Bel Air Azur Resort — Hotel in Red Sea

Day One. Arrived at 11 PM. The guy on the reception desk asked to speak to me away from my wife. In honour of International Women's Day he says I can have roses delivered to my room for only 15 Euros. I said, “No thanks.” He tells me he can do the flowers for 10 Euros. Once again, I said, “No.” I knew we were too late for the allotted mealtimes, but it had been mentioned that arrangements would be made given the planned lateness of our arrival. The guy on the reception desk explained this as though it had been a great hardship and personal sacrifice. He said we would find that a special snack had been left in the diamond room. I asked where the diamond room was. He made a vague gesture to his right. I suspect, because I didn't want to buy flowers, or tip him for providing the agreed food, it was too much trouble to escort us there. Because of the lack of signage this meant we had to explore most of the hotel's disappointing dining rooms. There was a plate of something desiccated in one room but no suggestion we were meant to eat this (even on a bet). We were then escorted to our room by a gentleman who waited with his hand out for a tip after walking us ten yards to the door. A moment later our luggage was brought to us by another gentleman who waited with his hand out for another tip. This cupidity became a recurring theme throughout the holiday and spoiled most of our time in Egypt.

Day Two. Breakfast was mediocre. The pastries were dry and a little stale. Staff were, without exception the surliest bunch of individuals I have ever encountered. Please and thank you were treated as alien concepts. I got the impression that, although this was an all-inclusive holiday, such simple pleasantries as courtesy and civility would cost extra. The pool (which closed at 5.00pm every day) was adequate. The bathroom was nothing but badly placed grout on cracked tiles. The shower was something that would get a dog groomer shut down for poor hygiene standards. At the bar, glasses were dirty. Smoking was permitted in all exterior areas, meaning I could take a healthful dip in the pool and inhale second-hand carcinogens at the same time. Admittedly, the bed was adequate, but the literature had boasted that this was a 4 star standard which had led me to expect much more.

Day Three. As my wife and I sat by the pool, discussing the many failings of the accommodation, we wondered why there were so many five star reviews. Surely, we thought, there were other people who were getting frustrated by the rudeness of the staff, the mediocre quality of the food and lodgings, and the irritating way that salespeople were constantly interrupting our conversations to try and sell us boat rides, massages, beauty treatments or other expensive additions to our ‘all-inclusive’ break? As we pondered this question one of the hotel staff came over and asked if she could help us to write a Google review for the Bel Air Azur. I said, “No thank you.” This member of the hotel staff then went to a nearby couple and I heard her speaking as she completed their Google review, telling them that the pool was definitely five stars, and the staff all deserved five stars as well. Quite a few other features appeared to merit five stars during this conversation. Overall, this was a crushingly disappointing holiday. The food was underwhelming. The staff treated each interaction as though I was rudely taking them away from their mobile phones (because the majority of staff members had a mobile phone in their hand whenever they were ‘working’). I wouldn’t even recommend this place to people I don’t like. Yes, the weather was hot, but that’s the only thing I can say in its favour. I’m sure you can find hot weather elsewhere in this part of the world. If you want to throw money on a break that will make you feel as though you’ve savoured the second-hand smoke from two-hundred cigarettes each day, and you want to eat food that is unappetising, then this is ideal for you. Just don’t expect the staff to be polite or civil unless you’ve given them a...

Prelude: I arrived at the hotel at around 5 pm, tired and hungry from the journey. When I asked if I could get something to eat now, I was told no, the afternoon snack was already closed and the dinner buffet didn't open until 7pm, I would just have to wait that long. There was no indication that the à la carte restaurant in the neighboring hotel included in the all-inclusive package I had booked would open at 6 pm, or that there were other restaurants in the immediate vicinity that were open all day. That already set the tone for me.

Room: Actually quite nice and functionally furnished, with a balcony overlooking the pool. Unfortunately, everything is a bit old and run-down. The sliding door to the balcony is stuck, all curtains, drapes, blackout curtains are stuck, you actually have to get on a chair to be able to open and close them properly.

WiFi: Officially only available in the lounge and pool area as well as in parts of the beach. As all rooms face the pool, it was possible to connect to the WiFi from the balcony and near the window front of the room. However, the network was overloaded at certain times and generally there were always short disconnections, but this is not unusual for Egypt. It is best to get a SIM card, either directly at the airport or in the immediate vicinity of the hotel, there are several Vodafone stores. Good network, but occasionally short disconnections too.

Pool: The pool is surrounded by the hotel buildings, in itself very nice and large, unfortunately there are too few loungers and the first guests start laying out their towels at 6:30 am, by 9 am at the latest there is no more free space.

Animation: Nothing against a little animation and guided aqua gymnastics in the pool. But when the entertainer shouts around like a drill sergeant and then expects you to shout his (!) name enthusiastically repetetitive with the exercises, then I find that a bit excessive. Well, okay, whoever likes it. But I wasn't the only one who left the pool area at 11:30.

Breakfast: Unfortunately only in the closed restaurant, no possibility to sit on the terrace with your morning coffee and breakfast. The selection was okay, at least there were fresh pancakes every morning and, if you had the patience to wait in line, freshly prepared eggs to order. From two coffee machines you could tap different coffee specialties, but all brewed only from instant coffee.

Lunch: Either buffet in the pool restaurant or pizza corner on the opposite side of the pool, also on the beach the marina restaurant had a choice of pizza or a very limited selection of simple dishes from the buffet.

Dinner: Choice of buffet at the pool restaurant or in the dining room. The selection and presentation of the food left a lot to be desired in my opinion. Drinks are brought by the waiter, but you may need a little patience here too. Wine and alcoholic mixed drinks seemed very watered down to me, it's best to only drink water, cola or beer. I could bear this only once and then went out for dinner on the other evenings.

Conclusion: Never again! Fortunately, as I usually do, I had only booked for three nights. Then I looked for a nice apartment with access to the private beach for a third of the price, much more relaxing, and I can go out to eat when and what I want. For 5 to 10 euros per person including a drink, you can still get a nice meal in Egypt. Just to clarify, last year I stayed in an all-inclusive hotel for six weeks in a row because I liked it so much there, so there are better ones out there too. This hotel here certainly doesn't deserve...

I am very picky about service, but you can see my assessment! The hotel was chosen solely on the parameters of price=quality and I was not mistaken! Everything was great from the first minute.

Check-in took 10 minutes, the staff is attentive and deserves every tip!( don't be greedy, they work for YOU). Most of the staff speaks several languages (mostly English/German, older generation speaks excellent Russian). Waiters/bartenders/cooks/cleaning/hostesses are real worker bees.

Location is excellent, 15 minutes from the airport. At night outside the hotel the nightlife is buzzing, but the hotel itself has excellent noise isolation. Lots of shops/pharmacies/pottery/cafes across the road.

The food is excellent, everyone will find something to their liking. There are themed food nights. Breakfast is to suit all tastes. The desserts are very nice(as I don't really like sweets but my family said it was delicious).

The beach is a 5 minute walk, lots of sunbeds with umbrellas, beach bar/cafe(also all inclusive). Chic coral reef with fishes💗

The pool is great, lots of sun loungers with sun protection! Never had a problem with places on the sun loungers. The water is comfortable and the bottom of the pool seems to warm up. Pool cleaning on schedule, very thorough!

Beautiful and small territory, I would even say closed and gives the impression of coziness and complete relaxation! (Although the hotel is part of a large complex Azur).

If you are tired of noise and want to really relax, you are here. This is a hotel for adults WITHOUT CHILDREN. The main contingent of the hotel is Europeans-from Germany, Italy, Spain, etc.

Show program every day from 20:30-22:00 and then silence. The animation team after 22:00 will always find and offer you something to do outside the hotel in the neighboring complex or outside it in general. In general, our family was completely satisfied that we chose this place.

P.S. We arrived during my parents' birthday and were surprised by a cake, which unfortunately we didn't have time to eat. But it was a nice sign of attention, for which we are...