We returned back from a fantastic week away in Sharm el Sheikh at the Hilton Sharks Bay just before Christmas. I felt compelled to write this review for two reasons. I spent ages reading everyone else's reviews and found them immensely helpful in choosing this place and secondly I add some information that is not already here.
To be honest, we went with very open mind to Sharm and to the Hilton. There have been some very mixed reviews about the place in the last few weeks so we weren't sure what we might get.
We arrived on 10th December and left 17th December. We booked the flights through Travel Republic and booked the hotel direct via the internet. It was by far the cheapest way for us to do it. The hotel laid on a car to collect us from the airport (I emailed asking whether possible - they were happy to oblige at US$10 each way). The driver waiting for us outside with one of those boards with our names on it and greeted us, took our bags to the car and off to hotel we went! Great start we thought!
Check in was swift as they had all our details to hand, we were given room keys, towel cards etc and the concierge grabbed our bags and took us for a tour of the hotel on a golf buggy.
Our room was a garden facing king size double on the ground floor (no. 905). The flooring was pretty standard to be honest - stone tiles, a sofa that pulled out to make another bed if required, a small coffee table, a dressing table, the bed and two side tables. There was also a decent TV with plenty of channels in English. The bathroom didn't contain a bath, only a very large walk in shower. In fact it was more of a wet room than a shower room. Points to note - you need a northern Europe adaptor for the plug sockets, the hair dryer/air mover was pretty poor. It didn't really dry your hair at all,
The Food
This is Egypt not France or Italy. We were not expecting to find haute cuisine and we didn't! But, the food was varied daily, was fresh, and on the whole enjoyable. There are 2 restaurants at the hotel - upstairs is the main restaurant serving in a 'canteen' style whilst downstairs was the Italian restaurant. For us, downstairs was a much more intimate place to eat - more like a restaurant back home. The food options: the Italian served freshly pizza's, pasta, salads, breads, and ice cream. There was a 3 course set menu that changed daily which was pretty good - sea bass one day, steak the next etc. Upstairs: There is a massive salad bar in the centre which was great. All number of different salad options etc, whilst there were also circa 8 different hot options (including veg, rice, potatoes) each day. Note - there is no pork available here due to it being a Muslim country. There are sausages and bacon but they are available as either chicken or beef.
We found the food to be sufficiently varied - but I can imagine that after 2 weeks it may well become a little too repetitive.
Other Eating and Drinking
There is somewhere to get a bite to eat all day at this hotel. Breakfast is served from 6.30am until 11am at the Marhrouf Restaurant, pastries are then served from 11-12 at Café Cino - which is located on the mezzanine level between Il Rustico and Marhourf Restaurant. From noon until 3pm, burgers and hotdogs along with salads and chips are served on the terrace on Il Rustico. These are pretty good and are always popular. Marhaourf serves lunch from 12.30 until 3. Again this is a buffet style affair with salads, mini pizza's, soup, rice, potatoes and a number of other hot dishes. If you are down the beach and fancy a light bite, the Sunset Beach Bar serves filled rolls that vary on a daily basis - tuna, beef, prawns, cheese etc. We found these to be slightly disappointing but others ate there daily. We preferred a big salad from Marhrouf Barbeq
One of our favourite places was the Chill Out Bar. It opens at 6pm and serves all the all inclusive drinks in a very comfortable, well decorated - almost plush environment. There is live entertainment in there each evening after 9.30pm which was varied in standard but before that it is a great place for a drink or 3! The Sunset Beach Bar didn't seem quite so popular, mainly because it did get quite chilly in the evening. However, I could imagine it being lovely on a balmy summer evening.
The Beach/Pool areas
We chose to sit close to the beach - mainly because of the view and that you tend to get more sun for longer here. The beach area is broken into several small terraced areas and as a result mini communities appear. We were on the front left hand side terrace which was a real mix of Brits and Russians. It tended to be the same people each day.
Worth noting, we would get up around 06.30 to get towels and 'bag' a couple of sunbeds. However, the beach boys would have been around before us and put towels on several beds. We found that getting my girlfriend to have a quiet word and a smile with him meant that we also had towels on our chosen beds the next day until the end of the holiday - although he did look for a 'small tip' for his work!
Around the main pool it appeared to be mainly Russians. The main pool was also the location of the daily activites such as Stretching, water volleyball, water aerobics. We didn't get involved in any of these, although they did seem popular with others.
There are 3 other swimming pools, one with a slide in it that appeared to attract the families. This was by the Il Rustico terrace. The other 2 were outside a group of bedrooms - and it appeared to be people in those rooms who were lying around them.
The Staff
All I can say is that they were excellent, particularly in the Chill Out bar and the restaurants. They can become a little too friendly for some but they know when to back off.
Also, we didn't have young kids with us but we did notice that they were absolutely brilliant with the little ones. They work 4 weeks on and then have 1 week off. Many of them leave their families in Cairo so see guests as extended family for short periods - and it is a good way to earn some extra cash in tips!
Value
This hotel has been immense value for money. We paid £55 a night…. For the two of us on an all inclusive basis. You can't get a Travelodge on the side of the motorway in the UK for that price!! When people complain about food or sunbeds, please take note at what you are paying for an entire day with all you food, drinks, entertainment etc. If you want an all out experience, try the Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton or Hyatt but be prepared for the expense.
Would I recommend/go back
In short, yes to both. The snorkelling and diving were simply amazing. To complete a PADI dive course was 299euros and there were some great boat trips to some amazing reefs for snorkelling which cost 50euros for 2 people. I can strongly recommend going on these trips - we did Jackson's Reef and Thomas Reef which were spectacular. Although you can see a huge variety of fish on the coral just off the hotel beach, the coral in the middle of sea is so very different. If you really want to see a variety of fish, go snorkelling first thing in the morning - i.e. before 8.30am. The fish at this time of the morning are quite different - loads more 'big' fish and they act very differently.
We found Narma Bay disappointing. There is a bus that runs from the hotel to the Hilton in Narma Bay for 15LE (Egyptian pounds) each way per person. Narma Bay is a strip of hotels which leads into a main strip of shops selling what can best be descriped as 'tat'. It is typical foreign selling techniques of stuffing things in your hands, trying to talk to you. We ate at Hard Rock Café whilst there - seemed to be the best of a limited choice.
If you go, have a great time and hope you enjoy as much as we did!
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Quality of Food & Drink
Average
Family Friendly
Good
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