I had emailed the Novotel Palm asking to be collected from the airport and this was carried out really efficiently. It cost 600 Egyptian pounds each way which was cheaper than a taxi. I had left it until the day before to contact them though and didn't find the reply until we arrived! So give it a few days to stop the panic of wondering!

On arrival we were given our room cards and wrist bands and led out to a buggy to take us to our room. It seemed like a long way, but wasn't particularly. It was a walk up 2 quite steep slopes, but we encouraged each other that we would be walking off the food and drink! Our room was a large family one although there were just the 2 of us. The bed was one of the biggest I have slept in. Bathroom with large shower with a separate toilet. The only downsides here was that 1) The water wasn't hot enough for my husband to shave and 2) The wardrobe was quite small for 2 weeks’ worth of clothes (good we had the other room) and 3) There were no tea & coffee making facilities. We checked the room directory and it did say there were tea and coffee facilities, so when we went to dinner we asked at reception. We arrived back and lo and behold a kettle had been put there. Be warned though, take your own tea, coffee, sugar and milk as these were never left.

The following day we collected our towels from the pool boy. These were huge, a great size. After reading before we left that the temperature was only 18 or 19 degrees I was a little worried that it wouldn't be warm enough. I needn't have worried at all as the weather was fantastic! It reached 28 and 30 degrees whilst we were there. As others have written a cardi or light jacket is a good idea for the evenings.

The Novotel Palm & Beach is a bit of a puzzle to me. The Beach side is quite small and looks a bit cramped, but all of the activities went on here. Whereas the Palm side has beautiful gardens, 3 pools, children’s playground, a skateboard park and plenty of room, with very little organised activity or entertainment going on. We didn't mind this but it seems such a waste. The only thing that let this lovely hotel down was the food. We spoke to people who had visited before and they told us that it wasn't as good as their previous stay. Someone else has written about how bland the food was with little seasoning or taste. I do wonder whether the Russian holidaymakers are being catered for as there were many of them. The food seemed of good quality but just tasteless. A plus was neither of us suffered from bad tummies.

We did book for the Al Dente Italian Restaurant whilst there but were not impressed. Whether it was because we were AI and had the set menu, I don't know. But we were made to feel like second class citizens and rushed through our meal. We were out within 45 minutes!

We also booked for the Spa. The young men do hassle a bit but we told them what we'd like, a Hammam and scrub, and they came up with a good price of 220 Egyptian Pounds. This was the first time we'd had this and also the first time my husband didn't peel with his tan.
We also negotiated the price of pedicures before leaving, paying 150 each. Strange though, as we reported to the Spa at the Beach, then walked back to the Palm hairdressers! Arabic lessons here!

The staff are AMAZING! Everyone we spoke to was friendly, helpful and smiling. We learnt Arabic from Eman the dining room Hostess. And then the waiters were helping with our lessons too! And they all work so hard.

We spent Christmas and New Year at the Palm. Christmas Eve Dinner was a buffet at the Beach side. Although we didn't attend this we did walk through and there was a beautiful Nativity scene being enacted complete with camel!
We did attend the New Year’s Eve party at the Palm and this was amazing. There was a HUGE marquee which on entering took your breath away. The decoration was beautiful. All done out in black and white. The buffet was good and set out like an artist's palette.

We experienced Christmas in the sun. Missed Christmas dinner which found us eating salad!
As much as we enjoyed our time here we probably wouldn't return unless the food improved.