Honestly, this hotel was a huge disappointment. We booked it with high expectations: we were lured by the pretty photos, reviews, and overall rating. Ultimately, our vacation was ruined within a single day.
We arrived early, about two hours before check-in. We were greeted with damp towels and some kind of mango juice that tasted more like a cheap powdered drink, after which complete chaos ensued. First, they said the room wasn't ready, even though it had been pre-paid and reserved in a specific category, a king-size bed. We went for a walk, returned later, and the same thing happened again: waiting, excuses, no clarity.
Then the whole circus began. They told us that our reservation allegedly listed our nationality as Chinese (we were RUSSIAN), and therefore we'd have to pay an extra $38. We booked through Trip.com; we'd used the service many times before, both for hotels and flights, including in Egypt, and had never experienced anything like this. It felt like a blatant scam. In the end, they charged us this extra and put us in a completely different room than the one we'd paid for.
The check-in process itself was incredibly unpleasant and drawn-out, especially considering that other guests had been checked in quickly and smoothly. With us, it was as if the hotel had some special problem with our reservation, although the problem, apparently, wasn't with the reservation, but with the staff.
The beach was also disappointing. The shoreline was green mud in places, black in others, like oil spills, and the sand was covered in shells, making it impossible to walk barefoot. Coral sandals were required. The pools were cold.
The grounds were large and seemingly attractive, but navigating them was difficult; everything was confusing. It's hard to figure out where everything is in just one day.
The check-out was a particular shock. An hour before the official check-out time, the staff came and practically started rushing us to leave. I've never encountered anything like this in my travels. Usually, people pack up and leave without any hassle, rather than waiting for someone to come and get them, like they're in debt.
But the most telling thing happened at reception upon checkout. They gave us a tablet to rate the hotel. We gave it a 6 out of 10, because after everything that happened, that's still a very generous rating. And as soon as the employee saw that our rating wasn't perfect, they simply took the tablet away from us and didn't allow us to submit our review properly. So, they apparently don't need negative feedback at all. After that, you start to look at their high ratings differently.
The funniest thing is that the next day we moved to a neighboring hotel, and everything was exactly the opposite: they checked us in without any problems, sent us straight to lunch, and gave us a free upgrade to a deluxe room, even though that usually costs a lot of money. And this contrast made it especially clear how poor the service at the Sunrise Arabian Beach Resort was. I was particularly struck by the constant, unhealthy security at the hotel: security at the entrance, staff on the premises, and even some unknown person constantly asked what room we had, as if they were spying on us every step of the way. I've never experienced anything like this before.
For me personally, this hotel is a complete disappointment. Unjustified extra charges, problems with check-in, room changes, a strange review situation, unpleasant staff, and a very questionable beach. I will definitely not return here again and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone!
In this regard, I intend to formally pursue a full refund with Trip.com for the ruined vacation, the discrepancies in the accommodations I paid for, and the extremely questionable behavior of the hotel!
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