Samak

We stayed one night, in the basic tents with put up beds (but they were comfy and clean with warm blankets). Toilet block was nearby and clean. To reach the tents felt like going through an airplane, past the first class accommodation, past business class accommodation to the economy! That said there was therefore less light pollution and the view of the night sky was fantastic. The buffet was good quality and the dining area had a lovely atmosphere with choice of table and chairs or a more traditional Arabian style seating on cushions and low tables. Running up and down the dunes was fun and the sunset view wonderful. Be warned though were were not alone at the top of the dunes - there are lots of tour groups doing the same thing. The do have camels you can ride for 5 or 10 minutes, expensive and a bit cheesy but an experience unlikely to be repeated!

Great for a quiet getaway.

Had a really good time at The Chedi. Got a free room upgrade upon arrival which was nice. One of the best things about it was the cleanliness of the entire property, room etc. minimal bugs too. The only down side when it came to cleanliness was that I think the pools could be cleaned a bit more regularly as we did sometimes find things in the pool but this is to be expected to some degree as it’s by the seaside too. Breakfast was amazing, top tier and couldn’t have asked for a better breakfast and the staff service was very good. The only other downside was that you have to take the hotel taxi if you want the taxi to pick you up from right outside the front door, this is problematic as the hotel taxis (Marhaba) are at least double the price of the normal Otaxi you can get elsewhere. To get an Otaxi, the taxi drivers must wait outside the hotel premises as they are fined if they enter the main pickup area which means you have to walk out a few minutes to get that taxi which isn’t too much of an issue but not ideal.