After a week sailing the Nile we transferred here 4.5 hrs by road through the desert, not a bad trip really. El Gouna is a pleasant new build resort but in traditional nubian style, with lots of palm trees and shrubbery plus lagoons, an oasis in the desert,
Booked a quiet room and that's what we got, tucked out of the way but still convenient for facilities at both the Inn and Resort adjoining complexes. If you get a room around the Fitness Pool there will be noise at various times of the day.
There are several daytime bars plus the beach bars and 2 evening bars. Peanuts is lively and brash, Sunset Lounge is quiet and relaxed.
The main Sunny restaurant was very busy indeed and rather hectic, while the Plaza restaurant was busy but less hectic, and there is outside seating. There were many dish selections but it was mass consumption buffet standard, perfectly ok for all inclusive at the low price.
There are 2 on site a la carte restaurants. The Italian Dolce Vita was quite good, but the Belgian Chez Pascal was excellent on our 3 visits, especially the steaks (try the chateaubriand).
There is a Lagoon beach at the site and a free shuttle bus direct to the sea beach. Both have shady fixed parasols, semi-circular wicker wind breaks and loungers. Both serve lunchtime food - BBQ / pasta / a main dish / salad / dessert.
The El Gouna shuttle busses call at the hotel and have 4 routes, an easy way to get around. A weekly ticket is only about £2 (english) and also covers the lagoon shuttle boats.
There is 'animation' and sports if you want it, but we wanted a relaxed chill-out week and that's just what we got.

We stayed here in July this year, my, my husband and my two sisters. The rooms were basic but very clean and the room boys were lovely. The beach was ok, water was really murky, but should have expected that been a man made beach. The weather was fab and the pool excellent. The animation staff are legends, if it wasn't for the evening entertainment we would have died from boredom. However thats were the positive ends. The food is awful. under cooked and bland. How anyone could say its better then that i really don't know. I could have got better microwave meals at Iceland. The water machines, where you HAVE to refil your water bottles, were filthy and warm. On the 3rd day of the holiday one of my sisters fell ill, very ill. We had to get the hotel nurse up, who was lovely. She said it was food poisoning. She was violently ill and spent the following 4 days in bed. Not to mention been ill back in the uk afterwards. Then we came down ill to, after eating the same food at the "bbq" they put on. We all started with jippy tummies, headaches and the usual stomach cramps. We walked into El Gouna, which was dead and bought some Antinal, the antibiotic on order by the hotel nurse. We all took it and had now improvements. Back at home, 4 weeks after returning i was in hospital been told i had Campylobactor - Caught from sewage contaminated food. Nice. We were all ill for months. Its sad because this was my youngest sisters first time abroad, and we were all really looking forward to this break. After reading what i thought were trusted reviews on here, we booked this hotel. Wish i hadn't now, total disaster.

Booked this holiday online for just £473 all inc ( 20 kg lugg/inf meals inc/ transfers inc)) for 10 nights 2 days before we left home.
We have been to El gouna before in June this year ( Three corners Ocean View) so it was like comming home. The rihana inn is part of the more expensive Three corners resort and guests to the inn part can us all the facillities of both hotels as part of their all inclusive package for less cost than boking the Resort part, but guests can upgrade rooms for between £100 and £150 ish for 14 nights per room we were told by some that had done this . The inn part is in my opinion a budget accomodation as the rooms ( 158 ours next to the pool) are smaller and less well furnished( but how long do you spend in your room anyway?) but comfy with air con, walk in shower, queen size double bed, 28 inch wide screen tv and fridge. Bad Points, the odd ant in the bathroom, and the DJ in peanuts bar( does this guy not understand that if he has 40 people on the dance floor this is good!! then playing his choice of music and having only 3 left after 10 seconds "IS BAD" NO he just carries on) thats it for the bad folks. The good, everything else service, food( how anyone can complain about the food here is beyond me) hygene ect. Would i bring the grandchildren, certainly, entertainment teams only had a few children but they were always at it. The lagoons around the hotel are nice but if you want to snorkel go on a trip or go elswhere in Egypt with a house reef at the hotel. Three Corners owner Mmd Cecille Lambrech around the hotel most days and would stand and have a chat with anyone which is a nice touch as was the invitation to her cocktail party. Would we go back, certainly. How does it compare to the Three corners Ocean View in the Abu Tig Marina... Bigger choice of food in the Rihana which is also more child friendly( ocean view is a more adult quieter holiday and the food although less choice appears better presented). Anyone who requires more detail about a specific aspect please feel free as always to contact me and i will try to help.

We stayed at the Rihana In in July and we enjoyed every minute. Food is great on all inclusive apart from no snacks between meal times or in the evenning apart from ice cream and tea and cakes for one hour in the afternoon. Hubby and I are both partial to a toastie on hols before bed so was a little dissapointed at that however.....

The rooms were nice and clean, the staff from the cleaners to the restaurant staff were brilliant, its the best service I have ever recieved. Nothing was too much trouble and they spoke english well. All rooms are air conditioned which is needed in Egypt in July because it is stinking hot !!!!!

On site spa etc so staff do come and try to sell, i actually had quite a few spa treatments and the reflexology was amazing but if you are not interested just be firm and polite and they will leave you in peace, the same goes for the onsite shopping mall.

All in all it was a great holiday and there is a section for the Brits and a Scandinavian section which is where we stayed, not a problem for us, Hubby is danish and we can all speak it lol !