Abou Dabab Diving Lodge

Rooms: 62

Opened: 2006.

Room facilities: in chalets with wooden ceilings and stone floors - see picture below right - with air conditioning, bathroom with complimentary toileteries, hairdryer, international direct dial telephone, satellite TV and sea views.

Location: 32km south of Marsa Alam airport.

Hotel facilities: Car rental desk, parking, swimming pool, business center, 24 hour reception, limousine service,  buffet lunch and dinner in the main restaurant and also complimentary breakfast, private beach with sun loungers and parasols.  Pattaya Seafood Restaurant by the beach serves lunch and dinner.  There's also a beach bar.   Great diving locally and near by at Samadai Reef - otherwise known as "Dolphin House."

Health Club: You might be advised to use the  Kharamana Resort ( part of the same hotel chain ) 10km away but our advice would be to travel just a few kilometres north to use the excellent facilities at Al Nada Resort which has probably the best health club on the Red Sea - an open secret known to many visiting Cairo VIPS.  Either book by limousine or if you don't mind waiting by the roadside you should be able to get one of the service taxis ( usually either old peugeot estates or more modern minivans ) heading north for just a few Egyptian pounds.  
Telephone: +20 12 7454105-7
Fax: +20 195 100259
Email: sales@balbaagroup.com

Book a room at Abu Dabab Diving Lodge at hotel-rates.com

Book a room with regal-diving.co.uk

Book a room with AsiaRooms.com

Check out the hotel's owns website.

Book online at the B and G Hotels Group to which the Abou Dabab belongs



Read the reviews at HolidayCheck.com in either Italian or German - 5 reviewers had awarded the hotel an average of 3.6 suns out of six - August 2008. Highest scores were awarded to rooms (4.5) and sport (3.6) while lowest scores were given for food (3.4) and location (3.1).


Short video of a sea turtle taken by a diver at Abu Dabab
YouTube 24 November 2006 (00:47)







Amaraya Resort

Rooms: 84 inc 2 standard suites, 6 junior suites
and 76 standard rooms
Room facilities: air conditioning, smoking rooms, cable/satellite TV, wake-up calls, minibar, housekeeping, extra towels, linens, bedding, private bathroom, complimentary toiletries, hair dryer, window opens, direct-dial phone, internet access - surcharge, shower/tub combination

Location: 38km south of Marsa Alam airport and 23km north of Marsa Alam town.


Facilities: nine bars and restaurants including a main restaurant offering buffet dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Planet Bedouin, a genuine Bedouin tent located on the beach and offering oriental drinks and Shisha (water pipes). There's also the Mine Pub and Discotheque with music and dancing. Outside there is a kids' club with indoor and outdoor playground as well as two tennis courts, mini beach football and a beach volleyball court. A diving and water sports centre as well as as a horse riding area can be found on the beach. Other facilities include sauna, laundry, room service (24 hours), dry cleaning, fitness
equipment, air-conditioned public areas,
swimming pool - outdoor, private beach,
bar/lounge, poolside bar, gift shop ,
coffee shop/cafe, internet public area -
surcharge, massage-treatment room, billiards,
complimentary breakfast, shopping mall,
concierge desk, secretarial services
Telephone: +20 12 7458801/2/3
Fax: +20 12 7458799
Email: amaraya@balbaagroup.com

Reviews: 

On the nightlife -

A Thomsons Rep seems to have enjoyed the Hotel's Mine Pub and Discotheque -

"This underground venue is the place to bop 'til you drop to all the latest sounds, spun by the club's resident DJ."

One British reviewer
( HolidayWatchdog - January 2006 )
had some positive comments

On food -

"Breakfast is buffet style and good for a
three star.......Did not eat there at night as we were told the food was poor."

On rooms -

"The bedrooms are ok and the cleaning was excellent"

But overall she was not very impressed
( but note this was written some time ago - January 2006 - so the situation
may well have improved. )

"All in all I would describe the complex
as being isolated, expensive in
comparison to other resorts in Egypt,
biased towards the Italians, mediocre
food and lacking in atmosphere and warmth."


Check out the hotel's own website

Book online at the B and G Hotels Group to which the Amaraya Resort belongs

Read the reviews on the Amaraya Resort at TripAdvisor.com

Read the reviews on the Amaraya Resort at HolidayWatchdog.com





Cinderella Beach

Rooms: 120
Room facilities: Air conditioning, babycot (free of charge ), ensuite bathroom with shower, mini-fridge, satellite or cable television, terrace or balcony.
Location: 36km north of Marsa Alam airport towards El Quseir.
Hotel facilities: A la carte and buffet restaurant, beach bar and pool bar, two swimming pools (including one for children), shops, laundry, 24hrs reception, basketball, cafe, car rental, children's (kids) Club, currency exchange, disco, diving centre, in-house doctor,
laundry, mini-football, shops, car parking, photo
shop and photographer, table tennis, private beach, safe, table football, taxi service, tennis court, TV lounge, volleyball.

Reviews on this hotel are remarkedly varied - some delighted customers and some very disgruntled ones -

Overall - mixed reviews

"We got a very good deal for our holiday and loved every minute.......This hotel is a 3 star and you get what you pay for, but in our opinion just fantastic!!! "
( HolidayWatchdog.com June 2008 )

"Where to start - this hotel was a complete shambles"
( HolidayWatchdog.com July 2008 )

"Cinderella Beach! - more ugly sister......Rooms, towels grey/ frayed/shabby. Shower fittings/curtain disgusting."
( HolidayWatchdog.com July 2008 )

"Certainly not a bad choice for a family trip."
( HolidayCheck.com June 2007 )

"if you want a quiet holiday with a
beautiful beach and clear blue sea then
this is ideal."
( HolidayWatchdog May 2008 )

On the staff - mixed reviews

"Surly and rude."
( HolidayCheck.com July 2003 )

"Staff were fantastic and made the best out of bad situations and were very friendly"
( HolidayWatchdog.com June 2008 )



On the food - mixed reviews

"Food was better than expected after reading some reviews - bit same most days but lots of fresh veg"
( HolidayWatchdog.com June 2008 )

On the rooms - mixed reviews

"The rooms here were ok and a nice size, however the bathrooms were generally run down"
( HolidayWatchdog November 2007 )


On the beach -  generally positive reviews

"The beach is beautiful and the reef is one of the best in the red sea - but that was all that the hotel had going in its favour."
( HolidayCheck.com July 2003 )


"Beach boys had matresses waiting for us and we found very good they coudn't do enough for us "
( HolidayWatchdog.com June 2008 )



Read the reviews on Cinderella Beach at HolidayWatchdog.com

Check rates and book a room at Cinderella Beach with Sunshine.co.uk

Book a room and view photos of Cinderella Beach at YouTravel.com





Zabargad Diving Resort

Rooms: 113 including 12 suites.
Room facilities: Airconditioning, ensuite hot water power shower and WC, mini-bar and both indoor and outdoor sitting area.
Location: A remote place 120km south of the town of Marsa Alam. The resort is 2.5 hours drive (182km) south of Marsa Alam airport
and about 30km north of the small town of Berenice.
Hotel facilities: Main restaurant (for breakfast and dinner) with panoramic views of the bay and
lunch available on the dive boats or at the dive
centre's cafe bar, large free form swimming pool,
 small souvenir shop, bedouin tent on the beach where guests can enjoy shisha and drinks in the evening, desert safaris and excursions to the camel markets of Shalateen.
Reviews: Lonely Planet says that it "caters primarily to those on
all-inclusive packages booked from Germany."
Telephone: + 20 12 2152775 or + 20 65 3547994
Fax: + 20 65 3548048
Email: info@zabargad.net (info) or booking@zabargad.net (booking)

Reviews: Mostly in German or French.

On the staff -

"Souriant et surtout efficace ! "   ( Smiling and efficient ).
( HolidayCheck.com July 2006 )

Many reviews on HolidayCheck.com on the Zabargad Hotel in German - As of August 2008 22 reviewers had awarded the hotel an average of 4.6 out of a maximum six suns with best scores for service (4.8) and room (4.5) and lowest scores for sport (4.1) and location (3.5). 

Check out the hotel's own website.