Concorde El Salam Hotel Sharm El Sheikh

Lovely hotel amazing staff especially concierge HAMAS nothing was too much bother we have had a lovely holiday THANK YOU ALL so much from cleaners to bar staff everybody xx

I have just returned from 10 nights at the Concorde El Salam. First impressions of this hotel: It was clean and staff were friendly and accommodating. We arrived late at night (23:30) and once checked in we were directed straight to the restaurant for something to eat. The choice was limited but perfect for a snack after a long day of traveling. Rooms: we had booked a standard twin room and was very happy with it. It was perfect for 2 people with 2 single beds and a seating area and coffee table. There was also a dressing table, fridge, safe and lots of wardrobe space. Our terrace looked out onto one of the small pools which was great and also had 2 chairs and a small table. Special shout out to Hussein who cleaned our room each day and kept us entertained with daily towel animal creations. He greeted us each morning and was genuinely the happiest and nicest person, he also did a great job of cleaning our room and making sure our bottled water was stocked up! Thank you.
Pool areas: We spent the first few days down at the big pool with the swim up bar and infinity pool and it was nice but could get quite busy after 10am, there was also issues around the steps getting into the pool which could get slippy and we saw several people slip and really hurt themselves. The bar also got busy and there was only ever 2 staff working there at a time, however you didn't have to wait too long to be served as long as you spoke up. The staff at the big pool were helpful but didn't provide the service i would have expected for a 5 star hotel, but I think this was because it was so busy and there wasn't enough of them. After a couple of days we tried the aqua gym pool, this was the pool that was outside of our room. WOW! Why didn't we go there from the first day?! The staff were FANTASTIC, the pool was smaller and a lot quieter. The pool bar only set up at 10am (1 hour later than the main pool) and the cocktails weren't the best due to limited ingredient but that didn't matter because Alaa, the bar attendant was so kind, he never left you without a nice cold water and remembered your drinks order and would fill you up when he saw you needed a top up. Another special mention for the aqua gym pool must go to Moustafa, he was a wealth of information about the hotel and the area. He loved to share his knowledge so you could get the best out of your holiday, he also couldn't do enough for you, if you needed the parasol up, no sooner would you stand up to put it up, he was there doing it for you. The staff at the aqua gym pool really were the best in the hotel and made this hotel feel like the 5 star hotel it is! Food and restaurants: The food at this hotel was brilliant. After reading some reviews I was worried and thought we would have to spend a couple of evenings eating over at soho square. This was not the case and we never ate out once! Everyday there was so much choice and we never saw the same thing twice. My only negative about the restaurants is that there was no information about the other restaurants given when we check in and I didn't see any information around the hotel either. You just had to work it out for yourself which was a shame because we ended up only finding 2 of the restaurant 2 days before we were due to come home and wasn't sure what was and wasn't included in our all inclusive. During our stay we ate at the Italian buffet (included in all inclusive), Mexican (included in all-inclusive and is set up at the pool bar in the evenings) and flames (set meal included in all inclusive and located under the beach bar). Food was 10/10. Beach: we didn't spend much time at the beach so cant comment on drinks, food or staff however, we did go down there daily for snorkelling and swimming. The snorkelling is amazing but the walkway gets very busy. Water shoes were helpful on the beach as it was pebbly in places and the shallow water off the beach was slippy and stony. The beach bar above flames restaurant did lovely cocktails with a fabulous view! A perfect pitstop on your way back from the beach, which is quite steep with lots of steps!
Entertainment: This was pretty non existent. We saw water aerobics in the main pool a couple of times and I believe there was a pink party at the main pool one day but were were advised to avoid the main pool area that day as lots of guests came over from the sport hotel for the party and it would be extremely busy, so we stayed at the smaller pool that day. Again, very limited information given on entertainment so we didn't even know what was going on most of the time. Evening entertainment is in the main restaurant which I thought was a strange concept as people would reserve tables limiting the amount of tables for people to eat at. We never stayed for the entertainment so cant comment on the quality but we would sit at the piano bar in the evening and its didn't sound great. Location: This hotel was so close to soho square where there are shop, restaurants and bars. We walked there a couple of times and had some drinks in the 'queen vic' where they showed English football. Its was nice to have that option to go out for a walk in the evenings! There was also a row of shops in front of the hotel where there was a pharmacy and small supermarket (there is a larger/ better supermarket on the walk to soho square). This hotel was also a short 10 minute drive from the airport. You could hear the planes landing and taking off regularly.
Trips: We went to white island which we booked through the hotel. It was a great day out and the food provided was great. Would defiantly recommend! Bars: Its important to note that most football games were shown in the Normandy bar/ night club. Again we were not made aware of his bar as it was tucked away next to the spa and you wouldn't have a clue it was there unless you asked someone. No complains from any of the other bars and all the staff were great.