera & they came out really good. Our underwater cameras were really naff. Think we'll invest in an underwater housing for our digital camera next time. Having said that, a bad workman always blames his tools!!!

By the way, have you recovered from your tummy trouble?

Speak soon

Ronnie

hey again 5 weeks tomorrow!! it's getting closer!!

lunch time snacks how much were they roughly and was there a good selection!

is the disco for the younger kids or does it change for the adults as the nights goes on!! or has anybody gone out in the evening and found any nice places! either in the other hotels or outside of the complex

is there a taxi or limousine service available from the hotel?

and last but not least what are the secrets tricks, you know the things you find out on the last night that you wish you knew on the first night kinda thing!

cheers

Hiya Boozeyboo

The Breeze Bar had a goodish selection, the burgers were amazing, large ones with loads of chips and plenty of salad for £5. The dearest thing was the tandoori chicken at £7.

The Lebanese Tanour, I thought the portions were poor and the food wasnt brilliant.

The El Fresco had pizza and pasta, but I didnt buy any there, we bought wraps etc, but its soooo hot up there and they took ages to serve the food. I nearly lost the will to live. There mustve been at least 6 waiters and not many tables taken, so it mustve been the chefs that were slower. I never went back, it was like sitting in an open air oven.

The disco is for kids only on the terrace from 9-9.30 I think. No dancing for the adults Im afraid. I thought it wouldve been lovely even if the DJ played some tracks that folks could dance to on the terrace.

Best bet would be to let the kiddies watch cartoon network and you and the hubby/partner get stuck into the duty free and dance your wee hearts out on the terrace

Hope this helps
Jilly