After having such a hectic first week we were looking forward to a relaxing week. Though the coach journey from Luxor to Hurgurda was 4 hrs it was worth it.

We were not to be disappointed. The hotel and the pool are absolutely stunning. The pictures just do not do it justice, the rooms and en suites are immaculate and very comfortable.

We familiarised ourselves on the first day. There is a pool bar, a food court which are open from 10am. At the side of the pool bar there is access for people to get water and ice creams, as many times as you want to.

There are 6 restaurants in the hotel, a Tagine, Italian, Chinese, Mediterranean, German and a Mexican. You can go to any of them, you can even take your plate and have a mixture from each restaurant if you wanted to. The food is absolutely amazing, we loved the Chinese and the Italian, though there is also an Indian bit in the Chinese restaurant. The deserts are to die for and fruit and juice, water and alcoholic drinks are available all the time. Again Angie who was with us on this part of the holiday is celiac and the head chef Yasser went out of his way to make sure she had a special meal at all the restaurants; he even made her a special pizza and some cornbread. Any dietary requirements they have no problems with, just speak to a chef in any of the restaurants and they will sort it. They were amazing and very helpful and friendly. The Med is open till late as well so if you fancy a late dinner this is the place. The meals are prepared while you wait, i.e. stir frys and the pasta etc, but it is always well prepared and hot and very tasty.

We breakfasted in the med every day, it was lovely and again all coffee, juices and water were freely available. Snacks between meals are also available but the food court is handy for the pool so lots of people ate there. There is also a coffee bar, they make great lattes and cappuccinos and the staff are lovely.

The pool areas are so clean and the sun loungers are checked every morning for any damage and are changed. It says that you are not allowed to put the towels on the loungers but there were always towels on them when we went for breakfast so we did it too. Towels are to be handed in at the end of you time on your lounger and you can get clean ones at 7 am from the side of the pool area every morning.

You get people from the diving, spa, hair salon and manicure and pedicures coming round whilst you are sunbathing but we just said we had spent all out money on the tours on the first week so we were just chilling this week, they didn’t mind, but still came and spoke to us every day.

You must take a walk to the sea and go snorkelling, they sell snorkel sets in the shop which is cheaper than hiring them off the beach, the pontoon goes out to the deeper part and the fish are amazing. They swim so close to you. We took some bread out with us so take an underwater camera because the fish come and eat the bread off you. It was amazing.

There are shops on the hotel complex they don’t hassle you as such, but like you to go in their shops. Some of them are very helpful and really nice. Ahmed in the jewellery shop is lovely. So is Ramsis in the papyrus shop.

We walked 3 miles to go to Senzo shopping mall; it is not like a bizarre it is like the Trafford centre, only smaller. And as expensive. We got a taxi back to the hotel but only use the blue and orange ones as they are licenced and agree a price before you get in. You can walk around out of the hotel complex and you will get a bit of hassle but be firm and say no or La. They will leave you alone.

There is no set rule for tipping here, you can tip as much or as little as you like, we tipped the young man who cleaned our room every day ( we told him he didn’t need to do it one day and he looked so upset we had to relent) 2 of the waiters who we had a laugh with and who were very nice with us and the coffee bar man he made us coffee at 7 am as we were readying for our return journey home, he didn’t open till 9 but made us some anyway, bless him.

Another pit fall is that there are hardly any English people there. They are more or less Dutch and Russian. A few were nice but we tried every morning to say good morning to them and we got a scowl back in return, some of them are not very nice, they are rude and have no manners. They will push in front of you so be aware and make them move back. Not all of them were like this, there was the odd one or 2 that did smile or say good morning.

All in all a fantastic end to a fantastic holiday. I think next time we will fly to the hotel and split it so we spend so many days in the hotel, then 7 nights on the cruise and the go back to finish off the holiday at the hotel. You might think it’s a bit too much packing and unpacking, but because the first week on the nile was so hectic, you would think we would have been grateful for the relaxing time we should have had, but the truth was although the hotel was absolutely gorgeous, we were spoiled with the boat. We got fed up with sunbathing. But if you like sunbathing then this is the place to do it at. You have everything on hand that you could possibly need in a beautiful and well cared for environment.

100% recommended.

Check in was a bit slow,and our cases took ages to arrive to our room, but we were given our all-inclusive bracelets very quickly,so were able to go and get something to eat and drink.

Our room was more than adequate,with a large clean bathroom(shower only),and 2 big beds.We looked out over the slides of the neighbouring Beach Albatros Hotel.There is also a safe,which is free to use.

There are 4 resturants,which are next to each other, each having their own seating areas inside,and there is an outside terrace, which is where we sat,as we all wanted something from different resturants! There is an excellant variety of food,including;Italian, Chinese,Indian,Morocon and Mediteranian. In the evening there are patio heaters outside, as it was a bit chilly in the evenings.

There are 4 bars and cafes,and the service is very good.

There is a large pool area, which looks like one big pool,but is actually 3 separate ones. The area nearest the beach is heated in the winter,which is good as the main pool (where the pool bar is) is absolutely freezing!!! There is also a childrens' area to the pool, with slides for them. There are plenty of wooden sunbeds, and also large 4 poster sunbeds, which are very comfortable. There are plenty of shaded areas as well. The beach area is quite big with sunbeds and shade and there is a large jetty which is good for swimming off and snorkelling. There are sunbeds on here as well.

All hotel staff are very friendly, and can't do enough for you and the hotel is very clean.

I can't comment on the entertainment, as we never actually went and watched it, but there was a show every night which was in the disco area.

There is a selection of shops in the hotel and a few outside under the front of the hotel.

The hotel photographer is very good and charges

Stayed for 7 nights from 16 October.

Package holiday with First Choice for