Too much construction work going on!

I decided to take a relaxing break to Egypt earlier this year. Unfortunately the Intercontinental was far from that with constant building works going on next door and actually at the hotel itself from 6am to 7pm. We had a lovely room with sea view but couldn't sit out on our balcony due to constant banging and digging. Not great!

Great place to relax, enjoy the scenery

Just returned from an extremely enjoyable week at the Intercontinental Hotel. We (family with 2 boys aged 12 and 15) had large interconnecting rooms overlooking the pool and sea, only a few minutes from the beach. Fantastic views and superb weather, just make sure you get down to the beach early for a good sunbed position! Boys loved the snorkelling(amazing sea-life just near the hotel), but they also appreciated the English satellite channels on the TV, with a good choice of movies and American sitcoms! The Movenpick ice-cream and excellent pizzas went down well too.

Prices for meals and drinks were extremely reasonable for a 5 star hotel. We found the vast majority of the staff (especially those in Los Amigos and the Horizon) very friendly, courteous and eager to please, with most possessing a good sense of humour! Breakfast buffet was great, freshly cooked pancakes and omelettes, fantastic pastries!

Although it's a lovely place, and it was nice to be able to relax in peace, the hotel is a bit lacking in atmosphere at night. It's easy and cheap to hop in a taxi to Naama Bay if you want a change of scenery. The walkway by the beach there is well worth a visit, as is The Hard Rock Cafe... Check out the staff performing an Egyptian version of the Macarena!

The best restaurant we visited, however, was the Thai in the neighbouring Hyatt hotel. From the Intercontinental, you can stroll along a path adjacent to the beach to reach the Hyatt in less than 10 minutes. The path is manned by very polite security men just keeping an eye on things...

Overall the hotel was great, perfect for a quiet family holiday, but if you want to be able to walk into Naama Bay, I would recommend staying in one of the more central hotels.

Incredibly Beautiful Red Sea Resort

This was our first time to Sharm el Sheikh and the Red Sea. We were amazed at the beauty of this resort. The lobby is breathtaking with its high ceilings, Moorish arches and view of the sea. All of the facilities were great. We tried three pools (maybe there were more) and our favorite is the one closest to the sea. There is a restaurant and bar right there and it is a short walk to the shore. Our room with terrace was very tranquil and well decorated. We were within easy walking distance to the main building. This is something you might want to check on because you could end up pretty far away. The food was very good, staff was attentive and everywhere we turned there was a beautiful view.

Absolutely fantastic

We went just before xmas and paid a very good price for a week (£400). The drive up to the hotel is awesome and you definitely felt this was one of the best hotels in Sharm. We were lucky enough to compare it with other hotels which we saw on the way and they didn't even match the Intercontinental. Upon arrival we were told we had a twin room which I was not happy about. The staff were quick to sort this out and up graded us to suite on the beach front at no extra charge... which I thought was fantastic of them.

The restaurants were above average and I would recommend the lebanese restaurant in the hotel. The food was delicious and very cheap. I did feel the hotel restuarants lacked a certain atmosphere though as they weren't very busy while we were there.

The private beach was heaven. Being a keen diver and snorkeller, the reef just off the jetty was amazing... we saw many species of fishes.

I spent hours in the sea!

I wouldn't recommend having half board or full board because Naama Bay has more of a selection of restaurants, although I felt it was Blackpool in the sun!

All in all the hotel and staff was first class. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a relaxing on the beach type of holiday. And take your own wine... Egyptian wine is terrible!!!

Great if you get a good deal

The Intercontinental Garden Reef is only a short 10 min journey from the Airport so transfer time is no problem.

The drive up to the gate is awesome, must be half a mile of palm lined brick paved road.

We eat out in the Mexican restaurant on our arrival night - food was decent enough even though having a mexican in Egypt was a bit wierd.

Staff & waiters couldn't do enough and were very friendly but not overly so - just right I would say.

I would definately recommend the Lebanese restaurant in the hotel though. The room is lavish, each table feels like you've got the place to yourself and again the service was excellent. But the main part was the food wow fantastic is all I can say.

Now we did eat out in Naama Bay down the road on all other nights during our stay becauseNaama Bay has a vast choice and it's cheaper than the hotel, plus it's nice to have a change of surroundings.

If you get a holiday deal like us (£420 7 nights b&b) then I cannot fault this hotel. If you're paying over £500 a head I would suggest something live the Movenpick or Hilton.

Since the hotel is so large it covers a lot of space - it's a fair walk back and forward to beach and reception/restaurants if you're in one of the far out room complexes.

Divers Lodge run the dive school on the private beach, I'm an experienced diver so booked with them for a couple of dives of their jetty and also to dive the Thistlegorm wreck.

If you're training then they are fine. If you want excursions and decent trips then go into Naama Bay and book with one of the many larger dive operators. Divers Lodge screwed up our dive trips big time.

All in all a nice hotel, can be a bit of a pain if you want to go out to Naama Bay every night cos you need a taxi or have to book very early for the free coach which is always full.

If you want to lie on the beach not venture from your own bit of paradise and maybe learn to dive then this is the place for you.

JUST DON'T GO!

Me and my friends just came back from our holidays in Intercontinental Garden Reef. You have to get a lot of tranquilizers if you choose to spend even a few days in this hotel. It is impossible to deal with the staff, which is totally impotent to handle even the minimum service demands. You'll get a glass of water far after you have finished your food. It was New Year Eve and you would see the service staff totally confused and helpless. Food was disgusting and restaurants awful. We would never go back!

Absolutley fantastic!

Me & my husband went to Sharm el sheikh on our honeymoon & stayed here. The Hotel is BEAUTIFUL, we visited all the other hotels in Sharl el sheikh, the ususal 5star hilton, marriot etc and none held any comparism to the Intercontinental. Staff is really friendly, the restaurant is good with plenty of choice., rooms are also good. We loved this hotel with its own private beach and coral reef. Downtown Sharm el sheikh where all the other hotels are is horrible, crowded and you are bothered all the time by locals trying to sell you something. One word of warning, if you are a night life person, dont bother with intercontinental, its a safe haven not a party area. But to get to sharm is not expensive, even if you use the hotels taxis, as the egyptian pound is so cheap. I can't believe the other review complaining about the taxi price, its peanuts on the exchange rate. We were never bored, we did one week of relaxing and one week on loads of trips, to the blue hole, up mount sinai mountain, on a boat snorkelling trip to some ship wrecks - but its not safe to get too close so you just stay by reef, quad biking in desert and a camel ride up from Blue Hotel to a secluded village with beach.We did not book anything through hotel, just go to Sharm and book through local agents there, there is a great one int eh shopping mall. overall, it was awesome, go and stay at this hotel! We are defiantley going back again.

Does not deserve the Intercontinental brand

It was a bad experience to be a 5 star hotel. This shall be the top-brand of ICHT group, but I think it should be rebranded to Holiday Inn. The staff was (mostly) not trained to 5 star level. The roms were spacious, but of tourist class decoration. We stayed only for two nigths.

Breakfast was overcrowded with people from countries were they dont pick up their own food when they spill it on the floor. The staff was to small to clean between the guests. Pool areas was also too crowded. And this was in July which is considered low season. Shuttlebus had too low capacity, and taxi/limo service outside tha hotel was a scam with triple prices compared to normal taxi. However, I must say that the property is impressive, but it is NOT what you will expect from an Intercontinental branded hotel

Great vacation

We've stayed at the Intercontinental for 2 weeks in September 2004 and thoroughly enjoyed it. The reef in front of the hotel is fabulous. This can be seen by the amount of boats arriving every day to have tourists dive and snorkel there (I counted 10 once). However as you are staying at the hotel you can pick up time when it is not crowded. The hotel itself is quite atmospheric, resembling a Moor city in its architecture (nice walks in the evening). There are 2 pools (one smaller by the sea and one larger inland). Guests are mixed nationalities with majority of Russian and Italian.

Food at the Olive Tree restaurant was very good: lots of fresh vegetables and vg desserts. Service was young and enthusiastic although sometimes requiring getting their attention.

Not a Very Nice Place

I visited Intercontinantal Garden Reef Resort in Sharm El Sheikh in June 2004. The hotel is beautiful and coral reef is fantastic. Front desk staff is very polite and helpful. We were given a beachview room but a view of Red Sea was limited by trees and constructions. There were also a contruction going on right next to the beach and sounds during the day were very loud and unpleasant. There were 3 free buses to Naama Bay (major and only entertainment spot) but only one at night and it was hard to get on the list. Hotel maintains own taxi park and charges almost 3-times more then a regular taxi service for a 5-min one-way trip to Naama Bay (50 Eg pounds vs 20 Eg pounds) and hotel staff refuses to call regular taxi for guests. Don't buy a board or half-board at this hotel because it's expensive and breakfast and dinner buffets at Olive Tree restaurant are not very good. You can eat breakfast at one of hotel restaurants near and on the beach and dinner in Naama Bay. There are many great and cheap restaurants in Naama Bay. I could never find any hotel management personnel to express my concerns and it took 3 days (and 10 calls) for Maintenance to change a lamp in our room. We took a tour to Cairo and were served breakfast and dinner-in the-box as a replacement for half-board. Both were exactly the same, pretty bad and very small. If you plan to visit Egypt I suggest to consider staying at another hotel in Sharm El Sheikh .