Hi all
Well after all the reviews i read over the last few months and nearly canceled our Holiday
I am glad we didn't we went on the 1st of Dec and left on the 15th Dec and was sad to go i will tell ya i will start with good and then bad


Right were to start
Airport in Sharm
ok not all that bad to be truthful yes they ask for a tip to put your case on your coach They don't take it from you give them a

I and my family have visited Sharm on numerous occassions over the past few years, including 4 of the last 5 Xmas's. This was the first occassion where we went all inclusive and to be honest it will probably be the last. There was nothing much wrong with the food if roast beef, fried chicken, pizza etc is you bag. There was little in the way of egyptian, North African or middle eastern cuisine and I think that is a shame. That said, the bucket & spade brigade had few complaints and most of the kids seemed to enjoy the familiarity of the food. I personally would rathger visit some of the hundreds of good restaurants in Naama bay and old sharm. I was stunned that 90% of the clients at this hotel never set foot outside the gate of the hotel. I expect they will go home tellin their frinds that they went to egypt!!

Ok, a few positives. The room was excellent, I did pay an extra

This Was The Best Hotel And Holiday EVER!!
The Staff Were Amzaing..
The Food Was Lovely..
The Rooms Were Spotless..
I Can Not Fault the Hotel What So Ever..

I Am Going To Make This A Yearly Holiday..

Thanks You First Choice For All Your Help And Support x

We got back on the 27th of this month and I can honestly say this is the best holiday I have been on! Mohammed our cleaner was brilliant! Believe me our room was very messy! The food was excellent and I even managed to lose a bit of weight so god knows what they put in the food! As for the location, all we had to do was walk down a flight of stairs from the main pool and we were at the beach! My youngest son was very impressed with the fish swimming round his feet! All of the hotel staff could not do enough for us and were very friendly at all times esp the bar staff. Tasha, Monique, Jason, Ali and Scotty made our evenings. They are the most energetic, funniest entertainment team I have ever seen and the whole of our group agreed! I would def go back to the holiday village! Also my partner had an absess in our 1st week and when we spoke to our quad man he got us antibiotics for 1 gbp! My partner then ended up with a bad ear so off we went again to our friend and got drops for 50p!!! Def make friends wih the shop workers so you don't get ripped off if you need medicines. Brilliant holiday all round!!!!

This was the best holiday our family we have ever had!!! We can not fault anything about this hotel at all! The staff, every single one of them were sooo friendly and couldn't do enough to help us. The bar staff loved our boys and always went out of their way to play for a few minutes with them whilst collecting glasses. The food was fantastic and I ate loads! I don't normally eat much but could not get enough of the pizza in the restaurant by the pool!!! The entertainment staff were the best we all had ever seen, there were 10 of us in our group. Tasha, Ali, Monique, Jason and Scotty were brilliant!!! I really hope Tasha gets to go to Mexico for her next post as she wants! Make friends with the people outside of the hotel village as they come in handy. Twice my partner needed medicines (antibiotics) and the quad fella got us 1 lot for 1 gbp and then another for 50p (gbp). I think if we went into the pharmacy ourselves we would of been charged more. Also make sure you take enough nappies. Before we made friends with our quad fella, we went to the pharmacy to get more nappies and ended up paying

Returned on Monday Night (3rd Nov) i was a bit apprehensive before we went after some of the tales of woe i had heard (and my previous experiences in North Africa have not been brilliant to be honest), but i shouldn't have worried .
This was one of the best (if not THE best holiday we have had as a family).
The Hotel is fantastic , and so clean , our room was kept spotless by mohamed our cleaner(as mentioned by the previous reviewer),the bed was a bit hard but i soon got used to it and the beer and wine certainly made me sleep anyway!!!
The food was great , both in choice and quality, and the drink was lovely...i did get an upset tummy (the rest of the family were fine though) but it even though it was bit inconvenient at times it never affected the holiday.
The grounds of the hotel are amazing , considering the place is situated on the edge of the sinai it was so green and colourful , and the butterflies were a joy to see.
The snorkelling just off the beach was out of this world, i can't wait to get my photographs back. The best thing for us was the friendliness of the Egyptians,they are lovely people, everyone would go out of their way to make our stay as perfect as possible.
We didn't spend a great deal of time at the entertainment area but when we did it was first class , and the pantomine that the First Choice entertainers put on on the last night of the summer season was the funniest thing i have seen for years.
We are currently looking at going back again next October , i can't wait
The weather was brilliant hot and sunny every day although it did get quite windy at times, but that was a blessing at times

having just spent 2 weeks in this hotel i would defo return again, the hotel is situated on a lovely stretch of the beach were you can enjoy some great snorkeling.

Check in
i found this is to quick and easy, the hotel staff take you to your room and explain everything to you in full and then your suitcases are delivered within 15 mins.

Rooms
wow i had a standard room in block 6 and it was huge!! the bathroom has a shower that can easily fit a family of 6 !! the bed is huge, i had a walk in wadrobe which was big enough for my family of 4. there is a mini bar which was emptied on arrival. the safein the room is free.

Swimming pool
there all plenty of them. we did get up early to reserve beds at 7.30 am but that was because i wanted to be close to the edge to watch over my daughter, otherwise i would say there were plenty avaliable beds at 9am. i did find the swimming pool to be dirty around the slide area, not sure if this was from the sand blowing in or from the grout at the bottom, but to be honest it didnt put me off.

Beach
this was beautiful, when i opened my balacony door and looked out it was so inviting, the sea is 3 or 4 diffrent colour blues. you can walk out a good half a mile and its only to your knees. csr jetty doesnt go right out but you can stroll out a bit further and you have the most amazing coral its like being in a fish tank, its a defo must. the sand isnt very soft but my daughter spent many happy hours digging away, while i relaxed on the swinging beds.

Resataurants
Tried all 3 al a cartes twice and enjoyed them all. did book them all on the 3rd day to make sure we got in. the main restaurant has a good selection but as all AI it does get repetitive. breakfast has a good selection of cereals and pancakes for this kids and the most amazing cakes!!! they will cook you omelotes and fried eggs. dinner time can either be at the main restaurant were they have a large selection or the pool bar where there is chips burgers pizzas chicken and salads.

Staff
they work very hard and i found them to be very polite and friendly.

kids club and entertainment
didnt use kids club. went to kids village every night though and really enjoyed, staff work very hard, there were vists from bob the builder and barney which my daughter was very pleased with.

the bug
yes 4 of our party had this but we went prepared, 24hours and we were better, this dint put me off and it was more down to heat than anything as all of the party ate and drank nearly the same.

trips
Some of my party went to ras mohamed and said it was amazing. we also done glass bottom boat

First want to say that we had a fantastic holiday and would definately return.

The hotel is kept very clean inside and out. The rooms we had were kept spotless by our cleaner and he is a credit to the hotel. We were in select rooms 2201, 2202 and 2203. These were located alongside the kids bucket pool. Perfect.

We found the food to be of good quality and always hot. There was always something to eat, even for the fussy eaters. The snack bar by the large pool was also good. You could get chips, pizza, salad, burgers and ice cream. It was air conditioned too so it gave you a break from the intense midday sun.

The location of the hotel is fine if you don't want to be on the doorstep of everything. Naama Bay is a 20 minute bus ride away. Just outside the hotel is a mcdonalds, starbucks, kfc and coming soon, a hard rock cafe, plus a selection of traditional egyptian shops at 'La Strada'.

The hotel staff are great. Always say hello to you, always willing to help. Not once did we get asked for a tip our whole time there. I do think they could put a few more staff at the pool side bar for the evening entertainent as the queus were really bad.

The entertainment team were brilliant. Tash and Jason are so funny. Dangerous Claude is hilarious and don't miss Tash as Fanny Bobbington (Anne Robinson) in The Weakest Link. While we were there they brought a ventriloquist from England over and he was amazing. The highlight of our fortnight. His name was Gareth Oliver, so if you get chance to see him, he's great.
The In2Action team were great too at keeping everyone occupied at the various events round the pool.

We would definately go back to this hotel again. Not next year as we've been to Egypt 2 years runnung now and we're going to try the Costa Del Sol HV next year. Maybe in 2009 we'll be back.

Upon arrival the checking in process was really smooth and efficient. We were extremely pleased as we had been allocated a room in the block that we had requested and also our friends who were staying at the complex a week later were placed next door to us.
The swim up rooms are a must in my opinion, the rooms are spacious and clean and the rain shower was great. No matter what time of day you had a shower there was always ample hot water available.
The hotel itself was kept spotless and the gardens were very well maintained.
The food was lovely no complaints at all, in fact I did not hear anyone complain about the food whilst there.
The food was not repetitive whilst we were there, on 2 occasions there was bbq, one evening I ate chip shop chips, fish and mushy peas and it was wonderful.
My only gripe of the holiday is parents with young children allowing them to help themselves handling food and putting it back and also being sent to the bar to obtain soft drinks, the children couldnt even reach the bar.
Food at the Al Carte restaurants was lovely but the portions were very small, kiddies portion really.
The location of the hotel was great, although once you have ended the jetty to the sea you still have a fair way to go if you want go snorkelling to some serious coral/breaker.
Staff at the hotel were very pleasant, Ramy and Mohammed at reception were very friendly and helpful.
Tash and Scottie and the team were great, hi to all of them they work extremely hard.
The view bar was awesome, time to chill with a drink, good company and a view that is stunning what more can anyone ask for.
Would we visit this hotel again, the answer is yes like a shot.
Wonderful weather, location great, nice people and fantastic food what more could anyone wish for. This hotel caters for all people, not just families with young children.
Give it a go Im sure you would not be disappointed.

Just back yesterday after nearly not going at all, the place is great please ignore any bad reviews and go.

Sorry in advance this is going to be a long one but before I went I had loads of questions and I have tried to answer these for anyone due to go.

2 adults and 3 year old flew from Newcastle 29 Sep - flight, times and food good, other passengers not so - anyone on the flight will know who and what I mean!!!

Room
Block 4 - room 4211 - sea view and very close to the main building, not too far to the pools.
We emailed Ramy and upgraded to a junior suite so that we could get a bath for the little one and it was well worth it, lovely big room and huge bathroom too.
6'6" square bed which was rock hard and at first was sure would not sleep in it, but the weather knocks you so much that I had best 2 weeks sleep ever!
Double sofa bed for the little one, both beds had duvets on which suprised me as am used to sheets abroad, we asked for the duvet to be removed from the main bed which was done straight away by our cleaner.

Pools and sunbeds
Yes it's official the English have become Germans, all sunbeds next to the pools were reserved by 7am.
I even got up at 6.30 one day, put towels on the beds, went to wake the other 2 up and by 8am someone was on these beds and my towels were being used as pillows!!!!!

To be totaly honest, if you want more than 2 or 3 beds, give the pool guys a tip and they will keep them for you. We made friends with another family and wanted 6 together, another Ramy made sure these were ready for us all of our 2nd week and we gave him 50LE about a fiver. However a lot of people complained very loudly about this, but then this was the same people who 'borrowed' our beds too.

Food
Really can't see why people are complaining, I ate a different meal every day lunch and dinner, and it was lovely. My hubby was talking to someone who was saying the food was dead boring, but then said he had only tried the pizzas!!!!
There is always salad, pasta, eggs, a joint of meat, huge selection of breads, veg, potatoes and pizzas.

We ate in 3 of the a la cartes:
La Mer - very expensive 71 pound for 6 of us, and that was fish only and not that fab.
Meditteraneo - ok but some of the food was uncooked and when we sent it back it came back inedible and rock hard.
Bamboo - brilliant would have gone again but bookings are so difficult.

If you want to eat at any of the restaurants, book them the day after you get there as we waited and could only get booked late in the fortnight.

Entertainment
The E3 team are brilliant, can't do enough for the kids and the adult stuff was funny too as long as you take at face value and go with the flow. Scott the singer is really good.
We were in bed by 10 most nights with the little one, but it went on until 12 I think.

The only downside was the beach disco down the road was realllllly loud on a Thursday night and the floor was actually bouncing with the drum beat.

Trips
DO NOT BOOK WITH FIRST CHOICE - they are at least twice the price. On the beach there is a booking shop but Moo(?) told us he is employed by FC and has a set price, even after an hour bartering.
We booked with Aaron Waves, along the beach to the left opposite the Coral Sea Resort, glass bottom boat and speed boat snorkelling trip - 90 for 6 of us, would have been 200 through FC.

Kids Club
My little one didn't like it so only used it once but the girls were great and the facilities were spot on.
One thing though as we were there in 'low season' they do not split the 3-5s from the 5-8s which is the main reason my little girl hated it.

Tummy
Spent 3 days and nights in bed (and on the loo), even though I took the Acidophillus beforehand, I still got the bug and still have it, but it hasn't spoilt our holiday.
I saw the doctor in resort (35 pound) and he gave me 3 lots of tablets, one was antinal, and a jab (11 pounds) which really helped.
I saw my doctor today and he sending samples away to be checked but has said possibly dysentry, not sure when or where picked it up but I did have some dodgy seafood so.........

Hotel
Is immaculate and clean, ok the finishing off not great but who cares about grouting?!

Downsides
Not enough loos in the resort:- there are only 2 by the pools, 2 by the main restaurant, 2 in the lobby bar and 1 in the a la carte building.
No lifts - one is being built from the reception down to the main floor, but as the rep said the workers are worse than the spanish so could be finished any time.

Go have a fab time, if you want to send me a PM for any questions please do
Lara