Our introduction to the hotel didn’t set off on the right foot – we had to wait over an hour to be taken to our room – its not what you want after a plane journey. However it did kind of work to our advantage in that the late check-out that I requested when checking in was given to us for free, along with the promise of a fruit basket the following day. This didn’t emerge but we did find a cake in our room – we couldn’t work out if it was because if it was my husbands birthday (I had asked the concierge where would be nice to go for dinner in Naama Bay) or if it was instead of the fruit basket – it was a nice gesture either way.
On entering the room, our initial thoughts were its nice. It was a twin room with 2 double beds – a single double would have been perfect, but I can’t complain as it slept two people comfortably. However, the bathroom left a lot to be desired – it looked very run down. The bath was small and narrow and it was so frustrating to shower and have the shower curtain touch you. There were cracks and poor finishing everywhere. The mini bar was well stocked but as usual over priced. The TV broke down on the 1st night and the telephone on the 3rd night – once we reported it, it was resolved within 30min – really cannot fault the service provided.

On our 1st day we stupidly forgot to lock the safe. When we got back to room we found a note left advising that we should go to reception as the cleaner could not clean the room with the safe open. A security guard came up with us so that he could let us into our room and we could check the safe. Nothing had been taken. The room hadn’t been cleaned but in the grand scheme of things, we really didn’t mind. It was very reassuring.

The room didn’t have tea & coffee making facilities – something I took for granted in the other Marriott hotels that I have stayed in. When choosing the hotel, I assumed it was a given. Its always nice to go back to your room after a day on the beach/by the pool or diving to have a hot drink whilst you get ready to go out.

The room also had high speed internet access priced at 22 Egyptian pounds for 15 minutes. There wasn’t any WiFi in the hotel. There is an internet café near the Hilton Hotel (or it could be part of the Hilton) and they charge 22 Egyptian pounds for 30 minutes.

Pool at the hotel was cooler than the sea – on a really hot day, we appreciated being in the pool rather than the sea. The pool bar needs maintenance work carried.

The beach is well located – so many people were commenting on how rocky it was to get into the sea – duh! We were walking on dead coral! We saw so many fish and the water was so clear and relatively shallow quite far out. The sea was very calm – safe for young children.
For diving, I would recommend using a company called Only Six (www.only-six.com). They are currently based at the Novotel which is next door. You can book online. We normally book diving trips via the holiday rep and this time it worked out well that we didn’t. Normally the boats are crammed with about 20-26 people and you are all fighting for the sun or shade at some point. With Only six there were fewer people on the boat and as a passenger (not a diver), I pretty much had the whole of the upper deck to myself.
We booked our snorkelling trip with Sun and Fun- crammed boat and too many following the guide so you cant enjoy the snorkelling. We were taken to one spot near Tiran Island and I probably spent more time making sure I was with the right group rather than enjoying the fish and coral beneath me.

We went for dinner at the Parmazzino restaurant on our first night. Food was lovely – would recommend eating here. After dinner, we took a walk along the promenade – its about a 15min walk to Naama Bay. This was the best bit – the well-lit promenade links the hotels along Naama Bay so you have the option of visiting the other hotels for dinner or just having a walk past them. It made a difference to know that we didn’t need to take a taxi and that as female, I could walk there alone without worrying about being hassled.
Other restaurants to try that are along the hotel are Tam-Tam and Kona Kai (the Chinese restaurant). The Buddha Bar (the Little Buddha) is a hip and trendy place to go for a drink and the cocktails are lethal. Dinner here was really nice but verging on expensive given that we were in Egypt.
If you do get a dodgy tummy then there is a pharmacy (Omar&Omar) near TamTam. A big bottle of water at the local supermarket was 2 Egyptian pounds compared to 16 at the hotel.
The evening buffet in the hotel was great the 1st time – we had so much choice. As of July 1st, it was moved to the outside Beach restaurant. Here the choice was so limited and it worked out so much more expensive – two people could have eaten at the Parmazziano for the price 1 buffet meal. Evening buffet the 2nd time around was disappointing. Breakfast buffets were great – so much choice and variety and of a really high standard. Best to go for the buffet as early as possible as the queues for the omlettes/eggs can take forever.

My one comment that I would hope the hotel would take on board is that as a hotel in Egypt, there should an Egyptian restaurant. We can get all kinds of food at the hotel, but I would have loved to have tried local food at the hotel. Falafel and foul – a kidney bean mash were available for breakfast, but main courses for lunch and dinner would have been great to try. The whole promenade was littered with Italian restaurants and Tam Tam seemed to be the only one that had local food and entertainment. There was another restaurant called El Wadi that was part of the Hilton – we didn’t go there so don’t know if this has local food.

All in all we had a brilliant holiday – it was just what we needed. Would we stay there again – probably not – I would probably try the Hilton or Novotel.