Our stay at the Melia Sinai got off to a rocky start after we arrived at the hotel after a long flight and were told that the hotel was overbooked and that we would be staying at the Sol Sharm for 2 evenings which is a 4* hotel. The reception staff were not particularly helpful and we had to repeatedly ask to speak to the manager before they finally went to get him. They also took phonecalls and would happily stand there talking away whilst in the middle of dealing with a query (this happened frequently and was quite frankly rude!). When we asked for the hotel to call our rep the receptionist went off and said that they could not get hold of him, which was a lie as the rep told us the next day that they had not tried to call him. Other guests were also moved to other hotels and from reading other reviews it seems that this is a common problem and is really quite dispicable given that the hotels they are putting people in are 4*'s not 5*s. We accepted the hotels compensation which consisted of airport transfers, a room upgrade to a beachfront apartment, a meal on the beach (which was just buffet food brought down from the restaurant but was a nice experience - was ok but wouldn't pay for it) and late check-out.

When we were settled in the hotel we were able to enjoy it and it is actually a lovely place. The bars and restaurants are all nice. The food was surpisingly good for buffet and we thought there was a lot of variety (kebabs, fish from the grill, calamari, salads, lasagne everything you can think of. Lots of cakes and pastries although they generally look better that they taste). The restaurant is open air and the view is great, especially by candlelight in the evening. It is however a nightmare to get served a drink in the restaurant which can become very frustrating and somewhat ruins the experience.

The beach bar and pool bars are nice and the service is very good especially Amer in the beach bar whose cocktails are exsquisite, needless to say we had a sore head the next day.

The hotel is fairly isolated, although that suited us as we wanted a break away from it all. We ventured into narma bay one day which was just full of lots of shops selling the same thing - we didn't go back!).

Must recommend the trip by plane to Cairo and the quad bike trip in the desert which are amazing experiences and a must if you go to Sharm.

All in all we enjoyed our stay in the Melia Sinai and would recommend the hotel to anyone going to Sharm el Sheikh - although beware about the overbooking problem and i would ring the hotel or your tour operator just before you travel to make sure the room is available!

great food and service
very nice rooms
activities: aqua-areobic, beachball, dancing and arabic lesons.
we enjoyed the trip

I don’t really know where to start with my review of the Melia Sinai. Some of it was good, some very good. Some bad and some very bad!

We stayed at the Melia Sinai between 30th April and 10th May, All Inclusive.

Arrival ~ We arrived at 6pm and we had to wait around in reception for a long time whist our room was prepared. We were quite tired by this point and feel that delay was no on. Reception was always chaotic with nobody really able to help with the simplest of queries.

The room ~ I have no complaints about the room. Very nice indeed. Nice bed, aircon, balcony with lovely sea view. Bathroom a bit tired but did not expect the Ritz! The bedrooms were thoroughly cleaned every day to a very high standard

The Pools ~ We used the pool (the round one) which was just below our balcony. A very nice pool. Never overly busy and there were always sun loungers available. There is a constant ‘Lifeguard’ on duty who gives you towels and cushions for the loungers. Very nice, quiet and relaxing. The only gripe I do have is that on a daily basis, sales reps came round and tried to sell you massages on the beach or treatments in the beauty salon. This was quite hard sell and sometimes quite annoying if all you wanted to do was put your head in a book!

The Restaurant ~ The food was terribly bland and tasteless. The choice at the buffet was quite vast, but you could tell that dishes from lunch or even the night before had been recycled into a different dish. There were a lot of birds in the dining room, nibbling on the buffet. The deserts looked beautiful but ALL tasted the same ~ gelatine with coconut! By day three we were so bored of all of it. Although we were there on an All Inclusive basis, we decided to go into Nama Bay by taxi a lot to go to some fairly decent restaurants ~ I must recommend the Gazala Hotel beach restaurant, it was simply superb and very fairly priced!

The Bars ~ We liked the pool bar. There was a fantastic barman called Ahmed who made us feel so welcome and made us laugh. Some of the others were a bit glum and rude, but Ahmed made up for it!

Beach ~ We are avid snorkellers and divers and found the sea great! The beach was ok, but you could not walk out directly to the sea because of the extensive coral reef. To get in the sea you have to walk along a dedicated jetty and drop into the water. This was sometimes a little crowed but nothing too bad. The snorkelling was in actual fact better than the diving we experienced!

Dive School ~ I think we may have been spoilt with a recent holiday in the Maldives, but I found our dive guide from Extra Divers to be very unhelpful and pushy. It was like we were wasting his time and he wanted to be elsewhere! We are relative novices at diving and he did not put us at ease or make the diving all that enjoyable.

Hotel Atmosphere ~ I am not a racist at all, but I did pick up on something that is worth talking about. The Melia was mostly full of Russian tourists. I found that a great deal of them were extremely rude. I lost count of the times that I was pushed or shoved at the bar. They simply refuse to walk to one side of the pavement if you walk towards them and one woman even swam on over me when I was 20 meters down diving and did not even apologise. All of the staff at the hotel had made the same observation and did not like it.

All Inclusive ~ Do not do it! It is not worth it! The food is absolutely rubbish for starters. At dinner times it is like getting blood out of a stone getting a drink. The waiters much prefer serving paying guests as there is more chance of getting a tip!

The drinks on AI were not all that great. Watery cocktails and small measures of spirits. All of the coca cola etc is always flat, from big bottles, where as paying guests get fresh cans! Also, bottles of water were not AI which I think is ridiculous. The only water available on AI was from a water cooler behind the bar and they only gave you a small cup full. Any water to be taken to the room, like bottles, had to be paid for!

So, at the edn of thday day, I do not think we will go back to the Melia Sinai. We loved the relaxing pools, the gorgeous weather and the great pool bar . . but the rest I could do with out!

I do not think I would go back to any hotels in Sharm at all now. It has turned itto such an over commercial dump. Flights coming in (over the town) every 4 mins, touts everywhere and lots of hassle!

Sorry to be so down on it . . . but I think it is best to be honest!

Just returned from the Melia. Lovely hotel, small and friendly. I like buffet food on holdiay so I did not have a problem and there was plenty to choose from.

Room 5010 to 5020 are oposite a pool and near to everything with view of the sea and ground floor which was fab. No fighting for sun beds plenty on the beach and by the pools. Internet was £9 per hour so it is better to go to Naama bay and pay £1 an hr in an internet cafe or free in TGI fridays if you have a lap top.

Diving: we used the Sinai divers at the Baron (hotel next door 15 minute walk away), they pick you up and take you back, cheaper, and you don't have to pay 30 euros for a medical and they have enough people to go to Ras Mo etc. Edward was a brilliant guide master and humorous only 8 of us on the boat.

Fab house reef for snokelling, no need to dive it plus there are steps down to the jetty wheich would be a pain with a tank and kit on your back.

Staff v friendly Ahmed at the pool bar is funny. The alcholic drinks tasted good not like my other expeiences in Sharm and they make lovely cocktails in glasses.

I had a pedicure which was £15 v good.

Hotel shop haggle I paid 25% of asking price. Byond limits in Naama Bay has fixed prices for dive equipment.

Went to naama bay once on the hotel bus if there are no spaces put your name on the waiting list by the stop there is a small supermarket 6 litres of water was £1.50.

Taxi's: we paid £10 from a taxi guy who came into the airport and £10 back. Make sre they take you to the correct terminal or you have a long walk. Terminal 2 was for the Monarch flight to UK Excel was a different terminal. Most people paid £4 each way for airport, naama bay etc.Airport 20 minutes away

Food/drink is a rip off at the airport so take your own.

Faults: bobbly sheets but compared to everything else it did not realy matter.

I never return to the same place twice but this I would consider the Melia.

I hope this helps you