Rakhilya Wirz
Our stay at the Sheraton Soma Bay Resort from April 26 to May 4 was an absolute dream. We were pleasantly surprised with a complimentary upgrade to a beautiful suite upon arrival. The suite was spacious, exquisitely furnished, and offered a stunning panoramic sea view that enhanced our overall experience.
The service at the resort was impeccable. From the moment we checked in, Mohammed at the reception was incredibly welcoming and helpful, ensuring that our stay was perfect right from the start. In the restaurant, Said and Kareem went above and beyond to provide exceptional service, making every meal feel special. Ahmed, the cook, prepared mouth-watering dishes that left us eagerly anticipating what each new meal would offer.
At the beach, Diaa was outstanding, always attentive and ready to assist with anything we needed, adding a touch of warmth to our days by the sea.
The resort's location on the Hurghada-Safaga Road made it a convenient getaway, yet it felt like a secluded retreat. The half-board arrangement was delightful, with every meal being a highlight of our day. The resort's facilities and cleanliness were top-notch, and the staff’s attention to detail made our eight-night stay feel like a slice of paradise.
We are incredibly grateful for the wonderful hospitality at Sheraton Soma Bay Resort and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a luxurious and relaxing vacation. A heartfelt thank you to all the staff, especially Mohammed, Said, Kareem, Ahmed, and Diaa, for making our stay unforgettable!
Krystian Kamyk
Sheraton Soma Bay is a bismal experience. I’m writing that as someone who spent almost a thousand nights in Marriott brands’ hotels alone (including many in different Sheraton locations - from the USA, through Tenerife, Asia, up to Australia).
I think I have never been that disappointed with a hotel that claims to be 5 star yet is closer to 3 star.
1. At check-in most of our group had badly allocated rooms - including children separated from parents despite they booked connected rooms (and had this confirmed on their booking). It took the hotel not an hour or half a day but 1-2 days to resolve depending on the room.
2. My room was booked on a wrong name.
3. Facilities are EXTREMELY old and worn. This hotel should have been closed for renovation 3-5 years ago… instead they are renovating as it is opened. Renovation includes some closed facilities and very loud pneumatic drills from 10 to 16 almost every day. So loud that smart watches were issuing alerts that it’s harmful for hearing.
4. Mattresses and chairs on the beach are mostly damaged (with holes in them, shaky, etc.) and the employees responsible for towels are extremely slow. I waited twice more than 20 minutes before someone finally showed up (despite earlier promises at the booth that it will be less than 5 minutes).
5. Service in restaurants is disappointing - you need to constantly “fight for their attention” to get anything (including cutlery or a bottle of water), even when the restaurants are half empty during the week time. Not to mention the weekend when Egyptian tourists join the international crowd and it becomes quite full even in April / May. Then you have to literally “run after waiters”
6. Drinks at the bar are terrible. I’m not talking about the all inclusive drinks (which are the worst of the worst). I’m talking about drinks in general. Even if you are ready to pay, there is very little in the offer. Even something as simple as Aperol Spritz is not available in most (or all?) bars.
7. All inclusive offer is a joke compared to most family hotels around the world.
8. Activities for children are few and rather disappointing.
9. The only service I would give a 5-star rating is the room cleaning - on time, fast and always leaving some cool towel sculptures behind them. Really great person taking care for rooms 23XX the week we stayed.
10. Food was OK, but not great.
All in all - regardless if you are an all inclusive guest or just want to pay a premium for premium services, you will be disappointed.
The good things (great beach, great weather, the Jetty with amazing reef just at the end of the molo, kite and windsurfing facilities, the Marina, etc.) are not hotel properties but available to anyone from any hotel in Soma Bay (Robinson, Kempinski, etc.).
Thus - while Soma Bay is great, I’d recommend to choose another hotel in the neighborhood. Sheraton claims they will finish renovation in 2 years (though when I asked “does it mean 2026?”, the answer was blurry and unclear) - maybe after the renovation it will be again worth visiting.
M. Hanna
My wife, our 3 children and I stayed 4 nights here. I wish we stayed 4 months. The place is pristine. The views are breathtaking. The service is exceptional. The food is outstanding. The hospitality is heartwarming. The experience is sublime. What else can I say? I wish I wrote the name of every person whom I encountered, like Yasser at the restaurant [he was a manager, I believe] who constantly checked on our needs. But truthfully everyone we encountered was amazing. The worst part of the trip was having to leave. We did not even explore all the amenities that this resort had to offer because we were finishing our vacation and we were completely exhausted from the preceding 10 days of travel and sightseeing. So we only wanted to relax at the beautiful Red Sea and enjoy the weather, views and food. It was the perfect ending to our amazing trip. I would return tomorrow without hesitation. Thank you to everyone at the Sheraton Soma Bay who made our experience memorable and wonderful in every way. There are not enough positive words in my vocabulary to describe our experience.
Tanya Broquet
Lovely hotel with delicious food and amazing service. Our villa was absolutely beautiful, spacious, quiet with good mattress and shower. The only issue was with the electrics and noisy A/C, but this will be renovated and updated in 2024. The hotel was really clean and well designed so you never felt crowded. The beach is lovely and it is a short walk from a decent dive operator. Thanks to all the team for making our stay so enjoyable, we will definitely come back.
Owen Hughes
My partner and I adore this place. It’s the only hotel/resort we have ever returned to. I’m writing this from my second trip and already looking at planning the third for next year. The hotel is in a brilliant location for quiet relaxation but also has things to do when you want to. We’ve snorkelled with turtles on a private tour, swam in the sea and even did a small amount of shopping at the local marina.
The staff are by far what make this place what it is. Incredibly friendly, professional and playful. They are very attentive and will go out of their way to help you, if they are across the beach and see you moving a sun bed they will cross it to come and help you. Adding in small delights like remembering our names and orders. Taking private snorkelling tours, the guides will always try and find what you want to see, in our case turtles. The guides are also cautious to not intrude on the sea life but to merely observe and enjoy.
The location is stunning with a stunning beach with mountain backdrop and rich blue sea filled with a ton of coral to explore. A local marina with a few shops, pharmacy, mart and restaurants nearby too. It’s a little out from Hurghada but honestly you won’t care.
One thing that makes me slightly nervous is Marriott have started much needed renovations which look amazing, but will inevitably come with a hefty price increase, which in our second week there we started to see. The day after a Marriott rep visit, the private 2 hour snorkelling session went from €60 to €150, which is a massive increase. The staff let us have the original price as we had booked it before the increase but it will be the last one of this trip. This of course is cause for concern that the hotel will become too expensive for us to return once renovations are complete.
4 stars (not 5) because:
- We did have some issues with faulty aircon on our second trip which took a lot of nudging and chasing staff before we got a resolution. Which we later found out the hotel knew about an issue with that floor and are repairing with the renovations.
- Impending and obvious high price increases are clearly coming. I understand renovations cost money, I get it, and the plans look amazing, but if it’s anything like the 130% snorkelling tour price increase then I’m expecting them to be substantial and can see it pricing out a lot of people and regular guests - which we’d hoped to be. Even with the Marriott Bonvoy membership benefits which is being pushed.
- Some smaller issues that weren’t really worth the hassle chasing with reception like a seal issue making our shower leak in the bathroom and clogged plug hole (which seemed to be an issue across multiple rooms speaking to other guests). Our insect net door fell off in the night but I fixed it.