Pluses:

- 7 days in Egypt without stomach upset has to be good news.
- Clean, generously sized rooms - sea view and size depend on your package
- Staff friendly and helpful at all levels.
- Excellent diving and snorkelling, the reefs begin as soon as your toes are in the water
- Nearly no children.
- Many guest come back again and again stating that Lahami was a notch above the others hotels and resorts on the Red Sea. Our first stay, so we can't comment. We'd go back if the weather were warmer.

Minuses:
- Too often like a German-speaking rest home (you may consider this a plus). But life ends at 10pm each evening.
- The towel reservation on beach chairs is alive an well and living in Lahami Bay. Get there by 8.30 am or all seats and umbrellas are gone
- There are more guests than sun-loungers
- "All inclusive". This was our package, but first info we received on arrival was what was not included. For example, not included was our mini-bar.
- Wine: the choice is red, rose or white, and one glass at a time with a 10 minute wait for the order to arrive.
- Perhaps understandably in a Muslim country, the whole concept of alcohol is a closed book to the bar staff. We were served warm gin & tonics and warm rose wine. At least they were not in the same glass.
- Though well equipped, the windsurfing is expensive at €37.00 per hour with insurance.

Comments:

This is not Europe and time and pace are slow. I was turned away by one of the 3 bar staff standing behind the north beach bar at 9.56 as they didn't open until 10.00am.

There is nothing outside the resort except desert.

Every drink or coffee or tea you order has to be signed for on 'Lahami Bay Resort' printed NCR paper in three layers. We wondered if the paperwork and its administration cost more than the drinks themselves. Especially as with "All Inclusive" we merely browsed the not unsubstantial pile of dockets amounting to approximately €350 at check out and didn't pay anything!

The Guest Relations Manager mentioned in other reports is a daunting figure. She is not unlike a fortune teller. However, don't be fooled by appearances underneath beats a heart - somewhere.

The weather was sunny but much cooler than we expected and cooler than normal for Nov/Dec. Though 25°, a sharp wind that blew day and night kept it feeling more like a nice day on the beech in England in July.

The water at 24/25° means snorkelling without a wetsuit is quite possible, but for more than 30 minutes a wetsuit is necessary. You may also feel under-dressed as the Germans are fully kitted with, at times, full suits with head and feet in neoprene and even double suits.

The resort runs its own desalination plant for fresh water. This is not drinkable and bottled water at €2.50 per 1.5 litre bottle is available, this is included in "All Inclusive" package. Likewise electricity seems to generated on the large site and the noise can be heard at night if your room is on the south beach side.

Internet is only by 3G mobile phone. Reception supply a dongle which can be used on your own laptop or the resorts only desk top. The speed is slow, but checking and replying to emails is possible within 15 minutes, which costs €2.00.

Construction mentioned in other reports seems to nearing the end and we were not troubled by it. More than can be said for other tourist resorts we saw on the 2 hour and 40minute coach ride to and from Marsala Alam airport: more than 50% of all buildings were little more than concrete skeletons.

We went here at the end of July for a dive holiday with Regal Dive, 6 weeks ago we wrote to them detailing the negative aspects of this hotel & dive school as they requested, but they have shown no interest as yet. We have been to Egypt at least 15 times each and this trip was by far the most expensive & the worst. Nobody has mentioned on Trip Advisor that you can only buy drinks in the hotel and a lovely freshly squeezed orange juice costs £3.50, a can of coke is £2.50 (the price is the same on the dive boat), five times the normal amount of the rest of Egypt, but first you must find somewhere to buy your drink, whilst we were there the poolside bar was shut, as was the swimup bar, and the ice cream parlour, and other places, in their place there was boards behind which the sound of powertools went on during the day.
Our room was nice and clean, the cable TV has no English channels but that is not important to most, the room cleaner was very nice and friendly.
The internet computer in reception did not work when we tried to use it, the cafe/bar on the beach was very nice, and a slightly cheaper option of lunch rather than the £15.00 buffet lunch as we were only half board. Breakfasts and dinners were quite good and there was some things for vegetarians. Towels are given to you by the pool, but beware if you give them back late, you will not be allowed one the next day.
In some ways I think what spoilt the trip more than all of this was the surly & rude attitude of the Dive school, this was the most miserable dive school I have been to in Egypt, although it was well organised,if you complained about anything the manager just says 'Actually I don't understand you' and walks off, yet her English was great when she was asking for money, once they have your money they are not interested in whether you enjoy yourself or not, unless you are paying more, one Divemaster went around the boat asking passengers for a tip! I think that because there are not so many people visiting now they feel they have to get as much out of their guests as they can, even tried overcharging on the final bill. As usual though the Egyptian divemasters were fantastic & did try to make people happy.
All in all this could have been a good holiday if the hotel was fully open without the building work, and the if the dive team cared a bit more about giving their customers service for their money.

Had a great two week holiday at Lahami Bay with my husband, who is a very keen diver. The hotel is broadly the same as the first review I wrote. Coral still amazing, snorkelling great. Diving excellent. I had a brilliant time, drinking loads of wonderful, freshly squeezed orange juice, swimming in the fantastic pool and generally relaxing.
Rooms are comfortable and quiet. Bathrooms are good with plenty of hot water - but the shower, in a steep sided bath, is a bit slippery.
Staff are outstanding - despite it being Ramadan when they were fasting all day, they were incredibly helpful, courteous and friendly.
Ursula the Customer Service Manager was on top of everything, making sure the resort was kept in tip top condition. She is so helpful if you need any help.
The most obvious change at the hotel is the new Italian animation team providing entertainment in the evenings after dinner. My heart sank when I heard about them but they got the balance just right. If you wanted to be animated fine - if not they never pestered. There were aqua gym classes in the pool for an hour most mornings and a beach-volleyball match late afternoon. One of the girls from the team sang in the bar for an hour at 9pm - what she lacked in techniques she made up for in enthusiasm! The team ran a cabaret entertainment at 10pm every evening in the new amphitheatre next to the restaurant - as we were up early for diving every morning we never went but loads of people did and clearly loved it.
A programme of exercise classes was run by a Thomas Cook rep in the air-conditioned gym six days a week. Yoga, Pilates and stretching classes were run by a very professional and friendly instructor.
I am glad to say that the hotel remains peaceful and relaxing despite the extra activities.
The new spa is very well equipped with well-trained therapists. The man who gave me my massages really helped a problem I was having with my ankles. However there was very little choice of massage oils - only two - both very highly perfumed. I am still trying to wash the perfume out of the bikini I wore for the massage! But it was worth it!
The diving was slightly less well organised than in the past. Good dive masters on the boats, but looking after a lot of guests each. So no real input from them on the dives. The dive instructors seemed very good working with new divers. The main problem was the time everything took - a singly house-reef dive took nearly three hours. And the day boats only did two dives per day. But again, my husband said the day boats were well worth it for the brilliant diving on the Fury Shoals.
The food was generally very good - but I wish they did more Egyptian food - we were on half board and the menu in the cafe at lunchtime was pretty uninspiring apart from pizza and griddled vegetables. It badly needs an update. However the staff were so helpful and made me pasta to order whenever I asked.
They even adapted one of the non-alcoholic cocktails for me - I found their Lemon Yogurt Ballerina too sour for my taste - so they mixed an Orange Ballerina instead using the fresh orange juice - the result was fantastic. Do ask for one!
We had a great holiday and will very probably go back again fairly soon.

I have just spent another 2 weeks at Lahami Bay - this is my tenth visit. I keep going back because the hotel maintains excellent standards and the snorkeling cannot be beaten in Egypt. There are so many turtles, Napoleans, rays and reef sharks that I no longer bother to photograph them! The coral is colourful, varied and in pristine condition.The beach is very natural and a family of Ospreys keep guests entertained with their fishing skills.
The rooms are large, bright and well equipped and balconies, which overlook the sea, are huge.
I have stayed at more than 30 hotels in Egypt over the years and the quality and choice of food at Lahami Bay is the best I have eaten. The buffet dinner is well served in an outside patio area.
The staff are really well-trained and efficient and friendly.
This year the gardens are spectacular and they can be seen from all the rooms. Any problems are sorted out immediately and the Front of House team are helpful and efficient.
The layout of the reefs is different from other hotels on this coast in that there is no need for a pontoon for entry to the sea as access is from the sandy beach. The main semi-circular reef takes about 75 minutes to swim around and there are 4 other reefs which are easily accessible. There are lifeguards on the beach with a rescue boat. The dive centre will take snorkelers on their day-boats and a trip to a dolphin reef 2 hours out to sea is unmissable!
The journey from the airport is long and there is nothing at all outside the hotel - you have to remember to pack everything you need! There is a library with lots of English paperbacks and internet access.
The manager, Mrs Ursula Wolfe is always around making sure that all runs like clockwork. She is very welcoming and charming and is popular with staff and guests alike.
The hotel is full of civilised guests - mostly Italian and German - Brits are a rare species!
I have already booked 2 more weeks for September - an amazing place!!