Camel Dive Club & Boutique Hotel

Camel Dive Club & Resort is built around the practical pleasures of a diving holiday: a central hotel, a dive operation on site, a courtyard pool, and places to eat and drink without turning the evening into a logistical exercise. Founded in 1986, it has the feel of a boutique hotel rather than a large all-purpose complex, with the diving club, Pomodoro Restaurant and Camel Rooftop gathered in the same Naama Bay address.

The setting suits divers who like some life around the hotel but still want somewhere to sit quietly when the day is done. The courtyard and pool provide that calmer corner, while the rooftop bar keeps the social side close at hand. You can have a slow coffee, watch a major sports match indoors, or head upstairs for a cocktail; nobody is asking you to attend a gala dinner in a linen jacket.

The hotel also works well for couples travelling together, particularly when one person wants easy access to the sea and the other values restaurants, cafés and an evening atmosphere nearby. The accommodation is for adults, with a minimum check-in age of 18.

You are in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, at the centre of Naama Bay. The sea is a few steps away, and Naama Bay Beach is reached in around two minutes on foot. It is a sandy beach with sun loungers and parasols, accessed through the hotel’s reception with a beach towel and access token.

This is a genuinely central address. The Tonino Lamborghini International Convention Center is a seven-minute walk away, while the surrounding Naama Bay area brings shops, cafés, bars and restaurants into your evening orbit. Starbucks and a beach bar are within roughly a tenth of a mile, with Pacha Sharm El Sheikh and several restaurants also close by. For a change of beach, Gardens Bay Beach is about 1.5 miles away on foot.

Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport is about five miles away by road. The hotel sits beside the tourist centre rather than in a remote coastal compound, so you can step outside for a meal or a drink instead of treating every outing as an excursion.

The rooms keep things straightforward, with air conditioning, a private bathroom, a shower, a wardrobe and a flat-screen television. That matters in Sharm El Sheikh: a cool room is useful when your skin has had enough sun, salt and neoprene for one day. Soundproof rooms and soundproofing are also part of the accommodation, a practical detail for a hotel in the middle of a lively resort area.

For two people, the choice is mainly about how you want to sleep. The king room with pool view suits a couple who would rather have one large bed; the twin room keeps two separate beds for divers who value personal space more than romance. The pool-view rooms also come with balconies, while some accommodation has terraces and interconnected rooms.

A kettle and tea or coffee-making facilities let you deal with the first caffeine requirement before breakfast, and the private bathroom means no corridor expedition in the small hours. Daily housekeeping keeps the room in order while you are out, with laundry, dry cleaning and ironing services available as additional services. A lift and ground-floor accommodation support easier access, while facilities for disabled guests are available.

The central courtyard gives the hotel a quieter place to return to, and the pool view adds something to the room without pretending it is a sea view. This is accommodation chosen for recovery, showers and a sensible night’s sleep, not for spending the entire holiday indoors.

Breakfast is continental and included, with warm dishes, fresh pastries and a range of drinks to get you towards the first boat without making breakfast feel like a military briefing. If you prefer a more substantial arrangement, the breakfast can be upgraded to a Premium option, and half board includes dinner at Pomodoro Restaurant.

Pomodoro handles lunch and dinner in an air-conditioned indoor setting, with outdoor seating as well. The cooking is Italian-inspired and Mediterranean: handmade pasta, pizza, seafood and grilled dishes. It is the sort of menu that works for a hungry diver, a relaxed lunch or a dinner where nobody wants to debate the menu for half an hour.

There are two hotel restaurants, plus two distinct places for drinks and lighter food. Camel Rooftop combines signature cocktails, casual food and open views over Naama Bay; its indoor bar is set up for watching major sports events. Vanilla Café is the daytime stop for Italian gelato, coffee, fresh juices and light bites, useful when you need cooling rather than another full meal.

A snack bar, a bar and a coffee house on site widen the options between meals. Hotel guests receive a reduction in the restaurants and bars, and room service operates within limited hours. Food and drinks bought outside the hotel cannot be consumed on the premises, so plan your provisions accordingly.

The main non-diving routine is pleasingly simple: towel, sun lounger, pool, shade, repeat as required. The outdoor courtyard pool is heated in winter by a solar-heating system, with relaxed seating and pool towels provided. It is also suitable for dive training, though you may prefer to use it for floating about and discussing whether the third coffee was really necessary.

The beach is close enough for an easy change of scene. At Naama Bay Beach, you have sand, loungers and parasols, with access arranged through reception. Snorkelling and boat excursions are also available for days when you want to stay on the surface or see more of the coast without committing to another full diving day.

For the evening, Camel Rooftop provides a social meeting point, with an indoor bar for major sports broadcasts and an outdoor rooftop setting over Naama Bay. Evening entertainment and live sports broadcasts are part of the hotel’s activities, while happy hour offers another reason to delay the return to your room.

There is also a Tribe gift shop on site. The overall choice is not about filling every hour with organised activity; it is about having a pool, beach access and somewhere sociable nearby when your legs have had enough useful work.

Camel Dive Club, the hotel's own dive centre, affiliated with SSI, TDI, SDI, used to English-speaking guests. The on-site operation changes the shape of the day: breakfast, kit-up and the boat departure are all within the same compact base, with no hotel transfer to organise before diving. Daily boat trips leave in the morning and return in the late afternoon, with a third dive often available as an option.

Groups are limited to six divers per guide, which keeps the day more manageable than a mass outing. Nitrox is available free to certified divers, and night dives are part of the programme.

The English-language diving site is joined by Italian, German and Spanish versions, so the operation is set up for an international clientele. Boat days can include Ras Mohammed National Park, the Strait of Tiran, SS Thistlegorm and local sites such as Ras Nasrani, White Knight and Tower.

Check-in starts at 14:00 and check-out runs until 12:00. Early check-in and late check-out can be requested, which is useful when flight times refuse to cooperate with your final dive day. A 24-hour reception, private check-in and check-out, concierge service and luggage storage keep the arrival and departure mechanics reasonably tidy.

An airport shuttle is available between Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport and the hotel; you can arrange it with the hotel as a private or shared transfer. The airport is about five miles away by road. Wi-Fi is free throughout the property, and a business centre, meeting facilities and photocopying services cover the occasional non-holiday task.

The hotel accepts cash, and pets are not permitted. The booking policy does not allow children, and the minimum age for check-in is 18. Rooms include air conditioning, and the property has a lift, ground-floor units and facilities for disabled guests. The diving operation also caters for divers with reduced mobility, with an adapted boat and trained instructors.

The hotel has a non-smoking room category and a designated smoking area. Keep one small practical rule in mind: food and drinks purchased outside the hotel cannot be consumed on the premises.

The hotel holds Green Star Hotel certification, while the diving operation is a Green Fins Golden Member. That puts the environmental work close to the part of the holiday that matters most to divers: the reef and the way people behave around it.

The outdoor pool is heated in winter with solar energy, and solar panels form part of the property’s energy approach. Single-use plastic water bottles have been removed, while double-glazed windows help with thermal and sound insulation.

The stated aim is to reduce environmental impact, improve energy efficiency and operate more sustainably. Green Fins membership adds a reef-protection focus to the diving side of the property, rather than leaving sustainability as a plaque beside reception.