We flew out on Astraeus, from Gatwick to Marsa Alam on a Wednesday. The seating was 3 –3 and comfortable enough. There is no premium so if you get there early there may be a chance of getting seats in rows 1-9, which are leather and slightly more roomy. There are no TVs in the seats so if you want to watch the film its on the aisle overhead monitors. There was the usual drinks service, duty free and a meal provided. Astraeus also give Divers an extra 5kg free on production of their Dive Cert, and you can if necessary buy another 10kg for £20 – we were told this was both ways but on the way back the Egyptians tried to charge us excess but then relented. On arrival your rep will give you a visa, it cost us £10 but I found out later if you paid at the kiosk you got it cheaper by using Dollars ($15). On the way out of the airport there appears to be a duty free shop so you can stock up again.
The transfer was in a mini bus with AC, for just 2 of us and it took around 35 mins, as others have mentioned there is building work going on at the hotel but you only notice it as you go in as it is to the north of the resort and we never heard anything through out our stay. The reception is something to see with a massive brick dome building, one of the largest in Egypt also the hall is decorated with reproduction Egyptian furniture and wall freezes. There is also an ATM and money change machine but like most things its for Euros. Check in was the usual form filling, allocating you a room; you then chalked your number on your cases and left them to it. You also got a little booklet with information about what’s included, extra freebies, entertainment programme, other information and vouchers for Free bottles of Water each day, if and you will drink them just fill them up from the water coolers on the bar or change to Juices. The resort fans out from the main reception in a crescent with a jetty at either end. The majority of rooms are in blocks built like Castles the largest had 8 rooms, a single at either end and 3 up and 3 down in the middle, but there were single storey rooms around the beach or garden. The numbering system is 4 figures, the first two denote your block number and the second 2 your room e.g. 1901 which was block 19 room 1, which was near the main pool overlooking a garden. The Lower numbers are nearest the main dining area, pool and stage, the higher numbers over 30 are on the other side which is quieter but nowhere takes more than 10 mins to walk to. The distance between the two jetties is 450m and the main reef runs between them it is also the width of the beach. Due to windy conditions it is not always possible to snorkel the house reef but there is a small area by the beach or take the free bus to another bay run by the hotel when the red flag is flying. We had no problems getting a sun bed on either the beach or the pool.
There are 3 bars by the pools and the beach, also one in the reception area all part of the all-inclusive package.
The rooms we were in were all air conditioned, had two beds, a table between with a power socket, overhead lights for the beds, A wardrobe, dressing table with drawers, a fridge, safe and TV (only CNN is in English). In the bathroom was a bath with shower, a retractable washing line, basin, loo, soap, shampoo, shower gel, there was also a little hose by the toilet, which was I found great for washing shoes :-) If you want fresh towels just leave them on the floor every day or every other
The food is taken in the main restaurant for breakfast and lunch; at night they move everything outside as its warm. Each night is themed e.g. Egyptian, Mexican Chinese, Italian etc. You could also at lunch at the Panorama Restaurant, which was overlooking the water near the south jetty, It did fresh pizzas. I found plenty of choice including fresh pancakes and waffles at breakfast; kiddies corner and healthy section, there was also an Italian restaurant, but it was extra. There was a disco run down by the south jetty at night– we never heard it, also a Sahara tent and an amphitheatre where shows were put on, we never used these so cant comment.
The staff – as mentioned this was Ramadan so the staff are not meant to eat or drink during sunlight, given this, their happy disposition was amazing and you only had to ask. Pedro at the pool bar was ace and spoke very good English, as did Emil the bar manager, also one of the lads at the bar in reception and one at the beach bar. I say this as not all the staff did speak good English or needed you to speak slowly before they understood. This is not really surprising as the majority of guests were Italian or German with a few Dutch and Swiss.
Diving – My prime reason for going as one of our friend is a dive instructor there. The dive school is Waterworld who have their own website, the base is run by Werner there are at least 5 instructors, more depending on number of guests, all speak English some better than others and at least one other language, also there are at least 6 Egyptian Dive guides all speak English especially Wael, Attea and bolika who were great fun, Khaleed is one the back room boys, who also speaks good English, he always made sure I had a Nitrox tank when I needed it. They also run a repair service if necessary and there is plenty of kit for hire. The school requires everyone to do a check dive, around the usual skills including making sure you have the right weights and checking your buoyancy but it doesn’t take long if you know what you are doing, If you have over 30 dives you do not need a guide on any of the sites unless you wish you just sign up for what you want each day. The House reef can be dived at 5am, 6am and then from 8am onwards whenever you like just log the time and your tanks will be taken down to the jetty. There is also a night dive at 1800. Otherwise it is shore dives ranging from 5 mins drive to 40 mins drive some are excellent especially Torfa Sabaa which starts by descending through a hole on the surface down a tunnel to the reef. They also arrange day outs to the more famous sites e.g. Salam express, Green hole and Elphinston and dolphin house they have at least 30 dive sites and do plenty of courses including ones for youngsters. If you can pay in cash its cheaper as Egyptian banking put a surcharge on all credit card transactions. Also if you are leaving before breakfast, tell reception and they will provide a breakfast or lunch box
Other facilities provided; A gym with sauna and massages, a mini club for youngsters, baby-sitting services and a children’s play area under cover near the dive centre. Also a medical Clinic with doctor plus shops in the main reception and at the back of the dive school including a Pharmacy, which stocks Antinol (7 euros). The animation team is Italian and run all sorts of activities, which are listed daily.
The hotel will also arrange taxi’s a cost list is sited at a desk or there is a mini bus several times a day to the local Town of El Quiseir its worth a visit but not for long as there is not a lot to see – it takes about 15 mins.
Whilst we were there, the weather was mid to high 30’s with a breeze most days There were 9 other English guests the first week and 4 the second. We were asked why there wasn’t many brits coming there and other than the fact it is not carried in any of the major tour operators brochures I can’t understand it either.
I had no complaints regarding the hotel and would go again –
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
