High above the Red Sea on the Om El Seed headland, Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Golden View Beach Resort steps down the cliffside in terraces of two storey villas, ending at a private beach where a jetty drops you straight onto one of the best house reefs in Sharm el Sheikh.
The name is literal. From most corners of the resort you look out over open water towards Tiran Island, and at this height the view really is golden at sunrise. The hotel opened in December 2003 under Marriott, whose Renaissance brand it still carries, and it had a full renovation in October 2020, so the villas, restaurants and pools feel considerably fresher than the opening date suggests. Rather than one big block, the accommodation is spread through landscaped grounds and water gardens that cover around 95,000 square metres of hillside.
Who is it for? Snorkellers and divers first, because the reef at the bottom of the property sits between Paradise Reef and the celebrated Ras Umm Sid wall and you reach it from a jetty on the hotel beach, no boat required. Suites run to 92 square metres, some with kitchenettes. Couples who want a settled, grown up resort rather than a strip hotel round out the mix.
Our honest take: this is a hillside property and there are a lot of steps between the main building and the beach, which sits a short way below. Club cars shuttle guests up and down all day, so most people find it part of the charm, but if steps are a worry tell us and we will request a room near the top. In our view the reef, the views and the walkable Ras Um El Sid location make Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh one of the most distinctive five star holidays in the resort.
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Accommodation at Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Golden View Beach Resort sits in two storey villas scattered through the gardens, so you stay on either the ground floor or the upper floor and every room comes with a private balcony or terrace. There are 384 rooms in total, all smoke free, with a choice of one king size bed or two twins, and all were refreshed in the 2020 renovation. Expect a 42 inch flat screen TV, individually controlled air conditioning, tea and coffee making facilities, a safe, a minibar (stocked at a charge) and duvets rather than sheets and blankets, which our customers notice and like. The category structure is refreshingly simple: two room sizes, two view types.
The entry point, and there are 167 of them, so availability is usually good. You get the full 42 square metres, a walk in shower and a balcony or terrace facing the gardens or one of the pools. Extra beds and cots can be requested.
Same size and layout as the Standard, but positioned on the terraces that face the water, with views out towards Tiran Island. There are 105 of these, including loft style rooms on the upper villa floors. For the morning coffee on the balcony alone, we think the upgrade earns its keep.
More than double the size of a standard room, with a proper lounge area and a bathroom with a bathtub, which in this hotel you only find in the suites. Family suites come with a kitchenette, and kitchen utensils are available on request.
The top of the tree: suite space plus the front row water view. With 55 of them there is more choice than at most five star hotels, but the best placed ones still go first, so book early for peak school holiday dates.
Dining is deliberately compact here: one big buffet restaurant and two a la carte venues, backed by five bars spread from the lobby to the sand. What the hotel lacks in venue count it makes up for in setting, and in our view Calamari on the beachfront is one of the nicer places to eat fish in this part of Sharm el Sheikh.
The engine room, serving open buffets for all three meals with themed dinner evenings from 6.30pm to 9.30pm. Expect a broad international spread with Egyptian dishes woven through, and go early in the evening for the calmest tables.
A cosy Italian with pasta and pizza hand made in front of you, open for lunch and dinner. It runs from midday until 11pm and is not free on all inclusive; the hotel has historically applied a small dining credit towards the bill, with the current terms confirmed on arrival, so treat it as a keenly priced escape when the buffet does not appeal.
The star. A beachfront seafood restaurant run market style, with the day’s fish and shellfish cooked in different styles, open from 1pm until late evening. It is priced a la carte and sits outside the all inclusive, though the hotel has at times applied a modest credit towards the bill, and timed for sunset you will see why we book it for customers as a treat night.
Our customers tell us this is the bar with the best cocktails in the hotel, and the afternoon ice cream hours are a popular fixture too.
The evening anchor, with drinks and snacks served until 1am, and the natural spot before and after the nightly show.
Serves the big Rotunda pool behind the main building from 9am until late.
Covers the lower Aqua pool near the beach, with drinks and snacks from 9am to sunset.
Drinks and snacks right on the beach from 9am to sunset, so a snorkel session never has to end for refreshment reasons.
Dress is relaxed by day; in the evenings smart casual is the safe call, and we suggest booking the a la carte restaurants a day ahead in busy weeks.
Unlike many Sharm hotels, Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Golden View Beach Resort is not an all inclusive only property. We sell it on bed and breakfast, half board or all inclusive, and each has its logic here. All inclusive suits anyone planning long pool and reef days; half board appeals to couples who fancy dinners out at Farsha or the Old Market, both close by; bed and breakfast works for divers who are out on boats over lunch.
Programmes are tweaked from season to season, so treat the above as the shape of it rather than gospel; your confirmation from us sets out the exact inclusions for your dates. The a la carte restaurants need booking in advance and sit largely outside the package; the hotel has historically given all inclusive guests a small dining credit towards the bill at La Casa and Calamari, and the exact terms are set locally on arrival, so we confirm the arrangement with your quote. Drinks service at the pool and beach bars runs to sunset, with the Lobby Bar and ZinZina carrying the evening.
The pools follow the terrain, one on each main level of the resort, so wherever your room sits there is water nearby. All three open from sunrise to sunset, and depth signage is clear throughout.
The main pool, directly behind the main building at the top of the resort, with its own jacuzzi and the Rotunda Bar alongside. Crucially for winter sun holidays it is heated from around November to March, which makes Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh a sound January pick.
Down at beach level, this is the pool for people who want to alternate lengths with reef snorkelling. The Aqua Bar keeps drinks and snacks coming until sunset.
Beside the Calamari Seafood Market Restaurant, generally the calmest of the three and a good shout for readers and nappers.
This is the tab that sells the hotel. At the foot of the terraces, around 300 metres below the main building, sits a private beach with 350 metres of frontage looking straight out towards Tiran Island. Steps zig zag down through the gardens and club cars run continuously for anyone who would rather ride, with the Beach Bar and massage cabanas waiting at the bottom.
The coral here is the real thing. A wooden jetty carries you out over the reef flat to steps at the drop off, so you slip into deep, clear water without ever standing on coral. The house reef sits on the stretch between Paradise Reef and the famous Ras Umm Sid wall, one of the most celebrated shore dive and snorkel areas in Sharm el Sheikh, and the fish life reflects it. Guests regularly rate this among the best snorkelling they have done from any hotel beach, and our customers tell us the same. Masks, fins and reef advice are easy to arrange on the beach, and because the reef is yours, you can be in the water at 8am before any boat traffic arrives.
The on site dive centre, Dive In Sharm, is a PADI 5 Star operation with its own training pool and classroom, and it caps groups at six divers per guide, which experienced divers will recognise as a good sign. House reef dives start from the jetty; boat diving leaves from an embarkation point about five minutes away, with day trips to Ras Mohammed National Park, the Straits of Tiran, the Thistlegorm wreck and Dahab’s Blue Hole. Beginners can complete full PADI courses during a week’s holiday.
The reefs on this coast sit within a protected marine environment, so the rules are simple: enter and exit at the jetty, look but never touch or stand on the coral, and leave the fish unfed. Reef shoes are sensible on the shoreline. Follow that and the reef will be just as good for the next visitor, which is rather the point.
Wellbeing here splits between the health club up by the main building and the massage cabanas down on the beach, where a treatment comes with the sound of the Red Sea a few metres away. It is not a vast destination spa, and it does not pretend to be; it covers the essentials properly.
A floodlit tennis court sits within the grounds, with lessons available; court time is rented by the hour and evening lights carry a small charge, though tennis balls are free. Table tennis and beach volleyball are free for guests, there are darts sessions most days, and billiards is available. Between the hillside steps and the swim out to the drop off, most people find the resort itself is the workout.
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