My first holiday this year was a week away in Egypt, where i stayed at a hotel called Melia Sharm Resort & Spa...
I went with my (then) boyfriend as we
decided that after 2 years stuck together in the gloomy and miserable forecast
that is typical to Great Britain, we deserved a break. And it couldn't have
been more ideal.
We started looking in early October i
believe, and after a trip to the travel agents (Thomas Cook) and a lot of
bickering and debating, we decided to lock down Egypt. One massive piece of
advice i would give to anyone looking for any type of holiday is BOOK EARLY. I
was in the travel agents only yesterday and a woman with 30 years of experience
bluntly stated to us that the concept of last minute cheap deals just isn't a
phenomenon anymore. Since the emergence of EasyJet and RyanAir, who she coined
the phrase 'reward the early and penalise the poor,' more prestigious airlines
are now catching onto this mentality. So ultimately, if you want the cheapest
deal, book as early as possible. In booking over 6 months prior to our
departure date, we saved just under £600, an accumulation of deducted costs
purely based on us booking early. Being a full time student with only a measly
weekend job, you can imagine how many family members and friends i have bragged
about this too.
Despite this, i would say our holiday
cost more than the average desired amount. I went in wanting to spend about
£400 to leave room for spending money, and we ended up paying just under £600
each, but let me explain my reason for knocking my budget up by what seems like
quite a lot to an 18 year old student...
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For my first holiday away from my
parents, where i was responsible for myself and my survival, i decided to go
All Inclusive. This would mean that sussing out the costs of 3 meals a day as
well as drinks and snacks would be dealt with before the holiday. I didn't need
to worry about calculating the cost per day and being strict with myself if i
was hungry at a time when it didnt fit my budget. All Inclusive was therefore a
no brainer, In saying that, i would advise you to be very particular on sussing
out your All Inclusive allowances very carefully. The only problem i found with
our package was that no food was available between meal slots, so if you are a
little-and-often muncher like me, try and find a place that has a 24 hour snack
bar, for example, as we found ourselves forking out extra money for room
service at night... exciting and very much like the movies but not ideal when
you've supposedly already paid to be fed.
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On top of this, knowing how much we
had already saved by booking early, we were greeted with the choice of
upgrading to a sea view room. It was SO worth the extra money which i believe
was an extra £40 each, however, it wasnt entirely necessary... more of a snobby
luxury. The hotel was beautiful therefore walking out onto our balcony to be
able to see the glistening sea, aqua blue pools and lustrous greenery across
the whole complex was undeniably an added bonus. But if you are looking for
areas to cut costs, this would be a good place to start. You don't NEED a sea
view room, and if you've chosen a nice enough hotel, the views seen from the
room can be seen for free at other various spots in the hotel i.e. the lobby.
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Another reason why our holiday was a
little more than we had hoped is because we went for a 5 star destination, and
for any of you who have seen the Inbetweeners movie where the 4 boys are the
unfortunate ones who get dropped of at a hideously dodgy looking hotel...
arriving at our hotel couldnt have been more on the contrary. Hearing the rep
call for those staying a Melia Sharm and standing up in response to that did
bring a smug smile to my face. It was stunning and we could tell straight away
that we were paying for a better place, after all, we were greeted with a
glowing fountain that acted as a roundabout for transport vehicles...
necessary? Maybe not, but completely worth the jealous faces of those staying
elsewhere? Definitely. So, if you're like us, then i would definitely recommend
5* accommodation, and you do notice a difference in terms of the standard of
attention paid to you by hotel staff... drinks were brought to you at poolside,
our room was cleaned every day for us to return to a towel sculpture on our bed
feathered with pink flower petals, and generally you could tell that your
well-being was a priority.
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Also, if you have quarms about
feeling connected to the British world while you are in another country,
booking a package deal such as with Thomas Cook and having a rep would be a
good option for you. For example, for Ayia Napa we pulled out of Thomas Cook
causing a friend with a severe nut allergy to not come on the holiday as having
a rep provides a security blanket for situations such as medical needs. If you
don't need this added element and you are booking early, i'm sure we could have
saved a bit of money as we would not be paying for the service of reps out in
Egypt, it just means you have to fend for yourself in any serious situation.
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I would also add, we traveled out to
Egypt 3 days after the end of our exams on June 22nd, meaning we were not at
Melia Sharm at the busiest time which was IDEAL. There was always a free
sunbed, always a free table to eat at... so if you want that couples retreat to
just spend time with your loved one, go just outside of peak season (peak
season is July/August)
Egypt was a lovely place. But i feel
like i've seen all there is to see in Sharm El Sheik. I would go to Egypt again
but i would want to be somewhere with more culture, such as Luxor. As soon as
you step out of the resorts in Sharm EL Sheik which are quite literally just a
strip of hotels along the sea front, you are greeted with miles and miles of
nothingness. Deserted land and quite a lot of debris and demolished
buildings... not the stunning architectural kind. We took a trip to the local
town of Naama Bay which was an experience. Unfortunately it is the typical
looky-looky 'come into my shop' male population- a tourists nightmare. I must
have said 'no, we're ok thank you' about 5 times to each person, and there must
have been at least 30 men who begged for our custom.. thats over 150
repetitions of the same sentence. Naama Bay also just has your typical tourist
shops, every 5 shops is the repeat of the last 5 shops and everything is priced
the same and everything is knock off copy cat products.. ideal for me when i
was in the converse shop!! Shockingly... we ended up eating Egyptian McDonald's
for dinner, where everything was jumbo sized!
I would definitely recommend to go to
Sharm at least once. For one day, we paid £40 in England prior to the holiday
to go on an excursion with the company Sinai Excursions. It was called '5 in 1
quad' and it was brilliant value for money, although apparently you can
purchase the same thing out there and haggle the price down, but having it
booked beforehand was important for a control freak like me! After a 45 minute
quad bike ride (be warned, there is no tutorial, no helmets, no face protection
so you MUST take a scarf for your face, glasses/goggles and i would also add
gloves to the list as i got a nasty blister on my thumb from the accelerator
button) we ended up at a stunning Bedouin camp, we were fed, given a camel
ride, given a performance from stiltsmen, a magician, a dancer and fire
dancers. The evening was finished off with stargazing where we could take
pictures on our phone through an intense telescope of the moon and Saturn...
and i now know how to navigate my way to the north star! Not literally... just
from earth looking up. It was an amazing experience, and the kind of thing i
wanted to do more of on the holiday.
On a more serious note, i'm sure im
not the only person who has taken into account terrorist threats when picking a
holiday destination. With the horrifically unfortunate events in Tunisia which
actually happened while i was in Egypt, it is a real thing that needs to be
considered. Nothing can be predicted, but i guess the closer your are to home
the safer you feel. Egypt was definitely quite far away from home, and a week
before we flew out there was a suicide bomb in Luxor... I panicked. But as soon
as i got there i realised that Sharm is as safe as a place is going to get.
Sharm El Sheik values tourism, it is what it survives off of so the security is
intense. I was half expecting men to be walking down the streets holding guns
every 100 yards... this didnt happen. But i just felt safe, and within the
confines of your resort you really are able to completely let go of the
possibility of a tourist threat and just enjoy your holiday.
Ultimately, if a secluded hotel break
is what you're after then Sharm is the place to go. I would highly recommend
Melia Sharm, it was everything we needed (except the food availability issue)
and more. Sharm is also good as the hotels are on the sea front so there is
constantly a sea breeze, which means it wasn't sweltering hot like we were
expecting. However, don't let this deceive you, it is still scorchio scorchio,
and i got severely burnt, so factor 50 is a must!! The sun is smarter than you.
It will burn you if you think you are too good for suncream. No one is too good
for suncream. Humans are not invincible (indirect reference to my sister).
If you are more open to exploring the
culture of your destination and taking day trips and being active, then i
wouldn't say Sharm is the place for you.
If you have any questions, feel free
to comment asking me and i will get back to you as soon as i can.
Thank you for reading...
Love and hugs... George x
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