Nubian Village & Island Hotel

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My first time to this area and I was not disappointed, we had been told what to expect and were more than happy.
The airport can be a bit of a nightmare if you are unlucky to land at the same time as other aircraft as the arrivals lounge is not that big. This will change though as a new terminal is being built, Thursdays and Sundays are the main change over days.
You do not need a visa if you are staying within the area and this will save you around £30, however if your intending to site see (the pyramids etc) this is a must have.
The Hotel was first class and although it is used more by the Italians and Russians we found all the staff first class, tip small and often as they do not like taking big sums of money.
The bar will give you change in Euro's or Dollars if this is a problem they will change it to the local money.
The hotel is spotless and the rooms are large all having a balcony, the cleaners will give that bit extra if you tip them but this must be given as they will not take money that is left.
The entertainment is OK but do not set your sights to high. If you are looking for loud music and a disco this is not the place to go, if you have a young family it is great.
The food is good with all tastes catered for, if you want your English food a short trip to the town will give you this.
We did find that the restaurant was very busy when it first opened but we never had trouble getting a table and there was always plenty of food.
The pool areas are fantastic although the pool water was cold, however the Hotel next door has a heated pool and you are allowed to use this although not the free food and drink.
The beach area does not get the sun all day due to it being low down but the water is warm and great for the kids although I would put something on your feet as this is a reef and can be a bit sharp.
The hotel offers a free bus service to the town and also you can get a cab for around £6 each way, the bus will drop you off away from the town giving a 10 min walk, the taxi however will drop you off right in the town.
I would have no hesitation in using this hotel again and would highly rate it as a place to go but not if you are looking for another Benidorm of Corfu.

When arriving the hotel looked well presented. Before going any further must point out that this is an Italian & Russian based hotel. Best way of rating this hotel is by area as follows;
RECEPTION
The reception on the first night was fairly quick for obtaining room keys. Otherwise reception staff and efficiency is less than useless, if you need anything either see a girl called Katy who is the Guest Relations person/ Managers PA or see the manager himself. They are also very untrusting and couldn’t organise anything beyond what is written for them, hence only consult the above mentioned.
ROOM
We had a bungalow, which was spacious with two beds put together as a double (Standard International), a nice shower/toilet. The room was air-conditioned which was easy to work and very effective. There was fridge which was stocked with 2 bottles of water to start, if you want more then we would advise getting them from the bar on your all-inclusive band. If you want the fridge stocked there is a charge from reception, so again would advise use empty bottles and fill from the bar if you must have it stocked! The cleaner was excellent and changed the everything everyday. They also like to show off their artistic skills and it's well worth tipping him to see the displays that are left for you on the bed.
POOLS
There are two pools with the one near the top being the coldest, but also the quietest. The one near the sea is the activity pool and although more noise from where the Italian tour operator Club has it reps organising games and activities for both adults and children. In fairness although they could barely speak English, they still made an effort inviting us to join aerobics, table football and football.
BEACH
This is located below the activity pool, where you can hire Snorkels & Masks if you want to go snorkelling off the jetty. The beach is nice but due to its low position suffers less sun that the pool. However the sea is lovely, with a shallow area (up to 7ft) for about 1/2mile to the coral when it dips to around 100ft drop. Coral is not much, but its definitely worth seeing the fish, some really colourful ones. Snorkel costs around £2GBP for the day.
FOOD
Food has a good selection, with there being one restaurant open in the main area for all meals and there being one near the beach which opens for lunch and snacks. Good selection, can't say ever had any problems with choice as they provide for most tastes and for those home loving Brits that can't handle foreign food, either don't go abroad, or ask them and they will try to accommodate. There was always good bread and salad selection.
DRINKS
Beware of cheap imitations!! The drinks served on AI are the local produce and although the Egyptians cotton is some of the best, their alcohol produce will never win any awards. The cola & lemonade is a cheap one, but still not bad, but their Bacardi is like Bacardi Oro, and even the Russians didn’t like the Vodka. If you want to buy either after midnight or proper spirits then they charge. Be VERY careful as imported are very expensive and unless you watch them they won't give you proper measure. Also pay cash and don't add to your room, but watch them as they try and cheat, for example if you pay in Egyptian Pounds they try and give Euros for change then when you pay them back try and give a different exchange rate! This was one thing that caused arguments as I felt insulted that I made sure I have their currency, then they tried giving me Euros, when we don’t even have them in the UK!
TIPPING
This is something they rely on and for good service I would advise tips being given to the Pool Towel guy, cleaner and also ashtray boys. The bar staff are pretty friendly anyway, but they also help you more if you throw a hello their way.
TAXI - NAAMA BAY
The hotel operates bus to/from Naama Bay that is free a few times a day and chargeable in the evening. Best way is to use a hotel taxi (NOT the blue/white ones outside!) as for about £6GBP each way they take you there and arrange a time to collect you, with you paying on return, much safer and reliable!
OVERALL
This hotel has catered for the Italians & Russians, but if you want a quiet relaxing holiday away from lively areas then Nabq is ideal. I would recommend the hotel but have an open mind and enjoy. We would return to the area but a different hotel next time for change.

Cannot fault hotel for cleanliness and accommodation. Food not to my palate as caters mostly for Italians and Russians. Also not hot enough. The trip out was delayed by 40 mins due according to the pilot the Egyptian air traffic control could not handle the amount of air traffic.
This should have been a warning for return journey fro Sharm airport. To say it was a shambles is an understatement. I for one will not go back to Sharm until the airport is sorted out.

The Hotel & Accommodation were up to standard with Clean & roomy surroundings.
The Hotel is operated by med hotels, www.medhotels.co.uk
As we used the above site to check the hotel pictures and what was included in the price we were disappointed from the web site as our experience at the Hotel was not as described.
i.e.
All inclusive Sports & Entertainment.
Club for kids? fine if you were Italian.
Fishing & Snorkelling? No fishing Equipment and if you did not buy or take your own Snorkelling equipment there was a charge! The same goes if you wanted to scuba dive!
Facilities & Services.
Baby Sitter/ing did not exist!
All inclusive food>
Ice Cream, you have to pay for this!
Fresh Fruit was not available outside the main restaurant unless you were sitting on the beach!
Service Generally.
Unless you Tip the restaurant, Bar, Pool Boy, Room Cleaner & beach Boy you can expected very glum faces from the staff.
Finally be aware that you will not see ANY FEMALE STAFF and the service my and other holiday makers wives got was at the other end of the spectrum compared to being male.
Weather Great, never got below 28c, Fish snorkelling fantastic!

This is an extremely nice hotel with excellent friendly staff and in a pretty good location but does leave you thinking that you could have got more for your money. There is a lot of building work going on at this resort at the moment and the quality will improve but for now parts of the hotel look a little dated and could do with tidying up (Cracked tiles, peeling paint etc).
The first thing that strikes you about the place is that it is full of Italians. We were the only British people there for the first few days, which is not always a bad thing but can be annoying when everything is geared up for Italians. Holiday reps are on site 24/7 for Italian tourists and they run the entertainment, this includes running through the restaurant blowing whistles and making you feel as though your on a Club 18-30 holiday.
The rooms are large and well laid out and most have a pool view. The best rooms though are the bungalows, which are scattered throughout the large gardens.
There are two huge pools, one is a relaxing pool close to the hotel that is freezing cold but looks great. The other pool is where the games are played and is almost on the beach.
The private beach is a mix of coral and sand so some footwear maybe required. It is full of sunbeds and getting one is never a problem. The best part of the hotel is the sea, it’s warm, it’s clear and it is full of fish. You can hire diving kit for a couple of Euros a day and spend hours swimming around. Even if you don’t swim you can see a wide variety of sea life in a couple of feet of water. The best part to swim in is of the jetty about 200 yards out, this is where the reef is and is absolutely fantastic.
The hotel offers a buffet style service, which they try to vary as much as possible and the quality, is very good. Although this is all inclusive do not expect to be able to get food all day and the promise of snacks, ice creams etc fell well below what I had expected as nothing was provided. You may also struggle with kids as this is not a burger and chips style hotel.
The staff are excellent and extremely friendly, my tip is to tip the barman and the pool attendant on your first day and you will never have to wait for a drink or a sunbed during your stay.
Overall this is a nice place, not sure it can call itself a 4 star but the staff do try hard. As mentioned earlier I do feel that I could have got more for my money at another hotel but then again this was my first trip to Egypt.