Sierra / Savoy Reviews

Near the airport, this hotel is a close ditance from the airport and not too far from Nama Bay (about 12 mins in a taxi). Staff are great, food is what you would expect from a Sharm all inclusive hotel. Rooms nice and clean in lovely grounds.

Spent 1 week at Savoy Sharm in Dec 2009 on S-Class (All inclusive basis) in a Sea View room. And, while we enjoyed it, we were disappointed it was not the level of 5 star luxury the price buys elsewhere, the public areas of the hotel look good, the gardens are well kept, and the rooms are functional. But the Savoy Sharm isn't International 5-star, maybe it is Sharm 5-star.

Its the little things like having to request for the minibar to be filled, request for shampoo and shower gel when it ran out, phone when they forget to return your laundry, the room decor, lack of decent lighting, old fashioned TV with poor reception, which make the Savoy Sharm fall short of my 5-star expectations.

Here are the good points:-

1) Location on Sharks Bay: fantastic snorkelling from the pontoons

2) Weather: clear blue skies and temperatures in the mid 20s (in December)

3) Seafood restaurant: very good for lunch

4) Pools: 3 interlinked pools (2 of which were heated, 1 just too cold at this time of year)

5) Friendly staff service

6) good variety of restaurants - especially Seafood Restaurant at lunch, Teppanaki Restaurant (above Queen Vic), Zen chinese, and Morgana in the evening (avoid its terrible pizza at lunch!)

Now the not-so-good:-

1) S-Class: Not exactly bad - just not worth the money, (unless you really drink a lot of alcohol). All restaurants were included - even the ones no one told us about such as the Entrecote Steak House, the Teppanaki Restaurant, and the Sushi train (all above the Queen Vic Pub) in Soho Square. But prices in Egypt are cheap (huge main courses around £7-£11) and the S-Class drinks menu was fairly limited 4 local wines, 8 not very good cocktails, gin, vodka, rum, beers , soft drinks, tea and coffee.

2) The atmosphere at the Breakfast buffet (in the hugeTirana Restaruant) was a bit like Pizza Hut on a Saturday lunchtime - Families feeding screaming children, staff struggling to clear tables before the next crowd pile in, food running out before the staff had time to refresh it. We avoided it after two visits.

3) Noise from building work - We were warned by the travel agent that they are adding new rooms to Block 4 near the swimming pool, so we emailed the hotel directly to find out more. There response was as follows "The building works we are conducting is decorating the newly built 16 rooms of the Royal SAVOY located at the center of the hotel with very minor noise factor. The rooms are located at the center of the hotel overlooking pool A. all decoration activities is inside the rooms and without any inconvenience to our guests even to the nearest room." The noise could be heard from the Sea View rooms away from the pool.

4) The design of the hotel meant that (in Dec) the sun disappeared from the pool area at about 3pm, which left a lot of time to be spent in the room, gym, or bar before dinner. Not very much else to do except sunbathe or drink.

5) Fumigation: at about 4pm they fumigate the entire property with something that smells like deisel smoke (see photos) - this is apparently to keep the population of mosquitos to a minimum. Make sure you are indoors with doors and windows closed as the smell is foul.

Overall:- If you go room only or B&B, can find a much cheaper deal than we did, and enjoy snorkeling, want a "fly, flop and fry" holiday in the sun, don't mind young children and can ignore noise from the building work, then I would recomend it, but if you are looking for real 5 star class, a peaceful romantic break and intend to spend £thousands go some place else like Maldives or Mauritius.

I stayed at this hotel for two weeks in July. Was a bit concerned after reading some reviews but I can't fault the hotel, it's staff or location.

The rooms were comfortable, with tvs, air conditioning and comfortable beds. They were spotless and cleaned every day by some of the most helpful and courteous staff I have ever known.

The pool area is immaculate. If you find a spot that you like make sure to tip the towel guys and be polite. They'll then save you the spot every day.

The hotel has it's own beach and while there are great trips offered for snorkelling the reef at the end of the jetty is also amazing.

The food is of a good quality compared to other 'buffet' type all inclusive holiday resorts. While there isn't much by way of entertainment of an evening you're 2 minutes away from the amazing Soho Square complex, where you can choose from a number of restaurants. The large open air bar near the stage is also covered by the all inclusive option which offers a great alternative to the hotel bar.

I really couldn't recommend this highly enough. If you read any bad reviews please ignore them, some people will complain about anything, we've all met 'those' people!

I must admit that when we first arrived i was worried, not because of reviews (because my personal opinion is that they dont reflect the hotel) but that i was going to get poorly (yep the dreaded stomach bug). i must say that they were the most attentive reception people i have had any dealings with. they were very happy to accomodate our request to change room (there was nothing wrong at all with the room we just wanted to see if there were any pool view rooms ava) and we were moved.

The food, i personally couldnt fault the food, it was fresh and ready made, which is what i perfer. my boyfriend loved the food stands when you ask for how you like you food to be cooked. the staff....i have to say lovely, very helpful and informative!! they deserve more credit than they prob get. i have stayed in places before when the staff dont actually care about their jobs, this was not the same for 95% of the staff. if you are happy and want to have a nice time and not looking for faults constantly they seem to know this and want to make you even happier.

if you are poorly, do not suffer in silence like i did for 3 days. my boyfriend went to the pool on the 3rd day without me and the staff all noticed/ they asked what was wrong and when he told them, he was given a drink for him to give to me. which i have to say honestly....i was annoyed...i drank it and within 20 minutes i felt abs perfect and went down to the pool for sunbathing!!!.

the airport can be quite daunting for people who have not been to Eygpt before, but again, if you have any doubts or questions......ASK. there are so many people around when you get off the plane that are there to help. The visa's... get them if planning on going to piramids or tombs etc - which by the way are fantastic!!.

Enoy is all i can say!!.

My overall view is that

The hotel complex is situated quite a way from the centre of Narma Bay. The hotel is extremely clean and lavishes in luxury. A very pleasant hotel with very friendly staff and an excellent pool. The food is great although a bit the same every night.

hotel very nice and clean. staff helpful, we got shown round spa area buy one of the staff, it was my boyfriend birthday whilst we we there they left us a basket of fruit in our room at no extra charge. our room was nice we were near the childrens pool we could open our patio door and put out towels on sunbeds and go back to bed! when we stayed there wasnt many children so we had the childrens pool to ourselves just the right depth for laying on lilo and floatng around pool.

The Royal Savoy at the Savoy hotel is worth paying that little bit extra as you get your private swimming pool for the Royal Savoy guests, plus you have your own breakfeast area. The hotel has nice facilities and the weather is beautiful. The staff are all very nice and pleasant. With the royal Savoy you also get free internet access as well.

Sierra is a good hotel. That's our experience. My name is Jeff and my wife is Aggie, we have just returned from Sharm El Sheikh and would like to add our comments.

In the main the staff seemed eager to please although some were clearly not that interested in providing service with a smile. For us the successes were the Lobby Bar, The pool and towel staff, the animation staff were professional and very entertaining, the house keeping staff, concierge and the spar staff.

Areas for concern would be the pool bar staff, reception staff especially on check out.

The pool is one of the best we have experienced, just at the right temperature and clean. The food was good and the omlette chef's clearly enjoyed making them. Sometimes the service became a little frantic in the restaurant, when for some reason glasses were in short supply. Always had to ask for a tea Spoon.

However all in all we really enjoyed our stay at the Sierra, hopefully we will return to see how things progress.

Please review letter submitted to Savoy Reorts on our experience:

Dear Savoy Resorts; My name is Nicholas B. and I was a guest of your Sierra Resort in Sharm El Sheikh from December 20th to the 27th Room 4505. I'm writing you now as I just finished the last part of this trip to Kiev and flew home to California this weekend. I'm submitting this information for your management to consider and deal with accordingly, as my Fiancee Olena and I decided to visit your establishment based on the writings from your website, and the suggestion of Olena's Travel Agent who said you were a Deluxe 4 or 5 star accommodation. As guests at your location, we did not expect several issues to take place, and they are as follows; 1. The shower or bath water to overflow almost every time onto the bathroom floor if we drained to fast. We learned how to accommodate this by day three with slow drainage. 2. Bath towels being delivered throughout the day- Sometimes in late morning, sometimes in late afternoon. This made for interesting bathing times, and it interupted our stay several times as we were in the room Relaxing in the afternoons. 3. Trip Representatives at your location who book or work on trips such as diving, submarine, camel rides, etc Demanding tips for their bus drivers, guides, and boat crews. I'm an American, and completely understand what the word Gratuity means.......Thank You. These points listed were uncomfortable at best, but it's the following experience that was our Icing on the cake. My luggage was lost in Kiev and during the 5 days without I purchased make shift clothing and toiletries. Your resort Representatives, and Pegas Travel agent, assured us that there would be No Problem securing my luggage for me and that it would be delivered to my room when it arrived. This was to be on December 23th. Well it arrived on December 24th, and the scenario changed to me now having to waste an afternoon to pick it up myself. I was also assured that I could catch one of your Shuttle Buses to airport so this wouldn't be a problem. Well when time came for me to go pick up the luggage, the story once again changed and I was going to have to take a Taxi to the tune of 35.00 for this round trip experience. Combined with all this, you charged me 60 dollars for 3 quick phone calls to airport in Kiev to check on status of my luggage.

Truley a second class experience.

Sincerley;

Nicholas B.

staff a little bit arrogant with you when you first arrive. But who blames them,they go to work everyday in 45oc to put up with the arrogance of the russian's, the staff need a pat on the back to work all year, serving this race of ignorant,self obsessed, speedo wearing idiots. RUSSIANS! at least have the god dam courtesy to spare other human beings your bad dress sense and mullet hair cuts! after the staff get to know you there grrrrrrrrrrrr88888!

Sierra Resort, food good qaulity but no imagination, same everyday and night. If you are there for more than 7nights you will be eating out. Sunbeds, pool attendants place towels every morning over about 50% of the beds so that when guests come down to use them the place looks full but miracuously they take some towels off, you are so grateful you tip them. Every day at least ten times a day this happened. Bar staff very sullen and arogant, only serve you once they have finished their conversation or you are a young lady. Entertainment is shocking and please if you have youngsters dont use the kids club as they have no control and no security measures - a small child was found by his parents at the side of the pool when he was meant to be in the kids club!! All in all nowhere near a five star but everyone is different.

We went to Sharm El Shiekh in June 2008, and loved it!

The weather was fab, perhaps too hot for some at that time of the year, high 30's - 40's most days, even up to the 50's some days, but there was a nice little cool breeze during the day which was great.

The hotel was beautiful, the rooms lovely and spacious and very clean with a massive king size bed and fully-equipped bathroom. The pools and beach are were beautiful and there was a choice of around 7 restaurants to choose from, including an Italian, Chinese, Indian, A la Carte, Asian, Seafood etc. We both got food poisoning while we were there, but to be honest, that can happen anywhere (although Sharm is notorious for it!) and ironically, it was the nicest meal we had while we were there!!! There is also a good choice of bars, both inside and outside, some with live music and some with big screens showing the football while we were there. The only downside was there was not much choice on the pool bar menu for lunch, and watch out for the A La Carte at lunchtime, as it works out very expensive!

The resort of Naama Bay itself is much bigger than we had thought, and although our hotel was 10-15 mins away (about ���£5-7 in a taxi), we were in a really good location, as it was nice and quiet but close enough to go in to eat/shop whenever we wanted. There is a good selection of restaurants, including Hard Rock Cafe and TGI Fridays, which are a must, but try to go before 7 as they get very busy! Also worth a try is the lovely Mexican restaurant Mexicana. There are a few bars, and also a Pasha nightclub. The locals are bad at pestering you to go into their shops, but lets face it, where abroad are they not...Turkey, Tenerife, they're all the same! Some good shops too, good fakes and plenty of jewellery and clothes.

The diving is out of this world, and you have plenty of choice of daytrips including desert safaris, quad biking and boat trips.

We will definetely go back!!!!!!!

The Savoy hotel could not be faulted in any way and the weather was around 40 the whole time but with a nice breeze on most days.

Our room was cleaned twice a day, spacious and very comfortable.

The pool area was kept beautiful; pool attendants very helpful and the bar staff kept us refreshed throughout the day - Mahmoud needs a special mention here :) Restaurants were all superb although we didn't eat in the Tirana (buffet style) on any evening. What some people weren't aware of was that there were 3/4 other restaurants across the road that were also included on the all inclusive basis. There were Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern (soon to be a Ukranian also) and a really funky bar which served some great cocktails. The food quality and choice is amazing, the Indian or Italian was our favourite but they were all 5* quality. Evening entertainment is a little bit limited but that suited us just fine, the African dancers one night were fantastic. Again, bar staff were so attentive and made you feel so welcome. Particularly Mo (Mohammed) in the Le Balconie bar.

One evening we went to N'ama Bay and wish we hadn't bothered. Got hassled from the minute we got out of the taxi and found people very intimidating. We couldn't wait to get back into another taxi and get back. Be careful with taxis. You should only pay 50 Egyptian pounds to get to and from the Savoy to N'ama Bay and they were trying to charge 100. Haggle with them to get them down and even pretend to walk away from them and they will give in.

Sharm airport - what a nightmare! If you are not looking to go sight-seeing and just staying on the hotel resort or local areas, go straight to passport control (to the right as you walk in). They will try and make you get a visa (which is on the left hand side) but you don't need one unless you are venturing out to places like Cairo etc. It looks very confusing but just bear this in mind.

We were really worried about getting funny tummies whilst we were away but we are fine all week. We drank lots of water during the day and used an antibacterial hand wash throughout the day. We ate all different foods from the salads to fish to cream cakes and had no problems at all. We even had ice which was fine as it's made from bottled water. Just don't drink the water out of the tap, even when brushing your teeth we were advised to use bottled water.

Hope this helps!

We can't wait to book again next year!

just returned from one week in april 2008 at the savoy hotel sharm el sheikh.still got stomach problems.both me and my husband suffered severe food poisioning from this supposedly 5 star hotel and most guests we talked to had also been ill but the management did not want to know.the hotel itself is set in beautiful gardens and the pool area and room are lovely but do not let this deceive you the food looks good but they must have severe hygiene pr oblems as you can smell raw sewage by the morgana restaurant every morning.if you must go to this hotel go bed and breakfast and eat out.we had all inclusive which is a big con as all alcohol is like water,the wine being ok.our holiday was ruined because we could not eat or drink much the whole holiday after sampling their cuisine .also the place is dominated by russiANS whom the staff serve first after us.the staff are mostly unfriendly and do not want to serve you.please save your money and find a better hotel than this one.we paid 1600 all in and feel rather robbed.never mind cest la vie

First All Inclusive finishes on day of departure at 12md exactly. We stocked up on cans and bottles of water.

What can I say except that we will definately be returning here!! When we went the resort was very quiet. If you want to party then this is probably not the hotel for you. The hotel was very clean and tidy. Rooms were great. Service was excellent throughout. The Italian restaurant was to die for and we ate there a couple of times. Make sure you buy descent goggles for snorkelling. We were told to buy ones that dont have 'plastic' face masks as they arent very good. It gets very hot so make sure you take plenty of high factor cream. We were buying factor 50 whilst we were there. Use the laundry facilities even if its just to get clothes returned in Savoy bags!!! One word of warning, we left the hotel to walk to the shops a short walk down the road when it was getting dark. We did not feel very safe and were followed back by a small group of lads. we might of been imagining it but we dont think so! Nama bay for the glass bottom boat was also excellent and we felt very safe walking along the beach front there (in day-light) The complex is set on a hill but theres a lift to the pool area and if you take a 'stroll' to the beach its OK. All in all excellent value