Before leaving, we repeatedly read reviews about the hotel on various websites, some of them turned out to be useful, and we learned about many of the features of Sharmillion only on the spot.
To begin with, it is impossible to call the nearby Sharmillions of the first line different hotels; it is all one large hotel, without any boundaries or fences, with the exception of some conventions of the Sharmillions Club Resort.
All tourists unanimously praise Sharmillion for its huge, well-groomed green area and, of course, one cannot but agree with this, it is what it is, many beaches, swimming pools, bars, restaurants, a huge amount of space for relaxation. There are no queues anywhere, there are always plenty of free sun loungers and places to relax near the sea and near any of the pools.
The reviews repeatedly wrote about mosquitoes that did not allow vacationers to sleep, we prepared for this in advance and also bought a fumigator and repellents at home. At first glance, we didn’t see any mosquitoes or midges, we just noticed that during dinner the entire hotel area was treated with mosquito repellent. By the fourth night of our stay, we were so relaxed that we decided not to use the fumigator, and soon regretted it very much. From somewhere a small vile bug got into the room and I had to get up at night and plug the fumigator into the network. In addition, in the evening it is recommended to treat exposed areas of the body with repellents. In fact, this is a small vile that is invisible and not noticeable, but the bites can be painful, especially for children. Thus, we would advise not to take risks and use cheap mosquito repellents.
Many tourists complain about some of their grievances, and often completely irrelevant.
For example, waiting for branded alcohol in hotels in Egypt and Turkey, or demanding branded ice cream in a bar around the clock, is about the same as being surprised at the absence of pork on the menu. But they still write this, complain...
Now about the features of Charmillion:
1. A pleasant surprise was the availability of good Internet throughout the hotel, right down to the beaches and the sea. This has not been written about anywhere before. We bought an Etisalat SIM card, but we never actually needed it, except during excursions.
2. Alenka chocolates as payment for services is some kind of meme of this hotel. In our opinion, a small dollar is much more pleasant for a hotel employee than a large chocolate bar, which costs about the same. It is everyone's right to pay the cleaner or not, but according to observations, without a small payment, the level of room cleaning immediately drops. As an everywhere.
3. Towels were changed every day, I'm not sure about bed linen.
Of course, I would like it to be changed everywhere more often, but it is difficult to understand what their standards are (and not only theirs) and how many days a set of bed linen is required.
4. Room cleaning is normal, although apparently it depends more on the human factor. Some people complain about sand in the room, but most often the sand is brought from the beach, and to prevent it from being on the floor in the room, you need to take off your shoes in the hallway. But many people are too lazy to do this, so it’s difficult to demand sterile cleanliness in the room, especially after returning from the sea.
5. The sun loungers and parasols in Charmillion are very comfortable, there is no question about it. There are many of them and they suit every taste.
6. We knew that alcohol in Egypt was so-so, so we brought as much as possible with us. They didn’t check us at the airport, the guides said there was an acceptable limit, so see for yourself. The wine was good only a few times, mostly not very good. Beer, more or less. Rum and cola is of tolerable quality, but it is better not to drink it in the heat.
The whiskey is terrible, like everywhere else in hotels, we haven't tried anything else.
7. The distances at the hotel are not very large, oddly enough, even the child felt comfortable. We went to the sea at least twice a day, plus the water park was a must. In other hotels there is a distance from the room to the restaurant
8. We liked the a la carte restaurants, we went to Syrian and seafood, we were delighted. For a la carte you need to sign up in advance on the Internet, you can go twice to any of the five restaurants.
9. The food in the main restaurants is also very good. Every day is dedicated to a topic. For example, Thursday was seafood day, there were crabs, octopuses, and a lot of different fish. Everything is very diverse, in our opinion. There are a lot of fruits in season, we always had melons, dates, oranges, watermelons and so on. The vegetables are all fresh, which is not surprising; May is the season.
10. The sea and beach in Sharmillion have many features.
In particular, tourists write reviews about the red flag and it seems that swimming in the sea is prohibited at this time. This is wrong. A red flag applies to a pontoon when it is actually dangerous to go out onto the reef. But nothing prevents you from swimming in the sea near the shore at this time, the beach on the right is shallow, on the left a little deeper, mostly all vacationers sit in the sea there.
11. Wind. Well, where Nabk Bay is, there is wind, but in May it is very warm and pleasant, we compared it with Naama Bay, it is really stuffy there in May. Nabk is just right in the spring.
12. Reef. There is nothing to say here, Sharmillion has one of the best reefs in Sharm. There are a lot of fish, different fish, fed by decades of being near people, and swim to the shore on their own.
13. Some tourists write about “tired furniture” and “tired” rooms; in our opinion, everything was very decent at Sharmillion Gardens Waterpark.
If you were selling such furniture at home, they would write in the ad - almost new) and some more brazen ones would write new, they have not used it.
14. The water park in Sharmillin is a really cool water park. Not just a few slides, but a water park comparable to a large city water park in Europe. From the outside, few people are allowed there, so there are no queues, you just ride, and don’t wait all the time, as happens in other places.
15. If you choose between hotels, then Sea Life is cheaper, Gardens is more expensive, but the rooms in Gardens are larger, consist of several rooms and there are separate beds for children. If the size of the room is not important to you, then you can have a great rest in Sea Life. The service is exactly the same as in the garden and club resort.
16. There is also the distant Sharmillion Club Waterpark on the third line, this is completely different from the Gardens Waterpark, tourists are brought from there by bus, the walk is very far and uncomfortable.
We weren’t there, we can’t write anything about it, neither good nor bad. I think that in terms of comfort it’s about the same as in other Sharmillions.
17. Charmillion is located near Soho Square and the airport. The noise of the planes did not bother us; it was noisier in Naama. But around
18. Taxi. We installed the Indrive application and called a taxi from it. They tell stories that this is kind of illegal, but every time a car came. The prices are different, but since they don’t give change, it was always 200 pounds to Naama Bay (which is 17-18 km), 100 pounds to the center of Nabq
19. The dollar in May 2024 costs 46.5-47 pounds.
20. There is no point in reading reviews of any hotels that are older than 4 years, a lot has changed after Covid. The charm has come to life, everything works, trade is in full swing.
21. For medicines at the pharmacy we went to Naama Bey to the Khero pharmacy, which we recommend to everyone, in Nabq the pharmacies are twice as expensive.
22. Excursions were bought online from Coral, cheaper than in local shops.
Of course, most excursions in Egypt are, let’s say, specific. See for yourself. The Empire of Tourism is praised on the Internet, we did not buy from them, because all the excursions there were more expensive than those of Coral, and the Empire responded to Telega reluctantly and rarely, and Coral responded at any time of the day, even at night
23. The hotel guide Akhmet left the most unpleasant impression. We saw a lot, but this guy was rude, insulted us that we couldn’t help but buy expensive excursions from him, and generally behaved disgustingly. As a result, he decided to take revenge for the fact that he was not allowed to sell the excursion for 3 times more expensive, and did not inform about the departure time. Of course, we learned about the transfer without it at the reception, but as it is, be careful with such guides.
24. We contacted the reception desk several times with various problems, some were solved, others were promised to be solved, but in fact they only promised.
25. The air conditioning worked perfectly in the room, but we never left it on overnight so as not to catch a cold.
26.
I liked the children's disco and Kids Club, special thanks to Veronica, there was no variety there, 30 minutes of dancing, but the children liked it, and that's the main thing.
27. We didn’t go to adult animation, I think it’s like everywhere else in Egypt or Turkey, it’s not for everyone.
28. There was once a foam party, perhaps more than one in a week, overall it was very ok, everyone liked it, there was a lot of foam)
29. We brought masks for swimming with us; in fact, we could buy them on the spot in Nabq or Naama.
30. I liked that no one kicked me out of the sea and from the pools in the evening, and the sunset was quite late. In Naama, already at 16.00 many hotels asked to leave the beach.
31. The TV in the room was turned on several times, I know that there are many Russian-language and other channels. But there was no time to watch them; the sea and the water park were nearby.
32. At first glance, Italians, Russians, Kazakhs, Belarusians, and Ukrainians vacation most of all in Charmillion.
Everything is very decent, the contingent is solid, most likely married couples with children. There are a lot of children, including small ones, but somehow they never got in the way.
33. The bars near the reception are open 24 hours a day, including serving alcohol, but we didn’t see many people getting drunk.
Unfortunately, the hotel has become a little worse in terms of staff, territory and rooms. It can be seen that the pandemic knocked down and they save on staff last year, they saved on irrigation and the plants suffered a lot.
But I'll start in order! The rooms in the Garden are all two-room, but our tourists are not accommodated in rooms overlooking the pool, only for an extra charge, mostly the local public and they are accommodated in their best rooms. The rooms themselves are very tired and the furniture and plumbing, but I won’t be very strict, in general, it’s okay. But this time, what really pissed me off was the room cleaner Said, it seems (our number was 3431). I cleaned only three times in 10 days, I saw that we had a small child and specially came at lunch when we were sleeping, he had to be driven into the room so that he would clean up before dinner (the bed was never changed. But this is all individually, since our friends had another guy who just tried to twist the bears, etc. how lucky in short.
The food is good varied, tasty but without frills. The restaurant staff is very good, the bars too. But the trouble is, the straws for cocktails are not there almost all the time, and since the Arabs have a habit of groping the whole glass until they give it, you don’t feel like drinking anymore (
We were 15 people with children) and half had diarrhea and periodically recurring, we concluded that the matter was in juices (aka UPI), those who did not drink had no problems.
Animation was not from the word at all! Children's disco and then some bullshit from the animators or even something paid like a $6 foam party. And it is clear that animators from the CIS came to work almost for food. Water aerobics and morning exercises were but as for me it is.
Beach, pools, coral and water park as it was excellent.
In general, the feeling was spoiled by the cleaner, juices and bad animation. And the kitchen and the sea are ok. But for the price, it was the most inexpensive of the category with a water park, so not bad for your money.
Liked the area. Quiet was a plus for us. All animation in neighboring hotels - a common network. When you want to have fun (everything is nearby), if you don’t want to, you relax.
Buffet restaurant. Normal food. It was better before the crisis, but we were completely satisfied.
A small minus is the noise from the planes. The airport is nearby.
There is no wifi in the rooms. It is better to buy a local card.
We arrived at 7 am. At the reception they said that check-in is possible at 9, but if you pay $ 70 extra. I didn't agree. They asked to come at 11, they will settle. Came at 11 again offers to settle earlier, but it is already possible for 50. Refused. I say I want to come for free and what time to come. They said at 12, she came, again she puts me paid, I say already nervously that I want it for free and again I ask for the time, at 14! They came and settled. But at intervals they went into a restaurant to drink, then they almost drove out, like kites standing there so that they would not take food in their mouths. And yes, I agree that there are check-in dates, but NOT for $70! All times they always gave $ 20 for settling, but here the start is different and this is not pleasant.
Nutrition. You will not stay hungry, but everything is the same as everywhere else. Variety 0. And there is a plus that there were no problems with the stomach.
The children did not eat pastries, the only time they had gozinaki, they liked it.
Sea. Walk 5-7 minutes. Very small, stones, hedgehogs, corals. The beach is empty and it was cool. The children gurgled, but it was impossible to swim to the depth - just above the knee, and then the buoys and the lifeguard reminds of this. The sea is warm and clean.
Cleaning is nothing. The numbers are dead. The sink was pierced twice, but the last 2 days they used the shower, because it was useless to call the sewer. Services 0.
The hotel is quiet and peaceful! And why? Because on our vacation there were somewhere 90% of the Arabs! And it really didn’t bother me, but on the contrary, it’s calmer without TAGILA. Cultured families with children, without bullying, as usual over the staff, without drunken conversations and queues for alcohol at the bar. This is a really big plus.
Aquapark. It was cool! Clean, safe, a good selection of slides for children and adults.
There is no animation. There is no music.
On the day of departure, no one called and offered to take things, for the first time in history. Lunch boxes are not provided.
What can I say. 1k $ it is basically worth it if you have a rest with children. There is nothing for the couple to do. Pure family hotel. Will I go again? No. Definitely. Since the hotels we were in were offered for this money and they were worth it, even Jolie Willie was for $ 850, but they didn’t want to repeat themselves and were a little sorry. Although I’m not slandering, we succeeded during the coronovirus holiday!
Well, perhaps I'll start everything in order.
We flew to rest with two families 2 + 1 (12) and 2 + 2 (8.10), tour operator JOIN UP. Departure from Kharkov was early, on time, arrived 20 minutes earlier. Therefore, we were already at the hotel at 9.00. At the reception, we were offered to check in earlier for $ 50 per family, since it was not very desirable to wait until 14.00, we bargained for 20 per family. They settled us in a building next to the reception on the first floor, rooms 3414 and 3420. The rooms were spacious, clean, two rooms, one has a huge double bed with a good mattress, the other has two single beds. The rooms are not new, but everything in the room worked. Cleaned every day, towels changed, shampoo added. Swans were spun even without a dollar.
The area is very large and beautiful. There are many pools, bridges, fountains, flowers, palm trees and generally locations for beautiful photos.
The beach is very large, there were always enough sunbeds at any time of the day. Entry into the sea from pantone 147 m.
Nice beautiful coral reef, lots of fish. There is also a lagoon with entry from the shore, where there are also a lot of fish. I recommend to go in coral slippers.
On the territory of three hotels, which can be used freely, there are many pools, but only two are heated, one in the Club and one in Sea Life. The Gardens also has an excellent water park. Many different slides both in the adult area and in the area for kids. One trouble, the water in the swimming pools of the water park is cold, they are not heated. But we were not nearly embarrassed and we dashed off all the plenty. It was a lot of fun.
Animation at the hotel, both daytime and evening, is very varied and good. Well done animators did not let you get bored, but not intrusive.
For nutrition. We ate at the restaurant of the Sea Life hotel, as our restaurant did not work due to the poor occupancy of the hotel. The food was varied and catered for all tastes. We were happy with everything, thanks to the chefs they cooked deliciously. There were also a lot of pastries and fruits.
As for alcohol, as everywhere in Egypt, it is rather weak. But we took it with us and this fact almost embarrassed us. Bottled beer is good, everything else feels like diluted with water. Because then the bartenders sell the surplus to tourists for dollars. It is a pity that the hotel management does not stop this and does not follow this moment.
There was a pleasant surprise from the hotel at Christmas, when we came to the rooms we found gifts with sweets for children from Santa.
The room was handed over at 12.00. But due to a flight delay due to a sandstorm for 7 hours, the bracelets were not cut off for us and we continued to use the hotel services until the transfer to the airport.
Well, in general, we really enjoyed our stay in this hotel, we can safely recommend this hotel to all our friends, relatives and just acquaintances. And for those who will read this review, go safely, take positive and good mood with you.
P. S. Yes, and do not really stick to the minuses, because we are all not perfect either.
"Two people were looking out the same window.
One saw rain and mud.
The other is green foliage,
spring and the sky is blue.
Two people were looking out the same window. Omar Khayyam
P. S. p. s. I really liked the Japanese restaurant, deliciously prepared dishes and an excellent show from the chef.
I want to note right away that this is of course not a hotel problem, but they could put pressure on partners. Host - Flash tour. It is something. The office of snickering, brutalized guides. I have never seen such rudeness in 15 years. Even on the way to the hotel, the meeting guide began to beg for a tip, describing how he would ask for us and all that. Nifiga didn't do it, grunted two words at the reception and dumped. The hotel guide is generally a boor and a pig. Came to the meeting to give documents. This "phenomenon" said that it does not accept representatives, go lead the rest, across half the territory. Naughty. I just left. This is not the first time I have been in Egypt to listen to their stories about insurance, excursions and more. Three hotels, three receptions, departure information in only one. These "professionals" do not even bother to bring a piece of paper about the departure to the corresponding hotel. Go look for yourself.
Now about the hotel:
In short - not a bad stable middle peasant, more suitable for families with children 2-12 years old.
Check in:
We arrived very early, at 6 am we were already at the hotel. We pushed around at the reception, in Gardena it is very small, it makes sense to go to Life nearby. An attempt to speed up the check-in for money was unsuccessful, apparently the receptionists on duty do not decide this. But they gave me a card for towels, gave me a drink at the bar. They offered to go to breakfast, but somehow we did not dare. Up to 10 lay around the pool. Then came the "senior" and for a surcharge settled ahead of schedule. They just fell off their feet. Yes, worldwide check-in from 14. There are no questions. But then the "predatory" essence of the hotel begins to implicitly protrude. Even in June, in Paris, we were settled early, free of charge, as soon as the room was free. There were only 11 rooms in the hotel. In Egypt, before, if there are free rooms, they settled without delay. Here - either give money or wait 14. Yes, the Arabs settled even those who arrived at 3 in the morning, I don’t know, maybe they have booked since yesterday, although I doubt it very much.
Number:
They took families. It differs from the suite by 8 m2, but there are double sofas in the living room, we have "undersleep". If the height is from 1.7 m, it will not be very convenient. In addition - in the middle of the bed "canyon" - the junction of the back and seat. In general, the furniture is not the first freshness, but it does not fall apart, you can live. Some spots, some chips. Chipped tiles in the bathroom. Although the room is designed for a family, but only two, two cups, two glasses. Well at least there was an extra pillow and towels added. Cleaning is traditional for Egypt. Don't look under the bed. The guy tried, cleaned quickly. In general, the bellhops are very pleasant in communication, responsive. What is missing - quickly bring.
Air conditioning - there are two of them in the room, but both are noisy, rattling. Even at the lowest speed it is quite audible. Some kind of semi-industrial, crookedly built into the false ceiling. Serviced a long time, the grates are visible dust.
Territory:
Everything here is on a level, green, trimmed, elegant. Constantly someone is doing something, cutting, dyeing, straightening. 3 hotels on the same territory - there is where to walk. One problem - FLY. This is a piper. Something they drive with a smoke machine, something they sprayed, but it will not work to lie quietly by the pool, the sea. Usually the territory is littered with fly traps - I didn’t see any here. Intrusive, as before traders in the market. Very pestered.
Swimming pools, water park:
There were no problems with the place, all the traditional service is present, but something is always missing. Either beer, then cola, then glasses, then the bartender. The lifeguards are very attentive, several people on each pool, not for furniture. Here is a plus. On the hills, too, they are in abundance. In general, the level of security.
In the water park - there is expanse for children. Children's generally excellent, for adults a little weaker. Part of slides for descent on inflatable circles, part on rugs. Just enough, the queues are minimal. But they pick up pretty quickly. The ones on the rugs are not for big people. On several slides there are drops at the junctions - you can earn an injury. In general, do not expose your elbows, legs too much.
Sea:
This was a complete disappointment for me. Shallow water for children - yes, it is convenient, but without slippers it is better not to meddle. There are enough sun loungers, the beach is large, there are two bars. On deep water - sentry. 3 hotels, plus more are brought from the Aqua Park Club, and there is only one pier. The swimming area is not large, it always hangs on the steps, there are a lot of people - getting in and out, especially in flippers - is troublesome. Reef for three. For those who are for the first time - it's interesting, and so - a vertical wall sharply leaving to the depth. Don't expect an underwater garden there. Very windy. Usually a red flag in the morning. We did not find a calm sea. The area is like this. In general, overseas is not here.
Nutrition:
The breakfast is good. The rest - you will not die of hunger, but you are unlikely to eat deliciously. The menu is poor. From seafood - a couple of times squid, if not successful, some kind of mix of fragments of crabs and mussels, fried fish. The grill is a pipets, especially on coals. One side will definitely be burned. Everything is tasteless. The second week is very boring. There are few fruits, in general, they do not indulge in a variety of menus. Pretty modest.
Separately, I want to note the dishes - "Roma, this is a kapets" probably 80% of the plates are chipped. The dishes are poorly washed, especially the glasses. In the "restaurant" of the garden, they do not have time to clean up normally and do not try very hard. Came early in the morning for breakfast - slippers stick to the floor.
Another moment - the last day. It's all a lot of fun here. If you arrive in the morning, lunch and dinner are not allowed. Ok accountants. And when I was on an excursion and did not have lunch - why, such fundamental ones do not return the payment? And what about those who arrive late and depart early, have the "excess" food returned? We missed two dinners, but on the day of departure for a salad, one cutlet and a spoonful of couscous, they ripped off 12 bucks. At the same time, they first announced 15, although the official price is 12. In general, "take care of your pockets. " If it were not for the upcoming 7 hours of the road, I would not have gone at all. And it was better not to twitch and have dinner at the Burger King at the airport. Maybe it would taste better there.
Yes, one more thing - authorized partners offer excursions on the territory. Cheaper than the guide, more expensive than in the city. But bargain, ask different representatives. A banal quadric is offered for 20, then they ask for 15, at the end they bargained for 13. In general, it costs 10, above the average in the city. For a yacht with two dives, they asked for 50, last year this cost 35 through a guide. In general, sleight of hand and no fraud.
Summarize. You can go. With small children, teenagers, it’s quite - they will be interested. Mid-range hotel, not run down but the management is quite greedy. For example, ice cream is only for lunch and is rather mediocre, sometimes there is popcorn in the bar, but you won’t get any chips or nuts for a drink. Wifi - only in the lobby and only when everyone is sleeping or in the dining room. Better not count on him. Some sites, services are blocked
The tour was bought for 1050 ye for 7 nights
First of all, I want to remind you: be careful with guides (they sell their excursions at a price 3 times more expensive,
We had a nasty guide Honey from Joyce Tur-liar and deceiver).
Now more about the hotel:
Very good:
Number:
2-room huge about 60 m2 with a terrace
Everything is in the room, everything works and is comfortably thought out.
Cleaned daily but not ideal (under the bed, as if kneading, they didn’t wash it - dust)
Territory and sea:
Gorgeous green area, the birds sing
Walk to the sea at a slow pace for about 5 minutes along the beautiful well-groomed territory of the neighboring hotel of the same chain (Charmillion Sea life)
A huge plus is that you can use the territory and infrastructure of all 3 hotels of this chain and they are all nearby
Nutrition:
Tasty but monotonous, we almost always went to Sea Life, 100 meters from our restaurant (you can eat for free in our and in that restaurant)
Animation:
The best we've seen!
During the day, entertainment by the pool, in the evening near the bar, from 20.30 for children, a program for children, and after 21.30 every day a new chic show! Super super!!
Staff pleasant to intrusive
Relax both with children and just a company without children
Conclusion: very good, we recommend!