Reviews of Iberotel Club Fanara & Residence, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

THEFTS

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Oct 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

mjaugelis

Comments:

Everything was fine. Except THEFTS. Mobile phone was stolen from the room. I was away to Cairo through the night, forgot my phone in the room. Put a sign 'do not disturb' on the door, locked it. When I came back, found the door not locked and no mob phone. So, that means anyone(from catering crew) can go into your room when you'r away, even if the 'do not disturb' sign is hanging. Administration denied theft was done by staff. After two days from neibourhood room chargers disappeared!!!! This is not coincident. I will not go there again, You cannot put all your belongings into seif.

Trying to play spot the cloud in...

Overall Rating:

4/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Mar 2008

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mr A Murfitt

Comments:

Trying to play spot the cloud in Sharm is a very boring game, 7 days and nothing but the bluest sunny skys, if you are coming from England prepare to be dazzled. My wife, a self confessed sun lounge lover, was in heaven. Amazingly even the wonderful weather came second to the sea and its coral. To walk on the hotel beach wade into the water and have shoals of brilliantly coloured fish around your legs is a sight to behold. The coral itself around the beach has had a very hard time with being stood on and looks a worn out brown, but by snorkeling a bit further out or using the hotels resident PADI scuba centre you can see both the colourful fish and coral (the dive center can also rent you an underwater camera that will use your own memory sticks).



The hotel, as other reviews state, is clean and the staff are very frendly and helpful, the food is the real let down though. I guess it must be hard for the chefs to produce massive quanties of food and keep it interesting day after day but any pretence that the resterants are any thing other than cafeterias goes after day 2. By day 5 all inclusive does not seem that good deal it did back home. The good thing about this is it forces you to eat out and Sharm & Namma Bay has some wonderfull restaurants and even street side vendors- try it, enjoy it and put your tummy in the hands of the Pharoes!!



Over all then, we will be going back to Sharm but not to the same hotel but that is because of the food and not a reflection on the facilities or staff.

A lovely hotel. Staff very...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Dec 2007

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

french lass

Comments:

A lovely hotel. Staff very friendly and helpful. Very clean Lovely swimming pool complex plus its own beach with great snorkelling.



Only improvement could be to make snacks available between meals and after dinner at night. If you miss breakfast lunch or dinner, there is no food available.



We missed dinner because of a trip and had to get a taxi to a restaurant.



Reasonable shopping within walking distance -- modern and old. Courtesy transport to old Sharm as well as to more modern centre.



We would certainly choose to stay there again.

This is the second hotel I have...

Overall Rating:

6/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Dec 2007

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

luckiday

Comments:

This is the second hotel I have stayed in, in Sharm. We stayed at the Renaissance the year before which was a great hotel, 4/5 star 9 out of 10.



I would say the Iberotel Club Fanara is a good 3 star hotel or 6 out of 10.



We had a family suit which was quite small. 1 bedroom and reception where my daughter slept. There is only 1 chair to sit in if your child has the sofa bed. The hotel itself is pleasant enough with sauna, (massage with fee) gym, tennis courts, archery lessons, table tennis and pool/snooker and small child's play area.



It is well situated for some good snorkelling. The beach although small is good for young children as the sea gently slopes, and is shallow for children to play. It would also be good for their or your first snorkelling experience.



Good points: Clean, well situated for snorkelling and fairly good leisure facilities.



Bad points: Family suites are small, food is poor, although no sickness, all inclusive NOT, if you want certain drinks they are really expensive. A Baileys of the smallest measure was £6. Next to no night time entertainment.



Overall a pleasant enough hotel with just enough to offer, with great snorkelling, just a shame the food is so bad.

We stayed at this resort in...

Overall Rating:

4/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Nov 2007

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

k77rdy

Comments:

We stayed at this resort in November 2007 for 7 days after having a wonderful 7 days cruise down the Red Sea of which was brill.



The hotel complex was clean and the food was okay. The hotel reception staff where so ignorant.



I think the best thing about this hotel was having its own beach and being able to snorkel safe.

For a change, "all inclusive"...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jul 2007

Tour Operator:

Libra Holidays

Submitted By:

Mr J Beastall

Comments:

For a change, "all inclusive" meant exactly that. To the petty minded and profiteering Spanish and Turkish tour operators out there, read on and weep. You may not see us again.



Air conditioning, a fridge, bottles of water, beach towels, a safe, daily bedding changes, Sakara beer of reasonable quality (keep your 2% Cruzcampo). sufficient sun beds and decent sized pools, a kettle, tea bags and coffee are all there and cost not a penny extra. A free shuttle bus into old Sharm (or onto Naama bay) or a cup of milk to take away to make a drink in your room? No problem.

The only thing we ever paid extra for was freshly squeezed there-and-then orange juice for breakfast at a £1 a glassful.



Food at the hotel is great once you find your way around. Bar and Restaurant Staff are excellent. The hill (we called it Heartbreak Hill) down to the beach would severely inhibit disabled access and we took some old sandals to wear having been warned that the beach is very coarse and gritty.



Take a snorkel and enjoy the reef with respect some 50 metres off the beach. Drinks are served in plastic glasses at the pool restaurant. Do yourself a favour, decline and enjoy a proper glass in the air conditioned bar next to reception.



We took Imodium out there with us as recommended by a fellow reviewer. However, a second bout of upset in our second week required a course of local streptococcus and antiseptic tablets to settle things down. These we got from a local pharmacy for around £15 which is comparable to UK prices.



If you have a massage at the hotel, ensure that the bill is completed and that you sign for what you want. This will avoid a shock at checking out.



Take a trip out on the glass bottom boat in Naama if you want to see some deeper and unspoilt reefs. Take your towel and snorkel along as you may get a chance to swim off the boat. Around town, local market traders zoom in on those with fair skin as its obvious those have only just arrived. Just politely say "low-shock-ran" (no thank you) if you are not interested but you will still get hassled to a degree.



We took the one day trip to Luxor by air. Recommend that you do some light reading up of Egyptian History before you go. The Temples and Tombs were awe inspiring.



Have some small denomination notes with you if you wish to take photos. Temperatures in July were in the mid 40s so we took plenty of water and some good but cool walking shoes.



The Tour included lengthy visits to a papyrus factory and pottery which must have been owned by friends of the Guide and we could have done without. Lunch was a 2 hour affair at a Luxor Iberhotel. Recommend that you take a towel and swimwear along for the pool. We didn't and they wanted to charge us £10 despite being bona fide guests of their sister hotel which we declined on principle.



Not many Brits at the hotel whilst we were there, mainly French (who seemed to prefer the laid back and quieter aspects of the hotel) and the Russians (who seemed to be on a mission to consume all the vodka in Egypt within a week).



All in all, a holiday we would recommend to just about anyone. I'd like to think that we'd go back one day. I just hope they don't start the penny pinching malarkey I mentioned at the beginning.

Fantastic place amazing views...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

Full Board

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2006

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mr B Guest

Comments:

Fantastic place amazing views really pleasant staff that cannot do enough for you.



I would strongly recommend you to go if you want a great relaxing holiday where you can take things easy or get involved in all kinds of activities.



Ideal for that who are finished with partying holidays but still like to have a great time and at the same time is great for all ages as it caters for everyone from a kids club to a small night club and even areas where you can sit quietly and watch the sun go down.



Nice food plenty to choose from although repeated sometimes but then this can be expected when catering for the masses. Sometimes the food wasn’t fresh when I visited late into the dining session but I explained this to the catering staff and they cooked me some more.



3 great restaurants one inside which has fantastic air conditioning and the bars with them made it ideal for wining and dining.



The coral reefs just off from its private beach make it enough for the hotel to win you over and chose it from others.



I have been to Iberostar Club Fanara & Residence for the last 2 years and have recently booked my return for this September.



What more can I say.

I stayed here with 3...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Mar 2007

Tour Operator:

Booked Independently

Submitted By:

Annie 

Comments:

I stayed here with 3 girl-friends and we had a brilliant time.



Fantastic rooms opposite the top swimming pool, just a few steps in the morning to the sun beds. The cleanliness in the hotel was second to none.



The food was OK... lots of choice, and different themes in the main restaurant each evening. Staff could not do more to help.



The bar tenders were only too happy to make cocktails or whatever you wanted (and we sampled quite a lot). Reda who works in the bar in the evening was very friendly and always helpful.



If we were still in our rooms when the cleaners came around, they always came back later in the day. Restaurant staff were very pleasant and helpful.



The Disco was a fun way to end the evening - despite the cheesy slow songs for the last half hour.



We snorkelled off the private beach during the day, and Magda from the Diving Centre was lovely, and very encouraging and caring to those who were more nervous of snorkelling.



IF you have never done it before, do the free snorkelling trip in the morning - the coral and fish are amazing!



Went into Naama Bay two evenings - great fun! Drank in the Camel Bar whilst watching the Ireland vs. England match, and then moved on to the Hard Rock Cafe which was a laugh.



On another evening visited 'Old Sharm' markets which was dreadful - just hassled all the way around and in the end you didn't bother to stop or show an interest in anything because of the hassle.



Back to the hotel though...would recommend it without a doubt - will return one day.

Hotel Club Fanara was a lovely...

Overall Rating:

5/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Oct 2006

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

HB

Comments:

Hotel Club Fanara was a lovely clean hotel, beautiful grounds and pleasant rooms friendly staff.



Food - awful. Meal times were like a cattle market - if you went between 7-730. Go after that the food was cold or like slops.



Italian restaurant was just as bad. you book a table for 8.30 you are left in the bar until there is a table ready.



Bar staff come in and out every now and again- then when you go for your food, it's left over’s and the manager is most ignorant - they do not replenish food for the second sittings or late diners.



Reported things to Thomas cook, whether things have changed do not know.



Stayed at Concorde sports in July 06 food superb, staff lovely, nice quiet. Pool area, only downfall cannot go straight into the sea like Fanara.



Stayed at Renaissance Golden view year before, superb B& B but cannot enter sea from shore, only jetty.



Going to Coral Sea resort 15th March will let everyone know what that’s like. Absolutely adore Egypt so will give honest reviews.

Wow! What a fabulous holiday....

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

May 2006

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mrs B A Wall

Comments:

Wow! What a fabulous holiday. The hotel is a hundred per cent. Friendly efficient staff. Wonderful choice of food. Great entertainment. Nothing was too much trouble for the hotel employees.



We will definitely return next year, a week just wasn’t enough. Add to the hotel, the wonderful red sea and the fish, a perfect restful combination. Oh, very relaxing as well, try the massage on the beach.

The complex is very,very classy...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Aug 2005

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Ms S Lucas

Comments:

The complex is very,very classy and elegant, extremely clean, they have men employed to remove petals from the pool and to sweep paths constantly. The staff are friendly and helpful.



The food was very good and varied, each night a different cuisine was posted on the board which was a choice of two restaurants.



The Private beach was very coarse and it's alright going down ALL the steps but coming up when the heat is 40 degrees is a killer!



The rooms were very basic and small for the money you pay at this resort.

All Inclusive is what is says on the tin, we were expected to pay for nothing .

I would definitely go back to this hotel.

I had a great time here &...

Overall Rating:

10/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Dec 2005

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Miss J Taylor

Comments:

I had a great time here & will definitely recommend it. As the other review said the staff could not do enough for you.



I stayed in the villa's area and although my room did not have a balcony (some do) I was not in there enough for it to matter.



I had no problems with the food & heard no other complaints. There was a good selection at every meal.



The Fantazia center is about 10 mins walk away with a great selection of shops & there are a few bars & restaurants. There are also taxis outside to take you to Naama bay, which was about 10 mins and cost £2.

A fantastic holiday. All the...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Sep 2005

Tour Operator:

Thomson

Submitted By:

Mrs lyn Lancaster

Comments:

A fantastic holiday. All the staff were extremely polite and very helpful. We were not happy with our room, which was too close to the pool and got an upgrade to a balcony view. Nothing seemed too much for management who genuinely wanted to make our holiday a memorable one - and it now is for all the right reasons. There is much to do on site, and even more to see on the excursions. A week is certainly not enough. What was also different about this resort was that the other holidaymakers were also nice and friendly, multinational and well behaved. We did not come across any of the classic whingers you get on holiday as people went to enjoy themselves.



As we went low-season it was just right it may be busier in the school holidays.



The only downside was we both got upset stomachs. But managed fine with the local prescriptions.



My dilemma in writing this review is that I want to keep this place a secret! We will definitely return with the children hopefully next year. One more thing - Our rep Sue was brilliant. Her talk was not like the usual spiel you get on your welcome trips. She gave excellent advice on what we could/could not go on. Happy holidays.

I travelled here with my...

Overall Rating:

9/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Jun 2005

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Miss R Hawkins

Comments:

I travelled here with my boyfriend and came home with a fiancée. We got engaged here and what a perfect setting.



Couldn’t fault the hotel. The people where lovely, they couldn’t do more for you and they spoke excellent English. The food was too and you could eat all day if you wanted to. Our room was a nice size. We paid extra for a pool view. Had we not we would have got a room with a garden view which is just as nice. They are well kept with gardeners working throughout the day.

Don’t worry about tipping. They have boxes where you can tip if you wish so no pressure.

I would recommend this hotel, best holiday I have ever been on. Would Definitely come again, for honeymoon maybe!

Overall the holiday was quite...

Overall Rating:

8/10

Board Basis:

All Inclusive

Date of Holiday:

Tour Operator:

Thomas Cook

Submitted By:

Mr E Millership

Comments:

Overall the holiday was quite good, but a few things did disappoint.



Although we booked a double room with terrace/balcony we never did get one, even though we asked several times; room was very small – big enough for one person!



The beach is more like hardcore (you need diving boots or sandals). Senior reception staff seem to choose (at random) if they want to help you. The management appear to have a policy of poisoning the feral cats that roam the resort (okay they may case a nuisance) Finding several cats dead on the footpaths on the way to evening entertainment was unforgivable.



Like with most of the resorts tummy bugs were rife, when we attended the welcome meeting all were told by the rep NOT to take any diarrhoea tablets brought from home as they would not work but to go to resort doctor. THIS IS RUBBISH! Some who did go the resort doctor were given generic Loperamide drugs (Imodium).



Okay, the excursions we did were good value for money and the house reef is fantastic (if only people would stop walking on it) the resort staff (not management) were extremely helpful at ALL TIMES this includes pool, bell hops, entertainment, bar, restaurant and the security guys.