I stayed there on November 2010. The hotel is so far from the city. We had to pay 8 JD (12$) from the city, and sometimes we were unable to find any taxis to take us from hotel.

We reserved online 2 rooms (King-sized bed). When we arrived, we discovered that didn't make the necessary arrangements, and we had to wait until 4 PM to end up with 1 room (Twin bed) !! When we arrived, I gave them my online reservation copy. The reception simply lost this copy !

The breakfast was bad and the hotel has a private beach but they don't take care of it.

Close to the beach, fairly small with nice seaview rooms. Nice beach, and apperently one of the few hotels with corals in front of the beach. Nice place for snorkling. Very good diving facility next to the hotel. About 20 min by taxi/bus to Aqaba centre!

Some serious downsides due to poor management; the rooms were not very clean and not "cleaned" during our stay. There are a lot of noisy people, I suspect day guests at the pool. Therefore the pool was overcrowded. They play very loud arab music at the pool and different loud music at the bar at the beach front. Like in a lot of places, it's messy. Everybody just drops their rubbish at the beach, the pool etc.

But overall, we had a good two days. Kids were happy with the pool. The party/buffet on Friday night was a great experience!

Ask yourself, honestly, what kind of traveler you are: if you are easily grossed-out, are looking for a quiet experience, or have high standards for ambience and service, DO NOT come to this hotel. However, if you are the kind of mellow bohemian traveler that just wants a bit of sun and sand (that would stay in a hostel, for example), Coral Bay will be just fine.

The good:
*Cheaper than the average Aqaba hotel
*Access to the Royal Diving Club instructors/banana boats
*Pool/sea access
*Family-friendly
*Frequented by the local population (a cultural experience)

The bad:
*Loud Arabic music, all day, every day
*A lot of gawking men (day visitors)
*Expensive food, only two meal options
*The sea area is full of VERY sharp rocks and coral--bring swim shoes
*The pool is full of unattended children, is unheated
*Mold and mildew in the bathrooms
*Insects in the spring and summer
*The walls are thin--bring earplugs for sleeping to block out noise

A few warnings: The hotel is located quite far from downtown Aqaba, so if you want to venture into the city for a cafe, supermarket, or nightlife you will have to arrange a driver which may be costly. Also, dive instructors recommended by this hotel are a rip-off; around $70 for only 15 minutes of practice. Service is similarly shady; there were mysterious charges on my credit card after staying here which were never refunded. Pay in cash, and try to eat outside of the hotel if you can.

If you just want to swim in the sea with some fish, lie on the beach, and generally enjoy the weather, you will have a good time here. Anyone with standards higher than this will be disappointed by the status of the service and facilities.

We stayed at this hotel (2 adults one 10 yr old boy) and we were glad we didn't have to stay longer than one night. The elevator didn't work so we had to haul our luggage up to the 3rd floor, the aircon didn't work so we had to have the window open, and even though there was mosquito screen, it was torn in many places. Hundreds of mosquitoes came in and we were stung in dozens of places. Awful!
The restaurant offered only 1 menu, a 4 course meal with a choice of fish or chicken. The furniture in the restaurant was old and tatty. There was no possibility to pay with credit card.
If you like to swim or snorkel the location is fine, but you are 10 miles outside of the city and any restaurant options. If I were ever to return to Aqaba I would definitely not stay there.