Sharks Bay 2006

  Sharks Bay, Egypt
Monday, October 22, 2007

 
No problems getting to Manchester Airport quick and easy despite extra security 
Once on the plane first a crew member had to be replaced due to illness.  Then there was a problem with the forward galley.  This meant we were an hour and a quarter late taking off.  All through the flight the pilot kept us extremely well informed and also made up half an hour, some of that was due to a passenger becoming seriously ill.
 
The hotel 
As per norm for a beach hotel in Sharm it is on a slope, with four blocks of rooms, there are also some villas nearest the beach. There is a pool bar,
on the beach a soft drink's bar and a full bar (Sand Beach Bar),
as well as the Lobby bar.  The bar staff are friendly but a lot of them appear to be unhappy with the hotel.  The drinks do not appear to be of as good a quality as those last year at the Hilton, but measures quite large and new drinks appear before the first is half drunk.  The staff are very caring for their customers and special alternate drinks appear when you've got Egyptian tummy. 
 
Food
There are three dining areas;
 
The main dining room,
The Italian restaurant (Mamma Mia), /Snack bar (The Dolphin),
 
The Beach restaurant which is the Oriental & Fisherman restaurant at night
 
All have one big hygiene problem sparrows Which the staff are aware of but do nothing and allow them to eat the food at the serveries.
 
 
             breakfast
No fruit
No beef bacon
Sausages not bad
Omelettes/pancakes freshly cooked
Cereals - good choice
Filter coffee/tea  free
Fair choice of other foods
 
             snacks
Pasta, Meatballs, Salad, Mini pizza, 
 
             lunch
Good choice of meats and vegetables 
Plenty of fruit
Fresh pasta
Filter coffee/tea free
 
        
    Dinner
Ice cream is extra to AI!, as is fresh juices, espresso and cappuccino.  Good choice of meats roasts and in sauces and pies are excellent vegetables not many on offer but well presented
 
         
   Drink
Espresso and cappuccino extra
Imported spirits expensive as expected measures of local spirits very generous and don't taste right, the Whisky tastes like Tequila
Rum is best local spirit
Beer served in glasses from draught and is very gassy.

All inclusive different for different countries
Italian -no alcohol
Russian/Polish /Czech no wine
UK/German no ice cream

       
   Pools
Free-form pools + kiddies pool clean but not heated colder than the sea
          
  Gymnasium
Basic 2000 equip + free weights
Equipment tired
Personal trainer an ex Mr Egypt friendly and helpful
        
    Sea
Usual entry via pontoon. A very alive reef lot's of fish. Very slight current normally left to right, but does change.  Reef has pinnacles on both sides of the pontoon, the one on left has marker buoy as top is about half a metre underwater .
Usual problem of people walking on the coralline shelf


            
  Diving

Advanced course (ISS) booked started Thursday five boat dives.  A buoyancy check a nav dive a drift dive and deep dive then a free choice dive.  Didn't get my left ear equalized and ended up aborting  Dive doctor banned me swimming for 5 day's and 2 lots of antibiotics too so ended up very glum with no booze and no swimming let alone diving for 5 days
Catherine at dive school offered Steph a try dive and if she can't manage it, she won't charge her for it.
Single dives work out at £41 the courses £41.80 with €30 certification fee, so course a very good option as each dive is instructor accompanied .

Excursions
Local hotel based organiser cheaper Steph went on a Quad bike trip on Friday 1st week and parascending on Thursday 2nd week.
 
 
Thomson "support"
"Welcome meeting " as usual hard sell of dearest trips. 
Still have Dolphinella on list despite all complaints about animal cruelty for last few years. 

No local information given except for presence of a few shops 10 minute walk away and about the public beach near the jetty at Sharks Bay
 
Nothing said about tummy upsets just a passing reference to the "Health and Safety " leaflets
 
Some information about taxis regarding cost but not taxi safety.  All in all a typical Thomson meeting designed to extracate as much money as possible from the holidaymaker. 
One guy asked a question about fishing and I answered it because the rep didn't have a clue that angling is banned from all Red Sea resorts as they are classed as a marine nature reserve.
 
Naama Bay
Accessible by free hotel bus service that is free all day. 
Yet Naama Bay  doesn't seem as busy this year shopkeepers still trying hard to get you to buy but not as hard as last year, and prices not as cheap.