Xperience St.George Homestay

"Have stayed at this hotel many times. It is our home away from home. Staff are so friendly and nothing is too much trouble. Drinks brought to your sunbeds at the quiet pool with a smile. Room cleaned to a good standard every day. Food in the restaurant was varied. We could always find something to eat, especially the rice pudding for my husband! What did spoil it for the whole week was a group of about 8 people who thought the quiet pool belonged to them. From morning till night, you could hear them shouting, smoking in the pool, playing music, and their language was disgusting. Complaints were made, but nothing changed. Fortunately, being returning guests, we know this isn't the normal, but someone visiting the first time it would certainly put me off returning. We will be back in the future to this lovely friendly hotel."

"We had an initial bad experience with the hotel but after issues were resolved it was on reflection a decent hotel. Positive - Exceptional customer service from Pastry Chef Muhammed Abdul B (who recently returned from Hajj). This chef who went out their way to make our lunch/dinner service the best possible and even had a specific dish cooked for one of our group. Outstanding! - Friendly reception staff – one team member in particular stood out. His name was Shenouda and he was really empathetic to our issues and always happy to help us - Free shuttle to two beaches (one day each) and old market (every other day). Must be booked in advance - Enough sunbeds for guests for pool and beach areas (we went Mid-June so might be different in summer holidays/busier periods) - Decent variety of food for lunch/dinner - Security gate check taxis when they pick you up. Made us feel safe. - Can get packed breakfast if doing an overnight excursion - Rooms cleaned daily - General Manager (I think his name was Mahmoud) was very helpful once issues were escalated to him Negative - We arrived late due on the first evening due to delayed easyjet transfer bus and were not offered any late dinner service (even though the hotel do provide) - Hotel has no lift and offered no assistance with taking luggage upstairs (though that may have been due to initially not accepting help with luggage going into hotel from the bus) - Room safe didn’t initially work (but then resolved next day) - Reception is not manned 24 hours - No help from guest relations desk inside lobby for issues, very much a ‘cannot do anything’ attitude. - Hotel tried to overcharge us for a card payment with incorrect exchange rate (this seems to be a common occurrence in Sharm El Sheikh but didn’t expect it at the hotel…) - The hotel rep (Salem Ismail) didn’t help us and acted as if he knew he would get away with doing nothing! Whilst not a direct employee of the hotel it reflects badly on them and Easyjet as he is the person you’ll be dealing with on the ground - Not near other hotels so often picked up first for excursion (so longer time going around picking everyone else up) - Many issues we raised were only resolved once escalated with EasyJet head office and subsequently met with the general manager. Had we not done this, our experience would have been much worse. Also worth noting you cannot exchange money at the hotel e.g. if you have British Pounds and want Egyptian Pounds (you can however withdraw from their ATM if you have a card but most card companies charge fees). I appreciate not every hotel can offer an exchange service so this is not a criticism. The only place in the city we found that did this was an exchange in the old market and they require a physical passport. Once again we would like to thank Pastry Chef Muhammed Abdul B, receptionist Shenouda and the general manager who kindly met with us to resolve our issues."

"On our way back from a week stay in this hotel. All in all, you get what you pay for - a budget friendly all inclusive in Egypt. Cleanliness: Couldn’t fault the cleanliness of this hotel. Pool area was cleaned daily and the restaurant was always clean and tidy at every meal. Rooms: We were upgraded on arrival to a premium room - was grateful for this but I’m not sure what the upgrade was - possibly a pool view? Regardless, the beds were comfy - a king size bed and clean bedding every day! Bathroom in the room was decent in size and had everything you’d need. Hairdryer connected to the wall too. Pool: We spent the first day at the main pool but only lasted one day before moving over to the quiet pool. This quiet pool was just that - no blaring music, activities or games - just a pool to swim and relax in. That is until you have some guests who feel it is their personal pool to scream, splash and smoke in. Both myself and other guests raised this issue with management but not much seemed to be done about it which was a shame - thankfully this only seemed to be an issue on the last few days of our holiday. We came late June into early July and the quiet pool had sun loungers laying empty all day - we got to the pool by 9 in the morning and there were mostly empty loungers next to the pool so no sunbed wars to report! Plenty of shade with umbrellas and tables on most pairs of sun beds which can be up or down depending on your preference. Lifeguard / towel staff are more than happy to help you lift or put down your umbrella as they can be quite tricky if you’re vertically challenged like me. Beach: We visited sandy beach using the shuttle and have no complaints really. Nice enough beach but kept getting asked to buy cocktails, spa treatments and water activities so left early as it got to the point it was every 10-20 minutes we were being asked to buy something else - not what I want at a “private” hotel beach. Food: The food is what you can expect from an Egyptian all inclusive, however a smaller selection to what I’ve had in similar places. Usually vegetarian, 2-3 different meat options and fish at every meal, and always broccoli and carrots for vegetable options. Lots of fresh bread on offer which was kept wrapped. Restaurant also air conditioned which was a welcomed feature in June/July heat! The food did get a bit samey by the end, and as someone who doesn’t eat meat on the bone, I struggled a little bit but that’s a personal preference which I don’t expect to be catered for. If I had kids, I think they would have struggled as other places usually have staple chips, pizza, chicken every night, this hotel didn’t and I would have struggled with children and having enough to eat. Side note: the “à la carte” at the hotel is a paid feature which I didn’t realise before coming. Prices didn’t seem horrendous but again, I didn’t expect to have to pay for an à la carte service as usually this is included once in an all inclusive stay. Staff: Staff I couldn’t fault enough. Nothing was too much hassle and they couldn’t do enough to. Make your experience as best as it could be! Saad at the quiet pool bar was exceptional. Tipping goes a huge way and a £100EGY goes a long way! It’s pennies to us but makes the world of difference to them! Hotel facilities: À la carte mentioned above. My biggest piece of advice is avoid the hotel shops (groceries, bags, memorabilia etc). We went in the first day and got the wool pulled over our eyes and got charged £15 GBP for a tube of Pringles and a packet of m&ms - we then went back into the other shops (all under the same man) who tried to charge us extortionate amounts for items that were price marked as much lower, and he wasn’t overly friendly when these were pointed out. I think he sees tourists coming and overcharges for items that others likely get a lot cheaper. Highly recommend getting a taxi using InDrive app to a local supermarket - itll be cheaper than using the hotel shop which will have you believing £8 GBP is acceptable for a tube of pringles! Gym was not air conditioned so avoided this - wouldn’t have been too bad in early morning hours but it didn’t open until 10, and by then it was overwhelmingly hot. Entertainment: We didn’t watch the entertainment. Tried the first night but an outdoor theatre with mosquitos, no air conditioning and a “bar” with none of the usual drink selection and no ice is not something I wanted to partake in every night. We tended to sit in the reception bar who were showing the World Cup every night and had air conditioning - a much more pleasant experience! The hotel provide shuttles to Old Market and Naama bay on alternative nights but we used the InDrive app to get a taxi. Go and come back unrestricted and cost about £1 to go to Old Market and £1.50 to go to Naama bay. We also got a taxi to Soho Square which was our favourite place of all. Highly recommend eating at Soho Square when you’re there! Nice shops and good relaxed vibe when you’re there! Old market and Naama bay are much busier and you can’t walk past a shop without being asked to go in and have a look. We found a simple no thanks would work for the majority. Just keep walking and people tended not to follow apart from a few individuals who got the point eventually! Summary: all in all, you get what you pay for at a 3.5/5 star all inclusive in Egypt. Staff cannot do enough and facilities clean, spacious and comfortable. Food could use improvement but again, it’s what you expect when you pay not an extortionate amount to stay. Pools ideal for what you need and quiet pool is as it says on the tin (mostly): quiet."