Rixos Sharm El Sheikh

Beautiful resort, but a deeply disappointing experience — I cannot recommend it

The resort itself is beautiful, and there are some genuinely wonderful people working here — warm, kind and sincerely helpful — who deserve recognition. Unfortunately, that was not enough to compensate for the highly inconsistent service and the repeated feeling that we were almost invisible compared with other guests.

A very simple but telling example: throughout our entire stay, not once during dinner were we asked whether we would like something to drink. Meanwhile, guests at the surrounding tables were regularly approached and served. On our final evening, after waiting and once again being ignored, I eventually had to get up and get my own drink.

Some may consider this a minor detail, but it is not acceptable in a five-star all-inclusive resort. When you repeatedly watch other guests receive the service you have also paid for, while your own table is consistently overlooked, it becomes impossible not to notice the difference.

Unfortunately, this was part of a much broader and more uncomfortable impression: the resort appears overwhelmingly oriented towards Russian-speaking guests rather than towards a genuinely international clientele. Russian music was played almost every evening, with very little variety or consideration for guests of other nationalities. At one of the bars, Russian-speaking guests cut directly in front of me and were served immediately, even though I had clearly been waiting before them.

Even more seriously, we experienced two separate aggressive encounters with Russian-speaking guests after they learned that we were Romanian.

During the first incident, a man began insulting Romania, shouting “Slava Russia” and “Slava Putin”, became increasingly aggressive and eventually physically pushed me. This went far beyond an unpleasant exchange and became completely unacceptable behaviour.

A few days later, a simple situation at the pool involving sunbeds and an umbrella escalated when several Russian-speaking guests began shouting at us aggressively. Their behaviour was so hostile that I genuinely feared the confrontation was about to become physical.

To the hotel’s credit, management intervened after the pool incident, took statements from those involved and apologized to us. Some members of staff appeared genuinely concerned and handled the situation professionally, and we appreciated their response.

However, the problem cannot simply be dismissed as two isolated encounters with unpleasant guests. When those incidents are combined with the almost exclusively Russian entertainment, the repeated experience of being overlooked while other guests were actively served, and seeing Russian-speaking guests receive immediate attention after cutting in front of us, the overall message becomes extremely uncomfortable: not every nationality appears to be treated as equally important or equally welcome at this resort.

I cannot know whether this difference in treatment was deliberate. What I can say with certainty is how it made us feel: ignored, uncomfortable and unwelcome in a resort where we had paid to receive exactly the same level of hospitality, attention and respect as every other guest.

We have visited Sharm El Sheikh before, and we genuinely love Egypt. The Egyptian people we have met outside these situations have been exceptionally warm and welcoming, which makes this experience even more disappointing.

A five-star, adults-only resort that presents itself as an international destination has a responsibility to ensure that every guest feels equally safe, welcome and valued — regardless of the language they speak or the passport they hold. Based on our experience, this resort failed to do that.

The property may be beautiful, and some members of staff may be fantastic, but neither is enough to excuse or outweigh how consistently overlooked and deeply uncomfortable we felt during our stay.

We would not return, and unfortunately, I cannot recommend this resort to other international travellers.

Probably the best hotel in Sharm, really living up to Rixos name and standarts. The staff is super helpful, kind and fun. Everyone doint their best to acommodate you. This was our 2nd stay this year and everyone remembered us and treated us like old friends. Which made us feel like at home.

But after our second visit I can definately say there are things that needs improving. The rooms are getting older, definetely need renovations. We stayed in Mövenpick, and Swiss in Sharm as well, and even though they are at a lower price range, the room qualities ( safe quality in the room, electronic DND and Clean room indicators, Nespresso capsule machines etc.) are way better. Rixos should try to improve their technology and services inside the rooms as well. Yes, the restaurants, bars and other facilities are great, but for an ultra all inc. Hotel, you should invest in rooms as well, not just facilities.

And hotel should take some action about drunk guests. Some drunk and rude guests poured beer in pool, disturbed other guests etc. However staff is very passive against them, not taking any action. You should not be afraid to lose 1 drunk customer, take any necessary actions to stop them. Because 1 drunk guest may cost you a 100 regular guests. That's why I think the management should take all the mecessary actions, even at the cost of losing those guests.

Just had a wonderful stay here and wanted to share some thoughts. The food was excellent throughout our stay, with a good variety of dishes and everything cooked to a high standard. The room was a real highlight too, much larger than we expected and comfortable enough to relax in properly after a day out.

The staff were lovely from start to finish, always friendly and quick to help with anything we needed. A special mention has to go to Amina in guest relations. She was incredibly helpful during our stay and made the whole experience feel that much smoother. It is staff like her who make a real difference.

Overall, a great stay and we would happily return. Highly recommended