Eygpt - Sharm

We are thinking of going next April instead of our usual Canaries trip.

Does anyone have any advice on hotels, I have heard that it is best to be in walking distance of Naam Bay?

The only hotel to consider (IMHO) is the Four Seasons just outside Nama Bay.

Fabulous location, staff, service, restaurants.

Put it this way, you get ice cold water sprays by the pool if you look too hot, they bring you fozen melon if you look too hot etc

I ran out of sunscreen and the hotel staff went into Nama bay to get me a new bottle and delivered it to me by the pool.

The hotel has it`s own private reef so you can snorkel without leaving the hotel and to be honest we didn`t leave the grounds apart from going snorkelling in the marine park and then going to the airport to go home.

I`ll put a couple of photos in the Views section, taken in the hotel.
Doesn`t show much of the hotel itself but youget an idea of the grounds

Lush!

Hi

Just uploaded 3 photos to the view section of the photo gallery.

Give it 30 mins and they should appear.

Word of advice, take some dehydration kits with you. Belive me you WILL need them.

Symptoms of dehydration often feel like a bad stomach, have the satchets ready for when you get back from the pool / beach and they work a treat, sort you out in 20 - 30mins and you realise you don`t actually have a bad stomach at all

Got that tip from a Dive master based in Sharm last year

Originally posted by original bob
Just uploaded 3 photos to the view section of the photo gallery.

No they're not - they're in the Hotels section - I changed the section, since they're all related to the Hotel

Cheers

Michael

Oops [:I]

Apologies

Thanks for correcting

[HighFlyer]

Sharm el Sheikh ... my personal heaven!!

I love this place, if i could retire here i would!!

I have not stayed at the Four Seasons, though i hear it is good. We always stay at the Hilton Fayrouz. It is a very good hotel where the rooms are like individual 'chalets' dotted around the grounds. Each cluster of chalets has a pool so the resort never feels crowded. Its typical Hilton, good standard and the staff are fab. Last time i was there it was my partners birthday and they prepared a cake for him - a complete surprise for us!! It was lovely! The staff also decorated our bed with petals - aaah!!

The best thing about this hotel, and others nearby is that they are right on the beach at Naama bay, which is fantastic, there are reefs literally steps away! This beach is the best beach i have ever been to! I was diving off the shore on the first ever 'trial dive' i did, and saw a Manta Ray!! Best diving moment ever!!

I would stay in Naama bay itself, the main town is about a 2 minute walk along the promenade, along all the other hotels and is where all the evening activities, bars and restaurants are. The town is full of both tourists and locals but is heavily westernised.

If you want to know anything about Sharm feel free to ask, i have been there many times and am planning a return trip next year. I will dig out my old pics and upload them if you like?

Oh ... i want to go there now!!!

oops forgot to metion the tram that takes you from the beach / pool area back up to the reception area of the hotel.

Goes through the hotel gardens and past some of the villas

it`s only about a 1 min walk up a gentle slope but when it`s really hot the tram is such a welcome relief.

When i first saw it i thought "how lazy are some people", belive me i ended up using it every day, when its hot it really is hot.

You`ll have a great time wherever you stay
have fun

I have been thinking about Sharm for quite a while now but haven't managed to find out much about the climate. Does anyone know if it truly is a year-round destination and would it be hot enough for swimming and sunbathing at xmas? Is there any month that you would recommend or avoid?

Originally posted by lilyjosh0
I have been thinking about Sharm for quite a while now but haven't managed to find out much about the climate. Does anyone know if it truly is a year-round destination and would it be hot enough for swimming and sunbathing at xmas? Is there any month that you would recommend or avoid?

How about this page? Certainly seems to reflect most of what can be picked up from a Google search

Cheers

Michael

[HighFlyer]

Avoid July like the plague! I went in July one time and it was over 42 degrees in the shade. It was uncomfortably hot and there was very little breeze. It was very hot at night as well.

We found that April or September/October were good times to go, the weather is warm but not boiling and the majority of tourists have gone as it not peak season so the beaches and hotels are not as full. Sharm is the top holiday spot for wealthy Egyptians so you may run into their holiday days. Once when i was there it was a festival or holy day and all the hotels were fully booked and there were lots of celebrations.

Do give Sharm a try, its a fab place!!

We went in July and as High Flyer says its HOT!

But i love that sort of heat so it `was great for me.

It was also very quiet at the hotel as well as it`s off season then. Lovely

Check out http://www.weather.co.uk and you can get access to seasonal averages for Sharm.

[HighFlyer]

Bob - who do you fly with when you go?

I have tried Brittania and Excel Airways - both equally bad. I heard that gyptAir were setting up direct lights but couldnt get one on Expedia?

After all that VS pampering, the 5 hour charter flight to SSH is a real shocker!!

Thanks for that - have managed to find lots on the internet on Cairo temperatures but not much on Sharm. The problem is that that a temperature chart only tells you so much as we found to our cost when we went to Mauritius. On paper the weather looked perfect but when we got there the sea was just too cold to swim in.[V]

Anyway, now I know - I think that July would be too hot for the kids so it sounds like an Oct half-term or Easter break would be perfect.

Thanks again.

HighFlyer our flight to SSH was Shocking.

Booked to fly with Xcel Airways but it was a code share as it was out of season for Sharm

We ended up on Air Scandic (who?) on the way out (24hr delay at Gatwick) skanky plane and horrible hangover didn`t help.

On the way back it was with Air Atlanta on an unmarked 747, which was better but still skanky. (5 hour delay at SSH)

And the Airport at Sharm....urgh

Did you go to Pacha when you were there, we got out of the airport and people handed us flyers for Pacha, just like in Ibiza and then on the day that Pacha was on, a motor boat went up the coast playing music to advertise it. Didn`t go as we thought it was fake but it turns out it was legit.

Give MyTravel a go. We use A320's and A321's on that route for Gatwick. Somtimes we use a A330 with premium seats.

If you do fly MyTravel, let me know.

Bob, just had a look at the photos of the Four Seasons. It looks lovely. Are they cabanas on the beach and if so do you know if they charge for them?

Thanks guys for all the advice and photos.

First Choice fly out there and so do Thomson/Britannia - go can book flights direct on both these sites.

[HighFlyer]

Hoped this helped Anna, and thanks for the flight ideas! (and Bob too!)

Let us know if you decide to go!

You might want to take a look at this link for a map of the area and hotel locations.

Did you go to Pacha when you were there

No, didnt hear of it actually, although Four Seasons is more in Sharks Bay isnt it, so it might have beenlocalised to that area? Although we arent really the clubbing type so probably wouldnt have taken much notice LOL

Gosh - cant believe i said that at my age!! LOL Quick!! I need a toyboy!! LOL Serves me right for going out with an old boy!

Posted - 08/06/2005 : 18:07:22
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Bob, just had a look at the photos of the Four Seasons. It looks lovely. Are they cabanas on the beach and if so do you know if they charge for them?

Hi Lilyjosh0

The cabanas were available to hotel guests at no additional cost.

They are scattered throughout the hotel grounds, some by the pool areas and some in the gardens and beach side.

The beach at the Four Seasons is actually a bit of a let down, quite small but does have the advantage of being secluded and having it`s own bit of reef to snorkel on.

The hotel grounds are lovely and and the pools are very good as well.

If you have kids the hotel staff take great care in keeping them happy / occupied. I think the idea is if the kids are happy and quiet then the adults are happy and relaxed (and spend more);)

Hope you have a great time when you get there.

Highflyer, we didn`t try Pacha either, not my cup of tea anymnore, far to ancient for "raving", look at how old i am, i still call it raving

Oi Oi! lets `av it [8D]

Bob, thanks for that - it sounds perfect:D It's good that the cabanas are free. They make life much easier -trying to keep the kids from having too much sun.

Lilyjosh0 wrote

Posted - 09/06/2005 : 15:32:20
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Bob, thanks for that - it sounds perfect It's good that the cabanas are free. They make life much easier -trying to keep the kids from having too much sun.

Just to clarify, the photos i posted were in the grounds of the Four Seasons which are only accessible by hotel guests.

Didn`t actaully go into Sharm / Nama bay so could`nt say if the same applies on the main beach there.

[HighFlyer]

Ive always stayed in Naama Bay, i dont recall any cabanas as such on the beach. Most of te Beachside hotels have extended down and have their own sunloungers there and some hotel staff, thats about it as far as i recall - i was last there in 2003.

The sunlongers at the Hilton did have those 'covers' over the top that you can pull over as a shade (if you know what i am talking about?)

Thanks again Highflyer and Bob, it was actually the FS I was interested in - I've read brilliant reviews elsewhere - just got to persuade the other half that we need another holiday!

Hi All

Just picking this thread up again...... Im off to Sharm for the first time first two weeks of July .....This is the only time we could go and dont mind the heat so I hope we dont regret it .

Ive booked everything independently and have a couple of options on hotels reserved........ does anyone have any knowledge of the Renaissance Golden View Beach ??? It seems very well written up in TripAdvisor.... Also any knowledge of the Sheraton, recommended by a friend at work ?

I noticed some of you guys have had problems with flights before .. I have booked a direct flight from LGW with BA (GB Airways franchise)... my experience of GB Airways visiting my parents in Tenerife has always been OK considering the price.... although slumming it compared to UC !!!

Any advice appreciated

Mark

[HighFlyer]

Hi Mark

The Renaissance is a fab hotel! It isnt actually in Naama bay but located close to Ras Mohammed Park. It has a lot of beach frontage and is generally considered to be one of the better properties (if you dont mind not being right on the central strip of the Beach). Naam town is only a short cab ride away (or walk if your feeling adventurous) but you are lucky to be just that bit out of the hagglers so you should have a very peaceful holiday there.

As for the Sheraton, i presume you mean the Sheraton Sharm Hotel, Villas & Resorts? If so, the hotel is very nice but the resort is a little low brow and lacking in facilities, kind of its 'poor younger brother'. They do have a house reef there which is fantastic, so if you opt for that make sure you ask to stay in the Hotel and not the Resort.

I believe the BA flights are rather new. When i first went to SSH BA only flew VIA Cairo (turning the 5 hour flight into a 7 hour one) and you were limited to rather grotty charters but the Red Sea Riviera is now being heavily exploted by the travel industry and commercialism is setting in. Sharm is a fantastic place so im hoping that it wont turn into another Costa del Sol.

If you have any queries about Sharm feel free to ask (or PM). I have been there several times in addition to other places in Egypt and have very fond memories of my travels there.

July will be hot! I went in July 2003 and it was 40 degrees in the shade!

If nobody has told you yet - dont get Egyptian Dollars, take US. US Dollars are accepted everywhere and is the preferred currency. Egyptian money comes in a startling variety of notes, with the smaller Pesteries looking very alike the larger Dollars (very easy to get confused).

Have a fab time!

Thanks,
Sarah