Just returned from a great week at the Ritz Carlton in Sharm. We found the hotel to be excellent and overall it was a fabulously relaxing holiday.

My boyfriend and I stayed on a B&B basis which suited us as we like to get out and see a bit of local life/colour rather than spending every moment in the resort. There are lots of restaurants you can eat very cheaply at in and around Sharm. We went to the Mercato complex (10 mins walk from the hotel) a couple of times - there are lots of branded/fast food places there as well as some good shopping! We found the Lebanese restaurant at the Marmara hotel right next to Mercato was good as was the Onions restaurant in the Mercato itself.

You should also take a taxi to Old Sharm/market (25 Egyptian pounds/£2.50) or into Naama Bay (35 Egyptian pounds/£3.50) and try some of the restaurants there. El Masrien in the market was fabulous - best lamb chops ever and a total bill of 85 Egyptian/£8.50 for 2!! In Naama bay the Pomodoro restaurant at the Camel Hotel was also really good - great fish, pizza etc. But basically all cheap and lots of choice so if eating at the hotel is not your thing - don't worry!! That said the breakfast at the hotel is absolutely excellent - lots of choice, a brilliant omelette station with a lovely chef, pastries, fruits, etc. Enough to keep you going till dinner to be honest. You do get bottled water in your room every day but also worth filling your mini bar from the local shop 24/7 market which is 5 minutes outside the hotel gate. That way you don't have to swallow the £4 per tiny can of lager that the hotel bars will charge you and can have a lovely drink on your balcony before heading out.

On to the hotel - it was a really nice resort with beautifully maintained gardens, a lovely and massive pool (actually 4 pools including a deep diving pool which was great for swimming lengths in) with hundreds of loungers around it. There are also lots of loungers on the beach/cliff area as well as helpful and attentive staff to set you up on the loungers. If that's not your thing ask for the towels and set yourself up. The house reef is great - you walk out over a pontoon to reach it and can then snorkel in relatively deep water with great visibility and lots of fish. It's true there isn't really a sandy beach here but the loungers are set on sand with lovely decks looking out over the Red Sea and the reef is great for swimming so we didn't miss a "beach" at all.

The room itself was nice, roomy and exceptionally clean. The guy who cleaned it each day was lovely and we came back to some fabulous towel sculptures, petals on the bed etc. He couldn't do enough for us (and we didn't tip him till the end of the week so wasn't just about that). We also had a nice view of the gardens and the sea (which we hadn't paid extra for) but the hotel did seem relatively quiet and uncrowded overall. The public areas are beautiful (we didn't eat in the restaurants but the beach bar - Waves was good), the lobby, bar etc. are immaculate with comfy sofas and just gorgeous flowers - overall it feels quite upscale. The hotel also went out of their way to show the European football championships on the terrace every night which made my boyfriend very happy!!

Facilities were also great - we played tennis, used the excellent dive shop onsite, bobbed around on the lazy river and I even joined in the aquarobics a couple of times. There is plenty to do but it's not rammed down your throat and you can get to quiet parts of the beach without music/activities going on (unlike some of the resorts along the coast which seem to pump out Europop all day long!!) There are also lots of tours you can do from the hotel - we did the Mount Sinai climb which was fabulous to see the sunrise if a little sore on the legs the next day.

The best part about this hotel was the staff - am not sure where other people's comments came from (?!?) Everyone was so kind and welcoming - everyone (including the gardeners and cleaners) said hello/good morning, hoped you were having a nice holiday when they passed you. Nothing was too much trouble at all. We also had no problem at all with the staring/chatting up behaviour that others have mentioned (though that did happen a lot outside the hotel!!) That said you do have to remember that this is a Muslim country where local women cover their heads and bodies when in public therefore you do need to be sensitive to that.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel. If you are worried by other reviews - don't be - you will have a fabulous time!!

We have just returned from the Ritz Carlton in Sharm and I cannot express how poorly we were treated. We received the usual cold towel and juice greeting until I produced the confirmation that I received from Ritz Carlton. The check-in clerk immediately called the hotel manager, who asked us how we got the rate and said that we were quoted it in error, however he was forced to honor it. This was not our fault, but there was a real effort to make us feel like we were stealing from the hotel.
We were given a room at the farthest reaches of the hotel, next to the carpentry shop! Our patio door was broken, but requests to have it repaired were ignored. Because one of our party has a mobility problem, we asked to be moved closerr to the pool/lobby area. We were told the hotel was full, so we could not be moved. If the hotel was full, everyone was hiding in their rooms because the pool area was deserted, as were the restaurants during the very limited opening hours.
We were not given a hotel map or informed of the free shuttle to Sharm at check-in. It was one of the Club Car drivers who gave us this information. When we did use the shuttle service (very inconvenient times) the bus was an ancient vehicle with broken curtain railings. However, the staff was using a brand new bus for their outing! We were told that the airport shuttle was only for the use of guests on the all-inclusive rate and we were on our own for a taxi.
The waiters in the Wave restaurant were rude and lazy. They ignored us when we entered (apparantly it wasn't open yet) at 10:30 a.m.. We asked for menus and eventually got them, but no one came to take our order. After a full hour we asked about ordering something to eat and were told the kitchen was closed. Despite a note in our room service menu that advised food could be delivered anywhere on the property at any time, the waiters at the Wave refused to order it for us.
The worst thing is the fogging for mosquitoes. It was done during the late afternoon with absolutely no notice. The first time this happened there were two small children at the pool, the second time we were dining on our patio and had our dinner sprayed with chemicals.
I know it is off-season and maintenance must be done at this time, but pruning trees and allowing branches to fall into the lazy river while guests are using it is unacceptable.
Also, we were charged an extra USD80 for a third adult in the room. This was just a dollar grab as we had no extra bedding, no extra towels and no extra water. When I asked what we did receive for USD80, I was just ignored.
If you are looking for a great place to stay in Sharm, I would recommend the Marriott. We stayed there last time and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We only went to the Ritz Carlton for dinner rather than actually staying there but I feel obliged to warn people about what I felt was a serious mosquito problem.

Our meal in the La Luna restaurant was lovely, but spoilt rather by constant presence of these pests - I think I killed at least five while we were in there. However that was just the tip of the iceberg, we went out to the lobby/bar for a drink afterwards and they were literally everywhere. We left in a hurry but my arms were still absolutely destroyed when they all came out the next day.

We had an amazing time, the staff were appropriate all the time. We spent two weeks there and a no point did i or any one we spoke to think that any of the staff were letchy. The waiter staff at waves were efficient and we ate there approx 8 times and the order was spot on every time. I did not like the greek salad but that was my issue and i told the waiter and got a free fruit platter!!! Yes the meals were expensive but there are hundreds or restarants within a £2.00 cab ride.
Loved the hotel and i am very well travelled, this is the 1st place i could say i would go back to.