Safir Hotel Hurghada

Nice looking Hotel, Nice beach but... felt cheated

It has been my custom over the last few years, that whenever I visit my apartment in Hurghada, I book two or three days in an all inclusive hotel so that I can have some entertainment, talk to people and have some reasonable food and drink. Sadly the SAFIR Hotel failed to meet the lowest of my expectations.
Three room rates were shown on the internet; sea view, garden view and annex. I booked through Travel Republic who had two rates, the sea view being £1.50 per night dearer than the garden view. I assumed at this that the garden view would be one of the ground floor rooms near the main building… I was wrong! I was taken across the road to room 402 in the annex even having protested that I did not wish to go in the annex. Reception stated all garden view are annex – hard luck if you have a ground floor room near the main building and expect to see the sea! To change rooms to the main building would incur a charge of $25 per night. So I reluctantly accepted room 402, ground floor annex… but then my bed was only 15metres from a main, noisy road with coaches and taxis all through the night (with the obligatory horn sounding) result was little sleep.
The morning saw me cross the road for an adequate yet uninspired breakfast. Then to the unpopulated beach area, which was quite nicely presented. The sea was to cool for me but had my children been with me they would have been to the boomed rope in a few strokes and disappointed. Lunch was at the pool bar, the advertised buffet in the restaurant did not exist, all on offer was a meat/onion fry with fries and salad. Afternoon tea with cakes and cookies was a flask of tea/coffee (no milk) and one single piece of marbled cake! Dinner buffet in the “Shades of Blue” restaurant was a few “bain marie” with meat dish, fried fish, mixed veg, rice and potatoes with salad and soup – completely lacking any inspiration in display or presentation. However, the fish was quite eatable.
Drinks from the poolside bar were served in 200ml white plastic cups (school days!) and in the Jimmy’s Bar the largest glass was a 200ml highball – so a long, cool Sakara Beer was impossible…
The first floor “Piano Bar” was not open, neither was the “Rendezvous Bar” and Disco. The Fish Restaurant was closed as were the three retail outlets of the six units in the arcade (three empty).
There was no entertainment at all – sorry, a TV in Jimmy’s Bar with an unintelligible music channel blaring out, and few people to speak to!
It appeared that there were no more than 20 rooms occupied in the main block of perhaps 200 rooms. The management were not of a mind to relocate me, so I had no choice but to forfeit my room for the second night and return to my quiet apartment. The shame is it could be a good hotel but sadly failing – would I recommend this to anybody? Not before any of the 150 other hotels in and around Hurghada.

• Opinion of Price: about average
• Related to: Family Travel, Spa and Resort, Diving and Snorkeling
• Written March 7, 2012

Safir Hotel Hurghada Photo: Nice beach and plenty of space!!

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