Scott,

We stayed at the movenpick in el gouna last may and just booked to return this may. We only visited the Shearton briefly, so I can't realy comment constructively, too blinkerer by the movenpick.

Any questions on el gouna, please ask. i'm sure you'll love it.

cheers Badgerman

i am really looking forward to visiting El Gouna. From what i have read already it seems a lovely place.
do you know if the Miramar is quite central to the majority of the restraunts etc?

you cant be any more central, equally as far from the marina as downtown. get a weekly 'bus pass' for 10le. it's just a 5 minute ride to either downtown or the marina. the posher restaurants are in the marina, lovely open sided buses !! and eating out is very cheap. otherwise it just 10le for a taxi anywhere in the resort, altough we always felt compelled to pay more.

i'm not sure if you hb, but if you are there is alway the 'dine around' programme whre you can book at other hotels for evening meals. never tried it though.

The Sheraton is a little bit out of the main "town centre" of El Gouna - almost half way between the Marina and Tamr Henna (the main bus terminus/downtown) - it is more central than the Movenpick though. We have walked from Downtown to the Marina with the children, but the paths are not deparately well lit in places and eternally gritty - can be a bit uncomfortably if it's especially windy.

There is a combined shuttlebus/water taxi weekly pass available from the info booth Downtown or at your hotel reception for LE10pp for the week (thats a bit under a quid!!! - for ALL trips for the WHOLE week). Buses go through the main canopy of the Sheraton Reception at approx 15min intervals (there is a neat little wallet-size timetable available should you want to pick one up when you purchase your bus pass) - from the Sheraton you can chose to go out to the Marina (for the "posh" restaurants) or Downtown on a direct bus link.

Alternatively the taxis are about £1 for any trip within El Gouna - and there is a taxi rank outside all the major hotels!!

Think that should just about cover it!!!

thanks guys

i appreciate your help

one final thing!!

do you know how easy it is and the cost of booking a day trop to Luxor.
in particular the Valley of the Kings. I was there last year and would just love to vist again?

Went to El Gouna and Stayed at the Sheraton Last April I have to say we Loved every minute oof both the hotel and El Gouna itself.I particularly liked the quirky modern arabic styling and that the hotel is spread out over a large area ,interspersed with lagoons ,giving it a very spacious village feel . The terraces for the rooms are huge and contain 2 sun loungers ( If you do want to sunbathe on your terrace some of the rooms have open terraces - Our room whilst on the sea front never received the sun at all ! ) . The rooms are quite large and I would recommend asking for a top floor room as these usually have high domed or vaulted ceilings .

Getting a sunbed on the beach front can be tricky unless your an early riser but there are usually plenty of free beds on the lagoon facing beaches

The Breakfast buffet was fantastic - Better than Hilton Sharm Dreams and Sonesta St George IMHO . I didnt have any other food in the hotel as there are so many other restaurants to try . If you like Pizza ,Maison Thomas in the marina is fantastic ,as is Bleu Bleu for a more special (though still inexpensive ) meal .

As previously mentioned use the bus or Taxis for getting about as they are so cheap . We did walk to the marina once which is OK during the day but I wouldnt like to do it at night as the roads arent lit too well and the drivers do not like to use their headlights .

We went on the overnight trip to Luxor . I cant remember the exact price but it was around $130 for the Sonesta St George I think the day trip was $90 but it would be a very long day .

The trip started strangely in that we were picked up in a smallish minibus , by a man who didnt speak very much English . after picking up from the other hotels we proceded to Safaga to join the convoy and we thought to a larger more comfy bus ... No ... we tavelled the whole way in the small bus,apart from a couple of toilet stops not a word was spoken to us until we arrived in Luxor . As we were the only 2 English on the trip we had our own guide who kept us informed and entertained for the whole time we were in Luxor. This made the trip for us and is why I would recommend it .

Hope you like EL Gouna it should be pretty hot out there in July

We also booked the day trip to Luxor from El Gouna at $85 each adult and $50 for the children. We were picked up at 5.30 (if you ask, the hotel will provide a breakfast box) and got back to the hotel close on midnight. The children were shattered and we were well advised (by the hotel) to take a couple of pillows for use in the minibus.
Certainly not the most luxurious form of travel but we got there (just - involved in a mini-pile-up en route in the convoy!!)
You are very limited in that both to and from Luxor/Safaga you have to travel in convoy accompanied by armed guards - there were well over 100 vehicles in our convoy in Feb last year and that seems to be the norm. (BTW the loos in the Bus Station in Safaga are to be avoided if at all possible!!!) From memory, I think the convoys leave Safaga at 7am and Luxor at 6pm.

That being said , we would all do the trip again. We went to Karnack first, had a fantastic lunch (provided, but have to pay for own drinks) at the Sonesta St George on the Nile, then out to the Colossus of Memnon & adjacent temple then Valley of the Kings (three tombs included in price).
Finished up with a very un-pushy visit to an Alabaster factory (no real pressure to buy - we spent less than a tenner!!), and as we were early back to Luxor we also visited a papyrum museum/shop.

Neither of my children like museums, but they really enjoyed the trip!!

If you do go, make sure you take sunhats and plenty of water (preferably in those insulated holders you can buy) - Luxor was a good 10 degrees hotter than El Gouna !! Decent shoes are a must to, as you will be doing a fair bit of walking on sandy and uneven surfaces - trainers or similar are ideal - felt very sorry for the girls teetering about in mules and/or heels!!

We booked direct with Pro Tours who have an office at the Marina in El Gouna (between the launderette and the Turtles Inn)

We are off to the Miramar later this week, will let you know what is was like on our return.

Brian L

Just returned from a week at the Miramar in El Gouna--excellent hotel, super complex, brill food-what else can I say Yes , I would recommend it.

Brian L

hi,
can you update us about the weather in el gouna? was it warm? what about the water temp. also, about eating out. have you been eating out? do you recommend or un recommend any certail places?
we are travelling next Thursday to el gouna.

Thanks
Sami

Removed phone style text Briar

Sami, Weather was fine-burning sun, so lots of lotion but not hot, around 22/23 C so sunbathing no problems. We left with a strong wind blowing from north to south, cool in the shade but burning if sheltered. Evenings were cool to cold, need to wrap up outdoors. Red sea was not warm ! between 16-19C OK for a quick dip but not too long.
As we had trips out to Luxor-Jeep safari-Island trip and only there for a week, we ate at the hotel-excellent and varied cusine. You can eat out at others or go down to the harbour, we didn't but I heard no adverse comments.
Miramar is very quiet at the moment, more beach attendants than guests!

Have a good time.
Cheers

Brian L

Hi,

First timer to Egypt & I've just booked 2 wks in the above hotel in September. Has anyone else stayed there? Is the food good? Reasonably priced?

Any suggestions for eating out in El Gouna itself?

Can't wait, but it's soooooo far away still

Thanks in advance for all your tips.

K.

If so could you please let me know what an average meal in their restaurants costs? Going in September, but on a bit of a budget and no idea how much meals costs within the hotel complex and this info will help me plan

Thanks loads guys.

I know a few folk on this forum have stayed there and I hope they'll leap in and help.

"Around town" in El Gouna there is a good choice of restaurants. At the Tamr Henna foodcourt near the info point downtown you can get a Marguerita pizza for £1.60 - made to order and you get to watch the chef making the dough base!!.If you need a bit of light entertainment there while you wait for your meal, check out item 28 on the menu - first page........................... Most main dishes at Tamr Henna are in the region of £2 - £3 (small stews, pizza,pasta, pancake rolls, burgers etc ) and make an ideal cheap lunch.Similarly JOBO's opposite.

for Dinner, an allowance of £8 will get you a great meal with drinks at the vast majority of restaurants. Outside the main hotels, I think the most we've paid for a main course is about £6. The Tandoori at the Marina, for example has the vast majority of (excellent) curries at under £5. Grilled Large Shrimp (Prawns) with fries at Hedra is £5, and La Spaghetteria at the Marina I can't remember anything being over£ 6. The most expensive restaurants are Bleu Bleu and La Scala - and even they are likely to give you change from £10. As a calculated guess, I would expect that the buffet restaurant at the Sheraton will cost around £7.50 - £8.

hope that helps a bit

hope that helps a bit

Hi, we are looking at this hotel for next May, please can anyone who has stayed there tell me more about it. Thanks

We've never stayed at the Shearton, but we have just returned from the Movenpick last month for the second time. In our opinion the movenpick is the nicer hotel, however the shearton is the better located, being inbetween downtown and the marina.

If there are any specific details you want to know in addition to already posted, please ask.

Hi badgerman,
We`ve looked at the Movenpick and it looks lovely and have just read that they have the `largest` hotel rooms in the Red Sea. For you to have returned twice then it must be really good. Is there anything in particular that made you choose the Movenpick over the Sheraton? All info greatly appreciated. We have just returned from the Hilton Sharm Dreams in Naama Bay which was a lovely hotel with great standards and we are looking for similar or better.

Thanks,

It's a personal choice really. The shearton is a large hotel with about 330 rooms, and is in a great location, only 5 minutes from both downtown and the marina on the local bus. when we looked around we found the decor a bit dark and the beach small, but people we spoke to saying their really enjoyed it, and you can find quiet secluded bit of beach all to yourself right next to your room, depending which block your in.

The movenpick is even bigger, now with 530 rooms after the new cluster they have just added, and the angsana spa is due to open anytime now (one of the biggest in the middle east I believe). the resort is big, 20 mins+ to walk from the new bit to the dive shop, so not that personal, but we loved the light airy feel, the 3 pool complexes and again 2km's of beachfront meant you could always get away from everybody if you wanted to. The only downside is it's one bus or a 20 min walk into downtown and two buses to the marina, or for 10le or 15le you can go anywhere in the town in a tok-tok or taxi, where you will find the food much cheaper than either of the hotels.

One tip for the movenpick is work out which block you want to be in and contact guest relations. They always get you a good room exactly where you want it, and provided us with biscuits, fruit and wine on arrival this time.

Finally you would notice a difference between Sharm and El Gouna, since the amount of hassle you get from shop keepers is almost zero, which in my view was a welcome relief, although some people claim it's a false egypt, which i think is harsh.

I hope it helps.

Thanks badgerman, all info greatly appreciated. Do you know if ithe Mopvenpick has a little map of the hotel? When I was requesting a room at the Hilton Sharm Dreams they e`mailed me a map so I could see where all the accomodation was, it was really helpful. Did you stay in a good block?

We didn`t get a lot of hassle everyone was really friendly in the shops in Sharm, however, Katie was not as comfortable in Naama Bay as she has been on other holidays couldn`t put my finger on why. El Gouna was a choice for this year then we opted for Sharm which was great but am looking forward to trying somewhere different and it sounds lovely.

Thanks