Visit Egypt's best holiday hotspot where you can stay five-star for under £100 - and ice-skate to keep cool
This is where the desert and granite mountains meet the Red Sea and are transformed into a 40-mile belt of coral reef, part of an underwater National Park that teems with colourful marine creatures.
A holiday here is mainly about sun, sea and snorkelling but if you're itching for desert adventures, take a guided tour by dune buggy or quad bike into the Valley of Holes, where Bedouin people continue to live a nomadic life and camels roam.
FOR… £300 A NIGHT
Egypt's premier beach resort and a favourite bolthole for celebs, Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh is secreted away from the main tourist drag of Naama Bay in vast palm-studded gardens.
Two hundred and eighty rooms (ranging from guestrooms to villas) nestle amid bougainvillea, jacaranda and hibiscus, and for those who don't wish to tackle the short walk to the kilometre-long private beach, where sun loungers and cabanas line the water's edge, there's a shiny, retro funicular in operation.
All rooms are generous with Egyptian-inspired architecture, but those added in 2020 are a little more stylish.
There are five pools dotted around and Sinai Blues, the diving and water sports centre, offer snorkelling excursions and all levels of dive experiences from introductory dips in the pool to advanced night dives in open water.
In The Spa, try a Cleopatra treatment: a bath of milk, honey and roses followed by a massage.
Of its many dining options, Zitouni, which serves up Middle Eastern dishes such as ouzy el sham (braised lamb with nuts, peas and cinnamon) shish taouk (chicken in a Lebanese marinade), is a standout.
As is pan-Asian Yatai and the ocean-view Reef Grill for casual, barbecue dinners and lunches.
There's a fantastic kid's club, as well as a golf course and tennis courts, and day excursions include stargazing camel treks to dune buggy safaris.
OR …£96 A NIGHT THE SAVOY
With 408 rooms, The Savoy is one Sharm's original five-star mega resorts.
It's part of the group that own glitzy Soho Square (an entertainment cornucopia of restaurants, shops, bowling alley, and an ice rink to cool down in), located on the resort's doorstep.
You can pay extra to add Soho Square's restaurants into their all-inclusive dining package.
There is some noise pollution from neighbouring resorts and bedrooms aren't a knockout (with bland colour schemes of beige and brown) but they are well maintained.
What guests return for, year after year, is service with a smile from friendly staff.
On a private beach, loungers and thatched umbrellas line the water, and there are five pools, three of which are adult-only.
At the spa try the Egyptian herbal body wrap, and not to be missed is lunching on fresh-off-the-boat grilled prawns at Seafood Island, the hotel's popular, beachside lunch spot.
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