We have stayed twice before at the Hyatt Regency in Sharm and still rate that as a nice hotel, but this really is a top class resort. Everything is simply perfect.

Our room - a deluxe family suite - was immaculately furnished, spacious and cleaned twice a day so that everything sparkled like it was brand new. The family rooms are located around the Gezira pool and restaurant which is geared up to be a family area. Kids club is here and the restaurant is family friendly with free kids buffet lunch. The pool also has plenty shade for kids. Some lovely touches including kiddie sized sun loungers.

The service is unbelievably friendly. Nothing at all is too much trouble and everyone smiles.

Some reviewers complain about sunbeds. We stayed at peak time and maybe there is an issue around the main pool areas (we didn't go there) however the hotel still has plenty of space. We (a party of three adults) found that you could find sunbeds at any time of day in areas away from the pool, and one area is actually set out as a "quiet zone" - no kids, mobile phones, etc.

The hotel does seem to provide facilities for everyone. The main pool restaurant "Waha" is set out for families at lunch, whereas the "Reef" at the beach is quieter. At breakfast you can dine in the main restaurant or you can use the Italian restaurant for adults only peace and quiet. In the evening we dined in the main restaurant "Arabesque" where there is a buffet. Some reviewers didn't care much for this but we found the selection and quality to be much better than typical hotel buffets. The Italian is very nice and as reported is very relaxed. Our favourite was the steaks at the Reef Grill. Fantastic.

Repeating what has already been said, the grounds are beautiful.

Contrary to other reviews, we didn't notice quite as many Russian visitors. Mostly Brits, Italians and other Europeans.

At the sunbed you are offered sunglasses cleaning, drinks, fruit, cold water spray and cold towels. The pampering is non stop.

A fantastic hotel.

We've stayed in the best hotels around the world and I would say this beats them all!

You won't be disappointed. One tip would be to say if you can avoid school holidays then do - it was very busy over the Easter period when we were there for 10 days.

Stayed at the FS 25th March for 1 week in a premier room with two children aged 10 and 6. Hotel is beautiful. Grounds are well cared for and Kids Club was good but a little disorganised. I can imagine that when they are not busy at the Kids Club that they end up doing very little.

Drinks including non alcohol cocktails are far too expensive. Please stock up at Duty Free in the UK. Sharm airport has next to nothing...

Meet and Assist is worth it just to be pushed to the front of the queue at Customs.

Would recommend a trip into Naama Bay just to appreciate what a nice hotel the FS is. FS offer a car into Naama Bay but it is 4-5 times the price of a normal taxi. Ask for a buggy to take you to the front gate where taxis are waiting. Going the price was 50 Egyptian pounds (approx £5). Price coming back is open to negotiation but Reception at FS told us not to pay more than £5 but you will need to move down the taxi line to get this. Tell them you paid £5 coming here. Would highly recommend the restaurant above the Hard Rock Cafe in Naama. Cant remember the name but the FS have a list of recommended off site restaurants at reception.

There are 4 restaurants at FS. Would recommend the Italian and the Reef Grill. Did not like the Arabesque (where you have breakfast). Buffet service which I feel is a bit of a cop out. Book restaurants at least 24 hours in advance. Dont just turn up expecting the restaurant to be available.

Do try the Egyptian wine. Much much better than I expected.

Spa was OK but I would recommend a female therapist. The male therapist I had was a little too intimate.

Flew on XL. Left on time and the food that you have to buy is better than airline type meals which are dire.

Sharm airport is fine. Gatwick coming back was the pits. Toilets were out of order resulting in a long queue at 0200 in the morning.

Hotel was full resulting in a short wait for service in bars and the restaurantsbut reception was very efficient.

9 days in a family suite over Easter (so pls bear in mind comments relate to this very busy time). Much has been written about just how wonderful the staff are (true), the gardens (true), the service (true - we needed a new memory stick for the camera and concierge got it for us in a few hours sparing us the trip into town - we avoided Sharm town as everyone told us not to waste any time there). Of the hotels we have been to recently it probably compares best with the One&Only in Dubai: great rooms, great service, great facilities but dire surroundings. That is, unless you are prepared to travel for longer.
We are not divers (although both my children did some basic suba diving and are hooked now - fantastic Sinai Blues diving centre with really kind multinational staff) so our interest was in relaxing and basking in the Sun. Which is what we did and it's a great 'easy' holiday - albeit clearly expensive.

A few comments that I thought might be of help:

Airport
As some reviewers pointed out, it is a brand new facility and really quite efficient (compared to Gatwick anyway). We had meet&greet but this is no longer necessary. It's only a 5 min trip to the 4Seasons (see Google Maps) yet there was relatively little noise from planes even at night and in early morning as they do not fly overhead.

Room
2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchenette (with useful washer-dryer) and a small living room. All in great taste. 80-odd TV channles, DVD and CD players. Cleaning was impeccable. That said, all family suites are grouped around one pool ('children soup' as my wife called it) and are some way from the main facilities and the beach - not a big deal but can be inconvenient at times.

Sunbeds
This was an increasing problem: more and more guests (Russians in particular but see later) were hogging these by dropping a book early in the morning. There is a 1-hour use-it-or-lose-it policy but it was never really enforced. By 9 am all places were gone and it IS a problem forcing you to do the same. Some seats were taken by 8 and left empty until 11. Not good enough but I guess it's down to common courtesy and not much that mgmt can do but be aware it will be an issue at peak times.

Food
Bfast was great and reasonably priced given the choice available.
Lunch/Dinner will vary according to where you go and are priced accordingly. I guess after 9 days the limited choice of places kicks in a bit but it would be unfair to complain. Standards were high most of the time. I actually found Il Frantoio very good (I am Italian) and not at all stuffy - although we always went for the terrace (why eat inside if at all possible ?). The Reef's terrace was also great but staff need to be pushed a bit to give you the table you want (peculiar as it's supposed to be first come firsst served). Lounges were fun, although at times spolit by screaming children (at 11 ? - strange but true).

I share comments on wines: only a silly person (or a Russian) would opt for the ludicrously expensive foreign wines given local wines at £17-20 a bottle were perfectly quaffable. Great cocktails too.

Service
9.5/10 - I confirm all the good things written by others.

So what's not so great?

Unfortunately the 4Seasons is going the same way of Sharm: around 40-
50% of guests over Easter were Russian. Those of you who have encountered this in ME/Gulf resorts will know what I mean. Many staff told us that some Europeans (Swiss, French) are no longer coming because of this and this will eventually kill off Sharm as a resort for all but the keener divers. 50 charter flights a week apparently, of the rudest people you will ever meet. And I entirely share the comments of 'lapsedbackpacker': I saw the group of (clearly rich and probably well-connected) Egyptian thugs and their drunk Russian 'girlfriends' - not good. There were more of the same type of working girls in my opinion. Pity. 3 families we talked to loved the hotel but were unsure as to whether to go back because of this.

The beach was small and crowded - we knew this would be the case but it was still disappointing.

I commented on the ridiculous sunbed grabbing - probably not an issue at all outside of peak times though.

Gratuities: every single bill has service added and then a further blank space for gratuities and staff refused to comment on this (usually a polite smile of course). That should be stopped.

All in all, a 5* experience but with a number of problems which we believe are probably largely the result of it being Easter. That said, the egg hunt on the lawn was fun and all children were given chocolates and bunnies...

May we recommend the excursion to St Catherine's Monastery (day or even better,night). NOT for young children though. Choose the 4WD option and ask to stop over at Wadi Ghazela for the most superb view and true mindblowing silence. Fantastic.