The hotel is located between the Eilat, Israel border and the Taba, Egypt border. Arriving to the hotel from Israel is easy just by crossing the border and you're exempt from the Israel exit tax and Egyptian entry tax if you only plan to stay at the hotel or go to the hotels casino. The walk up to the hotel is a bit distracting. I have been harrased by the Egyptian taxi drivers who wait 24 hours a day at the border in hopes of getting a good fare. The hotel is newly redone featuring a great new lobby and entrance and provides tourist facilities in Arabic, Hebrew, and English. The room I received was in much nicer condition than they were previously though the bathrooms look as though they were cheaply renovated. The staff is friendly and helpful. The hotel security has also taken a boost as no cars except a small shuttle owned by the hotel may reach the entrance. Bags are also placed through a scanner before they are loaded on to the shuttle.
Another great addition to the hotel is a computer room with three PCs and free internet connection. Sometimes it was difficult to get kids off the computers to check my E-mail but it was still better than paying the typical $15 a hour that other hotels charge.
The pool is a salt water pool, and the qualities of the hotel are the casino and price. The reasons are because casinos are illegal in Israel and the price is usually around just US $100 per night per couple, but I recently booked this hotel through the Hilton website for US $50. The hotel has great views of the Red Sea, and the four surrounding countries: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
Nelson Village: While both guests of the hotel and Nelson Village have the same facilities, rooms are different. The rooms at Nelson Village are older and do not have carpeting. Though they face the beach, all have easy access to the beach (some are on the ground level so the beach is just a few metres away), and during high season, those guests at Nelson Village can use a different reception and will have a seperate breakfast set up on the beach. The problem is that since it is open air, birds tend to be a problem at breakfast and it made me a bit uncomfortable.
If you want to take advantage of the hotels facilities, such as the pool, casino or lounges, it can be a bit of an annoying walk to do everytime from your room to the hotel especially if you are in the last block of rooms. You can always walk to the Mövenpick hotel which is probably the same distance from the last block of rooms as the hotel is.
