Siva Grand Beach Hotel

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Well. . . .Where do I start? This was my 10th visit to Egypt and my 4th to Hurghada during last 5 years and by far the worst hotel I have ever had the displeasure of staying in. We chose it as the hotel's website was massively impressive and we wanted to make the most of our two week holiday. The hotel boasted it had two swimming pools and an array of restaurants to choose from however, this certainly was not the case. There were three main restaurants for all inclusive guests and all the others were chargeable as they were part of the Siva Grand Mall. Very misleading, and if we had known this we would have definitely not chosen this hotel for a two week stay.
Two of the restaurants were identical with the same choice of food so I didn't really see the point of it. May I stress that we are not fussy eaters and have never been unhappy with the choice at evening meals before but this was the worst choice ever! It was extremely repetitive and I'm guessing it was just a ploy to get you to spend money in the other restaurants. Saying that, the choices of snacks throughout the daytime were much better and the general waiter service was ok so long as you tipped regularly and of course you were of German origin. I myself prefer to tip for receipt of good service and not bribe staff to receive any service at all. This hotel was clearly looking after the German guests and we couldn't help noticing the difference in the standard of service that the fairer guests received.
The main pool had very basic and facilities and the additional pool was a tiny shallow children’s pool which was a little disappointing. However, there was no problem finding sun loungers on a daily basis providing you got out early for the best spots. The Siva Grand beach was by far one of the nicest I had ever had the pleasure of using. It had its own sandy pier that jutted out into a far stretch of clear shallow water and it was truly beautiful. (Please see the attached photos) There was also the bonus of having a vast promenade directly outside the hotel that you could gladly stroll upon in the evenings and shop till your heart’s content. A lot of the shops had set prices so you did not have to waste time and energy haggling with the assistants. This was a good thing for us as we enjoyed getting out on an evening without the fuss of arranging taxis and since the hotels evening entertainment was absolutely terrible it was a godsend to be able to escape it.
We had two suites situated on the ground floor of the main building. The rooms were very spacious and were kept immaculately clean (see photos) however, no amount of cleaning could combat the clearly visible ant infestation. I first noticed this whilst in the bathroom and once we complained they brought an exterminator immediately to fumigate the bathroom. So it was clear the hotel were well aware of this problem. As our stay progressed so did the infestation, we were finding regular bites on our bodies as they spread throughout the bedroom. We eventually found them crawling everywhere, in our beds and even in the fridge!!! The mattresses on the beds were very hard and it was difficult to obtain a good night’s sleep. Then there was the beach towel problem that I believe many guests complained about. It was like getting blood out of a stone to swap dirty towels for clean ones. There wasn't a facility to change them like every other Egyptian hotel we have stayed in. Apparently the system was that housekeeping came round at 6pm every evening to change the towels if required. This was not the case though, we were always in our room at 6pm but they never came to check. So, after making several complaints we finally had them automatically changed every other day however, it was a large effort on our part to receive this service.
Overall I would not recommend this hotel to any of my family or friends as there were far too many bad points as opposed to good. I can say this as I have stayed in many hotels in Egypt at a fraction of the cost and had a much more enjoyable stay. However, I will say that the hotel has an impressive lobby and all of its grounds were kept remarkably clean and the gardens were beautiful. However, the hotel does need to extensively focus on training the staff to be a lot more hospitable and it needs to demolish the very disturbing ant infestation that greatly ruined our holiday. I would not return to this hotel but I won't let it stop me from holidaying in hurghada in the future. I am already planning a large group trip to celebrate my birthday next February but the Siva will definitely not be on the agenda.

Have just come back from a week at Siva - didn't know what to expect as have never been to Egypt before. Hotel was well above our expectations - although mainly German's staying there, there was a few English and the staff made our stay very welcome.
If you want a mad nightlife then this isn't the resort or hotel for you, however if you want a nice chillax week away then this is the place for you.
Rooms were a good size and clean, people friendly (especially the lovely Aziz in Siva bar who couldn't do enough for you), food was fine (pool side snack restaurant was great), reasonable choice for everyone, pool was lovely and beach/sea was fantastic.
It was a lovely week away so thank you to the people of Siva Grand and the guests staying the same week as us which made it very enjoyable.

11 readers found this review helpful

We have been to this hotel 5 times and love everything about it. My children loved it and they had the freedom of going around the hotel grounds without needing suppervision. The staff are wonderful and cannot do enough for you. First class hotel for a first class holiday.... So glad RedSea Holidays started doing package deals from the UK again.

2 readers found this review helpful

I travelled there with my partner last november. We hated everything about the place. Our room was in such shabby conditions for a 4+ star hotel we wouldn't even put a pig in there to stay.
All the staff want is for you to tip them after everything they do for you, the food was awlful, the hotel was dirty all over.
We have stayed in better 2 star hotels where they have been so clean it puts the Siva Grand Hotel to shame.
We had taken pictures of our accommodation because it was so bad. We also had a leak in the bathroom which when someone came to look at it they used our towel to clean up the puddle on the floor and put back on the shelf for us to use!
Don't go to this hotel if you are expecting to have a good time as it will be a holiday nightmare trust us!

9 readers found this review helpful

My partner and i travelled to Egypt in November, we arrived at night so the hotel looked great all lit up. We was showed to our room and when we gave the bell man a tip he asked for more, we said no he then left we thought ok he might have been trying it on. Or so we thought!
We was so tired from travelling that we went straight to the hall to get something to eat.. all the food we looked at did not look very appealing until we came across some spag bog. which we gave it a go and it wasn't too bad all we hoped is that it would get better....
We woke up on the saturday morning and was so shocked of how shabby the room was, because we arrived at night and was tired from traveling all we wanted to do was go to sleep so we didn't worry about unpacking or anything.
When we woke up we discovered the following:
1. We had mould around the edge of the bath and the plug didn't fit the plug hole.
2. Damp so bad on the walls the plaster was falling off.
3. The cloth around the edge of the bed was all hanging down.
4. On one wall we had a light lying in a shade with bare wires and the shade was only holding up by 1 hook.
5. Our door chain was broken so we had to rely on the lock on the door which if you pulled down on the handle the door just came open and we was on the ground floor next to the exit in one of the bungalows.
6. We had a leak in the bathroom which we tried 4 times to get somone to have a look at it as we thought it was leaking around the toilet, when someone finally came they mopped up the puddle on the floor with one of our towels and placed it back on the shelf for us to use (who knows what jerms were in the puddle), we asked our rep for something to be done and for clean towels and bedding but he didn't seem bothered about doing anything so we had taken it into our own hands but still didn't get anywhere.
We ate out most of the time as the food was discusting and going by the state of our room we wonderd how clean was the kitchen. We basicly lived on cloke and pringles for the week. If we could of got a flight home earlier we would of.
We had young children coming up to us from off the streets hanging on our arms and kissing us saying they were cold and hungry.
If you moved your sunbed even an inch the staff were there moving it for you then holding out there hand for a tip.
The pool had mould all on the bottom
Overall i wouldn't recommend anyone going there at all we are still fighting for compensation now (April 08).
We have recieved several letters from customer relations about this and they even said the hotel was below the regulations for the time of year and the rating of the hotel.
Its ment to be a 4+ star hotel we have styed in better 2 star hotels in the past and we will never be going to siva grand beach hotel, hurghada, egypt again.
We have photos of the state of the room so if anyone don't belive us we will show you!

2 readers found this review helpful

excellent hotel.great staff very clean and tidy good food excellent location and brilliant beach.i would highly recommend if you can get booked.i booked and paid for this holiday for may 2008 and this month april 2008 this holiday was cancelled due to the thomas cook group failling to renew their contract with the red sea holiday group of egypt .i have been to the siva beach grand hotel in hurghada and the ghazala gardens in sharm el sheik both are red sea holiday group and their hotels are first class 5 star.thomas cook offered me a hotel in hurghada that was no way compatable with the siva beach grand hotel.i am very annoyed they can do this only seven weeks before i am due to fly out.i feel this will put a dampner on any holiday thaat i have this year as i was really looking forward to going back siva beach grand hotel. has anybody else had this problem and does anybody know a way roundabout it as you cant book any of these hotels with a uk operator.

5 readers found this review helpful

Stayed at the Siva Grand Beach in Hurghada after a Nile Cruise.
First impressions: Good! Everywhere is sparkling clean and marble floors polished so as to be very slippery - caution, don't stop quickly!
Rooms (standard double) large and clean, free safety deposit box in wardrobe. As always, not nearly enough hangars for two people with many changes of clothing.
Laundry service - excellent, inexpensive and quick.
Staff are very friendly - although a few Egyptian pounds baksheesh (tip) helps them remember who you are and keeps them returning to you.
All Inclusive - with many exceptions, times and a distinct absence of waiters when you need them. The waiters flogging imported wines can always be found, however.
Food - not terribly nice. Lack of choice, cold, unappetising, bland and uninspiring in the main restaurants. Ice cold burgers, chips and hotdogs in the Pool Grill. Chef of Pool Grill spotted handling both raw and cooked burgers with the same hand, without washing. Only things worthwhile were the chicken soups (get 'em while they're hot) in the main restaurants and the freshly made crépes in La Terrace.
I and many, many other people fell ill with the dreaded Pharaoh's Revenge (diahorroea and vomiting) and went to the nearby (next-door) pharmacy for their customary cure - anti-sickness tablets and a vile green bottle, took about 3 days to get over it.
The cullinary cleanliness must have deteriorated recently, because this place was highly recommended to me last year. The pharmacist, though, advised someone in another party to "come back, but not to the Siva, as it has a `reputation` for this kind of thing".
I've read other reviews saying that it was excellent, provided you ate at the local McD's (about 200yds down the road), or an external restaurant, but this isn't what you want to do when you've paid for All Inclusive.
On the whole - excellent choice if you wear shoes with grips, decide to eat out, like fizzy beer and cheap local wines, or carry large amounts of cash in small doses to tip each waiter every time you see them.
Oh, and if you're young, female and sexy, the waiters will spend 30 minutes taking your order and will deliver it in 30 seconds; otherwise it'll be memorised in 20 seconds and you won't see it for an hour, after which it'll be wrong. Lost count of the times I got tonic water instead of sprite, sprite instead of coke, brandy instead of whisky, et c.

6 readers found this review helpful

I have already put a review in about my brilliant holiday. I would just like to add that I don't see how anyone could possibly fault this hotel. I understand that everyone has different opinions but how can some of these reviews be so bad. Did they go to the same hotel as me because I loved everything about the Siva Grand.
The food, drink, rooms, bars, entertainment and everything was EXCELLENT. But the main thing was the staff, they made my holiday. Another thing I would like to add is everyone is saying that the staff hang around you until you tip them. I didn't tip any of them until my last day and they still bent over backwards for me. Every staff member that I met were wonderful. They all made my holiday brilliant.
There was only one fault to this holiday and that was that I had to come home. This was my first time going away for Xmas and I was very unsure about what to expect. But if every Xmas holiday was as good as this then I would go away every year! I went with my family and my best friend, and she was away from her mum over Xmas and she loved the holiday as well.
This holiday and hotel is by far the best I have been on. I loved every second of it and I have never seen such a lovely hotel, and I have never met such wonderful staff. They could not have done enough for me!
I have already booked to return to this same hotel in June and I cannot wait. Thank you to all the staff at the Siva Grand. I can't wait to see you all again

1 reader found this review helpful

The Siva is supposed to be one of the best hotels in Hurghada, if that's true then I pity the guests in the other hotels. The hotel has a 4.5 star rating but deserves no more than 3.5.
The hotel and surrounding garden/pool area are kept very clean; the pathways are washed several times a day, leading to them being very slippery.
Service was at best poor, with a few notable exceptions. Our room service was good, the room was kept clean, and he was polite. The same cannot be said for a lot of the waiters and staff, either with or without "tip", service varied from arrogance and ignorance to open rudeness.
My wife was completely ignored on several occasions when she tried to get drinks or food, and from chats with other couples we found that she was not the only one.

Cuisine: we found the food somewhat tasteless, breakfast was disappointing, and to have to pay extra for orange juice when we had booked AI was most unusual.
In the evenings we had to queue to get into the dining hall (sometimes over half an hour) and then queue again to get to the buffet.
In the end we gave up and ate at restaurants outside of the hotel, we also tried McDonalds and KFC which were surprisingly good.
Beach: One needs to be very aware of the boat traffic when swimming and snorkelling esp. the banana boat. Unfortunately it is not possible to walk very far along the beach due to the walled boundaries between all the hotels.
All of the "repeat" guests I spoke to said that standards had sunk and they would not return again. Indeed I am somewhat baffled by the amount of positive reviews for the hotel when I couldn't find anyone that was truly happy there.
For our part, had we not booked two mini dive safaris with Euro divers (based in another hotel) we would have cut our holiday short and come home. The diving was an absolute highlight and "saved" the holiday.
There were positive aspects to the hotel; however we found them greatly outweighed by the negative ones.

2 readers found this review helpful

The hotel was excellent. Everything was perfect and there was no problems. All the staff were so lovely, they treat you like royalty. I felt so comfortable there. The animation team were great, I had such a laugh with them and I will miss them. Nickolas and GorgeyPorgey... oh and the very sexy Elania!! (and of course Nadine)!! Nick good luck with the drinking!! And the eating, I'll be out soon to help you! Gorgey Porgey thanks for the email addresses... and my arms still hurt from lifting you up! Going to miss you 2 loads!!
The beach bar staff were excellent too, always making nice conversation! I'll miss you! Reda!! The beach in general was lovely, the water was always warm and the sunbeds were comfortable!!
Oh and as for the pool bar!!! You can't get any better then that! Drinking in a nice warm pool with great staff... BOBBY BOY!! You was such a laugh, I'm going to miss you soooo much...and yes you are my friend, I don't hate you any more! And Hefney thanks for looking out for me... your pen helped a lot!! Hope you got a good night sleep on Friday!
Ehab I still remember your name, and I spelt it right as well... how good am I! Hope the pictures were nice! It was a good night out.
And as for Ramadam at the Upstairs bar and the one at the Blue Sofa bar... I'm going to miss you both. Upstairs bar Ramadam, thanks for making my evening such a laugh... I'm going to miss your rum and cola's. And I'll miss you loads and all the other staff up there! Your all great!
And as for the Blue Sofa bar Ramadan, thanks for letting me go to bed quite early, and thanks for the sesha's, they were lovely. I'm going to miss you jumping out on me.
Adam from the little cool shop. Hope your practising your words, you was sooo funny, I'm going to miss popping in to see you. Hope you like your magazine, you dirty git! Cant wait to see you again and teach you some new words.
And the head chef...your food was great. I'm going to miss out little chats. Your so nice, cant wait to see you again!
And to my two favourite men! Mohammed and Mostafa. Mohammed your so lovely, you really helped me out. Thankyou so much for everything, you made me holiday so great. I'm going to miss you so much, I can't wait to come out and see you again... to give you little messages to pass on. And Mostafa, thank you for everything, your so great. I am going to miss you the most!! I cant wait to see you again....NO NO NO!!!!
Your soooo lovley Jubley, we had such a laugh. Thanks for the stamp!! Cant wait to see you again!! I'm already missing you!! xx
Overall the holiday was the best one I have EVER had, and the main reason for that was all the staff. They couldn't do enough for you! I'll miss you all!xx