The staff are excellent here...We stayed 3 weeks,...Mostly Russian guests..we were treated like royalty and much to the chagrin of other guests were always personally served by the hotel dining room manager Moustapha.....The food was too many carbs for Nth American guests but as they dont get hardly any from there -the food most likely geared was to the Russian palate...All fruits and vegs are organically grown on the hotel grounds..The room we had -had 20ft ceilings in part and a mezzanine /bathroom with jacuzzi-very luxurious plus another full bathroom downstairs..The room houskeepers were excellent and I had all my laundry and dry cleaning done by the hotel-very reasonable...Always a lovely smile by Mohammed at the Bahia bar (inclusive)...and personal service.......The housekeeping staff presented us with a beautiful arrangement of flowers at thier expense and it touched me and brought a tear to my eye cos we had been treated so special.....Special mention to the towel and pool staff..in fact the whole experince was very good....Take a cheap taxi to Naama Bay,,try Montys bar (near HSBC)..and Pirates bar at the Hilton..(get dropped off here and walk)..all great for English football.....Try the Marriott piano bar( sorry no piano) for peace and quiet and afternoon drink specials......lots of lovely walking to enjoy the colorful bouganvillas ...................

Not our first trip to Egypt so we were looking forward to a relaxing holiday with no worries and were not to be disappointed on that score. Has beds everyday at the hotel pool, and occasionally visited other pools and snorkeling within the resort. The biggest single resort in Sharm I believe. Cannot speak highly enough of the staff.Too many to name individually here, but service was tremendous and so friendly. Be polite, courteous and interested in them and they will return the treatment a hundred fold. We had a junior suite and was possibly the best room we have had on holiday. This resort is mainly used by Russians, Italians and this year Egyptians (due to reduced numbers of foreign tourists) Not a problem for us as we enjoy mixing with people from other countries and cultures, but it may be a problem if you prefer the sound of English chatter all around you.
We were all inclusive, and this was fine. Bottled water was a bottled water was a bit scarce but we were able to refill out bottles from the restaurant water dispensers daily. Local drinks were limited to popular spirits but measures could be a bit on the strong side. After the pool bar closed at six, you have to use a bar in the resort centre by the beach. This means the hotel areas remain peaceful, but it would be nice to be able to have a quiet drink in the hotel bar late on, but only a pay bar is available there, and a bit pricey. All inclusive guests can only eat in the hotel buffet, which although the food was very well cooked, did not live up to the billing (which was one of the reasons we chose this hotel). There was not a lot of variation, and the food was very plain. We prefer a more cosmopolitan mix of food and tastes. It also turned out that a number of other restaurants in the resort had closed or were no longer in existence. which was a blow for us.
We did not starve, but the lack of choice and variety would probably put us off returning to this particular hotel.

We had a great holiday, met some great people and a great room, just a shame about the food.

I thought I had booked a holiday in Egypt! I simply do not understand why the reviews are as high as they are for this resort. The resort was 85% Russian, 10% Italian and a few Egyptians. Never met a single Brit (not that that is a requirement) but when a resort is so dominated by one culture the quality is bound to go down. Came to Sharm 4 years ago at the Melia Sinai and quite enjoyed it. I feel it has changed a lot and is in danger of following the Spanish Costas. I knew as soon as I arrived at the Thomas Cook flight that I had probably made the wrong choice. The resort is a huge estate (when did you last catch a bus within your hotel?!!). I would never in a million years come back but let me give you the facts as the purpose is to help you not make the same mistake as me.

If you find yourself answering "yes" to most of these questions I'd advise you not to come

1. Do you consider yourself to be a "discerning" traveller?
2. Do kids just being kids annoy you on holiday?
3. Do you get on with "block" tourism? (in this case it is Russia)
4. Do you find the same food monotonous? (all inclusive package)
5. Do you value peace and tranquillity highly (would you rather sip your drink looking out at the fantastic sea views rather than having the intrusion of music?)

If you are still reading here are the good things:

1. The Egyptian staff like the British people and will go out of their way to please you. To quote Ali at the Bahia bar we are "za best of za best"!! how sweet of him.
2. The Salt Lake is really good (but private to those in residence to it - unfortunately many people use it who should not)
3. The sun, sea and snorkeling are great, as usual (though the boat trip to Tiran again suffered from mass tourism as there were dozens of other boats competing!)
4. The staff are very helpful at the El Wadi restaurant (mr El Hady is a true gentleman and deserves commendation)
5. Kid friendly

The bad things (for me)
1. Trapped in an enormously overgrown and sterile camp!
2. Too many intrusions of noise from families/kids - the sight of push chairs around the lake was not what I had in mind when I booked.
3. Fairly poor dining experience (I do NOT understand why people rate it highly, the wine was pretty poor too)
4. Mass tourism selling out to the Russian market (some of the staff gave me their honest opinions about this too)

I think Sharm may have pretty much sold out now and I doubt I will ever go back.
Having said all of these things you do make the best of things don't you and you can try to beat any system if you try! Such as dining late to avoid the rush (the Russians are truly in another class the way they pile their plates high). and swimming when the kids are away being fed etc etc etc.

It was not one of my better holiday destinations but hey, when the weather is 40 degrees and the sea azure blue with the most amazing sea creatures, why not spend more time with fish than with people?!!!

Thoroughly enjoyed our stay and look forward to going back. Staff were very warm and accommodating and facilities great. As most of the party was vegetarians, we requested alternative food to what was available as a part of the buffet. The chef (Ayman (probably spelled incorrectly)) was more than happy to cook to our preference.

Excellent.