The last time we were in Sharm El Sheikh was January 1996, 28 years ago. We stayed at a simple hotel in an area that, in 2024, is very dense with hotel after hotel. Click here to see our photos from Egypt in1996 that include our stay in Sharm.
During this trip to Egypt, everything was beyond our expectations. Dimitri thought he knew Egypt and that he knew mangoes but in the last 28 years some things have changed for the better. We have continued our mango-eating extravaganza in Sharm with the most intense extraordinary tasting mangoes called “fas”.
In 2024, we had the quintessential beach vacation that we've been wanting: the sea temperature was 90.4°F, no wet suits were needed and it was clear too. The Jacuzzi temperature was 101°F and perfect with air temperature of 104°F. There was brilliant sun every day and almost always a breeze that made the outdoor temperature acceptable. The snorkeling was fun, with enough colorful reefs and many fish, to ogle. And, of course, staying at a Four Seasons and treated so well, with lots of attention, was terrific. On our past beach vacations, there was something not to our liking. Koh Samui in 2021 was the rainy season; Sihanoukville, Cambodia in 2022 was only okay, the Seychelles on Mahé in 2023 was too windy, the Seychelles on Desroches the ocean was a little too cold, and Malaysia on Langkawi wasn't perfect either.
In 2024 to top off our quintessential beach vacation, our upgraded Four Seasons Suite Sea View, was a “wow”. At 1679 square feet, it was larger than our apartment in the Vail Four Seasons (per night $889.69, the price of a premier sea view room). It was new, built in 2022, with the latest technological amenities (we love not having to pull the drapes open and closed and having lights that dim when we do our stretching and toning). The view of the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, and Tiran Island was great! This upgrade from an upgrade was given to us by the General Manager, Leon Baum. We enjoyed getting to know Leon, his wife, and his two children. He would join us at breakfast or, with his wife, at dinner. He is a Brit and both he and his wife were very charming.
The suite that Leon upgraded us to had an entry hall, with two closets and a second, full bathroom, which flowed into the living room with a sitting area across from the 75” TV, as well as a dining area. The mini bar area was large and well-equipped. The bedroom was also large and had a loveseat as well as a comfortable chair and ottoman. There were two desks on the wall opposite the bed. We had two walk-in closets, each with a bench and one with drawers. The master bathroom was even larger than the one we have in Vail and had a long vanity with two sinks and a long storage area under the sinks. It had a faux leather bench in the middle that we thought was great and want to have in Vail. The master bathroom was well designed (except that the sinks themselves were too small and the faucet too large). The suite had cooling as well as heating so we could warm up the room in the morning. We had a balcony extending the length of the room with a table and chairs on one side and a sofa and chairs on the other. This was a truly great suite upgrade. Atef, the Guest Experience Director, and the Housekeeping staff personalized our suite and made sure everything was to our liking. To top all of that off, Alexa worked right away so we had our music during the day and to go to sleep by.
Breakfast was very good; we sat near the open entry door so we got air conditioning and some of the outside heat. The volume of the music was low. All of the staff was attentive and made sure that we had exactly what we wanted. Then the breakfast server from FS Nile Plaza, named George Ramsis, arrived for the FS “cross exposure” program. That was great. The food selections were extensive and the French Toast was made the way we like it. Every morning we were brought fresh mango juice with small bits of mango in it (and Audre was brought strawberry juice). We asked for our favorite fas mangos and, each day, they were brought too. The figs were in season and very good. Breakfast at Zitouni was walking distance (even in the 100° F morning heat) and we really liked that. We tried the other breakfast restaurant, the atmospheric Arabesque, but liked the one near us better. We loved it when we said "thank you" to the staff and they responded by saying "with pleasure". That sounds much nicer than "you are welcome".
The resort was hilly and there were buggies to take us around. The buggy drivers were nice and informative (if they spoke English). The gardens were lush and well-kept, an oasis in an otherwise brown desert landscape. We would have really enjoyed our buggy rides through the gardens and by the water features if it weren't for the awful cobblestone paths.
We tried the Reef Beach at Waha and rented snorkel stuff at the dive center. There was no complimentary equipment at this FS like there has been at other FS beach resorts. At US$11 plus 14%, it was annoyingly expensive. When we used it, we didn’t like the equipment. Fortunately, Mr. Nick gave us a refund. We didn’t like the moving jetty at the Reef beach because it floated; Dimitri got banged up and bloody there. We used the Jacuzzi at Waha and it was nice but we liked the one at Luna better. Ahmet at Luna became Dimitri’s Arabic teacher so we only went to the Jacuzzi at Luna. The temperature of the Jacuzzi was about over 101.4° F and lovely at 5:30 in the afternoon.
The jetty at Luna/Breeze was fixed and much better. We could sit on the steps (get bitten by the resident bluefish) and put on the Full Face snorkel masks (E£750 each) that we bought at Sharm Star market at Soho Square for a total of US$74.79 (had we rented the bad equipment at the Dive Center for 9 days it would have cost us US$225.62—ridiculous at the prices charged for the rooms).
Snorkeling at Breeze Beach was fun in our new Full Face snorkel masks. Dimitri bought fins (E£1000) too and we tooled around the coral. The coral had some color and that was nice but we like it when we can swim above the coral not, next to it. There was only a little area with coral below us. The first day at Waha when Dimitri got banged up, the Red Sea was rough. When we snorkeled after that, it was calmer and much more enjoyable; the 90.4°F temperature of the water was warm enough to stay in the water for 45 minutes. It turned out that we liked the coral and fish better at Waha/Reef beach but the Jacuzzi at Luna. When the sun hit the coral at Waha/Reef beach it was poetically beautiful. After snorkeling at Waha/Reef beach each day, we would go to the Jacuzzi at Luna! It was a wonderful routine. What a life!
From our suite, we could walk to the new Fitness/Gym. It was two-story, with a beautiful design. The machines were Hoist from the USA (we have never used that brand before). There was enough variety so we got a good workout. The aerobic equipment was Life Fitness and Dimitri liked the bike (it had wi-fi).
Audre found the lap pool at the Spa and loved it. At 22.5 meters/74’ it was a very good length. It had water jets so the water had a “current” and the temperature of the water was comfortable. Most of the time, she even had the pool to herself. The staff there was great and helped Audre put sunscreen on her back so she didn’t get scorched when she was swimming.
We liked our lunches at Waha and our dinners at each of the restaurants. The first day at lunch at Waha there was a server from Alexandria and Dimitri talked to him in Egyptian. Because we didn't really care for mango sorbet that was on offer, Executive Chef Marin made us mango ice cream and brought it to Bullona on one of our first dinners. It was excellent; we truly appreciated that. One day, when we were at Waha for lunch, he came to talk to us and brought us fabulous mango ice cream on a stick.
When we took a buggy from our suite one evening, our neighbor (who turned out to be a Saudi) wanted to go to Soho Square so the buggy dropped him off at the Four Seasons exit nearest to it. It was so close, the next night we went to Soho Square for dinner at an Indian restaurant called Bombay. It was good enough and fairly inexpensive. Soho Square was like a carnival and fun, particularly on a Friday night when everyone was there. We were able to buy our full-face snorkel masks at Soho Square and to buy more fas mangoes. There were so many languages spoken we couldn't identify any one.
Executive Pastry Chef Laurent made us a mango soufflé for dessert one evening and also told us about his driver. One night, we hired that car and driver to take us to the Old Sharm Market area. It was a revelation. It was organized and had only a little car traffic on the pedestrian-only streets. We had a great fish dinner at Fish Mart, the restaurant Executive Pastry Chef Laurent recommended. And it was amazingly inexpensive. We even found sugar cane juice.
Another night we used the same car and driver to go to Naama Bay and another restaurant the Executive Pastry Chef Laurent told us about. Naama Bay was awful--purpose built with none of the charm that the Old Sharm Market had had. Plus the recommended restaurant was empty at the time we got there. So we found an outlet of the Egyptian restaurant called El Masrein (that Ahmet at the Luna pool told us about) and had a complete meal with melokiyah and okra tagine for under US$10. Amazing and not bad!
The guests at the Four Seasons Sharm were mainly Middle Eastern--many from the Arabian Peninsula. Many spoke to us (unlike our experience at other FS beach resorts). The Saudi women were surprisingly cosmopolitan, even if they were wearing an hijab/burkini full-cover swimming costume. There were some Europeans, mainly Italians and few from the USA. At Soho Square, the Old Sharm Market and at Naama Bay, we heard a lot of Russian spoken. Invariably when we asked where they were from, the people said Azerbaijan. We had been told that we would see many Ukrainians and Israelis escaping their wars, but we did not. When we went to these places we were impressed by the network of excellent roads; we were told that they had been built within the last few years.
The Four Seasons Sharm, with its newly completed extension, was one of the largest Four Seasons in the world. We were told that there were 1000 staff members who were housed on the property and had their own housekeeping staff. Amazing what General Manager Leon is overseeing.
We had the most extraordinary experience in Sharm under the headline: "It Never Hurts to Ask". At the Four Seasons Luna pool, we saw a cart that served what we thought was ice cream and had the name "Dolato" on the cart. It turned out it wasn't Dolato Gelato and it wasn't ice cream, it was sorbet. We were very disappointed; we had tasted Dolato mango gelato/ice cream when we were in Cairo at the new Grand Egyptian Museum where there was a Dolato shop. There were two types of mango gelato/ice cream at that shop: one was our favorite fas and the other was oweis. Both were exceptionally good. So, Audre wrote an e-mail to Dolato and asked them if they could deliver some of their mango gelato/ice cream to us at the Four Seasons Sharm. AND THEY DID! AND it was fabulous and we shared it with Executive Chef Marin and it was so much fun! The logistics of how they did it was quite a mystery; Dolato did not have a shop in Sharm. Did the gelato/ice cream come on a plane with dry ice? The two Styrofoam boxes were sealed tight (each contained 6 scoops, by the way). A man named Mr. Essam delivered them to the reception desk of the Four Seasons, after going through security with them, of course. Did Mr. Essam fly from Cairo? We may never know but we were thrilled and delighted.
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