hi all,
barney 1972
i dont think we had a standard room it was fab you entered into room with dining table and 5 chairs, big sofa which i think was another bed, tv with fridge in cabinet underneath and patio doors onto the garden area, another room with folding doors to right had a huge bed another tv with fridge in cabinet underneath, dressing table, corridor of wardrobes off which was the bathroom with hairdryer and all the usual toiletries provided, i think for even though we had booked a double room with portland i thinhk we had a suite, me and hubby had a tv each!!! tea, coffee are provided our kettle was not working and was sorted within 30 mins, there was building work going on but did not botter us and never heard anything noisey while in our room.
we would not hestitate to recommend this hotel and hopefully will return in october. anybody been in october what is the weather like? we were out end november begin december 04 and was not impressed with the weather too windy and sea really choppy and rough.

hey, there are plenty of places to eat out in naama bay - if everything down there is back to normal and everywhere is still open (im not sure?) - we only ate dinner in the hotel a couple of times and both times ate at 'via venetto' thier lovely italian restaurant in front of the roman pool - however although this was nice, id reccomend 'Pomodoro' in naama bay as an italian - it was lovely!!! People we spoke to out there said they would reccomend going half board/all inclusive as you are limited to eat at certain restaurants in the hotel and they arent usually the good ones, although I dont know how crowne plaza works, I feel that the restaurant you have to eat in is the la veranda restaurant which apparently isnt that good (although we never tried it). An average price of a meal (two mains and two desserts) at the italian I think was about £18 at the most - but it really can be even cheaper to eat out than that in naama bay - the hard rock is particularly cheap and very good quality (and large protions too)!

ooops I meant to say above that people said they 'wouldnt' reccomend HB or AI not would sorry

Thanks for the info Fayeg / Elaine28.

Elaine28 - I've seen the pictures of the room you describe WOW
My room is a standard one, not as nice but who knows i may upgrade.

Anyway definitely still going and counting down the days!

Barney

Anybody still with any doubts on Sharm - This place is rocking!

Best place i've ever been.

Briar Maybe we could keep this thread open for people to post back when in Sharm?

Best regards
Barney (Well brown).

Rock on barney.Enjoy Happy Days...............

Hope you're saving some of that glorious sunshine for me Barney!!!! Looking forward to it now, can't believe its only 4 more sleeps!!!

Where are you staying Barney and when do you leave?

Enjoy yourself!

Just got back Can't wait till next trip!

Had a brill time - any info i can offer please ask.

Stayed at Crowne Plaza - fantastic resort.
Most days a cool 42 centigrade.

Hope you all have a great time

Barney

Hi Barney,

I'm off to the Crowne Plaza on Friday, one and a half days to go!

Any good?

Hi Barney glad you enjoyed yourself - 3 more sleeps for us - just of to pack my cases!!

Winston_the_dog

This place is really nice. I'll post a review once a get sorted.

Some good tips...
The shuttle bus gets full very quickly - book the night before.

Ashraf and Ibrahim in the Arabic cafe are very good, mention Shannon Steve and Tracy and i'm sure they will take very good care of you.

Sometimes Dolphins can be spotted from the blue and white jetty around 5am.

The best jetty is the concrete one, alongside the right hand side of the beach.

Internet access from the Hotel is 15LE for 30 minutes.

The complex is huge and getting around it can wear you out - ring the Bell service and ask for a buggy to come and pick you up. Especially useful when going out as taxi's don't come to the reception area.

The shops within the hotel are nice but around twice the price of Naama bay, they will tell you their quality is better but judge for yourself.

Change your money out there, its a much better rate. (Outbound and return).

Learn some basic Arabic - it helps when bargaining.

Ghali awi - Too expensive
Bakam - How much?
Mesh/Meshi - That fine/Perfect
Salam - Goodbye.

La Shukran - No Thankyou (probably the one you'll use the most)

Hi Barney,

Glad you had a good holiday, how good was it???

Did it exceed your expectations?

Don't know if you remember, but you gave me some advice on the open water dive course.

My son (Tom) did the referral course in Milton Keynes , (Divercity- really recommend to anyone) at the weekend, and I have emailed the Crowne Plaza to arrange the open dives when we get there. What did you think of Divers Int.?

Are there any places to eat at night either inside or a short walk from the hotel as we are only going b&b. I was thinking of upgrading to half board when we get there, but Deeping Vet didn't recommend, just wondering what your thoughts are!!!

Thanks ever so

Breezerc - Hope you have a great time, i'm sure you will.

Hi DaisyMaybabe

I definintely would'nt consider changing from B&B. As the Hotel food is actually cheaper than the upgrade option. Also the food like anywhere else is repetitive.

There is'nt anywhere within short walking distance outside of the Hotel but you can get the shuttle bus for free (small fee for 10.30pm bus) or a taxi for LE30 (£3) to Naama bay.

Hotel restaurant prices are for example:- spaghetti bolognase for 3 people, garlic bread + 3 drinks + deserts = £25 approx.

The Italian restaurant is good value and service is a little faster. The beach has a barbeque and al a carte service but service is a little slower and some of the waiters are quite new - so expect a much slower service.

Naama bay on the other hand has loads to offer - once your past the shop keepers you can find the following great restaurants:-

Hard Rock cafe - Get there before 7.30pm otherwise you'll wait an hour for a table. Reall cool, staff dance around the tables too.!

Camel roof bar - Really chilled out (Don't be put off by the rough looking bar full of divers you have to pass through to get to the roof, it really is nice on the roof. Prices are cheap too, about £15 for all three of us, with loads of drinks too.

Mexican - Great fajitas.

Indian restaurant (Forgot the name, something like Pomakis) located next to camel dive club. Amazing Jalfrezi and good prices too.

Divers international are good - just remember the only person responsible for you safety is YOU.
Watch your own depth gauge and although the guides will watch you, they are'nt as strict as England.
Things in Egypt are much more laid back.

Roman is one of the very good instructors there. Also is you book online you'll save some money.

I went to 21m on my first dive and thought maybe divers international has taken me too deep so then changed to Camel dive club who took me to 26m!

Anyway i did my last dive with divers Int. and it was perfect.

They will ask you to do a shore / check dive first to run through some basic skills in order to assess your capability.

To be honest - apart from Ras mohamed National park, the shore dives on the garden reef are really good anyway. There is a Moray eel down there and a giant Napolean fish amongst the myriad of other types.

Have fun.

Barney

Thanks Barney.

By the sounds of it if our holiday is half as good as yours we'll have a great time.

W the D

Thanks Barney,

Daisy

We went to that Indian for our Christmas Day evening meal last year and it was awful! Working in Bradford I know what a good curry is and this wasn't on the same scale - a few lumps of suspect meat in a very watery sauce and a soggy naan bread smaller than the plate the curry came on - ironically the girl at the next table grew up in Bradford and she made exactly the same comments.

Hi Daveyjp

I think maybe this Indian restaurant has probably improved alot since your visit.

The food is made in a glass screened kitchen where the whole process can be viewed from your table.

The Jalfreizi i had was excellent. To be honest when i went in i was'nt that hungry due to a bad tummy however this soon changed when the food came out!

If you go again, give it another try.

Barney

Hi W the D

Enjoy your holiday - bring some sun back with you!

Barney