Hana Hostel

We planned on just one night, but Mohammad and Hani made the place feel like home, so we stayed three. Mohammad was so sweet and helped us with a lot. He invited my son to play soccer with kids from the neighborhood, and my son made his first friends in Egypt. Hani found us discounted trips to snorkel, see dolphins, and admire the Red Sea coral. Wonderful people, and a great budget stay by the beaches.

For low-budget travelers, I’d recommend this hostel. It’s close to the coast, though the area looks a little shady. The staff are really friendly and provide good service, but the rooms and shared indoor areas could use a makeover and felt a bit depressing. I also wasn’t comfortable with stray dogs sleeping right outside the window. The rooftop, though, was a cheerful, surprisingly relaxing spot.

Booking.com had confirmed my booking, but they refused to check me in because I’m Egyptian. If you’re Egyptian, make sure to call before heading there. The worst experience ever.

Hana and sea waves share the same boss. The first night the WiFi didn’t work, apparently they were trying to save money, so I went next door to use WiFi and got a hard time for sitting in the aisle. Three days later, a huge cockroach showed up. I tried to kill it, but it was so big it opened its wings at me, then hid. They blamed me for using too much WiFi. How could I use 600GB by myself in 6 days? A few days later they asked me to change rooms. The blanket in the new room smelled like urine. It seemed like someone had peed on it on purpose, and they hadn’t changed it at all. The toilet leaked and didn’t work properly. WiFi is limited, and they get annoyed when they see you browsing the Internet, especially