Grand Rotana Resort & Spa

Grand Rotana Resort & Spa is a large beachfront resort for divers who like their hotel life properly organised once the regulator is back in the bag. Tropical gardens, palms and waterfalls lead down towards a private beach, while the rooms look out over gardens, pools or the Red Sea. It is not a small hideaway, and it does not try to be one. With 526 rooms and suites, several restaurants, bars, pools and a spa, it gives you plenty of ways to spend an evening without having to leave the grounds.

The atmosphere suits a couple who wants sea views and a choice of places to eat, but families are firmly part of the picture too. There is a kids' club, a heated children's pool and daily morning and evening activities for younger guests. For your own evening, the choice runs from a rooftop drink to live music, a pub-style dinner or simply a balcony and something cold from the minibar.

English is catered for through the resort's website, which is available in English as well as Arabic. The hotel itself also has a concierge, a 24-hour reception and room service around the clock, useful when your body has had enough social interaction for one day.

You are in Shark's Bay, Sharm El Sheikh, directly on the Red Sea. The resort has a 450-metre private beach looking towards Tiran Island, so the sea is not an excursion here; it is the edge of the property. Sharks Bay Beach is about half a mile away, while White Knight Bay Beach is roughly 1.7 miles away by the mapped route.

The setting puts you between Naama Bay, Ras Um Sid and Sharm town, with the main local sights spread around the peninsula. Soho Square is about 10 minutes by car and Naama Bay about 15 minutes. A few outside options are closer: Moka Cafe is roughly 1,650 feet away by road, and Casa Mia, Fleur de Lis and House of Spice are all within about a mile.

For a change from the resort, Al Fanar Light House is around 11 miles away by road. The airport is close enough to keep arrival day manageable, at roughly 4.5 miles by road, although the resort's own location information gives the airport distance as 8 km.

Every room has a private balcony, which matters more here than another decorative cushion ever will. Choose a sea-front or sea-view room if the Red Sea is part of what you came for; choose a garden view if you would rather spend less of the room looking at the horizon and more time sleeping. The Panoramic Sea and Pool View Room gives you a broader outlook over the resort, while lounge-access options suit you if you value a more club-style arrangement rather than simply a place to drop your mask and head for dinner.

The standard rooms are designed for two, with extra-large double beds in the sea-facing categories and twin beds available in the Garden View Room. That makes the twin option the sensible choice when you are sharing with a non-romantic dive buddy. Couples who want more room to spread out can look at the one-bedroom suite with lounge access; the villas, with private gardens and pools, are aimed at groups rather than a two-person diving break.

Air conditioning is fitted throughout, and the rooms include a minibar, kettle, tea and coffee facilities, satellite television, wardrobe space and a private bathroom with either a bath or shower. The balcony gives you somewhere to sit while the room cools down, and room service runs 24 hours if the thought of walking to a restaurant feels like an advanced surface interval. WiFi covers the resort, though the listed guest score for it is lower than for the other main facilities, so do not choose this address solely for heroic upload speeds.

Breakfast is a buffet, with continental, Full English and Irish, American, vegetarian, vegan, halal and gluten-free choices listed. Ramses handles breakfast, lunch and dinner beside the sea, with Egyptian and international dishes in a bright, open setting. It is the practical base for a day when you want food at the hotel rather than a culinary expedition before getting wet.

Dinner gives you more room to vary the routine. Silk Road serves Asian dishes in a contemporary setting, while The Palms Bar & Grill works the seafront with grills, salads and cool drinks. Mezzaluna is the Italian option for lunch and dinner, but it is currently closed until further notice; that small detail is worth keeping in mind if pizza and pasta are the reason you are choosing a resort with several restaurants.

Drinks are spread across the property rather than concentrated in one lobby. Isis Lounge is the lobby bar, Sky Lounge sits on the roof with Red Sea views, and Aquarius Pool Bar keeps the drinks and light bites close to the water. Duke's English Pub and C-Lido add two more named places in the resort's dining and bar line-up. Room service is available around the clock, and breakfast can come to your room when an early start has won the argument.

The pool area gives you several versions of doing nothing. There is a lagoon-style pool, an Olympic-size swimming pool, an outdoor infinity pool and a separate heated children's pool. Sun loungers, umbrellas, beach towels and a private beach mean that you can choose between salt water, chlorinated water or the ancient diving-holiday tradition of remaining horizontal until someone mentions lunch.

Zen the Spa offers massages including Thai Signature Massage, Couple's Massage and Rotana Four Hand Massage, alongside spa facilities, a steam room, sauna and relaxation area. That gives you a useful post-dive plan when your shoulders have started filing complaints. Bodylines is the fitness club, with modern gym equipment for a proper session rather than a token treadmill hidden behind a pot plant.

Tennis is available, with tennis equipment listed separately, and boat excursions and snorkelling are part of the water-activity offer. Away from the resort, the tour possibilities include a quad-bike ride through the Sinai landscape, a visit to Mount Sinai and St Catherine's Monastery, a cruise with a picnic on White Island, and a trip into Naama Bay for shops, bazaars and cafés. Families have a kids' club, playground areas and organised children's activities, so a mixed-age group has something to occupy the non-divers.

Check-in runs from 14:00 to 23:30 and check-out is by 12:00. The reception is open 24 hours, with luggage storage, currency exchange, an ATM, a tour desk and concierge service on site. Laundry and ironing are available, dry cleaning is also offered, and there is a minimarket, beauty salon and book shop for the small jobs that otherwise become unnecessarily complicated on holiday.

Sharm El Sheikh International Airport is roughly 12 minutes away by car on the mapped route. Airport transfers are available, as are shuttle bus and limousine services; arrange them with the resort before travelling. A shuttle to Naama Bay is also available on request. On-site parking and WiFi are available throughout the resort, and a doctor can be called when needed.

Children of all ages are welcome. Cots are available for younger children and extra beds can be requested, subject to the selected accommodation and availability; children aged 12 and over are charged as adults. The resort is wheelchair accessible, with accessible rooms, roll-in showers, lifts, ramps, accessible restaurants and an accessible pool listed among the facilities. The dress code is smart casual, with beachwear reserved for the pool and beach areas.

The resort holds the Green Star Hotel Award 2023 from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism. That is the concrete environmental credential attached to the property, rather than a vague promise to save the planet between cocktails.

Its position on Shark's Bay puts the Red Sea and its near-shore coral reefs directly in the frame of your stay. The useful question for you is therefore straightforward: choose the hotel for its beach, pools, food and access to the water, while treating the reef as the reason to take care of what is just offshore.