The Best Hotel in Sharm El Sheikh

 

Since my last trip to Egypt, I have had one question asked over and over:

"Which is the best hotel you stayed at in Sharm?"

And I must be honest, it's really tough to answer that. It's not because I don't have an opinion, but rather, I have favourite bits in all of them. That includes the budget hotel which I would never (?) return to.

"What do you like?" is my usual response. 

If you like quality food, a serene atmosphere and quieter music, I would suggest the Tui Blue Sensatori (Coral Sea). 

The hotel was exquisite in every way. The pool was well heated, the food was the best I have tasted in Sharm. For me, travelling as a celiac, the food labelling is important. I should share something on another post - insider information - I found out something pretty significant. I will go into more detail about this hotel in its own blog post. 

Incredible room with a jacuzzi bath

Stunning sunsets and beautiful fairy lights for New Year

The pool at night, engulfed with bouganvilla

If you want fun, Coral Sea Water World (CSWW) is your jam. The place has my heart. I totally fell in love with CSWW over the years and it feels like home for so many people. The food seems a little more basic these days which is a pity, but it is completely edible. 

One of the pools is heated and that's the place to go for all the action during the cooler months.  We fondly refer to it as the 'little swimming pool'.

No words can describe this sunrise

The little swimming pool is heated in winter

Incredible jaccuzi room

The rooms are big at CSWW and I would have thought the entertainment would be better suited to children there, although one Mum shared how much her little ones loved the Tui Blue. The staff kept them entertained nicely. 

The Budget hotel was called the Rehana. I stayed there as a base while I ventured out to the other hotels to film and take photos and that was a good idea. Booking through Love Holidays was a new adventure to me.  I only paid £420 for the entire two weeks. The cost included flights from Gatwick, 14 nights accommodation in a single room (there were very comfy twin beds) and food and drinks for the duration of the stay. I will go in to more details on another blog post about the finer details of this hotel. I have a lot to say. Not all good; but some was good, and for the price I paid, I can't complain overly. It's hard to recommend this hotel because the quality just wasn't up to scratch. I'm sad to say this about any place in Egypt as I do feel the place carries some magic, no matter what. 

Back in 2009, I visited Sharm for the first time. I stayed at a place called the Royal Albatros Moderna back then and I decided I wanted to go back again. The main reason was to research for my upcoming book "This time in Africa". 

The management of the hotel overdelivered and far exceeded my expectations. I was met by the booking.com manager, Luca, who showed me to my incredible suite for the next couple of days. 

The hotel is now called the Pickalbaros Royal Moderna. Let's call it Moderna. I felt as if there was something for everyone there. The family areas were bustling and exciting with music and dancing woven throughout the daytime and the quiet areas were certainly snoozeworthy. Play areas for the children were dotted around the grounds and there were games galore, including mini golf. 

One of the longest piers in Nabq

This shower came at me from all angles! Incredible.

This one wasn't gluten free - but how pretty

Stunning cafe area with a real barrister

Happy me. 

Food in the Moderna was more than adequate, but seldom are you able to expect Michelin star standards in Sharm. The Tui Blue concept was the best show of food, and I found it hard to improve the food suggestions there. Tasty, pretty, well-labelled food was in every restaurant and the service was second to none. 

I will detail these four hotels, and what I have found in each of them, in their own individual blog posts, so come back for more. 

To answer the question of which was my favourite or which was the best, is impossible. What do you like? Which would I go to again? It really depends on the wants and needs at the time.

Something you mustn't miss is the extensive videos I created about these hotels. They will show you everything you could wish to know and more - I hope you find them useful.

Do reach out to me if you have questions - but there will be plenty more information upcoming.

As always

Louise xoxo

PS - this post may include affiliate links, which means if you book with the links, the company may pay me a few pence for the introduction.

Egypt - I don't recognise you

 Egypt has changed

 

Fifteen years ago I visited Sharm for the first time and it changed my life.

That’s not an exaggerated version of the story, it did change my life. 

 

Revisiting the hotel, where I felt an awakening, was surreal. I’m sitting here now, writing this, and it’s unrecognisable—just my life. I could sit here and write quite happily, leaving the sun’s rays unattended. What is that feeling?

 

Coming back here again to research the book that will be the final book in the series, I didn’t know what to expect. I wanted to venture off the beaten track, go back to old places that held special memories, and take photos and videos to help me with the writing process. I got more than I bargained for.

 

The hotel I am in now is called the Pickalbatros Royal Moderna. It’s turned full circle to be here, as I had my ‘awakening’ shall we call it – in this hotel, 15 years ago.

Yesterday I searched through old photos and thankfully found some. Turning my phone screen to the management, I asked if this is actually the same place. Back then, terracotta rooves surrounded a swimming pool which has now changed shape. I was concerned that I hadn’t recognised any of this hotel at all. There’s even a swimming pool where I didn’t think there was a pool. It's new. The management assured me there have been major rebuilds going on. 

How it looked iin 2009

Today

 

Afraid of forgetting things as they are, I wondered if keeping my YouTube videos was a genius idea. Writing from life dictates an element of truth and accuracy. I couldn’t plant a flying unicorn in the middle of this hotel, for example. For the purpose of the story, I could use an inaccurate memory of course, but this was bothering me how little I remembered.

 

Taking out my journal and pen, I decided to get my thoughts down about what exactly I was doing here. What was my aim or purpose? It certainly wasn’t ‘a holiday’ as people suggested. I can’t tell you the last time I took one of those – actually – it was the UK summer when I stayed in the tent. But when I travel, it is for the purpose of finding a story, creating YouTube videos and taking photos for my blog. Is this sustainable? Is this the end goal?

How do you even know what you are supposed to be doing? 

I would say, dig deep. Feel what’s inside and go from there. Of course, you need to be sensible but I found on this trip I feel a certain way. I feel I need to keep my faith in my writing and the books I produce. Time will tell of course but without a clear message, how can I expect people to be invested in my business? 

 

For a long time, I thought travel vlogging would likely be the route forward, but now I see it’s one of the things I do alongside my writing. 

Many years have passed since I began writing and my passions around biography and diaries has grown over that time. I feel it’s important we share those stories, which will remain even if a hotel has been rebuilt. 

Why Egypt?

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

My affection for Sharm El Sheikh began a very long time ago. 

During the time between then and now, I’ve heard many opinions about my repeat visits. 

Rarely, if ever, quizzical questions come from people who have visited the area themselves. They know; they've felt it. 

Stunning Egyptian Sunsets

I was at Diane’s house, my friend from school, chatting about where to book my next holiday (many years ago). She began telling me about Egypt, and I was the one full of questions. 

As she explained to me the level of service you can expect from the resorts, my eyes sparkled as she told me, “You just get out of the pool and there’s a man there with a fresh towel for you. You can change it anytime.” 

As simple as this may sound, I was a Mum to young twins, with a demanding job and some health struggles too. Thinking of being taken care of for a while, so I could relax and feel some peace, was an idea I loved. 

We booked. 

Jasmine and I were on our way

The first visit was something unique. I had overpacked. All I really needed were bikinis at the time of year. We didn’t want to venture out at all. We wanted to stay, be looked after, and relax. 

While sitting on the private beach of the resort, the lazy waves rolled in here and there and I felt a surge of difference. 

Something ran through me as if undoing all the things I knew about life. I questioned it all; everything I had previously believed. 

Returning the following year, at a new hotel, I knew this would be somewhere I could feel at home. Wondering if I was perhaps a local in a former life, my love for the country was solidified. 

Explaining the magic that’s woven through the feeling you can experience in Sharm el Sheikh isn’t easy. 

I’m going to try and explain more in my upcoming book, “Me Time in Africa,” which will challenge my creative abilities. 

There are some things you can’t explain. But we all feel it when we visit Sharm. 

And it’s calling me back once again. 

In just a couple of short weeks, I will be going to film and research more in the area of Sharm. Exploring new hotels, places off the beaten track, and popular tourist attractions, I hope to share my findings. 

We deserve to feel that magic when we travel. The indescribable feeling of something which just seems right, for just a little while, and lets you press pause on life as we know it. 

Coral Sea Water World resort

Morning coffee, before the resort awakes. Bliss.

Catching the sunrise

The Mermaid restaurant is one of my favourite places to eat lunch 

An array of nature, which looks unfamiliar compared to home

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Wanderlust is back! The Sinai Desert

We have active wanderlust and I couldn’t be more excited for the upcoming trips. Since my last account was hacked, I’m going to be reposting some of my favourite photos from my best trips on my instagram page. 💕

The Sinai desert was full of wonder as underfoot the moon like appearance gave us an unfamiliar feeling. As the sun set and the stars graced us with their genuine mind blowing show, we gazed open mouthed at a sight never before acknowledged in such a way. 💫 This place felt magical and mystery filled the air as much as the coldness did during the transition from day to night. 🌓 We made bread and danced around the fire while drinking sweet hibiscus tea from an aluminium kettle 🌺 Memories like these are timeless.

Holidays - were would you love to go?

Just daydream right now about where would you love to be and why?

I'm so lucky I've seen some lovely places in the world.  I'd still to visit lots more though.  Hawaii is top of the list!  It must have some magic there as many gurus live there.

So,  where would you love to visit and why?

I'll share a few photo's here with you and I'll go into specifics at a later date - if you are like me,  you will love seeing photos of other's adventures.

Lovely trip to Venice

Kiddies took this photo in Spain 

Give you one guess where this is? Yes, we visited Florida to see Micky Mouse 

Me enjoying some Egyptian sunshine

Ahh one of my favourite places in the world, Scotland.  I've some gorgeous photos from this holiday.

Local camping trip in Kent, Uk

So many blogs to write, so many vlogs to edit

Morning all

News in the Usher household is plentiful right now!

There is so much going on.  I love life when it's like that!

Now it's mostly about this fella right now, my adorable Mo.

In 8 sleeps he will be getting on the plane to come here and join me for the start of a brand new life together.

You can imagine how exciting this time is.  I'm feeling a need to blog it all as it happens so you can get up to date and be with us on the journey as it happens!

As an author I'm keen to get on with more books,  Mo and I  have decided we have an amazing story and we should be sharing it with others to give them hope or to simply give them a nice story to read.

So I need a little schedule.  With my morning coffee I shall sit and blog more.  I could write until the cows come home! IT's part of what I do.... It's my passion.

I love this photo of us.  It was  a fun filled night of friends, vodka, music, laughter and dancing! We loved it.  Some of my close friends have told me they can feel the love in this photo!  How nice.

Meanwhile,  I've lots of photos I can share with you as I shop ebay and the local stores for wedding accessories etc....

Stay tuned!

A thank you - and one of my biggest secrets revealed!

Hey folks

Just wanted to write a quick check in.  I've been really humbled lately at how many of you are sending me messages of praise.  It's so lovely to get positive feedback from all of you and I really appreciate it.  

As with all bloggers and business people everywhere,  lots and lots of work goes into providing an online service  - like this and I'm still very much working 'out there' in businesses helping with advice and strategy.  Passionate about this work,  I wake every day full of excitement for my day and I'm so happy with my latest client.  You may have seen me post,  he has increased his profit so dramtically within 5 days that we are now meeting once a month and I'm taking care of his blogs, newsletters and mentoring also once a month.   He has found his investment more than took care of itself and he no longer feels alone in his business.

Bringing home a dream for me,  I'm pretty much like the area manager that independent business owners lack.  Previously in my 20's I was reliant on Area Manager for support and really needed this as the operations manager of a big BIG project.  Ok,  this is too much about me and I would love you to keep reading - now let's talk about improving your life. 

NB: Notice how I didn't say, "I don't want you to stop reading" instead I used, "I would love you to keep reading." These tweaks in your everyday language will help you towards the life of your dreams.  Honestly.  My life has changed so much and if you had told me 2 years ago where I would be today,  I'm not sure I would have thought you were telling the truth!

If you would love to start making your dreams come true I do still have some limited one to one slots for online help.  Although there is LOADS of free stuff out there for you,  here are some links: Come on over and join us.

https://twitter.com/LouiseUsher

Facebook group (Use this to market your own business too and tell stories of manifestations/creating your Lusher Life)

Facebook page

And of course you can sign up on the right hand side of this page for my newsletter.  This will get you my audiobook into your inbox within a couple of weeks.  

I'll let you have a little secret as you have read this far,  Don't buy my amazon book just yet.  That's right.... DONT! Haha, no I haven't gone crazy but I'm adding to the book to give you better value.  I will be adding real stories of manifestations onto the Basics to the Law of Attraction and it will be available to purchase also as a real book as lots and lots of you have told me you like a REAL book :O)  No problem,  leave it with me,  this sure is a lovey but busy time right now for me in between helping people with their business,  blogging, vlogging and travelling.......not forgetting of course the manifestations.  

I'm currently working on my biggest life changing manifestations.  Would you like to know about it? I'm keeping it just for those who email me louise@stranddesigns.co.uk right now but I am privately VLogging it and may load to youtube in the future, may just keep it for you lucky few.

Let's keep in touch.  Once again,  thank you.  You're awesome and you make me happy :O)

Much love

Louise x

Have a look at my Tree Plaque for me and my family which was awarded to us in our second home, Egypt this year.  So lucky!

Top reasons you take action on a dream

One of the top reasons you decided to take action on a dream

You have a dream. 

Often we sit on these for a while…. Occasionally finding reasons not to do something.  That ‘head chatter’ telling us why we might not be good enough to follow our dream.

One day, while having a browse, there they are; 1000 reasons to DO IT!!!

Someone else is doing what you dreamed of doing.  Yet nowhere  NEAR as good as you can do it.

So you tell yourself, “Well,  if they can do it,  I can do it.  Better than that too!”

Why not?  Of course you can.  If you look at their

Stats

Views

Likes

+1’s

Follows

Retweets

Comments

Reblog’s

You see no reason to think they aren’t successful.  Again,  if they can do it, so can you.

WHY?

Why might you be successful…?  Have you heard of many people like me coaching folks and reminding them to be ‘uniquely you’?

Some coaches write it like this: You-niquely!!!

What that means is that we are all so very different.  People will find a reason to like you, love you, follow you.  Yet that person who you watched previously and thought was “Quite frankly a bit of a pratt” and decided you are better at delivering, has followers who love him/her. Yet others who feel the same as you, that he/she didn't attract positively may spend their money with someone like you! 

We will all attract a different audience and therefore this is the main reason why NOT being YOURSELF won’t work.

Being yourself will resonate with your TRUE audience/clients and attract people who you totally SHOULD be working with.  This will also leave you feeling fired up and refreshed at the end of every day as opposed to exhausted from keeping up a big façade.

You are amazing just the way you are.  This is the reason you should follow that dream!

Look what the flip I did!

Look how brave I am!!!!

I don't mean just the snake in the video... (video is at the bottom of this blog)

Now yes, the snake thing was pretty scary and totally took me out of my comfort zone!

Yet while I was in this place I have previously called paradise... (you've heard that one before) I also fell head over heels in LOVE

Love.......

Funny thing that,  love.  Now I've sat quietly on this for some time because...... well,   because I'm a professional person who takes her career seriously.

Now...

While my work has a few different slants,  Primarily I help salon businesses with the marketing and management of their salons.  This is no secret.

I also still do styling for  several A-listers!

Folks have been asking me for ages to teach my "secret" on how I managed to turn my life around from a gloomy place to the paradise it now is.

I was running some workshops..

Spreading the word of the Law of Attraction.  People wanted more and more of this from me.

Cut to today,  I'm still the same business woman but now I've opened up my life to show more and more of the personal side of me.  I've popped a video on Youtube which is the start of documenting how I found my ideal partner.  He and I have quite a story to share with you and we are going to be adding more and more to this channel so please go have a look, feel free to share and you must subscribe to make sure you don't miss any more of this story!

We are hoping that people will beleive more and more that dreams do come true and I'm sharing the love via the net and it's my dream to empower people enough to carry on making this stuff.  I need your support and hoping that with the support of amazon,  my books, the affiliate links and the like that we can keep on providing this stuff for free and continue to teach folks 

"Don't stop believing"  (sing along now) because I know that dreams really do come true!

Find me here: Author page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00C1KEE5E

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Perceptions of Paradise

Knowing we are all different is commonplace.

Accepting that can be a little tough. 

Realising what makes us -and others- tick is a fascinating subject and one that has brought me to a place of new found freedom.

Having spent the last few days completely connected to the source within me (some of you may know what I mean when I say I’m in the vortex) I have been taken to a place which has again opened my eyes to a new world.

Since turning 40 I seem to be learning so much! You would think you know everything by then....

So, what is Paradise?

Sharing with you my thoughts and feeling of paradise may be what one other person sees as an idea of hell on earth. Sounds pretty obvious right? Well, it is! I’m not telling you anything new when I say we all have objective opinions. Here in Egypt this week I have met some amazing people as always and as I have felt so open in my vortex, it’s easy to freely communicate with new folks.

To me, where I am right now, is pure heaven on earth.

Paradise:

I’ll enlighten to you how I see it......

Red sea full of fish, like a scene from “Finding Nemo” yet better than that is being in the hands of experienced divers who give you the total feeling of safety. 

How can it be that the very same waters which houses some dangers can set you so at peace. When you look under water and see the natural tranquility that glides effortlessly throughout the waters everyday, the rest of the world seems so far away.

At the end of every resort (built for the holiday makers) there is a pier. Don’t imagine Eastbourne or Brighton. Much much more simple. Less complex making way for the natural beauty. 

Which is, a backdrop of mountains, the red sea, the shimmering clear waters.

Just this morning a heron came to greet me at 6am on my windy walk. Like a well rehearsed actor he glided in settling in front of me, watching for fish.

Excited, I grabbed my camera and took dozen of photos of him catching his breakfast. Despite the brightness of the suns rays blinding the pictures, I was sure there were some fab photos on there. Literally with fists punching the air with excitement, I could have screamed out,

“YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!”

Nature is a wonder of beauty. She is all around. Being here gives me the freedom to experience really seeing her. Not looking at, but looking through, feeling her, experiencing her, letting her in and soaking her all up.

Loving nature as I do, I always connect and ground myself no matter where I am. Last year in November was Scotland. 

That was emotional! Quite a work of natural art. This October its Egypt. Sharm el Sheikh. So what sets it apart for me?

Have you ever read trip advisor? Leaving the holiday behind seems easy for many. They write on trip advisor in such a manner that you cannot fail to feel their pain of such a clearly awful trip. 

The porcelain in their sink was cracked. 

Lunchtime was self service in a certain restaurant.

Beer was served in half pint not pint measures.

The sun is too hot.

The sand isn’t small enough grains.

Ok.

The list is endless.

For every individual it is relative. For some, a self service restaurant may make or break the holiday. Requesting to move hotels would demonstrate how this is keeping them from connecting, getting in the vortex. What should a holiday be about? What is PARADISE?

I am thinking right now that our entire lives should be paradise. We should be connected all of the time, in the vortex. However, not only listening to Abraham Hicks but also observing while in paradise has shown me that if we spend all of our time without contrast, then the whole life experience becomes on one level. For me, the contrast will come tomorrow, when I leave paradise to come home. Leaving here the last time gave me a pain in my heart which took some getting over. This time I will try to be safe in the knowledge that I can return, making this a part of my life which I can experience at free will. Using the law of attraction I will manifest more trips which fill me up with so much happiness and connectivity. 

Staying here all the time, would I lose the desire to punch the air and shout “YESSS” when I see the heron come for breakfast? Would I take it all for granted?

Most likely.

So what has made me feel that this is paradise? 

The surroundings?

The weather?

The bouganvillia?

The food?

Well in reality they all helped. Although if I were to pick one thing to place at the top of the heat.......

It’s a feeling. 

It’s the feeling the people give you here. The locals, the holiday makers, the staff. If I could have one wish for the world, it would be that we all treat each other lovingly, with respect. Wishing for the world to be at peace.

In a bubble of happiness, my husband and I arrived here feeling like celebrities. Somebody. We were somebody.

Somebody who was appreciated. They all smiled with big hugs and kisses and lots of “Welcome back”. If I could bottle that feeling of appreciation and being ‘somebody’..............sigh........what a wonderful world this would be.