# Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh A large Four Seasons resort terraced down a hillside facing the Straits of Tiran, north of Sharm El Sheikh, with a kilometre of private beach, two house reefs, its own dive centre and twelve restaurants and bars. For couples, families and divers who want palace-level service without an all-inclusive package. Source : https://sabaro-travel.com/en/hotels/four-seasons-sharm-el-sheikh/ ## A village on the hillside Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh steps down the hillside from the desert to the sea in terraces. Rooms are spread across small two-storey buildings of Egyptian-inspired architecture, among more than 3,000 palm trees. Below, limestone cliffs frame a kilometre of private beach, on the edge of a protected marine reserve where the hotel has two house reefs. The hotel describes itself as one of the brand's largest resorts, and guests get around by electric buggy. The reward is space. Every room has two lounge areas, one inside and one outside on a balcony or terrace, and the hotel has 52 suites in nine different types. This is what sets it apart from the two Rixos resorts on Nabq Bay in Sabaro's selection: you book room only or with breakfast, and choose each day where to dine. It is also the closest to the airport, about 9 km away by road. ## The house reef and diving For divers, the hotel's strength is diving without leaving the beach. The private, secluded house reef starts on 5 m plateaus, slopes down over sand to 40 m, and depths of 100 m are close by. You reach it from the hotel's jetties, diving or snorkelling. The site is used for every level of training, from children's first courses to trimix diving (a helium, oxygen and nitrogen mix used for deep diving). In the evening, the reef is dived at night. Under a full moon you can see about ten metres without a torch, and on most nights plankton glows as you fin past. The on-site dive centre runs trips to the area's 76 recognised sites, many of them a few minutes away by boat: drift dives in the Straits of Tiran, Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef in Ras Mohammed National Park, and wrecks, the Dunraven, a British steamship sunk in 1896, the Kormoran, a cargo ship lying a few metres down in the Straits of Tiran, and the Thistlegorm, reached by chartering one of the centre's three yachts. Half-day and full-day snorkelling trips are led by Sinai Blues instructors. ## Twelve venues, from breakfast to dinner The hotel has nine restaurants and three lounges, run by executive chef Bruno Cerdan and a team of 110 cooks. You can spend a week without dining in the same place twice: - **Bullona**, chef Giuseppe Cadoni's Mediterranean restaurant, around a round bar and a crudo counter, with outdoor tables by the lagoon; - **Yatai**, the signature restaurant, inspired by Asian street food: sushi, teppanyaki, robata, dim sum and Peking duck; - **Zitouni**, Levantine cooking from Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, at breakfast and dinner; - **Il Frantoio**, the Italian, outdoors in summer and by the fireplace in winter; - **Reef Grill**, charcoal grilling under the palms, facing the sea; - **Luna**, Latin American food in a gazebo by the pool of the same name, and **Waha**, for a simple lunch by the Waha pool; - **Arabesque**, for breakfast outdoors facing the Red Sea. For a drink, there is Breeze on the beach, Citadel Lounge with live music at sunset, and the Observatory Lounge, which looks out to Tiran Island and shows contemporary Egyptian painters and sculptors. In the evening, Egyptian folk music alternates with belly dancing, bands and singers. ## Which room to choose - **As a couple**, a sea-view room is enough: the Premier Sea-View Room has the best view in its category. For more privacy, the One-Bedroom Suite with Plunge Pool adds a small private pool. - **As a family**, rooms take two adults and two children aged 12 and under. For a large family or friends, the Two-Bedroom Residential Suites, with a full kitchenette, are about 300 m from the beach, near the Gezira pool and the kids' club: you lose the beach view and gain proximity to the club. - **For a special occasion**, the signature suites (Royal Suite, Presidential Suites and The Palace) are stand-alone residences with a pool, garden, butler and, for some, a private beach. ## Spa, families and the environment The spa has twelve treatment rooms, including a couples' suite and two cabanas facing the sea, separate men's and women's lounges with sauna and steam room, a lap pool and outdoor whirlpools. Its treatments draw on ancient Egyptian rituals, such as a milk bath followed by a massage. The gym, in a new two-storey building, is open around the clock. For children aged 4 to 12, the Kids For All Seasons club is free: arts and crafts, tennis, swimming, treasure hunts. The play pool is 60 cm deep, with a lifeguard from 8.30 am to sunset. Teenagers have a games room (billiards, table tennis, table football), open 9 am to 12 noon and 3 to 7 pm, local time. Babysitting is booked 24 hours ahead, two hours minimum. The hotel was the first in Egypt to achieve EarthCheck Platinum certification (an international environmental label for tourism, at its highest level). Water is drawn from the Red Sea and desalinated on site, greywater irrigates the gardens, and single-use plastic water bottles are gone from restaurants and bars. Guests can plant a coral fragment and follow its growth over later stays. ## Excursions The concierge arranges a night climb of Mount Moses, about four hours on foot, to watch sunrise over St Catherine's Monastery, with breakfast at the summit prepared by the hotel's cooks. There is also a day trip to Luxor by plane, about fifteen hours, with an Egyptologist, and desert outings by camel or quad bike, ending with a Bedouin dinner under the stars. Sabaro advises keeping road journeys to daylight: travelling at night outside towns should be ruled out, and the Sinai climb is best prepared with a night in St Catherine. ## Sabaro's view **For whom**: couples and families who want palace-level service and a choice of restaurants; divers who want a house reef and an on-site centre. **Strengths**: the house reef and dive centre; twelve restaurants and bars; spacious rooms with two lounge areas; the free kids' club; a 4.8/5 rating on Tripadvisor. **Good to know**: without an all-inclusive package, meals and drinks add to the room rate; the property is large and terraced on the hillside, and some rooms are far from the beach; some guests report rooms in need of refreshing in the oldest parts. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do children stay free? Children aged 12 and under stay at no extra charge in their parents' room, space permitting. The Kids For All Seasons club, for ages 4 to 12, is free. ### Is breakfast included? It depends on the rate booked: the hotel sells room-only and bed-and-breakfast rates. There is no all-inclusive package. ### Can you dive without taking a boat? Yes, the house reef is reached from the hotel's jetties, for diving or snorkelling, with the dive centre on site. ### What are check-in and check-out times? Check-in from 3 pm, check-out until 12 noon, local time. To have the room from the morning, the hotel recommends booking the previous night.