Partner Turquoise Beach

Just come back from a week here at Turquoise Partner, have never in my travelling experience been to a worse restaurant that at this hotel. I disagree strongly with previous "you get what you pay for", as most hotels on the MedHotels are of similar price, and judging from reports far superior. Daily we spoke to the holiday rep ("we" being at least ten of us) but little was done. This hotel is for the Russian market, and the kitchen budgeted accordingly, hence the overcooked everthing and fish-heads specialty! Most of us Brits there were ill at some point, and i' advise any beach-worshippers to head to Naama Bay (Turquoise is out of main area), as the beach has a big pipe heading out into the silty water (what's going out is anyone's guess). Although all of us who've been there are bitter, please take heed and do not have your holiday runied by visiting this resort. Andy Smith ( 26th March - 2nd April 2006)

We have just returned from a weeks holiday, at the ,Turquoise Partner. We were, a little concerned, by the negative reviews. We shouldn't have worried. We booked with Imperial Travel via teletext on the net. One weeks A.I. from Glasgow £320 p.p. The hotel was very clean. The rooms were clean and comfortable and the staff were very efficient and helpful. You do not have to sign for anything,merely advise the barman, of your room number. Also there was, no problem, obtaining rounds of drinks. The food for the most part,was very good. It is best to ask the chef what each dish is, as there are no labels. There is less choice than a spanish hotel, but I would say that the food is hotter and of better quality. If you expect a full english breakfast, you will be disappointed,although you can get omlettes and eggs to order. There is not too much to do at night,however the town of Sharm El Sheikh,is less than five minutes walk from the hotel. The Hotel also provides a free shuttle bus to Nama Bay every night. The pool area is very good,not overcrowded and the pool has a swim up bar. Obtaining sunbeds was easy even at ten o'clock. If there wasn't any left, you just had to ask at the bar and some would be brought out. Overall we were very satisfied and thought that we received excellent value for money. Everyone had a good time and came back with a tan. One thing to be aware of is that mosquitoes are out in full force. Take lots of repellant, and anti-hystamines.

On arrival we found that the airport is in a constant state of confussion. Over an hour to get luggage. Then we were off to the hotel. On arrival we found this to be quiet. It was half past 8. so still time for dinner. Dinner was lovely buffet style. Adequate courses for this size of hotel. Staff were great throughout the holiday all of them spoke good english & understood everything that was asked of them at all times. The room when we got there was lovely & again more than adequatly furnished ie; fridge,tv,hairdryer,shower,shaver adaptor,phone,air-con & mosquitto plugs.Cleaning staff run late most days as they stop in the afternoon for prayers.Poolside was good with massage room at pool. Beach just across the road. Hotel security was excellant.Old market shops are a nightmare as vendors try to drag u into their shops. went to Namma bay shops there are totally differant. Back to the hotel the only downfall is it is too quiet but if you don't take the kids that's what u need. but it is not a place for kids as there is no entertainment for them at any time. Evening entertainment is only two nights a week at the beach. Where you have to pay for drinks. It is on late but does not last long.But i would go back again for a quiet break without kids.

My Wife and I stayed at the Turquoise Partners in May 2005,I could write lots of Negative things here regarding our stay but Mr David Potts (Report May 9th) has said it all, we 100% totaly agree with everything he says,and would never recomend this Hotel to anyone or ever consider going back again.

we booked our holiday as a late deal and then read the reviews, i was really scared about having the holiday from hell, how untrue, it was great! the hotel is in sharms old town, it has its own beach and lovely pool and gardens, as its set out of the town there arent any hecklers in the hotel. the hotel has a 24hr security guard so was really safe. the hotel rooms and communial areas were always clean and the staff were always working, but never to busy to help. the food was good, some traditional eastern things and plenty of fresh salad, and all restaurants bars etc are air conditioned . there is a bbq one night which was nice but a bit disorganised. we had a great time, went on a cheap boat trip fron the new town, snorkelled and smoked hubbly bubbly pipes. i really dont know what some people expect, egypt is a developing country and their concept of all inclusive is very different from the all inclusives in the carribean etc... but the holiday was great value for money and we had a great time! i would definitely go there again!

we stayed in the turquoise partner i had read the reports some good some bad but decided to judge for myself food was excellent i think some guests expect to much after all it is africa the people who expect bacon and eggs and a full roast dinner should try staying in england the staff were more than great drinks were fine rooms cleaned and clean towels each day pool area lovely entertainment could have been alittle better but we had a laugh at some of the antics and after all they tried their best as for russian or other nationalitys the whole place was soley brits whilst we were there beach was great had to wade out alittle deeper to see all the bright coloured fish some would eat out of your hand some very partial to bananas very good value for money would recommend and will return just wish we could have had 2 weeks instead of one just remember to agree all prices before you get in taxis and haggle like mad for the best price whatever they ask offer a quarter and haggle to an agreeable price for both buyer and seller loved everything about this holiday

My partner and I went to this hotel for 1 week in September 2005. The hotel itself was very nice & clean, and the staff were fantastic. The majority of the guests were Russian or Czech, and we found out the hotel had only been accepting English guests for the past 3 months. The all inclusive finished at 11pm not midnight as it says on all the websites. The Medhotels rep said the times changed in March, however still to this day it says midnight. We await a response to our complaint re this! The entertainment is on 3 nights a week at the beach bar. The drinks at the beach bar are not all inclusive after 5pm and you are not allowed to take drinks from the hotel to the beach! So therefore if you want to see the entertainment you have to pay for your drinks! Defeats the purpose of going all inclusive! At breakfast you can only have tea, coffee or juice free. If you want anything else (including water!) you have to pay! Also, if you want to buy a bottle of coke for the room they charge nearly £4!! The swimming pool is lovely, it was very quiet when we were there, never more than 15 people round the pool, usually only 8-10! The swim up pool bar was open from 10am till about 6pm. However the pool safety was a bit hit and miss! There were no built in steps into the pool, only ladders. This would have been ok but the ladders were not fixed, so if you pulled on them they came out! Also there was an electrical cable coming out of the pool bar into the water (waiting for a light to be fixed) with insulation tape wrapped around it. We had no idea whether this was live or not, but rather worrying. The beach is no good for snorkelling, the water is so churned up it makes the water muddy. We went to Naama Bay to snorkel (cost about £2.50 in a taxi) but this wasn't great either. I think if you want to experience the wonders of the red sea you have to go out on a boat and snorkel where it is deeper. The shuttle bus to Naama Bay was only in the evening (left at 9.20pm, returned at midnight), so if you want to go during the day you have to get a taxi. I would suggest getting the hotel to write the name and address of the hotel in arabic for your journey home as we found they could not understand our pronounciation of 'Turquoise' and therefore had a lot of difficulties getting back to the hotel on on occasion! Overall, I would say the holiday is not 4*, probably 3*. The entertainment I would class as 1*. If you are looking to go and relax it is great, but be prepared to either be bored in an evening or pay to get drinks and see some entertainment! Do not go with children!

A lovely hotel, from what me and my friend saw of it as on our third day we got struck down with a bad case of food poisoning, which we contractred from the hotel. Rooms lovely food awful. Would go back to Egypt but would stay elsewhere.

i went to this hotel in aug this year! it was excellent! the hotel was nice, it has its own decor and style, the beach was lovely. the food was buffet and we could what we wanted. i would deffinatley book this hotel again!

I admit that I am not at my most charitable after spending the best part of a day travelling but the Reception of the, supposedly 4*, Turqouise Partner Hotel in the Sharm el Maya district of Sharm el Sheik seemed distinctly tired and unwelcoming. In fact, apart from the pleasant garden, it turned out to be one of the better aspects of the hotel. It was 10.30pm, I was hot and tired and the room could wait. All I was interested in at that point was a large and cold beer, or two! I discovered beside Reception possibly the most depressing hotel bar (and "Disco" was a dead giveaway!) I have seen in over 30 years of travel around the world. The bar is undressed with the exception of a few sprit bottles and a chill cabinet. Of draft beer pumps there were none. The drab decor reminded me of a low rent bar decorated in 1960's psychedelia style, although the designer was probably on downers at the time. Hardly surprisingly the bar was deserted, but I was not to be daunted. "A large beer please Mohammed", I asked, observantly. Mohammed proceeded to pour beer from a bottle into a 200 mltr glass until it was about two thirds full and then asked me to sign for it. "I asked for a large beer I remarked pleasantly. This is less than a quarter of a pint". "It is the only size", was the reply. "Oh, could I have two then?", I continued. "It is not allowed", said M.....Not his fault I know, and nor was it the fault of the staff that the, just about drinkable, red wine came cold, but the white wine was served warm! Not the fault of the staff either that the "all inclusive" services were withdrawn about 7 hours before our departure leaving customers to either dehydrate in the middle of a hot day, or to purchase drinks they had been told were included in the price! How I felt for the couple, who had been ripped off by a taxi driver who had charged them £25 for the 10 mile trip from the airport, and who arrived a few minutes after the restaurant closed, only to be told that they could have some food but that they would have to pay for it. The bedroom turned out to be adequately clean, simply furnished, and of a reasonable size, but it was not until the following morning that I discovered that it also hosted a number of very hungry mosquitos and that they had left me with more than a dozen itchy red wheals on my neck, shoulder and legs. After a satisfying mosquito hunt, and the regular use of a can of insecticide, the problem was cured but why is it left to the customer to do it? It says a lot about my luck, although this definitely was not the fault of the hotel, that the next morning was cloudy with, I believe, the first shower in Sharm in over two years! That was was not what I went to Sharm for - the town is in an arid desert and you can pretty much guarantee pleasantly hot and dry conditions in early May. Could it have been this that coloured my assessment of the food at the hotel? No, it was just really poor! Unvaried, with limited choice and bland in the extreme, a true "taste free" zone. I did have some good food in Sharm, even a pleasant meal on a boat with very limited cooking facilities, so it could be done, but you won't find any at the Turquoise. As to the rest of the facilities - the hotel beach is across a busy road on the shallow el Maya inlet and is rather charmless and uninspiring. It does have a bar but this closes at 5pm and it dispenses beer in the quantities referred to earlier. The bar often opened later as a cash bar and surprise, surprise, it then sold beer by the 500 mltr bottle! There is also a quite pleasant small pool, with a limited number of loungers, and a swim up bar where Mohammed holds court until 5pm when the bar closes. Frankly the only sensible choice if you have mistakenly booked the Turquoise is to ignore the "all inclusive" package and to eat and drink elsewhere. There are numerous restaurants, of various cuisines, at reasonable prices, throughout the area. My advice is not to be fooled, the Turquoise would struggle to earn a 3* rating under any sensible system of classification. It is in reality about 2.5* and its prices should reflect its budget status. The Sharm region itself is a work in progress. There are large areas cleared for, or under, construction and many buildings appear to have been left in a half built state. The main focus has moved a few miles north from Sharm el Sheik (which has little to recommend it) to Naama Bay where the developments along the beach are largely complete and some fair snorkelling is to be had only a few yards from the shore. Expect to pay about £5 for the privelege of sitting on the beach, however, and about £2.50 for a beer. Cheaper beer (£2.00), cheaper loungers (£4.00) and world class snorkelling can be found at El Fanar beach, where there is a pleasant bar and restaurant close to the lighthouse (El fanar). Finally, be prepared for the taxi drivers, for they are about as numerous as, and even more annoying than, the mosquitos! It is not just that they try to rip you off, or that I have seen better driving and better maintained cars at a demolition derby, but that their constant sounding of their horns as they drive up behind you could cause a saint to have an understandable attack of road rage!