One of the most remarkable Egyptian resorts, so loved by Russians, is the modern bright, beautiful, very original and colorful Hurghada. Festival Le Jardin Resort is a hotel located in this resort and always welcoming all its guests. A few years ago, without exaggeration, he was the best. But, as is often practiced in Egypt, the hotel owners changed, and everything became a little different. We bring to your attention a review of Festival Le Jardin Resort, based on reviews from tourists who visited here in 2015.
Location
Hurghada resort is located about 500 km southeast of the capital of Egypt, Cairo and 7 km (according to official sources) from the international airport. About 20 km north of Hurghada is a new unique area of El Gouna, in beauty and the number of channels resembling Venice. About halfway between the airport (12 km) and the beautiful El Gouna (14 km), a new district of Hurghada was recently formed, called El Aheya (Ahiya). Currently, it is at the stage of development and development. New hotels, infrastructure are being built here, beaches are being equipped. This is where the Festival Le Jardin Resort hotel is located. Precisely because the area is new, the landscapes around “delight” with desert and uninhabited. There are several others near this hotel, the closest of which is Festival Riviera Resort. Guests at Festival Le Jardin can use its infrastructure for free. There is a highway next to the hotel and buses run, so it’s easy to get to both Hurghada and El Gouna. The journey takes no more than 10 minutes.
Territory
The pride of the Festival Le Jardin Resort (Hurghada) hotel and the great plus that has always been noted in all reviews is its territory. It covers an area of 25,000 square meters. For a hotel of this level this is not very much, but tourists see in compact sizes more likely than plus, minus, because from the buildings to all infrastructure and the beach is close enough, but there is enough space for walking. The hotel area is similar to a botanical garden, so many different trees, beautiful flowers, exotic evergreen bushes, which are masterpieces of the topiary, grow on it. All plantings are carefully planned and very well maintained, alleys are clean and neat. For greater beauty, designers placed figures on the territory that mimic Egyptian sights, and for the convenience of their guests, they equipped cute little gazebos. In addition, there are swimming pools, parking, sports grounds, bars, restaurants, a playground with slides and swings for children to play.
Infrastructure
Festival Le Jardin Resort is a single building of five floors and several facilities located on the territory. In the building on the ground floor there is a reception where tourists can leave their bags and suitcases in a storage room, take a safe, call a doctor, taxi, take things to the laundry or dry cleaning, buy sightseeing tours, use the fax, exchange currency, solve all current issues.
In the lobby, near the reception, there is a lobby bar, comfortable armchairs, tables are installed, shops with cosmetics, clothes, souvenirs, beach accessories are working, there is an ATM. For business people combining leisure with work, the hotel offers to use a well-equipped conference room, which, if necessary, can easily be transformed into a banquet room.
Rooms
Regarding the condition of the number of rooms in Festival Le Jardin Resort, the reviews are different, but more than those in which there is a lack of novelty of the situation and plumbing. The hotel has been operating since 2008, in 2015, innovations began to be carried out here. The general impression of tourists is that the rooms are not up to level 5 *, but they are quite suitable for "just sleeping". However, in those rooms where the reconstruction has already taken place, the decor and condition of the plumbing are wonderful. The design of the rooms is quite simple - nothing more. The view from the windows can be on the sea and the territory or on the outbuildings. Many tourists report that for the best room at the reception require a surcharge.
Categories:
1. “Standard” (482 units) with an area of up to 25 squares. Equipment: a set of furniture necessary for relaxation (beds, wardrobe with safe, bedside tables, lamps, desk, TV, built-in small refrigerator, air conditioning, telephone. There is no Internet, it works only in the lobby near the reception. Balconies are not available in all rooms, what needs to be specified upon check in. The hygiene room has a washbasin, bath or shower, toilet, hairdryer. Personal hygiene products are provided on the day of arrival, and then issued upon request.
2. “Family” (4 units) with an area of 35 squares or more. Layout - two bedrooms, a balcony, a hygiene room. The equipment is the same as in the "standards".
Room cleaning should be done daily. Sheets and pillowcases are changed on a schedule, towels are changed daily or every other day.
Nutrition
As for the food at Festival Le Jardin Resort 5 *, the reviews are also mixed. It seems to many people that there is no variety of dishes, especially few fruits. The quality of products is also not everyone likes. Another claim to long lines during breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are held on the basis of the "buffet", but some dishes are given in portions.
Festival Le Jardin Resort has a central restaurant with an outdoor terrace to cater for its guests. The breakfast menu includes cereals, milk, coffee, tea, juices (from packages), scrambled eggs or scrambled eggs, sliced sausages and cheeses, salads, side dishes, pastries, pancakes. For lunch, meat dishes (chicken, beef), fish, side dishes (potatoes, pasta, rice), fresh and stewed vegetables, fruits in the form of salad, desserts, ice cream are offered. The dinner menu is about the same.
In addition to the central one, Festival Le Jardin Resort has a restaurant with an a la carte system (by appointment). It is called "Mama Mia" and offers Italian cuisine.
The hotel also has several bars - in the lobby, on the beach, by the pools, on site. On the beach, tourists can not only take drinks, but also have a snack. The bar is open around the clock in the lobby, but the all-inclusive concept here, as in the entire hotel, is valid from 10 a.m. to midnight. Drinks are given out only in plastic cups, regardless of whether it is water, beer or a cocktail.
Leisure
According to reviews, it’s quite interesting to spend time in Festival Le Jardin Resort 5 *. Hurghada is not far away, and not everyone likes to go there every day. Those who do not want to leave the hotel are invited to relax in the beauty salon, where you can book a massage, relax in the jacuzzi, sauna or steam room, visit the hairdresser. Sports lovers at the hotel will find tennis courts, sports fields, an excellent fitness room, a diving center, wind and card surfing.
For all adherents of a relaxing or active holiday on the water, in addition to the sea, there is the opportunity to use the excellent pools located on the territory of the Festival Le Jardin Resort (photo shows one of the largest) and an artificial pond in the nearby Festival of the Riviera, where the water is heated in winter.
Animation at the hotel, according to tourists, works well. The program includes daily aerobics, exercises, sports games at sea and in the pool, volleyball on the beach, and in the evening shows, fun contests, a disco.
Service for children
Festival Le Jardin Resort for young guests has a children's pool on the hotel premises and on the beach, a playground with slides and swings, a Bambi mini-club with a games room where educators spend interesting events with children. Parents can also order babysitting services. The rooms have the opportunity to request a cot upon request, in the restaurant - use highchairs. The menu in the hotel is made without taking into account the nutrition of kids, but there is always something to choose from. True, for the smallest (up to a year or a little older) special dishes are not provided.
Animation for kids is as interesting as for adults. It includes games, all kinds of activities, and in the evening a mini-disco.
Sea
Literally a minute is required for guests to walk to the beach from the Festival Le Jardin Resort 5 * hotel. Hurghada is famous for its coastline and wonderful sea, but in this case, a beach holiday can upset. The coating here looks like a sand, but in fact it is a small crumb. Stony steps without railings lead into the water. Depth, where there is the opportunity to swim, begins about 700 meters from the coast. Another unpleasant feature of this section of the coast is the ebbs and flows. During the latter, swimming in the sea is possible only after lunch.
The bottom of the coast is covered with uncleared corals, which can be injured, there is also a risk of stepping on a sea urchin, so it is advisable to have special shoes. There is no pier or pontoon at this beach; entry into the sea is only from the coast. Exotic fish and other inhabitants of the underwater kingdom are present, but there are not so many of them as in other areas of the Red Sea.
Leisure outside
Unfortunately, guests of Festival Le Jardin Resort will not be able to take exciting walks. Egypt is an interesting country with many attractions and unusual color, but there are plenty of desert sites here. Just such landscapes so far can be contemplated near the hotel. To diversify your vacation, as well as for shopping you need to go to Hurghada. To do this, you can use buses or taxis, which the hotel kindly provides. The second option is to rent a car. But the hotel guests have a wonderful opportunity to visit the El Gouna area, which can be reached in 5 minutes. This is real Venice in the desert - with blue canals, like toy houses and bridges, funny cars that move around the area, and boats cruising along the canals. Someone may be interested in a brewery, someone in the Kafr district, styled in antiquity, and someone in supermarkets, discos, a huge aquarium or the best golf club in the country.
In addition to this fabulous place, tourists are offered a number of classic excursions - in Hurghada, Cairo, Luxor, Jerusalem, Paradise Island (a yacht with a glass bottom), karting in the desert.
Additional Information
Festival Le Jardin Resort 5 * is focused on year-round vacations of unassuming tourists. Only Anex Tour sells vouchers to this hotel, advertising it as a five-star, although in Egypt it is declared as a four-star with an appropriate set of services. The hotel staff is trying to make the rest of all the guests wonderful, quickly solve the problems that arise, and meet the need to replace the rooms. As an improvement to the service, there are compliments:
- birthday people;
- regular guests;
- anniversaries;
- newlyweds.
To receive them, you must fill in the appropriate columns in the voucher.
Children under 6 years old are not paid, and for children from 6 to 12 years old inclusive payment is 50% of the room rate per day.
Reviews
Festival Le Jardin Resort 5 * leaves mixed feelings and memories of the rest. There are tourists who are delighted with this hotel, but there are also many who make complaints. Noted advantages:
- gorgeous territory;
- good pools;
- satisfactory rooms;
- great animation;
- low price per tour.
Marked Cons:
- very bad entry into the sea, beach holidays with difficulties;
- lack of whole sunbeds on the beach and by the pools;
- water in unheated pools;
- many rooms are not updated, without repair;
- the view from the windows is not always pleasant;
- surcharge for a good room, although they are all of the same category;
- the restaurant has long lines;
- portioned delivery of meat and some dishes;
- inhospitable and dishonesty of individual employees.