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ritz carlton vs savoy hotel in sharm el sheikh egypt

In 2006 we holidayed for the first time in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Sharm on a Bed and Breakfast basis, and this year (2007) we returned to Sharm and stayed at the Savoy on an all inclusive basis at the Royal Savoy. We stayed at both Hotels in the month of June. Both holidays were booked through lastminute.com

As we have stayed at both hotels, it is now possible for us to compare the two hotels, just in case you are thinking of staying at either The Savoy or The Ritz Carlton in Sharm El Sheikh.

We stayed in the Ritz on a B&B basis, so we cannot comment on any of the food at the Ritz other than the breakfasts and the room service food.

The breakfast spread was very good at the Ritz with every imaginable food for breakfast, sometimes we even seemed to have a five course breakfast, the Ritz even had porridge on the menu for breakfast, amongst other things such as an egg chef, cereals, pastries, meats, cheese, yoghurts, cooked food etc.

The room service at the Ritz was also very good and reasonably priced, we ate in the room about three times and the portions are very large, you did not need to order starters as well as a main dish as sometimes the starter seemed like it was a main dish. It was my girlfriend’s birthday during our stay and the Ritz even arranged a birthday cake to be brought to the room.

The standard room that we had at the Ritz Carlton was very good and quite large with two double beds. The room also had a mini bar and the bathroom had a separate shower and bath. The only downside to our bathroom was that some of the grouting in the bathroom was a little dirty.

The Ritz has three main pools and one of those was heated, which you could tell was a little warmer by a few degrees. The Ritz did not really have a beach as the sandy area seemed man made as the beach part was above the water level and rocky, although it did have some really nice wooden built seating areas. The Savoy had a very nice wide beach area with lots of sun beds and water sports to participate in.

The Ritz sun beds were really nice as they were wooden and all had really thick mattresses on them - of course towels are provided at both hotels. The Savoy beds were not padded, but they did have a useful canopy which you could use to cover your face if reading a book etc.

The waiting staff on the Ritz beach also made sure you always had drinks and they even brought you melon and cold towels to regular room guests, this happened sometimes in the Royal Savoy, but never in the normal part.

Bottled beer in the Ritz Carlton hotel was expensive at about £5.50 a bottle; we brought some Gin and other spirits at the airport and used to drink those in the room before going out, although the cheapest place to drink in Narma Bay appeared to be Hard Rock Café.

As the Ritz did not appear to have an all inclusive tariff, the hotel does appear to be more exclusive and I think it also has fewer rooms than the Savoy.

At the Savoy Hotel in Sharm we stayed at the Royal Savoy section which provides you with an upgrade room which includes four poster bed, bathrobes, slippers, flowers, DVD player, and daily pastries as well as coupons for free massages, boat trip, laundry, gala dinner and tennis court or snooker table use.

The main advantage to the Royal Savoy was also the use of your own private pool area as well as included alcoholic drinks from noon to 8pm. The Royal Savoy lounge was also very good and in here you could eat your buffet breakfast with just a few other couples, and take afternoon tea and canapés later on and drinks until 8pm. So with all this in mind staying in the Royal section was definitely value for money.

You could also stay at the Savoy on a B&B basis but stay at the Royal Savoy and still get nibbles and free drinks until 8pm, although we stayed all inclusive and had the Royal Savoy upgrade.

The Savoy Hotel does seem to be a lot larger than The Ritz, and the Savoy has more rooms, but I do not think this is a good thing. The Ritz does have a grander reception area and the site is easier to navigate as you can get lost in the Savoy on your first few days.

The main Savoy Hotel lets itself down by having the AI option, as I think this attracts a certain type of person who wants everything included at a set price. The buffet meals at the Savoy did seem to be the same every day, even though there were theme days, the food still seemed the same.

The seafood restaurant was very good at the Savoy, but all the seafood at the hotel seemed to be salmon, grouper and calamari. The Italian restaurant at the Savoy was the best restaurant.

The Savoy does have lots of bars to visit including the terrace bar on the roof of the main building and the safari bar as well as the cave bar.

One area that really let down the Savoy was the Spa, I felt that parts of the Spa in the Savoy did need a refit, the gyms at both hotels looked very similar, as did the sauna, but the changing rooms in the Savoy were a lot smaller then at the Ritz, plus you needed to pay to use the Savoy sauna, Jacuzzi and steam rooms, whereas at the Ritz you did not, you could use them anytime.

The main problem was with the Savoy steam room and Jacuzzi which needed to be re-fitted completely as the Ritz spa was newer and larger it also had a chill out room with a large bucket of cold water which you could tip over yourself. The treatment rooms also looked a lot nicer at the Ritz.

To sum up, if you like exclusivity goes to the Ritz in a normal room, or go to the Savoy but pay for the Royal Savoy upgrade.

If you are going to one of the hotels for use of the spa then go The Ritz. If you want all inclusive then go to the Savoy.

One thing to note is that if you stay at the Royal Savoy you do not need to purchase resort transfers separately, as the Royal Savoy will pick you up at the airport upon arrival to Sharm and take you to the airport for free as it is included in the package.

One thing to note about the Savoy was that we could sometimes hear airplanes taking off, as the airport is very close to the Savoy, there was none of this at The Ritz.

Related Sites of Interest

Virgin Holidays
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My Travel
Haven Holidays
lastminute.com