I must admit, it was with a little trepidation that I agreed to go to a 3 star holiday village in Egypt. Oh no! friends said,' 3 star in Egypt means 1 star, you should upgrade, you will be ill it will be dirty!' The Sayadeen Village is far from this, I have stayed in much worse places in the UK!

We arrived at the Sayadeen Village on the 10th February and had a fantastic welcome from Atef. He informed us that as we are the only guests (due to the trouble in Cairo) we have all of the staff at our service. We dumped out bags in our room and walked over to the restaurant where Yasser (apologies for spelling) had cooked us a lovely meal. We were both thinking it felt a little strange being the only guests but by the next day when we were given a delicious breakfast we decided this is how famous people must live!

The room was clean and comfortable, we had hot water whenever we wanted it and the service was second to none. Despite us being the only people there the staff were brilliant, nothing was too much trouble and the food was delicious. In the evening we had some amazing conversations about life, religion. politics and we were lucky enough to be there when the President stepped down. To see the reaction of ordinary people was wonderful, we saw history!

We had a brilliant time, we rested and that was the whole point of the holiday, to re charge our batteries. I don't think it could have been any better and despite the fact that i was the only female there for the week I felt totally at home. We were treated like royalty.

Thank you Atef, Mr Soliman, Mohamed, Yasser, Sammy and Mustafa. You made this a dream holiday for us. We will be back.

Annie and Chris.

If you like sporadic, cold, SALT water showers in a filthy bathroom, and rooms with dodgy electrics (plugs hanging out of walls etc) then this is the hotel for you. Location may be good but standards are not - and general food is poor as well.

I first went to Sayadeen with my husband and teenage daughters last August and we had a great time. Last month I went back by myself to get some sun and time to study for my dissertation. I was picked up at the airport by the manager; I was welcomed warmy by the reception manager; I went to my room to find a little note to welcome me; Meirelle from head office had organised a hairdryer; the chef remembered me, and other staff enquired after my family back home - some even remebered my childrens' names. I really felt I was coming home.
Due to the unrest in Cairo there were not many other guests and I had the place to myself for a couple of days and it didn't feel awkward at all. The staff left me alone if that's what I wanted, happy to stop for a chat and laugh at my bad Arabic. My food - simple but tasty (Sayadeen is not trying to be a gourmet restaurant) was brought to wherever I wanted it: the beach, the table in front of my room or my room. My room was cleaned every day and the towel art is legend. I had plenty of hot water any time of the day.
Some reviewers commented on the state of the rooms; again, they are simple and I really think the bathrooms need upgrading. The beach was cleaned every day, but rubbish is a problem in some Middle Eastern countries. But then again, there is lots of litter here; I live in Winchester, hardly the grot capital of the UK, and people drop stuff all the time. Somebody else mentioned cats: I only saw two and yes they were very "friendly". I didn't see any dogs within the village although there are some outside the compound. Somebody else in her unfathomable wisdom (and that certainly is NOT the type of guest who will enjoy Sayadeen) commented on the mosque: ehhh , there are muslims in Egypt, dear, and therefore there are mosques. Their faith is very important to Egyptians which I think is great.; so that was a very, very silly thing to put in a negative review.
Although I was there by myself I never felt lonely - thank you Atef and Mr Mohamed and Mr Soliman; I had great conversations about the culture and politics of the country, which is what I go abroad for.
So, if you want your little Britain when you go on holiday, if you want the same food you have back home, if you want an exciting nightlife, if you want to pay for a three star hotel but expect the ananymous and soulless service of a five star place - go up the road to the Hilton where you get all of that. Sayadeen is not for you. But if you want peace and quiet, a private and mostly empty beach, if you want to learn something about the people of Egypt, and enjoy their friendliness - there is no better place than Sayadeen.

The location of this "hotel" is fantastic, the beach is lovely and the sea a delight to swim in. The best thing they can do however is knock it down and build something decent. The rooms are grotty - we shared ours with mice for 3 days before someone finally got the message to come and do something about it. The bathroom was a disgrace, the door to the bathroom had the bottom half of it sawn off, the water pressure was rubbish and very variable availability of hot water throughout the stay. We were not alone in this experience as numerous other guests had to keep changing rooms to get showers that actually worked. To classify this place as a 3 star hotel is either an exercise in hopeless overoptimism or something reportable to the Egyptian equivalent of Trading Standards.
Numerous guests experienced food poisining as a result of the total lack of anything resembling hygiene. Stray cats and pack dogs abound, and I have also found out that numerous positive reviews have been written by friends of management and are therefore extremely biased and inaccurate.
My first experience of the Sinai was in 1990 when I slept in a car. I was much more comfortable sleeping in a car than sleeping at this beach camp (it does not deserve the label of hotel). I was also considerably more comfortable sleeping in a tent up Kilimanjaro than I was in the bed provided in my room at Sayadeen.
In all, an unpleasant experience, made bearable by the good weather and the lovely beach.