Festival Riviera Resort

The Festival Riviera Resort is half way between the 2 towns of Hurghada(for clubing) and El Gouna(for romantic evenings). 15 minutes to either by hotel taxi costs about £5 sterling. You are at the edge of the Sahara desert and Red Sea and a sunset trip into the desert to meet the Beduin on their resident camel, Oscar, is a must. Private beach. 20 minutes to the airport. Wide range of excursions available from Quad safaris and kite surfing to piramids and Luxor visits.

The staff are very friendly and will do everything possible to help you enjoy your stay. Most speak multiple languages. The resident doctor is knowledgeable and inexpensive. The laundry service is fast, cheap and gave good results. There is someone from house-cleaning close to the room all day and requests for items like extra tissues or shampoo were fulfilled immediatly.

Each day The View buffet restraunt has a different theme e.g. Mexico,Egypt,Asia.
Although sometimes it was difficult to devine the difference, the buffet overall was better than any we have experienced at similar priced hotels.
Lunch can be a little uninteresting so we regularly had the burgers and chips or pizza (both very good) at one of the pool side bar/cafes.

There were shows in either of the 2 mini amphitheatres each day and evening with lots of kid orientated activites. We weren't particularly interested in these but everyone involved/attending certainly appreicated them. The 3 pools are very clean but the one by the beach is So cold that nobody can use it.There is a kite surfing and wind surfing school on the beach as well as a dolphin/snorkling-safari excursion company.We can Highly Recommend the PADI diving center, AQUASTARS / BLUE DREAMS, also on the beach. Khaled and Hamada who work there, really helped make our holiday an unforgetable experience.

The rooms are large and very clean with good air-con, TV, fridge and safe. 2 bottles of water are supplied daily for your fridge. The shower/bathroom fittings are well used and may be a bit loose but very clean and functional.Try to get a 5th floor room for the great view from the balcony.

The towel exchange cabins have little red flags. Get one each day and place it beside your sunbed on the beach. The various people on the beach offering services such as masages, excursions, manicures etc.,will leave you alone when they see the flag.
This was our second time in Hurghada. The last time was in August and was almost uncomfortably hot(40C). This time it was November and a very comfortable 28C.
The local mobile SIM cards only work on unlocked phones!