the biggest disappointment ever and hugly overpriced.We went for a family vacation 1-5 october 2008:

1- Unbeleivably overpriced. 1 piece of shripm for USD 11!!!!! (at their waves restaurant which is the pool restaurant). Salad and sandwished lunch for 4 persons cost us 200USD with non alcohol an don the pool restaurant!!

2- food quality is very poor. never try the greec salad: the feta tastes anything but fetta, the pizza tastes like bread with tomato rather than pizza.

3- food variety is very weak. even though you think they have three different restaurants (asian, lebanse and italina), you can bearly find people eating there and the food quality is so low that you'd better go elswhere.

I've visited Sharm 8 times in the last 5 years as it's the perfect destination for catching late season sunshine without far to go. The last couple of times I went to all inclusives, which although 5 star, for my taste, lacked some of the finer attention to detail that can make or break a holiday.

This time, I reverted back to picking a well known hotel chain for it's worldwide reputation and was not disappointed. There had been reports of mouldy bathrooms and shabby areas around the hotel (and believe it or not I took my own bathroom cleaner just in case!!), but this was SO NOT the case.

I chose a basic garden view room which was huge, with a refurbished bathroom (phew) which had separate toilet, shower and bath areas. No problems with lack of hot water (previously reported) and was everything you'd expect from this grade of hotel. I was offered an upgrade to sea view on arrival (you can haggle here), but decided to stick with what I'd already booked and was glad I did as from what I could see the sea view rooms would be good on a 1st floor but the ground floor you'd be looking across the pool through trees and eventually glimpse the sea.

Because I know the area very well I opted for B&B only. Breakfast was excellent which I would imagine would cater for most tastes (take your own marmite of course!). I was persuaded to stay in one night as they had a "fish market" which sounded OK. Turned out to be very expensive and a theme night which I can't stand (over £100 for two of us including drinks) and definitely was not worth the money.

Eating and drinking in the hotel was expensive, but you'd expect that in a 5 star hotel. If you could be bothered to walk 500 yards in the searing heat to fetch water from outside the hotel and keep it in your hotel room it would save you a lot of money, but hey, it's a holiday and who can be bothered? Lunch by the main pool (Waves Restaurant) was excellent - loads of choice and had something different every day. Make sure you head for one of the tented deck areas (which we assumed had to be booked and would cost more, but doesn't) where you will have your own private dining area overlooking the amazing red sea.

Every member of staff from the gardeners to reception staff are friendly and have a smile for you. Restaurant staff can't do enough for you and if there's something you like on the menu, but something you'd like to change within an individual choice, they will do their best to accommodate what you want.

A trip into Naama Bay where there are litererally hundreds of restaurants and bars is a must (costs around £4 each way in a taxi). There's so much choice and good quality places to eat - The Camel Dive Centre - check out the rooftop bar and the Indian and Italian restaurants attached. The best! And then there's the Mexican which is also fantastic. Don't expect it to be authentic Egypt though - far from it - this resort is built for tourists and you can have some highly amusing banter with the locals as you walk the strip.

Guide price for wine: Local Rose in the hotel is £30 per bottle, whereas in Naama Bay is £14. Didn't really drink anything else other than beer, but from talking to a few people they seemed to share that view.

Back at the hotel, if you're not a big fan of being in the sea with the fish (I'm not), then you can hire a "sea spy" which is a motorised 2-up boat thingy which allows you to look down into the coral without being in there! I'm now hooked as it was absolutely stunning and my first view of coral (couldn't understand what all the fuss was about from my diving mates before) - so must try to get over my fish phobia for the next trip.

Get friendly with the pool man and he'll sort you out sunbeds when you need them so you don't need to get up at the crack of dawn to put towels down! In fact the hotel discourages this which has to be applauded. There's plenty for everyone although I realise we weren't there in the height of the season.

All in all a fabulous - would recommend this hotel to anyone who wants chill out in a quiet, friendly, but non intrusive environment.

The hotel was fantastic and the pool and beach facilities were excellent. The prices in the hotel were totally extreme (£1.70 for a sprite) The La Luna (Italian) had a fantastic ambience but the portions were a joke for the price! The Cafe Restaurant had a seafood evening and i had the Mussels and i was food poisoned for 24 hours-i even fell over in the room and split my head open!! lol Always add 20% to anything you buy (Tax and Gratuity).There were no coffee and tea making facilities! Only if you upgrade to Sea View.The resort had far too many British and Irish. The weather was fab and there was not a cloud in the sky for all of our trip. I would go back if i had an iron stomach but i think we will go to the Maldives next time

The hotel grounds are beautiful and much like you'd expect from a name such as the Ritz-Carlton. The private beach was sheer luxury and we spent most of our time lounging around it. The private jetti for snorkling had some of the most amazing sealife I've seen in one area and it was never crowded unlike the neighbouring hotel resorts where you could see people squashed in a tiny area (which I guess sealife would steer clear of).

The room we booked was a standard sea-view double and that was exactly what we got. The view of the Red Sea was amazing and the room was more than spacious (could easily sleep 4 even though there was only 2 of us). The bathroom was the typical marble affair with a lovely walk-shower, seperate bath/shower and a attached toilet room. Each section of the bathroom had glass walls so multiple people could use at once (provided you don't mind showing off your modesty to each other!). The beds were very comfortable, so much so we didn't want to get up in the morning. Each room has a nice garden terrace attached which was lovely to have breakfast on (if you didn't want to brave the buffet).

The in-room dining was MUCH MUCH nicer than the restaurants themselves. Strange really but it was true. I think the restaurants were typically expensive, and more so here. The food was average, almost tasteless in the restaurants which made the price sting even more. Order it to your room however and it was much nicer, and cheaper!

Don't order wine. Egyptian wine is disgusting and imported wine is more expensive than buying champagne in a bar in London! But at the end of the day, this was only a minor downer to our stay in the Ritz. I should note that the beach bar/restaurant was pretty tasty (kebabs and sandwiches etc). Plus the extortionate alcohol prices are common to the whole area, not just the Ritz.

The hotel staff were very accommodating. They'd continuously seek approval from you which could be annoying but it was nice to see that your happiness was important to them. Most even learn your name and greet you (even though the resort is pretty huge).

Finally... The dive centre. It is fantastic. Me and my partner trained for and completed the Advanced PADI course in the week we stayed at the Ritz and only left the resort to do the dives around Ras Mohammed (a must see). The instructors are so nice and made the course really good fun (even the boring learning sessions!). If you want to learn to dive in Egypt, come here.

So in conclusion, the Ritz is fabulous, as you'd expect, just don't go thinking you'll be dining in style or anything and you won't be disappointed. The diving is probably the best you'll get around the area and the staff are second to none.