Amarina Abu Soma Resort & Aquapark

Guests appreciate the consistently high cleanliness standards and friendly, helpful staff. The hotel also provides excellent facilities suitable for families and couples.

We returned home on Fri after a week here....have to say our experience was mixed. Our agents booked us in here, and we looked at it and the reviews and decided it looked a good one. It was a little disconcerting when we were met by a private hire cab, and the hotel was 36 miles away... no one told us this, and we thought we were going to Hurghada....our fault, I guess. Our guide who met us, incredibly said we were the first English he'd met to travel there, which was a little disconcerting as we like to socialise with folk and language as I only speak some Spanish was going to be an issue. Turns out there were 2 others in the hotel. The hotel itself is not a bad one aesthetically, gardens are well kept, and staff are lovely throughout. Food it has to be said for us was a bit ordinary , a reasonable choice and reasonably well presented but didn't blow us away. The plates are not warm, so you have to get back to your table reasonably swiftly for a warmish meal. We were offered a meal in 2 restaurants of different themes, the first one, Chopsticks, we visited on the Monday. I ended up with a diarrhoea for the rest of the week of this trip, and to my regret, I didn't visit the clinic, but dosed up on Immodium, and thankfully being home now I will visit my Docs...my wife suffered the same night but was OK, a fair bit quicker than me. The egg queue in the morning was tiresome, and the 'Orange' from the machine was a poor quality, how can that be got so wrong?! Any 2 days of very little, I went back to eat and did so without massive inconvenience, thanks to the Immodium. Drinks, this was where the place struggled...it was said the drinks are branded.......they are not, apart from a few familiar brands behind the bar in unopened bottles , it is a brand called Yianni all the way, and all in plastic bottles...but the lowest part was my wife asking for a white wine in the Skylounge, and the barman poured it from a used plastic Coke bottle....I mean come on??? Rooms... lovely service from the cleaners, but we did tip them at least 3 times, which is another story. Room..a little tired if I'm honest, and the TV may as well not be there. WiFi....not great like many places unless you are in the lobby, and even then, just ok. Beds, very comfy, but the pillows, ridiculous lack of support, you lie flat to the mattress effectively. Wardrobe space, not enough for anyone staying over a week in our room. Bathroom, basic, wished there was a bidet, 5* hotels, generally have these, and would have been welcome given my issues, but this is NOT a 5*. Towels changed daily, Pools, ok, but the metal, unsupporting sunbeds are like from the 1980s, and you have to get a Red Flag to put off the relentless hawkers of Spa, Boat Trips, Photographers, beach meals, etc, desert riding, otherwise, they are on you. Plus the shops in the 'wind tunnel'...we generally walked the other way. ... Tipping..i read a review where it's said you don't need to...well my experience was it ma