Baron Palms Sharm El Sheikh — Hotel in South Sinai

This is a genuine (unlike 95% of the reviews below) detailed review ….

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Requested a pool view upgrade several times (by email) and a room with proximity to the (non-existent) lift before arrival, but received no response until leaving a negative review. They then offered a ground floor pool view room, which I accepted. Upon arrival (late, with lovely reception staff), our beautifully anniversary-decorated room lacked a pool view despite paying almost $200 extra (it faced a hedge). We were moved to another floor. The next day, reception staff twice berated me, insisting I'd asked for ground floor and was lucky to be moved, despite my explaining I paid for a real pool view, never being told the ground floor didn’t have any view.

If you want a pool view you need a room on the upper two floors.

Rooms

The room was fine. Decor was a little dated but it was always spotlessly clean, thanks to the cleaners, and had absolutely everything we needed. If I had a suggestion though the TV was huge! It took up so much space and really wasn’t needed when you come to Sharm to be outside.

Pool

It is beautiful, always spotlessly clean, there were always sunbeds, which were super comfortable and plenty of umbrellas. Very few beds were reserved with towels. The pool area was so peaceful with no music and hassle from tour guides and spa people was minimal. I’d give the pool area 10/10

Pool temperature was a perfect 25-27c when we were there.

Alea at the pool area was really lovely, he took such good care of us, moving things around to keep me in shade.

Beach

It’s stunning and clean with nice sunbeds. The guy on the dive platform was so kind and helpful.

To get to the beach you have to walk down Baron Boulevard, which has shops, the Egyptian Restaurant, Billiard Bar and the dance bar. The shops hassle you and are a HUGE rip off! Please don’t shop there, the shops in the hotel are so much better with nice staff - in particular the shops that sold cigarettes etc (the man in the shop even let me hotspot when the wifi died so I could get an eSIM).

Bars

Now and Zen was nice but loud after the entertainment ended.

The veranda bar was lovely too, the seats were comfortable but watch out for the mossies - they are savage!

Restaurants

The main restaurant had great quality food, with plenty of variety. The manager Tamer Ghonhemy couldn’t do enough for the guests. Saad was great, he was a very attentive waiter with a beaming smile. I was surprised one evening however to see someone eating in the restaurant in a bathrobe (& tiara), the staff seemed fine with it but to me it was wrong.

The Egyptian. restaurant had nice food, very similar to the main restaurant in nicer surroundings. The staff there were all lovely.

Paradise restaurant was my favourite- excellent food day and night (the pizzas and steak were real highlights). Said was an excellent waiter. My number one staff member though was Mohammed Hassan who worked there is the evening and around the pool all day. He was outstanding!! A hard worker who always made sure I had a drink and always had a smile :-)

Gripes

No map, no idea what was included or where is was. It was very confusing for the first few days.

The App is not accurate - you could find info about dinner/bar times but it was wrong. It also says that there are two 130m pools - there’s just one (though it’s divided).

The shower is flimsy, and the lever sticks out when it’s on so is easily knocked so I kept changing the temperature and turning it off. Water pressure isn’t amazing (but still impressive considering we’re in the desert!).

Overall

It’s a great hotel if you want to laze and eat good food in the sun. I’d 100% come back if you want a comfortable and...

Having stayed in Hurghada twice in the last 6 months we thought we would try SES. We chose this hotel based on it's Tui 5T rating and the many positive reviews on TA. Unfortunately we were disappointed in the hotel. |The positives:- Well appointed although rooms a little dated and bathrooms in need of a refurb. Nice bed linen and towels. Large comfortable beds, pillow menu if you desire a softer/firmer pillow etc. Mini bar stocked daily with soft drinks and plenty of water provided. Table linens and table wear good quality. Staff uniforms very nice. Very clean throughout the whole hotel. Well maintained gardens. Excellent wifi. Great coffee. Lovely beach. |The mediocre:- Drinks. White and red wine reasonable, didn't try the rose. Hubby said the beer was ok. No sparking wine on AI. Spirits local and ok in a cocktail. Not so good with a mixer. Espresso martinis were good. Expensive to buy premium drinks at the bars ( $20 per single measure). Food was very average. You could always find something to eat from the choices on offer around the buffet but definitely not 5* and no comparison to other 5* AIs we have stayed in in Egypt. We ate in both the A La Cartes once each and once was enough! Had to send food back in the Paradise and only got half our order in the Egyptian. A lady on the table next to us in the Egyptian had her food taken away while she was still cutting it! You couldn't really get a bed by the pool unless you reserved it before 8! We always managed to find a bed on the beach. |The poor:- service not good throughout the hotel. Most of the staff paying more attention to their phones rather than the needs of the guests. Had to wait excessive time for drinks to be served, or they never arrived and the bar staff said they "forgot". Waiters leaning over you to remove plates, glasses etc. One waiter dropped a knife with butter on down my hubby's jacket and laughed. We saw a staff member smoking next to food prep area in the beach bar. 3 staff stood in front of one of the food service areas looking at one staff members phone and I had to ask twice would they step aside to let me get some food. We are normally generous with gratuities throughout our holiday, rewarding staff for their hard work, however here it didn't seem to make any difference how generously you tipped, you still received poor service. We had to complain twice about the service, it did improve slightly on day 4 after our second complaint to management and guest relations. The only exception to poor service was that provided by Mohammed Kamal and Saad Adham in the buffet restaurant, these two were exceptional in their attitude to their work with their friendly and helpful manner. |Entertainment:- can't really comment as we didn't go to the amphitheatre where it took place as it was outside, you had to sit on concrete and it was shared with next door with children attending ( the Baron is AO but shares entertainment area with next door). We walked down one evening and it was a music quiz. |Laundry service:- paid for express service to be returned by 5, had to call reception twice for it to be finally returned at 8pm. There was a stain on a shirt that wasn't on when it went to the laundry. |You don't get a second chance to make a first impression and the Baron Palms failed miserably. |Definitely not a 5T or 5. Not worth the money paid in comparison to other 5T 5 resorts in Egypt we have holidayed at. Can...

This was a very last minute booking as original holiday had to be cancelled due to illness. We arrived very late, nearly midnight, check in was professional and quick, offered food but we just wanted to get unpacked and sleep.||We arrived late in May for 11 days and the hotel was getting much busier on leaving, plenty of sunbeds but probably not where you want one, we had no issues without getting up at daft o'clock.||The pool guys are excellent moving beds and brollies. Sunbeds are comfortable and the pools are good sizes, if not a little bracing when you first get in. Drinks around the pool are an added bonus but some of the guys not always aware of who ordered or who needed one, however they did remember what you wanted as your drink.||The hotel grounds are highly maintained with gardeners and cleaners all saying hello - really friendly.||Our room was at the front of the hotel looking out on gardens, a road hidden by trees and then a large cleared site with some building but obviously no work had taken place for a long time. We got sun on the balcony in the afternoon so really pleasant to have morning tea without cooking and by the time we left the pool sun was getting lower so still hot. BTW pool rooms get sun first thing making balconies quite unusable due to the intense heat. ||The room itself was fine, a good size, bathroom somewhat of it's day but the shower was large enough and had great pressure - always a bonus. Biggest bonus was no putting cards in slots to turn on the electricity. Room cleaned and mini bar stocked everyday. Room service is an additional cost but it is very reasonable - we used it after we had been out late. Wde had a late checkout cost £40 until 6pm.||The food is wide and varied as long as you enjoy HOT fayre on bakingly hot days. There was a distinct lack of quality cold products but nearly everyone found something. The hotel said we could eat at the speciality restaurant every evening but their menu is quite limited so we also ate int he buffet and the chef prepared us a special dish. We enjoyed the Egyption restaurant and the chicken and koftas were excellent and the bread that comes is out of this world. The hotel has to cater for a myriad of guests from many different nations but at times we struggled to find a plate of food with the right balance for us. Desserts and ice cream are good and the pastries for breakfast are excellent. Staff in the restaurant are attentive and know what you like to drink very quickly. A big shout out to the restaurant manager who made sure we could always find something.||We didn't use the beach or the beach bar so can't comment and the entertainment can be very hit or miss.||We enjoyed our after dinner drinks and coffee at the paradise restaurant.||The staff make your holiday a pleasure here as they are so helpful and friendly especially as the hotel doesn't provide you with a map so if it's your first time you can get lost very easily but regardless of the job they do they are always on hand to help you.||We tip throughout our holiday and also take chocolate for staff to share eg m&m's, maltesers, celebrations - I always emply them into a bowl and make sure they share, chocolate is something they wouldn't buy themselves. Remember they work 12 hour days, 7 days a week for 2 months with 2 weeks off so every little helps and is...