We booked via Thomas Cook
Grounds
Considering the hotel is in the middle of nowhere the grounds are like a little oasis. Fantastic flowers and plants and lots of interesting birdies to watch.
Pools
There are numerous pools. We only used the main pool which was great although I did tend to get a bad stomach on the days i had been in it - take from that what you will. The children’s pool looked to be successful with the kids club play house right next door.
Beach
The beaches are wicked, definitely our favourite part. They have sun loungers, hammocks and little wicker tent things which you can get out of the sun in. As there is a coral reef off the shore, you cannot enter the sea from the beach, you can however paddle.
Sea
To have to go onto the jetty to get into the sea. We only got 2 days of snorkelling while we were there. the rest of the time the red flag was up due to the wind. There is a life guard on the jetty who will loan you snorkels/ fins if you need them. Do note that it is a severe shelf with large drop, so if you are a nervous snorkeler prepare yourself! The fish are amazing. There tend to be parrot fish, unicorn fish and the most fabulous multi coloured ones out there. They don’t like you swimming too close to the coral, so listen out for a whistle and/ or shouting, which will be the guard telling you to move away.
Rooms
Our room had two beds in which we pushed together to make an extremely large king. There was a/c and a small fridge which was filled with 4 bottles of water each day. The cold water from the tap is vile, so keep a bottle of water back for brushing you teeth. The guys come and clean your room each day and made us some of the most amazing towel creations.
Food
This is where our love affair with the hotel ended as we found the food a bit pants. I'm currently on weight watchers and managed to lose 2lbs whilst away, which for an all inclusive holiday isnt the norm! Don’t get me wrong there is lots there but personally the quality was poor and a little bit samey. We did eat in the Italian one night which was really good. At lunch we tended to hit the pizzeria. I would say take your time if you go here. The hotel is full of Italians and Russians and once a new batch of pizza is put out they think nothing of piling their plate with 6 - 8 slices, which means the fresh supply soon disappears!
Shisha tent
We were completely bemused by this and adopted the approach of letting someone else go first before we did! lol!! The shisha tent is great. Loads of big cushions out side for you to sit on. Shisha itself is a water pipe type thing filled with flavoured tobacco. We tried apple and strawberry, which was just like sherbet. It doesn’t feel like smoking, i think because the impurities are taken out through the water all you get is flavoured air. Anyway for £1 a pop (10 Egyptian pounds) charged to your room its worth a bost.
Entertainment
We aren’t really a 'join in' type of couple so avoided everything, but there appears to be plenty going on. Each day there will be a member of staff trying to get you to something whether it is to see cobra man, the foam party, karaoke or a beach party.
Staff
This is one of the hotels strongest pluses - the guys are wicked and will do anything for you. Do yourself a favour and take some us dollars with you to tip with. You will get great service without tipping, but if you do, they take extra care of you.
Salesmen
You will quickly discover once you arrive that their are plenty of del-boys out there who will try and sell you camel rides, horse rides, henna tattoos, massages, beauty treatments, quad biking etc. They are pretty lovely people who will take no for an answer, just be firm :)
Excursions
We booked these through our Thomas Cook rep and went on the desert discovery and a snorkelling trip to Abu Dabab. The desert discovery was pretty fab going out on a 4x4 across the desert to a Bedouin village where we had tea (very sweet and black) a camel ride and a tour of the village. After that we watched the sun set, had tea and watched a belly dancer. the trip finished with an astronomy lesson which was really good. Once all the lights are out the stars are so bright it was really spectacular.
The snorkelling wasn’t so great for us. I would advise that you book through the dive centre on site rather than take the Thomas Cook trip. We had an issue in that the beach you are taken to is very popular for snorkel trips and there was no way of telling who was in our group and who we should be following. The dive centre however kitted everyone out with colour coded vests and appear to run a much more professional trip. Abu Dabab is pretty cool though we got to see turtles and a sea cow. I would say that the fish back at the hotel beach were better though.










Value
Rooms
Cleanliness



Value
Rooms




