Pickalbatros Royal Grand Resort Sharm El Sheikh

Just arrived back from a great holiday at this resort.

In the interest of being fair and unbiased i have listed some of the many pros and some considerations:

Pros:

1. Fantastic staff who are warm, friendly, funny and welcoming. Whilst it sounds cheesy, it is true that the staff really make the resort what it is!! I’ve listed a few people below that deserve a special mention.
2. The resort is well maintained and is clean throughout.
3. Our room (3303) was modern, clean, a good size and comfortable. Bottles of water are delivered daily by the housekeeping team so you never run out!
4. Food is good and varied. We never struggled to find something to eat. Soprano is the main Buffet restaurant, Mediterranean is a smaller buffet style restaurant which has a different offering to Soprano. Culina is the a-la-carte which can be visited once per stay.
5. Lots of daily activities to do with the animation team, or if this isn’t your bag, then there’s a quiet pool for guests who want to just relax.
6. The onsite reef is ok. We found some other better ones on a boat trip to tiran island but if you want to snorkel and see the types of fish that reside on a Red Sea reef then you won’t be disappointed.

Considerations:

1. Whilst the resort caters for multiple nationalities, the vast majority of guests are either local (Egyptian, Palestinian, Israeli etc) or Eastern European (Russian, Albanian etc). Very few English/British guests, however everyone gets along well.
2. Some areas of the hotel could do with an update and/or a little improving. The pool bridge looks a little dated with tiles missing from the sides etc and some of the older rooms could be refurbed.
3. A fixed jetty rather than floating one would be easier for guests
4. Sales people from the spa, salon, dive centre etc will approach you every day. Beware of some of the prices. These can be expensive - haggle if you are interested.

Special mentions: Staff we found to be truly amazing and should be commended for their hospitality, and amazing service:

Roma - absolute legend who runs the pool area and lifeguard team. Thank you for everything!! Lifeguard ceaser (not his actual name - apologies) was amazing and helped with towels everyday!

Animation team are great, especially Pepsi, Mando and Omar. Great guys, full of energy and always laughing!

Pool bar team; Emad, Nader, Mahmoud - never saw us go without a drink and even made us some special ones!

Restaurant teams across the resort; Omer (the smileys person we have ever met), Amr, Mahmoud, Ahmed, Halthan - all amazing guys who make you feel very welcome every day!!

Lobby bar team; Ahmed, Khalid (DJ), Mahmoud always remember your order and are great fun.

Overall the report offers a great holiday experience and we look forward to returning. Thank you for making our stay a fantastic experience!!

The location, atmosphere, and the warmth of the hosts were excellent. The entertainment was fantastic. Many thanks to Anastasia from Guest Relations, and to Moustafa and Ahmed at the beach bar; it was a wonderful week. If I had to point out a downside, I would say that the à la carte restaurant is in an open-air setting, which isn't very comfortable during a heatwave, and the jetty is made of floating blocks—which isn't really recommended when the sea is rough.

We had an absolutely amazing stay and can't thank the staff enough for making our holiday so memorable. A special thank you to Khaled, Mossad and Rafey, who all went above and beyond every single day. They were always friendly, professional, welcoming and genuinely cared about making sure we had the best possible experience. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and they always greeted us with a smile. The food was amazing throughout our stay, with a fantastic choice every day and something for everyone. The cleanliness of the entire resort was also outstanding. Everywhere was spotless, from the rooms to the restaurants, pools and gardens. It's clear that the staff work incredibly hard to maintain such high standards. Khaled, Mossad and Rafey are a real credit to the hotel, and they played a huge part in making our holiday so enjoyable. Thank you all for your kindness and excellent service. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel and we can't wait to come back!