My girlfriend and I have just returned from a one week break in the Royal Savoy. The reviews on the Trip Advisor are varied and I was pensive as to whether the resort was a good choice. However we enjoyed our break away immensely but there are a few areas that I would like to advise other people on.
In order to get the best deal I would suggest calling around various agents - Thomas Cook were VERY competitive and we used their quote to drive down the price at other Agents. In the end for one week, half board in the Royal Savoy we paid £810 each, though we did only book a few weeks in advance.
The £810 included, free transfers to and from the Hotel, a private area for breakfast, Free alcoholic and soft drinks from the pool bar and lounge between 12 -8 pm, free canapés and fresh fruit throughout the day. A private swimming pool and 25% off dinner and drinks in other restaurants (except the Eest restaurant - no discount). All the above they are reluctant to tell you and we had to ask numerous questions to find all this out.
The room was large and spacious with a four poster bed, nice size bathroom, small lounge area and balcony, we were located on the ground floor and therefore you do NOT get a sea view as stated in the brochure and travel agent, due to the palm trees in the way and the lay of the land is not conducive to seeing much. Each day the linen would be changed and fresh cakes would be placed in the room.
The staff are friendly and helpful; a small amount of tipping at the beginning is not essential but often helps (by small amount I mean £10 throughout the whole week we stayed).
We only went to two restaurants as they book up VERY quickly, you have to call at 1pm as by around 3pm they are all fully booked. The Tirana restaurant is awful, equivalent to school dinners and mass produced food, bland and rubbery, however we had a 25% discount and we went to the Sea Food Restaurant which we thoroughly enjoyed. It is also good value for money, two Maine Lobster tails and drinks came to around £40.
The other downfall of the bars and restaurants is the cleanliness of the glasses, they only seem to rinse them rather then wash them. Also you may have to ask a few times for items such as water, drinks or ketchup, as they seem to forget.
The Egyptian massage is worth a try and good value for money £40 for an hour.
The beach is not as great as it looks and no romantic walks along it as it is busy during the day and not very long, the sand is also rather rough and my girlfriend cut her foot either on a shard of glass or maybe the sand itself.
We went to the local market via the free bus transfer, book this early as it is busy and you wont get a slot unless you do. Its good fun to haggle with the locals but decrease their prices by at least half, though they will negotiate it up you will still get what you want for a reasonable price.
Pools - there are 3 pools for everyone and one restricted for Royal Savoy guests. The pools are freezing cold all day and therefore rather empty (take a lilo with you as there is plenty of room). I have never seen SO many topless sunbathers and g-string bikinis, so be warned if you are on a family holiday. At least 35% of the women (mostly Russian but some English also) felt it necessary to either sunbathe topless and have thong bikinis, it is slightly off putting as some walk around and some are also in the pool.
On a daily basis they encourage a water aerobics class, however it is more like people messing around in the pool then real Aerobics, the music is 90's chart music and whilst they flail around they shout and whoop with joy! So dont sit near them as it is a bit ridiculous and not really a work out of any sort.
The Sharm airport is rather light on shops and the prices are not that low so it may be worthwhile buying your items from Gatwick.
The holiday was amazing and we enjoyed every moment of it and we spent in total around £1000 each, it was great value for money and a relaxing one week break. I would return there and also recommend this to others. I would say that you should stay in the Royal Savoy as it can get a bit busy and loud by the other pools.
hope this is of help
Dan and Emma







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