My boyfriend and I have just returned from a weeks stay at the Concorde. Our overall stay was fantastic, although the hotel did have it's upsides and downsides. As we ourselves chose this hotel after reading reviews on TripAdvisor, I thought it would be helpful to just list what we felt those good and bad points to be.
Plus points
- The hotel iteself is great. Really clean and modern with excellent facilities throughout. Staff are welcoming and friendly.
- Both the Sport Hotel and the Main hotel are equally as nice, so don't worry which side you end up in. Basically, the hotel complex is split into these two sections and the entrances for both are opposite eachother on a quiet street. Each section has its own shops/restaurants/pools etc so you can be perfectly self sufficient in either. If you did want to visit the other hotel, to walk from one reception to the other takes 10 mins max, or you can hop on the shuttle bus which runs between the two every few minutes.
- The rooms are excellent. Really spacious, comfortable and clean and each with their own private balcony
- The pools are lovely. There are 5 scattered around the hotel complex and there are loads of really comfy cushioned sunbeds. The beach was also nice - if a little cramped - with excellent snorkelling from the end of the jetty.
- The food. It wasn't gourmet, but there was a pretty decent choice and the quality was fine.
Bad points:
- The location. This, for us, was the biggest downside. The Concorde is situated in Sharks Bay, a small resort by the airport which consists of nothing more than a handful of hotels and a couple of supermarkets. This wouldn't have been so bad if the hotel entertainment was decent, but it wasn't (see next bad point). This meant there was literally nothing to do in the evenings. We ended up travelling several miles into Naama Bay - a much larger and livelier resort - every night, which at a cost of 1200 Egyptian pounds return (£12) was no small expense. The hotel did run a free shuttle bus service to Naama, but this was fairly infrequent and often booked up days in advance.
- The hotel entertainment. Oh dear. What can I say? Unless you're a fan of Russian electropop and Soviet balads, you may want to give this a miss. Trouble was, it was pretty hard to avoid as the discos in both the Sport and Main hotel were situated outdoors with all the appartments circled around them. This meant guests were treated to Russia's version of Sonny and Cher belting out classic Eurovision until the early hours, even when in their own rooms. The noise was especially bad in the Sport hotel as the outdoor disco was bang in the centre of the complex and this caused a few complaints.
I don't want to turn this review into too much of a moan, as our overall holiday was great. and the positives more than outweighed the negatives. Sharm is a great place for a relaxing holiday, and while we were there in April, the weather was fantastic - mid 30's every day.
For shopping, head into Old Sharm and Naama bay, where there are literally thousands of shops and baazars. If you want to see the proper Egypt, I defintely recommend the quad biking trip into the desert which was just amazing. For an authentic Egyptian meal, try the Kebabaj restaurant, which can be accessed through the Sofitel hotel. They serve up classic Egyptian food by the sea, while a live Egyptian band plays behind you and a woman sits making her own bread and brings it fresh to your table. Gorgeous!






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