This was my 8th visit to Egypt and 4th to Marsa Alam so I kind of knew what to expect and my sole purpose was to dive the amazing red sea with Emperor Divers (see separate review)...

I wanted a last minute deal to my favorite diving destination and came across the Marina Lodge, I had never stayed here personally but knew of the hotel through reading the reviews and from talking to other guests on previous trips who were staying at the hotel so my expectations where somewhat low...

So I turned up at the hotel alone and was handed a cool refreshing drink with a warm welcome from the reception staff... Check in was smooth and the front of house manager even made an appearance to welcome me and wish me a pleasant stay (A nice touch).

Luggage was taken to the room swiftly with me in tow and as requested in my booking I was shown to a room on a higher level over looking the marina... It was perfect, I wonderful view, a good size room (it was very big for just me) with a balcony and stuffed with Egyptian charm...

I loved the little quirks in the room as they really set it apart from other places I had stayed at in Marsa Alam which just all seemed like just another large hotel chain... Don't get me wrong this hotel was not a perfect 5 star Inter Continental type of hotel, it wasn't polished on the outside, but to be honest that's what added to the charm of this little hotel... Its the first hotel built in Port Ghalib and it yes it looked a little tired in places but the service from the staff made all that seem superficial!

The rooms had a safe but be warned, get the code wrong more than twice and it locks down, but a quick call to reception and all is sorted... (I locked it 3 times and had to have it opened by the hotel staff!).

My only gripe with the rooms was with the shower, a fixed shower head which at times would decide to stop working due to probably peak time showering... Again fed back to management and all seemed to be sorted very quickly.

The food in the hotel was interesting, pretty much the normal buffet style in the evenings and the usual breakfast spread with a dedicated egg chef at hand. The best thing at breakfast was the coffee machine, a really nice latte served up every time!

Something that really set this place apart from other hotels was the restaurant staff, everyone from the management, head chef to the other chefs, everyone would take a moment to speak with you and gain feedback on the food served.

On my first night one of the chefs asked me what kind of food I liked to eat, so I replied with "I would really like to eat Egyptian food". Before I knew it the restaurant manager brought out a plate of food specially cooked for me, consisting of a range of Egyptian food...!

...and this didn't stop throughout my stay at the Marina Lodge, every evening a delightful array of specially cooked food items would be served up to me, including the best falafels I have ever eaten, to the most scrumptious sea bass perfectly cooked, followed by Egyptian kofta's... In all my visits to Egypt the one thing I have never looked forward to was dinner time as rubberised beef and dodgy stews just never floated my boat but this all changed at the Marina Lodge, I really really enjoyed the food at this hotel... They even cooked us chips on the last day with burgers!!!

A fellow diver staying at the hotel told me one thing which will probably stay with me for a life time... 'If you want something specific then ask, they can only say no' (Cheers John!)

The bar was pleasant and Fatima the bar maid serving was very efficient, drinks were a little expensive but then I was on HB so stuck to soft drinks (Fanta at 20LE).

As I mentioned at the start, my sole purpose on this trip was to dive and to dive with Emperor so this hotel was perfectly placed for me as I could have breakfast and simply walk a few steps to the boat and be on my way for a days diving.... I am not entirely sure if I would bring my family with me to stay at the Marina Lodge as to be honest there did not seem like there would be much to do if you were stuck in the hotel all day... Saying that the manager did assure me that guests from the Marina Lodge could take the (free) water taxi to the Inter Continental hotel and use their facilities, i.e. kids club.

This hotel for me was one of the best I have stayed in to date in this area of Egypt but this was all down to the management and staff of the hotel, they made the holiday and my stay a memorable one and if I return to dive I know for sure that I will be booking the Marina Lodge again!!!!!!!

Final bits of info for anyone looking to dive in this area in December...
Take a couple of hoodies for the boat as the wind is cold as is the water!
Water Temp started off at 26C on the 12th and dropped to 24C by the 19th Dec... For me that's cold!
Take some long combats for the evening as again it can get a little cold...

I'd previously stayed at the Marina Lodge in August 2009 for a diving trip and found it to be absolutely fine.
I was here with my wife again at the beginning of December 2012 (for another diving trip) and found it to be much the same,
Positives.
If you're diving with Emperor Divers, it couldn't be more convenient! You can see the dive boats at the jetty from the dining room so it's possible to sit there having another cup of coffee until 7:59 and easily be on the boat for 8:00 am!
The rooms are big enough (we had Room 317) and are clean and comfortably rustic. Beds are made up and the rooms are cleaned every day. The balcony is big enough to dry swimming stuff.
The towels that are provided in the bathrooms are fine and will be changed if you ask.
The hotel is spacious enough and has enough seats, lounges, bars etc to find some personal space.
The showers in the rooms are good - soap and shampoo are provided. There's an in room fridge too.
If you're diving, take the towel card (that you'll be given on arrival) and get a beach towel from the towel guy. Diving finishes about 4.00 am so, if you need to, you have time to change the towel before he shuts up at 5.00 pm. He's there from 7.00 am so you have time to get one for diving on your first day.
The staff speak minimal english but are all are friendly and helpful. I lost my room key one day and it was sorted out by the reception staff with no real hassle at all.
One evening, there wasn't a huge amount of choice for a vegetarian like me but the dining room manager couldn't have been more apologetic and offered to get something made specially for me. He saw to it that I had falaffel (favourite food) specially made for me after that.
Coffee machine is in the dining room for breakfast and makes really nice drinks. It's a shame that it's not there in the evening!
Eggs/pancakes are all freshly made to order at breakfast time from the young chef there.
There's always tons of food - it may get a little samey after a week though.
The staff don't appear to be in your face when it comes to the end of the week (when it's time for tips!) This makes me more inclined to seek out the guys that have been most helpful and give them tips.
I don't know what there is to do there during the day - I was diving every day from 8.00 to 4.00 pm but there were some folks there who appeared to be happy to potter about the hotel all day.
If you want to snorkel during the day, get the (free) water taxi out to the other side of the port and walk to the right past the Fish Market restaurant - you'll see the two piers there. I've spent hours snorkelling up and down the reef between them. I think I did a night dive there once too. Everything that you could want from a Red Sea reef!
The wifi in the hotel in the hotel is stupidly expensive! £5 UK an hour. Yeah, right! Go across to the port and all of the cafes there (TGI Friday/Costa/Grand Cafe) have free wifi.
Like the hotel, I don'#t know how much time you'd want to spend in the port itself but it's Ok for a walk and a change of scenery (and the coffee in Costa is nice!)
Maybe not the most sophisticated and elegant hotel that I've stayed in but, for a diving holiday with Emperor, it's perfect.
Extra Divers are the in house dive operation there but there seemed to be no sign of any activity from them when we visited.

We have just returned from our second visit to Marina Lodge.

Again there were no problems! The food was good, the service was attentive without getting "in your face". The rooms were spotless. Nothing was broken. The staff was friendly and helpful.

I like staying in a hotel where there are no problems and no surprises. It was quiet and the added Christmas decorations were a nice touch.

Okay - so some of the staff have not mastered English but we're not in an English speaking country. They are so keen to help and so friendly, it doesn't really matter. I heard the manager at the front desk speak to a German guest in German, spoke to us in English, spoke to the staff in Arabic and to yet another guest in Italian. It puts me to shame.

We are divers and it was so very luxurious to walk out of the dining room and onto the dive boat after breakfast! I would recommend this hotel to anybody. If you are diving out of Port Ghalib, it is the best place to say

We stayed in the Marina Lodge hotel during the first week of december. We were a bit anxious to go there, because we've read some mixed reviews.

We took the all inclusive package, just for comfort. Unfortunately, this package is limited. Some drinks, all the meals and that's about it.

The hotel is ok. Nice, spacious rooms with a good working air con. As it was very calm, we could enjoy a relaxing holiday. The staff seemed to be inexperienced, which caused some trouble. But normally, this should be solved within a couple of months.Nothing to worry about!

The location of Marina Lodge is very good for anyone who wants to discover the Red Sea. Some nice riffs, beaches and scuba diving locations.

The atmosphere in the hotel is charming. We were able to relax 100% over there. So if we ever need to relax some more, this could just be the place we want to go again.