We have just returned from our one week holiday in Sultan Gardens and I feel with the obligation to give my honest and non-biased opinion as I always take into consideration the reviews on Tripadvisor and this time I feel I was a bit misguided.

This was our first time in Sharm and my expectations based on Tripadvisor reviews were quite high. Well, this holiday ended up being ok-ish, my expectations weren't entirely fulfilled and it was a bit of a dissapointment, however it doesn't mean that I had a bad time or didn't enjoy my stay in Sultan Gardens. I was hoping for a relaxing 5 star holiday with a touch of luxury and some wow! factor and personally I didn't get that.

I am sure this is the perfect hotel for many many people, and I am aware how difficult it is to cater for everyone's taste, but if you are like me, a couple looking for a bit of arabian-relaxing-luxury place at a good price, you better consider going somewhere else. Let me explain.

First of all, be informed of where you are going. This is a huge resort in a very hot country during summer. Your room may be located far away from the main areas and moving around can be a problem if you go with elderly people or kids. It is also interesting to reflect that Sharm is a vast complex of hotels artificially created in the middle of the dessert and apart from the hotels, the airport and some shops there is just nothing more than sand and mountains of rubble. So forget your after dinner strolls because outside the hotel gates there is nothing, and in order to go to Naama bay or Old market you'll need to take a taxi and pay european prices for the half an hour ride.

Having said that, the standard of food is good, there is a clear effort to cater for all needs, with the fresh pasta the cooking station, salads, fish, meats... just keep in mind that if you are an English breakfast fan, there is no pork, and food may get a bit boring towards the end of your stay, particulary the breakfast.

The drinks choice and quality is very poor and outside the main restaurant, drinks are served in horrible small white plastic birthday-like cups or if you are lucky in some scratched trasparent plastic glasses served not by waiters but by liquid pourers. I am not a snob, but on holiday we all deserve a bit of finesse and atention to detail, don't we? The same applies to bedroom furniture and decor which has definitely seen better days, our kettle wouldn't work, the TV remote control was useless as you had to stand up and approach the TV really close to make it work, the air-con couldn't barely cope with the heat... Those little things won't ruin your holiday, but to me, they make a difference.

The communal areas on the contrary are excellent, very well kept, clean and even stylish. It is fair to say that there were also a few nice "unexpected" touches like the quality of the bed and linens, a bottle of mineral water every morning, the bathrobes and the cleanliness of the room, the gym...

Service is generally good, and we've come across geniune nice and helpful people, but be aware that on the whole, the tourist in Egypt is some kind of cow and they'll try to milk you as much as they can everywhere you go. I don't generally tip much but I am sure the difference between my coke poured in a small white plastic cup and someone elses drink served with a smile in a clean long transparent glass with ice is either a nice pair of boobs or a generous tip. Sad but true, tips take you a long way in Egypt.

Italians, Polish and Russian customers can be sometimes rude and annoying, but so can the English, it has more to do with people's education and class which I felt there was a majority of middle-low for the average customer in this hotel.

I wouldn' mind if the hotel inforces the rules that already states that people should wear clothes in reception, dress appropriately in the restaurant and not reserve sunbeds. Rules are for the wellbeing of the holidaymaker and they weren't enforced at all.

If your standards are not too high, I am sure Sultan Gardens offer good value for money, but if you want a hotel with a bit of indulgence, a bit of pampering and luxury with your other half, maybe Sharm and Sultan Gardens are not for you. I did enjoy my time there but my experience there lacked the finesse and attention to detail I was hoping for.

Some tips:

- Forget the fish restaurant, the 18 euros extra per person are not worth paying for, unless you are really in need for a calming and romantic dinner which may happen due to the hectic ambiance in the main restaurant... The Italian is OK if you want a bit of change but the quality of food is very standard and the heat made our dinner very uncomfortable..

- Choose pool 1 for relaxation and 2 or 3 with you are with kids or tend to speak very loud. Reserve your sunbeds as the rest do or you'll find yourself confined in a corner on the most uncomfortable sunbeds. The beach is often noisy, full of stones and you will be often harassed to have a massage done, paragliding, jet skiing, informed about the "entertainment" etc. Err... playing possum doesn't always work.

Snorkeling is without a doubt the best thing about Sharm so grab or buy your equipment the first day there and enjoy.

- About the entertainment in the hotel, the terms embarrasing and awful acquire a new dimension here. You really have to experience the famous fat guy karaoking to believe it, and the animation team sketches, just ridiculous and inappropriate for the young audience. Avoid at all cost and watch TV or read a book. How difficult and expensive would it be to project a nice movie in the great amphitheatre?

- Follow common sense to avoid tummy troubles, I had it but I wouldn't blame the food, just drink plenty of water, don't drink much alcohol (specially the all included one), clean your hands a lot, avoid drastic temperature changes and you'll be alright.

Returned last week from 7 night's at the Sultan Gardens (myself ,husband, son (15) & nephew (18)), we all agreed that a week was not long enough. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, the staff were all fabulous, so helpful & obliging, nothing was too much trouble. This applied to reception, the great staff at pool number 1, our room attendant & the restaurant staff - all were suberb. Three of our party are pretty fussy when it comes to food, there was always something to suit all. The Italian restaurant was good as was the fish restaurant, worth paying the reasonable price to enjoy the fish & seafood, excellent service received in both. Our travel rep allocated was 'You Travel' again great service, we enjoyed the Rasmohamed snorkelling trip & the quad bike trip in the desert is a must do - it was fab!
The snorkelling from the beach is great, there is day & evening entertainment on offer if you wish to participate, or, if like us you want a quiet time, you are able to do this too.

We returned from this hotel on 9/7/09 having stayed 2 weeks. On arrival reception staff were very efficient and polite, the hotel manager went out of his way to ensure my wife and i celebrated our wedding anniversary in style.
The food was excellent and varied with certain dishes such as pasta being served freshly cooked. The waiters were very attentive and professional, in particular our waiter Khalil who made sure our every needs were catered for.
The complex as a whole was very large, but immaculate and staff worked meticulosly to ensure both private accomodation and communal areas were maintained to a high standard.
Although there were several pools, we spent the majority of our time at the "quiet pool". The staff at this pool (in particular Mohammed, Sabir and Ahmed) were extremely friendly and eager to please.
Overall we found the hotel fantastic, and would recommend it to anyone.

We recently stayed in the Sultan Gardens for our Honeymoon. We booked this on the basis of the reviews on Trip Advisor and the Price.
Before arriving I requested a sea view room which we got, we also booked the shuttle bus which was there when we arrived with a cold bottle of water, which was really needed.

The hotel was lovely and the staff were fantastic. This was our 4th trip to Egypt so we knew that Egyptian 5 star is not the same as the english system and not as high standard.
Our room was fantastic and very large, the bathroom was lovely and clean. The bath robes were a lovely touch and well used by me.
The food was lovely, as with all hotels they try to cater for everyone and the theme was changed daily. My husband is a picky eater and he was more than happy with the food available, he did eat a lot of pasta. We went to the italian twice which was lovely though due to the heat it was a little uncomfortable (but you expect that in June). The food was great but due to booking it a week in advance I forgot what I had ordered.
There was a couple of days where I was ill and we had to cancel one of the Italian meals, they brought me water and sprayed the room. They also rang me in the room the next day to make sure I was alright and offered me Crackers to eat, I was feeling much better.
The pools were very large and they were very busy, there was a lack of sunbeds from about 8.30am but I did see the staff trying to locate extra beds and moving them around the pool areas to accommodate people.

I would like to specifically mention Ibrahim on reception- what a wonderful man, he offered assistance when ever we went to the desk. Also Essam Mohammed in the Lord Inn Bar- though he was very busy he was always smiling and getting us our drinks order.
All in all we loved this hotel and will definatley be returning as soon as we can.