I’ll try to make this review more factual which answers questions that I would have liked to have known the answers to before we went!

Booked with On The Beach and were superb as always.

This holiday cost us the same as it would for a good B and B in Llandudno or the like for 5 nights. Unbelievable value for a two week stay.

We had no concerns about any threats due to the troubles in Cairo. Sharm is literally built for tourism and is miles away from any trouble. The hotel security and various check points are very thorough. There are no Government (UK) travel warnings to Sharm so just go or miss out big time!

Flew with Easyjet who were also surprisingly brilliant (was unsure what to expect with them). Much better than BA or any other airline we’ve used in the past. The programme “Airport” really does them a disservice!

Stayed from 7th Jan’ to 21st Jan 2012.

This hotel is absolutely superb. It really is. Its location is the best we’ve had and this was our fourth holiday in Sharm. To look out while having coffee or lunch on that stunning view was just amazing.

AIRPORT:
Only about 20 mins from the airport. Sharm airport has been modernised and they have done a superb job. Plenty of space now and even rivals ones in the USA we used.

SAFE IN ROOM:
Very easy digital one to set up. Did the job nicely. Free to use.

ELECTRICITY:
Standard 2 pin as you would use in Europe.

WEATHER IN JANUARY:
We were concerned about this as didn’t believe it would be sunny just five hours plane journey away BUT were very wrong! We woke up every single morning to hot sun. We sunbathed every day until at least 3pm. After about 4pm the wind does go a little chilly but only enough for a jumper or cardigan. The evenings were also cool but just needed a jacket. No rain, some moderate winds but absolutely guaranteed sun. There was just one cloudy day but again the sun was in full force until about 12pm. The sun sets at 17.10ish (stunning views of this from the terrace). It was heaven to have such warmth in January.

MOBILE USE AND WIFI:
As from past experience in other hotels and getting a massive bill once for using the hotel phone we just took a pay as you go sim from Tmobile which usually works but didn’t this time-could only send SMS and not MMS or call anyone or receive calls. Other Brits had the same problem. I would say, take an unlocked phone and buy an Egyptian Sim from the Mal shops if you must or just send a text which is enough while away in my opinion. I wouldn’t take my contact phone as the charges are very high too. The only Wifi we found was in Starbucks which was a bit slow. Used the hotel computer for half an hour which was cheap just to check the flight and that worked OK but again a bit slow! Anyway, who wants to be stuck emailing and checking Facebook constantly when in such a beautiful location (not me!). I was glad of the break from the flipping internet and mobile phone for once!

TV:
There are two good movie channels (24hrs) which show recent English movies with Arabic subs. Also a good music channel and oh so very boring BBC world (yawn!).

BEACH:
The hotel is on the beach and you just walk down some steps to it. The sun beds could have been a little better as didn’t have pads on and were quite uncomfortable to lie on but there were plenty of them and nice big towels to use too. There is a beach bar which is lovely to sit at to admire the view of the sea etc.

FOOD:
The all-inclusive really is just that. If people say the food is ‘samey’ or repetitive then they are piling their plates with too much as the hotel could not do any more variation if they tried. Beautiful chicken, beef, liver, pasta, salads etc. The lunch is served on the terrace with fresh meat being cooked all the time. There is an Italian restaurant which again is included in the AI which is lovely. Free cocktails, spirits, lovely lager, wine. The only thing you don’t get is bottled water but we bought big bottles from the local shop and they allow you to fill them up from their water coolers which are everywhere.

MONEY:
Change this at the local HSBC Bank. Their rate was excellent ie 9.1LE to £1 the best we’ve ever got. Simply walk out of the hotel reception, turn left and walk for about 20 mins. It’s very safe although you get peeped by a million taxi drivers but just ignore them! When you see a large Go-kart with an Egyptian Statue sitting in it on your left the bank is on the right in the row of shops. You can’t go wrong, just keep walking straight from the hotel and you’ll come to it. If you walk a little further after the bank, on your right is another row of shops and there’s a cracking supermarket beginning with a B (Basskara I think?) which is cheap and everything is priced. Very useful. The bank shuts on a Friday but is open 9-5pm every other day. The ATM is outside the bank which I used too. There is also an excellent little shop just outside the ‘Residence Fanara’ entrance – go out of the main entrance of the hotel, turn left and walk for about 5 mins and it’s on your left.

ROOM:
We had a twin room which was spacious, very well maintained with big patio doors leading on to the balcony which over-looked a very quiet road. To the right you could sea the beautiful Red Sea. The sun beamed in from 6am ish but the blackout curtains did a good job. The air con was very efficient as was the heating which we used occasionally in the evening. Lovely big shower. Plenty of space in the bathroom and mirrors tall enough for even me at 6ft 3” (a rare find!) Hot water whenever we needed it. Obviously you don’t drink the tap water but we cleaned our teeth in it no problem. Ramadan, our cleaner did a superb job. Very quiet at night and no noise from other rooms.

CLIENTAL:
We were really pleased that there weren’t many Brits here! The Brits we said hello too were perfectly lovely people but we prefer to talk to the locals and staff rather than people from home. The last thing I want to talk about while away is my job or family. There is quite a mixture, very few Brits, mostly Russian and Italian. We didn’t feel isolated at all as the main language people try and use is English.

ENTERTAINMENT:
This was the ONLY slight negative for us. The animation team don’t really speak English and we couldn’t follow the shows we saw as were in Italian. To be honest ‘shows’ is a bit of an overstatement! They have this lovely Amphitheatre, which over looks the sea, but only use it a few times. The terrace show was good with dancers (Oriental show) but would have been better in the theatre for viewing purposes. By the second week we just went a walk after our evening meal and then watched whatever was on, if anything in the hotel. You certainly wouldn’t stay in deliberately to catch one of their shows! In the day there’s the usual stretching, water polo etc and the animation team aren’t in your face, which is good.

TRIPS:
We planned to go to Naehma Bay. There is a shuttle bus but you have to pay a small amount in the evening. If you walk out of the hotel to the left and keep going a bit, there is a nice shopping mal with a Starbucks etc.

TAXI’S
ONLY use the hotel taxi’s. I learned this from a bad experience. Unfortunately my wife slipped in the shower on day four. No one’s fault, just an accident. The hotel Dr. was superb and sent us to South Sinai Hospital (about 10 mins away thankfully) and after X-ray she needed surgery as had a bad fracture. She had a general anaesthetic and stayed in for three days. VERY stressful as you can imagine! I left her the first night as they were waiting for parts for the operation to be flown from Cairo over night and got into a blue taxi. Bearing in mind we have used the blue (registered) taxi’s many times before when in Sharm and were always advised by Rep’s to only use these as are registered, I had no worries. I asked the driver how much to Hotel Fanara, he said 30 Egyptian pounds. As I was still distressed my brain wouldn’t compute and I couldn’t work out how much that was in £’s, so I said I would leave it and planned to work it out on my phone before getting another taxi. He then said how much in English was I willing to pay, so I said £4, which I thought was fair. He agreed and pestered me to get in.

On the way he started to increase the price, first to 10 English pounds then 20 then up to 40. He was driving very fast and pointed at my bag for me to get money out. By this time I really thought I was being driven somewhere to be mugged and he reached over to get at my bag. He then shouted and showed me some notes asking if I understood. Although shaking inside I stayed calm and told him I had no money in my bag and I would get it from the hotel room. He appeared to be under the influence of some illicit substance to be honest. Thankfully when we arrived at the hotel I had a plan in mind to go straight to reception. He tried to follow me in but hotel security wouldn’t let him gain entrance. I told an English speaking receptionist (thank you again Mohammed!) who interpreted for me. It went on for a while and by this time about 12 men/staff from the hotel were with me holding him back/protecting me. I eventually paid him 30 Egyptian pounds and left as he was becoming physically threatening. Like I said, the hotel staff were SUPERB. From that point on I ONLY used the hotel taxi service. Their prices are totally fair and you only have to wait minutes. With my many trips to the hospital all the drivers I had including Abdo were excellent. Obviously I wouldn’t like to say that all blue taxi drivers are the same, but I would not risk it again as they can charge you just what they want. I think their legislation needs tightening considerably.

HOLIDAY INSURANCE and HEALTHCARE IN SHARM:
From the above I can only advise people to ensure you take out reputable insurance. In the past I’ve done the Moneysupermarket searches and got the ridiculously cheap ‘budget’ ones which may be OK, I don’t know. This time I went with Columbus Direct and only had to pay the excess as they covered it all as was an accident. The fees were £5,000 for the operation plus hospital stay, plus everything else which probably added up to about £10,000. The British lady in the next bed to my wife had to be repatriated at a cost of £60,000 plus all other fees. She had only slipped in her hotel restaurant damaging her pelvis.

The healthcare in the hospital was FIRST CLASS, much better than we get here. I can’t thank them all enough and most spoke good English. I would NEVER go away again without full insurance from a proper broker such as Columbus (check who the underwriters of the policy are) and if you have pre-existing conditions such as Asthma etc, make sure you cover those as well as they will not pay out if you have a problem related to a pre-existing condition. At one point I had vision of having to re-mortgage our house but thankfully we got back home in one piece on the scheduled flight thanks to the hospital’s “Fit to fly’ certificate which the airline insisted on before letting us on the plane. After coming out of the hospital the medics advised her to rest which we did by the pool and on the beach. The hotel staff were SO caring it was quite humbling. As Christians, prayer and faith got us through.

THE HOTEL ITSELF:
Now, this is the really good bit! It is a beautiful hotel. Immaculately manicured gardens, stunning palm trees and a view which you could never tire of if looking at every single day of the year and it is a changing pallet with the sun and sea’s reflections. We have never stayed at a beach hotel before in Sharm. The previous hotels, although excellent had a shuttle bus to their beach and it is not the same. To be actually on the beach is worth gold. Even with all the stress of what happened, just to look at that view lifted our spirits so very much with the heat of the sun.

It is a large hotel but the main bits are condensed together which is nice. The restaurant is spacious and you’re not all crammed in. Plenty of tables. The lighting is just right and the service is exceptional – tables cleared very quickly. Lunch on the terrace as I said is wonderful. In the afternoon you get pizza and hot dogs if you want, with cocktails and Madeira cake. As an avid starbucks fan we love our proper coffee and that’s just what you get here. Wonderful cappuccino and latte of Starbucks quality.

We didn’t use the pools but were very clean as were all the toilets. I went in the sea which was lovely and warm but can’t snorkel unfortunately due to a back problem. The fish I saw around my feet (no I didn’t stand on any coral!) were so colourful.

The service here from EVERY member of staff is quite brilliant. Nothing is too much trouble and they work so very VERY hard. We usually tip well but due to all the expense of the hospital etc our cash dwindled somewhat so weren’t as generous as we would have liked to have been. The hotel manager even gave me his personal number after my wife was in hospital. All so kind.

We would MOST HIGHLY recommend this superb establishment and really hope to go again.