We were a party of adults that stayed at the Aquamarine Pool on an all-inclusive basis in three rooms for 12 nights at the end of January 2012. This is my comprehensive guide and review based on our experience.

Location & Orientation
Aquamarine Pool is one of eight named 'hotels' within the 250 acre beach resort of Coral Bay, managed by the Italian hotel chain, Domina. It is located at the end of a half-mile driveway, seven miles North of the small modern town of Sharm el Sheikh and five miles the airport.

The taxi fare from the airport should be around 50 Egyptian Pounds (around 5 GBP). We didn't know this and had pre-booked a shared transfer with A2B Transfers at a little more than the same price per person. Apart from the extra cost we deeply regretted this move as we had to wait over 30 minutes in arrivals for the transfer bus and then got taken to Nabq to drop off a couple before being brought back past the entrance to the airport and to Coral Bay. In all, it took an hour and twenty minutes instead of a five minute taxi ride. Don't make the same mistake - take a taxi but agree the fare before getting in. There is a sign at the airport with listed taxi fares. Coral Bay is not on the list but Na'ama way, considerably further away, is listed at 70 Egyptian Pounds.

The resort has a holiday camp feel to it, albeit of moorish design, in that there is just one entrance - once you are in, there is no leaving except by the same route - and the usual hotel amenities such as reception, restaurants, swimming pools etc. are shared between 'hotels' and may be a bus-ride away. If you have ever been to Butlins or similar holiday camp, you will have an immediate advantage over your fellow guests.

The most economical accommodation at Coral Bay, 'Oasis', comprises only of disparate blocks of rooms scattered around the vast site with no hotel amenities of its own. Aquamarine Pool and Aquamarine Beach are one step-up from Oasis in that they both comprise of blocks of rooms built around a swimming pool with a pool bar: the main pool in respect of Aquamarine Beach and 'Pool 55' at Aquamarine Pool. The Aquamarine Beach has the advantage over the Aquamarine Pool of being very close to the beach and main (shared) 'Coral' buffet restaurant. The downside of the main pool location is that this is the centre of the animation team activity where there is constant loud music, games and general pestering by the professional idiots that are the blight of otherwise fine hotels in this part of the World. Aquamarine Pool is in an elevated position overlooking the bay and has no animation team, is quieter and more civilised at a cost of being more remote from the beaches and restaurants.

An official transfer should take you to the reception building, around 300m from the main entrance. A taxi may drop you at the entrance, in which case security will call for a golf cart to take you to reception.

Reception
We found the checkin process smooth and the receptionist and front of house manager very polite, courteous and helpful. We were given maps of Coral bay, a sheet of useful information and the obligatory all-inclusive armbands. A late checkout is available upon request for a reasonable seven Euros per room. Also in reception is an ATM which can also change foreign notes into Egyptian Pounds, the guest relations desk, the official hotel taxi service desk, and a desk for the bellboys. Four lifts connect reception with the shopping area and the Coral restaurant. A bell boy took our luggage and us on a golf cart to the accommodation where we were given a brief tour of our rooms.

Rooms
Aquamarine Pool is located at building 55 on the map and comprises 158 essentially identical rooms in three two-storey blocks forming three sides around a pool. Their cloistered, semi-open corridors are reminiscent of a tropical beach hotel. Sixty percent of the rooms face the pool while the remainder face the road and other accommodation blocks. There is no supplement for a pool-view room, neither is there for first (top) floor rooms which have better views and greater privacy. Due to the elevated position, most of the rooms have at least an obscured sea view.

The rooms themselves are spacious but simply furnished. Walls are white and floors are tiled in earth-coloured ceramic. The Islamic-inspired geometric patterned curtains, bed spreads, pillow cases and seat covers are done to excess. Less would have been more. There are two built-in wardrobes supplied with a mean five plastic hangers each. We found our rooms very clean and were well serviced by the chamber boys (the staff are all-male).

There is a small sofa, easy chair and chair for the wooden dressing table. The minibar is filled with two 1.5 litre bottles of water and two cans each of cola and lemonade upon arrival only - they are not replaced during your stay. There is a 20 inch CRT television with CNN and BBC World News together with a couple of film channels in English. The safe is free as are fluffy white bathrobes upon request from guest relations (call 61).

The bathrooms are spacious and are equipped with washbasin, WC, bidet, shower but no bathtub. Provided toiletries are just shampoo, shower gel and tiny bars of soap.

A wicker table and two chairs furnish the large, mostly enclosed balcony. Interestingly, and in stark contrast to modern functional hotels, there were half a dozen different external balcony designs mixed apparently at random over each of the three blocks.

Overall, once recovered from the initial shock of the simple decor and furnishings and the meanness of the toiletries, coat hanger and minibar provision, the rooms are pleasant enough.

Beach towels are available from the pool area, among other distribution points around the site and may be freely exchanged at any of the towel points. The towel card given at check-in has your room number on it and a towel can only be exchanged for the card where you last changed it for a towel.

Dining
Oasis and Aquamarine guests eat all pre-paid meals in the Coral restaurant. This can be hard to find the first time as most of the signs referring to it (and to many other places) mislead. The entrance to the Coral is situated in the centre of the shopping area. Head for the shopping area from any direction and move towards its centre. As a clue, most people in this area are not shopping but rather heading to or from the Coral restaurant. To get to the shopping area on the taf-taf (minibus) service, take a no. 5 (red) from the road running on the outside of the Northern block of the hotel. You can also catch a no. 4 (blue) from outside the Northern or Eastern blocks if you are prepared for a long detour. No. 4 will bring you back up the hill to the Northern block, and no. 5 to the Southern block, both without detour. While on the subject, taf-taf no. 4 caught from outside the Southern block will also take you to and from reception and the main gates. If you are walking, take care especially at night as the pavements and roads are rough in places and the lighting inconsistent.

As one would expect of a restaurant intended to seat the guests of three large hotels, the Coral is huge. Columns and arches help to break the space into more manageable sections but a lack of sound treatment means the sounds of screaming children, scraping chairs and a large crowd all talking at once echoes around like a Victorian swimming baths. Some strategically placed wall-hangings, curtains and ceiling drapes would improve the situation no end.

Compared to any other all-inclusive hotel I have stayed in, I found the food selection and quality of ingredients fairly limited but it was usually possible to find something acceptable. There were superb omelettes cooked to order with a choice of ingredients at breakfast and there was always fish, chicken and either beef or kebab meat available at lunch and dinner. Lamb chops appeared every three days but these were mostly bone, fat and gristle. I was very disappointed with the soups - one was usually a tasteless consume and another flour, water and little else. On the plus side, this is only the second all-inclusive hotel I have encountered (out of over 25) that actually has soup spoons rather than just desert spoons, though they were mixed with desert spoons and in a minority. Also welcome were starched and pressed linen napkins at lunch and dinner.

The salad bar appeared to be mostly recycled cooked vegetables from other restaurants - as they had not appeared freshly cooked in the Coral - disguised in various sauces. I always advice against eating these 'recycled' dishes but given the lack of choice I broke my own rule and sure enough I suffered from diarrhoea the next day (cured with diet cola and brandy). The best choice of fresh salad was oddly available at breakfast - coarsely cut tomato, cabbage and cucumber. I was also disapointed in the lack of fruit salad at breakfast. The breads, cakes, pastries and sweets were generally very good and above average for an all-inclusive restaurant. The cooked bananas were especially delicious.

The decor in the Coral is simple and colourful - bright blue, yellow and green by section with white detailing and plush marble floors. However, the most striking aspect of the Coral is one's fellow diners. Most tables are covered in plates piled up with basic food - bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, grated carrot, boiled vegetables etc. - and are occupied by the most miserable-looking, scruffy hotel guests I have ever seen. Almost all eat slouched over the table with a fork in one hand and a piece of bread in the other. The wastage of their food is simply colossal. There will be, more often than not, more left on these tables at the end of a meal than a normal family would eat in a day.

Theft from the restaurant is widespread too with guests of certain nationalities not merely sneaking out the odd snack in their pockets or handbags but blatantly stuffing carrier bags and sports holdalls. I witnessed an entire decorative display of oranges at the opening of dinner being snatched by two people who had obviously come prepared with large bags just for the task and who appeared to be in competition with each other. I also saw a whole, untouched gateaux carried out on its platter under the nose of one of the managers at the entrance. No doubt most of the stolen food is wasted too.

If you have paid for all inclusive, there is wine and beer available in the Coral. The beer is passable larger but the wine is the most disgusting I have ever come across - and that is saying quite a lot. The red is cold and fizzy and doesn't taste anything like wine. The white is like half-fermented potato juice, while the rose tastes like the red and white mixed together. There are no wine glasses, just giant tumblers. Absolutely dire.

If the same food budget were spent only on food and wine that is actually consumed instead of being wasted and stolen, quality standards could be raised hugely. The behaviour of the majority is therefore not just an offence against the hotel but against the minority of us who do not waste or steal food from the restaurant. The hotel management really should take stern steps to deal with this unacceptable anti-social behaviour as it is completely out of hand and bringing the hotel down.

There is an escape from the Coral canteen at a price. There are the usual themed a la carte restaurants - Italian, steak, fish, French and others depending upon time of year and hotel occupancy levels. The menus are priced at an astronomical 100 to 200 Egyptian Pounds per course plus drinks. This is on top of our already all-inclusive rate. However, there are three package deals available via guest relations to include an la carte restaurant with wine, a meal in 'the desert' with a compulsory 'Legend of Zorro' animation team show and either access to the disco or the spa for 39 or 49 Euros respectively. This is less expensive than paying for an a la carte restaurant truly a la carte but if you don't want a meal in the desert and a compulsory animation team show, it is still a hefty price to pay. We tried and failed to negotiate a fixed-price deal for just an a la carte restaurant. In the face of intransigence and unjustified menu prices, we missed out on the a la carte experience and the hotel did not have the benefit our extra business.

Drinking
As is, you will probably need a stiff drink to recover from the Coral experience. Gin, brandy, rum and tequila are available from the four all-inclusive bars available to Aquamarine guests. After sunset, this was reduced to two. This would usually be just one but the nights were very cold in January and the management opened the Sombrero restaurant as an alternative bar to the outdoor-only Bahia bar. There is no at-table service and everything comes in disposable plastic glasses. Similarly, coffee is served in polystyrene cups - inside and outside, daytime and at night. I imagine that across the whole resort there are ten to twenty thousand plastic glasses thrown away every day. There is a case for plastic glasses around the pool areas but these need not be low-quality disposable glasses and elsewhere the policy is wasteful and further lowers the tone.

Beach
The nearest beach is around five minutes walk straight down the hill from the road outside the South block of the hotel. Immediately on the beach is the all-inclusive Sultan bar. There is a beach towel point next to the bar. Hotel guests have to continue walking to a busy stretch of the beach as the practically deserted stretch in front of the bar is out of limits for Aquamarine guests. There are similar annoying restrictions on the more distant main stretch of beach. Sun beds and umbrellas are provided. The sun beds both on the beach and around the pools need to be used with caution - they have particularly flimsy incline catches which were responsible for scores of unsuspecting guests ending up on the ground in a state of shock.

Sharm el Sheikh Town
We visited the town by taxi (90 Egyptian Pounds return from the taxis outside the main entrance). It is a small, scruffy modern shanty town of tourist shops and the like. You will appreciate immediately how well trained the Coral Bay staff are in comparison to the experience outside the gates! Prices are highly negotiable and generally much lower than in the shops in Coral Bay. I had a haircut in the filthiest, messiest barbers I have ever been inside. The haircut was very good though. We stopped at a bar for a beer which came down through firm negotiation from the menu price of 30 Egyptian Pounds each plus tax and service to a more palatable 20 inclusive. The hassle was quite intensive and we were pleased to be returning to Coral Bay after a two-hour stint there.

Conclusion
With excellent, highly-trained, English-speaking staff, spacious rooms in an attractive, well-tended, low-rise gated complex just five miles from the airport and with all-year round sunshine, the Domina Coral Bay offers a lot. Balanced against this is the experience in the Coral Restaurant, especially the behaviour and appearance of fellow guests but also the poor choice and quality of food and wine. The alternatives were overpriced or only available as a package with things that we did not want. The 'poor relation' impression of Aquamarine guests was continued with plastic glasses at all the included bars and access only to the busiest parts of the beach. If you are mentally prepared for these short-comings, then it is easily possible to have an enjoyable holiday.

Suggestions to the Management
1. Acoustically treat the Coral restaurant to deaden the noise - curtains, drapes and wall-hangings
2. Take steps to encourage guests not to waste food - notices, messages, signs etc.
3. Introduce a dress code for dinner and a 'no take-away' officially stated policy
4. Invest whatever savings are made in higher quality wine, fruit juices, meat, fresh salads and vegetables
5. Change to a seven-day menu rotation instead of three and instruct the chefs to improve the soups!
6. Designate an area of the Coral for adults only
7. Offer all-inclusive guests all the a la carte restaurants at fixed (reasonable) extra cover charges
8. Repair uneven pavements and roads and improve their lighting
9. Reduce segregation on the beaches - this may be acceptable to Italians but not to most other nationalities
10. Start a programme to replace the flimsy sun beds
11. Correct the signage around the resort
12. Replace the nasty plastic glasses with glass away from pool bars and with acrylic (re-usable) at pool bars.


If you have found this review helpful, please give it your vote!

Tim Millea 4 Feb, 2012.

The final version of this review will be available as a free eBook with extended text and photos. Search for 'Domina Aquamarine Pool' on iBooks.

If you haven't been there yet, book it NOW.
I already had very good feedbacks from friends that have already been there, but I strongly suggest you to go and check it out in person, cause reality surpasses all the things you can read on paper or hear from friends.
I went to the Domina Coral Bay Aquamarina Beach Hotel and the whole experience was terrific:
-LEVEL OF THE SERVICE: Outstanding - starting from the warm welcome we received to the check out. Personnel was just great, very responive to requests and quite proactive in trying to meet guests need.
-ROOMS: very nice, cosy, super clean, confortable.
-FOOD: good variety and very high quality.

BOTTOM LINE: quite a unique experience. I went there with my girlfriend (who actually totally shared my view), but i think this resort suits well the needs of families and groups of friends.

The Acquamarine is one of the accomodation hotel inside the Domina Coral bay resort. The rooms price compared with furniture and location is good but room service is not excellent. Room is made daily but clening standards are a little bit poor. If you can spend a little bit more I suggest to move to Harem. Prestige is the best one but price is higher, of course. The entire resort is whorth to be visited. Guests and animation are mostly italians and russians. A lot of restaurant inside but to dine out is far more cheaper and exotic.

Me and my boyfriend returned yesterday from this resort in Sharm el sheik. We loved it and had an excellent time. The resort was absolutely beautiful especially the view from our sea view room which was right on the beach. The staff are very friendly and we recieved excellent service they are helpful and polite and will go out of their way to help you apart from reception who weren't very helpful. Housekeeping were very good and did an excellent job cleaning our room everyday and providing us with fresh towels and sheets.

Our room was nice and comfortable which grew on us as it wasn't as nice as we first expected. The room was well eqiupped with a safe and good lighting and a hairdryer (which looked like it was from the 70's) the only thing i didn't like was there was no mirror near a plug socket or by the dressing table.

The location was stunning it was right on the beach and the views were amazing. There was a lot to do around the area and the hotel offer excursions which are fairly priced compared to outside excursion providers which go around the hotel and overcharge and are not insured.

The facilities were good such as the pool and the beach but we paid a lot as we went all inclusive but there was a limit on the facilities we could use as there was a higher all inclusive which made us feel like we were 2nd class.

The food was the only issue we really had with this resort. it was very standard and more like a 3 star. it was bland and there was not a lot of variety. There was no quality meat and we didn't find many things that we enjoyed so ended up eating out for 2 nights and also did not get as much out of our all inclusive as we should have. The drinks were ok not that much choice they do cocktails which are limited but there is no menu and the first few days we were not aware that we could have these so you have to ask.
Also there was no british people but the staff speak english. if there was more British people then there would have been a better atmosphere for us personally.

As a whole this resort is beautiful and a nice place to stay and if we returned to Sharm would choose to stay here as we think it may probably be the biggest and nicest accommodation around the area.