Hurghada, Hilton Long Beach Hotel

On the issue of sports equipment I wrote a letter to the Manager still no response, all inclusive is not what you think. I would not recomend this hotel. You must remember this hotel is not the standard of what the Hilton brand is and this is only my opinon.

What a truly fantastic holiday!!!!

THE HOTEL

The Hilton Long Beach Hotel in Hurghada, Egypt is the hotel to visit, I assure you!

On arrival at about 11pm, we were warmly greeted in reception and served a traditional Egyptian drink, and we were given our room keys (we were upgraded to a larger room)! The porters brought our bags to us, and we swiftly made our way to the pool bar for a drink.

Throughout the week we were very well looked after! We spoke to most of the hotel workers (mainly men as most women stayed at home), and they were kind and genuinely interested in us, where we were from and if there was anything we needed. Did we enjoy the hotel? We felt like VIP's!

We spent 5 out of our 7 days by the pool, and we visited the beach for a swim and a snorkel too! The pool was always clean, and we would see someone coming to clean it during the day too. Free towels can be collected each morning, and you can even swap them during the day for a fresh one if you so desire! The sea was so very warm, and when we went snorkeling we could see lots of beautifully coloured fish! Admittedly, as the beach was made up of some artificial sand it tended to cloud the water, so visibility was moderate, but it was lots of fun! There are plenty of beds by the pool and on the private beach. We never had to go far to search for a bed. Throughout the day, if you are staying by the pool or beach you will have people who work for the local amenities (gym, beauty salon, scuba diving, horse riding) and they will come and ask you if you are interested. A polite 'no thank you' is all that is necessary if you are not interested.

The food at the hotel was varied and tasty! We tried lots of foods we had never tried before, and the beauty of a buffet style is, if you don't like it, go and get something else! There is NO bacon for breakfast, apart from some beef bacon, which I guess is an acquired taste, as this is a Muslim country and pigs are sacred! I didn't feel like I had missed out because of the bacon though, as there was plenty of other stuff to choose from! There are several restaurants to choose from. Some you pay more for on top of your all inclusive package. You can even pay for a pizza to be delivered to your room for about £5 per pizza. The drinks were fab too. I especially enjoyed the cocktails from the main bar in the reception area. You can pay an extra for branded alcohol, but I thought the vodka was fine, and my boyfriend said the beer was like any other lager from home!

There is so much to do at the hotel during the day and night, that you choose how much you want to do. It's your holiday, so you call the shots! The complex was so big that we still didn't get to see it all!

DAYS OUT

We chose 2 days out for this holiday. We also went through our holiday reps for these trips, as they search for the companies who have FULL LIABILITY insurance.

The first was a snorkeling trip to Giftun (Mahmya) Island. We were taken there by boat and we were looked after all day. The tour guides were so friendly and we made some great friends. In fact, the guide who took us out on this trip came drinking with us on our last night!! We had lunch included, and we had time to chill out on the beach. It was like paradise! The sea was much clearer here, and we were able to see clown fish and the endangered coral reefs. Rough price = £35 each

The second day out was quad biking into the desert. This was a trip I was not too keen on, but I was proven wrong. This trip was worth every penny. Once at the camp, we were taken on a camel ride and then shown how to use the quad bikes. It took us about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to the Bedouin camp where the tribes made us Egyptian tea and took us on a tour of their camp. It was an incredibly humbling experience to learn how they live with no electricity or running water! We went back to the camp where we were fed, and we got to have a go on the 'hubbly bubbly' pipes with strawberry tobacco! There was a show of snakes, fire eating and a man who lay on beds of nails etc. The beauty of this day was that they took photos of us through the whole day, and we bought a disc from them which cost £10 of all the photos, which have come out incredibly well. Rough price = £ 30

We spoke to people who were there for 2 weeks and were able to go to Cairo and Luxor on trips. If you want to do this, then choose the option to fly as the coach journey is long and hot. I think each trip cost about £150 per person. Lots of people were very disappointed with Cairo and much preferred Luxor, but it's a choice you have to make for yourselves!

TOP TIPS

Take £ 10 - £15 per person for your airport tax and have it ready (it differs apparently). They prefer English pounds due to the exchange rate, and we spoke to people who paid with Euros or Egyptian pounds and they were charged roughly £20.

Take anti - bacterial hand gel and baby wipes as there are lots of germs everywhere. We were so good in washing our hands all the time, even after handling money, and we never got sick. If you do get sick, there is a doctor at the hotel who will see to you and give you medicine.

Buy bottled water (you do get 1 litres in your room each day) from the bar in reception, as it is cheaper than the shop outside the complex.

As I said, this was a fantastic hotel to go to. We were unfortunately delayed for 24 hours on our return (I didn't complain), and we were put up at the Hilton Plaza in town, but it wasn't as nice!