Sierra Resort

18 readers found this review helpful

My husband and I have recently come back from what I can only describe as one of the best holidays that we have EVER had, and concidering that we have been with each other for over 24 years thats not bad going! We arrived in the evening hot and slightly shattered ,but as soon as we arrived at the hotel Sierra we just could not belive how welcomed we were made to feel .We were asked by very attentive staff what we would like to drink and would we like to seat down and make our seleves comfortable while reception checked us in, all the time chatting to us asking if our trip was pleasent etc.... checkin in was prompt and before i knew it our cases and oursleves were whisked along by what i can only describe as a landscape of grounds that were sooo beautiful it was hard to take it all in .we were invited into our suite which had its own private gardens with a VERY large set of patio doors the rooms were very clean and the beds are so comfy ,the decor is in good order but like turkey the electric sockets can be primative at times but it didnt bother us . The toliet and shower roon was very well kept with lots of complimentry toiletries so no need to bring shampoo shower gel and even moisteriser cream dont worry about running out as the lovely cleaners will replenish your toieltries daily also there is a hair dryer so no need to pack all that which weould weigh down your luggage also house keeping supply you with an iron and ironing board which is brill been an ironing freak that i am !!!! no extra charge all complimentry you also have botteled water in your room which is replinished every day and if you run out there are lots of water tanks around the resort so you can top up . the food there is beautiful so much choice i practically had some thing newq each night and concidering that we were there for 14 nights thats not bad there is something there for everyone and anyone who challenges this i would suggest that they should stay nearer to home for their holidays and yes it is true they have lurpack butter !!!!! I could go on about the food but trust me it was VERY good ...Now let me tell you about the pools 6 of them which were lovely and clean the main pool is bloody massive with water falls etc beautiful ...you will never be without sunbeds as the marvollous pool poys will do their up most to accomadate you please look out for a lad called NAGEY he is lovely and will make you feel sooo welcomed not that the others didnt but he was the exception what a lovely chap . The other lads to look out for are at the pool bar nemo ,morris and rolondo they are such a laugh and ask nemo for a special ...trust me it will blow your socks off ... be warned they are very genorus with the alcohol so if you want a small amount be sure to let them know in the lobby bar look out for Louis hes brill with his promt service it seems cruel to pick out certain people as EVERYONE who works on the resort are so polite and will go out of their way to help you and make it the best holiday that you could have it is really humbling and at times i found myself getting quite emoutional how genuine the staff are make sure you check out the queen vic bar between 5pm and 8pm as it is part of the alinclusive in those times the young lady who works there was so attentive please try a pineapple and vodka it is so refrshing as you sit there and watch the sun go down on the strip .the entertament needs to be worked at the animation team really tried their best and they were once again so friendly . you have the soho strip with its shops stage and places to eat and drink and the lovely fountian look out for it in the evening .If you need to change money over or traverlers chequces you will have to go to thwe 1st floor of the sister hotel the Savoy (VERY NICE IN THERe but i prefered where we were) sterling is widely used so if you dont take egyption money dont sweat it ... the trips to go on are snorkling to the Raz MoHammed Park on the boat Gloria so clean and the food was lovely on board no alcohol on board though which didnt bother us also on the beach there is good snorkling give it a go even if you cant swim you will be provided with a life jacket and a special ring to hold on to with the instructer who will not leave your side . Please do me one thing though be really kind to the gardeners as they work their fingers to the bone to make the gardens so pretty so give them some water and an apple as we struck up a lovely friendship with one of them i could go on and on about our holiday but you must make your own minds up but a word of advice to you take some rehaidrating schets with you to take after you have been out in the sun as you will need to replinish your body salts which you will lose in the heat you will have a change in your how can i put it toilet routine but please do not blame the food as the resort has won yet again the crystal award for food safety dont forget you are now in a hot climte drinking more fluids than you normally would but if you do have the trots there 2 chemists on the strip just take it easy for the frist couple of days and be sensible my husband and i are not in the best of hleath and let me put it this way i am getting over havin a stroke and if you try to follow some of my advice you shouldnt go far wrong and i was fine my husband had the trots which they call the Phraroes revenge which only lasted 2 days but it didnt ruin his holiday at all he still drank and eat . We cannot wait to go back and we are hopping to return in november of this year ,so in closing if you enjoyed yoursleves half as much as we did then you will have a fab time in the SIERRA .

2 readers found this review helpful

Just returned from 1 week in the Sierra resort, advertised as 4 star, should be 2 - 3 star at best. Most of the staff are friendly and helpful, especially Habib on the towels and Louis (Nick Cotton look a like) in the lobby bar.The staff in the pool bar at times made you feel invisible. The food was by far the worst part of the holiday. We struggled to differentiate between the different theme nights and lunch and dinner. We ate out 3 out of 7 nights, definately something you should budget for. We would probably have dined out more if there had been more choice locally. Both food and drink is very expensive out side of the hotel. Cheapest bottle of barely drinkable Egyptian wine £18.00, Italian Pinot Grigio £36.00. The hotel does offer discount vouchers for the local Soho Square restaurents. After discount- meal for 2 approximately £30 and 25% discount on the alcoholic drinks.The twin rooms are very basic, the 2 single beds pushed together still left very little room for movement. We had a downstairs room. All of the downstairs rooms have no balcony,just an open area with 2 chairs and a table, advise that you book an upstairs room with balcony. Our room was very tired looking and in need of updating. I will return to Sharm El Sheikh, however, it will be to a different hotel.

6 readers found this review helpful

Just back from another week in sharm-el-sheikh.This is my 3rd visit to egypt and stayed at the sierra hotel,as we did in 2006.It is still a great hotel with very good staff all round.The food options are vast,and there must be something to suit everyone.My children never went hungry.There was one waiter who went that bit further to make it a holiday to remember,and his name is Louis.he can be found in the lobby or pool bar and is quite a character and a very nice person with an english heart.He has picked up quite a few of our sayings and amuses people with his slant of them.When he is around the glasses are kept full,and people are smiling.The family room was of a good size and kept very clean,with bottles of water daily and fresh towels and linen.the beach is great and so are the pools.fresh towels at both places if you need them.soho square just behind the hotel has been built and is lovely.outdoor stage with a free bar for guests,ice skating rink,shops,restaurants,camel rides,and even the old vic pub.All in all it is still a very good value for money hotel,and would recomend it to friends.I'm off to the carribean next for my honeymoon but will be back in egypt in the future.But with so many hotels i will probably try another one as i did last year.

2 readers found this review helpful

short transfer from airport- 5minutes, you can see the airport from the hotel.dont let that put you off, does not affect you at all- no noise! On arrival we were greeted from the bus, bell boys take the cases while you sit on comfortable sofas drinking complimentry cool fresh orange juice. Escorted to our rooms by bell boy, carry both cases, who also told us everything we needed to know in regards to eating,pools,beach etc etc.
Entering our rooms- they were imaaculate, clean, tidy. Kingsize bed which i have to say is the most comfortable bed i have EVER stayed in while being away! room extremely comfortable, decorated lovely, lamps,lots of cupboards and storage, TV with multiple channels ( approx40), movies,news, music,childrens programmes all in diff languages. Bathroom, very clean, very nice. Towels and sheets white as white. Sheets changed everyday, if you want your towels changing, leave them on the floor and on your return later that day they will be replaced and your room left immaculate. Small garden outside the room- lovely on an eveing to sit out at table and chairs.
Pools and gardens immaculate- gardeners always fixing and planting beautiful flowers and sorting the srubs and plants out. Food- loads of choice and varied. Staff- exceptional!!

2 readers found this review helpful

Arrived in sharm airport to be greeted by our rep who guided us through the obtaining our visa and collecting luggage.
On arrival at our hotel we were greeted by friendly staff , who provided us with drinks and then took us to our rooms. The room was comfortable with adequate ameneties.
The food at the hotel was good with a different theme every night.
The holiday, however was "made" by the staff who did everything they could to make us welcome, even down to putting our towels on the sunbeds and posioning them to our liking. The private beach was kept very clean and we had drinks and snacks avaiilable during the day.
The only down side was being harrassed by the staff of Elite Travel(a type of timeshare)
so if you go to Sharm and are approached by a young person on a scooter offering you scratch cards .....run!!!!
All in all a lovely break for a week

3 readers found this review helpful

This was my second time to sharm, the first time was last dec and we stayed in the crown plaza and honestly i hated it. but this time in the sierra was completely differnt!!!!
love loved loved it!
the hotel itself is fab (get a pool view room tho preferably but all rooms are still lovely), the whole resort is gorgeous, the food for an all inclusive was suprisingly good and plentiful, the staff were lovely(and not pushy for tips which is so overpowering nomally in egypt),and the nightlife was really good too with free drinks everwhere on the resort as well as the added extra at an english pub 'the old vic' and a really good club pagero(cant remembr how to spell it).
The bars and club(there is only one,pacha) outside in naama bay are over priced and kinda russian in theme so we found it almost entirely unnessecary to leave the sharks bay resort at all!
if its a fun holiday or a relaxed holiday the sierra has sumthing to suit everyone!!!defo rate it 10/10.

4 readers found this review helpful

My husband and I went to the Sierra for my birthday on 11th Jan 09 and returned 18th Jan 09. On arrival my impression of the hotel was that it was very clean and the staff were very friendly. The room was spacious, clean and very comfortable.
The pools and the facilities available i.e. gym, golf, indoor swimming pool were well maintained.
The staff were extremely friendly and couldn't do enough for you. We tipped the bar staff and the gentlemen who made the sandwiches at the pool bar, half way through the holiday and although it wasnt much they were extremely grateful and looked after you. Some people tipped the guys who handed out the towels and it did become apparent that if you did this then they would put the towels out for you in the morning and change them half way through the day.
The food was abit disappointing due to the fact that there were not much variety and it was often cold. There would be different night's for example, indian night, oriental night, english night etc. I wouldnt count on it being indian style food or oriental or english. Every night there would be rice, pasta, some form of potato, chicken and grilled fish.
Whilst we were at the Sierra there were not many English people staying there. It was mainly Russians, who were very ignorant and extremely rude. Often they would push past you, shut doors in your face, push in front of you to get drinks and food and were very loud. They were extremely rude to staff demanding things all the time and the small amount of English people who were there commented on their behaviour and were becoming quite annoyed. This did spoil the holiday slightly.
We have two children but didn't take them on this occasion. I did however look at the facilites just incase we decided to return and they looked very good. They would often have face painting in the day and a there was a play room which was fully equipped and also a lovely out door play area.

3 readers found this review helpful

After such a lovely holiday i wanted to let everyone know how lovely it was. The hotel is lovely definatly a 5 star cant fault anything!! The pool is gorgeous there are around 4 all free flowing and heated when we was there. The romms are lovely and have all you need in them, big comfy beds, fridge hair dryer and the valcony was brilliant too looking over a lovely garden area!!
The hotel has only 1 restaurant which is buffet but has different theme nights we had indian night, italian,bbqs etc the food was good not brilliant buit good and different evry day. At lunch time we had the option of a pizza place where u could choose your toppings and they would make it there and then, there was also another snack bar that done all burgers chips etc...very nice. The ice cream is also included in you all inclusive package and the dinks are nice too, they offer a good range of cocktails. IV been to Egypt before to another hotel and the drinks werent brillain but bit perfumed bt again couldnt fault them!!
Behind the hotel is a new stripe nothing like Nama Bay it is clean and so pretty it had only been open 8 weeks when we went, it had bars a club and a pub these were also all included in the all incl;usive package at the hotel. Ther was 4 restaurants on here too, we went to the chinese the food was brilliant so nice. This is not included in the packafe but you do recieve 25% off the food and 25% off the beverages so it was really resonable!! We also treid one of the restaurants in the Savoyhotel whicj is just across the strip, we tried the italian restaurant which was to die for!! and also recieved 25% off the food and 25% off the drink here too. The savoy is lovely but vry big and very very quiet bot atmosphere!!!
Some advice is you do go, buy at home all sun tan lotion and toiletries as in the shops anything imported is really expenive. Make sure you take insect repelant i got bit 12 time on one foot in one night and some after bite cream. WE bought them there and that was very expensive too. Only take egyptian pounds everything is priced in this and is alot easier to use, they do except American dollars but we found it alot easier using ther currency. I would take anti bac hand gel just to use ever day there money is very dirty and we used it all the time and had no problems with being ill.
Over all the beat holiday ever, the whole holiady was fantastic the staff where brilliant and not pressuring for tips or anything and very kind. It was my friend birthday whilst we were tjere they even made her a cake and bought her a bunch of flowres!! cant wait to get back there agin definatle be booking for same time next year!!!

1 reader found this review helpful

Please take a look at the letter submitted to this Resort from our experience there:
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" 4/5 star accommodation.

As guests at your location, we did not expect several issues to take place, and they are as follows;

1. The shower/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/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.

During these 5 days I made 3 phone calls to Kiev airport to check the status of luggage with each call about 5 minutes. To my surprise, when we checked out I was given a nice $60 gift for these phone calls. Now- I've traveled to almost every country here in the Western Hemisphere, I've been to England, France, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and Egypt. Never, Never have I paid $60 for 3 simple phone calls to retrieve lost luggage (Have You?).

To make matters worse, when I went to pay for this nice gift, I gave your front desk a $100 bill. During the 25 to 30 minute wait for them to try and give me change, (Finally made from a guest sitting and waiting for us to get on the bus and go to airport), I wondered how an "International Resort" could not have simple change for a currency that is one of the top used in the world? We finally got in the bus to the glare of 40 to 50 other guests who were pissed at us for making them wait about a half hour and being late to the airport!!!

.

Sincerely;

Nicholas B.

1 reader found this review helpful

we went to the sierra resort 30 october 2008 for 14 days ,it was a great holiday ,the staff were so freindly and polite,the resort was quite near to the airport but can honestly say that it was not noisy in fact we didant really notice the planes. there were quite a few russians at the resort who was basically rude to the staff and they must of well had there moneys worth in drinks.our room was nice and cleaned every day,the resort was spotless always cleaning, the staff never stop they work long hours and still have a smile for you.the weather was hot,it was great to dip into one of there many beautiful pools. we will be hopefully be returning to the resort next year, cant wait.