Reviews of Coral Sea Resort Hotel, Sharm El Sheikh

Just got back from Coral Sea 13/10/06 after 2 weeks. I must admit, I was dubious after reading so many reports about this hotel, but I can assure you it is absolutely wonderful!



We arrived at the hotel at 22.00 and went down to the Dine Around for a meal, and found even at that time of night, so much variety of food available to us, it quashed any fears that we had read previously on this site with reference to the food here! For the duration of our stay, we were treated to a wide variety of choices, and always presented so well! I defy anyone going here, that says the choice is repetitive! The Dine Around staff are very friendly and helpful, but please remain polite to them, and do not expect to treat them as your personal slave! They do not expect to be tipped for anything they do for you, but at the end of your stay, tip as you have found!



The rooms are kept spotless by the cleaning staff, as is the whole of the hotel complex, and nothing is too much trouble for them.



The Italian restaurant is a must visit during your stay!



The beach/pool towel boys enjoy taking your towels to your desired sun bed, and even laying out the towels for you, and again, do not expect to be tipped for this service. They always have a smile and a joke for you, so if you feel you want to tip them at the end of your stay, do so, as all staff are extremely poorly paid for the long hours they work!



Entertainments team really work their socks off, starting at 10.30 each day, going through to 23.00 each night! The reviews they put on were excellent, and I must say that Jamie and Lesley could very easily make it through to X Factor finals with their singing expertise. They were without doubt, the leading forces within the team, but unfortunately, if you are going here after October this year, you will have missed them, as they are moving to other countries then. Well done you 2, as the comments received from all guests after your special individual nights were exceptional!



Snorkeling was fantastic from the time you set a foot in the sea (which was like stepping into a bath). The coral and species of sea life you see are second to none!! We walked out in the sea to snorkel although it is a long walk, but there was always so much to see on the way out there. The water is very salty, so remember to have a shower on the beach when you return to your bed, as the salt will burn, when exposed to the sun, which has been around 40 - 45 degrees for the duration of our stay.



The First Choice reps - Jay and David, were the only down side to this holiday. They were unhelpful, and so not committed with what their job was all about! They were hardly ever at the desk, after telling you to come back to them at an allotted time, and just seemed to be interested in selling First Choice trips which were very, very overpriced! The Welcome trip to Naama Bay at £9.50 per person was a complete rip off! We had an Egyptian rep who was only interested in showing us KFC, and an English restaurant. Take care if you go here, as you feel intimidated by the locals who just do not take no for an answer, and will try to take to into back street shops to sign a book about their English speaking, only for you to find when you get there, that you will be expected to buy something before they will let you leave!



Do drink the required amount of water while you are here to avoid the "dodgy tummy". It has nothing to do with the food you are eating, unless you overindulge, which given the choices you have, can be very easy to do, it is down to the heat, and dehydration!



All in all, you will have a fantastic time, and we will definitely be returning next year!

First of all I’d like to start by saying The Coral Sea Resort, Sharm el Sheikh is such a beautiful exclusive hotel. Me and my partner holiday'd there on the 28.09.06-05.10.06 for one week the weather was boiling hot around 40' each day with a nice soothing breeze from the sea. Getting on too the All Inclusive the food was nice, they try to cater for everybody with a different theme each night I especially liked the sautéed veg, and all of the fresh meat's they would carve off the bone i.e. roast beef, only thing I would say I missed was bacon, all though even then they did try there best to cater for the English by serving ''Beef Bacon'' ha it was ok I suppose and everybody seemed to appreciate the thought, obviously they don’t have pork as it's an Islamic country!



Drinks. After midnight it does state the All Inclusive offer ends which too us when we first arrived we was quite shocked at, but it was actually fine the waiter in the Irish bar or in lobby bar would allow you to get as many drinks as you wanted per person (within reason) which was usually around 4 drinks each for a little tip, not much around £2 which is 20 Egyptian pounds, the staff were lovely and friendly and made our holiday to be honest.



The Entertainment. The entertainment was ok, we didn’t really think much of the first choice reps they only seemed to get involved with people they clicked with, I think I had spoken a max of 10 words to them during my stay as the didn’t seem interested in all guests.



The shows was mainly aimed at kids even the ones after the kids show had finished like I say they did work hard though. If you go into Naama Bay Hard rock cafe is a must! The food was out of this world and dirt cheap to eat, drinks were like home prices but out there that seems expensive, it's a must! The dancing waiters was brilliant YMCA ha ha. Naama Bay is a great night out also it cost us £1 return on the hotel coach we never ever needed to get taxi's as this service was great, plus the drivers are mad on the roads so many accidents I seen.



First Choice trips. We did the trip to Cairo by flight ( Pyramids, Sphinx & Museum inc) which was well worth it, it cost £150pp diner and breakfast is inc also, the pick up at 4am for hotel was hard but standing inside the pyramids made it all well worth the get up 10 times over.



The other trip we did was quad biking in the resort, I would really recommend this too such a laugh, although we booked it with first choice for the price of £30 each to then be told by a fellow holidayer that they had booked on the beach at the little excursions stall and got it for £15 each, we canceled with first choice and booked on the beach and it was fab we did the 3pm slot which I was told was the best as you get to watch the sunset in the desert, sure enough we did and was riding the quads back in the dark which was great I also rode a camel for £2 I loved it.



Obviously Sharm el Sheikh is all about the diving/snorkeling which was amazing, we never booked on any trips to do this as there's coral right outside the hotel in the sea, a few of us bought a snorkel kit an swam out the fish follow you everywhere from the moment you set foot into the hot sea water (which feels like a bath) thousands and thousands of fish all colours all sizes so beautiful, if your not into diving or snorkeling in a huge way I'd recommend buying the set yourself and having a go.



The best tips I can give you is always haggle whatever price its on the shelf for you can always get it cheaper, I was a bit scared at first but the first couple of days I got use to it an wish we could use this technique back home ha.



On to Rooms. We had a Jacuzzi select room, number 1136 it was beautiful always clean, spotless the staff would even call back around 5.30pm to check everything was ok or if we needed more towels. The maids were all men no women that's because women don’t work I think well that's what we heard.



Overall this holiday was the best holiday I and my partner have ever had an we have traveled all over to places of Mexico, Dominican rep and Cuba. We will be visiting this hotel again without a doubt. Have Fun I'm sure you will.

Well what can I say that has not already been said we went to Coral Sea for our honeymoon and it was great we had a fantastic time the people were lovely, the pool boys were so funny especially Hussien he’s great and is very playful. The food was great and there was so much choice every night and for dessert there were lots of little things to choose from that were very nice.



We went on a boat trip called Seascope its a semi-submarine it was great, if you want to see the amazing corals and fish with out getting wet it is perfect. But when you get on the boat they put a hat on you like its a gift but I assure you its not, they soon come round with a pot and charge you for it so unless you want it take it straight off and give it back to them like I did.



And the sea was just amazing there was so much to been seen I have never really liked the sea but I was talked into giving snorkeling a go and I could not believe the wonderful corals and fish right in front of me . We just can wait to go back again next year and do some proper diving.



It really was a honeymoon to remember.

Its only 9/10 because of the winging Brits. First things first, this hotel and the staff are outstanding. For all inclusive at a 4 star rating you can not complain but if you’re a raging alcoholic and very bland taste buds don’t bother. The drink is ok (Egypt is a Muslim country and alcohol is not on there list of priority’s) and dose the job, the food is brilliant.



The staff just makes the whole thing work, the have such charm and humour that I was not expecting and will never forget. Just give them respect they work very hard to earn a fraction of what you or I would normally earn. One or two tips here and there makes there day.



The reps are there to make you life easer and yes they sell tours but nobody is holding a gun to your head making buy them. Use your head, look at what they offer and talk to the rest of the guests, then go with the option that suits you. My tip for quad biking and deep sea snorkeling is to go with Kamel in the resort next door he will not let you down. The quad biking was the best fun I have had with my clothes on in years.



Just sit back relax and enjoy, for such a cheep holiday you get back so much more.

This is the third time we have stayed here now, see previous comments, still superb value. The food we thought was actually better than previous visits. The hotel itself is starting to look a bit jaded, obviously it’s had a lot of use over the last 18 months so it can be expected.



Things like furnishings and beach beds need refurbishing or renewed, however this is probably going to be rectified in the near future. The staff as usual are very courteous, friendly and helpful in any way possible. Little extras are starting to creep in like payment for football (big screen matches) snooker and pool, windsurfing and ice creams at the mermaid bar, a little annoying but sufferable.



All in all though I’m trying to nit pick but find it difficult. We went on the sunset cruise including evening meal which was excellent also snorkeling at Ras Mohammed. We are waiting to see development with coral seas new sister hotel supposed to be finished by May 2007 before we book for a fourth time but either one we will be back. Ps the airport doesn’t get any better.

Just arrived back from the Coral Sea and thought I needed to add my own review of our 2-week holiday.



I have rated the holiday 10/10 because apart from a couple of minor bad points overall you would have to be very picky to rate it any less for the money you pay.



I will begin from when we landed which included the airport. It is very small and cramped as there are many flights going out and coming in at around the same time. Watch out for the locals in the toilets who want a £1 from you for a sheet of toilet paper, just tell them no and walk away and remember if you go out of the resort to take your own toilet paper just in case, it sounds daft but just reduces the hassle.



The coach journey to the Coral Sea takes about 15-20 minutes, which is great compared to other places I visited. We arrived around 10.30pm where we checked in and went for some supper in the main dining area that they had kept open longer for the new arrivals. We then went to our room where our cases were brought to us. (We did have to wait an hour for these, which was slightly annoying).



The first morning we went for breakfast, which is always in the main dining area. The variety they had on offer was excellent, just don't expect a full English that's all.



After the welcome meeting we explored the hotel grounds and the 2 large pools on offer, one is a quiet pool and the other is where the reps are that do entertainment throughout the day so you can choose which ever one you like. There is a lot on offer around the hotel, a great Astroturf football pitch where the reps organised a game everyday at 11am which suited me down to the ground although running around in 30+ degrees can prove a little tricky at first. The only minor bad points were the extras that you had to pay for. I would expect to pay for the Internet but to just have a game of pool or snooker was a bit annoying, as you couldn't just pay for one game it had to be over a set period of time. Also the TV room next door was a £1 every time there was a live football match on, it's not much but over 2 weeks these little extra's got a bit annoying but then I could just be a little picky.



The food overall was outstanding, there was a different theme each night which never repeated itself over the 2 weeks, if you didn't like what was on offer there was always the pasta section and the man at the far end making fresh pizza's. There is also a kiddies section which serves more simple food. The salad bar and desert section was great. The chef's are to a high standard and the presentation shows the amount of work that goes into the food. Just one thing, if you are there for 2 weeks you will never want to face beef stew ever again as that was on everyday and became a little joke.



Moving onto the Staff you can't really say bad word about any of them, they work long hours for no money at all, we gave our cleaner a £10 tip on our last day and I think he thought he'd won the lottery. The pool boys are really helpful too, you get a fresh towel from them each day and they will take and lay your towel out on the sun bed you choose. The pool bar was fantastic to just swim up to it and have a drink when ever you like. The bar men would also come round and serve you drinks, (with the help of a little tip here and there but nothing much) I read in other reports that some people felt the beer was watered down, believe me drink too much of the stuff and you will see for yourself if it's watered down, I had a couple of hangovers from under estimating it's strength. On that note try and take your own paracetamol etc because the prices in the chemist which is located at the front of the hotel are extremely over priced and so too are the shops which include buying items such as lilos (£13 each) if you go to the pool lads they have some stored away at cheaper prices that have been left from previous guests. The reps would do a quiz ever lunchtime from the pool bar which was good fun.



If you are looking at booking trips through the reps, i.e. Cairo trip then don't. The prices are much less in Naama bay. We visited Naama bay on a couple of occasions and it is true that the shop owners can be very annoying but just use a firm no and walk away. Although if you don’t want to buy anything then you can haggle with them to get a much lower price than what they ask for, just be a bit cheeky. The hard rock cafe is great and the prices for food are really low but are to a good standard. You can get a return bus journey from the hotel, which is a £1 each way.



The entertainment at the hotel is not as bad from the comments I read before going, the reps put an awful lot of work into what they do and before they start the entertainment they always do bingo which was good for me and my girlfriend after winning £100 for a full house. If you don't want the entertainment then there is the main bar next to reception and the Irish bar, which has a disco type theme every night. The all-inclusive finishes at 12 so remember to stock up about 11.55. (Typical English binge drinkers I know)!



To sum up everything I would just say that this was one of the best holidays I have been on whether you want a relaxing time or a chance to explore you can have either or both. Great place!

Best holiday I’ve had. Just me and my girlfriend went, well recommended to anyone.



People are lovely, food and drink included. Weather was really hot, 40+ in September! Nice and brown now. Recommend you do day trips, worth doing when you go to Egypt.



Cant wait to go back next year. Also if people moan about belly upsets don’t listen. You get belly upsets anywhere you go! Go with first choice.

Just returned from this hotel and agree with all the positive comments that have already been posted, this really is an excellent holiday destination. The Egyptian hospitality cannot be faulted and nothing is too much trouble for anyone at the hotel with smiles from them all.



I enjoyed the food throughout my stay with a real preference for the pasta dishes that were cooked specially in the main restaurant.



Anyone visiting should go out the coral reef opposite the hotel - it is not deep for people who are not strong swimmers and the tropical fish are amazing to see in their natural habitat. A brilliant experience and free of charge.

A superb hotel which was extremely well run. Cleanliness was excellent, clean sheets & towels every day.



Staff were very friendly & helpful, nothing was too much trouble. Food was very good, nicely presented and something for everyone. Drinks were pretty good - usual lager & local spirits - whisky was a bit TCP ish but brandy, vodka etc very drinkable. Cocktails were yummy !



Entertainment - reps did a magnificent job as did the entertainment team. Erin, Lesley and the gang thanks a lot. Spinning man was amazing, as was 'the fakeer'.

Only bad point was the madhouse which called itself an airport. Both arriving and departing. Chaos is not the word! Patience is needed - extremely busy, duty free is in American dollars for some odd reason. Girls - take loo roll to the airport, better still, go before leaving the hotel because it's not too clean!



Some confusion about the 15quid visa - if you have no intention of going on any of the trips, you don't need it! Just put Sinai Only on the back of the form they give you on the plane. Visa isn't necessary for Naama Bay, but if you are going on a boat trip or Cairo etc. you will need it. I'd go back tomorrow !!

The hotel overall was very nice however small details let it down and stopped it from getting the full 10/10. 99% of the door handles are hanging off and this doesn't give the best impression and the lamps in our rooms were hanging off the wall. Apart from those two points, you cannot fault the hotel. The grounds are amazing and the brochure does not do it justice. The swimming pools are very large and don't go any deeper than 1.5m so are quite safe if you have children.



The entertainment team work very hard and whilst it's not a west end musical standard performance, they do all work very hard and I strongly believe it is what you make of it! There are activities running throughout the day so you should never get bored.



The food is very nice with lots of variety. The fresh pizza's are lovely are anyone who cannot find something to suit their taste is just lying! The drinks are also fine. Rum and coke was great but sure about the other spirits but saw lots of people drinking cocktails!



Went to the Italian restaurant twice. Drinks are quite expensive £2.20(English sterling) for a can of Pepsi and the food is no different for what you get in the other restaurant and service is non-existent!



All the staff were friendly and work hard. A word of warning.... DO NOT leave any money lying around in your room. My boyfriend took his change from his pocket and left it on the table in our room among our other bits and bobs and when we came back to the room after the cleaner had been he had taken it, assuming it was a tip! BEWARE!



I went to this hotel with my boyfriend and we made friends with another couple as soon as we arrived and spent the whole holiday as a group. I would recommend this hotel for families and large groups or couples traveling together however don't think it is the best place to go if there are just two of you and you want a quiet time. If you want to go and get involved and make new friends then you will have a fab holiday! Enjoy!

My wife and I have just come back to sunny Scotland! After 2 weeks at Coral Sea resort. We had a great time, I was going to write in this review the next day, but I wanted to make sure I was going back first ha ha.just encase the Hotel was full.



so back on Thursday, and booked back up on Friday, for same time next year, one of the main reasons for this was that most of the people that we met there were there for there second year and most of the rest like us, were planning on going back next year that’s how good it was for us, first time ever we have been like this, we have said in the past on other trips we would come back to this place, and never but not here. I know there is no way you can please everybody when it comes to food ect:



We were well impressed with the grub. There is so much to choose from, you will never go hungry put it that way. It is top class, they have different themes each night: Italian one night Mexican the next, ext ect: + the old fashioned egg chips and beans if you want.



I like to spend, if I have the money when I go on hols. But I met people there that had not even spent a brown penny, you don’t need to, everything is for free. You can pay for some extras like a massage, on the beach or internet but 99% of things are paid for if you go all inclusive. This is our first time doing this, we always went self catering, we wanted to do our own thing, get up for break, go for dinner ,when we wanted ,,,but breakfast starts at 6 .30 am till 10 am lunch form 12. 30pm till 2 .30pm dinner from 6 30pm till 10 pm, and if you can eat in between meals ha .ha. There are snacks and food going at the sea food bar, tea coffee drinks at reception,



there is plenty of bottled water going all day out those bottle machines for free, well what I mean for free is you have already paid for it .Some people like myself got a bit of a tummy upset for a couple of days, I thought it may be something I ate or drank but that was not the case I went to the Pharmacy outside the Hotel to your left 3r shop and the pharmacist explained all to me about what was wrong ,he has since become a very close friend of me and my wife’s he is honest and as good as any doctor you will meet, very highly educated and with loads of experience trust him if he prescribes anything for you ,I was fixed the next day with his help his name is AHAMED ELANGER a very good person. And look forward to seeing him again.



My wife also informed me as I am a man!! that they change the bed sheets every day and new clean towels also, plus they clean the room as well, which we had no problems with, you also get beach towels every day so we never had to bring our own ,more room for the cheap fags ,which varies from 6 .to £20 a box. Also a wee tip, bring a small kettle if you like a cup first thing, you can get them in the Hotel along with other things for rent, but electrical stuff cost a few bob over there if you need to buy anything.



Also it’s hard to get piz bun as it costs a lot to ship things to Egypt. Don’t worry about if its safe as you will be happy to know there is plenty of security about, they even have there own security on each end of your private beach all the hotels have this. My wife and I felt really safe in, and out, the Hotel well if you are going to Coral Sea I Know you will enjoy yourself unless you’re some one who doesn’t no matter where you are. All the best can’t wait to go back.

What can I say that has not yet, the people and staff where great they went out of there way to help, the boys round the pool area where brilliant with our children, and they work so hard and do not earn much, the food great, no problems with bad tummy if you where sensible. All in all a good one worth the money and we are going back again. Just looking for the best deal and we will be back because the weather is the best always sunny the sea great the fish where brill to watch and you could go out for some distance and it would only come up to you knees, the quads where brill to.

My 15yr old daughter and I have just returned on Friday from the Coral Sea, we have had a fantastic time, every thing about the hotel was superb, the food was out of this world, with a different theme every night, don't go if you’re expecting English food every day, you'd be better in Benidorm.



The staff gave 110% you only had to ask and it was done before you'd finished asking. the only down side to our holiday was the night time entertainment, there was plenty for the children, but nothing at all for adults, the reps tried with different shows, but most of the time it was embarrassing.



We would love to return there one day, but would need to see that things had been done to improve the night time entertainment, I would like to thank all the staff in the walkabout, the bar staff all at reception, and not forgetting the pool boys you were all fantastic.

Just returned from coral sea. Flight with first choice as being over 6 feet tall and unable to upgrade it was very uncomfortable. Sharm airport is an eye opener with the usual tip hunters who are very persistent and rude. I believe you should receive more protection from first choice staff.



The hotel is very nice, it is kept very clean and with a good and very welcome air conditioning. Overall nearly all the staff were very polite and extremely hard working. The grounds etc are fantastic with the gardeners working around the clock in high temperatures. All still had the courtesy to greet you what ever the time of day.



Food bearing the in mind the numbers catered for was of a good standard, although there are themed nights they do not at times bear any resemblance to the food of the country in question but that was only a minor gripe. I have no gripe with the Egyptians at the hotel whatsoever but I have never been to a hotel that is nearly full with the English.



And I hope I never have to again. Some of them give our country a bad name by the way they behave and the way they treated the staff I was ashamed. Some people as soon as they get their room keys seem to forget their parental responsibilities and their young charges to do whatever they want whenever they want. Some especially the idiots who kept jumping off the bridge into the pool how on earth they never landed on anybody I don’t know.



Continually messing around with the pools filtration system getting warnings from the pool staff in front of their parents only to go and do it again once the staff left and with the parents laughing, this was on a daily basis, now I will get onto the entertainment, the staff did try to the best of their ability which was not very good. It was ok for the younger kids but for teenagers and adults not good at all.



During daytime activities the staff were borrowing li lo's to use as goals for water polo as the goals had been broken. Borrow footballs to use on the astro turf pitch. And you could not play tennis as the racquets had been nicked. Overall I gave the holiday a 7 out of ten as the hotel, the staff and the stunning location deserve better than what they get from 1st choice. I personally would not go back this however has nothing to do with the hotel or staff.

We have just returned from our holiday to the coral sea and we have really enjoyed our two weeks of chilling even though it was too hot for us pale faces. We have no problems with the hotel or the room they were of a high standard, the staff were very friendly and helpful always saying hello when passing. The food was alright, there is something for everyone even if you are fussy.



The drinks were more than ok (not watered down as one of the other poster has suggested) but no martini or white rum and we still had many drinks sitting at the pool bar trying to cool down. They love it if you try and talk a bit of Arabic. We didn’t feel like you had to tip but we gave the last of our Egyptian money to them and they were very grateful.



We went quad biking to see the sunrise over the desert, it was a brilliant morning we didn’t use the reps we booked through someone else (Ledo and Kate an English woman living in Sharm) who was a lot cheaper and just as good.



The reason we gave it 7 out of 10 is we didn’t think it was right to say all inclusive when you get charged for using pool table, wind surfing, kayaks, snorkelling gear, mini bar and they even charge for drinks in the Italian restaurant.



We went to another jetty further along the beach at the magic life to snorkel and it was fantastic but when we went again we got told it was for the magic life clients only, The Coral Seas jetty wasn’t finished and when it is it’s not going to take you to the edge of the reef.



We had a bit of a tummy upset but it definitely wasn’t the beer, it’s down to not drinking enough water and too much sun you just don’t realise how hot it is and how much water you have to consume, our kids never had a tummy ache but be very careful we used factor 60 every time the kids moved and they burnt a little.



The beach was nothing to get excited about, the sand was coarse, at low tide the beach was strewn with rocks and further along towards the ship wreck the sea had what looked like gypsum waste from the builders of another hotel.



We went to Naama bay a couple of times and thought it was brilliant, you do get hassled but if they do come over to you just say no thank you and away they go, they are only trying to make a living. You have to go to the hard rock cafe but be prepared to wait for a table at busy times, going at 6pm is about the right time.



At the Coral Sea the night time entertainment was provided by the first choice reps and basically consisted of them dressing up and singing different songs to different themes most nights of the week and playing bingo which was more reminiscent of Butlins than Egypt, but most people liked it and if it's not your cup of tea there are plenty of other places to sit and chill out.



All in all we would go back, the hotel is a good base for visiting the surrounding area, the Egyptian staff are great (be sure to say hello to Mahmoud at the river pool, Tamir and Aziz, a couple of the bar staff) and the weather is fantastic, even though as I said earlier a bit hot at this time of year.