Reef Oasis Beach Resort

1 reader found this review helpful

we have stayed at the reef oasis 4 times and we will return in feb 2008. on all occasions we have found all of the staff very very kind and helpfull. our room has been to a very high standard. acknowledge even the gardeners, they really do appreciate hello being said to them (be carefull though you can end up with a few cacti).
food is of a high standard plenty of choice but is repetative. no problems a clean beach towel every day once the room boy gets to know you. holiday reps have not been that good, may see once every other day if you are about in main area.once the staff in the main reetaurant get to know you you do not have to wait for a table or drink if they see you coming your drink will be at the table before you (tip them first) take english money the ATM in the hotel changes to egyptian pound at a very good rate not that you will need to use the egyptian pound (very dirty) .outside the complex (turn right to the top of the road turn left on your right hand side) there are a few shops they are very good cheap and no hassle the only ha
e you will get is the taxis.
hotel is very good and all staff (including security, tiolet cleaners) can not do enough for you there are a couple of staff who enjoy a good laugh with you so long as the big boys are not about - there are plenty of them, but even they eat in the main restaurant so that proves the quality of the food (day and night).
Entertainment is not to the best level.
We would not be going back if we did not enjoy the hotel - i could never understand people gong to the same hotel time after time but i do now. enjoy go with a open mind if you read the negatives you would not go but to go back and back speaks for itself.
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The resort was probably 85% full of Italians, 10% Russians and the rest were German and English. The resort is very big with about 700 staff.
Grill restaurant - far better "ambiance" than main restaurant, not so manic and less crowded. Salah seemed to be the head waiter there, tip him a couple of quid and he will look after you.
"Italian" Restaurant - More or less the same food as the other restaurants but they have tablecloths and we were completely ignored by the waiters as was another reviewer.
Bar & Restaurant staff - Generally excellent and all have very good memories as other people have said.
Room boy not very good at cleaning, all he did really was tidy up.
Beach Towels - To change them all you have to do is dial 0 for reception and they will send them along to your room.
Food and drink- OK but I have had better! It can get a bit boring after 5 or 6 days, but we usually managed to find something. I wish they would have cream or yoghurt at lunch or dinner just to make the cakes go down easier. Red wine is OK at mealtimes.
I wish they wouldn't serve spirits at the bar in half-pint glasses though - it doesn't look right.
Snorkelling - Excellent from end of jetty, saw lionfish at night as the have lights along it shining into water. Even saw blue spotted sting ray about 15ft from beach.
Entertainment - The Animation team were Italian and they did not really bother with any other language, even on the beach where they did aqua-aerobics etc.
Beach - Quite crowded although if you see the beach boy at the bottom of the steps he will sort you out. The beach bar starts chips etc at about 11am and its only up the steps to the grill for lunch! We used to sort out the sun beds with Islam the beach boy at about 8.30 and the up the steps to the grill for breakfast.
I would not go back to this resort as I don’t think it warrants the rating that it has been given by the tour operator although I would go back to Egypt.

This resort is advertised as a 5 star resort - Consider what this represents and do your research before booking. The location and quality of the beach, the views and the varied numbers of fish are fantastic. That is where the quality ends.
The resort is in a poor state of repair. As a couple, our experience of the accommodation is that it was dirty, old and poorly equipped. We were in a small room without aircon (initially), satellite TV, drinks (hot or cold), iron or working safe. The pool close to our accommodation complex had a bar, but was not manned and did not serve beverages. Just water or diluted juice.
The restaurants offer a varied menu; however, the quality of food is generally poor. The main restaurant is very busy and a bit of a scrabble at meal times. If you are fortunate to get a table, you will notice the dirty condition of furniture, especially what appears to be the years of wear on all soft furnishings, with ingrained dirt and layers of sun oils/creams.
The drinking water was an issue. The Holiday Rep and indeed the literature produced by the tour company emphasise the need to drink bottled water. When you arrive, you have to buy a bottle of water, thereafter, refill using various water fountains located in bar areas. Not exactly "All Inclusive". I witnessed the method in which these water fountains were refilled on a daily basis. A member of staff holds a large and heavy bottle over the fountain and refills by pouring. In temperatures of 40 degrees C, the staff are sweating and I witnessed sweat dripping into the water containers. They did not wear gloves whilst handling the bottles, so I leave you to determine the level of hygiene.
This is obviously a third world country and illness can be an issue. Be assured you will experience stomach illness within 24 hours of arrival, having consumed food at the resort. My wife and I are seasoned travellers and no matter what precautions you take, you will be ill. My wife was ill for the 6 days of 7 as I was too, but not as serious as my wife. The Rep refers you to local Pharmacists to buy medicine, as there isn't one on site. You must be prepared to barter the price, even if you are ready to release your movements.
Any challenge with resort staff or holiday reps is rebutted with corporate rubbish, obviously pre-prepared to console guests. Indeed, my attempt to seek redress with My Travel in the UK has fallen on deaf ears and following 4 months of correspondence, I am now taking the matter further through legal channels. We paid £1400 for a couple to spend a quality 7 days at a 5 star resort. Was it worth it and did it meet our expectations? Absolutely not.
Take my advice, if you want quality, go to a resort frequented by the North American market as their expectations and standards of quality are far higher than that delivered to the European market.
The Dominican Republic is a similar cost, resort and climate, but quality is far superior.

1 reader found this review helpful

Just got back last night from the Reef Oasis 29/11/2007. If you plan to travel outside of Sharm, you will need a visa which can be bought from the airport when you arrive, but be prepared for a queue, or you can get one from the Egyptian consulate in London.
Arriving at the hotel was very good feeling. You enter the reception which is huge and all marble. Booking in was straight forward and the porters show you to your room and the luggage follows.
We had a double room and it was fantastic. Shower large enough for 4 people if you like that sort of thing, with satellite tele, free safe in the wardrobe where you enter your own pin number, free water and soft drinks in the fridge which is restocked every day, kettle with tea and coffee and hair dryer towels changed every day, everywhere is spotless.
The lift to the beach isn’t working yet but a mini bus takes you down from the reception, we walked it most of the time though.
Restaurants: - the French restaurant is excellent, 5 courses, and if you wish to have a steak (which I definitely recommend) it costs about £7, otherwise it’s all included with your holiday price. Avoid the Italian, Rude, slow and can’t get the orders correct. You do need to book these at the reception. Breakfast is repetitive but the choice is vast, so you can have a variety everyday if you wish.
Beach: - Clean and cosy, with a pontoon to walk over the corral into the sea. Don’t stand on the corral. The fish are visible from the pontoon, and I definitely recommend investing in a snorkel and flippers or even better still, do the diving course which is located at the beach. It is just like swimming in an aquarium, brilliant.
Naama bay is 10 mins away, and for £5 each way, is reasonable, beware of the Egyptian stalls, they force you to buy, but we found that if we just shook our heads and didn’t speak, they didn’t know what nationality you are. Several bars scattered around the place at night, and a choice of pools, the 3 Jacuzzis that over look the sea is very picturesque. This complex is huge, and we never had time to see it all.
I have stayed in some right dives, but believe me, when you see this place, you won’t be disappointed. 9/10 for the whole experience and will be going again next year.

1 reader found this review helpful

We chose this hotel mainly for the snorkelling and we weren't disappointed! The variety of fish was amazing. We have been to the Maldives, Cuba, Dom Republic etc and even Egypt before but not to this reef. We had heard that you could see Lion Fish of an evening from the floating jetty but we didn't expect to see as many as twenty.
The wine was 'orrible' except for one evening. The food was OK. We went to the "Grill" one evening and the choice wasn't to our taste so we had only a little meat and potato then hiked back up to the main restaurant which happened to be great that particular evening. The cakes etc weren't to our taste and the choice seemed to be the same every evening. Near the end of our second week we both had to take imodium even though we were very careful about what we ate.
It was Ramadan during our stay but it made no difference until I locked my husband and myself out on the balcony (we were on the 2nd floor). It had just gone 5.30pm and hardly anyone was about. My cries for help eventually reached an English speaking person. He rang reception but was told we would have to wait 1/2 hour as they were breaking their fast. This we understood but 45mins later we shouted for help again as everyone was disappearing for their evening meal. We were told by another holidaymaker that they were on their way. 10mins later they arrived. Moral of this story is if you lock yourself out on the balcony don't do it at 5.30pm during Ramadan!
Our room was cleanish. Towels were changed every day but we found it difficult to get the beach towels changed as we had generally gone down to the beach before the room boy had come.
Use their shampoo and moisturiser. I sometimes suffer from dermatitis and I had some on one of my arms so I tried the moisturiser on the other arm and didn't come out in a rash so tried it on my bad arm and it cured it! It had Dead Sea nutrients in it.
Very hot though even at the end of September. Would definitely go again.

1 reader found this review helpful

We have just returned from our second visit to this resort, and it once again lived up to all our expectations.
The waiters in the main restaurant could not do enough for us, keeping our glasses filled whether with water or wine and all with a ready smile.
The staff in the Piazza Bar spotted us waiting in reception for our rooms and came to welcome us back and then proceeded to look after us for the next two weeks.
The room was kept clean by a very helpful young man who also had a sense of humour regarding beach towels.
The only fault we had was that the entertainment seemed to be aimed at the Italian guests, and we felt more could be done for other Europeans.
On the day we left so many members of staff came up to wish us well and hope that we would return next year. We shall certainly be considering a return.

We went to Reef Oasis between September 10th till 24th and boy it was hot, the temperature was getting into 35-40'c range, so please any advice I can give to anybody going in September for a fortnight is to start on factor 40 then gradually go to 30 then 20 that's what we did.
The service was really good cannot complain, but like many other reviews take a bag of English £1 coins as this does go a long way, but do take English currency with you. Mainly because you get the waiters/cleaners coming up to you wanting to change all the £1 coins that they have for English notes, and inside the resort there is a bank that exchanges notes whatever you have, either it is Dollars, English or Euros.
Restaurants. The main restaurant is where everyone goes for breakfast, to be honest there was 7 in our group, and we all thought it was like school dinners style as in queuing for eggs, scotch pancakes (which my husband must have had 7 in one go they don't mind, also if you go everyday you don't have to tell them they already know!!).
The Grill restaurant/La Citadell at night is delicious they have everything from steaks, to veal, to octopus(fried). If you tip your waiter about £1 (english) about the 3rd day into your holiday (weigh them up first though because I personally thought some were really working hard whilst others just seem to want an easy night), and you will not have any problems. I would recommend a waiter by name but they all seem to have Mohammed or Asif or Omar as their name so you will have to decide who deserves the money. Do try the italian restaurant near the main reception, it opens at 7pm and there is a stampede to get to it. Try the pizzas there the guy who makes them is terrific. He has a memory like an elephant he is that good but he doesn't tolerate people who push in the queue (Italians, Russians, Germans), or who keep asking where are my pizzas (same nationality again plus they are made from scratch, cooked as well what did they expect Dominoes Pizza/Pizza Hut!!!)
We had a birthday in our group so we decided to try the Moonlight Restaurant. Very nice al la carte. I had the 5 courses (not big so you will be ok), and my husband only had the soup and the beef, so you can pick and choose off the menu what you would like. Be careful though they start to pour you water (it is bottled), then ask you if you want wine etc. When the bill came they charged us for the water not much but in our country I thought water was free, maybe because it was bottled I don't know. The service was out of this world, my husband left some of his onion soup and I thought he was going to start a war, suppose they are passionate about things?. So any advice if you leave anything on your plate just say it was lovely but it was filling!!!!
The Piazza bar is great for just chilling after you have either been out of the complex, either to "Fantasia" or Mini Mcarthur Glen as we called it "Il Mercanto" i think it was called. Fantasia (or mini Moscow as we called it) is an experience. Be prepared to say no as all you get is "you English", "Lovely Jubbly" oh and the best one "Asda Price" and smack their bums like the advert that is funny. One shop I do recommend is Joussef's shop he doesn't rip you off I think he is shop number 16. He makes you feel welcome, tells you he history of Egypt (he told us the history of the scarab beetle hasent to say in our group we had 10!! the film the mummy doesn't do them justice they are not bad things they were protectors of the Mummy's so they are a good thing, thats why we had so many), also they make this tea. To look at it you think what are they bringing here but to say it's cold it is nice, helps with the dicky tummys as well.
Yes you will get tummy troubles I'm afraid. We finally figured out what it was the money. Their money is really bad so please take some antibacterial spray, pump action gel, and after you have handled it use it. I found though taking Tesco's own diahorrea tablets 1 a day helped me. Like we said you can rectify it at home better there than in a foreign country.
On the whole it was a good holiday nice break from the norm. I must recommend that you go to see the Pyramids/Sphinx they are amazing but go by air. Also the Dolphins at Dolphinella are amazing so gentle. It cost us £70 each for half an hour but they are amazing and your family and friends can watch for free, but you cannot take videos of them, photos are ok but videos no.
Also be very careful with the taxi's outside the hotel. They are crazy. The hotel taxis are a bit dearer (it cost us for 7 going into Naama Bay from Reef Oasis 150 Egypian pounds £15 (English) return). I can tick Egypt off my list of places to go now well worth it.

This hotel can only be classed as 3* and not the 5* as advertised. The food was cold, chewy and almost inedible. The pool/beach towels were smelly and were replaced everyday by other smelly unwashed pool/beach towels, little wonder 3 out of our party of 4 were ill, basic hygiene could reduce the amount of people getting mummy tummy.
The snorkelling was excellent but even whilst on the beach we were inundated by Italian music, Italian aerobics, and Italians shouting!! So if like me you find the Italians annoying - do not go there! I have stayed in other resorts on the Red Sea in Taba and Hurgada which would qualify for 5* in comparison this hotel can only be 3*.
Our flight was an evening departure, we paid $40 to keep on our rooms till we were picked up at 5.30pm but the room cleaner came into our rooms removed our belongings from the beds, put on clean bedding then put our belongings back on the bed! He was constantly knocking on the door wanting to gain access to clean even though we had paid to keep the room on. I found this unacceptable.
The staff are very friendly and helpful they really cant do enough for us but they do EXPECT to be tipped. Drinks were ok, pity about plastic glasses but when around the pool I expect its for the best. At breakfast time it was a free for all in the main restaurant, reminded me of some sort of holiday camp, again the food was plentiful but not of a good standard. No I would not recommend this hotel to friends and I certainly would not stay here again.

We had a fantastic week at the Reef Oasis Beach and would go back in a heart beat.
We had a standard room by the main reception and very close to 3 pools. The room was perfectly fine and the shower was big enough for 2! I found the beds to be very hard but I think I am just fussy as my partner thought it was fine. The room was quiet and spacious with a balcony and good.
The all inclusive deal is fantastic and the food very good and varied compared to any other AI place I have encountered. Plus you have the choice of 3 restaurants with only the Seafood one being extra.
The drinks were also great with unlimited soft drinks such as coke and sprite, mineral water (we saw them emptying the big containers of mineral water into the machine so ignore previous reviewer’s speculation that it is tap water). The local lager went down very well with my partner too, Sakara Gold I think it was.
The Grill restaurant is lovely and the staff cannot do enough for you. We tipped 2 x £1 coins on the first night and every night after they got us a table on the balcony overlooking the sea and drinks flowed without us having to ask.
The staff were great throughout the resort and the odd £1 tip really does go a long way. We left some for the room man and we came back to a vase of flowers in our room as well as other special touches.
There are plenty of swimming pools to choose from but the sun beds in the shade do get saved the evening before (by the English guests!!) so it is very frustrating when you are there for hours and sun beds remain empty while people sleep off their hangovers etc but are "reserved by towels".
I wish the hotel would be tougher and follow through with the notices saying towels will be removed. We never had any trouble at all getting sun beds on the beach as there are hundreds; the hotel has the biggest beach in Sharm I reckon! We looked out for other nice beaches on a boat along the coast and there were few to rival the one at reef oasis.
The highlight of the trip has to be the house reef which really is second to none. If you go to this hotel and do not go snorkelling you are mad!! We saw so many fish and the reef was better than that we saw on the trip to Tiran Island. We even saw the giant moray a few times which was awesome!
If you so go into the water please please do not touch or stand on the coral, it is not rock it is living creatures and is being destroyed by stupid ignorant people walking along it. Plus there is a lot of fire coral which causes painful blisters that last for months.
There is a fantastic floating jetty which provides you with the safest way into the water. Please help protect this beautiful habitat which is being destroyed so quickly.
The resort is a vent club resort which is Italian so yes 80% of the guests are Italian, but we had few problems with them at all. The Russian guests however we found to be rude, arrogant and totally inconsiderate to others, the resort and the corals. Luckily they only seemed to arrive in any number on our last day!!
We didn’t take in much of the entertainment as it isn’t really for us, plus it was all in loud Italian, we did watch the Egyptian show on the Saturday but it was nothing to write home about really. Having said that the spinning man is pretty impressive though!!
We did a visit to Naama Bay and don’t think we will both again, not really the sort of thing we wanted. We walked down to Fantasia and the shops there and thought it was an awesome experience and a great laugh. You can have a real joke with the locals; we chuckled at comments such as "you are so white, you must be an angel descended today from the sky!" (I don’t tan very well!) And "where are you from? Yorkshire? London Gatwick?" when I replied Norfolk .. "arh yes Norfolk a lovely place I know it well!"
We did not see it as hassle at all and a polite no thank you if you don’t want to look in their shops does the trick. We walked up and back and chose which shops we wanted to go in and when we did they were very friendly and attentive. We haggled well and got some very good bargains.
They are building a large international shopping mall just another block down which I think is a shame cause I don’t travel the world to eat in Mc Donald’s and buy things from Claire's Accessories or GAP, the prices are higher in these shops than back home too.
It is around 30% open at the moment and I suppose it will be welcome by people who don’t go abroad to see and experience new and different things!
We had a totally fantastic week on this wonderful resort and very much look forward to going back.

Before I begin this review I have to point out that I will be totally honest.
Our first impressions of the hotel were 'WOW', this looks good. Upon arrival, we were greeted by hotel staff who swiftly attached the AI wrist band, and asked us to fill in the arrival form, and then we were escorted to our room, by a 'Bell Boy'.
Our room was 762, which was round the Ramada bar and pool. And thinking back now the place where they 'stuck' the Brits, the room was quite big and spacious and was immaculately clean. At this point we were thinking 'What a choice'.
Having read some reviews on here we decided to eat at the Grill Restaurant that night, which was very good, although when we walked in, I got this feeling that 2 aliens had landed, but we thought nothing more about it.
The waiter was fine once we found a table. When we had eaten we walked back up to the piazza bar for a few night caps.
We woke the first morning, and after breakfast in the main restaurant, which was very good with a very large selection of hot and cold foods, although the Bacon was noticeably missing LOL, we decided to hit the beach, and again when we got there, those two aliens had suddenly appeared again.
Only this time the male alien, noticed something just wasn't right, so we jumped on 2 sunbeds and began to soak up the sun’s rays taking regular dips in the, what can only be described as ' the most wonderful sea/coral reef this side of OZ.
That evening we decided to eat at the Italian restaurant, WOW what a massive mistake that was, because not only had the 2 aliens arrived again, but this time they had 14 heads apiece.
But they went in found their own table and were completely ignored by the waiters, I have to say the food was good, but the service was disgusting, plus they were surrounded by the most ignorant and rudest set of people they have ever come across.
After which we decided to take the 10 minute walk out of the complex down to 'Fantasia' and have a look round the shops, which quite frankly is an experience, but a good one, I strongly advise lone ladies to stay well away. Then after a few nights caps in the piazza bar, it was back to the Ramada bar for a few more.
The next day our plan where to sit round the pool and relax, taking the regular dips in the large pool to cool down. Lunch was served round the bar area, and with copious amounts of water and soft drinks plus alcohol for those who needed it.
We didn't need to venture any further, but during the day something dawned on me...those aliens had disappeared, and were being treated very well indeed. That night it was time for the main restaurant to get the third degree. A night they serve bar-b-que outside with hot and cold food inside which works very well.
After which we decided to go for a walk around the complex to see the sites at night, we walked down to the beach and walked along the lit pier were we saw the most amazing lion fish (not to be seen during the day) then the customary drinks before bed.
The next day was the beaches turn again after breakfast in the grill restaurant, when we walked down the slope to the beach, we were greeted by a 'beach boy' who asked us how many beds we wanted, we were escorted to 2 beds to the left of the slope, once we had tipped him, the 2 aliens had arrived back, the male alien looked round to see he was totally surrounded by Italians, who looked at him, like he had just dropped out of their backsides.
So we sat down for an hour, only to be eyed up by their surroundings, at which point the male alien was getting into fighting mode, which female alien could sense and we decided we were going back to the pool for some relaxation. After which we went for dinner in the main restaurant, then into the piazza bar for the entertainment, which was good but only if you could understand Italian!
The next day was more relaxation around the pool, before eating at the grill, but the aliens must have been a lot less greener, as they didn’t get as many stupid looks from the locals.
The day after was beach time, but we got there early and sat to the right hand side of the slope, which is a lot more comfortable if you’re not of a certain culture! We had a fabulous day experiencing some fantastic fish; even the stray sting ray came to visit us.
Having lunch at the beach bar which was very good to say it situated right on the beach.
So to summarise, would I go to Sharm again? Most definitely. Would I go to the Reef Oasis again? Most definitely not, which is a shame because it was an excellent hotel, the drink was good, the food was good, the Egyptians were great, but unfortunately it was 80% full of rude, ignorant Italians.
I found out whilst talking to one Egyptian that part of the complex is Italian time share...which speaks volumes. I must add that I’m not racist in anyway, I have Italians friends in England, who say they would have been disgusted by their actions.
I have given the hotel a rating of 5; this is not a reflection on the hotel at all, just the people that stay there.