Kaharamana Marsa Alam Hotel

This was simply the best experience ever. Myself and my husband went to this hotel on our honeymoon, we had a fab time, we enjoyed every moment of our 2 week trip. The people who worked in the hotel made our honeymoon extra special they showed us local culture at its best and gave us advice about entertainment. Take shoes for going in the sea as it is very rocky, shoes are available there from the shop that sells the snorkelling equipment. The bedwin tent is a must see, they have an evening once a week that is a great occassion for all. We will be returning to the Kahramana hotel in the rea sea resort again this summer, the experience exceeds any other holiday we have experienced! The lizards in the room were a bit of a pain, but part of the experience. You don't need to take beach towels you can get fresh ones daily.

Stayed at the Kahramana Resort in early December for a week. On arriving the hotel and its staff were extremely helpful and professional from the word go. Complementary drinks and a genuine smile as you arrived at reception set the tone for the stay, and my overall impression was that all the staff from barmen to reception to bedroom staff were extremely freindly and seemed reasonably well looked after and happy in their jobs. We stayed on B&B basis on a very keenly priced Thomas Cook package... Would recommend this option as it meant that you are free to dine in any of the restaurants across the whole complex or order room service and dine on your balcony or in your room (Prices in the hotel for food and drinks etc. struck me as very reasonable , considering that the hotel complex is quite remote and you are a captive audience. We never paid more than £10 per head for any meal with drinks.. in some cases quite a bit less. Food is mainly western/middle eastern, Meat Fresh Fish dishes with large and ample salad selection, Italian- Pizza/Pasta, Sandwiches etc. Particularly good breakfasts I thought. The facillities of this hotel are excellent, 2 lovely and pleasantly landscaped pools, all very clean and well attended to (one of these pools was heated- good if arriving over the winter months as the wind can make the air temperature a little cool from time to time). Two great beaches with a 3rd private beach a free minibus ride away, with convenient pier in between the 2 on site, allowing snorkelling etc. along the edge of the impressive coral reef.. One of the lifeguards said that they run snorkelling excursions for stronger swimmers along the edge of this reef, so that you can see even more sea life than there was there anyway. The Kahramana also had nice gardens and a good selection of bars and restaurants all around the complex. Rooms are very spacious, with everything you will need, all of them enjoying large balconies or terrace, and nearly all with great sea or pool views. We spoke to someone who had asked for their room to be changed as it was not quite what they had in mind and apparently the hotel staff were only too pleased to do this for them without any fuss. The only drawback to this place is probably also its main selling point to some people- its remoteness and quiet atmosphere. Punctuated by the louder and well organised 'bedouin night' which is once a week and which featured a great selection of Egyptian entertainment (Whirling Dervishes were the star of the show) and good meal. Don't come here if you want to have the experience of a bustling local town (unless you visit Luxor/Cairo as part of your trip) as there simply aren't any around this remote area.. If however you want some tranquillity and relaxation, great snorkelling, good food and to chill out for a week in pleasant surroundings, I couldn't recommend this place highly enough. Enjoy!

I work for a travel agent and was lucky enough to travel to Marsa on an educational. I have to say i was a bit wary about Egypt but would go back in a heartbeat foe a proper holiday with my fiance. We viewed lots of hotels but the Kahramana was by far my favourite. We stayed for two nights in a beautiful unique room that was only a stones throw from the gorgeous beach. We has a great evening at the beach barbecue where we sat crossed legged on cushions in a massive tent. the food was exceptional. As we were on a time schedule i got up early and walked along the beach and explored the gardens which were constantly preened to perferction. the staff were wonderful. I have never seen a hotel like it. very unique very beautiful and perfect for diving esp at dolphin house reef. I will def go back

I stayed for a week in the nice resort (Kahramana Marsa Alam Beach).. it is nice place with great view to the sea and natural scens (i liked that), decoration in the place are reminding the one with countryside somehow.(that is good to release the mind from polution and noise in big cities). staff were not as professional as you may used to have in 5stars hotels and they are not good in speaking any foriegn language but they are so helpfull (they can just speak some english). friendly atmosphere you can find everywhere you go here. food was not as good as expected but it was ok (salad buffet is always full of varieties but the main dishes on the buffet were not as good as that). sweats were a bit strange (it might be my personal openion cause i noticed around that people are satisfied with that). my wife had good time on the sunbeds on the beach and around the swimming pool (heated one and natural one) our balcony had a marvelous sea view with trees and gardens all around (it was so peaceful) my wife had some trouble in long distances (1st day), then she liked walking but not on the paths (she used to move around that or taking long ways to avoid the hard solid uneven paths). my daughter came with a friend and they enjoyed as never before. she used to say : this place is the one i always saw in my dreams. her friend felt happy and satisfied as well. weather was great (i expected to have colder weather and more wind to be, but it was very warm weather "almost still hot in this place"). cleaning was ok for the rooms and utilities areas (restaurants and disco). we had great time in a place called ciao Marsa (means as i think bye Marsa in italian), you may call it disco or pup as my daugher preferred to call it. it is coozy place to drink and have some dance as well. i did not go to the other disco place there, but my wife and daughter off course did that. i enjoyed having a tatoo on my back shoulder (skull....hahaha) all what i advise everyone while visiting the place there is to take care from the staff when they leer to my daughter's great white body with golden hair. (she noticed that but she told me about after we came back home) she told me a strange story about that but i did'nt notice that myself, she said that when she was away from her friend once, one from the workers in the hotels waved to her on sneeky way with what i can call sexual harrasment (uses his mouth and eyes to flert in an impropper way to her), she dealt easily with the situation and got involved again with us till she told me that after we are back. (i would take different action if i would know that on time), i am sure that the hotel management would handle that to avoid scandles. i enjoyed and my family enjoyed, we all had a great time there i recommend everyone who would like to relax or to restart his life in different way to visit the place our rate to whole accomodation exceeds 85% thanks to Kahramana Marsa Alam (place and staff) cause i really started a new relaxed life after being there. Y. A S. Bermingham - UK email: yasmina_jesy@hotmail.com

Stayed with a mate for 1 week in Oct with the intention of diving every day. Hotel reef was great and snorkelling to die for although baby Black tip reef sharks in the shallows did put a few of the paddlers off LOL. Food was superb and we stayed on a half board basis which was ideal, got the feeling that they mainly catered for the Itilains guest which easily outnumbered all other nationalities put together. The hotel is very, very quiet and if you are looking for anything more than a night cap after dinner I'm affraid you'll be dissapointed. A lot of all inclusive italian guests stay here most of the bar tenders are corrupt, suggesting that you pay them a few quid and you can help yoursleves to local beers and spirits FOC (being very honest we politley declined their offers) 2 words of warning!!!! firstly if you sign for drinks or food, make sure you double check the bill and delete any open boxes as drinks were def added after we had signed, make sure you are signing for what you have had, for example we were charged for a cocktail's rather than a vodka and coke's (a diff of 50p) which all adds up? The Thomas cooke rep was totally useless and rather rude when asked to actually do her job sorting out some amarouse local waiters who were pestering two young british girls day and night, dont expect anything useful from her!! (sorry got to be honest) In summary, if you are looking for a lazy beach holiday, a romantic private holiday, a quiet holiday then this is for you any one else need not bother, Terrible for kids, terrible for anyone under 30, terrible for anyone even not remotley interested in the superb marine life of the area. If you have done red sea resorts before, then you know what to expect, if not? brace yourself and def dont send your teenage daughters!!!! Check back on this one in 10 yrs, maybe more to see and do?

Access to the reef from the hotel was closed all the week except our first day there. In consequence the other beach was very crowded with big coaches of people there & the mattresses for the beds have disappeared. There were up to 9 dive boats parked in the bay and I once counted 26 divers within 2 metres of the dugong although there are notices not to harass it. Hotel & staff fine as always although we arrived in the dark & someone is going to kill themselves on the very uneven stone paths. In May my wife hurt her ankle so much so that we had to get the doctor & 2 people fell over & hurt their arms while we were there. Be warned. Trips to the dolphines & 3 reefs vastly overpriced. Harold. East Yorkshire

What can I say have just returned from the Kahramana after a two week holiday and it was great, resort is lovely good facilities very friendly staff , nice restuarant. Any one thats wants good weather and good service should look at this resort, I am a diver but would recommend the resort to divers and non divers alike. Everything is laid on there including beach towels and haridryers if you are watching you weight allowance, will definitely be going back next year

We stayed here in September 2006 for two weeks for our Honeymoon. We loved the hotel and had a fantastic time. Great for diving and snorkling. The staff were nothing but friendly. Would we go again - oh yes!

We went to Marsa only 2 weeks ago, and really enjoyed the week we spent there. We opted for the half board option and enjoyed the breakfast every morning. Most nights we ate at the buffet, and really enjoyed it. We just happned to be there when they were holding a fish market at 'On The Rocks'. We really enjoyed that, and found the prices really reasonable. We went back to 'On The Rocks' again, because we were really imoressed with the service on the first night. Unfortunatly the service, to be honest, war rubbish. We arrived at 8.00 and didn't leave until 10.45, after we had finished the main, we had to wait 30mins to be offered pudding. And after waiting another 20mins we walked out. This is the only bad thing i have to say about the food! Apart from that the food war good, lunch from the pool bar was just as good as the buffet food. On one of the nights every thing closed and there was a show on the beach. This was to celebrate mid summer. The show and te food was amazing and i believe was enjoyed by all. The pool by the buffet was really good and even thought the number of sunbeds was not large, there was always some left. The pool was clean, and fun. The hotel also has another pool, near to the dive center. I was not as impressed with this pool, but it was still clean, the only problem was the amount of chlorine in the water and the taste of the water (all though it sounds strange) the pool by the buffet seamed to taste cleaner. One advantage of the pool near the dive centre is that it was heated, so it was not a shock to the system when you jumped into it. The hotel also run a golf buggy taxi service within the resort. This proved very handy if you were walking about in the day with no shoes on as the paths and roads got really hot, because of the sun. One other point i would make is try not to get caught in an area with no wind as the heat in mid summer is very hot. Also keep topping up suntan cream as it doesn't take tong fro you to burn. The rooms were also very good. The bathrooms were good with a good shower in them. You were also provided with lockable cabinets, a TV and a sun lounger on your personal balcony. When you check in you get given a towel card, that entitles you to a free towel, by the pool or the beach, do not loose it, because it will cost you 100LE. All in all i was very impressed with the room. The cleaner came every day and if you had a porblem then the hotel staff would be very quick to respond. The dive centre that is situated on the resort is excelent. The staff are very helpful. They run a series of dives. The normal dives to the house reef, and other locations, run every day,morning and afternoon. They also run a trip to Dolphin House every other day, for divers and snorklers alike. I personally went to get my Open Water. I felt safe with the staff out at sea and if i ever wanted to expand on my quailfication then i will go back there. The prices were reasonable and were fair for what you were getting. All in all i really enjoyed my holiday, and would quite happilly go to the Kahramana Beach Resort again in the future

Overall a great hotel, beautifully setting, friendly staff. The food was well prepared and we never heard of anyone with an upset stomach (unless it was alcohol related) Their best beach was a small (free) bus ride away. The only negative thing I would say is not really designed for the disabled, one guest had trouble getting around, though the staff did try to help any way they could. Many of the friends we made there are returning in November, they even booked before we left.