Holiday Inn Resort

...thing you notice about the Holiday Inn Resort is its proximity to the airport. From leaving the airport, you are less than 10 minutes transfer away. This was a great relief as transfers are always one of the dullest parts of any holiday, and the short journey was a real treat. However, it did make you think that there could be a lot of aircraft noise. After only a couple of nights, we were pleased that aircraft noise was very, very minimal. Flights ...
...by the end of the holiday become more of feature of the hotel. Check in was easy enough, nothing unusual, but nothing exceptional either. We were given a map of the hotel. The receptionist advised us that we could go straight into the dining room for dinner. It had been a long journey in total, and so opted for a few minutes rest in our room first. The receptionist kindly organised the hotels mini-bus to take us to our room. This feature of the hotel ... more

The first thing you notice about the Holiday Inn Resort is its proximity to the airport. From leaving the airport, you are less than 10 minutes transfer away. This was a great relief as transfers are always one of the dullest parts of any holiday, and the short journey was a real treat. However, it did make you think that there could be a lot of aircraft noise. After only a couple of nights, we were pleased that aircraft noise was very, very minimal. Flights were generally during the afternoon or early evening, and did not cause excessive noise at all.

After the short transfer, you are met by a large reception area. Our luggage was taken from the bus for us, and we didn't see it again until we were in our rooms. There are security guards at the front of the hotel; in fact, they are present at every hotel in Sharm el Sheikh. Initially, they feel a little intimidating, but are generally very friendly to foreigners, and by the end of the holiday become more of feature of the hotel. Check in was easy enough, nothing unusual, but nothing exceptional either. We were given a map of the hotel. The receptionist advised us that we could go straight into the dining room for dinner. It had been a long journey in total, and so opted for a few minutes rest in our room first. The receptionist kindly organised the hotels mini-bus to take us to our room. This feature of the hotel gives a good impression on the size of the hotel.

The Rooms

We had two twin rooms located next to each other. We had not requested an interconnecting door, and so this was not available, but from speaking to guests this is available upon request and a great idea for families. We had requested a sea-view room, and despite the darkness, the view from our room was spectacular. The room itself was incredibly large. Two double beds and acres of space. I could quite easily say these were some of the largest hotel rooms we had ever stayed in. These were only standard rooms, and upgrades were available. The bathroom was also very large. The room was tiled, not carpeted, which in the scorching heat of Egyptian August helped even more keep the room cool. Air conditioning is provided free of charge, as is a fridge and safety deposit box. The air conditioning was controlled by a panel on the wall, was easy to use and every effective. On the first night, both of us woke up and complained we were too cold! This must be a first in Egypt. After about 10 minutes or so, our luggage was delivered to our rooms. The porter also showed us how to use the air conditioning, how to set the digital safe and other things around the room. He could not have been more helpful. He also showed us were our rooms were on the map, in relation to the pools, restaurants and reception. One thing we did notice in this hotel over others we have holidayed in was the cleanliness. The majority of hotels work to keep their rooms clean, but the room-boys at the Holiday Inn quite literally gutted the room on a daily basis and cleaned everything there was to clean. Each guy had about 10 rooms to clean, which took them all day, spending at least half an hour, generally more, cleaning each room. This was very impressive, and was definitely noticeable.

Our room was located looking out over the sea with views to Tirran Island. This meant that it was as far from the reception area as possible. On an evening, this meant that it was very quiet, but also meant a bit of trek back to the front of the hotel - all of which is up hill. During the mid-day heat, this walk could easily have taken about 10 minutes. There are many rooms located nearer the reception, so it may be worth requesting one of these if you don't fancy the trek each evening to and from your room. The mini-bus that took us to our room on arrival only runs during the day around the hotel, but does provide a frequent service between the reception, pools, most rooms and the beach.

The Food & Drink

We were staying on a bed and breakfast basis, but on the first night thought we would try the normal buffet restaurant in the hotel for ease. The food was plentiful, but nothing special. There was a lot to choose from, but after speaking to other guests, the hotel provide the same food daily, and it's up to you to vary what you eat, or in our case, to try a bit of everything! The food was certainly edible, and nicely presented, but we thought that generally the buffet was over-priced if you have not already paid for half board - although it was as much as you can eat, so make sure you get your money's worth. It cost about 80 Egyptian pounds (£8) each, plus drinks. At breakfast time, the set up was pretty much the same. The restaurant did tend to get extremely busy, but was very large and so in general could cope with the number of people using it. Breakfast, again, was the same on a daily basis, but also plenty to choose from.

Throughout the hotel were a number of other restaurants to choose from. Near the beach was a Sea Restaurant. Obviously specialising in fish, this didn't really tempt us greatly, but when passing, the food did look plentiful. Also, on the beach was the Tiran Beach Bar. We found the staff here to be excellent if you were spending a day on the beach - always willing to bring food and drink to you on the beach. To have an ice cold beer on the beach without having to leave your sun bed was perfect. Between the shops and the front desk is a coffee shop and bar. The food here was really only snack food, and the service was incredibly slow (something that you do get used to). Either side of the main pools is a round structure, one open only during the day service snacks, the other, named Mia Casa served Italian food. The pizzas here made a perfect midday snack, and the pasta dishes were some of the nicest pasta I have tasted outside Italy. Around the pool nearest the reception are the Sultan Gardens - not really a garden, but another café serving food that is more traditional. On the first floor of the reception building is also an English bar and cocktail lounge. Named Lords Inn Bar, this was a great place for getting to meet people staying in the resort.

The Pools & Other Amenities

There is a small swimming pool not for from the reception building which tended to be very quiet - ideal for a relaxed day by the pool. Further into the resort were two massive lagoon style pools. This area was the centre of the entertainment during the day, which meant that music was played quite loud and there were plenty of activities going on in and around the pool. The pools always tended to be quiet, despite plenty of people sunbathing around them. Not once during our two-week stay were any of the pools crowded. Again, further into the resort, was another small pool. This was the only pool that had a designated children's pool, plus an open air Jacuzzi. We tended to stay around this area because it was closest to our room, plus it was much more of a family atmosphere. Another great reason was that the sun lounges here were not the normal strapped ones around a metal frame, but much more comfortable wooden built with padded mattresses. It was very easy to fall asleep here! The hotel runs a pool-towel system. At check in, each person is given a towel card that can be exchanged for a towel on a daily basis. Whenever you want a new towel, or at the end of each day, you simply return the towel and get your card back, or another towel. They same system was operated on the beach.

There is a fitness centre on site, which includes a gym, a squash court, massage facilities, sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi as well as the normal tennis courts. Some of these facilities are free to use, but we go on holiday to relax, not work out, and so didn't use the facilities.

The hotel provides a weekly Egyptian night near the Sultan Gardens restaurant. It includes an open-air buffest and traditional Egyptian show. Generally, hotel entertainment is good for a laugh, but nothing more. Here, the performers really put everything into the show and although it wasn't exactly Broadway, it was worth watching.

Within the hotel's reception area is also a small shopping area. There are a number of shops selling many different things, from traditional artwork to jewellery, and the normal tourist gifts. There is also a bank open in the evenings for exchanging cash or traveller's cheques, as well as a 24-hour ATM.

Underneath the shopping area is a small disco/nightclub. We never visited, but it generally seemed to be quite busy. Even in the reception area you couldn't hear any noise from the club, and so there was no need to worry about the noise in your room.

The hotel also has its own diving school, which can provide excursions to Tiran Island, and lessons for anyone knew to scuba diving.

The Beach

This hotel, like many other in the Sharks Bay area, has its own private beach. It was a sandy beach up to the water edge were it becomes rocky before the coral starts. This is the main attraction for most people to the Red Sea resorts. You can stand on the beach and see the tropical fish swimming in the sea. Also a private floating jetty stretches across the shallow coral until it drops steeply down. This provides a great area to snorkel, and the water is always warm. It tends to get very busy on the jetty late afternoon, after the heat of mid-afternoon. I would recommend going for a snorkel early in the morning, or using it as a great excuse to cool down over lunch - just don't stay out too long! The hotel has a policy of stopping anyone going into the sea after about 6pm. This apparently helps preserve the coral - so don't leave it too late to take the plunge.

Towels are available on the beach using your towel card, and the sun lounges and parasols are free to use.

Local Area

When we visited the hotel a couple of years ago, there was a lot of construction taking place outside the hotel. This did not in anyway disrupt our stay due to the size of the complex leaving you miles away form the outside world. When we visited, there was almost nothing within walking distance of the hotel, although I imagine that this has changed somewhat since we were there. The main resort around Nama bay is about a 5 to 10 minute taxi ride away - costing only a couple of English pounds return. There are plenty of the blue and white taxis available just outside the hotel that tend to be cheaper, however anyone seems to be able to be a taxi driver - so be careful! My advice would be to use the taxi firm that has a man sitting inside the hotel lobby, next to the security guards. His taxis are of much better standards and are allowed into the hotel itself. Our drivers always offered a return journey and always showed up. On our first night in Nama bay, we tried to pay the driver when he dropped us of, but he refused, instead saying we should pay him when he picks us up. This was really good service, and it guarantees that they are going to be there! Many of the drivers in the blue and white taxis were taking the fare for a return journey when other hotel guests were dropped off, but then not showing up again later that night. It would also have been impossible to tell which taxi was yours!

Overall

This hotel is given 4 stars by some holiday companies, including Jewel In The Crown, who we used. I would say that this hotel struggles to meet 4 stars overall, but exceeds in most areas if it were only a 3 star. A 3 star plus would be perfect! This hotel is located away from the main hustle and bustle of Nama Bay and so is more suited to the person wanting a relaxing holiday. You are still right on the sea front with great access to some of the best diving sites in the world. I would have no hesitation at staying at this hotel in the future, but if travelling back to Sharm, would probably opt to try another hotel for comparison. The staff throughout the hotel were there the meet your every need, and were always happy to help.

I would recommend that you try diving whilst in Egypt, it is simply stunning. We opted for the English run Red Sea Diving College in Nama Bay rather than the hotels own diving school simply because the instructors were English and scuba diving can be quite dangerous if you don't follow instructions. We also went quad biking on a Bedouin night. Racing through the desert toward the Siani mountains is an experience not to be missed.

We booked our holiday through a local travel agent, but travelled with Jewel In The Crown Holidays. For two weeks in August 2004, we paid around £550 per person on a bed and breakfast basis. Our rep, Jason, was the best holiday rep we have ever had - a real credit to Jewel In The Crown. He is the only rep who has ever given us his own mobile number, and when we called him to ask if we could re-arrange our quad biking excursion was more than happy to help.
 

...less