Hotel Sol Y Mar Dar El Madina

The hotel was located by the Madinat Coraya bay, about 5km away from the airport (where about 4 planes landed a day), in an area with 5 hotels. It was built in the second row, the distance to the beach was about 300m on a comfortable path.
There were a couple of shopping possibilities for souvenirs (nice supermarket with quite cheap postcards, 3 for 1€) inside the hotel itself. Outside the hotel, there was desert as well as another shopping possibility and a pharmacy. Apart from that, there was nothing available nearby (just a real beach holiday).

Additional info: There were going to be new hotels built in the area bit by bit, pieces of land on the entire coast had been sold but not yet built on. In 10 years from now, there will certainly be masses of hotels in this area (and therefore also infrastructure, then probably comparable to Hurghada).

The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Some of them spoke German well and hardly any English, some of them right the other way round; but communication was absolutely no problem. Very positive: The staff wasn't out for tips, all of them were also friendly without being tipped. However, you should still give them some tips to reward their service. But don't buy them!!!! We gave tips on our last day. But we never felt obliged to do so.
The room cleaning was excellent. Our "man" was called Gad. He was very friendly too. He asked us every afternoon if everything was okay (tip: don't forget the "do not disturb" sign because when Gad noticed that somebody was in the room, he kept knocking until you opened and answered his "is everthing okay" questions).

There was one main restaurant. The Oriental and the Italian restaurants cost 10 euros extra (we didn't try them). The atmosphere was very pleasant. We could eat outdoors or in the air-conditioned restaurant (it was most beautiful outside by the pool).
The food choice was good, everything was very clean and nicely arranged. There was fresh pasta prepared every day, 1 freshly cut sort of meat (turkey, lamb, etc.) as well as 1 freshly grilled but not mind-blowing steak (a bit tough) every day, minced meat, quails, chicken legs. Moreover, the typical hotel buffet (rice, french fries, potato variations, vegetables, fish (not good, in my opinion), a meat dish, salads and, of course, desserts every day).
Concerning the quality: Mainly rather unflavored, just adjusted to the general public; but everything was very fresh and well edible. Some things were flavored with coriander (which isn't really to the taste of Europeans).

Breakfast: There was something for everybody (various sorts of rolls, marmalade, cheese, cold meat (I wouldn't recommend it), crepes, omelets, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, cereals).

It was a pure all inclusive hotel with 3 meals. Local drinks were included; the beer tasted very diluted, the wine was very sourish. Cocktails (1 juice with one sort of alcohol, enriched with grenadine), snacks and drinks at the pool bar and the beach bar were included too.

The beach bar was in the Solaya hotel. Here, you could also get drinks and snacks (pizza, pasta, hot dogs). However, as Madina guests wearing all inclusive wristbands, we were just second class guests here. The staff here wasn't exactly friendly. The Solaya hotel was mainly visited by Italian guests; they received a little friendlier treatment. The staff here spoke (or wanted to speak) only Italian...

The pool was big enough for a refreshement, and it was clean. There was a pool bar with good pizzas. There were enough new pool chairs available; we received a fresh towel (also for the beach) for free every day.
The beach: It was split in sections according to the individual hotels. There were enough beach chairs with umbrellas and windbreaks available. The reef platform was cordoned off. Limited swimming area. Snorkeling: Good house reef, mainly still in good condition in the back to the "open sea" (where hardly any snorkelers came to)... Showers and changing rooms were available.

New, quite big, nicely arranged, dark wooden furniture. LCD TV (with international stations) available. Sofa corner. Bathroom with a big shower. A view to the pool, the entertainment theater or the garden. We had a room with a view of the garden fence and the aqua park. Here, loud music was on till early in the evening; but at night, we just heard the soft purr of the current generators.

Tips: - Diving: Coraya Divers: If you wanted to dive by the house reef, you had to inform them. The prices were relatively high; - Matthes Reef Divers: Within walking distance from the Solymar (out of the main gate, about 150m to the left, then left again into the "field path" for about 100m to the diving center. It was under German management, very friendly, reasonable prices, fair, quite a good organisation (some details could still be improved). For the dives, we were picked up directly in front of the reception. Independent travelers: DON'T buy the visa at the tour operator's but in the bank (sometimes, it wasn't open till a few minutes after the landing of a plane) where it was much cheaper. Taxis: There were enough taxis available, you should definitely negotiate the prices, as they were outrageous in the beginning. To Coraya Bay and back, you shouldn't have to pay more than 20 euros for 2 people, rather less than that (they wanted to have 40 in the beginning); (it might also have been possible to get picked up by the diving school). The cell worked without any problems.