Rooms: 220
Room facilities: The usual - in other words each has a balcony or terrace "facing the sea" ( presumably meaning a sea view), a sitting area and a bathroom with a bath tub and separate toilet cubicle. As you'd expect there's also air conditioning, satellite television, a mini-bar, a safe and a hair dryer. However each room is at least a little different as each has a set of original paintings portraying traditional themes from the Sahara.
Wifi: At least one reviewer claiming that wifi can sometimes be slow so do think about buying a Vodafone sim card for your smart phone at the arrivals area of Marsa Alam airport.
Location: currently the southernmost hotel of any size on Egypt's Red Sea coast near the small town of Berenice and 123km south of Marsa Alam. It's a 2.5 hour drive (185km) south of Marsa Alam airport.
Hotel Facilities: suprisingly for a hotel of its' size, there are three restaurants. As usual there's a separate children's pool and play area and a games room (for all ages) as well as billiards on offer, but less usual for this area there's also a library with a collection of books in different languages for anyone seeking a quiet refuge. A windsurfing centre is located just to the south of the resort where there is a wide range of equipment available and instruction offered for beginners. Divers will be happy too as several first class dive sites and popular shipwrecks lie a short boat journey away off shore. There is also a diving centre to give advice, offer trips and also internationally recognised courses (PADI and CMAS).
You can book a room at Lahami Bay Resort by emailing steven@marsaalam.com - You don't need to pay a deposit as payment can be made on arrival.
GUEST REVIEWS:
Generally favourable with the hotel attaining a TripAdvisor.com ranking of 20th out of 68 hotels, as of 29 January 2018. (an improvement of its position of 25th out of 72 hotels, as of March 2017 and 24th out of 68 hotels in November 2012 ). 85% of reviewers (+7% since 2012) rated the resort as either "very good" or "excellent" while only 4 per cent (-2% since November 2012) rated it as either "poor" or "terrible". The ratings were also a slight improvement on September 2016 (see table below).
VERDICT | Nov 2012 | Sep 2016 | Mar 2017 | Jan 2018 |
"very good" or "excellent" |
78% | 84% | 85% | 85% |
"poor" or "terrible" |
6% | 5% | 4% | 4% |
category | Nov 2012 | Sep 2016 | Mar 2017 | Jan 2018 |
hotel | 4.9 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.3 |
service | 4.9 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.7 |
rooms | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
food | 4.7 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.4 |
sport | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 5.0 |
location | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 5.1 |
"Snorkelling on the house reef was like entering a scene from the film "Finding Nemo". We have snorkelled in many parts of the world but have never seen the variety and abundance of marine life that we witnessed here so close to the shore. The fish, coral and marine plants have to be seen to be believed."
( TripAdvisor 5 December 2007 )
ON THE STAFF
"The staff is always friendly and attentive. Concerns and wishes are taken seriously and dealt with as quickly as possible. Everything can be done without tipping."
( This reviewer awarded the hotel six out of six stars for service - HolidayCheck.de Ina February 2017 - very approximate translation from the original German )
"The staff are always very courteous and unobtrusive which is a great thing. Some waiters already knew what we wanted."
( TripAdvisor.com Laura 8 January 2017 Very approximate translation )
"The staff was always very friendly and courteous, everything was great."
( The reviewer rated the service at six out of six stars )
( HolidayCheck.de Andreas September 2016 )
"Here no tip is expected, but we still loved to give the room boy and the various waiters tips because the service was just great."
( These reviewers rated the service at six out of six stars )
( HolidayCheck.de Manfred and Evelyn July 2016 )
"By comparison with our experience in Safaga and Dahab we noticed that the staff were particularly friendly - more than anywhere else we had been in Egypt. Also the normal impression that you need to give baksheesh wasn't an issue here. Also surprisingly they all spoke good English and they made an effort to speak German too."
( HolidayCheck.com Michael March 2013 )
"Very friendly, accommodating staff with good foreign language skills ( German, English, Italian )."
( HolidayCheck.com Sandra January 2012 )
"Staff friendly and helpful at all levels."
( TripAdvisor.com 3 December 2011 )
"The Staff were always friendly and helpful. The drinks were served fast....and the tables were always freshly set."
( HolidayCheck.com Willi December 2011 )
"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."
( TripAdvisor.com Midasfriend 30 August 2011 )
ON THE FOOD:
"The food was the best we have received so far in Egypt, there was no criticism."
( This reviewer awarded gastronomy six out of six stars )
( HolidayCheck.de Volker August 2016 )
"The food quality is above average for Egyptian standards. Every day there is fresh food.... For breakfast there is a variety of breads, meats, sweets, fruit, juices and an eggs station. In the evening the buffet surprised with a good selection of appetizers. There is also a soup and several very tasty hot dishes and a wide selection of desserts."
( This reviewer awarded gastronomy six out of six stars )
( HolidayCheck.de Alexandra July 2016 )
"I found the food delicious and diverse. The presentation was outstanding. "
( HolidayCheck.com Ingrid February 2012 )
"We were on half board. Breakfasts were excellent, with an egg chef on hand and lots of varieties of bread, cheeses, fruit, fresh yogurt etc. The buffet in the evening had lots of choice. I loved the first courses - lots of different Middle Eastern style salads. I was less enthusisatic about the 'International' cuisine main courses. However the standby was an excellent cook-on-the-spot Pasta Bar. For lunch there were good quality pizzas and a stunning mezze platter."
( TripAdvisor 1 September 2007 )
ON THE ROOMS
"Room size perfectly adequate, a bit dated, we slept well - no problems. TV and WIFI and the rooms were always properly cleaned."
( This reviewer rated the rooms at six out of six stars )
( Holidaycheck.de Andreas September 2016 )
"The rooms are very clean. The furniture is not the newest, but very clean and functional. The beds were very good and we slept wonderfully."
( This reviewer rated the rooms at six out of six stars )
( HolidayCheck.de Volker August 2016 )
"The decor of the room is a bit old, but in good condition. Air conditioning and a minibar provide cooling and there's a balcony with a great view of the bay. Both the room and the bathroom are spacious with plenty of space. The TV has TV has the German channels ARD and ZDF and the large bed is comfortable and not overly soft."
( This reviewer rated the room at five out of six stars )
( HolidayCheck.de Alexandra July 2016 )
"The room was very large and spacious. My husband was very excited about the bathtub though I prefer showers. The two beds were very wide. Only the mattress was me personally a little too hard."
( This reviewer rated the room at six out of six stars )
( HolidayCheck.de Elsa June 2016 )
"Really very large, pleasant mattresses, super cover for the colder winter nights. In block two there are also heaters, but that wasn't the case in block 1, but truly not necessary.) Bathroom with toilet, very good shower wall....but the installed hair dryer wasn't good enough for my long hair....The closet is huge with plenty of clothes hangers. German TV channels are as follows - RTL, RTL 2, ARD, ZDF and German wage."
( HolidayCheck.com Sibylle January 2012 )
"The rooms are large, very clean and well equipped."
( HolidayCheck.com Sandra January 2012 )
"The rooms are huge, the furniture is good. The mattresses were very good. We did not get any back pain. It would be good if the balconies could be equipped with drying racks or hooks."
( Holiday Check Tina December 2011 )
"The furnishings of the rooms and size is OK. The condition of the bath however was not OK. There was a rusty hook and screw on the bath tub and mold in the joints......Toilet paper was rarely refilled....The table was not cleaned, marks from bottles or suntan lotion visible the whole time."
( HolidayCheck.com Wolfgang November 2011 )
"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."
( TripAdvisor.com 6 September 2011 )
"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."
( TripAdvisor.com 30 August 2011 )
GARDENS AND GROUNDS
"The garden of the hotel is a sea of flowers and a feast for the eyes, especially in the European winter."
( HolidayCheck.com Ingrid February 2012 )
"Beautifully landscaped garden area."
( HolidayCheck.com Hans January 2012 )
ON THE SPA
"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 !"
( TripAdvisor.com 30 August 2011 )
WEBSITE LINKS
Check rates and book a room with TravelRepublic.co.uk
Check rates and book a room with Trivago.co.uk
Check rates and book a room with UnlimitedDiving.co.uk
Check out the reviews on Lahami Bay Beach Resort at TripAdvisor.co.uk
Check out the reviews on Lahami Bay Beach Resort at HolidayCheck.de