I've been through sharm airport twice now. And head straight to Dahab, about an hour south of Sharm, much smaller and sports orientated resort. Love it down there, best windsurfing and diving around. Sorry can't give much advice on sharm but from what i can see of the other travellers it seems to be a loud/lively place.
As for currency they like Egyptian pounds and Euros the best (that's all we took, except for sterling). But will accept pretty much anything from what we experienced.
As for the Dahab dash, best thing to do is stock up on anti plop tablets and stay away from anything that looks undercooked or has been washed in just tap water! Thankfully I didn't suffer much but i work in India so i have iron guts, but both my mates were taken ill. Just the differences in culture/food.