Sheraton Miramar Resort El Gouna

Arabic and Egyptian Nubian design, coloured buildings and water between the islands set the tone here. Sheraton Miramar Resort El Gouna is a large beachfront resort with 339 rooms spread across nine islands, so your walk back from breakfast may involve a bridge, a garden path and a lagoon or two. It is a place for divers who want the sea close by but also want enough on site to fill a non-diving day without treating the holiday like an endurance event.

You will find a private beach, outdoor pools, restaurants, bars, a spa and a 24-hour fitness centre in the resort itself. Families have a kids' club for children aged 5 to 12, while couples can make use of the beach-facing setting, the spa and the more intimate dining options. English is spoken by the hotel team, alongside Arabic and German, so you can get practical questions answered without resorting to underwater hand signals in the lobby.

The address is Hurghada, Egypt, on the Red Sea coast. The resort sits directly on the waterfront, with private beaches and lagoons threaded through the grounds. El Gouna's centre is close enough for a change of scenery, with cafés and restaurants around 0.6 miles away, while a golf course lies 1.2 miles from the resort.

You are not limited to the beach in front of the hotel. Zeytouna Beach is around 0.5 miles away, Marina Beach about 0.8 miles, The Smokery Beach around 1.3 miles and Mangroovy Beach roughly 1.3 miles. La Maison Bleue El Gouna Beach is around 1.8 miles away. Hurghada International Airport is 23 miles from the resort, with the drive taking around half an hour.

Every room has a spacious, secluded terrace or balcony, with views towards the lagoons, pools or private beaches. That matters when you have finished the day's diving: you can sit outside with a drink, let the room's air conditioning take the edge off the heat and keep the sea or lagoon in view without having to find another seat in the resort. Daily housekeeping, free WiFi and room service are also available.

For two people, a beachfront deluxe room is the straightforward choice when the priority is opening the door to a view of the beach. A junior or executive suite gives you more room to spread out and a little more separation from the business of the day. Travelling as a larger family group, you can look at the beachfront presidential suite, which has three bedrooms and four bathrooms. The room map below gives the exact layouts, beds and dimensions; the useful distinction here is whether you want the beach outside, a lagoon view, a balcony or simply more space.

The resort is designed around nine islands, so your room's position affects the feel of the stay as much as its category. Some rooms face lagoons and pools, others the private beaches. Choose the view that suits your evenings rather than assuming every room delivers the same outlook. Dinner calls for smart-casual clothing: tailored knee-length shorts and T-shirts are acceptable, but tank tops, swim shorts and open footwear are not.

Breakfast is a buffet at Miramar Restaurant from 7:00, a useful start for a morning boat departure. The restaurant serves international food with changing daily themes, live cooking stations, fresh fruit, morning classics and bakery items. Room service runs around the clock, which is handy when your appetite arrives later than your social energy.

There are eight restaurants and bars across the resort. Orient 1001 Restaurant draws on the spirit of the Shahrazad tales, while La Piscina Italian Restaurant serves freshly prepared Italian dishes beside the beach, with a candlelit setting suited to a slower dinner. Miramar Restaurant handles breakfast and international cuisine. The hotel also offers special-diet menus on request.

For drinks and lighter food, Miramar Bar serves cocktails, other drinks and snacks. Beach Bar keeps refreshments and quick bites near Miramar Beach; Pool Terrace adds drinks, light snacks and lunch by the pool. Boat Bar is a vintage wooden boat moored in the lagoon near Pier17, while Coconut Grove focuses on traditional oriental drinks. Lunch and breakfast are casual, but shoes remain required, and dinner has its own dress code. Diving does not exempt you from trousers or sleeves; the Red Sea has already done enough work for one day.

The main outdoor pool is heated, and there is also an exercise pool and a children's pool. Sun loungers, umbrellas and pool or beach towels are available, with the private beach providing another place to spend an afternoon without arranging transport. The gardens and footbridges make a short walk possible even when a serious excursion is the last thing you need.

Miramar Spa offers massages, couples' massages, body scrubs, body wraps and a foot bath, as well as a plunge pool. Treatments require an appointment. If your shoulders have spent the day carrying a cylinder, that is the sort of detail worth knowing before you arrive. The Sheraton Fitness centre is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with cardiovascular equipment, bikes, free weights, treadmills and strength machines.

Away from the water, you can use the 18-hole USPGA golf course, around 1.2 miles away, or try the on-site water sports, windsurfing, snorkelling, canoeing and cycling options. Table tennis, darts and billiards are available, and bicycle hire, horse riding, hiking and fishing are also offered. Live music, evening entertainment, cooking classes, local-culture activities, walking tours and themed dinner nights give you alternatives to another quiet hour beside the pool. Children have supervised indoor and outdoor activities through the kids' club, plus a playground and their own pool.

Hurghada International Airport is around 23 miles away, with a driving time of roughly 30 to 34 minutes. An airport shuttle is available on request and can be arranged as a private service or shared shuttle through the hotel. Car hire is available on site, and free private parking includes an electric-vehicle charging station. A 24-hour reception, concierge service, luggage storage, tour desk and express check-in and check-out cover the useful bits around arrival and departure.

Check-in starts at 15:00 and check-out runs until 12:00. Children are welcome, with cots and extra beds available on request according to the accommodation selected. The kids' club is for children aged 5 to 12. Cash and credit cards are accepted, and a minimarket, gift shop, barber and beauty shop are available on site. Laundry, ironing and dry-cleaning services can help if your kit has acquired the usual mixture of salt, dust and dinner.

Free WiFi is available throughout the hotel, including the rooms. The resort also has accessible routes and facilities covering the entrance, restaurants, pool, fitness centre, spa and selected rooms, with mobility-accessible rooms available. Pool refurbishment runs from 2 June to 15 December; the hotel facilities remain operational during the work, although visible activity may be present.

The resort holds Green Key, Green Star Hotel Certified and Green Star Egypt Certified credentials. Its stated practical measures include recycling in guest rooms and electric-car charging on site.

For you, the useful part is straightforward rather than theatrical: recycling is built into the room routine, and the charging station is there if you arrive with an electric vehicle. The resort's island-and-lagoon setting is part of the landscape you came to enjoy, so these are modest but concrete measures alongside the beach, pools and gardens.