I'm not usually one to write reviews, I tend to go on a holiday and as soon as I'm back I begin to plan my next trip away, however, in light of the negative comments I feel I should share my experiences.

I went to Sharm in June '08 with my Dad. He is 50 and I'm 22. This age gap can sometimes pose problems of what to do, as we both have different 'wants' whilst away. We do also share some common ground, we're both very active, social and up for most thing.
For my Dad this was the 1st time he has been to a county like this, let alone a hotel of this status. I've been fortunate enough to stay at the Ritz in London, as well as Clarages. These are both very much 5 star hotels which is reflected by the cost!!! I actually preferred the Ritz in Sharm to the 2 in London.

Upon arrival we were greeted with cold towels and a drink. The manager then came over and upgraded us to a beach room, at no extra cost! Great start we thought!! From here the service stayed at a consistently high level. The staff in the Reef were extremely friendly (provided you actually talk to them and have a laugh/bit of banter) as were the Room Cleaners. We talked to them each time we saw them and thanked them for doing such a great job. They started giving us extra bottles of water each day.

The grounds are fantastic. It’s a was (hot) pleasure to walk around the buildings, getting from A to B. The cliff / beachy area was great too. It had a bit of character, with naturally worn alcoves and bays. Naturally, being a bay, this did sometimes accumulate a few water bottles. These were not from the hotel, but the dive boats that chugged their way passed on a regular basis. Thanks to the staff, rubbish was never there for long.
The Reef is brilliant. We went on a trip to Ras Mohammed and whilst this was nice, we personally thought the Reef was better at the hotel. There are some amazing colours and fish. We saw sea turtles, Whale Sharks………

Regarding the comment about bug spraying - yes they do this twice a day. It is very advertised that this takes place at sunrise and sunset each day. It's noted on the daily leaflet left in the room by the cleaners. Because of this, there are next to zero bugs around. I didn’t find this to be an inconvenience. Before going on holiday I read loads of posts stating the need to take DEET and the like, I did, but never used it. I got bitten 2 times in Namma Bay.

Overall, we had a fantastic time and are strongly considering going back there next year!

Sharm el Sheik might be great place for diving but our experience , unfortunately , was a very different one with regards to our hotel - we travelled with Thomas Cook- but were told on arrival that actually they have take out the Hotel of their programme (mmmmh- ?)

If you stay in the Ritz Carlton, you would think, it might be good ( a so called 5 *Hotel) and you have the amenities of
a relaxing and joyful holiday - we experienced rather a nightmare.

We do know other Ritz Carlton Hotels in Europe and the U.S. and is has not the slightest thing to do with this Hotel. We arrived on a Thursday evening very late and had already the mass- processing at the airport behind us , so all we we very looking for was a small relief from all that, but we did not even receive a warm welcome. We were treated rather lethargic. (photo copie of a map from the hotel plan -that"s all) We had booked half-board which means you can "eat" in the buffet room, but everything in one of the other Restaurants is with extra charge (horrendous prices) Our room was far away from the main pool area and the asphalt way up was loaded with like 50 degree or more during the day and our room was just next to the clarification plant (?) of the hotel . It was rather loud and extremely fetidness every day (esp.with the hot temperatures )
Just behind this Hotel complex you will hear a huge Aquapark with loud entertainment until midnight.
For the cheaper rooms we guessed ....


The room itself was o.k. but the bathroom was rather a 3* standard. The air conditioning was working perfectly well and that's as far as it goes.

We tried the regular restaurant (buffet) the first evening. It was around 9.30 H and not many guests were around and the buffet choice was minimized to what is needed.
Do not expect anything special , one guests whispered to us.Every evening you will have almost the same choice.
We asked for a beer and got a Can (style !) The chairs and the table cloth were very filthy . The good part for some people is, that you can show up even in beach wear and sandalled -nobody would care -no dress code it appears......

The pool area was rather ok. We staff was friendly . You can hardly swim in the pool and you can certainly not refresh as the water is very warm and the pool deepness is around 1.20 M ish
The garden is area is very nice .The beach is small and steep .

The breakfast is served in the buffet room as well. Around 10.15H we were told we should hurry up if we would like to have something more from the buffet as its gonna be closed soon.
We tried the second evening the Lebanese restaurant with a menu, it was pretty good but the wine carte another rip off , even for average wines.

We did not visit the SPA area, which was also a problem to enter during our stay . The Hotel decided to start to scarify the surface of the SPA entrance floor at 11 H in the evening, while belly dancing and local music was presented on the upper level. In the entrance hall /bar- some music entertainment at the same time ,a TV-flat screen outside on the balcony gave an extra annoying sound level just to complete another great and romantic evening. If a holiday brochure tells you , that at the end of June the temperature is around 35 degree... be careful . Rather expect 40/43 and it is not cooling much down during the night but that is not at all criticism.

After 4 days (we had booked and paid for 7 days-did not ask for anything-bothered ) we decided -whatever it costs to leave this place . We did find a flight to Cairo, which was a great decision.
"If you do wish to use our internet and print your tickets you will need to pay 25 $ for half an hour or so minimum rate ."- Yeah whatever ....... why not .

And so we asked for the bill after our very last and lovely buffet dining . (not much of a change from the first evening- as promised from the other guest)

We asked for the bill and were told first, that the bill can only be made in the morning cause they would need to check the Mini bar . We told them we had ONE Beer today and nothing will be taken out until tomorrow morning, so they could charge that beer right away on the bill. After half an hour we got the bill. Noone asked WHY we would leave 3 Days before our scheduled departure. For some reason the Beer was not charged, and we thought the russian receptionist must have thought- ok lets forget about this bagatelle - Wrong ! So at 5.45 H the wake up call (no extra charges here) and AT 5.48 !! the man from the room service knocked at our door to CHECK THE MINI BAR and to told us to go back to the reception to pay there.

It was one of the most pathetic places we have ever seen in our whole life .

I came back from the Ritz Carl;ton Sharm El-Sheikh yesterday. Unlike some other reviews I cannot fault the place. The staff were extremely polite and helpful. I have a problem walking and managed to get a buggy/golf cart to take me wherever I needed to go.
I stayed in a standard room, which is large with all the ameneties you might need. nice terrace and garden.. large bathroom with seperate shower and toilet.

The pool area is very spacious and quiet, there is a good variety of food for breakfast and the buffet in the evening is quite good. I would definately return.

Just returned from a great week at the Ritz Carlton in Sharm. We found the hotel to be excellent and overall it was a fabulously relaxing holiday.

My boyfriend and I stayed on a B&B basis which suited us as we like to get out and see a bit of local life/colour rather than spending every moment in the resort. There are lots of restaurants you can eat very cheaply at in and around Sharm. We went to the Mercato complex (10 mins walk from the hotel) a couple of times - there are lots of branded/fast food places there as well as some good shopping! We found the Lebanese restaurant at the Marmara hotel right next to Mercato was good as was the Onions restaurant in the Mercato itself.

You should also take a taxi to Old Sharm/market (25 Egyptian pounds/£2.50) or into Naama Bay (35 Egyptian pounds/£3.50) and try some of the restaurants there. El Masrien in the market was fabulous - best lamb chops ever and a total bill of 85 Egyptian/£8.50 for 2!! In Naama bay the Pomodoro restaurant at the Camel Hotel was also really good - great fish, pizza etc. But basically all cheap and lots of choice so if eating at the hotel is not your thing - don't worry!! That said the breakfast at the hotel is absolutely excellent - lots of choice, a brilliant omelette station with a lovely chef, pastries, fruits, etc. Enough to keep you going till dinner to be honest. You do get bottled water in your room every day but also worth filling your mini bar from the local shop 24/7 market which is 5 minutes outside the hotel gate. That way you don't have to swallow the £4 per tiny can of lager that the hotel bars will charge you and can have a lovely drink on your balcony before heading out.

On to the hotel - it was a really nice resort with beautifully maintained gardens, a lovely and massive pool (actually 4 pools including a deep diving pool which was great for swimming lengths in) with hundreds of loungers around it. There are also lots of loungers on the beach/cliff area as well as helpful and attentive staff to set you up on the loungers. If that's not your thing ask for the towels and set yourself up. The house reef is great - you walk out over a pontoon to reach it and can then snorkel in relatively deep water with great visibility and lots of fish. It's true there isn't really a sandy beach here but the loungers are set on sand with lovely decks looking out over the Red Sea and the reef is great for swimming so we didn't miss a "beach" at all.

The room itself was nice, roomy and exceptionally clean. The guy who cleaned it each day was lovely and we came back to some fabulous towel sculptures, petals on the bed etc. He couldn't do enough for us (and we didn't tip him till the end of the week so wasn't just about that). We also had a nice view of the gardens and the sea (which we hadn't paid extra for) but the hotel did seem relatively quiet and uncrowded overall. The public areas are beautiful (we didn't eat in the restaurants but the beach bar - Waves was good), the lobby, bar etc. are immaculate with comfy sofas and just gorgeous flowers - overall it feels quite upscale. The hotel also went out of their way to show the European football championships on the terrace every night which made my boyfriend very happy!!

Facilities were also great - we played tennis, used the excellent dive shop onsite, bobbed around on the lazy river and I even joined in the aquarobics a couple of times. There is plenty to do but it's not rammed down your throat and you can get to quiet parts of the beach without music/activities going on (unlike some of the resorts along the coast which seem to pump out Europop all day long!!) There are also lots of tours you can do from the hotel - we did the Mount Sinai climb which was fabulous to see the sunrise if a little sore on the legs the next day.

The best part about this hotel was the staff - am not sure where other people's comments came from (?!?) Everyone was so kind and welcoming - everyone (including the gardeners and cleaners) said hello/good morning, hoped you were having a nice holiday when they passed you. Nothing was too much trouble at all. We also had no problem at all with the staring/chatting up behaviour that others have mentioned (though that did happen a lot outside the hotel!!) That said you do have to remember that this is a Muslim country where local women cover their heads and bodies when in public therefore you do need to be sensitive to that.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel. If you are worried by other reviews - don't be - you will have a fabulous time!!