after reading some reviews i was very apprehensive prior to our trip to sonesta beach however upon arrival was very pleased on first impressions. the hotel is wonderful and located within beautiful kept gardens. the staff are very friendly and always polite especially to brits. the staff are constantly working on keeping the hotel and grounds very clean and work from 6.30am right up to 11.30 in the night. we mainly ate in the resaurant closest to the reception and there was always a good selection of foods and although both myself and partner did experience upset stomachs i am not 100% sure if it was down to any food we ate or just the extreme change in climate possible dehydration or sun stroke. each night came a different theme of food selection and i never was short of food to choose from. i would recommend to people visiting sharm el sheikh for the first time to only use their holiday rep to book all their excursions through just for peace of mind. we went on the VIP snorkling cruise boat which was fantastic and did quad biking across the desert which was very exhusting as temperatures hit 45+ even in early May. the down sides to the holiday were simple. the lighting in the rooms is not great very dim and at night we had massive ants come out in the bathroom so we kept the lights on all night which seemed to keep them away. also the hotel and location is simply over run with russians who are extremly rude and arrogant and wear the smallest of speedo's which quite frankly was enough to put you off your food. the local people are very friendly however they will trick you into their shops and try the hardest to sell you the same products which normally involved perfume. they do not take no very easily. do not be tricked into signing any books for good luck as this is just a ploy to get you into their shop then the door is shut behind you!!! be firm but polite. other than that sharm is paradise. would return again.

My partner,myself and two others stayed at this hotel for 2 wks HB. All i can say is don't bother. We were all really ill for most of the holiday which was probably due to BAD hygeine the cups and glass at the cactus bar were never washed just rinsed and the chipped plastic glasses were rinsed and put back into the freezer!!.
We also saw waiters dropping cutlery and wiping used cutlery and placing it out for others to us. NASTY!. Our cleaner and bar staff were freindly but the bathroom and rooms dirty, and dusty and the standard of cleaning wasn't brill. Our sheets were not changed everyday as promised however our towels were changed daily. We did have a fridge in our room which stank of cat urine,it was reported and nothing done!!. Bad lighting in bathroom to.

On arriving our rep never turned up and a few days later a note appeared under our door to say that the air conditioned breakfast/dining room was closed for refurb. All the food was cooked outside, at breakfast flies were crawling all over the food as NOTHING was covered!. I didn't eat breakfast at all after that.

I know when reading this you may think i'm joking but believe me this is the TRUTH. If you want a good holiday and hotel that's clean and hygeinic don't bother entertainting this one!!!!!.

I stayed here with my two friends (One of my best pals and her mum!) All inclusive!

We were booked into Gahaza Gardens originally, but our travel agent rung my friends mum to say that they have over booked us in that place, when we got there the rumour going round why but i won't go into that on here.

So we ended up staying at Sonesta,

Our suitcases were taken over by a cart thingy as the paths in sonesta are kinda bumpy so suitcases prob would have been wrecked! Our room was a little walk away but it was inbetween two swimming pools and the cocktail bar where we could have our all inclusive drinks.

The Room: & hotel surroundings
Was nice and spacious, my room reminded me of a prison room but its the way the egyptians build there places lol but nice and spacious didnt use the mini bar, but the water we had from our dinner and didn't use fitted nicely in there!! TV was nice Bed comfy imo and shower worked in order, There is a prayer room also which had wardrobes in would have been nice if it was kitchen but we were after all in religious country!!
There were no bugs that i could see i was pretty much scared id come across some evil cochroach or something like that to bite me but i saw none which was a huge relief infact i didn't have much trouble other than the occational fly.

The hotels beach is the last one before the other side which is separated by rocks and it was a lovely lilttle beach, as it was quietish when we went i expect you'll prob need to get up early to get a good spot down there now, for such a big place its pretty tiny! Woo woo's and Strawberry milkshake was very refreshing on the beach too :-) You'll get bugged by people (doing there job remember!) to have some sort of trip I booked through tour operator as its highly recommended, but some other trips like the glass boat one is something that takes a hour of being sat on the beach and a good chance for some good views. Also to see the fish if people don't go scuba diving or snorkling. There banana boats and pedlows, although when my friend was in the water she saw a barracuda so she shot straight back in lol

I had a heynna tattoo and I payed for a massage on the resort (very nice it was too for 30 quid in our money its a bargain you get the full works so i reccomend that!)

The Food:
All inclusive had a variety but its best to get to the main dome earlier for food as it does go pretty quick!
There is a variety for me personally the meats and pasta and bread rolls was what i lived on for the week as im not into my veg/salad food so i was glad there was pasta with ham and cheese hehe :-)
There was never no chips/fries in evening meals so for those who love them Casablanca which is near the beach was somewhere we went for around 2pm for a bite to eat!

Meals are pretty cheap in shamso so if you didnt fancy eating in kfc, pizza hut and mcdonalds are in the bay as is Hard Rock Cafe which is very nice! :D



Other stuff:

Our holiday rep was helpful unfortunalty due to being overbooked in the gardens (it wasn't just us!) She had to deal with a lot of peoples disapointmernt, (mytravel, cosmos, same group!)

I booked two trips with tour operater:
1
cario on the coach for the day long journey there and back I went on my own and to be honest it was totally worth it saw egpyt you wouldn't see if you were in the air flying!! The toilets in the service station charge £1 so make sure you got change! you travel with a security guard with a gun, so don't be to shocked! You leave around 12:30 at nite and arrive at cario at 8am when you drive through well you'll see for yourself!! You get to see nile, pyamids, papus factory, and have a lush meal in TGI Fridays (from out tour!) Was just a amazing tour i loved every minute of it. End of the day if you go to egypt you must see the main attractions cause its totally amazing!!!

Cairo i will warn you is one insane city the drivers (thats if you can call them that are nuts) I saw a whole dead pig on the roof of one car, lol didnt expect that!! lol I gave our coach driver a big tip for getting me out of there in one piece!

Ooh yeah the museum charges £100 Egyptisn extra to see mummies)

2 - Snorkling
We went on a boat trip a all day one, which was awesome and had some awesome views of egypt from the sea, The food on the boat was lush, and got to go past ship wreck and go into the sea for a few times for a dip, for me it took me a while to keep the snorkle in my mouth but if you concentrate on breathing you'll get there so don't give up. Under the red sea is something ill never forget - pure beauty saw a turtle and some other gorgous fish, make sure you get a underwater camra to share these experiences you have your meal just of the coast of Saudi arabia by the islands which names iv forgot and its such a pretty site, remember don't forget the sun cream as it gets pretty damn hot!!
It was a lovely day and i highly recommend it!
I had a photo too which was lovely!

I really wanted to do many other tours as go in the desert with the camels and swim with dolphins so i may do that too, I didn't bother with the markets as im not good at haggling I bought some lovely items for family and friends in the shopping centre like keyrings etc My friend and i also went to a coffee shop opposite the main street in namba bay it was on the cliff edge and u get a cracking view of sham up there, good drinks (alcohol and awesome dancers) was good fun, even had a go of dancing myself it was rather fun to dance to egyptian dancing!!! Though weiredly enough 2 songs that remind me of egypt is souja boy - superman and mika - relax take it easy... Egyptian dancing to these is pretty fun!!

Think I have covered the basics and maybe a few extras here if need anything else just give me a message!!

If you just stay friendly and say no thank you, you won't have no trouble, You will get people asking you to buy or sign stuff just say no, spain was like this before they realised that us british mean no when we say it , Just remember the guys girls and kids (yes lil kids check out at the pyramids!) are doing this for there job and extra money due to the low wages there! I know it gets annoying but it really aint that often that they ask on the streets because tourist police are out there! the people are really friendly in this country i will deffo go back. and I will make sure I scuba dive next time :-D

Egypt is lovely!!! xx

We have just returned from a week at the Sonesta Beach
but we had a fabulous time - all inclusive -
for the price we paid very good value for money compared to the
med places - the food is mostly the same - but if you cant get something you like in the restaurants its a poor job
they all work very hard - cleaning and gardening from dawn till dusk - the weather was amazing middle to late 30's
Careful of the mini bar in the room though - a bill was presented on the day checked out - wish I hadnt eaten all those peanuts
The Italian entertainers worked their socks off to ensure you had a good time regardless of nationality
I would certainly go back there - Go the Pomadors - next to the Camel Bar in Sharm - great meal a change from the hotel - - wine a bit pricey though
Loved Egypt and the culture - first time and not the last

Carol Coulson and Julie Walker