Our second holiday in Sharm and the Sofitel was much as I expected.

It is overall a good quality hotel, but not five star. This seems to be typical in Egypt. The hotel is set in huge grounds with a very good, large swimming pool and several small beaches. Each beach gives access to excellent snorkelling on the hotel's own coral reef. This is one aspect which cannot be matched by the hotels on the main promenade in Na'ama Bay.

The Rangoli Indian Restaurant is of a very good quality although those who are not experienced Indian food eaters need to be wary of some dishes, like the Madras, which is not marked as being hot, but in fact can be very hot.

The rooms are of a decent standard, but need updating along with the bathrooms. Each room has a sea view and the hotel itself has excellent views over Na'ama Bay.

One word of warning. This hotel is not for those who can't handle lots of stair climbing. The hotel spreads over a hillside and you cannot avoid alot of stair climbing. The escalators cover some, but not all of the floors. I hesitate to thing how wheelchairs would cope.

There is an onsite dive centre run by Divers International. Our experience with them was very good. Shore dives are good from the hotel and they also do their tuition in the waters directly off the hotel. They also run boat dives everyday and divers are picked up from the dive centre each morning.

If you want to eat out in Na'ama Bay, it is about a 30 minute walk to the centre of Na'ama Bay, although I suppose a taxi is another possibility.

Overall a good hotel and one which I would consider staying in if we revisit Sharm

I was in Sharm for a diving vacation. Stayed at Sofitel for the first two weeks( March 6-20) of my vacation and since they don't have a room available for the third week, I had to move to Hilton Sharks Bay.

Like the previous comments, check in was easy, although the lady at the reception forgot to give me my towel card. I didn't realized it until I went to get my towel by the pool. The reception area is quite small, for a big resort.

I got the room I requested ahead through Expedia, which is on the third floor building C, and not far from the elevator which really helped when I got tired of walking up and down those stairs. The balcony, is private and larger than expected. No wooden railings like the ones on the lower floors, but from there, I got a partial view of the pool, the full view of the sea, and Naama Bay on my right. The bathroom is dated, the grout needs regrouting, but the hairdryer works and with enough power to really dry my hair fast. I didn't even have to take out my own travel hairdryer from my luggage. The room could do with better lighting though. Even with several light fixtures, it felt dark. And too bad that Sofitel Sharm doesn't offer a tea service in the room. That would have been a plus.

Breakfast is quite good with enough selection spread out on several tables. The waiter that sees to me every morning didn't need anymore prompting in getting my tea and this without a tip until at the end of my stay. The food at the dinner buffet is tasty also. This is not all inclusive resort so lunch and dinner are extra but worth trying if you don't want to walk to the restaurants beyond the security gate after a long day.

There are five beaches to choose from if the pool scene is not your style. There are enough lounge chairs to choose from that even when other guests save certain spots, it wasn't a problem to find an unoccupied one. The snorkeling was good, if the water is a tad cold, about 20C when I first arrived.

The dive shop is Diver's International and it's on the 4th beach or downhill from the Kebabgy restaurant on the right. The friendly manager Gaber is excellent in arranging my dives and his dive masters are informative and fun guides. When I had to move to another resort on my third week in Sharks Bay, Gaber made it easy for me to continue on diving with them as I prefered. I did my dives with Karim, Alin, Lydia and Marlene(Netherland) and felt comfortable throughout. The prices are comparable to other dive shops in the area. They do recommend a check shore dive before you go onto a boat dive. Oona Dive shop is just beyond the security gate if Diver's is not what you're looking for. Another 10 minute stroll down that promenade beyond Sofitel will take you to Sinai Divers with several restaurants,and hotels in between.

The resort covers a lot of ground, and meticulously taken care of by numerous gardeners. The incessant bird chirping throughout the place tells you that is a haven for local birds. The birds do become bold and would settle and pick on the bread on the tables if you let them.

There is entertainment every night across from the Liwa restaurant. They offer a different theme each night. I didn't care much for them, but seem to be a hit with the eastern Europeans and Russians. As for the horrors I read about other nationalities' eccentricities, I didn't see it at all. Everyone was just trying to enjoy the sun, pool and beach.

All in all, the resort made it a good base for me to get my diving fix. It's big enough place that I didn't feel crowded in at the restaurant, the pool, and the beaches. The great view from my balcony is a plus also.

The only incident that bothered me a bit was on my last day, there was, I presumed, a husband and wife fighting in a foreign language, with a lot of screaming, crying, and the sound of breaking glasses inside the room. It took more than 15 minutes before the security arrived. Other than that, I would recommend this resort. Not the most updated resort in Sharm, but for the beaches and view alone, would make me come back.

Easily the best views in Sharm, very friendly & helpful staff, large pool, nice private beaches, lovely on-site Indian restaurant, a sea view room which is amazing when you wake in the morning, a relaxing romantic getaway with good size rooms. The only downfall however is that they are a little dated and bathroom needs a touch-up.

Overall it is a very pleasant hotel which I highly recommend.

Three of our party of five had stayed at this hotel three years previously & were keen to return.
It is one of the best situated hotels that we have ever stayed at being at the eastern end of Naarma Bay, with every room facing the sea over the pool ( the largest hotel swimming pool that we have seen) and the exquisite grounds. There are riding stables & we went riding one day, paddling in the Red Sea.
It was lovely to be able to walk straight out of the grounds (through security, of course) onto the traffic free promenade that extends round the entire bay.
Breakfast was, without doubt the most comprehensive and most beautifully presented morning spread that we have ever witnessed. It was fabulous. We had only one evening meal at the hotel, buffet style, and almost equally as good as breakfast. Our rooms were clean and comfortable but the bathrooms could do with updating, and the early evening supply of hot water was a tad erratic.
The staff were exceptional and service was excellent. We had a wonderful holiday here.