In Egypt it is good to have a rest in the summer, and even better - in the winter. When there is snow and frost in the homeland, it is warm and sunny here, everything is buried in greenery and flowers, and most importantly, you can swim in the sea. For Russians, the favorite resort of the country of the pharaohs is the city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Dessole Cataract Resort is one of his wonderful four-star hotels, delighting with its great location, excellent service, delicious food and hospitable staff. Reviews of tourists about it are not entirely unambiguous. Some people come to Dessole Cataract Sharm Resort 4not for the first time and are happy with everything, while others believe that it does not reach its four stars. Let's take a short virtual tour of the hotel and, based on the opinions of vacationers, give it our assessment.
Location
In the south of the Sinai Peninsula, washed by the waters of the Red Sea, lies the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Among its districts, Naama Bay stands out, called the Egyptian Riviera and considered, however, unofficially, to be central to the city. It is in this fabulous place for outdoor activities andDessole Cataract Sharm Resort 4is located. Arriving here, tourists immediately plunge into the atmosphere of a general holiday, because within walking distance from the hotel there are many places where you can have wonderful fun - bars, hookahs, shops, restaurants, cafes, discos, nightclubs. All this is located on the main tourist promenade of Naama Bay, a pedestrian street that reminds many tourists of the Moscow Arbat.
The airport, where all planes from Russia arrive, is only 15 km from Dessole Cataract Resort, which is very convenient, since the round trip takes no more than 30 minutes. In relation to the coast, the hotel is a five-minute walk, but the path lies through the neighboring hotel Dessole Cataract Layalina.
Description
Dessole Cataract Sharm Resort 4 received its first tourists in 1994, and the last update was carried out here in 2012, so the furnishings in the rooms, as well as all appliances and plumbing are in satisfactory condition.
Hotel employees constantly monitor the cleanliness of the territory, pool, rooms, which tourists certainly note in their reviews. Like almost all hotels in Naama Bay, the territory of Dessole Cataract Resort is small, only 5700 square meters, but green and immersed in flowers. There are many climbing flowers planted near the buildings, they wrap around the balconies beautifully.
On a relatively small area, two-story buildings, a large adult pool with a fenced-off children's area, a separate children's pool, a bar, an outdoor terrace, parking are harmoniously located. All buildingsconnected by tiled paths.
In the central building there is a reception, where tourists are served around the clock. The staff speaks good Russian. At the reception, you can use safes for a fee (there are none in the rooms), the Internet, call a doctor, order a taxi, buy sightseeing tours, hand in laundry or dry cleaning, rent a car. Nearby, in a compact but cozy hall, there are soft sofas and armchairs, billiard tables, a lobby bar, a souvenir shop where you can buy unique Egyptian products at fairly low prices.
For business events, the hotel has a small (up to 50 participants) conference room, equipped with all necessary equipment.
Numbers
By international standards, the Dessole Cataract Resort 4is considered medium in size. It has a total of 124 rooms, all categories of which are "Standard". The hotel buildings are two-story, without an elevator. The rooms are spacious enough, up to 34 squares, but not everywhere has a balcony. In addition to this nuance, the rooms are very different in terms of the view from the window and whether they will have the opportunity to sleep at night. Tourists, for whom silence is fundamentally important, must indicate in the voucher that they need a room with a view of the pool or the wall of a neighboring hotel, because this is where relative peace will await them.
In those rooms whose windows face the street, you can not hope for a good night's sleep, as Naama Bay has an active life andfun with loud music starts in the evening and ends at dawn. It is also necessary to indicate that a balcony is desirable.
If for some reason you don't like the number, you can easily change it, for which you need to contact the Dessole Cataract Resort 4 reception. The reviews of almost all tourists note that for replacement they require an additional payment of 5 to 10 dollars per day, and in order to get a good room immediately upon arrival, for example, with a beautiful view from the window, you also need a small gift (about ten dollars).
As for the design and equipment, there are practically no differences between the rooms. All of them are furnished with not new, but high-quality furniture, plumbing works everywhere, and in the bathrooms they provide individual hygiene products in the following set: toilet paper, shampoo, soap, shower gel.
The decor in the rooms is simple, without pretentiousness, the color scheme is dominated by light colors, including white, beige, pistachio. There is no carpet on the floor, only small bedside rugs. The walls are decorated with inexpensive paintings. The windows are panoramic everywhere, the curtains are thick enough not to let in a lot of heat and light. Electrical appliances are a flat-screen TV, a small refrigerator (which is regularly replenished by the cleaners with one plastic 1.5-liter bottle of water), telephone and air conditioning.
In the hygiene room there is a washbasin with a small countertop, a toilet bowl, a hairdryer, a shower with a shallow tray and curtains. Cleaning, as well as changing sheets, pillowcases, towels,produced on schedule. For tips, cleaners create various figures and compositions of towels on the beds (the latter are issued three for each vacationer). Slippers and bathrobes are not provided.
Food
Dessole Cataract Resort offers its tourists a rather interesting food system. Breakfasts and lunches (buffet type) are held at this hotel, and dinners are at the nearby Dessole Cataract Layalina, which is about 80-100 meters away. Some tourists see this as a minus.
Many infrastructure facilities of these two hotels are common. In particular, three restaurants are open for tourists of both establishments: Arabella, which offers an international menu, Oriental, where you can taste local dishes, and Beach, where fish and seafood dishes are always on the menu.
All Inclusive is valid from 10 am to 11 pm. The breakfast menu offers cutting sausages and cheeses, sausages, egg dishes, salads, cutting cucumber-tomatoes, two or three hot dishes, side dishes, legumes, cereals, milk, tea, coffee, pastries. For lunch, there are always two or three types of soups, meat and fish dishes, potatoes, pasta, rice, vegetables in salads and stews, desserts, fruits. Grilled meat, fish and vegetables are prepared for dinner on the open veranda, the menu also includes salads, meat dishes, and sweets.
During the day, Dessole Cataract Resort guests can have a bite to eat at the beach bar, which offers french fries, hamburgers, pizza, vegetables.
Free drinks all without exception in any of the available bars are available on tap incups. Drinks in bottles and cans are paid. Beer, local wine, cocktails, juices, water, powdered drinks are issued on tap. In the restaurant hall there is a vending machine where you can take milk, coffee, cocoa, tea. There is a cooler nearby.
Leisure within the walls of the hotel, animation
Dessole Cataract Resort 4(Sharm el-Sheikh) on its territory has a large (400 square meters) swimming pool, which has a children's section. The depth of the bowl is from 50 cm to 3 meters. Nearby there is a bar open until 17-00. The pool can be used while the sun is shining, i.e. from sunrise to sunset. There are always free sun loungers and umbrellas around on the sun terrace.
Not far from the adult pool, there is a separate children's pool with a depth of no more than 50 cm. The hotel building houses a wonderful gym and SPA-salon, where massage, jacuzzi, sauna, beauty treatments are offered.
Darts, badminton and volleyball facilities on the beach.
To ensure that guests do not get bored, every day they are entertained by the animation team of the Dessole Cataract Resort. Reviews note that children's animation is especially well organized, including exercises, games, fun contests, and a mini disco. For adults, sports competitions and games are also organized, evening shows are held, and a disco is open.
Dessole Cataract Layalina Resort 4, room descriptions
This hotel compares favorably with its neighborDessole Cataract Resort is closer to the sea, to which it is more than a minute walk. The hotel began operating in 1994, and the latest innovations that affected the rooms and individual infrastructure facilities were carried out here in 2004. Such a long time without repair affects the decor of the rooms and the functionality of plumbing, but in general, the condition of furniture and electrical appliances among tourists who know in advance that the Dessole Cataract Layalina Resort (4 stars) presented by travel agencies is actually a three-star hotel, there are no complaints.
In this hotel, guests are accommodated in two-story buildings without elevators. There are only 98 rooms, among which one category is “Standard”, but there are rooms with a view of the neighboring hotel and with a view of the sea (the latter is more expensive). If you wish to move to such apartments, a surcharge of at least $5 per night is required.
The hotel is designed in such a way that the size of the rooms may be different. There are spacious ones (about 34 squares), and there are those where it is not comfortable enough due to tightness. The interior is made in the Egyptian style on the principle of minimalism, but everything you need is available. Electrical appliances are represented by a TV (2 Russian channels), air conditioning, a safe, a small refrigerator, and a telephone. The hygiene rooms are equipped with a hairdryer, a toilet bowl, a washbasin, a shower with a floor tray and curtains (there are rooms where there are sliding doors instead of curtains). Liquid soap, toilet paper, shower gel are provided for personal hygiene products.
Regarding the cleaning in the rooms, reviews of tourists differ. Some complainthat they did not clean at all, others, on the contrary, are satisfied that they cleaned well and every day. This circumstance depends on a subjective factor, namely the responsibility of the cleaner assigned to a particular room.
Dessole Cataract Layalina Resort. Territory Description
The territory of this hotel, as well as the neighboring Dessole Cataract Resort, is compact, but green, immersed in flowers. Most of its area (300 square meters) is occupied by a swimming pool for adults with a children's section fenced off in it. Around the pool there is a sunbathing area, where there are always free sunbeds and umbrellas. Beach towels can be taken free of charge and without a deposit, but you need to change them at a nearby hotel and strictly on time (from 16 to 17 pm). For the loss of towels, as well as keys and a bracelet, a fine of $50 will be charged.
There is a restaurant and a bar next to the pool, which you can visit until sunset. Tourists vacationing at the Dessole Cataract Layalina Resort can receive services at the SPA-salon of the sister Dessole Cataract Resort. Access to the Jacuzzi and sauna will be free with the purchase of massage sessions.
The territory of Dessole Layalina has a peculiarity: all tourists go to the beach through it, which not every vacationer likes. The second characteristic feature: Dessole Layalina has a karaoke bar with a night disco, located in the reception area and not belonging to the hotel. It works until 6 am, which creates certain difficulties for tourists whose rooms are in close proximity.
Sea
Dessole Layalina and Dessole Cataract Resort hotels have not only a common infrastructure, but also a common beach. Egypt is famous for its unusual, exotic, clean, warm and gentle Red Sea. Unfortunately, tourists vacationing in these two hotels may have some problems with a beach holiday. The thing is that on a not particularly large beach, which is the property of Dessole, there is a pier leased. Vessels of various categories (yachts, boats, motor boats, catamarans, etc.) are constantly moored here, but here they refuel everything, and sometimes they wash it, which is why there is often garbage in the water, and the smell of fuel in the air.
There are also tourists complaints about safety, because the people who operate these boats do not particularly care about vacationers swimming in the sea and plot their boats and boats at a fairly close distance from them.
The beach itself is sandy, the entry into the water is gentle and comfortable, the depth is so shallow that you don’t have to swim to the buoys, but go. As for exotic corals, it should be noted that in Naama Bay there are much fewer of them than in other bays of the coast, but you can see exotic fish in the sea near the coast.
Many vacationers prefer to relax on neighboring beaches, where the water is much cleaner and there are more beautiful animals. Those who want to go snorkeling can buy a mask at the hotel very cheaply, for only 5-10 dollars, or rent one for only 1 dollar per hour. Beautiful corals are located on the left side of the beach. There, especially in the morning, you cansee the greatest variety of fish. Special shoes for a beach holiday are not required here, because there are no stones in the sea, and dangerous animals such as sea urchins are extremely rare, and even then only at a depth where there are still corals.
Leisure outside the hotel
A vibrant nightlife filled with music, dancing, unusual exotic shows and just relaxing in a good restaurant is the main criterion by which Dessole Cataract Resort 4is chosen. Sharm el-Sheikh, and especially its Naama Bay area, is famous throughout Egypt for its entertainment centers. Active life and unforgettable adventures here truly last from dusk to dawn.
You can walk along the main promenade even during the day, when it is very convenient to make purchases. The Carrefour supermarket is especially popular. This network is one of the cheapest in all countries, and in Egypt it also pleases with reasonable prices and good quality goods. Nearby is the Pyramids Mall, where you can buy and exchange currency. Among the cafes, the Hard Rock establishment is very popular, where good service and delicious food are served, as well as numerous fast food outlets, such as McDonald's, pizzerias, fast foods and others. It should also be noted the two-storey institution Little Budha, which operates as a restaurant during the day and as a nightclub with two ballrooms in the evening. The Dolce Vita nightclub and many others are also good.
Sightseeing lovers can purchase tours at the Dessole Cataract Resort 4. Sharm El Sheikh will be remembered for a lifetime if you makea short trip in a bathyscaphe, visit the island of Tiran, water park and night shows. In addition, trips to Cairo, Luxor, Israel are organized. All these and other excursions can be purchased on the beach, which will cost a little less. If tourists go on long excursions, they are provided with a lunch box.
Reviews
In the public domain, you can find somewhat mixed ratings that are given to the Dessole Cataract Resort. Reviews in 2015 note the following advantages:
- extremely convenient location for entertainment and shopping in Naama Bay;
- good rooms, spacious, functional;
- nice swimming pool;
- close to the sea and the beach;
- fun animation;
- plentiful and varied food;
- friendly helpful staff.
The disadvantages of this hotel are as follows:
- poor soundproofing of rooms;
- Poor cleaning;
- surcharge for changing the wrong number;
- there is a pier on the beach, which really interferes with rest;
- sea with stains of gasoline and other fuels for boats and boats;
- no lifeguards on the beach;
- it is impossible to relax (not swim) near the pool after sunset;
- Wi-Fi is not working well.
Disadvantages of Dessole Cataract Layalina:
- not very new rooms with a long renovation and poorly working plumbing;
- very rare change of bed linen (once a week and evenless often);
- unfriendly staff.
Conclusion: the described hotels are suitable for unpretentious tourists who travel to Egypt for an active, fun-filled vacation.
