Lahami Bay Beach Resort

Lahami Bay Beach Resort is made for divers who want the sea to remain part of the day even when the kit is back in its place. You have direct access to the bay, a long sandy beach, gardens, pools and an integrated diving centre, so the holiday does not depend on finding your way through a town every time you fancy a swim, a meal or a drink.

The resort is also set up for more than a purely underwater schedule. You can move from the beach to the pool, from the pool to the spa, and from the spa to dinner without turning the evening into an expedition. Families have a kids' club for children aged 6 to 12, while couples can keep things simpler with a sea-facing table, a bar by the water or a quiet drink under the southern sky.

The practical character is clear: a resort on the shoreline, with several places to eat, plenty to do and enough space for a proper day off. No need to pretend every diver wants three dives a day. Sometimes the sensible plan is one dive, a long lunch and a horizontal afternoon.

You are in Râs Banâs, Egypt, on the northern side of the peninsula and around 71 miles south of Marsa Alam along the Marsa Alam–Berenice road. The resort faces Lahami Bay directly, with the desert behind it and distant mountain peaks beyond the coast. This is a shoreline location rather than a base in a town, which keeps the sea close and the surrounding landscape wide open.

The beach stretches for about 1.9 miles along the naturally protected bay. Its sand slopes gently into the water, and the lack of a pier means you can enter the sea directly from the shore for swimming and snorkelling. Some house-reef areas can be reached simply by walking into the water, which is useful when you want a look around without committing to a full boat outing.

The nearest major airport is Marsa Alam Airport, around 112 miles away. Hurghada Airport is considerably farther, at about 239 miles. Once you arrive, the setting is deliberately self-contained: restaurants, bars, a minimarket, shops and the resort's own leisure facilities are all on site.

Most rooms are built around the same straightforward idea: a private balcony, air conditioning, a minibar, a flat-screen TV, WiFi and a private bathroom. The sea-view rooms are the natural choice if opening the curtains to the bay matters to you; partial sea-view rooms give you some of that outlook while keeping the choice a little broader. Twin layouts are available as well as super-king beds, so you can choose the sleeping arrangement rather than negotiating it with a tired dive buddy at check-in.

The standard rooms are designed for two guests and give you a balcony and a seating area, with a desk if you need to deal with something more demanding than deciding between the beach and the pool. A mosquito net is also provided. The air conditioning matters here for the obvious reason: returning from warm, salty water to a cool room is one of civilisation's more convincing achievements.

For a couple wanting more room to spread out, the King Suite with Sea View changes the shape of the evening, with a separate living room, a dressing room, a large sea-facing balcony or terrace and two bathrooms. Room service runs around the clock, so you can keep dinner in the room when the day's diving has won the argument. Daily housekeeping, a wardrobe, clothes storage and a drying rack keep the practical side from becoming another task.

The dining provision covers five restaurants, with four named venues giving the resort its real range. The Seven Seas Restaurant handles breakfast, lunch and dinner as buffets, with live cooking stations and international dishes, while fresh fish and seafood come from neighbouring waters. Breakfast is a buffet, served indoors in air conditioning or outside on the terraces overlooking the bay; dinner can take place under the stars when the evening suits it.

Ronda Restaurant works across lunch and dinner with Mediterranean dishes and a wood-fired oven for traditionally baked pizzas. Berenice Thai Restaurant adds Thai cooking, a show kitchen and a terrace looking towards the pool and sea. At the tip of the peninsula, Mangroves Café is the useful daytime stop for light dishes, pizzas, snacks and drinks, with open-sided decks facing the mangroves, house-reef formations and distant Hamata mountains.

There are six bars, so you are unlikely to need the same chair twice unless you have found the right one. Trade Winds Lounge and Seabreeze Bar run into the evening, Ocean Blue sits beside the pool, and Cascades Gelateria is built around a swim-in waterfall bar. Sail Away is by the beach and watersports centre, while Beduina Beach Tent serves traditional oriental hot drinks beside the sea until late. Room service is available 24 hours a day, and a private seafood or oriental dinner on the waterfront can be arranged.

The adult pool sits at the centre of the resort, with connected areas of different depths, islands, fountains, a waterfall and a swim-in bar. It is heated in winter. There is also a separate heated children's pool at the Kids Club, while sun loungers, umbrellas and pool or beach towels keep the logistics of doing very little pleasantly simple.

Planet Silla Spa is the place for a proper reset, with massages, a Turkish hammam, Finnish sauna, Jacuzzi and steam bath. The gym is inside the spa and uses TechnoGym equipment, with sea views while you work through the parts of the body that have been complaining since the last descent. Spa treatments and the wellness facilities are chargeable, but the important point is that the option is on site rather than somewhere you have to reach by transfer.

If sitting still becomes too ambitious, you have tennis, paddle tennis, pickleball, basketball, volleyball, mini-football, table tennis, boccia, beach volleyball, billiards and a library. Kayaks, canoes, pedal boats, windsurfing, kitesurfing and wing foiling cover the water above the surface. The resort also organises a weekly oriental dinner and show; in summer, live music and beach parties add a little more noise to the evening. The Kids Club combines indoor activities, games and a heated pool for children aged 6 to 12.

Marsa Alam Airport is around 112 miles away, and Hurghada Airport around 239 miles. An airport shuttle is available through the resort. Free on-site parking is available without reservation, which is useful if your route brings you by road rather than by aircraft.

Check-in starts at 14:00 and check-out is at 12:00. You must be at least 18 to check in and should have official photo identification with you. Cash is accepted for payment. European type C plugs are used with a 220 V / 50 Hz electrical supply, so check your charger bag before leaving home rather than discovering the issue beside the minibar.

WiFi is free throughout the resort, with a 24-hour reception, ATM, currency exchange, luggage storage, room service and a minimarket on site. Laundry, a hairdresser and beauty services are available, and an on-site clinic provides medical assistance around the clock. The resort also has accessible rooms and facilities for disabled guests. Pets are not allowed.