Mövenpick Waterpark Resort & Spa Soma Bay

Mövenpick Resort Soma Bay is a substantial Red Sea resort for divers travelling as a couple, with family or with a non-diving companion who expects more from the holiday than a bed and a breakfast room. Opened in 2013, it spreads across fifteen hectares and combines a private beach, pools, gardens, a spa, sports facilities and a sizeable choice of places to eat.

You will be understood in English, as well as in French, German, Russian and Arabic. That matters when you are discussing a transfer, a meal or the small practical detail that suddenly becomes important once you are tired, sun-warmed and carrying too much kit.

The scale is the main character here. With 418 rooms, this is not a discreet little hideaway; it is a full resort designed to keep several kinds of holiday moving at once. Divers can build their day around the sea, while the rest of the party has pools, watersports, a kids' club, wellness facilities and excursions to choose from.

The resort is in Hurghada, Egypt, at Soma Bay on the Red Sea coast. It sits beside a private beach with sun loungers and parasols, so the water is part of the address rather than something requiring a daily expedition across town.

Hurghada city centre is 5 km away. The setting gives you access to the resort's own grounds while keeping the town within reach when you want to get out and see more than the same pool bar for the fourth afternoon in a row.

Hurghada International Airport is 45 km away. The hotel also offers airport transfers, making the arrival practical when a flight, luggage and a long journey have already used up most of your enthusiasm.

The room choice is broad enough to match different ways of travelling. Couples can choose between double or twin layouts, with views ranging from the mountains and pool to the side of the sea or the sea itself. The adults-only swim-up rooms add direct pool access, which is the sort of feature that sounds unnecessary until you have spent a hot afternoon deciding whether the walk to the main pool is really worth it.

Families have dedicated rooms, including options for up to four people and garden-view versions. For two divers who prefer separate beds, the twin categories are the obvious practical choice; for a couple who would rather wake to water than mountains, the sea-view rooms make the view part of the recovery routine. Junior suites and larger suite categories offer another step up when the room is expected to do more than store bags and dry clothes.

Air conditioning is available across the room range, with heating in some categories, and several rooms include soundproofing. Depending on the category, you also have a minibar, safe, television, Wi-Fi, tea or coffee facilities, a desk, bathrobe and slippers. The useful post-dive details are refreshingly ordinary: somewhere secure for valuables, cold drinks close at hand and air conditioning when the Egyptian heat has followed you back from the beach.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served at Al Jazeera Restaurant, Bay View Restaurant and Mama's Eatery Restaurant. The resort describes its food as a mix of regional specialities and international dishes, giving you more range than a single buffet repeated until departure. Breakfast is included in the accommodation package, while the precise meal arrangement depends on the booking selected.

There are six dining outlets in total when the bars are included. Beach Bar keeps drinks close to the sand, Pool Bar covers the obvious mid-swim requirement, and Soma Bar handles cocktails when the evening calls for something more composed than a bottle of water.

A snack bar, buffet service, coffee and tea facilities, breakfast in the room and picnic lunches are all available. That gives you a few ways to handle the awkward gap between returning from the water and sitting down properly for dinner. Ramadan may affect meal availability, so the timing of a trip can matter here.

The resort gives you several ways to spend a non-diving day without turning it into a military exercise. There is an outdoor heated pool, another pool, a waterpark and beach access with loungers, parasols and beach or pool towels. The heated pool is particularly useful in winter, when the Red Sea may look inviting but the first step into any water still requires a short internal negotiation.

For slower recovery, the spa offers massages, beauty treatments, a sauna, steam bath and hammam. A gym and fitness equipment cover the more energetic option, while the gardens, sun terrace and library suit anyone who has reached the sensible conclusion that sitting down is an activity in its own right.

You can also play tennis, table tennis or darts, and golf courses are nearby. On the water, the resort offers kayaking, paddleboarding, sailing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, jet skiing, fishing, boat trips and equipment hire. Excursions include islands, waterfalls, markets, boat outings and cultural visits. Families have a kids' club, a games room, a children's play area and babysitting services, so a mixed group does not have to follow the same timetable all week.

Check-in runs from 14:00 until 05:00, with check-out by 12:00. Express and private check-in and check-out are available, and the reception can help with excursions, tickets, vehicle hire and transfers. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel, while parking, a cash machine, currency exchange, luggage storage and concierge services make the less glamorous parts of travel easier to manage.

The resort has a lift and wheelchair-accessible facilities. Laundry, dry cleaning, ironing, shoe polishing, wake-up calls and room service are available, with some of these services carrying an additional charge. An on-site infirmary is also available, which is useful to know before you need it rather than afterwards.

Couples sharing a room must present a valid marriage certificate at check-in; without one, the hotel may refuse the booking or require a second room. The New Year's Gala Dinner carries a mandatory hotel surcharge. Airport transfers are available, and should be arranged with the hotel before travelling.