Continental Hotel Hurghada in Hurghada

The hotel is clean and has an excellent location. The rooms are well-kept, and staff was friendly. Unfortunately, that's where the good ends.

First, the food was edible but not good. It was mostly flavorless, and there was no real cohesion. It's clear that this is a hotel that is trying to accommodate the European taste buds by making European dishes but also adding a few traditional Egyptian dishes to the menu as well, thus falling short on both. This was the first all-inclusive resort I've stayed at where the food is all buffet-style, so it is often not fresh unless you go right when it opens. You can get access to the a la carte restaurant but only if you stay for 4+ nights, which is absurd given that you are paying for the all inclusive package at the same price.

Speaking of the all-inclusive package, it's $35/person per day for the basic inclusive package which is absolutely not worth it. We had an unfortunate misunderstanding during our stay where we were charged extra for orange juice to a tune of $10. We were at breakfast when a waiter came up and asked us if we would like orange juice, and we said yes. At no point was it communicated with us that this was freshly -swueezed orange juice that came at an additional cost. When we spoke with management, they repeatedly stated that they told us that freshly squeezed juice would be an additional charge. They never listened to us when we stated that our issue was that the wait staff never indicated that this was fresh juice when it was offered to us, thus we had no way of knowing this would come at an additional charge. We had been eating breakfast at the included restaurant which also served orange juice which was included at no additional charge, so how were we to expected to know that the specific orange juice this waiter was carrying around was freshly-squeezed when it was never communicated to us? Again, the issue isn't that there is an additional charge but rather they are not forthcoming with these charges when the items are offered to you.

The pool and beach close at 6:30 PM when it is still light out. This baffled me because I've stayed at resorts like this in the past, and never once did the pool close before dark. The pool and surrounding area is well-lit, and nighttime temperatures still exceed 90° F. It would be acceptable if there was something to do at night, but there are really no nighttime activities that you can do other than sit at the bar and drink. Instead, they should keep the pool open late.

Speaking of the bar, the bartenders seem to not know what they are doing. They have drinks on the menu that they clearly don't know how to make because I saw the bartender remake drinks as I was standing at the bar to order. I had the worst margarita of my life here. The menus as well as "all-inclusive" list are translated into English poorly with many grammatical errors that results in too much ambiguity.

When I stay at a luxury resort and pay luxury resort prices, I expect a luxurious experience, and unfortunately, this hotel did not provide that.