Hotels and resorts Mid-year bargains AS LAST year, Eid Al-Kebir (Greater Biram) falls during the mid-year break. However, you can still find a room in your favourite city or resort at a reasonable price. In the ever-magnificent Sharm El-Sheikh, the four-star Iberotel Lido Hotel (+2 069 360 2609) on Neama Bay offers double rooms for LE750 for Egyptians, with breakfast, and $150, excluding meals, for foreigners. The three-star Eden Rock Hotel (+2 069 360 2250), also in Neama, has double rooms on a half-board basis for LE600 or 50 euros, for Egyptians and foreigners respectively. The Grand Hotel in serene Hurghada on the Red Sea coast (+2 065 344 6509) offers double rooms with half board for LE465 for Egyptians and $215 for foreigners, while a half- board double at the Hilton Hurghada Resort (+2 065 346 5020) costs LE600 or $170 respectively. The east side of the Sinai Peninsula overlooking the Gulf of Aqaba is home to three of the most beautiful resorts in Egypt, namely, Dahab, Taba and Nuweiba. The two-mile stretch of shoreline at Dahab boasts the four-star Helnan Dahab Hotel (+2 069 364 0426) which is offering double rooms for LE350 for Egyptians and $70 for foreigners, half board. In Taba, the five-star Hyatt Regency Hotel (+2 069 358 0234) has double rooms for LE400-500 depending on whether they have a sea view, and that price is valid for both Egyptians and foreigners. The three-star Bawaki Beach Hotel in Nuweiba (+2 069 350 0470) meanwhile is offering double rooms for LE180 or $45 respectively, including breakfast. New resort for Taba MOVENPICK Hotels & Resorts (MH&R) have announced the opening of a five-star luxury resort at Taba on Egypt's Red Sea coast scheduled for early 2005. A 25-kilometre drive from Taba International Airport, the property is being built around the Historic Plaza where the Egyptian flag was hoisted by President Hosni Mubarak on the day Taba was handed over to Egypt. The resort is situated directly on Taba Bay, which is now the hottest location on the "Egyptian Riviera". "Movenpick Taba Resort and Casino represents one of the newest resort developments on the Red Sea," says Andreas Mattmuller, MH&R senior vice-president, Middle East. "Planned with an environmentally friendly approach to ensure sustainable tourism, we are proud to be pioneers by opening our new property early next year." The luxury resort will boast 434 rooms, suites and family chalets with views across either the sea or the mountains. A series of exclusive dining venues will provide different types of cuisine, including international, Chinese and Lebanese. There are four outdoor pools, a spa and a fully equipped fitness centre, water sports facilities and a diving centre, tennis courts, a volley/basketball court and a kids' club, in addition to sophisticated conference facilities. Aida on the Nile ON THE OCCASION of the first launching of the Aida Nile cruise ship, Le Meridien Luxor Hotel recently hosted two dinners in unusual settings for a high-ranking delegation from the German operating company, accompanied by members of the German press. One dinner was held on an island in the middle of the Nile. Guests were ferried across by motorboats, where they arrived to a welcome of oriental music and folkloric shows, followed by a delicious dinner in this lush green natural setting. The second dinner was held at the Temple of Habu, one of the most famous monuments in Luxor, whose majestic ambiance proved the perfect foil to the mouthwatering delicacies that were served. Friday brunch buffet TIRED of staying at home on Fridays? Want to have some fun with your kids outdoors? Then you should consider the Ramses Hilton Friday Brunch Buffet that starts from 12am. There you can enjoy a sumptuous hot and cold buffet while listening to songs by a live band. Meanwhile, a whole range of fun activities are laid on for your kids, including face painting and a magic show. There is a 50 per cent discount for children under 12 years old. For more information, contact (+202-5777444). In the air New charters to the North Coast IN AN ATTEMPT to market the Mediterranean North Coast of Egypt to international travellers, the Movenpick Resort & Spa Al-Alamein recently signed an agreement to launch the first international charter flight to Al-Alamein airport with the famous British operator Peltours. Flights from Gatwick Airport, London, have already started by the end of 2004. SAS is back AFTER ten years' absence from the Egyptian market, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) resumed links with Cairo last month and is now operating two weekly flights from Copenhagen to the Egyptian capital. The company is also considering the resumption of the Stockholm service at the rate of one flight a week. As for the Norwegian capital Oslo, a regular connection should be re-established in January 2005. Scandinavian Airlines inaugurated its Cairo operation at an impressive reception held at the Semiramis InterContinental that was attended by a large number of distinguished guests, including Egyptian officials, the Scandinavian ambassador, senior management of EgyptAir, representatives of the tourism and travel industry, and directors of foreign airlines. News Holiday home LATCHING on to a growing world trend, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism has decided to court foreign holiday-makers by encouraging them to buy property in Egypt as a second or vacation home. According to Minister of Tourism Ahmed El-Maghraby, promoting Egypt as a holiday home venue is one major way of guaranteeing more repeat visits. In those countries where the trend has taken root, tourism has benefited enormously. In the case of Spain, for instance, second home owners currently make up 90 per cent of foreign tourism capacity. Shopping with the stars HELIOPOLIS suburb recently witnessed the soft opening of a gigantic shopping mall as part of the exclusive Citystars tourist complex. The $170 million shopping mall includes 200 outlets for the most important local and international trademarks, selling goods such as clothing, shoes, electronic and electrical equipment, leather products, accessories, make-up, kids' toys and furniture. The five-floor shopping mall, that extends over 67,000 square metres, also includes Egypt's biggest indoor amusement park, a cinema complex with 16 screens that can seat 2,750 spectators and a number of chain restaurants. "The shopping mall in Citystars tourist complex is the real start of shopping tourism in Egypt," said Elhamy El-Zayat, head of the Egyptian Federation of Tourism Chambers. "It is a new trend in Egypt, and we want to support it and encourage it. According to reports by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), shopping tourism is now number two after leisure tourism." Al-Sukhna's healing powers AN AGREEMENT was recently signed between Minister of Tourism Ahmed El-Maghraby, Suez Governor Seif Galal and the head of the Holding Company for Tourism and Cinema, under which 170 feddans in Ain Al-Sukhna will be transformed into an area dedicated to healing and therauptic tourism. Ain Al-Sukhna is famous for the medicinal properties of its sulphurous water. The agreement will be passed to Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif who will present it to the international companies for tourism marketing. It is expected that the first phase of the project will cost LE500 million.
