Sweet Home Hostel

For the price, this is a clean and affordable hostel close to the sea. The caretaker keeps cleaning, and I found no bugs in the bedding, which was the main thing I cared about. The shared room has four people but still feels spacious. Good value and suitable for a stay of about a week.

The caretaker, Mr Fathi, is a decent man who works hard and clearly cares, and he cleans daily. That’s why I’ve raised my rating to two stars, even though the place itself was filthy and only seemed tolerable for a night or two. The bedding was clean with no sign of bugs, and there was hot water, but the bathroom was grimy. There’s only a bar of soap, no shampoo, and the caretaker supplies toilet paper but not towels. The kitchen was awful, with a broken kettle and a cooker giving off a worrying gas smell. There’s a fridge and microwave. The air conditioning does work, and there’s also a fan, but the AC smelled like cheese, apparently from poor maintenance, and could make you sick. WiFi was available but unreliable. Some guests were vulgar. The lift felt very claustrophobic. Maybe these conditions are acceptable by Egyptian standards, but not European or Asian ones. I wouldn’t recommend it, especially for families with kids.

It’s the cheapest hostel in Hurghada, and for the price it’s okay, with a washing machine, hot water, and fans. But the owner asks to use your phone to leave himself a rating, which is really awkward for many tourists. That should be the customer’s choice, so the Booking reviews were made by him, not me. People come and go, so don’t trust people too easily when you don’t know them. I have to add that this place has bedbugs. Things need replacing, or it should be closed. I still have the marks from the bites on my body.

For the conditions, this is a decent value and a safe place to stay. The hostel is reliable and clean, though not perfectly so, and a good option in Hurghada.