Sheraton Soma Bay Resort

We had a wonderful holiday at Sheraton Soma Bay Resort and were extremely happy with our choice.

Our positive experience started from the very first minutes. Upon arrival, we were welcomed with refreshing drinks, and our room was complimentary upgraded from Desert View to Partial Sea View because a room with a king-size bed was not available in our original category. It was a very nice gesture and a perfect start to our stay.

The architecture of the Sheraton deserves a special mention. The resort is inspired by the Karnak Temple in Luxor, and you can really feel it: monumental columns, Egyptian details and the ram statues lining the approach to the hotel create a very special atmosphere before you even enter the lobby. In our opinion, Sheraton is one of the most beautiful and distinctive hotels in Soma Bay in terms of architecture and how naturally it fits into the surrounding landscape.

We arrived very early, but the hotel managed to give us our room at around 9 a.m., long before the official check-in time. While we were waiting, the bar staff kindly prepared two cappuccinos for us even though the bar had not officially opened yet. It was a small detail, but one that immediately showed us the level of hospitality.

And then we saw the view from our room.

It really looked just like the photos: the Red Sea, the mountains, the swimming pool, palm trees and landscaped gardens all fit together beautifully. The overall landscaping of Soma Bay is particularly impressive from the Sheraton.

Food was another major highlight of our stay. The selection was excellent, especially the seafood: shrimp, langoustines, salmon, tuna and several different kinds of fish. There were also steaks cooked fresh in front of us, made-to-order omelettes, a very good cheese selection including Camembert and Brie, as well as plenty of fresh fruit juices and drinks such as strawberry, mango, orange, pineapple and guava.

A special thank you goes to the team at Bistro 24. Everyone was friendly, cheerful and genuinely enjoyable to talk to. We always enjoyed having a little small talk with the staff. Many thanks as well to all the chefs who prepared our breakfasts, lunches and dinners throughout the holiday.

The à la carte restaurant also left a very good impression. We especially appreciated that All Inclusive guests could visit it without an additional charge, with advance reservation.

The pool and bars were excellent as well. Our room was always clean and tidy, and the sea view was fantastic.

We would also like to highlight the housekeeping. The room was cleaned very well, but always in a discreet and unobtrusive way. What we especially appreciated was that the housekeeping team respected the way we had arranged our personal belongings instead of unnecessarily moving or reorganizing them. After cleaning, everything was simply cleaner and tidier while still feeling like our own space. This is exactly the kind of housekeeping service we appreciate.

The only small improvement we could suggest for the room would be a slightly larger balcony.

We also really enjoyed the beach and the sea. The towel staff were always polite and helpful, and on a couple of occasions they even helped us carry our towels to the sun loungers. Some of the loungers are beginning to show their age, but they were still comfortable.

Another thing we really liked was the absence of All Inclusive wristbands. It gives the resort a much more relaxed feeling, and you can simply walk along the beautiful Soma Bay promenade towards the Marina and Jetty Hub.

Jetty Hub was one of the highlights of our entire holiday. The long jetty takes you directly out to the house reef and offers fantastic snorkeling. The guys working there and the lifeguard were absolutely great — 5 out of 5. Friendly, positive and attentive to what was happening in the water.

The snorkeling itself was fantastic. We saw an incredible variety of marine life, including a starfish, an octopus, a moray eel, lionfish and many other colourful fish. Being able to simply walk from the hotel to such a beautiful house reef is a huge advantage of staying in Soma Bay.

If you continue walking farther along the coast, there is another beautiful pier/breakwater where the waves crash dramatically against the structure. It is an impressive place to visit, particularly when the sea is rougher.

There were only a few minor negatives.

During the final three days of our holiday in the second half of September, the wind became quite strong, which made relaxing on the beach less comfortable. Next time, we will probably choose slightly earlier dates.

Another thing that genuinely surprised us was the quoted transfer price from the Sheraton to Senzo Mall: approximately EUR 93. Perhaps there was some misunderstanding, but this seemed extremely expensive for this particular journey.

We also experienced one small issue after our long excursion to the Pyramids of Giza. Because we were returning very late, our guide had arranged a late dinner to be delivered to our room. Unfortunately, it did not arrive until I called the hotel myself. When it came, it was fairly simple — mainly bread, cheese, cold cuts and several small desserts. After such a long day we still appreciated having something to eat, but the organization could definitely have been better.

None of these small issues, however, changed our overall impression.

Sheraton Soma Bay gave us a fantastic holiday: beautiful architecture and surroundings, the Red Sea, excellent snorkeling, very good food and, above all, genuinely warm and friendly staff.

We left already thinking about when we could come back.

We are really looking forward to returning to Sheraton Soma Bay.

This is our third time visiting Sheraton Soma Bay and we still love this resort. By now, the reconstruction work is completely finished, all amenities are fully operational.

All rooms have been renovated, new furniture is very nice and comfortable. Bed is very comfortable, A/C works great (free of charge) and Wifi is also pretty fast. Usage of minibar is free of charge now, only thing is that it is filled in once a day, upon request. Room is cleaned and towels are changed daily. Shower gel, shampoo, hair conditioner, body lotion and hand soap are also provided, as well as a hair dryer. Wardrobe is very big, and there is a small safe also (which is too small to store a laptop, but no issues, nobody would even touch any such thing).

Pool area has also been renovated, it's even better than before. More loungers and parasols are around the pool, and there are new wooden "cages" built which are perfect for two people, provide shade for the whole day and even small pillows are available. Beach towels are available around the pool and the beach (you get towel cards when you check in, this needs to be handed over to the staff in order to get the towels).

Main restaurant (Bistro24) is also renovated, looks wonderful, and food is simply amazing, with wide variety for each meal (even salmon and sushi are available each day). Chef Warren is super kind and friendly with all guests. Waleed was our waiter most of the time, he is also extremely kind and helpful, he always has some nice words to the guests. He remembered us from our latest visit last year.

Pool bar opens at 9AM now. New thing is that they have authentic Turkish coffee as well, besides the usual soft drinks, spirits, cocktail, water, beer, coffee, etc. Khaled and Rehab were taking care of us each day, they were also very kind.

Around the pool, some life guards are always there, Ehab was the kindest of all.

The main bar (&More) is also fully renovated, it is now a very cozy place, both inside and outside on the terrace. Wardany is working here now (he was working in the pool bar last year), and he immediately remembered us when we entered the bar on our first day.

Right now the Sea View restaurant (which was the place for lunch in the past years) is still under renovation, so it was not available, but as we heard from Chef Warren, it's going to be operational again in couple of months, once the furniture arrives.

There is a new Italian a la carte restaurant where you can have dinner with reservation made at the reception. We tries it once, and all the food we chose was fantastic.

Cleanliness is perfect everywhere in the resort.

All in all, Sheraton Soma Bay is still a wonderful place to stay, we will keep returning every year for sure!