I stayed one night at The Grand Plaza Hotel Smouha and then decided to extend my stay 3 more nights because I appreciated how clean, quiet, and private it was. (I was seeking these conditions so I could focus on my work.) The only red flag that I noticed on Night 1 was that there was a sour, eggy, fishy smell emanating from the shower drain. It was foul but isolated to the shower stall, so when I bathed, I just plugged my nose and sucked it up; I was weary from travel and just wanted to rest, so I chose to let it go. Fast forward to the next day, early afternoon: the smell had ramped up; the main room was now heavy with the stench. It was sour, rotten, maybe sewage, maybe something more nefarious, I don’t know. All I know is that it gave me a headache and made my eyes burn. I called two of the hotel’s lines and explained my situation, and politely requested a room change. They told me to “call back at 8 or 9pm as a room *might* be available then.” I also spoke with two housekeepers as they saw me opening and closing the door in attempt to air the room out; no one helped. I decided then that I should find a different hotel because my request wasn’t being taken seriously; I did not feel safe. I closed the bathroom door, hoping to trap the smell, then opened the bedroom window. Then I briefly worked before returning to the bathroom to use the toilet, to discover the smell… completely gone. Not a trace remained. In other words, the smell got progressively worse from ~4pm on 9/12 to ~1pm on 9/13—to only vanish when I started making those calls.

I checked out early evening on 9/13. I spoke with the hotel manager, I think his name is Bassem. I told him why I was checking out. When I told him that the gaseous smell seemed to ‘turn off’ when I called the help desks, he got fidgety and uncomfortable; the whole interaction felt seedy. I asked for a refund and he told me that I had to get in touch with the booking agency. I did just that over the next two days, emailing and Web Chatting with the agency, twice CCing the hotel’s email. The booking agency was helpful and communicative with me but they unfortunately could not get in touch with the hotel to confirm the details of my stay. The hotel also never replied to those emails. So, I didn’t get my $217.77 refund for the 3 unused nights. Perhaps this treatment has to do with the fact that I have high-stake legal proceedings going on in the States.

The one star is for a few of the people on staff who were genuinely kind and helpful towards me. Just be careful of that manager, as he ultimately is the one that oversees the hotel’s operations, from the light to the very dark.