Oriental Resort

7 readers found this review helpful

I went there last week as a single woman and the unwanted attention from staff ruined it. Every man that I met was perverted and they had no respect for western woman. I'm British from an Indian background, very confident and able to look after myslef. I couldn't go anywhere without being hassled and this was mainly by the resort staff. This included bar staff, pool bar staff, beach bar staff, staff in the restaurant and dive centre staff. One evening I was using the hotel taxi/shuttle service to go into Naama bay so I gave my number to Marco who was based in the hotel reception in case of an emergency. I was travelling to Naama alone at night and wanted to be safe. 2 days later he decided to text me on my mobile for 'other reasons'.. (the hotel is apparantly a respectable 5 *) There were times when I was chased on the beach by staff that wanted to talk to me even when I made it very clear that I was not interested. They DID NOT take no for an answer. Also when I decided to walk around with a frown on my face I was told that I am stuck up by member of bar staff.
I also booked myself in for a massage in the health centre based on the ground floor in the hotel. This looks very professional and a place where they follow strict guidelines. After arguing with them about the price which had somehow increased by 20 GBP in 2 days I secured a price. The massage consisted of 10 mins on lower legs, 30 mins around the groin area, getting as close as possible without it making it seem unappropriate. At this stage I was still expecting the back and arms to be massaged so was unable to make a fuss. When he eventually moved onto the back and arms he spent only a few minutes on each area. Only after I realsed he was getting his sick pleasure.
I am well travelled and love new cultures but Egypt and the Egyption men in the resort have left a bad taste in my mouth and it it not a place I would go to again unless I was travelling with a very intimidating looking partner. There are NO Egyption women there at all and whilst their women are covered up and locked up at home back in their hometowns the men are openly chasing and harrassing western women.
The hotel itself is very disorganised and the only thing they got right throughout the stay was the wake up calls. The room was not properly cleaned and the staff forgot to replace things in the room.
I was pleased to find that they offered internet access for 3GBP for 15 mins. At this stage I needed to excape from the resort. I spent 15 minutes trying to load up the first page.
Avoid the place unless you want to be around pathetic, sick men who spend more time harrassing guests than working.

2 readers found this review helpful

We arrived at the hotel and the staff seemed nice. We were very aprehensive as the waiters were sooo fiendly with our son who is 3.5 years old and thought we would hate the place incase some one was going to snatch our child. But as the holiday went on we grew more confident and realised that all the staff are just so child friendly and love and make a fuss of all the children. Eddy and Jimmy the waiters are first class. The food was nice and there is plenty to choose from and the staff will do anything to accommodate anything you want.
There s a heated pool which was fab for the time of year we went and the gardens are really well kept. There are towels available for your sun loungers or for the beach (you get a card which you hand in and get back when you return the towels) so there is no need for you to pack your own beach towels!!
The hotel is rated 5* but i think it is more like a good 3.5* in spain, but for staff friendliness i would rate them 5*. The kids club was terrible. The girl who was there could hardly speak any English and the kids were outside in the play park area unsupervised so we were always with our child as the gate was open all the time and your children could just wander off if they felt like it and i dont think so would ever have known. i wouldnt recommend the kids club at all.
There isnt an awful lot to do outside of the hotel there are a few shops over the road and a KFC, mcdonalds, burger king, starbucks and Hard rock cafe is coming soon. Everyone wants you to come into their shop any buy from them so you do get hounded a little but they arnt aggressive. There is still alot of building work going on so it may be a bit more commercialised in the next few years.
Overall we had a great holiday and would definetely go back to the hotel.

1 reader found this review helpful

We flew to Egypt to celebrate my birthday on the 3rd January. When arriving the airport was a bit of a shock - chaos!! however we eventually got outside and were transferred to the Hotel. We were very pleasantly surprised. We found the Hotel to be very clean and the staff to be very friendly and helpful. We were slightly worried after our experiences in Turkey last year that you would have to keep tipping for good service but this was not the case. Our room was spacious and comfortable with a lovely view of the main pool. The main restaurant was lovely with a huge choice of good food at breakfast, lunch and dinner and the staff were great, Jimmy and Eddie in particular. To get to the beach you had walk through the beautifully maintained gardens. Free sunbeds with padding and windbreaks. The sea was freezing though! We didn't really venture out in
Nabq Bay only to the Metro supermarket which was very well stocked. Also we visted the Bombastic Bazaar where we booked a trip to St Catherines Monastery. There were lots of shops and a McDonalds and Burger King (we didn't go there!) The trip to St Catherine's Monastery was an experience. 2 1/2hr drive through the desert in a minibus being driven by Lewis Hamiltons cousin, thought were weren't going to make it at times. Was interesting though and then we went to a beach resort for lunch (Dabh or something like it!) We visited Luxor - Valley of the Kings, Karnak, Luxor Temple, Hatseput (hot chicken soup) Temple and we had a trip on the Nile in a boat called Titanic. It was a really good day out and our guide Hatem was excellent but it was very tiring up for 4:30am and back to the Hotel at 8:30pm. We also went on the Arabian Nights trip which was very expensive for what it was. All in all we had a really good holiday, we loved Egypt and the people and will definitely go back. The only downside of the Hotel was some very rude guests (not British) and not enough non-smoking area's by the bar or Reception.

3 readers found this review helpful

I thought this was a great holiday and when people tell you bad things dont listen , the staff were great (Eddy was hilarious.) We stayed over new year and we are going back next year they put a meal on for you and decorated the full room it was fab ! One of the pools are heated like a bath :) You couldnt meet anymore friendlier people I'm telling you if you like friendly people and a good holiday book this one , There is also a hair dressers and thefood is fab cant complain.

2 readers found this review helpful

First time and last time i will be visiting Egypt!!!!
The hotel staff were good and very helpfull but the hotel is not 5 star i would say it is 2 or 3 start. I been to other 5 start hotels around the world and the food, rooms and pool are is much better..
I would say you are better of not have tour rep, as when we landed we did not get hotel transfer, this was at 11pm last people left in the airport so had no choice but to hire a taxi and the charge, wait for this £20!!!!!
At the welcome meeting we advised our tour rep who was from Med Hotels, that we did not get picked up at the hotel, was he interested i don't think so... Then we told him that our return flight timings has been changed and advised him of the new time, was he interested i don't think so. all he said is that not to worry and check the board for confirmation of our return flight and pick up time. All he was interested in is sell excursions, no surpurise!!!!
Two days before our return flight we checked the notice board and it said pick up time of 18.10, when our flight departature should have been 19.40 (as advised before we left uk) but the notice board read flight departure at 20.40. We rang the tour rep but no answer on the phone... In all we missed our return flight due to local reps fault..
We had to stay in egypt for noather 4 days for return flight and this cost us another £900...
We found that people on Egypt are only interested in GBP and ripping the toursit off, again been to manly countries around the world and this is first country, where they don'y like there own currency, only our british pound!!!!

1 reader found this review helpful

Wonderful holiday, the hotel was clean and comfortable, the food adequate but the service was excellent,all the staff were really friendly and helpful. The situation of the hotel was wonderful,there were two good swimming pools, nice gardens(well cared for) and direct access to the beach, shops etc were just opposite and a huge supermarket(if needed)next door. We will certainly try and return and will not hesitate to recommend it to our friends.

2 readers found this review helpful

After returning back from the Park Inn, we returned back and then we missed the sunshine so much that we return within a week, i know its bad but we enjoyed sharm el sheikh so much we returned to Sharm but we returned to the oriental as that was the only place we got in.
The hotel was out of this world really enjoyed it and it was soooo nice, the hotel was so clean there was no dirt to be seen anywhere, the food was basic but cant complain we only paid 215pound each for a week including our flights with easy jet so it was a dirt cheap holiday.
The pools were amazing and were always cold enough to cool off which was great, the beach was fantastic and 500times better than the park inn's so was delighted with that.
We did go to namba bay on more the one occasion and ate in hard rock and tgi's as we love the place.
We did have some trouble not just us friends we met in the hotel did aswell with the Great British Pub across the road lucky enough tourism police solved this problem for us.
All in all another great trip to sharm and will be returning and will definetly be going to the Oriental as it was fantastic.

1 reader found this review helpful

May I start by saying that the staff at the Oriental were first class, nothing was too much trouble for them from the bar staff to the waiters they were magnificent and possibly the best I have come across.
One word of warning though was the attitude of a representative of wings tour operators who was extremely rude and aggressive in his manner.
We arrived at the Airport at 1.30am to find a transfer had only been arranged for three of our party of ten, including three young children ( no fault of the hotel), So the remaining seven made our own way to the hotel upon arrival we were told that one room booked for two adults & two children was infact only booked for two adults which resulted in one bed for the four of us, the hotel reception were very helpful aud told us we needed to contact our rep ( Tarek ) to correct this booking. My wife contacted him by telephone to be told rudely that it was not his problem and to phone the UK to amend the error, and that we could meet him at 2;00 later that day, we waited while he spent time selling trips to other holiday makers, where of course he was charm personified, when he had finished at 3;00 I asked him if he knew why we were waiting (he did) he had upset my wife, so I asked him for his managers name (which he would not give, why?). At this point he then made a threat to me, advising that if I spoke to him "like that again" he would "send me home in a wooden box". If I had been rude I would have voiced my concerns in front of other holiday makers, but I did not as I felt that perhaps there had been a genuine misunderstanding.
My advice to anyone who has any problem to discuss with Tarek, you will be wasting your time, he is not interested in having to do anything other than take his cut of commision while selling you trips, incidentally on a pamphlet given to us by him, he has written in pen that if you do not book the trips through him you are not insured, this maybe true with some of the trips being sold, but I was suspicious that this vital information was handwritten in pen by him.
We were not able to sort out our issue, so on leaving we made our own way to the airport, which was only an £8 taxi fare away, however I shudder to think what may have happened if we had needed to transfer further afield.
As a foot note to this sorry tale, I did not come home in a wooden box and the immature ramblings of a Wings representative failed to spoil my holiday,where we enjoyed several excursions.
If you are planning a holiday to the Oriental Resort you will be provided with first class customer service from all the hotel staff,good food and nice surroundings, the staff are 5 star, the hotel 3 star plus.

it was the best holiday of my life the animaters were brillant and hope to see them when i go back in february. this hotel has brillant food plus a mcdonalds across the road. we went on a eygption night and we all wear an eygption type of dress even the lads. every day they have entertainment for the kids and adults like water gym, water polo, kids disco in the water. the people are very nice and freindly also the waiters. at night times u can go to this ampothearter and its brill the have all type of acts on and shows i loved them. the pools are nice and clean and so is the beach but we mainly stayed at the pool. the rooms are very clean and the air conditing brillant it was even that cold we had to turn it down lol. in the hotel there is a hair dressers and i got my hair breaded it was gorgues and it also has a shop were you can get raandom stuff. the hotel is very ideal for familys and kids. also in nabqa bay there is a dolphine show you can go to every day at 3 o'clock there and its 10 english pounds its very good also the la strada is good for shooping and the camels are scary when u first go on them but so much fun. when we was coming home i cryed because i had so much fun and thats why we are going back to this hotel in february 2009 i really carnt wait till then. the hotel is 10/10 brillant staff brillant every thing !!

2 readers found this review helpful

I went for 2 weeks on holiday to the Oriental resort with my family and do not listen to any of the bad reviews as you will truly have a fantastic holiday.
The situation of the hotel could not get much better. You are about 15 minutes away from the airport, 25 minutes from Nama Bay, 30 minutes from Cleopark, an amazing waterpark which you should most deffinetley concider visiting and an adequet shopping mall is accross the road featuring some designer shops, an english bar which shows football and a metro just outside the hotel.
There is no need to complain about the food as you have to respect that it is a completley different culture out there so you are not going to get a beef burger or spaghetti bolognase everynight. There is a pasta booth where you can get pasta with tomato or cheese sauce if you dont like anythin on the main booth. If you really can not stand to eat the food evrynight there is a lovley italian restaurant next door to the reception which is not included in your all inclusive however is quite cheap if you are looking for something a bit different. Also I would throughly recommend to ask about eating on top of the pool bar at night. You may have to ask a few waiters before you finally get to book it however it is well worth it in the end. Basically you have to book the day before and they bring you a menu. You can either get meat including steak, chicken and lamb or fish including lobster, shrimps and seabass and it is paid by, by every 100 grams so you pick as much as you would like. The next day you turn up and you can look at the fish before it is cooked and tell them which bits you want and how you would like it to be cooked then you have a starter with pitta breads, salad and dips. Again this is not included in your all inclusive however is very cheap for the quality you get and you also have to pay for drinks but in return you get treated like royalty all night.
The main pool is for you if you like to be in all the action with music playing all day and activites. Also the pool bar offers ice cream and sandwhiches at lunch time. If you then walk through the lovley gardens you come to a second pool which we stayed around for the whole holiday. It is very quiet and you can guarentee that you will not get splashed all the time. This pool has its own pool bar who is served by a lovley man and there is never a huge queue to get a drink. Then a further 2 minuted walk away is the amazing beach. We walked down there at about 4ish in the afternoon everyday and it was beautiful! The sea was like a bath and at the end of the little jetty were lots of fish. Deffinetley buy snorkells and look for a yellow rope as it leads you to some corral which has the most amazing fish
Would deffinetley recommend booking a flight to Cairo before you go and booking your own guide as we did this and it turned out alot cheaper and we had the most amazing day ever. Also if travelling with Thomas Cook, take a trip on the Arabian nights as this is fantastique, Cleopark, and to Tiran island. Also book to go quad biking down at the beach as that was my favourite part of the holiday
ENJOY!!