the OTHER hotel

Hilton Shark's Bay http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/SSHSBHI-Hilton-Sharks-Bay-Resort/index.do

The day they returned from Mt. Sinai was the day we left the Hyatt to go to the Hilton. What can I say. Night and Day. The reason we had to change hotels is that after we had begun our travel preparations, our return flight was cancelled and we had to stay in Egypt for a few more days. The Hyatt was booked, as were most of the other Sharm hotels, so there we were at the Hilton. I think if we had gone to the Hilton first, it would not have been such a disappointment. I would call the Hyatt 5 star and the Hilton 3 star so it was hard to come down in the world. They do have lovely pools and while the food is…well…bad, it is included in the price of the room, including all drinks.

But the kicker? The unbelievable news that I was greeted with at reception once Jeff and Shelby were passed out asleep in our rooms? Apparently there was a MANDATORY $120 PER PERSON charge for the New Year's Eve Gala. My disbelief, which involved me staring incomprehensively at the desk clerk for 30 minutes, was complete. To this day, I don't know what we could have done to get out of it. We were checked in. They had my credit card. All the other hotels in Sharm were booked and taking a taxi door to door would have been excruciating and expensive. I am just sick about it to this day. We are not New Year's Eve Gala people and in fact, we went, had a quick dinner at the buffet, and were back in our rooms playing Euchre by 10:15 p.m. We barely stayed awake until midnight. I intend to complain, vociferously, to Hilton but I don't know what else to do. It's been suggested that I call my credit card company, which I'm also considering.

The rest of our vacation was rather subdued as I think we were all worn out, disappointed to leave the Hyatt, and resentful of the $480. Altogether our vacation was 12 days, counting travel days, so our exhaustion is understandable.