We arrived back on Saturday after a very nice fortnight at the Sunrise.
Hurghada Airport is MANIC! The staff are rude so prepare yourselves. We did not see any Bank Kiosks they all had other Travel Agents names on not banks?! Any how we paid the $18 as we just wanted to get out of there. There was some major confusion as each person you spoke to told you a different belt number for the luggage. When we found our belt number it had Belgium luggage on not English – very confusing! Finally our cases were located and we went out to our Private Transfer through Direct Holidays. This was great, we could relax is a lovely minibus and beat the masses.
Arrived at the hotel about 21.30hr and were met with a lovely drink while our forms were being completed, we were then personally shown to our rooms and our luggage arrived only 5 minutes later – this was great, nothing worse than waiting for your luggage to arrive. We unpacked and went in search of some food. The late buffet is nothing to write home about but it filled a hole.
We were allocated rooms in block 25 (25201 & 25202). Very nice rooms (both with 2 single beds – which in that heat is fab!) The rooms were nice and quiet and not more than 5 minutes from anything. Although housekeeping wasn’t the best, they only have a mop so any sweeping/hovering never happened. Just a note they do not resupply your room with toiletries, so take some more Shower Gel and Conditoner :)
Reception was very helpful and always willing to help/hear what you had to say. Our keys stoppoed working twice and this was resolved very quickly!
Pools/Beach:
We spent our times spilt between the Family Pool with Slides, Main Pool & Beach. We found the main pool too hot as there was not much breeze. The family pool was much nicer and not that busy once the kids had gone back to school although beware the temperature of the pools is meant to be about 24 degrees, well I would be surprised if they were 14 degrees, they are a shock to the system when first getting in.
The Beach was bliss, the sand is nice and with a breeze all day, but do not forget your Red Flag or face being bugged all day by sales people! The Sea was wonderfully warm and not too deep for the little ones. The Snorkelling is amazing next door at Fort Arabasque and it is so shallow even my Mum who is not a confident swimmer spent a good few hours snorkelling.
The service from the bars was good but beware they only serve drinks in little cups so we were ordering a double round each time.
Main Buffet & Around the World :
Yes this is crazy but as people who have travelled throughout the world on AI this was very normal for the main buffet and quite fun. I wish my school canteen t had this much choice! No lumpy Tapioca in sight thank god! Lol! The funniest thing we saw was two women one Russian & one German square up to each other, over the rice, as the Russian women had pushed in and the German women hit her hand away with the ladle! Seriously sooo funny!
We ate in the Around the World most mornings as it was more civilised and less noisy. There wasn’t much choice but plenty for what we needed. They had also just started covering everything up with hard covers and not just cling film which was great and you saw a big reduction on the sparrows that would join you for Breakfast. We also tried it for Dinner some nights but the choice was very limited with it repeated most nights.
Al la Cartes:
The Asian was our favourite, but it was nothing out of this world, just basic Chinese like back home. Although the sizzling plates were very nice and a little different. We also enjoyed the Mediterranean & Italian, both were nice but we found the food a little salty, as soon as this was mentioned the food was taken away and new dishes brought out. Something that probably would never happen at home! We did have a slight issue with the Al la cartes though. Our first night out in one was to the Asian and the men in our party abided by the rules of no shorts and no flip flops, well the restaurant was full of shorts and flip flops so for the next week our men did the same, in all 3 restaurants. It was on the 2nd Tuesday we queued up for the Italian and was turned away on the fact that my other half had leather flip flops on, the gentleman behind also got turned away but the gentleman behind him got let in (with identical flip flops on). It would seem that if they liked you (or you were German/Russian) and you had flip flops on they would turn a blind eye. We stood our ground with another couple and finally after 45 minutes “Mohammed” (you will encounter approx 50 Mohammeds, so complaining to one or about one is very hard) from Guest Services arrived. We explained our situation and that other people had been allowed in with flip flops and after some too-ing and fro-ing on the phone to the other restaurants we were given a massive apology and let into the Restaurant. We were also given possibly the best service ever received, plus extras such as cocktails and garlic breads. I wouldn’t normally complain about something like this but it was a matter of principle that they were letting others in with them on.
The next day Guest Services rung us and apologised once more and stated that the rules would apply about the flip flops and people would be turned away, this of course did not happen and depending on who you were was a matter of Russian roulette. You can of course sit outside the Restaurants with flip flops on but after a day in the blazing heat, I don’t think anyone would really enjoy food in the evening humidity when you have the option of air con or return to your rooms and wear trainers back down. IMHO nice linen trousers with posh leather flip flops look better than ¾ lengths with trainers or football shorts!
Illness:
Yes we did all have a dose of Pharaohs Revenge and went to Tia Heights for medicine. After re-reading a lot of the reviews it seems that most guests were suffering from Sunstroke. I too suffered from this as if it had been anything worse it would certainly have lasted more than 24 hours which mine did not. I admit I did not drink enough water or seek shade on this day as we were in Hurghada town and there was no shade or breeze. Once I spent the day in the room locked in the Bathroom and drunk 8 bottles of water plus juice and after 10 hours managed to keep down some breadsticks I was fine. Advice to you, avoid the midday heat, the salads and the chicken, once we did this our tummies were as right as rain. But just in case do go to Tia Heights or we found that Immodium Instants worked just as well .
Entertainment:
As another review stated we only ever saw the entertainment team at 10am for Volleyball/Stretching the vanished for the rest of the day. You saw a few of them on an evening to tell you about the evening entertainment if you were seated in the Pergola bar but that was it. The Entertainment was awful and laughable in places. Plus it never lasted for more than 30 minutes, so by 10pm that was it. During the last few days of our holiday we did see a new intake of the Entertainment Team who were very enthusiastic!
Tipping:
We tipped in both GBP and USD both are widely accepted. You probably will be asked to change up pound coins into notes as the staff cannot use the coins widely.
Staff:
All were very nice and polite. They all enjoyed asking about your Holiday and never ignored you. A special mention must be made for Mohammed & Mustafa in the Round the World Restaurant, as well as Akim & Yaseer at the Pergola Bar. All 4 are a true asset to the Hotel.
Gardens & Hygiene:
They do not water the gardens with Raw Sewage!!!
Yes it smells but is filtered and treated before being used on the Gardens.
It is also amazing how many guests just walk into the Restaurants without using the hand gel and letting their kids handle the food and then put it back – seriously bad parenting! The gel is there for a reason not to just look good!
We did not see any scum in any pool, the only thing we saw was in the Activity Pool, next to the Pergola Bar were Napkins and the odd bit of food that had been blown in by the wind but they are cleaned out every night.
Would I return? In a word yes. Would I recommend it? Yes.
I doubt we will return at this time of year as temperatures nearing 40 degrees are just a little much for us. But April, May or October, November would be fine.
We found the TC Reps pretty useless, we were after some Alka Seltzer (indulged in too many cocktails!) and she looked at me said I don’t know what you are on about and walked away. On another occasion we asked about going to the Marina (boat enthusiasts) and she again looked at us as though we smelt and told us to go the to the Sinbad Centre that’s where they were. Thank god for the lovely Taxi guys they took us straight to the Marina and told us how to get to the shops and a few little tips. The water in the Marina has to be seen to be believed its gorgeous!
Thank you Sunrise
To anyone going in the near future enjoy and relax. I did finally and despite being a panicy pants had a lovely time.
No this hotel is not 5* by English Standards but for what you pay its about right for a 4*.
Louise :)
Louise Martin, Essex, UK
Date Travelled: 03/09/2010
Review Added: 26/09/2010