We stayed here for a week from 27th feb and whilst we had a good time. The hotel was not as good as expected.
Rooms were small but had fridge and quite big terrace.
Food was fine. Same every single day for breakfast which quickly got boring. We did try the italian and the lebanese which were both good.
Loads of comfy sunloungers by pool and beach. beach by hotel was not good for snorkeling however there is a shuttle bus that takes you ten minutes up the coast to another beach where the snorkeling was amazing.
Staff were mixed, they were either good or sleazy.
We got a good deal whuch made it better however would not go again.

Don't listen to all those people on here who are down rating the holiday because of bobbly sheets or dirty towels, plastic glasses and bad lighting in the evening. C'mon folks get a grip. I am well travelled and know what is quality or not, even more so if I am paying! So here goes.

Great place, friendly staff. The food is very rich so dont over induldge, head to the fish, itallian and lebaneese restaurants. All good. Watch the price at the fish restaurant though!

Staff are excellent as too are the rooms and everywhere is spotless including the gardens. Get to know the staff and they will go the extra mile, not just for a tip ( a pound note goes a long way and won't break the bank ) but because they want the stay to be extra special.

Not going to say much more as excellent sums it up.

Enjoy!

We have just return from a week at the Calimeria Habiba, and can honestly say that we throughly enjoyed the break. After reading some of the comments we were a little bit aprehensive but I can assure anyone wanting a quite relaxed holiday that this hotel is just the place. There's good diving in the area, kiddies club and activities for those who want it.

The hotel is part of a complex of three which are very isolated as this resort is still in its infancy with evidence of hotels being build along the coastline as we travelled from the airport to the Calimera.

The hotel is set out in little bungalow type accomodation which my wife nicknamed Bedrock as it resembled a scene from the Flintstones but the accomodation was excellent our only problem was the hot water sometimes run a little brown from time to time, finding your accomodation in the dark was a little hard but you soon found your way around. Food was of a good standard and plenty of choice, maybe could have done with being hotter but was ok if you like your food warm. All staff very warm and friendly nothing was to much trouble.

4 Bars and 3 pools have plenty of space with ample sun lounges.

We travelled with Thomas Cook and their Rep Tom Roberts has to be congratulated for his professional service, friendship and entertainment, as far as we are concerned he is the jewel of the Red Sea and will be missed when he moves to Cypress in April.

On a down side the German entertainment team who (yes you have guessed it ! ) always favoured their fellow compatriots and sometimes forgot there were other nationalities present but we will be returning next year to the Calimera to once again chill out.

My wife and I were in this Hotel the last two weeks of May 2007 and we had a wonderful time and having read the reviews by many there were no surprises. Rather than repeat all the same things I thought I would put down some of the things that either have not been said at all . On the first morning I took the option to go on the walk tour of the complex and they showed us the kitchen which was immaculate. In this area was a large metal bath with all the salad stuff in it which they explained was some solution to reduce any “lurgies” that might be in there .. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the whole operation. I even pinched a cake much to the amusement of the staff.
On the subject of food ,I have done all inclusives all over the world and when it is buffet service the food can be on the cool side so take a table near to where it served rather than walk the 100 meters to be outside by which time your food has gone cold. I did notice a microwave in the children’s corner for those who need a warm up. For those who think the choice was limited then observe the holiday makers who take a piece of all the six or seven choices , then wonder why the same dish was on the next night . The food was good , not excellent , and aimed more towards the Italians in that there was a fabulous choice of salads. The rep told me the spilt of nationalities was 50% Italian, 30% German and 20% British , and a handful of Russians. For those who like chicken nuggets and chips then this is not the place for you, its Egypt!
Another great point that nobody has picked up on were the toilets in the main pool area which as everybody knows in most resorts have been trashed by 10 am , water and loo paper all over the place , broken flush etc etc......not here , there is a cleaner whose job it is to make sure its stays perfect and it was. Flower petals were even on the wash hand basins in Gents loos. As soon as the Place was empty there he was cleaning.
One for the ladies , the bathrooms being all knew had large marble tops where your room cleaner put all you bottles and things nice an tidy . Of course being all the important things worked like the toilet flush and the shower took your skin off it was so powerful and there was always hot water .
Some people have mentioned the animations team only really looked after the Germans., when I was there they made their announcements on English as well and encouraged participation as well. Much to my amusement , their introductory music was played on the dot at 10.am you could set your watch by it! They were also not loud as in other resorts I have been to so unusually I sat next to the main pool which not only was large but also possible to sit far enough away from the bar.
On the subject Bar , the plastic glasses are the heavy duty half pint variety and of course as this is the main social meeting point in the evenings and its next to the pool , its logical that glassware is not good thing if gets dropped in pool. Admittedly the cocktails did vary in flavour depending on which barmen made it and what he had left to use , but this is always part of the holiday , if you didn’t like it then go and get something else. People forget that these staff are coping with Italian , German , Russian and English so it’s no surprise that there are misunderstandings sometimes. The beer was fine and my wife enjoyed the wine.
The only negative is that the Hotel shop was not fixed price and outrageously expensive so my advice is take everything you need from airbeds to aspirins.
On the tipping front , we took $50 in single one dollar notes ( Travel agents will get then for you ) and then tipped from time to time.
My next point is quite simple, the offers on the Thomas cook web site do make this Hotel particularly attractive and it’s the best value for money holiday I have ever had and for what I am paying for my next holiday at this Hotel in May 2008 is incredibly cheap .For what I paid last year I had low expectations , but I really was very happy with the whole holiday. For those who want a 5 star holiday at three start prices keep looking because there are not many about.
Lastly the staff were brilliant nothing was too much trouble .