Akaba tala bey. Tala Bay hotels in Aqaba, Jordan. Marina Plaza Hotel Tala Bay: positive reviews
Marina Plaza Resort Tala Bay 4* is a wonderful hotel built in traditional Arabic style. It is relatively new, as the hotel was opened in 2008. Over the past years, the hotel has received thousands of tourists wishing to relax on the Red Sea coast, near the Gulf of Aqaba. And now, along with the popularity of the resort, the popularity of this hotel is growing.
Location
Marina Plaza Resort Tala Bay 4* is located on the coast of Aqaba. You can walk to the sea in just a couple of minutes. The beaches here are good, sandy. Interestingly, the coast of Aqaba extends 27 kilometers in length. The holiday season always reigns here, because the air temperature, even in winter, does not drop below 22 degrees.
By the way, the hotel beach is private. It is not very far from the city center, but nevertheless, guests here are provided with a free shuttle to those places. The city of Aqaba has its own King Hussein International Airport. You can also get there quickly, in 15-20 minutes.
By the way, literally a stone's throw from the hotel there is a bus stop, several hypermarkets, shops, cafes and restaurants. From here you can also get to the underwater observatory, coral beach, Aqaba port and other local attractions. In general, the location is good and advantageous in all respects.
What does the hotel have?
Marina Plaza Resort Tala Bay 4* provides its guests with absolutely everything they could possibly need. On site there is an ATM, free car parking and Wi-Fi, luggage storage, two meeting rooms, a computer center, an office with fax and photocopier, and a large conference room.
There is also a laundry with dry cleaning, ironing, a common lounge, smoking areas, a souvenir shop, and a service for delivering free newspapers, drinks and food to the room. The hotel's one mini-market only sells drinks and snacks. In the other there is a wider choice. There is everything from household chemicals to canned goods. Therefore, if the need arises to buy something, people may not even leave the hotel premises.
The hotel reception is open 24 hours a day. You can go there for any question - be it the need to call a nanny or a doctor. By the way, such a possibility exists. Needless to say, if the hotel has its own yacht marina on its own private beach.
Entertainment
On the territory of Marina Plaza Resort Tala Bay 4* (Jordan), in addition to services that are designed to make guests’ stay as comfortable as possible, they offer various ways to have fun. Naturally, there is an outdoor swimming pool and sun terrace. In addition, the hotel provides professional equipment for water sports. While at the hotel, you should definitely try your hand at windsurfing or diving. You can rent a canoe and go water skiing. There is also everything you need for beach volleyball. And, of course, such little things as darts and table tennis are also available here.
Fans of a more active lifestyle will definitely appreciate the presence of a gym. After strength training, you can go to the SPA center, which is also located at Marina Plaza Resort Tala Bay 4* (Jordan). Here you can order cosmetic and wellness treatments. There are rooms where professionals serve couples in love. Many people like to come to the SPA together.
They offer stone therapy, Swedish and Thai massages, aroma and hydrotherapy, and reflexology. Clients can also visit the steam room, sauna or soak in the jacuzzi. However, the full list of services can be found on site. There is only one thing to remember - only adults are allowed into the SPA.
Nutrition
The Marina Plaza Resort Tala Bay 4* hotel (Jordan, Aqaba), the photo of which is provided above, has several establishments where you can eat deliciously. This is an oriental cafe, open from five in the evening until midnight. There is also a pool bar that opens at 9:00 and closes at 00:00. And of course, the main restaurant. It is open from 7 am to 10:30 pm. They serve fresh, varied, delicious food from a variety of cuisines. There are Belgian treats, Caribbean, Chinese, Italian, Mediterranean. The chefs also prepare Mexican, Middle Eastern, local, Asian and international dishes. Grill and barbecue are also often served here.
The restaurant serves guests on a buffet and menu basis. The establishment is popular, and since there are many rooms in the hotel, there are plenty of guests. That's why table reservations are encouraged. It’s better to “secure” a seat in a restaurant in advance so as not to wait until it becomes available.
Hotel guests about the restaurant
Briefly, I would also like to note what people who have been to the hotel say about its establishments. As many assure, the food here is really tasty, varied and unusual. A real paradise for gastronomic aesthetes.
Although the breakfasts are ordinary, like everywhere else. But good ones. There are hot dishes - omelettes with vegetables, fried eggs. They serve stewed in tomato sauce and fresh vegetables, several types of fresh and natural yoghurts, sausages, meat and cheese slices. There are also fried sausages, hot pancakes, a variety of jams, buns and pastries.
For lunch they offer various soups, side dishes, potatoes, spaghetti and excellent pilaf - with lamb or seafood. There are a variety of vegetables: cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, various salads, cabbage, corn. This is if we talk about fresh ones. They also offer tomatoes in natural yogurt, stewed or steamed vegetables. Potatoes are boiled, baked and fried. They offer lasagna, goulash, meat, and poultry. Desserts include pastries, cakes, puddings, and pastries.
Drinks include juices, draft wine and strong beer, whiskey, cocktails and much more. San Pellegrino, pink lemonade, soda, tonic, hot chocolate, Irish coffee and fresh juices are available at an additional cost.
By the way, the bar serves good hamburgers. In general, we can talk about gastronomic diversity for a long time, but the conclusion should definitely be stated - you won’t be able to go hungry in this place.
Standard Apartment
Now - a little more detail about what room options are available at Marina Plaza Resort Tala Bay 4* (Jordan, Aqaba). Standards with an area of 28 square meters. m are the most popular. Because they are the most affordable.
In the middle of the bright, stylishly decorated room there is a double king size bed. Opposite there is a plasma TV with satellite channels. The room also has a minibar, access to a furnished balcony, a safe, a telephone, air conditioning, and a bathroom with a shower. Guests are provided with personalized beauty kits containing liquid soaps, shampoos, shower gels, hair conditioners and body lotions.
How much would it cost for a week of accommodation in such an apartment for two people with breakfast? Standard price - 50,000 rubles. But the fact is that Marina Plaza Resort Tala Bay Aqaba 4* often offers discounts. Especially in autumn and winter (as the influx of tourists becomes less). By receiving a discount or promotional offer, guests can save 20-30%.
Junior Suites
Apartments of this class are also available at Marina Plaza Resort Tala Bay 4*. The photos provided in the article show that such numbers look very attractive. Their area is 54 square meters. m. The space is divided into a separate bedroom, living room, plumbing unit and kitchen with dining area. Everything that was listed above is also available for people staying in a junior suite.
A week's stay with breakfast will cost approximately 95,000 rubles. Maximum capacity is three people. This room can accommodate two adults and a child.
Suites
And of course, such apartments are also offered to potential guests. They are distinguished by a large area - 74 sq. m. These apartments are connected to a double room. This suite has a double king size bed. And in the next room there are two separate, standard ones. The apartments have access to a balcony with magnificent views of the marina. There is a kitchen, two plasma TVs (one for the bedroom) and another one in the living room. There are also two full bathrooms with toiletries for all guests.
The weekly cost of living in an apartment is about 180,000 rubles. Maximum capacity is four adults and one child.
Helpful information
Check-in at the Marina Plaza Resort Tala Bay 4* hotel starts at 15:00 and lasts until midnight. Departure must be completed before noon. But if guests are interested in a different time, due to the peculiarities of their flight, this can be agreed upon at the reception.
Children can stay in the hotel. If the child is under two years old, they will be provided with a special crib. And it will be free. A child under six years old can also stay in the room for free, but only on existing beds or a sofa, for example.
When applying for a reservation, you will need to provide your credit card details, and then take it with you. The hotel accepts four options - Visa, American Express, Master Card and Maestro.
Staff
Many people who have been here are happy to talk about how well trained the specialists are who serve the guests of the Marina Plaza Resort Tala Bay 4* hotel. Aqaba is the only resort in all of Jordan, so there are a lot of tourists here. And it is logical to assume that the sea and beaches should not be particularly clean at the height of the season. But not in this case. The hotel has a private beach, and it is cleaned throughout the day, several times. The sand here is clean, it’s nice to be on the beach. And the sea, accordingly, pleases too.
By the way, even though it is stated that the staff speaks only English, French and Arabic, guests assure that there are several administrators at the reception who speak Russian fluently. However, it won’t hurt to take a phrasebook with you.
The rooms are cleaned well, every day, and towels are changed with the same regularity. Linen - upon request. Every day they provide a bottle of purified water per person. Supplies of shampoos, gels, toilet paper and other hygiene products are regularly replenished. In general, in terms of service, Marina Plaza Resort Tala Bay 4* receives mostly positive reviews.
Guests who have already visited the hotel often give some recommendations about their stay at Marina Plaza Resort Tala Bay 4*. The photo of the hotel clearly demonstrates that the hotel is of a good standard. However, the prices also indicate this. Everything in Jordan is quite expensive - a dirham costs more than a dollar. Therefore, it is much more profitable to take the all-inclusive service rather than a room with a kitchen.
By the way, if you need to buy something in a mini-market or store, you don’t have to change rubles. As many assure, it is quite possible to pay with them here.
And further. It's definitely worth going on excursions. Jordan is a very interesting country. And at least the hot springs and the Dead Sea should be visited. It’s better to buy excursions on the spot, they are inexpensive here.
What else is worth knowing?
Finally, a couple more nuances about It is worth noting the fact that the hotel often greets guests with gifts. For example, regular guests, birthday people and newlyweds. They can give you cakes, fruits and other nice little things.
For many, a definite advantage is the lack of animation. No noise - silence, calm and privacy. So guests can simply have a pleasant time in the evening on the well-kept grounds of the hotel, surrounded by trees, palms and other vegetation.
And if you want entertainment, you can go to Aqaba, where a free bus runs several times every day (it also takes guests back). By the way, prices there are an order of magnitude lower than in the area where the hotel is located. Therefore, it’s worth going there for souvenirs, gifts and groceries; you’ll save a lot.
Otherwise the hotel is wonderful. With good, rather modest prices for accommodation, an excellent level of service and a private beach. The hotel is advertised as a family hotel, but everyone comes here, regardless of the type of vacation.
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This part is informal, as it does not contain any beauties, but simply the technical part, a description of the hotel and other “package” boring things.
I’ll tell you about Petra and the Wadi Rum desert in separate posts. There will already be beautiful pictures there.
So!
Colleagues, tourists! Let's first decide why you are going to Jordan in general, and to Aqaba in particular.
If you suffer from chronic malnutrition at home and plan to gorge yourself on the variety of local cuisine on vacation, then Aqaba is not for you and, apparently, not for Jordan at all. Direct your gaze to the closer Antalya or Kemer coast of Turkey to 5* hotels using the All and UltraAll system.
If you want to sunbathe on excellent beaches and watch through the glass of a mask the diversity of marine life of the Red Sea, then Aqaba is also not for you. Yes, here is the Red Sea, there is some wildlife, but it is incomparable even with the underwater diversity of Hurghada, not to mention, say, the Safaga reefs. In addition, going into the water without coral slippers is practically impossible unless you are a masochist, and the beaches are far from ideal cleanliness, and the texture of the sand leaves much to be desired. And if your travel agent sells you Aqaba as a full-fledged replacement for Egypt, then kick this liar and never do business with him again.
But if you dream of seeing one of "new seven wonders of the world"- famous Petra, visit the desert Wadi Rum, where more than one feature film was shot, and at the same time you can dip your bodies in the warm sea, then a few hotels in the city of Aqaba are waiting for you!
Now I’ll tell you how I came to live this way, namely, how and why I decided to use a ready-made tour, and even with a charter flight, and even from Moscow, given that we live in St. Petersburg and using the services of travel agencies is not at all in our practice.
The logic of my thoughts was as follows: The main purpose of the trip was to see Petra and the Wadi Rum desert, which would take two leisurely days. Somehow nothing else from Jordanian reality attracted me. It’s clear that it makes sense to fly for a week, no less. Therefore, an associated goal emerges by itself - it would be a sin to refuse the warm sea coast in a gloomy St. Petersburg autumn. How to get to all this happiness from St. Petersburg? There are no direct flights from St. Petersburg to Jordan and, apparently, there never will be (hello, hello, wretched Pulkovo!). There are direct flights from Moscow by airline Royal Jordanian, but to the capital of the country - Amman, from where you either have to fly to Aqaba or drive 335 kilometers along the highway. And the cost of these direct flights is not encouraging; I have not found prices below 25 thousand rubles Moscow-Amman for a round trip. There are options with transfers, for example, in Istanbul, including from St. Petersburg, but again to Amman. Although Turkish airlines It does fly from Istanbul to Aqaba, but not every day. And again: the prices do not look friendly and are in the same region of 25 thousand rubles for a round trip. And I was very limited in dates: the second half of October.
In addition, you need to understand that when you fly to Amman, you automatically get a visa, which is $56 (40 JD) per person. Not a penny either. And in Aqaba there is a free economic zone and visa-free entry in case of arrival at the local airport and subsequent departure from it.
It was then that my gaze turned towards charter programs. A ticket for a Moscow-Aqaba-Moscow charter with departure and return to Sheremetyevo cost 23,500 rubles per person. And the tour Pegas Touristik for a week 16-23.10.16 with hotel accommodation Marina Plaza Tala Bay 4* with breakfasts and dinners - 30,100 rubles. Agree that the choice seems obvious. “We’ll get to Moscow and back,” I thought, “luckily there are 60 thousand unnecessary Aeroflot miles available.” Moreover, we flew with Pegas a year and a half ago to Hurghada (the only time we used the “package” in almost seven years of independent travel) and everything was very good.
Great! It’s the end of July, I’m buying a tour for three (me, my wife and my adult daughter), buying tickets for miles from St. Petersburg to Moscow and back (plus an additional “fee” of 3,000 rubles per person), and on the way “there” I’m allowing four hours for transfers before the charter, and on the way “back” I spend a whole night with a hotel near Sheremetyevo, since the charter is supposed to arrive at 23:50 and... I sleep peacefully.
But no matter how it is! Less than three days before departure, news comes: the flight has been rescheduled from 13:30 on 10/16/16 to... 01:30 on 10/16/16 from Sheremetyevo to Vnukovo, that is, half a day earlier and from another airport! And it’s not Pegasus flying Nord Wind, and the airline iFly with absolutely garbage reviews! The return flight has not yet been rescheduled. Oops! Our happiness is that Russia airline tickets from St. Petersburg to Vnukovo are available for the evening of 15.10 “only” for 2,500 rubles per person. And we immediately forget about the previously purchased tickets and the 9,000 rubles spent on them.
We arrive in Vnukovo in the evening, sit for six hours, and at the same time observe the troubles of other “package passengers” of the same ill-fated Pegasus: the flight to Tunisia was delayed for a day (!), the flight to Antalya was delayed for 12 hours. We begin to slowly become hysterical, but suddenly we leave on time on a beat-up Airbus 330 and iFly turns out to be quite a decent airline, they even feed us sausage and pasta along the way. At six in the morning we land at the tiny airport in the Jordanian city of Aqaba ( Akaba). In an hour, four border guards “stamp” our flight. It's getting light outside and +25 C. Hello, Jordan! We are loaded onto a bus and taken to the hotel.
I will focus on choosing a hotel, because reading reviews about Aqaba hotels on the same tophotels, for example, is incredibly satisfying. I had a very clear idea of where we were going and did not expect any super service, all-inclusive food and other delights of “package” tourism. According to my observations, 80 percent of the Russians staying at the hotel with us also understood everything, which is very pleasing. The remaining 20%, apparently, were stupidly deceived by their travel agents, promising the same notorious “all inclusive”, the magical Red Sea and “in general, Egypt is opposite and everything is the same here.” No, guys, not the same.
Let's start with the fact that all hotels in Aqaba are divided into city hotels and hotels in the resort area Tala Bay.
City hotels are captivating with their price (the price of a 3* tour with breakfast was almost equal to just the charter price), the presence of a large selection of adequate (this is important!) food places and other public institutions (such as exchange offices) in the area. But there is no beach at all. Theoretically (!), there are city beaches in Aqaba at some distance from the center (you still need to get to them by taxi), but they are not equipped in any way and are quite littered. There is a private beach Berenice Beach Club, where umbrellas, sun loungers, toilets and even towels are available, but entry costs 15 JD ($21) per day per person! Those. The travel budget is not just suffering, but screaming! What else to do for a week in hot Aqaba, which has not a single attraction, but go to the beach? Consequently, the hotel in the city itself is in flight.
Let's turn to the Tala Bay resort area. It is located 15 km south of Aqaba proper and consists of only three hotels: Radisson Blu 5*, Marina Plaza 4*, Movenpick 5*. After reading reviews about them, I realized that radish horseradish is not sweeter, it doesn’t smell like any stars, and I chose something simpler: Marina Plaza Tala Bay 4*
There are three more beach hotels in the northern part of the city: another Movenpick 5*, InterContinental 5* and with the most decent reviews Kempinski 5*, but somehow I didn’t really find out anything about them, since Pegasus didn’t offer them.
So, what is Tala Bay? As I already said: three hotels, a small marina (i.e. bay) with a yacht parking, a beach, actually common to all three hotels, about five or six restaurants, a couple of travel agencies, a few souvenir shops, a grocery store of a fairly decent size (you can I can’t even call it a supermarket), a duty free store (for some reason I never happened to look into it) and a liquor store (it also didn’t attract our attention). There is one bank with a 24-hour ATM. The bank is almost always closed, but the ATM is facing the street. That's basically it.
How obvious minuses residence in Tala Bay:
- prices in restaurants are twice as high as in the city itself. Moreover, Jordan is an extremely expensive country. The prices in souvenir shops are the same. Therefore, take a hotel with at least breakfast and dinner, otherwise you will go broke.
- currency exchange is a small problem: the bank is almost always closed, the exchange rate at the hotel reception is bad, you can try to change it in shops, but it probably won’t be very good there either. However, more about currency below.
- you can get to Aqaba and back by a free bus from the hotel, but it is not rubber and you need to sign up in advance. A taxi will be unreasonably expensive.
Now about pros of Tala Bay:
- there is at least some kind of equipped beach where there are no local residents;
- once again: you will be spared, in principle, from the increased attention of the local population, since Tala Bay is a closed area and locals do not live in it. The attention of Jordanian men (and even more so Bedouins) to the female sex is not as intrusive as in Egypt or, especially, in India, but a daughter, for example, when walking around Aqaba, already habitually pulled a scarf over her head to hide from the ardent gaze of baboons, although she was dressed more than modestly. Well, Arab women are scary, what can you do? And there are zero blondes among them.
So, we sorted out the place of residence. Now let's get down to specifics.
Currency. Jordanian dinar – JD, JOD. Banknotes in denominations of 50, 20, 10 and 5 dinars. We haven't come across anything larger. Small change in the form of coins of 5, 10 piastres and angular quarts - quarters of a dinar, 25 piastres. The banknotes have both the usual numbers (on one side) and the Indo-Arabic version.
Dinar has a fixed well: 0.7 dinars per USD. Those. One dinar in October 2016 was approximately equal to 90 Russian rubles. At this rate, it is possible to exchange US dollars in any bank in Aqaba or in the same one in Tala Bay, if you are lucky and it is open. In theory, banks are closed on Friday and Saturday - this is a local day off, on Thursday only until lunch, and on other weekdays (including Sunday) - from 10:00 to 16:30 and always with a break in the middle of the day. But this is a theory; in practice, the bank in Tala Bay worked as it wanted, or rather, almost didn’t work. In addition to banks, in Aqaba itself there are many exchangers with more reasonable opening hours. Upon arrival at the airport, it is worth exchanging some currency. The rate here is 0.69, you won’t lose that much. There are no commissions anywhere. At the hotel the rate is 0.67. In stores you can negotiate and buy something for dollars and maybe even at the normal exchange rate, but it’s not a fact that it’s always the case. Well, that is. They will always take dollars, but at what rate - the seller or the owner’s left heel itches. Please note: when flying back from Aqaba airport, after passing the border guards, there is no bank! There are only a couple of sluggish dealers with high prices who are happy to make money from the leftover dinars that tourists pour into them. However, they are happy to take dollars and even rubles at the rate of 100 to the dinar. The entire airport there is a small enclosure, from which there are 3-4 flights per day.
Weather. During the day in Aqaba the heat was up to +40 C, at least +35 C. At night it “got cold” to +25 C. In Petra, fortunately, it is much colder, since it is higher in the mountains. There during the day it was no more than +28 C, and before noon even less, which makes the visit very comfortable. In Wadi Rum the temperature is the same as in Aqaba, only after sunset it drops more rapidly.
Language. Jordanians speak English practically as a second language, so there are no problems with communication. To my surprise, there are a number of citizens who speak Russian quite fluently. Apparently, they studied in Russia.
More by hotel. Don't think it's 4 stars. These are solid two stars with a claim to three in some places. When you perceive reality from this position, everything falls into place. Although, if you book a hotel through booking.com, a double room will cost $80 per night “with breakfast.” The hotel is definitely not worth this money, and it’s not for nothing that the rating is only 6 out of 10. And if you think that it cost us three for seven nights with breakfast and dinner for $300, what’s the difference between the cost of a charter and a tour, but everything is just super duper ! What captivates you about the hotel staff: sincere hospitality. Yes, they are stupid and slow, but I have never heard or seen a relationship “through the lip”, as happens in “fed” countries like Turkey or Egypt. Well, in general, a week of vacation with a flight from Moscow costs less than $500 per person. What do you want for that kind of money?
Number. The rooms are all standard size (except for the suites, but that's a whole different price). It is clear that the third bed will be a folding bed. And a very decent folding bed. She will fit into the room with difficulty, but she will fit. For some reason, for the majority who ordered a room for three, this fact became a revelation.
Check-in starts at three o'clock in the afternoon. Normal practice. The guide clearly says this right away and there is no need to try to check in earlier. We dropped our things, had breakfast, changed clothes in the toilet, and went to the sea. Why waste a day? The only inconvenience: I had to carry money with me.
At check-in(we lived in a room 5108
, first floor, not far from the reception, window to the pool): the folding bed was brought only at seven in the evening (however, they immediately said that not earlier). The safe doesn't work. We called the reception. They came and fixed it within half an hour. There are no towels, not a single one. They immediately caught the “room boy” in the corridor and requisitioned the required amount from him, despite the screams. The staff tries, they really do. But they are very slow.
IN number there is a fairly large closet with that same safe, a long table, one ottoman stool, a couple of bedside tables, a TV that only takes up space on the table, beds with very decent mattresses. There is a refrigerator-minibar. Upon arrival there are two free half liters of water. Sometimes they are reported during cleaning, although according to policy they are not required to do so. The floor in the room is tiled (which is strange for a hotel that has labeled itself 4*, but absolutely normal for a 2*). The plumbing works fine, there were no problems with water, the towels are of decent quality. The shower room is made into a separate room and, in theory, water should not flow from it into the bathroom. But it hits. From soap and soap accessories: bar soap, one bottle each of shampoo - shower gel - hair conditioner - lotion. One not per person, per room. Qualities corresponding to 2*, i.e. below the average. It’s clear that you need to take your own or buy it in the market. There is a hairdryer in the bathroom. The condo worked great and this is a huge plus; without it at plus 40 it would have been extremely difficult to live.
Bring a mini electric kettle or boiler with you in case you want tea in the evening. Disposable paper cups are available in the market if you are too lazy to take them with you.
There is a balcony with two tired plastic chairs and the same table. Valuable because you need somewhere to dry your swimming clothes.
In general, the hotel is old and the invasion of Russian tourists came as a surprise to it. The local infrastructure is not ready for such volumes and it does not appear that the situation will improve significantly.
During the operation of the room per week:
- the safe broke again: they called, half an hour later, they fixed it;
- the air conditioner broke down: they called, one came, a second came, they called a third, had a meeting, and an hour later they fixed it;
- cleaning every day, but needs stimulation. On the first day, they left one towel instead of seven (one shared for the feet, two per guest: large and small), they fished him out and forced him to bring him. There are not enough towels and they are trying to save money. The next day I left the dinar on the bed. All towels are available, two bottles of water in the refrigerator, they even supplied local shampoo and shower gel. But one bottle at a time. But we had our own, so it doesn’t matter. Bed linen was changed twice during the week. Three days later, the dinar repeated, as the zeal began to weaken (again I had to search, catch up and demand towels). The result even exceeded expectations: they tried to create some figures from towels 
Don’t overcharge, you definitely don’t need to tip every day. But, alas, stimulation is needed, we have already learned it.
WiFi. He's gone. More precisely, it is only in a certain place outside (!) of the reception building. In the evenings, a couple of dozen sufferers cluster there. On the beach you can catch a certain tala bay network (precisely with a small letter, since Tala Bay requires a login password). At the Susana restaurant they told me that in theory there is Wi-Fi, but now there is not...
Food at the hotel. The most painful topic for Russian tourists. The hotel, by the way, operates on an all-inclusive system, but I would not recommend it. So.
Breakfast. From 6:30 to 10:00. Their sadness is monotony. Within a week you get tired of the same thing. But you won't remain hungry. Scrambled eggs or omelet (fried by the cook), boiled egg, potatoes (always undercooked), beans in tomato sauce, cucumbers, tomatoes, two types of cheese (inedible), feta cheese, sausages and two types of sausage, in the production of which no animals were harmed, bread, rolls (with sesame seeds are very tasty), muffins are often baked in molds, jam of two or three types, honey, butter, olives, black olives. Tea, coffee, milk, three types of cereal, a couple of types of body “juice”. Do we remember that the hotel is 2*? Well, that's normal for him. If it were 3* it should have been better. The food is cheap and unpretentious, but fresh. I have not seen or experienced any cases of poisoning, although my gastrointestinal tract reacts to any garbage.
Dinner. From 19:00 to 21:00. It's more fun here. There are always at least three sets of hot dishes: chicken, fish (tilapia), beef. And often also delicious pilaf with large pieces of beef. Side dishes: rice, pasta, potatoes (always undercooked), stewed vegetables (zucchini, for example, or eggplant). Well, besides: tomatoes, cucumbers, green salad, a couple of types of Olivier-type salad, olives, olives, feta cheese, sour cream, bread, of course, and some other little things.
The reviews are touching: “they only have three types of side dishes for dinner!” How many types of side dishes do you have for dinner at home? What about meat? Make such claims to your wife!
For dessert, five or six types of cupcakes and puddings are baked, a couple of which are necessarily not only edible, but also tasty. Among the fruits there are apples and a few oranges, which the sufferers snatch up at the very beginning. But drinks at dinner are only for holders of all-inclusive bracelets. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. But absolutely no one is stopping you from bringing with you any drinks you like (even a bottle of whiskey) and drinking them at dinner. By the way, how the staff understands which of the guests should only have breakfast, and which with dinner, and which on FB in general (after all, there is lunch too) is unclear. Most likely not at all. Bracelets are available only from “allinclusive”. The restaurant staff, by the way, are generally very loyal: they allow you to carry food into your rooms, which I would categorically prohibit. Well, okay, fruit, but they carry mountains of cupcakes, and then complain about cockroaches in the room! Well, be productive yourself. To be fair, we had no insects in our room at all.
By the way, the hotel chefs cook delicious food. I don’t remember that I didn’t like anything, with the exception of the unfortunate potatoes. But once again: those expecting twenty types of meat for dinner and a sea of delicious alcohol poured out - do not go to Jordan!
Sometimes there is a shortage of cups for tea and for cereals with milk. Although the dishwashers are as fast as blacks on a plantation. It's strange that the hotel saves on dishes. I've seen reviews that the dishes are washed poorly. They wash normally and partially even in dishwashers, and not by hand. Sometimes, especially at dinner, it is difficult to find a free table. The hotel restaurant is not designed for everyone to come at the same time. Well, because of this, at dinner there are often 10-15 people queuing for hot food.
Cat problem. There are many of them in the area. The small-minded guests also feed them. And then they write indignantly in reviews: the cat snuck into the restaurant, climbed onto the table and ate from my plate! Yes, such cases do occur. The staff chases the cats, but hunger is not a problem and forces the animals to be resourceful. It is strange that the hotel administration does not get rid of tailed pets. It's not a complicated matter.
Restaurants in Tala Bay. In fact, there was practically enough breakfast and dinner at the hotel. We tried to have lunch (more of a snack) a couple of times in what seemed to be an adequate restaurant, Tala Bay - Susana. Did not like. Very expensive and tasteless. The restaurateur's greed kills. A glass of juice from a 2 JD package. Caesar salad 5 JD, they brought it - and it’s just lettuce leaves sprinkled with sauce from a store-bought sachet, i.e. nothing meat (no chicken, much less shrimp). Tuna pizza - a little canned fish thrown into the middle. Bologneso and fettuccine pasta is a lump of pasta floating in fat. The three of us paid more than 20 JD and left with a slight bewilderment in our stomachs. Brrrrr... no thanks. As a result, for several days we simply made do with yoghurts and sandwiches from the market.
Supermarket. Smaller than the average Pyaterochka size. In principle, there is everything down to disposable tableware. No fruit (except for the already boring apples). Very occasionally bananas. There is generally a problem with fruits in Jordan; apples are brought from Europe, for example. Oranges are local, but apparently there are very few of them. Large selection of alcohol. The prices in the market could not be compared with those in Aqaba. I think it's more expensive, but not critical. Water 1.5 liters - 0.5 JD, natural juice 1 liter - 2 JD, Rani drink - 0.4 JD per 0.235 liter can, produced in the UAE, to which 
This is what was bought every day in large quantities. I simply don’t remember the prices for the rest; the expenses were insignificant. But it’s definitely twice or even three times more expensive than usual St. Petersburg prices.
Swimming pools. There are small ones. Like there are two or even three of them (one children's paddling pool). Basically, they are cleaned every morning. I would even risk taking a swim, but I didn’t see the point: it’s much more fun in the sea, and I go to the pool at home. 
Beach. Upon check-in, you must issue a card for beach towels. At around 9 a.m. you will receive them at the round window by the pool in exchange for the card. Hand it in in the evening before 6:30 p.m. The quality of the towels is decent. Marina Plaza is a “second line” hotel. There are a lot of complaints about this in the reviews. I wasn’t lazy, I did the math. From the room to the beach - 300 meters and 4 minutes of calm walking. Colleagues, you really want a lot. There are sunbeds and umbrellas. They are few. Very little. If you come at 8 am, you will find a place, if at 9, then with great difficulty and on a broken sunbed. If at 10, then in the flight up to 14 hours, lie on a towel until the people leave. There are no toilets. There are no changing rooms. There are showers with warm fresh water, thank God. There are no hotel bars on the beaches. There are trash cans, and there are quite a few of them. The beach is cleaned, but without much fanaticism. Surely no one cleans up cigarette butts, but here I would like to say a few kind words to the smoking pigs who are too lazy to take a few steps to the trash can: do you also throw cigarette butts next to the sofa at home?
In general, the beach is a C grade, of course.
Sea. I read a lot in reviews that the bottom is littered. Not certainly in that way. There is garbage, but not a critical amount of it. It’s not Arabs or vacationers who litter on purpose, it’s blown off the beach by the wind. Out of seven days, for example, two had a very decent wind, once we even sunbathed by the pool, it was so uncomfortable by the sea. At the same time, divers are removing debris, I saw it myself. And the sea is so clean. Regarding living creatures: well, it’s not rich, but there is some. Moreover, more often there is very close to the shore at a distance of about five meters, where the depth is “chest-deep”. There are half-living corals and there are quite a lot of fish. We even saw a moray eel and a couple of times schools of squid. Well, that is. There is some snorkeling, so definitely take a mask and snorkel. The best place to be on Radisson Beach is to the right of the pontoon, facing the sea. The entry into the sea is rocky and often unpleasant, but that’s not the point: there are a lot of sea urchins. Don’t even think about walking around without coral slippers, you’ll be left without legs. There are two pontoons: stationary on the Marina Plaza beach 
and Radisson floating on the beach. 
We didn’t go to the Movenpik beach - it was too lazy, it was a bit far, we had to basically walk around the entire bay. Well, it’s a bit far: a five-minute walk.
There is also diving, they say it’s good, but I can’t speak for it, since we are not divers.
Free bus to Aqaba. Four times a day. The schedule is at the reception, you need to make an appointment in advance (preferably a couple of days in advance). And not only there, but also back. The drive is about 15 minutes one way.
Hotel guides. It's them, the unfortunate ones, who get it in the reviews. I want to say a few words in their defense. There are only three of them in all of Aqaba: Evgeniy, Vadim and Mustafa. Normal guys, adequate, sick of their work. Colleagues! It's not their fault that your expectations from the hotel are not met! There is no need to bully the tour operator guide over trifles! There are no towels, the safe doesn’t work, the key is demagnetized, the cleaning sucks, they didn’t bring anything: everything goes to the reception! It is there that guests' problems related to the hotel should be solved (and are solved!). And finally learn a few words in English and read a little about the country where you are going! Oil painting: a middle-aged lady enters the reception with a brisk step. Then a quick monologue in Russian: “Listen, I lost my scarf somewhere. Didn't you find it? No? It's a pity. Well, if you find it, it’s mine!” Leaves. The guy at the reception remains in the position: his mouth is open, his eyes are wide.
Personally, we have no complaints about the host guides: the transportation from to the airport was organized perfectly, on the way from the airport and at the orientation meeting at the hotel they spoke clearly and loudly about the country and its features. We didn’t need any excursions from them. Why else do you need a hotel guide?
Aqaba. There is absolutely nothing to do in the city. Eat mosque. 
And a huge flag of Palestine (!) on high flagpole– so that it can be seen from Eilat, which is very close across the bay. 
In the three hours between hotel bus flights: we agreed with the taxi driver about a trip to Petra, had lunch at a restaurant Al-Shami(GPS 29.5281, 35.003
), walked around the entire center, bought souvenirs and even some shoes, bought some very tasty local mangoes with us (2 JD for a large fruit), ate ice cream at Mak and still had half an hour left.
Restaurant Al-Shami On Tripadvisor it has the first place in reviews among all restaurants in Aqaba and the surrounding area. Well what can I say? Inexpensive for Jordan, yes. We ordered for three: chicken shish kebab, chicken according to a local recipe, a couple of salads like cucumbers and tomatoes, rice. Everything is spicy, the salads are generously seasoned with vinegar, the kebab is tasty, the chicken is not so much. For everything without tip, 16 dinars plus two were left as “tip.” We were full, but... if this is the best restaurant, then what about the others? 
Return trip. Needless to say, Pegasus moved the return flight 12 hours earlier and we took off at 6 am instead of 6 pm. Still the same iFly. Of course, we didn’t get an extra day from the tour operators. We arrived in area 11 in Vnukovo. We looked at Aeroflot flights to St. Petersburg. We realized that there was nothing to catch, the prices were astronomical. Of course, we didn’t take anything in advance - we had already eaten Pegasus until we were full, only the hotel booked at Sheremetyevo was canceled in advance without penalty. It’s good that inexpensive S7 tickets from Domodedovo were available upon arrival: 2,450 rubles per person without luggage and 3,450 rubles with luggage. We bought it using the native S7 smartphone app. We ordered a taxi through the Rutaxi application. From Vnukovo to Domodedovo 1050 rubles and an hour's drive. It’s good to have a smartphone and the Internet at hand. In the evening we were already home.
Which conclusions: Do not fly charters from outside your city of residence! Or if you really can’t bear it, then don’t take return tickets at all, but buy tickets there... well, probably a day before the actual departure.
They had heard little about Jordan, and even less had any idea what kind of country it was. When we told friends and acquaintances about our travel plans, as a rule, they heard: “It’s not safe there!” We read the reviews, watched the video and decided that we were going! The flight is 4.5 hours and we are in Aqaba. Another 30 minutes by bus and Tala Bay.
Tala Bay is a large area that includes several hotels and private properties. We lived in the Grand Swiss, a former Radisson. More details about the hotel can be found in my review on Top Hotels. During our visit there was a strong wind blowing constantly, every day. My metal ashtray was blown off the balcony. In the morning the air temperature was +18 and then it got warmer. By about 11 o'clock we were already going out to sea. The sea is quite cool +21-23 degrees, but for us it was normal to swim every day.
Aqaba. 20 minutes by free bus and we are in Aqaba. There's nothing to do there! Stores with rags all for $7, cafes, hairdressers, a couple of ruins excavated by archaeologists. 2 hours was enough to see all the sights (twice).
Petra. Grandiose, magnificent, amazing! It’s a huge complex, which wouldn’t take a whole day to explore. This must be seen, it is useless to describe. On the way to Petra, such views of the desert are breathtaking. It feels like I've entered another dimension. To the left and right of the highway there is wilderness, only Bedouins on horseback tending their sheep and camels, and at rare posts there are soldiers in jeeps with machine guns.
Hot Springs. They say that at one time, both King Herod and Cleopatra rode them. Located in a picturesque gorge. A waterfall of hot thermal water falls down from a 20-meter height. Below it, there are several tiers of stone pools in which you can swim quite comfortably. We all liked it.
Dead Sea. 40 minutes drive from the springs. The landscapes are impressive, and swimming in it is not for everyone. The wife was delighted, the child was terrified, flew out of the sea with a squeal, and I had already been on it before and did not see anything new for myself. But if you haven’t been to the Dead Sea, then of course it’s worth seeing and trying.
Summary: very beautiful country, nice and sociable people. No one grabs you by the hand and drags you into their shops: “Just look.” They don’t raise prices several times over, as if to scam tourists out of their money, and they don’t stare at our women. Jordanians are a proud people. We did not exchange dollars for local currency, we paid in dollars, they have completely free circulation. They say it’s not very profitable, but we didn’t worry. We also didn’t bargain, we heard that you could negotiate a discount of 10-20% of the requested price, but we didn’t buy anything special, and we didn’t bargain for a 1-2 dollar discount. We took an excursion to Petra from our tour operator “Coral Travel”. 110 dollars for an adult and 55 for a child (for a child in Petra, be sure to take either a passport or a photocopy of it) we were actually asked for it at the entrance to the complex. They asked for documents for all the children on our bus. We took a taxi to the Dead Sea and its springs. $200 per car for the whole day, lunch and tickets to the springs included in the price. We agreed through the “in contact” group, I don’t know the details, my wife was involved. Very tasty coffee, ice cream, pastries and sweets. Jordan left an unforgettable impression on us.
Have a nice holiday everyone and travel more!
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