I travelled here on 12th March with my husband, were both in our 30's and as it was our 2nd visit to Sharm, and took my parents who are in their 60'a with us as i knew they wouldn’t go it alone but would love it and they did, they are now looking to rebook for October.
We previously stayed at the Iberotel palace, which to was excellent, but doesn’t warrant the higher 5 star prices compared to the Fanara as they are both very similar, the only difference is that the beds are bigger in the palace and you have cushioned cane chairs instead of plastic ones. We found the pool, beach and bar to be better at the Fanara and the food very similar. A lot of people knock the food, but we always found something to have, it was always warm and the sweets were lovely. The breakfasts were also excellent, but i would advise to eat inside for lunch as while its handy to eat by the pool their are flies around trying it out first, although there’s usually a member of staff swatting them away. The main thing was there was always a good choice, and on the whole tasty. You just don’t get 5 star food when you go all inclusive, so don’t expect it. We always prefer to go for at least 2 meals out away from the hotel, as it makes a night of it. We use all-inclusive as a way of having plenty to drink during the day (as in soft drinks to stop dehydration) and sitting out on on the terrace on an evening if we don’t fancy going into namma bay.
We found the rooms to be fine, the beds were really comfortable and the shower excellent, always hot water. We had paid extra for the sea view room and kettle and mini bar filled up daily, and we were glad we did. We enjoyed sitting out as the sun went down overlooking the pool and sea with a very large bottle of sakara beer, which by the way was replenished so well spares were lined up down the side of the fridge.
The staff are what really make this hotel as they cant do enough for you, we had our 4 sun beds saved in the same spot for us everyday, although they were plentiful and always empty beds and umbrellas through out the day. ahmed did this and greeted us every morning with a smile and a handshake and enjoyed the opportunity to practice his English, you may think all this was for a tip, but my dad gave him a fiver on the first day and we got the same friendly service for the whole week. our sun beds looked out to the sea (see my pictures) but were close to the bar and swimming pool, perfect.
One night we ate in the residence area restaurant (a slow 10 minutes walk, 5 if your fast, from the club area) and this was lovely as you can sit outside, but as my farther is disabled it was too far for him to walk every night or we would have returned. the walk to the restaurant is lovely, under walkways of bougainvillea. I think we will return to this hotel as it was extremely clean and everything in the club area is on your doorstep, much better than waiting for buggies to take you to your room when its too hot to walk like with the bigger hotels. March was the perfect time to go as it wasn’t too busy but still really warm, the only problem was winds had brought in jelly fish and i was stung by one, nothing bad and it was made up for by seeing some wonderful fish, a sting ray and a crocodile fish, just metres away from the beach.
Overall a perfect winter break.

We booked a deluxe sea view room and got a good size room overlooking the sea and the pool. I contacted the hotel in advance to make sure we can have a double bed and not 2 twin beds, and we had 2 twin beds! The hotel (rooms, grounds etc…) is very clean, the beds are a bit tired though.
The staff is very friendly and helpful but the animation team is a pain, they played the same CD every day at the same time for the same activities. This is not a full all inclusive as you have only 5 cocktails in the all inclusive menu and we paid 5 pounds for a mediocre mojito the 1st evening, but we learnt our lesson. All juices are colored and sweet water. The food is very average, that is the main con of this place, the Egyptian dishes are better as well as olives and dates. After a couple of days I was so bored with the buffet that we bought some fresh fish they cooked at the bar in the evening and it was very good. The main restaurant feels like a canteen and the staff is taking your plate/ glass/ whatever as soon as you put it back on the table. Dinner was not a relaxing time for me.
The pool is very nice and heated, we enjoyed the same relaxing corner every day. We did not go to the beach as it was too crowded and you probably need to get up at 6am to have a sun lounge. The weather was really good, sunny every day but not too warm.
You have a lot of Russians and French, mainly families or couples. I think we will be going back to Sharm but not to the same hotel because we rarely go twice to the same place and there is nothing outstanding there that would justify another stay.

Trying to play spot the cloud in Sharm is a very boring game, 7 days and nothing but the bluest sunny skys, if you are coming from England prepare to be dazzled. My wife, a self confessed sun lounge lover, was in heaven. Amazingly even the wonderful weather came second to the sea and its coral. To walk on the hotel beach wade into the water and have shoals of brilliantly coloured fish around your legs is a sight to behold. The coral itself around the beach has had a very hard time with being stood on and looks a worn out brown, but by snorkeling a bit further out or using the hotels resident PADI scuba centre you can see both the colourful fish and coral (the dive center can also rent you an underwater camera that will use your own memory sticks).

The hotel, as other reviews state, is clean and the staff are very frendly and helpful, the food is the real let down though. I guess it must be hard for the chefs to produce massive quanties of food and keep it interesting day after day but any pretence that the resterants are any thing other than cafeterias goes after day 2. By day 5 all inclusive does not seem that good deal it did back home. The good thing about this is it forces you to eat out and Sharm & Namma Bay has some wonderfull restaurants and even street side vendors- try it, enjoy it and put your tummy in the hands of the Pharoes!!

Over all then, we will be going back to Sharm but not to the same hotel but that is because of the food and not a reflection on the facilities or staff.

had a great week at the fanara everything we asked for we got and you do need to ask. we booked a seaview room and got a good one overlooking the sea and the pool. the hotel is very clean and the staff are very helpful and seem to prefer the english guests although there was only 25 of us. 70% of the guests are from russia or the eastern block. the snorklin is great lots of fish but watch out for the jellyfish. beach really needs a jetty but one can manage. the reef at this point must be the best because all the boats anchor there for diving. the beach gets very full with the russians so pick a good place by the pool which is better but the animation team are too much. a good tip is to eat at the gazelle resturant at the other end of the residence a ten minute walk its a lot more civilised than the main dining area/canteen. we will probably go again because the hotel is just the right size to be intimate. food is ok there is something for everyone unless you are a fussy eater.