Ivy Cyrene Sharm Resort — Hotel in South Sinai

Arrived quite late, at check-in we have also been offered a plate of “cold cut meats”, they were reasonable, some hotels don’t offer anything; we were assured by the receptionist that our suite was “wonderful” and exactly the one we have booked off booking.com, a junior suite with sea view, I have booked and paid extra especially as it was a special occasion for us. We were taken to our “wonderful suite”, at the back of the hotel overlooking the “nothing”, bushes, trees, the back of the hotel, not even a pool view or anything, as it was midnight, we just said we will discuss the situation in the morning, but I already contacted booking.com. ||In the morning, spoke with the receptionist, he was as helpful as possible, his English wasn’t great but he understood my problem, after lunch, had a conversation with a management staff member, I can’t remember his name( Mohammed/Mustafa but I’m not sure, he was a great manager there) he was extremely helpful, he apologised and immediately showed me another suite which was the one I saw advertised online and the one I have paid more for. They even followed up by an WhatsApp message, Aigerim, she was lovely and helpful too. ||The first suite we were in, yes, needed some work done, drain had a problem, the bed linen was stained, towels were stained, have a picture of it; apart from that, it was great, big bed and reasonably comfortable. The other one we were moved in, it was perfect, could not find any flaws, perfect, the view and everything. ||Food was very good, lots of options, fish and chicken, beef as well. We travel extensively but we never had chicken as good as here. Alcohol is not great, but please can we all understand that is a muslim country and alcohol is forbidden. ||Is a very big resort, lots of pools, lots of things to do; complimentary bus to the beach, nice driver and friendly. ||The beach is very well looked after, lots of sun loungers; great fishes around. ||The staff in general, very very very good, nothing to fault, we visited during Ramadan as well, and considering they have been fasting all day, they were probably tired, they have been brilliant. ||Overlooking all of the other issues mentioned above, there would be one that probably got us quite irritated, reading through other reviews it’s safe to say that it didn’t irritate just us but others too; although the staff was faultless, they are Russian inclined, we tried a few times to get involved in all sorts of activities but considering the entertainment team is mainly focused on Russians, most of the times, we just gave up.. we tried to have a conversation with the chief of entertainment but it didn’t work, he got a bit snappy at the end; please don’t get me wrong, but the other nationalities should be included too, I heard at least 3-4 other nationalities than Russians, and not even once a song played for them.. Russian songs played at the beach, Russian songs played at night at entertainment, entertainment finishing with a Russian song, 90% of the entertainment staff speaking only Russian, is frustrating, trying to explain something to someone, trying to get a spot on a list to play darts, impossible, the list was finished when we were trying to get a spot, guess what, only by Russians; all the entertainment girls chatting away with all the Russian guests, in our 6 days stay, no one ever came up to us to say hello. I don’t think is fair, I think all nationalities should be included, I think if the entertainment team decides to play a Russian song at the evening entertainment, they should play a Spanish one too, an Italian one too.. if you get offended that what I wrote here is racisms, then read again and think again who is the one being racist. Overall the entertainment was a big disappointment, despite more than 6-8 people in the team, a complete disappointment.||Overall, you get your money’s worth, if you have any problems, they will try to fix them, they really want you to enjoy your stay, that’s for sure; if they could in the future fix this problem to, they will...

Arrived quite late, at check-in we have also been offered a plate of “cold cut meats”, they were reasonable, some hotels don’t offer anything; we were assured by the receptionist that our suite was “wonderful” and exactly the one we have booked off booking.com, a junior suite with sea view, I have booked and paid extra especially as it was a special occasion for us. We were taken to our “wonderful suite”, at the back of the hotel overlooking the “nothing”, bushes, trees, the back of the hotel, not even a pool view or anything, as it was midnight, we just said we will discuss the situation in the morning, but I already contacted booking.com. In the morning, spoke with the receptionist, he was as helpful as possible, his English wasn’t great but he understood my problem, after lunch, had a conversation with a management staff member, I can’t remember his name( Mohammed/Mustafa but I’m not sure, he was a great manager there) he was extremely helpful, he apologised and immediately showed me another suite which was the one I saw advertised online and the one I have paid more for. They even followed up by an WhatsApp message, Aigerim, she was lovely and helpful too. The first suite we were in, yes, needed some work done, drain had a problem, the bed linen was stained, towels were stained, have a picture of it; apart from that, it was great, big bed and reasonably comfortable. The other one we were moved in, it was perfect, could not find any flaws, perfect, the view and everything. Food was very good, lots of options, fish and chicken, beef as well. We travel extensively but we never had chicken as good as here. Alcohol is not great, but please can we all understand that is a muslim country and alcohol is forbidden. Is a very big resort, lots of pools, lots of things to do; complimentary bus to the beach, nice driver and friendly. The beach is very well looked after, lots of sun loungers; great fishes around. The staff in general, very very very good, nothing to fault, we visited during Ramadan as well, and considering they have been fasting all day, they were probably tired, they have been brilliant. Overlooking all of the other issues mentioned above, there would be one that probably got us quite irritated, reading through other reviews it’s safe to say that it didn’t irritate just us but others too; although the staff was faultless, they are Russian inclined, we tried a few times to get involved in all sorts of activities but considering the entertainment team is mainly focused on Russians, most of the times, we just gave up.. we tried to have a conversation with the chief of entertainment but it didn’t work, he got a bit snappy at the end; please don’t get me wrong, but the other nationalities should be included too, I heard at least 3-4 other nationalities than Russians, and not even once a song played for them.. Russian songs played at the beach, Russian songs played at night at entertainment, entertainment finishing with a Russian song, 90% of the entertainment staff speaking only Russian, is frustrating, trying to explain something to someone, trying to get a spot on a list to play darts, impossible, the list was finished when we were trying to get a spot, guess what, only by Russians; all the entertainment girls chatting away with all the Russian guests, in our 6 days stay, no one ever came up to us to say hello. I don’t think is fair, I think all nationalities should be included, I think if the entertainment team decides to play a Russian song at the evening entertainment, they should play a Spanish one too, an Italian one too.. if you get offended that what I wrote here is racisms, then read again and think again who is the one being racist. Overall the entertainment was a big disappointment, despite more than 6-8 people in the team, a complete disappointment. Overall, you get your money’s worth, if you have any problems, they will try to fix them, they really want you to enjoy your stay, that’s for sure; if they could in the future fix this problem to, they will...

We had good air conditioning and the room was spotless, cleaned daily by the hard working housekeeping team. It was hot, 38-40 degrees, and the pools where cleaned every night and the area scrubbed clean. Most of the staff where pleasant and helpful, but tips are expected and near to the end of the holiday, some staff will ask for a tip. Needless to say I sought out the staff I wanted to reward for being so welcoming through out the holiday. However, the food is disgusting and even though I didn't eat meat from the buffet style restaurant, I still had stomach issues twice! That's when I began to notice that the hot plate island was at incorrect temperature meaning food was not kept at a safe heat, and 5 out of 6 showed error. Food hygiene therefore was not met as rice doubles in bacteria with every passing minute.Also Pink raw chicken on the bone and re-used beef having that "off" smell. I wasn't brave enough to try the fish. So we ate breakfast, pancakes or omelette cooked in front of the guests, pastries and yoghurt. Lunch was salad and bread and we ate dinner out 11 of the 14 days. We don't drink alcohol, coke was flat but one of the pool bars made us alcohol free cocktails. Soho Square is an over priced Blackpool. No prices on anything and the price inflates when they hear English. The trip/massage reps are a pain, hounding guests on the beach, at the pool and ask repeatedly daily despite being told "no thanks" repeatedly. The price is far higher than you can book online and I would advise ordering a taxi online rather than at the taxi desk as I saw many guests complaining that their taxi was either late or didn't turn up at all. Our Uber arrived no problems each time and was cheaper. |Buy snacks, cigarettes etc from the "Safeway" a short walk from the hotel, items all at local prices rather than inflated prices at the hotel shop. Avoid Aladdin bizzare, rip off but the pharmacy and buccahs market are good. Cigarettes at the airport duty free at arrivals are £20 for 400 L&M, or £4 a pack at the hotel shop or Soho. You can return to the airport in the first 48 hours but remember your passport. In the departure area, ignore the big duty free shop and go through the door for gates 7+8 ( which is actually 7-10 but no indication that 9+10 are in there) and use the Egypt air shop next to the free smoking lounge as their prices are less inflated. |The area around the hotel is under construction so expect some building noise in the evening and morning. Too hot to work mid day. Be vigilant and know everyone is out to make as much money as possible out of British guests. The hotel was occupied by Russians (mostly rude and don't queue) guests and groups of loud Italian women who argue with each other continuously at screaming pitch! However the local families are really lovely and friendly.|For the price the hotel was ok, but be prepared for stomach upsets or to eat out a lot!! |Although I was asked to write a review by the customer service manager, who told me to find her if there was anything she could do, when I asked about when the ATM would be fixed, I was told to get a taxi to Soho for ATM as the machine in the hotel was empty. So basically spend £20 on a taxi trip to get cash for tips. We will not be returning to this hotel again and probably not to...