My wife and I recently stayed at Hilton waterfalls. We chose bed and breakfast basis, because we suspected that we may still have to pay for food that was not included in the package. In fact, we realized that we have made the right decision when we saw that a number of all-inclusive guests decided to either to have their dinners at Naama Bay, or to pay (probably with a discount) at one of the 3 main restaurants and not go to buffet dinners that they were entitled to get for free.
Here is a quick summary of pluses and minuses. First, the bad stuff.
1) Very unimpressed with the hot food selection during breakfast. Most of it was tasteless, so eventually I resorted to eating the same omlettes/eggs. The sausage and some of the other staff was non-edible. Watermelons and bakery were generally quite good, however. In total, the food selection was not on par with what I would expect to eat at Hilton.
2) Bar food for non-inclusive guests was grotesquely overpriced. 40 Egyptian pounds for two cokes? Seriously? Their coffee was also a joke- of instant variety- and also very expensive.
3) Although we did not get the impression that we were overcharged at every step, some of the encounters were quite strange. For example, our stay was pre-booked for a luxurious room with a king bed. However, during checking in, we were told that we had booked a standard room. We had to produce a printed our confirmation that this was not the case, after which the receptionist agreed with us. So, our advice to future guests is to be prepared for similar contingencies.
Now, the good:
1) Contrary to our expectation that we would be overcharged, we were offered substantial discounts/free deserts on a couple of occasions when we dined out in the evenings.
2) The hotel is generally well-maintained, although the pools must be cleaned more regularly.
3) I think animation team was really making an effort. Some reviewers have complained that they made only halfhearted efforts to engage non-Russian speaking guests, but that was not my impression at all. I observed the members of the animation team to stop and chat with guests regardless of their linguistic background. Some other reviewers have also mentioned that Russian-speaking members did not work hard enough. I could not disagree more. In fact, I think they were doing almost all the work down at the pools, and also during the evening entertainment. Some others have compared them, rather unfavorably, to Gemma. Unfortunately, I cannot really comment on this comparison, as I have never spoken to Gemma during our 9 day stay (in contrast to the other animation team members). Another rather unfair comment was that the members of the animation team led aqua aerobics only in Russian. Although I did not participate in it personally, my impression from hearing it from the distance was that it was usually conducted in two languages: English and Russian. I think that given that the large number of guests do not speak any language other than the Russian, it's only fair that the procedure is also explained in the language that they can understand (provided, of course, that English is also used).
4) Some other reviewers have complained that the entertainment was almost non-existent, and that night clubs/discus were open only a couple of times a week. My understanding is that the hotel organized trips for such guests to nearby night clubs at 11-11.30 PM, although of course it's still a hassle going somewhere else. From our perspective, however, this was not a problem, as we preferred our hotel to remain quiet at night. In general, our impression was that this was a family-friendly hotel, probably not ideal for the younger crowd who may prefer energetic night-time entertainment.
5) Enjoyable swimming near coral reefs, although walking down the pontoon during windy weather was a challenge
6) Generally very nice staff, especially a very nice guy (sorry, forgot to write down his name) from the sea sports centre near the beach, who rented out some swimming equipment for my wife. If we ever have a desire to come back to Hilton Waterfalls again, it's because of people like him.
