Stayed for two weeks, booked with Thomsons. Had researched hotel and location before booking so knew that it was going to be a holiday based in the hotel apart from any excursions.

The hotel is rustic - nothing fancy. Its clean and spacious. The staff do their best to make your holiday enjoyable-all friendly and we found them to be very efficient.

The room we had was large with two beds - a king size and a three quarters size for our teenager. The room boy was anxious to please us and liked to ensure we thought the room was cleaned properly. He did a great job for us during our stay including sorting out an extra towel set at the start of our holiday. The only gripe about the room was the bathroom - the layout of the bathroom was odd - a corner shower unit with a toilet and bidet squashed in together - if you are over 5ft 4 you will have to sit on the loo side saddle! A bit odd but this didn't cause too much trouble.

The food - plenty of choice including three choices of soups in the evening. Good variety of salads, hot dishes that included at least one type of chicken dish, beef or veal dish plus a fish dish. Pasta always on offer, along with the roast of the night which was lamb, turkey, veal or cod. A variety of bread is available at every meal time. Deserts looked lovely and there was always a good selection of fresh fruit. You can also book the A la Carte restaurants if you would like a change of scene. The weekly barbecue is incredible in that they move everything outside for all residents to eat under the stars. The staff worked so hard on this night in particular and you couldn't help but be impressed with the amount of work and effort that goes into this night. The waiters in the restaurant work hard at every meal though - its non stop from breakfast through to evening meal. Utter respect to them working so hard in the high temperatures in August!

The location of the hotel is superb - right on a beautiful stretch of beach. Plenty of sunbeds and lots of space between the beach umbrellas. Towels are included and you swap them daily using a card system. The coral in the sea is beautiful - well developed formations and lots of varieties in vibrant colours. Plenty of marine life too so it is snorkelling heaven. Husband reported that the diving was good he did shore and boat dives and thoroughly enjoyed both.

Entertainment is mostly in Italian. We saw a couple of shows - ok but we are happy just sitting in the bars, reading and talking. The animation team were friendly and were always around the resort asking if we wanted to join in with the activities. Good group of young people, friendly and entertaining.

I used the spa a couple of times and it was heavenly. The girls are Thai and they know how to work your muscles. I can highly recommend the massage here.

We loved Fort Arabesque. It might not be everyone's cup of tea as its not fancy but it has a lovely ambience and a superb location on a beautiful beach with excellent staff. It is quiet, there is no where to walk to of an evening apart from the promenade which passes other hotels (it was too hot for us to go out exploring but apparently there is a small centre and its nothing compared to what you get in Sharm). If you go with this in mind I am sure you will enjoy the natural beauty of the marine life and everything the Fort has to offer. We would love to return one day - especially out of season when its even quieter.

Loved everything about this hotel. We were lucky enough to be offered an upgrade to the 2 bedroom penthouse suite on arrival at no extra cost. Probably because we were a party of 4 this freed up 2 double rooms. No complaints there, it was brilliant - huge rooms and lounge - massive bacony with amazing views over the bay.
Great location, right on beach and coral reef was so close you could walk out to it. Snorkelling is brilliant with huge array of beautiful marine life to see.
Hotel was very clean.
Restaurant was very good, wide selection of food to choose from. No tummy upsets experienced.
All staff were excellent, very friendly and polite, very attentive and enjoyed conversation and joking.
Entertainment - to be fair we only saw the musical entertainment in the bars.
Swimming pools were great especially the heated one.
We will definitely go back to this hotel - can't wait!

Stayed 11/1 - 18/1/08, booked with Thomsons, flew with First Choice.

Check-in at hotel chaotic. At hotel entrance was told one check in card per room but at desk was told by the desk clerk that must be one card per person. Many people confused and reception staff surly and unhelpful on this occasion.

Hotel reception area undergoing cosmetic refurb - very strong smell of varnish which was used on floor tiles lasted duration of 7 day stay - not pleasant as this is where the bar it located. However this was masked at night by the very smoky atmosphere.

High percentage of Italian, German and Eastern european guests. Majority of UK guests appear to be with Saga on long stay.

Bar staff very efficient and attentive, a please and Thank you is gratefully received as some behaviour from certain nationalities is downright ignorant and rude.

Hotel is clean but some areas are in need of attention. Our rooms were 350 & 351. Located on third floor opposite the "Quiet beach". Bathroom sinks cracked, tiles in shower missing and broken, shower doors that had a mind of their own. One shower tray leaked water that ran out into the main bedroom area on each use. Bedrooms are very large. One king size bed and one double in each of our rooms (one was reserved for a single person).

Food in the restaurant was Ok. Dishes were not kept hot, which was disappointing as some dishes would have been good. Vegetarian selection poor, even many of the salad dishes contained meat or seafood. Only main meals were "labelled". Appeared to be some "recycling" of some meals from lunch to dinner. No dodgy stomachs though.

Breakfast is 7-10, Lunch 12.30 -14.30, Evening meal starts at 19.00 - 22.00, with snacks available in between. Alot of people being turned away at 19.15 as restaurant full & asked to return later in the evening. We ate at 21.30 on evening of arrival and food selection was dire - little choice left and wasnt being replenished. Service a little slow.

The beach is very clean, active areas & a quiet zone. Massive amount of sun loungers on beach. Witnessed little regard by some for the coral reefs just off shore but a surprising amount of marine life seen snorkelling only a stones throw from the beach.

Gardens are well maintained and large open areas as the hotel site is very spread out as the hotel is split into 2 "wings" - the "old" (where we were) & the "new" (where saga guests stay).

Weather was very windy for whole week, blue sky in day but chilly in evenings.

To sum it up - it was a week away for