We were the only Brits there, most of the guests being Italian, French or Polish. The location is perfect - picture perfect beach, big pool (only part of it heated) and nice and green. The rooms are large and clean, but don't expect five-star quality. Unlike larger resorts e.g. sharm, the rooms are all within 3 minutes walk from the beach/pool.

The food: there is a large buffet restaurant with outdoor and indoor seating. The food was very repetitive but edible, and no-one in our family got ill. Every day there is a pasta station offering the same 2 sauces, a buffet with a rice dish, very chewy meat and overcooked chicken, and sometimes a lasagne (with added food colouring to look like the italian flag(!)). The salads are great, and there is a soft drinks vending machine that you can help yourself to. Lunch and supper were basically the same (except thursday evening is egyptian food night, but don't expect anything authentic or particularly tasty). Breakfast is bread and sweet cakes, and eggs cooked as you want. This got very tedious.

The one thing that drove us crazy, though, was the noise. The animation teams (there seemed to be one for each nationality) were constantly playing loud pop music by the pool and by the beach. It was so loud that the two different tracks could be heard at the same time, and even in the room with the door closed! If you want a peaceful trip, look elsewhere.

We didn't snorkel off the beach but we did wade out a long way. The sea is very shallow until the drop off, which can only really be reached at high tide, unless you are extremely thin or don't care about destroying the coral (i.e. don't). I dive but I didn't use the on-site centre because if you're not italian it would not be much fun. Instead a short and nice walk left along the beach will take you to marsa shagra, an 'eco-diving resort' which has a large and very organised diving centre, and where i would stay if i came back to marsa alam, which i would definitely want to. The house reef is great there and they offer excursions by boat or bus. I don't know anything about the food, but the emphasis is on diving and accommodation is very clean and comfortable, but basic if you're on a tight budget.

In conclusion, if you like loud music and are not fussy about food, blue reef may be for you (especially if you are italian, as the resort is clearly set-up almost exclusively for italians, with all the signs is the language etc.). If you want a quiet break with some beautiful diving or snorkelling, go next door.

Spent a single night over this 4 (???) stars resort. The room had very (very very) poor quality. We've been missing the tap water all the night long and the bathroom was terribly stinking.
The reception didn't help at all while we pointed out these discomforts
the buffet restaurant had the same poor quality of the room.
Beautiful landscape and beach

Blue Reef hotel is a very good choice if you plan a dive trip or a quiet holiday in Marsa Alam.The resort is small, very clean,with a beautiful garden and built in arabian stlye.Rooms are big,comfy,have a terrace with a nice sea /pool view.The house reef is amazing,the long beach very clean .If you want to reach the drop off to the house reef,you need to walk a little , but it is worth.(don't forget to wear shoes)Dive spots around Marsa Alam are 'a must' for every diver.(dugongs,giant turtles,barracudas,dolphins,sharks).The dive center is just in front of the hotel,the people there very nice ,friendly and polite.The food was very good(don't forget to check every evening the BBQ corner).Everything was fresh ,clean and delicious.Missed vegetables at the breakfast tough,but they were in a huge amount at lunch and dinner.Bottled water was not included(you can buy it at the bar or at the shop just in front of the hotel) No,WIFI ,only one computer with internet access in the lobby.Hotel staff,very nice,polite and friendly.All in one ,I had a very nice stay and I would recommend this hotel to family with kids,divers ,but it isn't really a holiday place for young travellers(a little bit boring at nights).

i was there for a diving trip. the diving center in the resort is small but people working there were nice and really willing to help. unfortunately we were few divers and was not possible to arrange dives in elphistone, but the dives arranged were anyhow good. the resort is small, nice and clean, and has a really nice reef in front of. unfortunately you have to walk in the water for more than 10 minutes to reach the drop off (remember to take a pair of shoes to be used there, rocks and fishes are not really nice under feet...). real con: italian animation was too noisy.