We flew from Tbilisi for 50 minutes and arrived at the "Maldives of Sinai"

The flights to Sharm el-Sheikh only started 5 months ago and the Israelis once again occupied Sinai, this time from the air.

So we stayed at the most pampering resort in the turquoise sea opposite the Straits of Tiran - the "Four Seasons" - and guess what?

Even if we added flights - it's still cheaper there than a holiday in Eilat

Ziv Reinstein

09/29/2022

Thursday, September 29, 2022, 11:09 a.m. Updated: 12:36 p.m.

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Four Seasons Hotel, Sharm el-Sheikh, Sinai (photo: Ziv Reinstein, editing: Jordana Aboudi Fox)

An hour before check-out, at breakfast, the assistant manager of one of the restaurants took out a business card from his wallet and said: "Mr. Ziv, I was very happy to serve you and I hope to see you again soon. Here are my details for anything you need in the future."

He knew he probably wouldn't see me again in his life, but the "small talk" we had at the pool, in restaurants, every time he passed by, was enough.

And that's the whole story of the "Four Seasons" resort in Sharm el-Sheikh - service and personal attention.

And here is another example of amazing room service: the cable of my charger next to the bed, nicely arranged in a loop and under the mouse of the laptop they put their own pad.

Want more?

The bed that was full of pillows, most of which, except for two I moved to the couch, were taken from the room and I no longer saw them - that is, they understood my preference.

And there was also a bottle of water with my name in English and a photo taken from my WhatsApp photo.

very cool.

There will be more beautiful hotels, with bigger pools and a spectacular view than this resort - but it is impossible not to be moved by a simply perfect service you receive at the hotel, which makes your vacation memorable.

Infinity, baby.

One of the pools at the Four Seasons (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

And this is already a private pool in one of the luxury suites at the resort (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

Once all this was "ofira".

The hotel's private beach (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

164 private suites and 12 different restaurants

The flights to Sharm only started five months ago, and the Israelis wasted no time (despite the expensive prices they quoted up to 800 dollars for a 50-minute flight) and once again conquered Sinai, this time also from the air.

More than 72 thousand Israelis have already visited the former Israeli "Ophira", aka Sharm el-Sheikh, and Sukkot is still ahead of us.

Sharm doesn't need much to offer a crazy holiday that has it all.

Its location in the south of the Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba, right in front of the Straits of Tiran and the reefs rich in fish, has made it a center of attraction for divers from all over the world and luxury hotels have been built there to pamper those looking for a belly, but a little more upgraded than the senses of Ras e Satan and Dahab.

Such is the "Four Seasons Sharm el-Sheikh", which belongs to the global luxury hotel chain and opened in May 2002. It is considered by many to be the best and most prestigious hotel in Sharm, although it has competitors in the form of Rixos, Savoy and others, but its advantage is that it is a resort, and not a hotel net.

That is, 315 rooms and suites spread over an area of ​​more than 300 dunams, with two huge pools, an adjacent private beach and its own diving center.

Some of the suites have private pools and many of them also have work rooms, a private kitchen and even a bedroom for the children's nanny, if you bring one with you.

The Kids Club is also a cute gymboree with lots of games and creative corners managed by some local kindergarteners,

They all speak English of course.

Throughout the resort there is a lot of nature and pink and white bougainvillea bushes, fountains and small lakes and more than 3,000 palm trees (!) - just like a medium-sized date plantation in the prairie.

Last March, the resort underwent a major renovation in which 89 rooms, 164 private suites were added (including the most expensive suite called "The Palace"), a gym that is open 24/7, a tennis court, a spa, and six bars and restaurants - and a total of 12 different restaurants, including Mexican, Asian ( "Yatai" is the newest), a meat grill, and the Lebanese "Zaytouni", which offers great Middle Eastern food with touches of Beirut, and where you also eat the excellent breakfast, loaded with smoothies chasers with different fruits, pita bread with zaatar and other Familiar and surprising things.

Precisely in the part of the butter, they kind of missed it, and combined cheap "Lorpak" butter.

For the cuisine, and there is, as mentioned, a lot of it, the Italian super chef Sebastiano is in charge, although every restaurant has its own chef: in Mexican - Mexican, in Lebanese - Lebanese and as an export in this.

A look (and only a look) at the most expensive suite in the hotel - the "Palace" (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

164 private suites, this is one of the most luxurious of them (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

12 different restaurants in the resort.

A dish at the state-of-the-art "Yatai" restaurant (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

This is an appetizer at the Mexican restaurant "Luna" (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

25 percent of the guests - from Israel

Beyond the extensive renovation this year, the signs of which can still be seen in the dozens of Egyptian workers who arrive every day at the resort complex, the Four Seasons does not stand still, and is constantly evolving.

"In the future, a golf course and a marina that will be built right next to our beach are also planned, and the rooms that have not yet been renovated - will all be renovated according to the new standard," explains Sam Ioannidis, the hotel's CEO for the past three years. According to him, there are also ecological plans to preserve the reef next to the hotel's beach, After all, Sharm without diving is another beach along the Red Sea, nothing more.

Ioannidis loves the Israelis who come to his hotel in Sharm.

According to him, we make up about 25 percent (!) of the total occupancy at the hotel - a figure that quite surprised me - but he explains this in the "value for money" they receive against the competitor - Eilat.

"Every Israeli I talk to likes the short flight distance, the security here, the cleanliness and the selection of drinks and food," he says.

"They are also overwhelmed by the staff who are so nice."

And all in all, Ioannidis is right.

Why pay tens of thousands of shekels for a family at the peak of the season for a few days in a hotel in Eilat with Israeli overcrowding, when for the same price you can soak up a European atmosphere abroad and much newer and more affordable facilities only a 50 minute flight from Tel Aviv?

, for a family vacation of 2+2 per week in a 5-star hotel in Eilat, opposite the Four Seasons in Sharm.

(we checked 4 hotels) you will pay from NIS 19,000 for the whole family.

12 thousand only.

So it is true that you have to add four flights that make everything more expensive (NIS 1,700-1,500 per person), but guess what: it still comes out cheaper than just a hotel in Eilat.

Just ridiculous.

A foreign atmosphere and facilities are much more profitable. The pool at the resort (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

Even with the flights, it's still cheaper there than in Eilat.

The airport in Sharm el-Sheikh (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

A hotel wedding for 13 million dollars

Beyond the sea and the infinity pool that the resort has to offer, the Four Seasons boasts a diving center that offers the sea activities you are familiar with from Eilat - banana, paragliding attached to a boat, etc., which are quite unnecessary in my opinion and not the cheapest.

A banana will cost $30 per person for 10 minutes, a paraglider $75 for another 10 minutes.

But an activity you should not miss is of course snorkeling, and as mentioned, there is a great reef right on the beach of the resort - just bring binoculars and a snorkel (rental - 10 dollars).

Those who would like to upgrade the experience, can join a boat tour that will bring you to the Straits of Tiran and the turquoise lagoons, which even from the plane look like the Maldives of Sinai.

These are lagoons that are surrounded by a reef rich in sea creatures, and to which boats from all over the world leave every day to bring in snorkelers, as well as divers ($95 for half a day).

However, if the money is in your pocket, you can go on a pampering tour on the resort owner's yacht that sails to the Straits of Tiran, Ras Mohammed (the best diving site) and other sites, and also includes a meal that will be served to you on the yacht, free drinks and a diving guide that will accompany you.

On the way back, you may be accompanied by dolphins just waiting to catch waves in the current of the yacht and jump next to you.

price?

Not cheap at all: 3,000 dollars for up to seven people.

Speaking of Akshari, then the resort became, like any hotel with an amazing view in the world, also an attraction for weddings.

The marketing people there tell about a wedding where they rented all the rooms at the resort and it cost the organizers 13 million dollars.

What is wrong?

Near the Straits of Tiran await the popular diving sites of Sharm, and rightly so (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

3,000 dollars and your yacht for half a day, including a diving guide, a meal and other treats (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

Bring binoculars and a snorkel.

The resort's private beach (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

Get out of the resort

and what else?

So it's hard to really get to know Sharm, when you're at a resort like the Four Seasons, where they'll do anything to get you to spend your money with them and not outside.

Nevertheless, it is recommended to leave it to breathe a little the real Sinai, the one where a mass driver smokes while driving, where people walk on the sides of the roads alone with a bag in hand and where everything is less glamorous.

One of the city's attractions is the market that is open at night, 15 minutes from the beach, and take a tour of the souvenir shops.

After seeing that every store offers the same things, linger a little in front of the impressive Al Saabah Mosque, which is lit up at night and looks like Disneyland in the One Thousand and One Nights version.

Another attraction is the local cafes.

The most famous and well-known coffee is probably "Farsha" (Farsha - carpet in Arabic), which is 5 minutes drive from the market, on the sea, and is built on a mountainside in a stepped manner.

This is a Bedouin accommodation where you sit on carpets and pillows and order food and smoke hookahs to the sound of local music.

The place is decorated in an interesting eclectic way, like a room of wonders that meets a Bedouin divan and everything is lit in red-yellow-orange.

There are waiting lists because the place, despite its size, fills up pretty quickly with locals and tourists.

Another place that is an 8-minute walk from the resort, is the "Soho".

An open commercial center full of shops, ice cream parlors and other places to spend money that is open at night and where the locals spend time with their children combined with tourists looking for a place to burn money.

Reminded me of the promenade in Eilat.

Once an hour there is a musical dancing fountain show, lots of light sculptures and sellers who are already muttering Hebrew as befits merchants inviting people in.

The complex is close to the hotel, which is perhaps the only reason to visit it.

Nice to see and photograph, but quite repetitive.

The night market in Sharm el-Sheikh (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

Disneyland in the One Thousand and One Nights version.

Al Saaba Mosque in Sharm el-Sheikh (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

Worth a visit, even if just to see the inside.

Cafe "Parsha" (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

Reminded me of the promenade in Eilat.

The Soho complex (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)

Some small ones about the airport in Sharm

• It looks like you are in the Seventies, but at Sharm airport you smoke, not in designated rooms, so the sight of someone smoking at the gate, as strange as it may be today, is normal.

• On the other hand, this is the only airport in the world where I've seen the cleaner light incense in the bathroom.

• Duty free prices are not particularly cheap, as one might think about Egypt.

• In the security check of the bags at the exit from Sharm, there is a separate column for women and men, so if you are a multi-gender family you will have to say goodbye until after.

• A similar entry and exit form must be filled out in the field, nothing complicated, but must be presented with the passport.

The writer was a guest (how not) of Four Seasons Sharm el-Sheikh.

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