My wife and 11 month old son have just returned from a week at the Four Seasons in Sharm.

Let me say now - we are all totally relaxed having had a great week on the Sinai.

Now lets get to the important stuff.

Booking: We booked on the four seasons web-site direct - BEWARE - All rates are subject to a 25% local tax hike.

You will be quoted in USD but charged in Egyptian Pounds.
Bit of a drag but still for the 4Seasons - pretty cheap.

GET THE MEET AND ASSIST AND CAR SERVICE - We were a little hot and bothered when arriving at the terminal - and Sharm is now catering for 80 flights a week from the the old soviet block let alone the rest of us - and whilst they have built a new terminal its about to capacity on all fronts - Our man was waiting as soon as we got into the terminal and sorted our papers out straight away - You dont need to buy a visa if you are not leaving Sharm - Now for the good bit - HUGE QUEUE - not for us - oh no - (I am embarrassed to write this) - Our man gets us to the front and we get stamped and through before you can say ....... Well anyway.
Luggage - Our Man shouts through the hole where the luggage appears telling the guys what to look for and again we are off and away - I dont know how they do it and dont care - You are then handed to your driver who has got the Gleaming black 5 Series ready for you all chilled and with water and cold towels - No matter what you say that is a way to arrive. Especially with a small child.

In reality the drive to the hotel is about 5 mins - In fact you can see the Palm tree lined driveway to the resort from the runway.

It was the best 25 (meet and assist) and 38 (car ride) dollars we spent - but thats another story.

We were welcomed in great style (as you would expect) on arrival and golf buggy-ed down to our room.

We had 201 - near the main hotel lobby but with a great terrace/balcony with a full 180 degree view over the resort to the sea.
Big room - cot already there - we had to call for a steriliser and nappies etc but they were all brought quickly.
We had read up on tripadvisor previously and heeded the warnings about the cost of decent wines etc and stocked up prior to our arrival with a load of good champagne and white wine.
DO IT. And you will not feel too grumpy.
The mini bar had local stella (Can) at 50 Egyptian (£5) plus local taxes (12%) and Heineken bottles at 50 plus ....
The only comps was a bottle of water (large) a day. Pringles are three quid a diddy tub plus tax.

The service everywhere is without fault - and the staff have a way about them that is to be commended. A cash tip here and there also helps.

We ate in the Arabesque (big buffet - you need to be hungry), Waha (relaxed by the pool - great mid afternoon) and the Reef (lovely location looking out onto the sea). Quality was always very good if a little conservative in presentation - and the menus were limited considering you were in a 5 star resort.

We asked every morning at breakfast for the chef to prepare some food for our son and we were able to collect what we had asked for everyday at midday - Cottage Pie MUSH, Lentils and Tomato MUSH, Chicken and Vegetable MUSH - He loved it and ate most of it all the time and had no side effects. Hurrah! - No matter what we asked for the chef seemed to be able to cope - (It all smelt quite similar and just changed colour depending on the primary ingredient but hey - the wee man did not mind) - And to the Resorts credit all the meals and the nappies and any thing baby related were all comps - so well done on that front.

Everywhere we went around the resort you were made to feel welcome and special and it made most days fly by.


The in-room dining was also a big bonus as we could not always eat out - Again well done.

OTHER GUESTS - Well we had them all - French, Italian, a few brits, more than enough eastern europeans and some home growns too - we did not have any problems with anybody over anything.

Some of the fashion sense can be a little distracting and if the truth be know humorous to say the least - near to the end of the week we were trying to take sneeky snaps of the best "label befor colour and style' collages we were forced to endure.

GOOD THINGS - The resort is well thought out with most rooms having their own space and ambience, the staff are fantastic, the reef is brilliant (I guess we thank nature for that), the quality of the food is always good, the sun shines, the pools are very relaxing, great spa, lots of different bar/dining experiences, the man to shine your sunglasses round the pool.

BAD THINGS - 12% service on everything and your check still has a space for 'gratuities' - the cost of everything plus taxes and service all the time all the time all the time. Good service - pay the person direct in cash.

I love paying for great service but sometimes 4 quid for a diet coke is too much.

I have my bill in front of me now and the amount of lines saying 'city tax' ' sales tax' ' service charge' is comical and a little depressing.

IN SUMMARY - If you need to chill and just relax and you have some cash to do it DO IT - Its incredible.
If you think there is more to life than being waited on hand and foot (in the full knowledge you are paying with a nose bleed for it) steer clear.


NEARLY FORGOT - We were flying out at 6.45 - I booked the house car to for 4.30 to take us to the airport. I went to reception the day before to ask if we could have the room for a little longer (check out is midday). I was told that we would be called later as they did not yet know what the reservations there woud be for the next day.

We were called and told we could have the room till 2 - I said we need it till four and the man said he would ring back - the upshot being that they would only let us stay in the room the extra two hours if we paid 50% of the room rate (285$) for the extra two hours. The man on the phone seemed to keep intimating that the room was needed but could miraculously be released for said sum.

It may read as pretty petty now but if you have spent about 3K£ on your week there and they need to squeeze you that little bit more when you need them the most - it leaves a bad taste - so the final tip is book your return flight wisely.

The hotel is great and I gave it four stars but............. a nice villa somewhere with a big kitchen might just be more my cup of tea.......

I am done x

The hotel is set in amazing gardens, has 2 x large pools, great beach and sun bathing areas, fabulous food, service par excellence - all you have to do is ask - that is if they haven't got there before you! The rooms are very spacious, beautifully kitted out and very clean - there are also apartments available as family rooms. If you are looking for a real five star experience this is one to set your standards by. Do have a look at their website as their photos are much better than mine and yes it really does look like that....

It is expensive but this time you really do get what you pay for.

My wife and I stayed at the Four Seasons for a week in early March. We were in dire need of a break; a week to totally switch off. This hotel certainly delivered on that front. The service was impeccable, from the waiting staff to the the beach attendants; the food was varied and fresh; and the room large and comfortable. And it was so peaceful...

We found the Waha bar/restaurant at the poolside to be a good dining option, with really delicious steak and fish options. The gym was a decent size with a good selection of equipment too.

We ended up being so relaxed that we didn't even venture out of the hotel grounds - the first time we have ever done that on any holiday!

My only small gripe is that (I'm ashamed to say) a British couple paid off the beach attendants to 'close off' an area of 10 sun loungers, every day, restricting space for everyone else. So, either be prepared to get some cash out or challenge the beach attendants in the morning. If no-one has turned up an hour after you, then it's no longer 'reserved'!

But all in all, a brilliant winter break destination.

PS. Offset your flight's carbon emissions!

We have just returned from a week at this property and were very impressed. There were, of course, some issues - most of which were quickly and efficiently worked out, as one would expect of a 4 Seasons resort.

First the good parts... Our room (a Premier room, on the upper level with a lovely view) was very nice and quiet. The living space was very large, the balcony was perfect for an early morning coffee or late-
night cigar, and the bathroom was very large and well laid out. The twice a day room service was perfect, as one would expect, and the room was always spotless. The staff at this hotel are truly world class. From room service to the beach attendants to the wait staff at the restaurants, the service and professionalism are top notch.

The beach is very nice, although crowded with lounge chairs, and there are many other sandy areas over multiple levels on which one can lay on a lounge or in a cabana-tent. The views, for the most part, are spectacular. The house reef, which stretches along the coast, makes it impossible to jump straight into the sea, so one must walk out to the end of a long dock to get into the water. There is generally no problem with this as people do not tend to congregate. The marine life on the house reef is excellent as is the snorkeling. Having over 70 dives in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean I was expecting a lot from the Red Sea and was not disappointed - even someone with a snorkel can have a far far better experience than someone diving in Greece, although this should come as no surprise). The diving is comparable to Cozumel.

The food was generally good, although somewhat expensive for what was delivered. Breakfast was excellent and usually sufficient to tide one over until dinner. Dinners were very nice and scenic and, as mentioned, the Egyptian wines were more than sufficient. We brought 4 bottles of duty free champagne with us and saved the oft-remarked savagery of the wine list prices. Roughly 350 GBP for a bottle of Taittinger, 200 sterling for a bottle of Lanson. Madness.

On the other side of things, the original room we checked into (a deluxe room on the lower level) had virtually no view (as expected) and suffered from rather thin ceilings which allowed us to hear the little chap upstairs running back and forth on the marble floors, trying to wake mom and dad. No fault of the hotel, but it leads to the main objection, that the hotel seems to have become a real destination for families. Meal times, especially breakfast, were generally accompanied by the sound of kids. I would caution anyone without children going during school vacations. In spite of these comments, the resort does a wonderful job of taking care of both adults and children and, for the most part, the kids were not an issue, certainly not at the beach or in the evenings.

We took a quick trip into Naama Bay and can recommend that you give that a miss. Spring Break Egypt style, was not our idea of fun.

We had a wonderful trip and, by our fourth day, were already planning our next visit. Will we be sure to book a Premier (or better) room, and will attempt to come when most of the children are in school (or when we have one or two in hand ourselves). We will make sure that the water temperature is a little warmer (last week was 22-23 C) which will give us more time in the water to stare at the fish, and we will make doubly certain to stop at duty-free on the way over to stock up on champagne.