Tropitel Sahl Hasheesh — Hotel in Red Sea

Booked for a 2 week family holiday with Tui. Transfer smooth from airport, hotel staff welcoming and helpful on arrival. Room is lovely spacious and comfortable. Cleaned every day and towels replaced as required. Excellent view of the pool and sea within our club room with dual aspect. All inclusive so we enjoyed both buffet restaurants (The Wave and Palm) good selection of foods all quite tasty. Service great too with staff very attentive. Vouchers are included for a meal each week (needs booked) at both Italian and Mexican restaurants on site. You can also eat lunch here too without booking each day as an alternative to the buffet restaurants. There is also a snack bars beside the main pool which offer a light lunch option (burgers , wraps etc) if you want to eat at your sun lounger. There is also the option of a Turkish night and an Indian restaurant (beside shops within hotel) which were both delicious...the Turkish restaurant includes entertainment (amazing belly dancer and live violin player). The Indian was one of the finest I have had and very reasonable (try the curry soup and tandoori chicken !!).

Various trips are on offer through associated activity services. We went through Bob (diamond of a guy - Wears a blue sweater) at the onside diving centre and did a half day glass bottom trip out to see the coral reefs, stopped for a swim in the shallow coral reefs..beautiful !!! Chartered a yaught for the full day to visit Orange Bay (also through Bob) also arranged to go Parasailing locally through him...all experiences spot on...great communication and the experiences were exactly as he described.

Through Adam (green sweater) we arranged to go quad biking which was also a lot of fun, staff were also really good.

Majority of our family group also visited the on site spa for treatments (massages...shaves, foot and hand care) arranged this through Coco (always wears white top lol).

Larger trips were organised through Tui rep Sammy. Some of the party went to Giza to visit the pyramids so transfer, flights and transport on the trip all included along with 2hr museum visit and lunch. Long day but worth it to see more that the resort.

Also arranged trip to Luxor to see the valley of the kings, plus 2 other temples. We had private coach for this due to our party size...excellent trip included a quick sail across the Nile en route to lunch. Excellent guide who was very knowledgeable and helpful. Obviously be wary of vendors when on trip trying to sell you everything (very good price lol !!) Avoid eye contact is a good strategy. We also hired the golf buggy for a trip along the coast (or 50 min walk) to Sahl Hasheesh where we tried the Shihsa cafe/tent thing lol...great fun and very authentic experience.

All in, all locals very friendly as were staff.

Hotel bar in the lobby (busy when weather not great for sitting out, we had a few windy cooler days...) bar staff good at helping you find seats, bar upstairs (mermaid lounge) is a good size ans also hosts entertainment at times, and Sky bar (which has additional charge) we used to watch footie. Bar staff all generally excellent..they soon learn your name and good at remembering your drinks.

Entertainment team offer a variety of activities through the day sports, fun games, dancing, etc...

Fantastic assistance from lady at guest relations (sits just inside lobby to the left) helped arrange celebration for a family members.

We also did a couple of photo shoots (photography service on site..guys in red shirts) these were lovely. Other shops in the resort cover most needs..

There is also a row of shops behind the hotel which also provide reasonable shopping.

Currency is interesting...local currency egyptian £ can be withdrawn from 2x ATMS within the hotel in limited quantities (£4000 Egyptian which is around £60 UK.) Option to pay in Euros or Dollars too but they generalise them as same value even though slight difference in exchange rates. If you use your card then it charge Euro. 5 star rating..more like vg 4 star would...

This is the first time I have left a review BEFORE checking out!

Myself and a couple of friends from Australia decided to stay here for a well deserved break.

PROs The hotel itself is nice - great rooms, proximity to the beach, gym, main restaurant etc. I checked into room 4130 which had a great view of the sea.

The few staff members that were really great and helpful included Mina (Main restaurant), Beshoy (housekeeping) and the Animation team (Johnny and Oksana)

CONs My issue was mainly around the service and the general attitude of certain staff. I have been travelling around Egypt for 10 months staying at quite a few hotels and this was by the far the worse when it comes to general conduct.

For example; ATTITUDE - I approached the photographer to get an idea of the packages. 20 seconds into the conversation, another staff member called him over and he just walked off! WIFI - The 'Free Wifi' is non-existent. As someone who needs to log in for work each day, I had to rely on my mobile data. SERVICE - When I checked in, I decided to sleep for a bit after travelling. Reception, in all their wisdom, thought it necessary to knock on my door followed by ringing the room phone to tell me that they have sent up a complimentary package of fruit, juice and 2 cans of soft drink, which I was grateful for but was not worth waking me up. If I didn't answer the phone after 40 seconds, what made them keep ringing? TRAINING - Some of the staff appear to be undertrained. On my first day, I asked one of the staff members what time the gym opens and he replied 10 am. I found out later that its actually open from 7am. When I asked for directions, some would tell me to walk up to a certain place and ask the other staff that were closer to where I wanted to be. RESTAURANT - The main restaurant has different sections, including a BBQ/Grill outside. They ran out of plates very frequently, which meant spending time walking around looking for a plate/bowl. When you then ask the closest staff, they decided to delegate it to someone else to go get what you need. SERVICE - For some strange reason, the hotel decided to leave me messages on my door in Arabic, which I cannot read. It's pretty obvious when you check in with an Australian passport what the customers native language is. VALUE - I had the all-inclusive full package, which I paid extra for however it seems that on an almost daily basis, all I heard was 'EXTRA CHARGE' (their 2 favourite words). Make sure you check what is excluded from the all-inclusive package. For example, the all-inclusive package includes lunch at the Italian and Mexican 'restaurants' however the menu is limited and the serving size is not the same as a patron who will pay full price.

As an Australian-based business consultant, this is a top-level issue which can be resolved through a refresher on customer service-focused training. I have faith that if you train staff on the core values of the hospitality industry, the above issues can be resolved. After all, you hire for attitude and train for skill.

If you're a solo traveller or digital nomad, I probably would think twice before staying here. The Baron Palace is one I would want to stay at the next time I visit Sahl Hasheesh.

NB I did get a call from guest relations the night before check out asking about my experience (which I would have done if it was 1 or 2 minor issues) however, I feel my obligation is to share my personal experience with future guests. If the hotel wants my input on improving the customer service experience, then there will be an...

I spent this vacation with my parents as a gift for them on the occasion of their 32nd wedding anniversary, and I rented two rooms for 8 days, all-inclusive. First of all, the staff makes a place unique, which is what happened in this hotel's case, too. All the staff was amiable and always helpful when I needed it, from the restaurants, bars, reception, cleaning, etc.

The cleaning service: they checked every day if I was satisfied with the cleanliness of the rooms, both mine and the parent's room, and they helped me with any request I had and even went the extra mile for me. Moreover, every day they made a little animal out of my towels (I'm attaching pictures for fun). Thanks, Ahmed, for all the help and entertainment.

The restaurant: the food was diversified, every day there was a specific day, and there was a grill outside with various products every day for dinner (I actually ate often from that area). The Arabic evening was by far my favorite; the food and desserts were delicious. If you like Arabic desserts, I recommend you to go to SkyBar, the view is excellent, and you must try an impeccably made Kunefe (and I have tried this dessert in many places, there it was the best I have eaten so far). I also tried the Mexican and Italian restaurants; the food and atmosphere were good. Thank you, Mina, for all the help and service in the main restaurant.

The bar: At the bar, the drinks are not the classic ones that I'm used to, so I tried a lot of new things. So, I discovered a cocktail called Mango Tango (I recommend it to girls). And Islam made it very delicious for me every time. Thank you, and that you remembered what we like and how! The boys were helpful with anything else I needed besides the pool area. Thanks also to the guys from the lobby bar; they were very professional and kind.

SPA: Also, the staff was friendly and attentive. I recommend doing a Hammam at the beginning, the one with coffee and chocolate in the middle of the stay, and Cleopatra at the end to go home with smooth, hydrated, and tanned skin. The hammam is not exactly like in Turkey, but you must try Cleopatra and the one with chocolate and coffee. Thank you, Alex, for your help and for the way of negotiating; I enjoyed negotiating and talking with you.

Activities: The dance sessions with Oksana were fun, and I learned some new moves; I will put them into practice at the next party. Every evening there is an interactive activity with the entertainment team and a very relaxing yoga session during the day (you should try it and enjoy the sea air and the sky). Thanks, Oksana, Simba, Kareem, and Asia, for fun. I hope to see Asia again, maybe even in Tuscany, when she goes home. It was fun to chat with her.

The location: The view from the hotel's stairs at the back toward the pool is gorgeous; I have saved the picture with the landscape to my favorites. The hotel looks perfect, clean, and safe (you don't have to worry about this).

If I would have suggestions for improvement: to do something with the door mechanism because they slam and to have a training session with the sales persons from the shopping galleries, because they can be insistent and difficult to handle.

I no longer have space to tell you about the extra trips, but you will definitely find out from the guides or hotel staff! :)

P.S. If you are a couple, try a romantic dinner in the Skybar. The view and the food will make you talk about that dinner. P.P.S. Remember to go to the Mermaid bar, it's great.

Enjoy your...