Little Venice of the Red Sea

El Gouna: Delightful

by Tina Banerjee - 12/08/2006

Take one man with a dream. A scrap of desert by the coast. A few million dollars. And what do you get? Egypt's swankiest beach resort – El Gouna.

Sandwiched between the Red Sea and Eastern Desert Mountains and just 22 km from the high rise hotel-scape of Hurghada, this 15-year-old oasis of tastefully-designed buildings, fashionable boutiques and eclectic restaurants is such a newcomer that it is still a work in progress.

But aside from the dull thud of hammers and glimpse of scaffolding in the Downtown area, there's really nothing to moan about.

Shop owners in the Art Village crammed with chic souvenirs were friendly rather than pushy, the tuk tuk and taxi drivers shuttling us around the resort didn't over-charge and the late night bar scene was sedate rather than sexually-charged.

In fact, unlike the party-loving, beer-mad, British sun seekers who spill into Sharm el Sheik, unfortunately lumbering it with the tag, "the new Benidorm", El Gouna makes no pretence about its loftier aspirations: it claims to be the Little Venice of the Red Sea. After spending a week here in June, I was sold. This is a resort that lives up to the hype.

Consider again its history. Falling in love with the jagged, barren mountains overlooking a natural cove with achingly-clear waters, Egyptian tycoon Samih Sawiris felt inspired enough to create his own personal paradise. Undeterred by the region's harsh climate - annual rainfall here can be measured in several minutes – water, electricity and sewage pipes were installed.

As Sawiris's dream took shape, family and friends felt they'd also like a piece of the action. A hospital and school sprung up, together with luxury villas boasting private pools and six figure price tags.

Today, 15 man-made lagoons swirl around an area the size of central London. The resort boasts 15 hotels, an 18-hole golf course, a glittering marina with a second on its way, 85 restaurants and bars, a casino, 200 shops and 10km of beachfront lapped by ankle-deep, iron-flat, aquamarine waters.

There's no denying the resort's robust commercialism but you can't fault its green-friendly foundations. Buildings are prohibited from exceeding three stories, some of the 15 hotels share design awards thanks to elegant Nubian domes, graceful arches and pillars and its conservation efforts have scooped a string of accolades.

Underpinning it all is the desire to create a global village for El Gouna's 3,000 permanent guests – those who liked the resort so much, they stayed.

"We want to attract people from all over the world, so they can live peacefully together," said Daniel Breitbach, senior PR executive for Orascom, the resort's management company.

This was no better illustrated than at the sprawling Movenpick Resort & Spa Hotel where I stayed. British, America, French, Belgium, Italian, German and even Egyptian tourists stubbornly fried by the pool under 38C heat without any evidence of tension. United Nations: take note.

The philosophy's even enshrined in the resort's entertainment options. El Gouna's smart Abu Tig Marina, dotted with affordable three star hotels and self-catering apartments, hosts a weekly Friday night street festival featuring whirling dervishes and singers.

It's followed on Wednesdays by an Oasis Dinner in a Bedouin tent where belly dancers encourage unwitting holidaymakers to join them on stage. Slightly tacky but if there's one thing that's guaranteed to unify people – it's having a laugh.

Even the Dine Around programme ensures that, unlike most package breaks, you're not confined to your hotel at meal times. It enables full and half-board guests to feast on everything from Thai to French and Italian around the resort's participating hotels. In particular, the seafood buffet at the Sheraton Miramar Resort makes this optional extra worth splurging out for.

For sheer indulgence, nothing quite beats the Movenpick's superb Angsana spa where I was welcomed by the waft of incense and eucalyptus oil. I opted for the Balinese Ibu's Secret Massage. Using oils combining relaxing lavender with bacteria-blasting turmeric, my diminutive Indonesian therapist Nila pummelled and kneaded my body with superhuman strength. An hour and a half later, I practically floated out of the spa.

Of course, spending all my time in a horizontal position would have been criminal considering El Gouna's watery playground offers everything from kite surfing to the sea-go – the jet-ski's slower but no less thrilling cousin.

There's also 40 diving and snorkelling sites, although Dive Tribe boss Rob Read admitted El Gouna was often "overlooked" in favour of better-known spots. But he added: "The reefs here are in very good condition. They are not overrun like Sharm. And we have enough currents to make life interesting."

I saw this first-hand on a snorkelling trip to sun-baked Gobal Island skirted by topaz-blue waters and shallow reefs. Swimming into a coral-shaped bowl, my eyes widened in astonishment at the sight of a giant spinning ball of fish. In a flash, the whirling shoal split in two and I was surrounded. Great, I thought,a fish siege. I pivoted furiously trying to focus but it was useless. All I could make out were whizzing brown darts. It was thrilling stuff.

Of course, you don't need to get your feet wet to get your kicks when an adrenalin-charged quad biking safari offers just the ticket for landlubbers.

Flying over the sand between towering canyon walls at 52kph amid dense billows of dust was brain-jangling, butt-clenching fun. As the light faded and the shadows lengthened, we emerged onto a seemingly endless plain rippled with dunes. Slicing the horizon were the Eastern Desert Mountains.

Alighting from our bikes, we watched as the pale blue sky turned pinky-purple and the sun's red disc slid into the earth. It was breath-taking.

Next to me, a Belgian girl stood, enraptured. Echoing what Sawiris must have felt when he first set eyes on the area, she said, "I have lost my heart to El Gouna."

She definitely won't be the last.