Sentido Caribbean World Soma Bay

My family and I had a pleasant stay at the hotel. Aside from a couple of minor cosmetic shortcomings, the hotel is a nice looking establishment, with beautiful vegetation and a superb beach. The food is ok with just about enough choice for anyone. What makes the hotel, just like any in Egypt, is the people. I would like to give special thanks to Yasin from the restaurant, a perfect gentleman with superb maners; Ahmet, a senior gentleman from the Recreation team who helped us wirh our sunbeds every morning, aways with agility, a smile and a sentence or two in my own language; and finaly Mostafa , the Lifeguard... Mostafa is a true professional, kind and attentive. I had a feelinf that I had a best friend at the beach in him. I only wish we could talk more, but his work is a very serious one. Thank you Mostafa, I wish you all the best in life and hope to see you soon.

Just a heads-up, the hotel isn't actually located in Soma Bay, as the name implies, but almost in Safaga. It's about 20 kilometers from Soma Bay itself, meaning it's further from the airport. Since it's closer to Safaga—a larger town—and closer to popular dive sites for daily diving, it's about a 15-minute drive further from the airport. If you're taking a group shuttle, you'll likely be dropped off last and picked up first. For example, my flight home was at 11:00 AM, and they came to pick me up at 6:40 AM :( The hotel is situated along the highway, far from everything. You won't be able to just walk out of the hotel "into town"; it's about a 10-15 minute walk across the internal grounds just to reach the highway. Only Ubers, tourist buses, or the hotel's own shuttles are allowed onto the property. Regular taxis or friends visiting you won't be able to drive right up to your room; you'd have to walk 10-15 minutes to the checkpoint at the highway. I really liked the hotel itself. I think it offers great value for the price and can highly recommend it for families with children and kitesurfing enthusiasts. The hotel consists of 12 or 13 residential buildings. One of them, closest to the sea, is located on a separate, seemingly VIP property with its own spa center. Another one, right behind it, is "semi-private," where the ground-floor rooms have their own private pool with direct access from the room, which is pretty cool. I was traveling solo and had to change my first room. The rooms are generally pretty standard for Egypt and this price segment, but I liked all the ones I saw. I particularly liked room 11111 in block 11, which I ended up staying in, as it was quite quiet and even had a sea view. However, keep in mind that since it's a windy area, when the breeze picks up, the wind howls quite loudly and blows sand and dust onto the balconies and through any cracks. Since I was alone, I asked them not to clean every day; they cleaned once or twice, and the quality was fine. They provide 1.5-liter bottles of water during cleaning or upon request, which is very convenient. The other buildings are arranged in two lines stretching from the lobby and main restaurant to the sea, with pools situated between them. The last pool by the sea is a small water park with a few "gentle" slides—safe enough to let kids go down. It's convenient that the water park is right next to the beach, so you can easily alternate between the sea and the slides. There's also a volleyball court on the beach. The hotel is directly on the beachfront with its own sandy beach. The beach is a bit cramped, but I always managed to find a lounge chair without any issues. The swimming area is cordoned off with buoys, and the lifeguards strictly monitor it to ensure no one swims past the buoys, as there are boats and kitesurfers in that area. The depth at the buoys is about 2 meters, and the distance to them is around 20-25 meters. The entry into the water is gentle and sandy. There's nothing to see in the sea—no reef, just desert. So, snorkeling lovers should definitely look elsewhere. But for windsurfing and kitesurfing fans, this is the place. The hotel has both a kite station and a diving center. While I was there, there was a decent wind, and since I've been here before, I know the wind is almost always blowing, but there are no waves since it's a sandy bay. You can take a 10-minute stroll along the sandy beach to the neighboring Palm Royale hotel. They also have a kite station, a windsurfing station, and a diving center. Restaurants/Bars: The hotel has several restaurants: 2 "main" ones, 3 a la carte, and 1 "extra" seafood restaurant. I don't drink alcohol and I'm on a diet, so my requests are quite specific, but you definitely won't go hungry. Overall, the dishes are varied—fish, lamb, veal, beef, everything was available. Fruits were also in season: peaches, melons, plums, oranges, apples, grapes. A la carte: Arabic: grill. I wasn't particularly impressed, but it's fine for a change of pace. French: I ordered shrimp, but I didn't like how they were prepared. Italian: I ended up having dinner here most of the time. Excellent beef tenderloin steak, lasagna, and melanzane. Comfortable atmosphere and top-notch service. I highly recommend not skimping on tips, and you'll get service you can only dream of back home. Special thanks to the manager of the Italian restaurant. Freshly squeezed juices are seasonal, but only available at the fresh bar on the beach. Fitness Center: The hotel has a small, free fitness center. As usual, it's almost empty. It has 2-3 treadmills, machines, barbell racks, and a set of dumbbells. You won't set any records, but you can maintain your shape. The equipment isn't beaten up. Spa Center: There is one, for an extra charge. I didn't use it. Diving: I go to Egypt several times a year to dive. The hotel itself houses the Cave Divers diving center (there's no cave diving, of course :)), while the neighboring Palm Royale has another dive center, Extra Fun Divers (they are old acquaintances of mine, and they are actually who I went to see). Both dive centers take divers to local dive sites in Safaga. Cave Divers has two small boats and only provides drinks on board; they leave at 8:00 or 9:00 AM and return at 12:00 PM. But apparently, there's a "second shift," as I saw them returning again around 5:00 or 6:00 PM. Extra Fun Divers has several larger, standard day boats with a galley and a lounge area, and a full lunch is included in the trip price. Also, if you want, you can dive with them from Makadi Bay (since it's a small network of dive centers). Trips start at 9:00 AM and return at 3:00 or 4:00 PM. Prices at both places are roughly the same, and the staff at both make a pleasant impression.

Pros Very nice beach andl gardens. Nice located restaurants and bars. Clean service for room is very helpful and contactable. Food in Italian, French and Arabic restaurants are very good. Cons Old rooms not freandly receptionist, even after tip not gave us rooms as we want. Food in main restaurant was different day by day, good and not so. Food in Totuga restaurant is poor compared to main restaurant. Workers on the beach are not friendly without tipping. Pools were not as clean as in other hotels that we were in Hurgada.