Early October 2022 we went to Sharem El Sheik in Egypt with the kids and friends who are the coolest. That fact alone was a booster for the whole vacay. I’ll be honest, I don’t know whether I should start with the recommendations or the watch-out-for’s here. But I promise I will give you a detailed and honest account.
The Hotel:
Okay, so the charm of the hotel, Albatros Laguna Vista, is first and foremost in it’s layout and landscaping.
There are more pools there then in any hotel I have ever stayed at. They are all clean and beautiful and there are so many of them, it is highly recommended to book a room on the ground level with a patio facing the pool. That way you could literally walk out of your room and jump into the pool.
Our kids loved this option and were at the pool by our room all the time.
There are also bungalow rooms, some of which have a door that opens to the private beach the hotel is built on, and these are the more expensive option.
The rooms are quite spacious (about 70 square meters) and are airconditioned, but I have to note this five star establishment needs reminders to get the room cleaned daily. Ours also smelled like sewage (the toilets did) and the front desk did nothing to improve the situation or to change our room despite repeated requests.
The beach at the hotel is a wonder. It’s is spacious and wide, quite and clean.
At night, the hotel beach bar is open and there are live performances. Most shows are karaoke level singers, but there was one act, the fire show that featured a man dancing with fire, swallowing fire and spitting it out that was remarkable.
The kids loved it.
The food at the hotel could be described average at best.
Breakfast was the same everyday...though there was a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, omelets and pancakes, cold cuts and sausages, cheeses and pastries...it was repetitive and mediocre.
Lunch was served by the pool and the main dinning hall every day. We opted for the poolside bar, and again, despite the variety, the best option was the French fries and the pasta bar.
Dinner we usually had at the main hall. Again, like other meals it was a buffet. There was enormous selection, but nothing was very tasty other than the freshly grilled kebab and chicken.
There is another dining option which guests are allowed to enjoy once during their stay, which is on a service basis. But despite the promise for steak to be served with that meal, there was none.
Still it was a nicer dinner option and we enjoyed to vary from the regular buffet.
But I have to mention the alcohol. Served freely at the hotel, it was local branded alcohol (Yanni is the name on the label) and it was horrendous. Even the wine had a weird aftertaste.
So if you’re heading to Sinai, make sure to bring your own alcohol with you.
Excursions:
We did a bunch of things. And these were the highlights of the trip.
First we rented a yacht, which cost approximately 500 USD, and the price included an instructor who went diving and snorkeling with us.
The price also included transportation to and from the hotel. And the snorkeling and diving were incredible. There is so much to see under water surface in the Red Sea in Sharem.
Everything from extensive reefs, to rainbow-colored fish to corals. The wildlife is so vivacious and so rich and so intoxicating, it literally took my breath away.
We also went swimming with dolphins at a venue called Dolphina. But it wasn’t open water swimming, but rather a mid-sized pool with pop music blasting from the speakers.
The kids loved it, though, they actually got to ride the dolphins and play with them. The whole activity, which costs 55 USD for merely 15 minutes, was documented by local photographers and we were forbidden from taking pictures.
Of course every photo is 5USD, if given on a CD, and 8USD if given as a printed photo.
So it ain’t a cheap thrill.
Another fun activity was the Albatros Aqua Park.
It’s a water park with dozens of slides and pools and the kids as well as us had a blast there. It’s the biggest water park in Sharem.
The all-inclusive ticket, which includes unlimited soft drinks and lunch is 40 USD for an adult and 25 per child. But they only charge kids from the age of 8 and up.
Lunch there is served at the hotel’s main dining room and it looked miserable. With the chicken/ fish/ beef literally swimming in puddles of unidentifiable sauces. So I asked the local supervisor to change our lunch option to the snack bar, located by one of the pools.
Not that the food there was gourmet in any way, but at the very least there was fresh pasta and French fries that were edible.
Loyal to the Albatros hotel that we were staying at, the alcohol at the water park was miserable as well.
On our last day we went to Al-Fanar beach.
A beautiful spot for snorkeling and diving, the beach was located on a cliff with a long dock stretching from it and over the water. Once again, the views underwater were simply breathtaking. We had lunch on the beach as well and it was nicer food than served at the hotel.
The pizza was freshly baked and my daughter even had steak that was decent. We were delightfully surprised to find out they even had Heineken beer. It tasted like the original, so one may think it was actually the original. Entrance fees to the beach were about 2USD per adult and kids are for free.
Unlike the boat, you have to bring your own snorkeling equipment. So keep that in mind when heading that way.
In terms of shopping, other than knock offs, Gucci fakes etc. there isn’t any shopping in Sharem.
And keep in mind everything opens at 6pm ‘cause of the heat. We checked out Soho and the old city and none of these shopping areas had anything to offer but cheap souvenirs and, as I mentioned, cheap knock offs.
Another point that is worth mentioning is the local vendors, drivers etc. is that there is no fixed price to anything. One needs to argue over every Egyptian pound and dollar. The locals price everything as they wish and it's a tough game to play, yet a necessary one.
But Sharem is a lot of fun. It’s not western fun and certainly their five star service is nothing like Western five stars, but it’s a beautiful destination with lots of things to do.
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