Viva Blue Resort Adults Only

The hotel is not luxurious but is quiet and beautiful for vacation. Rooms are clean,comfortable and large. Food is delicious and staff are kind. The hotel has two swiming pools and mini coffe bar on the beach.What makes this hotel special is the large coral reef, one of the most beautiful I've seen in Egypt. That is the reason why i would go there again.

This hotel is a gem Don't expect luxury, expect kindness, authenticity, quiet and rest. Beware no wifi... Well there is but slow and disconnects all the time. You didn't feel like a tourist but like a guest, a visitor. Food is local and simple but healthy and delicious. Staf goes out of their way to make you happy. Rooms are big and comfortable but yes, worn out. The AC made the noise of a plane taking off.. Luckily I don't like AC anyway. Night animation was plain horrible and loud but they said that's going to stop. I ll be back, great price/ quality ratio

We experienced a very stressful arrival, there is a £25 per person visa entry fee, which we didn’t know about, which they want in cash. Which we didn’t have. Eventually we got them to agree to let us pay via card. Then in order to get your visa there is an enormous amount of shouting and being cajoled into various queues and lines, to make matters worse we didn’t have a pen to fill the visa in. No one in the airport and no staff would lend us theirs, fellow passengers were as stressed as us, so they all refused as well - it took us an hour to find someone who was willing to help us. Then the ridiculousness of trying to find the private taxi transfer we had booked. Suffice to say it was not the relaxed start we had been hoping for! The hotel is very 3* Egyptian, expect broken and uneven floor tiles, shower doors that don’t close properly and the worst grouting you have ever seen. But it’s very clean and the staff are attentive. The hotel prepared a gala dinner for Xmas eve which was amazing, think Egyptian cruise ship and you’ll have the right idea… flowers carved from fruit, everyone got Xmas stockings, it really was above and beyond. We were in Room 110 fab location and having a little naya was great, air con didn’t work though, even on the coolest setting it was warm. Mini bar in the room is extra charge as is an iron. For us the food was very 6/10, the other locations were not open for food so it was all main restaurant which is very canteen style. All inclusive drinks were as expected, local and large free pours, wine is only available at meal times which was a little strange. Included cocktails were limited to 4 types, the rest are chargeable. Coffee cups are tiny so bring a travel cup from home. Snacks in between meals consist of a plate of left over breakfast pastries. Crisps, pretzels etc are all chargeable. The jacuzzi was lukewarm warm, the pool was lovely and big but very cold, bring googles and do lengths and you would warm up enough to make it bearable. The sea was cold, people were in snorkelling but only for a few minutes before the goose bumps became unbearable, however the attached dive school were fab and they hire wet suits for €7 a day which resolves the problem. This is a windy side of the island so expect the sea to be very choppy but the amazing reef will make up for it. Fab sea life within 100m of your bedroom door. Please note you cannot swim from the shore line due to the reef, you must enter via a ladder and jetty into 10m+ deep sea…. But the underwater view is worth it! Not sure where the mention of a Soma Bay bus came from but it isn’t in operation. You need to get taxis to anywhere, and I mean anywhere. The area surrounding the hotel is like the surface of the moon, so going for a walk is impossible. We had massages at the hotel they were above average but the prices were the same as the UK, I’m sure you can get cheaper externally of the hotel but then you have to pay for private transfers to get anywhere! I had a pedicure which is below par and they attempted to pile on extras in terms of scrubs and bottles of creams which became a little uncomfortable after the third ‘No Thank you’. Mosquitos; one or two, flies; in abundance. The other hotel guests were a great mix of all nationalities, average age is probably 60, 80% were smokers, a mix of single travellers, divers and couples. General feel of the hotel is dress down, so people coming to dinner in tracksuits, jeans and T-shirts etc. Evening entertainment was sporadic, most people sat in the lobby and played cards, but there is no atmosphere. Pool table is ancient with wonky cues and wrinkled surface. The gym consists of 4 machines circa 20 years ago, no free weights or anything else. WiFi is very hit and miss, more miss than hit and even if you buy an e-sim the signal is very poor most of the time. The staff are the redeeming factor of this hotel, they really do try hard, remember your name etc.