We recently jetted off for some sun in the October half-term, and we decided to go to Sharm El Sheikh. Here I will tell you what I thought of our holiday with my husband and our two kids at the all-inclusive V Hotel, formerly known as Pyramisa Beach Resort.
Overall, I thought this was a very nice hotel for families. It is advertised as a five-star hotel, but on balance, I think it is closer to a four-star. To be honest, that is to be expected based on the price, as it is at the cheaper end of the all-inclusive resorts we have been to that claim to be five-star.
I will tell you why I think it is a four-star hotel below, but don’t be put off by that. For the price, it is good, and there are elements that are certainly five-star; it just falls down in other areas.
Why Sharm El Sheikh?
We often head off to the Canaries in October but fancied a change this year. At the same time, we didn’t want to fly far or pay exorbitant prices for flights and hotels, and a five-and-a-half-hour flight to the Red Sea resort worked well for us.
Given there are few reliable options for warm weather at this time of year without spending silly money, Sharm El Sheikh is a popular choice. With daytime temperatures around 30 degrees and 20+ degrees at night, there is no need to pack any jumpers, while the lower humidity at the same time means the heat is never stifling.
It is relatively cheap compared to the Canaries, where we usually go. You get good bang for your buck, for sure. Some people don’t like the male-dominated society or the need to haggle in the shops, but it doesn’t bother me, and I’ll happily put up with it for the lower cost and guaranteed good weather.
Being only two hours ahead means there is little adjustment, and with sunset around 6pm, you get a nice long day to enjoy. Most of the resorts are close to the airport, and our hotel was only a 10-minute transfer away.
One thing I found interesting about Sharm is that there are a lot of Russian tourists there, which makes sense given they can’t holiday in the EU right now due to the Ukraine war, and Egypt is close for them. It’s been so long since I went on holiday alongside people from Russia, but there was no issue with it. The Russians there were lovely, and we all rubbed along well. It shows you that the issues we face in this world are all largely political, and people are just people, wherever they happen to come from.
We flew from Liverpool
We flew from Liverpool this time, which is always a pleasure compared to other airports. You can see why it comes out as one of Britain’s best airports each year.
From being dropped off at the door to sitting in departures took about 20 minutes. That included bag drop, security and a quick browse in duty-free.
The airport is big enough to have all the amenities you need but small enough that you don’t need to be an avid hiker or use travelators to get to the gates. We’ve flown from Liverpool a few times now, and it’s always been good. We’ve rarely been delayed, and we set off on holiday relaxed and happy, which is in stark contrast to Manchester, which usually makes me so stressed that it takes me two days to get into holiday mode. That’s followed by the anxiety on the last day, knowing you have to go back there.
Even if Liverpool is further away for us, I would choose it over Manchester where I can, and it is great for European and North African destinations.
V Hotel Sharm: A Solid 4-Star for Families in My Opinion
The V Hotel resort is a fairly big resort. There are over 600 rooms and suites, yet it doesn’t feel sprawling, and you can get anywhere within a 10- to 15-minute walk. There is a regular bus that drives around that you can hop on and off if you don’t fancy walking or are not able to walk far. Useful when the kids are tired or if we are heading back to the room with bags and inflatables.
There is a beach area, an area for snorkelling to see all the wonderful fish (a big reason to go to the Red Sea), two pools and one kids’ wet play park. One of the pools is a more typical and relaxed rectangular pool near the beach; the other is the main event, a large elliptical pool near reception that includes three cool water slides and a beach bar. The wet play park is great for younger kids, which is also where the kids club is. The bar there does the most amazing burgers at lunchtime – although we only found that out with two days to go, as they don’t advertise it.
All the beach areas and pools have bars, and we never struggled to find at least two beds when we needed them.
The large buffet is near the main lobby, called Eden, and there is a separate buffet in the Sea Salt restaurant near the main pool and another down near the other, smaller pool and beach. Wherever you choose to perch, you can get some lunch within about 5 minutes, and there was always space when we went.
What was good about the resort
Here are the things that I found good about the hotel, the elements that are closer to five-star:
- The staff were amazingly friendly, and there were plenty of them. Possibly the most friendly and accommodating staff I’ve ever known at one of these resorts. I didn’t queue at a bar or wait for table service for more than a couple of minutes, even at busy times. There were plenty of lifeguards. There were a lot of entertainment staff, but they were not in your face. Perhaps the only issue is that they were almost all men, but that is a cultural thing with Egypt rather than an issue with the hotel. I’ve had the same issue before in Türkiye.
- The entertainment was good both in the evening and poolside. They really love their inflatable animals and displays. The kids could get popcorn and drinks on demand, and there was always plenty of space, so you didn’t need to arrive early. My kids said it was the best hotel entertainment they had seen, so that alone means I will give it full marks.
- The room was spacious and nice and clean, with big beds. The air con was great. This is important for me, as I’ve been to hot countries with poor air con before, and it can make the holiday hell. It was a bit loud in the room, but that’s a price I will happily pay to stay cool.
- The swimming pools and slides are really good. The water is warm and clean. The pools, slides and wet play park were never overcrowded. My kids adored them.
- We often go abroad at the end of the October half-term, over Halloween, and this was the best hotel we’ve been to for it. They really went to town, and both kids and adults enjoyed the numerous displays and interactive features. The entertainment staff made Halloween itself a brilliant experience.
- If you like snorkelling and diving, you will love this hotel. You can be snorkelling, looking at the most wonderful fish and corals, 5 minutes after leaving your room. Wonderful.
- There is an adults-only area with an infinity pool. It was nice to go to on occasion when our kids were busy in the main pool or on the slides, giving us a nice opportunity for a break and a drink away from the children.
- Of an evening, you can pay just $5 per car to go on these cool electric bumper cars in the pool, or maybe we should call them bumper boats. Different and well worth it.
- If you like shisha, then it is only $12, and you can get it in the bars, in the Lebanese restaurant or by the pool, with lots of flavours available and regular top-ups.
What was OK
These are the aspects I thought were decent but not necessarily five-star:
- The food was nice, and there was plenty of it, but it wasn’t special. There is a good mix of options in the buffet for Brits, Italians and Russians, who make up most of the guests. There are stations for pasta, grilled meats, pizza and other things cooked fresh, but there wasn’t anything I felt was particularly Egyptian, which was a bit of a shame.
- There are five signature restaurants, but only two, the Lebanese one and the Mongolian one, would I describe as special. The Chinese and Italian options were simply OK. The Indian option we didn’t get to go to, which you can read about in the not-so-good bits next.
- There are no maps anywhere, and when we asked for one, we were told they don’t have them. This means you struggle to find out about things, like the wet play park doing burgers at lunchtime, as I mentioned earlier. We knew about the snorkelling area, but it took us three days to find out about other beach areas, and even then, we only discovered that as we got the bus going the wrong way by chance.
- The mini-golf was basic at best. If you are blind with one arm, perhaps it would be a challenge, but otherwise, it is a waste of space.
- The Wi-Fi was not great; it was like going away 15 years ago. Fine for checking emails and sending WhatsApp messages, but don’t be expecting to stream videos by the pool.
What was not so good
- My single biggest issue was no soap in the toilets and sometimes no toilet paper. At least 50% of the time I went to the toilet, there was no soap, and my eldest was left with a dirty bottom when he found no toilet paper after rushing to the loo by the smaller pool. My husband also said there were several blocked urinals and, at one point, had to walk all the way to reception to find a toilet with both soap and toilet paper. Soap and toilet paper should not be seen as luxuries. V Hotel really needs to sort this out; it is a health and hygiene issue. That is not on in something that calls itself five-star. Plus, there are not enough toilets generally, so you will sometimes find yourself queueing to use them. My husband got particularly annoyed at finding women in the men’s toilets on several occasions because there are just not enough cubicles in the women’s.
- One of the perks of going to resorts like this is the specialist dining options. V Hotel has five of them, as mentioned above. Each guest is entitled to book each one once, but you cannot book in advance, so you can only do it when you get there. We were only able to book four of them, and all at the end of our stay, despite trying every day to book the fifth. This isn’t good enough for a hotel that claims to be five-star. If you offer five signature restaurants and all guests are entitled to go to each once, then it should be guaranteed. This made us a little unhappy but not enough to wreck the trip.
- The main buffet for the first hour at dinnertime is horrifically busy. If you do not get in as soon as it opens, then you will not get a table. It was sad to see the number of people with plates of food having to stand up and eat or take their food out. That is not good enough for a supposed five-star hotel. On the days we went to the main buffet, called Eden, we had to go late, but for many people with very young kids, that wouldn’t work. They should either control the flow better with allocated dining times or make more space in the restaurant.
- While I said there were lots of staff, and that is true, there were not enough maintenance staff. Too many walkways were damaged, with cracked and broken stones. In our room, the bathroom was not in good shape, with lots of water damage and a cracked and bowing ceiling that felt like it could fall in at any point. There were lots of gardeners; perhaps they could move a few of those over to maintenance.
Top Tips
My first tip would be tips. I would recommend you get some Egyptian pounds for tips. We tipped around 200 Egyptian pounds for good service, which works out at about £2.50. Tipping can really make a difference here for extra-attentive service.
You could also take some US dollars if you have any at home. They are interchangeable in the country, no surprise given how much aid they get from the US. If you take dollars, they are also more useful if you have any left over, as you can use them in so many other countries.
You are expected to haggle in shops, both those attached to the hotel and outside. If you take the first price, you will seriously overpay. We went to a minimarket that quoted an initial price equivalent to £10 for a tube of Pringles. Once you haggle a bit, the prices are very fair.
If you are a woman, you will be told how beautiful you are and offered a hand in marriage several times a day. Try not to be offended; it is a cultural difference, and they are not serious. They mean it in a flattering way.
I would go again but I’d take my own soap
I would definitely go to Sharm El Sheikh and the V Hotel again unless they put their prices up a lot. It’s not five-star, but I don’t think it should be for what we paid versus what we usually pay for five-star all-inclusive. The old adage that you get what you pay for is true here, but it is plenty good for a lovely family holiday.
I do really hope they can get better with their toilet facilities, though. That is something I would be checking before I would book again.