We have just returned home from a fantastic 7 night stay at The Siva Grand Beach Hotel.
This was our first holiday in Hurghada and we will be going back for more.
We booked this holiday with Red Sea Holidays and the service we received from them was second to none. Well done Red Sea.
The flight was with Monarch and after hearing such bad reports about them we were in two minds whether to cancel or not but in the end we booked extra legroom seats and the flight was brilliant.
A nice clean aircraft which left on time with caring Cabin crew and reasonably tasty flight meal.
All in all, very very good. Well done Monarch.
I"ll tell you how much we paid for this holiday at the end of the review, so lets get going.
The transfer from the airport was smooth with no hassle at all and our first impression of The Siva Grand Beach as we drove through the main archway was one of delight. It really is an attractive looking hotel. Check in at reception was quick and easy even though there must have been over 100 of us and we were shown where our rooms were.
RECEPTION and RECEPTION STAFF 8/10
BEDROOM. We were allocated room 480 on the third floor at the very end of the hotel nearest to the sea where we had an extra large balcony with a panoramic view taking in the hotel grounds, the beach, the sea and views towards Hurghada to our left and towards Safaga to our right. This was undoubtedly the biggest balcony we have ever had with the best views we have ever had.
The room itself was really large with a 6foot by 6foot comfortable bed, a 2 seater settee, 2 further comfy seats plus a low coffee table,a dressing table with large wall mounted mirror and an old but usable TV, also a very handy fridge plus 2 bedside tables with drawers.
Near the bedroom door were three large wardrobe/cupboard units which also included the FREE safe.
A slight let down was the Bathroom although it was very clean and tidy it was in need of some refurbishment especially to the 3/4 size bath which had at some time been repainted with a rough enamel type paint(Very sore in the nether regions) when sitting in it. The sink vanity unit was fine and dandy, but OH DEAR we did have a problem with HOT WATER. On average it took nearly 30 to 40 minutes to fill the bath from the trickle we had from the hot tap, but that aside a very nice comfortable room.
May I just add a word of caution here. Families with young, inquisitive children please be aware that the balconies are a real hazard. The railings around the balconies are such that they present the perfect climbing frame for any young child which could lead to a catastrophic accident.
FOOD. Only the fussiest of eaters would have a problem finding something nice and tasty to eat at this hotel. At Breakfast/Lunch and Dinner there were more than adequate options including the 2 main restaurants Shams and Amar, the Oasis restaurant which at lunch time served up some amazing Indian and Chinese food, and around the pool area there is the Pool Grill, Pizza Corner and not forgetting the really tasty vegetarian options at The Beach Grill.
On top of this there"s always Waffles and Ice Cream and freshly made Crepes. You also have the option if eating in the Oasis restaurant for evening dinner as many times as you want per stay different evenings being Barbecue/Asian/Arabic plus others.
DRINK. Very much standard All Inclusive with home made varieties of the usual spirits some tasting like anti freeze others quite palatable. The Wine was passable. During our stay we did have a few problems ordering certain drinks when on a number of evenings they ran out of Tonic water, so a good old G&T or V&T were out of the question. They also ran out of White Rum. One morning when visiting the bar outside Oasis, as I poured my Beer 2 men came up to the bar and proceeded to pour 2 glasses of what in all intents and purpose was Vodka from a bottle stamped with a Vodka label which was standing in an ice bucket on the bar top.
The first man took a hefty slug and immediately spat out the contents of his mouth, thankfully away from me. The content of the bottle in question was white wine which the bar staff decanted into empty spirit bottles and in this case it was an empty Vodka bottle. The 2 blokes in question turned out to be Russian and were not pleased
THE STAFF. Excellent but I have to single out 2 in particular.
Essan a junior manager who worked tirelessly in the Siva Bar, conjuring up comfy chairs from seemingly nowhere whenever we entered the bar and then proceeded to ensure that the drinks of all guests in the bar were frequently replenished and
Ahmed a waiter who worked in Le Terrace at breakfast time and the Pool bar for the rest of the day. Well done both of you and the other staff.
If you do go to this hotel or any other in Egypt I would highly recommend you tip whoever you can as soon as you get there, because even if you only give them 20 Egyptian pounds, the equivalent of approx £2.00 because the service you get will be well worth it. But don"t stop at the 20 give them more whenever you can.
THE PRICE. Would you believe it? we paid just £299 per person for this holiday, now that has to be a real bargain!
THE WEATHER. Whilst we were there we had 20+ degrees everyday but with a strong gusty wind, but very pleasant, comfortable weather.
THE SEA. Even in January warm enough to swim in, as I did on a number of occasions.
I have left one experience to the very last. From the hotel in the far left hand corner there is a pay restaurant named The Sea Star, but it"s not that which I want to talk about, it"s the jetty which runs out to sea next to the Sea Star. Around 4pm every afternoon we made our way to the jetty to sit in the comfortable chairs to either drink delicious Chocolate Latte or Coffees whilst watching The Sunset. Magnificent.

No complaints whatsoever , just home from a week at this hotel and it was excellent , all the staff are really frendly and will do anything for you. Especially esam in the longe bar was always on hand to refil your glass . The rep gave good advice to everyone so if you didn't listen it was your own fault , beech was clean , the grounds were kept clean and today as was your hotel room , it probably just needs a lick of paint to freshen it up a bit but your not on holiday to look at the decor are you , would definitely go back
From dumfries Scotland

We have just got back from the Siva Grand Beach early this morning having gone on a last minute 1 week All Inclusive break. We were impressed with the value for money (2 of us for under £600). The only extra's being £13 each for Visa's to enter Egypt. The hotel, room, food, staff, pool, beach, bars were excellent. On our first full day my girlfreind left her hand bag containing amongst other things her diary, purse, holiday money and mobile phone in the beach bar only to be contacted later by reception that it had been handed in by a member of staff complete with its contents. Needless to say we were over the moon as this could have spolied our holiday. A few tips - Change your money at the bank cashpoint outside the hotel, you will get a far better rate than in the UK. We chose to tip our favourite waiters and in return were remembered and well looked after. This only added £20 to our holiday which is nothing for good service. A waiter only gets about 900 Egyption pounds a month in wages (£90!). A few things made us chuckle, all the salt & pepper pots were filled the wrong way round, one of the many choices for breakfast was liver & onions? We did like the fact that all the bars had help yourself taps for wine and beer although the waiters would often take your glasses and bring them to your table when you did use them. This was our 1st trip to Egypt and we were impressed overall with the quality of everything the hotel offered. We didn't do any of the excursions so cannot comment on them, we also did not pay for any of the special steak - seafood evenings (£15 each) as we were more than happy with the variety and quality of the food on offer. We did not venture far out of the hotel complex as we had chosen to just have a relaxing beach - pool holiday. I can understand some people becoming a bit bored if they are wanting more than this.
We are already planning for 2 weeks next January as 1 week was over so fast.

We stayed here the first week of January 2013, all in all a good holiday. The good points, room big with large bed, we stayed in the bungalow. The food was varied and hot my partner who loves food always went back for seconds. I liked the bread selection and the meatballs. The waffles are lush and huge, so are the ice cream cornets. There is a little place to have breakfast In The morning and the omelette chef is good and the waiter service excellent, with the help of a little tip.
We ate in the oasis most lunch times, but try the burgers and pizza, they are lovely. Also book the themed evenings, the food isn't much different but the service is. The way they cook their vegetables is wonderful, and there is a vegetarian grill on the beach with a lovely chef, if you show some interest he will do you a special spin on the food. The beach ...... Well we had a run in with a German who reserved a cabana for his daughter, so the next day my partner got to the beach at 7.15, but the cabanas were reserved again... We witnessed an interesting argument with a couple of Germans and a single German over the cabanas. The couple had paid the beach boy to reserve the cabana but the lady laid on the un reserved bed for an hour and a half, before the couple came to the beach! She didn't give up and after a heated exchange the coupled left. Interesting! Stand your ground or get the beach boy to reserve with a tip! Ps DON'T tip in English coins they are no use to them, the bank doesn't accept them. The beach is nice but hard, not much sand, but very safe for children, with a life guard on duty. Lovely view. The beach waiter needs a tip to get him going, after that you get good service. Tipping.. I tipped as I went along... 20 Egyptian seemed fair and I got great service, except the room boy, I was not impressed with his cleaning, so I stopped tipping him. Ok so the bad! The drinks package is absolutely rubbish! It is the worst I've ever experienced. Ok the beer is fine, but the soft drinks, ie tonic water and spirits are hit and miss. There are several bars in the hotel and they are constantly running out of white rum and tonic, and some waiters won't go to another bar for you. I mentioned this to the Red Sea rep and that evening tonic appeared, but not rum. We sat in the Siva Bar every evening, this was spoilt by the extremely loud head banging evening entertainment! However in this bar there is a GEM, he is Essam, he is brilliant and simply could not do enough for you! He made our evenings more enjoyable than it would have been. So mr manager - Essam .a. Samea is a real credit to your hotel! Next - massage, they will try and sell you massage on the beach, I bought a package £150 for 6 massages. The first two where ok, but the rest were poor and rushed, the girls seemed unhappy and they coughed and sneezed and rarely smiled, I felt as if they were forced to work, not enjoyable. I didn't bother going for my last session. Ok general tips......

Airport ... When you land buy your visa from the banks directly to your left and behind you, also change your English money here, ask for small notes, 20's and 10's for tipping. If you don't get a landing card on the plane you will need one from the reps, before you go through passport control.
Take a pen or two with you! The Egyptian ground staff, baggage handlers etc want tips for nothing, they broke our suitcase because we did not tip them to put it in the coach! The actual baggage handlers don't give a damn about your cases and many were broken and my pockets where opened.

Resort .... We walked to the marina, took about 1.5hrs, it was nice to get out of the hotel, we didn't get any hassle until we hit the old town, which is filthy, I've never been to a dirtier Muslim country, ciggy buts and cardboard / plastic every where. We had a drink in the marina, lovely gin and tonic! Then got a taxi back for 30 ep. He wanted 50ep but we walked away, and he agreed to 30. But beware when we got to the hotel he said £30! We told him no and gave him the agreed fare.

Tipping - yes it helps to tip. We gave 20ep. The staff we tipped regularly really looked after us. Please don't tip in pound coins, they can't change them.

I think that's it, all in all any enjoyable experience, drinks package lacking, airport dirty, but wonderful holiday, thank you to all the staff at the hotel and Red Sea holidays.