Oriental Rivoli Hotel & Spa

Nice and quiet hotel with 3 pools and truly oriental architecture. However, the rooms need some enhancements, such as providing shampoo and shower gel, which were not available. The food is average, similar to any hotel in Sharm El Sheikh, with nothing special—just eating to eat.

We have had this booked for just under a year, I checked the reviews before we left and was a little concerned at some of the comments. We arrived with a view that we would treat it as we find it. I wonder if some of the reviewers were even at the same place. From the start arriving at the reception, we were greeted by really friendly staff, they all introduced themselves, and asked our names. Ghallab brough us a drink, handled our check in, ferried our bags to our room, and we were not allowed to lift a finger, whenever he saw us around the hotel, he always made sure to say hello, how are you? Is everything ok for us. There was nothing that he could do to make us feel more welcome than we have ever felt anywhere. We arrived late and they brought us a tray of food to our room, as they thought we would be hungry after our journey, so thoughtful, we have never had this treatment, ever. Our room was beautiful, spacious and a haven of chill from the heat. The complex was clean, tidy, everything was well placed, the pools were clean, the bar man at the pool was so attentive and would quietly slip us drinks when he saw our glasses empty. Yes it's away from the main beach area and the old town, but we heard from others that they never sleep because the hotels/streets/tourists around them were really noisy. We never had that problem. Once the evening entertainment finished, we heard nothing, we had a week of amazing quiet undisturbed sleep, bliss!! I have left my favourite topic till last, the food!!! Every mealtime, we were greeted by Sayed, who was most welcoming. We could get our food but he would insist on getting our drinks, if he saw we'd finished filling our plates he would take them to our table. All the wait staff were as friendly and helpful, but he sparkled a little more for us. The food was so tasty. There was something for everyone, but we delved into the more traditional Egyptian food with anticipation and we were never disappointed. Fresh salads and meats, yes there were some reinvented dishes, but we were glad to see there was no wastage. We would return for the food alone, but the staff made it a 5 star experience for us!! Thank you for making our holiday an amazing experience.

staff is really nice and helpful, waiters at the buffet are nice, rooms and toilets are super clean, main dish at the buffet is perfect but other appetizers are just average, everything is nice but the only downside is it's a bit far from the center, around 20 minutes walking to arrive, not a big deal at night but in the afternoon it's kinda impossible with all the heat. but anyway taxis are relatively cheap in sharm (around 2$ for a ride) and even cheaper if you download indrive app. shuttle van to marina beach for free at specified hours.

Lovely friendly place. Nice pools. Food varied and good. No chips for the British that cannot live without, but lots of nice food.
Rooms good a little warn around the edges but that's Egypt. House keeping, the room boy does a nice line in towl animals. Clean. All staff are really friendly.

I went with my family last summer to spend the summer vacation. I found good treatment, the location is very good, and the beach is beautiful. The only bad thing is that some of the simple meals were not good, especially the chicken, which was not fresh.

The Oriental Rivoli hotel has a charm to it that makes it a decently enjoyable stay.

The rooms themselves are nice, nothing special. They're not modern but I assume they have a traditional look to them. The AC unit is hit or miss, sometimes it'll work, other times maybe not. The toilet functions well but specifically, my bidet was off centred and sprayed elsewhere. There is a lot of storage space perfect for storing clothes, shoes, bags or luggage. One thing that was quite annoying was the TV that was provided, it is ancient and it may or may not work. Some of the rooms do have modern flat screens but the odds of getting one of those rooms are up in the air.

The service is good, receptionists are great and meet your needs, sometimes. Some things aren't explained clearly upon first entering the hotel. I will explain them here so newer customers don't have to go through what I did:

• WiFi is a randomised code given through a piece of paper and is limited to 10GB of 5mbps per week, you may top up but this seems like a real inconvenience in the case it runs out. This was not given to us upon arrival but we had to ask after the fact as we thought WiFi didn't require sign-up.

• There is a free shuttle bus that goes to Kalimera Beach from the hotel. They do tell you this, HOWEVER, they do not say that you require a ticket for the beach which is handed to you at the hotel reception, we had to learn this the hard way after already arriving at the beach without said ticket. There is also another beach which is about a 7 minute walk from the hotel called Gaffy Beach. This beach also requires a ticket but it is much more relaxed.

These are the problems we ran into that weren't explained to us.

The food service is subpar. We elected to get the full-board which provided Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. You may opt for half-board which gives Breakfast and Dinner. The food range, while not limited, does not have any flavour whatsoever. You have to add your own seasoning and sometimes even that is not enough. Outside the buffet area is a station where you can craft your own foods based on the day. There were 2 days in which we enjoyed these foods, those were the days they served us steak and shawarma wraps. The other days were either pasta (do not request this it is awful) or some other bland food. The only other good thing about the food service was the breakfast where you could create your own omelette or order an egg to your liking.

The location of the hotel was excellent. There were multiple shopping markets nearby as well as restaurants, tourist information services, excursion places and numerous pharmacies if needed. Right next door, in the same complex was Bassem Market which is open 24/7 so at whatever time you need, you may stroll down to the store and purchase any assortment of things. There is also a McDonalds attached to the entrance although it is deserted with no signs of life.

A pro tip: Exchange your money at any excursion store front for the black mark rate. The current legal rate is 39EGP for £1 whilst the black market rate ranges from 45 - 60EGP for £1.

All in all, Oriental Rivoli Hotel is a good hotel for the price you pay though, you shouldn't hold your breath for the food.

Pleasant place with friendly staff. Very inviting bedrooms. Great meals- high variety. Pocket friendly rates. Best holiday destination!