Okay let's start by saying this hotel is in a lovely location and the views are FAB.

Unfortunately we didn't get off to a very good start. I'd e-mailed them to arrange airport transfers and this was confirmed quite promptly so we were rather disappointed when we arrived at Sharm airport as there didn't appear to be anyone from the hotel waiting for us. We finally saw a chap holding a Renaissance board with another name on it so asked if he was waiting for us too. It was pretty obvious from his confusion that he wasn't so we were very lucky that he'd come in a mini bus or we'd have been waiting a long time for them to send extra transport!!!!

It was pretty late/dark when we checked in so we thought it was great when they said it was our lucky day and we'd been upgraded to an ocean front room - we'd booked ocean view. Bit disappointed on getting up to find a high hedge immediately outside so almost impossible to see anything without standing on tiptoes. Plus oh boy, 146 very steep stairs to climb every day just for breakfast in that heat (100+ every day) was a killer - and yes sadly I did count - couldn't believe how exhausting it was. Could only face them first thing each morning and then again in the evening so reception was virtually out of bounds during the day. Have to add, my husband is pretty fit and he didn't enjoy the climb much more than I did!! Made the upgrade less of the treat it first appeared!!!!

Lots of small irritants add up and things become really annoying, just a few example.......

The hotel food - it wasn't bad, just mediocre and in some cases overpriced for what you get. Much nicer and better value restaurants in Na'ama.

No money exchange facility - the machine they have won't take 'new' English notes. We were told reception could help but they only managed to exchange £20 twice in 12 days. Had to walk along to the Hilton Waterfalls next door each time.

Concierge services - not sure they know what that means! Just one example, asked reception if they could book On Deck for us, were told the concierge would deal with it, who promptly told us to go into Na'ama and book it ourselves!! Never actually found out what they would/could do!! Spoke to other guests who relayed similar experiences.

Onsite shop - sparcely stocked and in general way overpriced. Very nice young chap serving during the day - always gave the correct change, but the older chap on duty in the evenings was a rip off merchant and again we weren't the only people annoyed by that.

Newspapers - first hotel we've been in anywhere including others in Egypt where they weren't on sale in the onsite shop. Okay so it's not the end of the world going without an English paper while on hols but I do like to do the crossword. There was a guy selling them by one of the pools and what a rip off - he quoted 40-45LE each time - wasn't interested in haggling, obviously felt we were a captive market being so far outside Na'ama. Needless to say we weren't buying and heard lots of other guests refusing too.

Did 3 trips - Tiran Island, Petra and St Katherines.

Tiran - booked with Dive Centre at RGV. Really enjoyed the day and they were extremely well organised - probably wouldn't use them again though as they were really better geared to serious divers rather than people just wanting to snorkel and relax on board.

Petra - booked with Longwoods. Fantastic day, very long but soooo well worth it. Have nothing but praise for this company. Our tour guide was excellent - truly, truly do recommend them. Okay, some trips do cost a bit more than other tour operators, but will definitely use them for all our trips in future.

St Katherines - booked with Fayed Travel. Perhaps we were just unlucky with our guide - we were herded and rushed while there and weren't given enough time to see everything. When I queried why we couldn't look at some areas all the other tours were seeing was told quite dismissively 'just for the Russians' which was patently not true. The guide was much more intent on getting us to Dahab where we stopped at a grotty shopping area - he obviously hoped to make some commission!! Everyone on our bus felt the same so nobody bought anything and none of us tipped him at the end of the trip.

We ate in several restaurants in Na'ama including the obligatory trip to the Hard Rock (my husband can't resist collecting a glass from each one!!!)

The two we loved the most were.......

Pomodora - lovely Italian food
On Deck - FAB food and brilliant location/atmosphere

Didn't have high expectations of liking Na'ama after reading some reviews, but actually loved it..........and no we really aren't typical 'party' people. The atmosphere was great and absolutely NO hassle at all. Sure some of the shopkeepers will push for business but a smiling no thanks worked everytime. Have to say we found Turkey by far worse!!!

Oh and yes I did have a touch of the 'sharm shuffle' for most of the trip even after taking acidophilus etc etc. In fairness don't think it was really food related, more the heat, but whenever I thought I was in the clear and stopped taking the pills it came back so actually went through 2 boxes of antinal which kept it at bay and definitely didn't spoil our holiday.

This was our 3rd trip to Egypt - 1st time to Sharm and it won't be the last - we'll just look at other hotels next time round.

Sooo wanted to like RGV as it came highly recommended. The hotel definitely looks 5* but such a shame too many things let it down, not least the front of house staff. They could learn much from the wonderful ground staff who do a fantastic job keeping the place spotlessly clean and give an excellent and friendly service.

My wife, our son and I moved to Egypt (Cairo) this year, and decided to spend the Eid holiday break in Sharm El Sheikh. I looked at many hotels and read through many reviews before choosing the Renaissance Golden View. I wish I hadn't.
Our vacation was a week long (Sept. 30 - Oct. 6) and we looked forward to our visit for weeks. 48 hours prior to our departure to Sharm El Sheikh, I contacted the hotel via telephone and email to confirm our reservation, arrange transportation from the airport, and confirm our location request/room type and crib request.
We landed on time in Sharm El Sheikh, but no transportation was there to meet us. I called the hotel and they sent their contracted car service, but we had to wait 30 minutes for them to arrive. When we finally did arrive to the hotel we were given the room type we requested, but with a view of the surrounding building 2nd floors and rooftops. You could barely see the ocean, if you stood on a chair in our room and peered over the roof of the building in front of us.
The hotel moved us to an ocean front room the following day.
The crib. When we checked in, I once again requested the crib. I watched the front desk receptionist call someone to order the crib. But it took 45 minutes for the crib to arrive. When we changed rooms the next day, it took over an hour for the crib to arrive. This was a minor inconvenience, but when you're trying to put a 7 month old down for naps, it really becomes irritating.
Breakfast is included in most hotel rates at this hotel, and ours was no different. But, on the third day of eating the same breakfast (no variations) we were quite bored. Further, the omelet station was nice, but our eggs were undercooked each day we were there. The scrambled eggs in the buffet, looked like soup each day, and we refrained from eating them.
The clientele at this hotel is mostly Russians, and God bless them for putting up with the "tour packages" they booked. But, as an American, you can expect to be approached by Russian prostitutes who will do anything from 1600 LE and up. I was propositioned 4 times in 6 days, and even once with my wife only 50 meters away. We watched many hotel guests negotiate the fees and services. This wasn't what I had in mind when I booked my "family" vacation.
The location is great. The staff is very friendly, but poorly trained. Our housekeeper was very nice, but forgot to give us washcloths each day. We had to request these each afternoon when we returned to the room.
The shampoo/lotion/conditioner bottles (as stated in many other reviews) looked like they've been refilled many times. I wish I had gotten a photo for you to view. The caps were cracked and the levels of liquid in each bottle, varied.
Room service was tough. We ordered room service 4 times in 6 days for dinner as our son goes to sleep by 7pm. But the crib was in the living/dining room where the front door is located. One night, the room service guy came in with our tray of food and switched on all the lights. I quickly turned them off and as I was telling him my son was asleep and the lights would wake him, he switched them all on again. My son woke up and cried for 40 minutes as we attempted to calm him to sleep again.
Each day, there were minor incidents with the staff or with things that did not work in the room (room keys, washing machine, hot water (or lack thereof), television remotes), and each were insignificant, but over a week long stay they became ridiculous annoyances.
The hotel charges ridiculous amounts for internet (a week long fee is what I pay for 2 months at home for the same speed). The hotel will charge 17LE for one, 1.5 liter of water. You can go to a nearby grocery store (called "24/7 Supermarket") and buy a box of 1.5 liter bottles (qty. 12 bottles) for 22LE.
The hotel also contracted a private car company to take guests wherever. But they charge too much for short trips around Sharm. The second day of our trip, I went to the grocery store and asked specifically if it were in walking distance. They said it was not and I paid 30LE for the trip. When I realized the grocery was 1200 meters from the front of the hotel, I got angry. I felt robbed and manipulated. I vowed not to use the hotel car service again.
We did use a local taxi (which you can hail from the street in front of the hotel), but you'll need to negotiate. Most prices to central Sharm/Naama Bay were quoted at 50LE each way, but if you refuse, and tell them you'll pay 10LE, then they'll follow you down the street until they finally agree. This situation happens in Cairo as well, but as long as you say "no" then they'll follow you to take the fare. You need to know that gas costs next to nothing in Egypt, and these drivers are trying to get the most out of "white tourists" as possible claiming that these are the rates for Sharm. If you resist, they'll finally back down.
The hotel provides golf carts transportation throughout the property. We never waited more than 10 minutes from phone call to doorbell during our stay, except on the last day, when we needed to leave on time to catch a flight. The golf cart arrived 25 minutes late, and our rush to leave was frustrating.
Review your hotel bill at checkout. We were charged mini-bar fees when we never used the minibar. We were charged "paidout" (we still don't know what that means) for 200LE, but noone could explain to us what it was or why we were being charged. I finally had to contact the general manager when we returned home to settle the dispute, but I would've refuted the charge with my credit card company and refused to pay it anyway.
On our trip to the airport, I used my cell phone. But when we arrived at security at the airport, I realized I had left the phone in the car. We called the phone many times, until we realized that it had been turned off. I called the car company, the hotel, and finally the general manager, but to no avail. I am confident that the phone was left in the car and that the driver now carries a new Motorola Razor Quad-band.
I came home more stressed out than I should be after a week-long vacation at a beach resort. I'll never go back.
I strongly recommend you look at other hotels with good reviews in Sharm. It's a fantastic place to swim and dive and snorkel. It gorgeous. But the Renaissance was a mistake. I'm surprised Marriott manages this property. It hurts their reputation. (I'm a Marriott Rewards member, staying in Marriott hotels 25-30 days each year).

Just returned from a lovely couple of weeks at the Renaissance. It really is a great hotel; beautfiully and cleverly laid out, very clean, nice spacious rooms (we had two bathrooms, a sitting room, kitchenette, and bedroom with a marvellously comfortable super king-sized bed), a wonderful location, with very friendly and helpful staff (who, unlike at some other places we've been to recently, were not just after tips).
The only problems concerned the food, and the prices charged for it. We ate at all four on-site restaurants, and only had one meal which really met expectations (at the Il Palio Italian). We had high hopes of the Mexican (Acapulco Joe's), having read the reviews here, but the food was pretty bland and made worse by the 'entertainment' - surely the worst guitarist in the world!
Dinner each night worked out at about £50 - £60 for the two of us. The prices on the menus seemed OK, but, as others have mentioned, there is then nearly 25 per cent added for various taxes, and the cheapest bottle of the local Egyptain wine worked out at around £19 per bottle (non-Egyptian wines were around £50 per bottle).
Having said all that, everything else about the hotel was super, and we will probably go again and make more use of the restaurants in Naama Bay. Pomodoro's is our favourite - we ate there four times on this trip and each time the food was excellent and very good value.

Have just returned from a two week stay at this hotel and had a fantastic time. We booked through Thomsons and found the rep at the hotel extremely helpful, she recommended a whole list of reasonably priced restaurants to visit outside of the hotel and the ones we managed to go to during the two weeks were lovely. We did two trips during our stay to Cairo and Petra both of which are well worth the money although long days. Me and my boyfriend also did scuba diving courses through the on site dive centre and this was great with us receiving our PADI cards through within a week, we found it all very well organised.
I disagree that you feel forced to give tips. We did not feel like that during our two week stay, we managed to get two sunbeds every day at whichever pool we chose without having to give any money to any of the pool staff, admittedly you had to get up at a reasonable time to put your towel down but this was not a problem for us. Food and drink on site was a bit pricey but fine for beer and some lunch. The bar stuff at La Rotunda were lovely and I wanted to give a tip one day but he said I had the correct change and took that proving that they are not all out for tips! The mexican was our favourite restaurant for dinner and I would definately recommend the tequila chocolate cake! All in all it was a brilliant two weeks with us not seeing one cloud in the sky and I only wish we could have stayed longer. There is so much more to write but if you want a clean relaxing hotel with good food and friendly staff, on a brilliant reef with many opportunities to go out and about and do things AND guaranteed weather then go to this hotel. I have no doubt that we will definately return at some point in the future.