Oasis with great diving possibilities

I went to El Gouna for a package holiday with my best friend. I had never been to Egypt before but was eagerly waiting to see a glimpse of Egypt's history and enjoy a lots of sunsine and good arabic food. And that's what we got!

The hotel Rihana Inn (the cheaper part of Rihana Resort) was nice and clean, the staff was very friendly and the breakfast was good. We had dinner there once which was not as good as in some other places during our trip but it was OK, nice buffet with something for everyone.

Our hotel room was otherwise nice but both air conditioning and bathroom light (which switched on the A/C in the bathroom) were pretty noisy, that was the only bad thing in our room.

The non-heated pool was especially refreshing and much more quiet with not so many children and not any activities (!) as by the other pools. However, I did find it a little bit disrespectful to see so many topless women by the pools, especially in a muslim country.. Although I like to wear bikinis myself I wouldn't go topless there.

I definitely enjoyed our 2-day trip to Luxor with Karnak temple, the Valley of the Kings etc. The sights were awesome, especially the Karnak temple. Be beware that it's melting hot compared to El Gouna which has somewhat a sea breeze.

In El Gouna you can be left alone which is nice and quite opposite to the nearby Hurghada (or Luxor) where the sales people of the bazaars are pretty agressive. Being two young females travelling we appreciated the athmosphere in El Gouna, although there were not many young people there so sometimes the evenings got a bit boring.

There was a nordic diving centre at the hotel premises and we went for a snorkling trip with them. That was definitely one of the hight points of our trips, despite the "jalla jalla" I just got that morning (local drugs helped pretty quickly, though). The underwater views were breathtaking, next time I must try diving!

Fantastic, relaxing holiday

My fiance and I have just returned from a two week stay at the rihana inn, having never been to egypt before or been all inclusive before we really had no expectations of either,but after the holiday we decided we would definatley be returning to egypt. We booked through direct holidays two weeks before departure.

We were a bit dubious at first of what to expect, what with the bombs etc but we need'nt have worried in the slightest, we felt very safe. We were also expecting a lot of hassle from shop keepers but in our opinion these were not as bad as what they were in tunisia when we were there in 2005.

The hotel itself is very german/belgium orientated in the way of kids clubs etc and its probably not a place i would take older children and teenagers as they would probably get really bored.The nightlife and the entertainment in the hotel, i would say, is its only downfall, its pretty terrible. The rooms are spotless and cleaned everyday, the pools were immaculate as was the two dining areas.

The food that was provided was very mixed and we would say there was something for everyone, if your not too fussy.The italian restaurant in the hotel was lovely we went a couple of times. If your buying drinks outside the hotel it will cost you about 1.50 sterling and a burger and chips is about £3.

We didnt do the pyramid trip (nearl £200 each by air) but we did go along on a snorkling trip which for first time snorklers was great but perhaps experienced snorklers would want to do something less touristy as there was lots of other boat trips there at the same time. The beach is great for seeing various fish and having them just swim around your feet is amazing. There is also a free boat trip from the hotel that take you around the lagoon, it only lasts about 30 mins but you can get some great photos and you get to see how the rich lives !!

El gouna is lovely and will be even better when it is eventually finished, although still pretty quiet, but we found a great chinese restaurant and a couple of british pubs.

Overall we had a fab time and will definatly go back to egypt maybe to sharm next time, but for a lazy, relaxing holiday this is a wonderful choice and the weather was just amazing.

Bon hôtel, super service

Moi, mon compagnon et 3 enfants revenons à peine du 3 Corners Rihana Resort à El Gouna. Nous y étions quand il y a eu les attentats à Sharm El Sheik.

L'hôtel est adorable, le personnel est super. La nourriture est à peu près correcte. Le temps était magnifique. Mais ce n'est pas un endroit où aller si vous ne parlez pas allemand couramment. Toutes les activités, de jour comme de nuit, s'adressaient clairement aux Allemands.

Fantastic last minute holiday

just returned on Friday from a week at the Rihanna Inn. it was a last minute booking, we were going to go with Airtours who use the main hotel described as 4 star, however we went with Direct Holidays who used the Inn and describe it as 3 star, so saved £100 per person yet still had the all inclusive deal, had use of all the resort facilities and ate in the same restaurants.

the Inn is their self catering facility, the room was adequate, very clean, pool view, absolutly no complaints. spoke to others staying in the main hotel and apparently the rooms were not that great so i think we scored!

this was my first time all inclusive, the food was very good, you wont starve unless you are exceptionally fussy, large choice at the buffet for all 3 meals - soup, chicken, fish, beef, pastas,chips, breads and puddings. Buffet is in the main restaurant, there are 2 others, Chez Pascal and Dolce Vita but you only get 30 Egyptian pounds (£3) credit to dine here then pay the rest, for pizza pasta and steak its really not worth it!

there are several bars through the resort with your free soft drinks, local beer and spirits but i believe you have to pay after MN. ice cream (3 flavours) served 11am-5pm, afternoon tea also offered but didnt get round to trying that.

the resort has 3 large swimming pools, animation at 2 of the pools and kids club+teens club, a lagoon beach as the hotel is a good 20 min walk from the sea beach, but it also has its own private stretch of sea beach 5 mins by free curtosy bus. there is a beach bar there, no alcohol though and lunch there is just a meat or a cheese sandwich-not that great!

for divers there are 2 on site dive schools, Easy Divers and Colona- we went Easy Divers as Colona never seemed to be open,mainly french staff but speak good english and really friendly, did 4 boat dives although the diving in my opinion isnt as good off the coast of Hurghada as off the coast of Sharm.

there is a small shopping mall on site with a mini supermarket. Downtown El Gouna with the bars and shops a 5 min walk from the resort, although i found it a quite a quiet place. 10 egyptian pounds(£1) you get a week long shuttle bus ticket, this takes you to the Marina where the boutiques and posher restaurants are, and lots of very big boats!

take the public bus to downtown Hurghada at your own risk, infact just avoid Hurghada at all costs!

Nice place, great staff

Myself, partner and 3 kids have just returned from the 3 Corner Resort, Rihana, El Gouna. We were there when the bombs went off in Sharm El Sheik. the hotel is lovely, the staff are fantastic. the food is okayish. the weather was terrific. Not the sort of place to go unless you speak fluent German. All day and night time activities were definitley geared towards the Germans.

Awfull food, very loud during the day

The weather was nice. The all-included was horrible, the first night we arrived at 9.00 and the only thing we could get was a dry sandwich with a warm coke. It was not possible to get a glass of wine or a regular meal. The salades that were served during the lunch, were the same we got in the evening AND the day after, we also could not indentifie the meat. The noise at the pool was very irritating, animation 24-7

Great Place and Great Weather.

We returned yesterday (28/5/05) after a wonderful 2 weeks in El Gouna, 2 weeks of cloudless skies and burning sun. we stayed at the Three Corners Ryhana Resort which was spotlessly clean, service was excellent, food was various with many choices for the fussy, Hotel was as stated in the brochure and staff were very friendly to the English. There were a lot of Germans but on the whole they were no problem the towel brigade is not allowed here and sunbeds were never full. the 3 pools and beach spread people out so it is not too crowded. The town has had many improvements from last year and the building sites do not detract from it's beauty. The facilities including the golf course are on a par with any where on the continent and is only another 2 hours flight to guaranteed wall to wall sunshine. We look forward to returning there in the future.

Stay at El Gouna, rather than Hurghada

We are just back from our 5th visit to El Gouna and stayed at the Three Corners Rihana Resort hotel every time.

El Gouna is wonderful, safe, clean, and great diving.

It is an artificial village but the setting is 100% Egypt with wonderfull views to the mountains, great hotels and peacefull beaches.

Rihana Resort offers a very good value for money and quiet setting. Food is very good and changes every day. You can eat the salads without getting sick as they use only bottled water in their kitchens.

The weather is always great : sun sun & sun. In January you will have more wind and at night it cools down a bit.

Can be very nice depending on what you want

We just returned from a week at the Rihana Inn/Resort and in general had a good time. The staff is very friendly, helpful and cheerful. The beach is beautiful and quiet. The mealtimes are busy at the restaurant where the All Inclusive meals are served, but most of the time the lines were for fries and spaghetti. The pools were very nice except for one very big problem-the constant noise and activity. There is a lot of screaming and activity in German. I tried the " quiet pool " on day, and apparently loud aerobics in German is considered part of the quiet atmosphere. A german group called "1 , 2 FLY" is constantly busy with extremely loud "animation" in the form of excited screaming in German and extremely loud music that is played until they go home. I complained about this to the management a number of days in a row and was told that it was for my own entertainment. I do not speak German or enjoy very loud music, but if you do, this is certainly the place to be.

Probably the worst hotel in egypt!!

The hotel is described as a 4* quiet Nubian style hotel. At best the accommodation is probably 3* with 1-2* for the food. Quiet - not in this world. Nubian style, yes and looked clean.

The complex is far too busy for the volume of guests it caters for. We have just returned from a week here and it was very geared up towards the German clientel.

Each family appeared to have at least 2 children in tow making it very noisy and if you only speak English then don't even bother with the kids club as it was in German. Although it has 3 pools there is some form of activity around each pool every day so no quiet spots.

You will queue to get into the one restaurant and if you are lucky enough to get a table it will be either dirty or not set for dinner.

You will queue for your food. The manager advised us they had 14 different dishes each day - He may have been correct, but 14 different types of rubbish is not enough for a 4* hotel.

There are 2 bars (small and very small) and one will shut on Friday's. These bars have to cater for in excess of 800 guests, so get there early for a table and a drink or have an early night.

El Gouna itself is very quaint and quiet and not a huge amount of restaurants or bars. Hurgada which is busier and more vibrant is a good 30 mins away by taxi.

The final straw for us was our toilet overflowing into our room - Could happen anywhere but the attitude of the manager and how it was handled left a lot to be desired - It took us 3 attempts to even get them to disinfect the floor!! So maybe it isn't such a clean hotel after all!

You have been warned.