This was our first all-inclusive and visit to Egypt so we only had TA reviews to go by. The hotel is lovely, with warm, friendly staff. There are lots of pools to choose from, but sadlly only a couple from which to escape the relentless, all-day thud-thud-thud of the music played by the pool closest to the sea. The pools and landscaped grounds are immaculate, with gorgeous flowers and greenery.

The staff are exemplary - hard-working and polite - and display the patience of saints when dealing with the 99% Russian guests, most of whom were boorish, rude and loud. Please and thank you goes a long way, but seems not to be in the Russian culture.

The evening entertainment was disappointing. As one of only 7 Brits in the entitre complex, and it's huge, we did not enjoy the Russian-centric beauty contests, discos and other assorted events, all in the Russian language. We couldn't help feeling marginalised and badly catered for in this regard.

On to the food. As a vegetarian I didn't go hungry, and the dishes were generally well-cooked, but again the menu is totally geared to the Big R contingent, with lots of pickled this and that, and other items not to Brit tastes. The R's behaviour in the restaurant was shameful, pushing into queues, piling their plates as high as physically possible, and barking orders at the waiters. I'm not sure how the staff cope with that level of rudeness daily - maybe they're offered anger management therapy! Meat and fish is cooked to order, with plenty of salads, hot casserole type dishes, insipid white chips, pasta, and a lovely selection of break and rolls. The "desserts" consisted entirely of a selection of small cakes which looked delicious but failed to live up to their visual promise - dry and tasteless for the most part.

Drinks - the spirit measures are small and the juices are of the squash variety. The red wine was truly horrible, and I'll drink most wine, but for all-inclusive I'm generally not complaining.

Excursions - we took three. The quad biking in the desert, the stargazing Bedouin evening (including uncomfortable camel ride!) and a snorkelling trip on a boat, all of which were well-organised and enjoyable. Highlight of the trip for me was seeing Jupiter's stripes through a proper digital telescope, out in the Sinai desert with no light pollution, practically impossible from the UK. Magical and highly recommended if you're a space nut like me.

Wi-fi/internet access - for me this was important as I run my own business but I was dismayed at the cost to get online. $9 an hour on their own computers, or $15 for wi-fi for the day (only available in reception). This can really add up over a week so I was only able to check emails every other day. This was a big downside.

The staff were all wonderful, and were the best part of the experience. Treat them with respect and say please and thank you - they work very hard and they deserve it. Thanks to everyone at the Rehana Royal for a fantastic holiday :)