Sheraton Soma Bay Resort

Sheraton Soma Bay is a large beachfront resort for divers who want the practical side of a Red Sea stay handled without giving up space, food choices or somewhere to sit properly at the end of the day. You have a private beach, a substantial outdoor pool, restaurants on site and a resort layout built for staying put rather than going in search of every small necessity.

It suits couples particularly well, but families are welcome too, with family rooms, a kids' club, a children's pool and outdoor play equipment. There is also an 18-hole golf course, a fitness centre and a full programme of activities, so a non-diving companion has more to do than count your cylinders.

The overall feel is that of a self-contained resort rather than a small hotel with a beach attached. That matters when you want to come back from the water, shower, eat, and be horizontal for a while without arranging another outing.

The address is in Hurghada, Egypt, in the Soma Bay area, directly on the beach. The Red Sea is therefore part of the hotel rather than a distant excursion, with a private beach area, sun terrace, garden and outdoor seating all on site.

Hurghada International Airport is about 29 miles away by road. The hotel description places the resort 30 km from Hurghada, so this is a coastal resort setting rather than a town-centre base. You are choosing sea, space and on-site facilities over a walk into town.

The nearest listed beach, The Breakers Diving and Surfing Lodge Soma Bay Beach, is roughly 300 metres away as the map measures it. Nearby cafés and bars are several miles away, which makes the five restaurants, bar and snack bar on the property rather more useful than a decorative line in the facilities list.

Every room category is built around the same useful basics for a diving holiday: air conditioning, a balcony, a minibar, tea and coffee-making facilities, a private bathroom and a wardrobe. Satellite television is there for the evenings when conversation has run out before energy has. Daily housekeeping takes care of the less glamorous part of resort life.

For a couple, the choice is mostly about how much you want the Red Sea involved in the room. A Classic room keeps things straightforward, while the Standard Partial Sea View and Direct Sea Guest Rooms make the balcony more relevant when you want to look out at the water rather than at a limited view. Twin-bed versions are available, which is useful when the holiday involves friends rather than one shared duvet.

If you want more room to spread out, the Junior Suite and Executive Suite add a separate living area. The larger beach suites and the two-bedroom Presidential Suite are the more convincing choices for families or anyone who dislikes living out of a dive bag. Private-pool suites are also available. Whichever category you choose, the combination of air conditioning, a minibar and a balcony gives you the essentials for cooling down, keeping water close and drying off after the shower without turning the bedroom into a storage locker.

Five restaurants keep dinner from becoming a daily argument. The International Restaurant has an outdoor terrace overlooking the sea, while the Italian Restaurant offers a change of direction when a buffet has had its turn. Breakfast is served buffet-style, with continental, full English and Irish, vegetarian, vegan and halal choices. That is a useful spread before a morning departure, particularly when the body is asking for food rather than culinary theatre.

There is a bar, a snack bar and a coffee house on site, plus a minibar in the rooms. Snacks are available, and room service can bring food upstairs when the sensible plan is to eat horizontally. Breakfast in the room is also available. Wine and champagne can be ordered, and special diet menus are available on request.

Half-board and all-inclusive options are available. The practical detail is worth keeping in view: drinks are not included with half-board, while all-inclusive packages include alcoholic drinks. That distinction is easy to miss when booking and rather harder to ignore once you are sitting down thirsty after a long day.

The large outdoor pool, private beach, sun loungers and umbrellas cover the central post-dive requirement: somewhere to stop moving. Pool and beach towels are available, and the garden, sun terrace and outdoor furniture give you alternatives to sitting in the same position all afternoon. There is also a kids' pool and a water slide for younger guests.

For a more deliberate way to spend an afternoon, the resort has a fitness centre, fitness classes, sauna and spa and wellness facilities. Massage options include full-body, couples, head, neck, back, hand and foot treatments, with a relaxation area and steam room. Les Thermes Marina des Cascades is also available for thalassotherapy. After several days of salt, sun and carrying bags that mysteriously become heavier on the way back from the boat, that is a fairly sensible luxury.

Tennis, table tennis, darts, squash, cycling and bicycle rental add some movement without requiring another full expedition. Golf is available at the 18-hole course, while tennis equipment, water sports, snorkelling, fishing and the water park are listed as activities with additional charges. Evening entertainment, live music and an entertainment team give the resort a little life after dinner; you can join in or retreat to the balcony and let somebody else make the effort.

Airport transfers are available by shuttle and can be arranged with the hotel. Car hire, a tour desk, concierge service, currency exchange, an on-site cash machine and luggage storage are all available, while the 24-hour reception keeps arrival and departure from being restricted to office hours. Private parking is available on site, and free Wi-Fi covers all areas.

Check-in starts from 15:00 and check-out runs until 12:00. You need photo identification and a credit card at check-in, and the hotel asks you to share your expected arrival time. Express check-in and check-out are available. The airport shuttle is a service to arrange with the property rather than something to assume will happen automatically.

Children of all ages are welcome. Cots are available on request, subject to the selected accommodation and availability, while extra beds are not available. Children aged 12 and over are treated as adults for the booking arrangements. Pets are not allowed. Laundry, dry cleaning, ironing and packed lunches are available when the holiday requires a little logistics rather than another cocktail.