Coral Sea Holiday Resort Aqua Park

We visited the Coral Sea Holiday Resort (Holiday Village Red Sea) for the last week of July and first week of August.

Despite what some others have said, our experience in the airport was very smooth and straightforward. We went through baggage reclaim very quickly to meet our transfer.

We had an excellent transfer in a minibus with only 3 families going to only two hotels, of which ours was first. The transfer was simple and easy to find and only took 20–25 mins.

On arrival, check-in was pretty swift and efficient. We had to fill in a small form and provide passports. A buggy and porter were provided to show us to our room.

The hotel had also opened the restaurant for people arriving late at night (we arrived around 11pm). Although the selection was more limited than during usual service times, we were able to get a hot meal.

The staff, even at this time of night, were personable and attentive, and this set the tone for the rest of the holiday.

The only minor annoyance was the All Inclusive alcoholic drinks finishing at midnight, which we had not realised, and we just missed them after our meal. I believe that we could have paid for a drink, but as we were so tired we did not really take this on board.

We were in room 5110, which was one of the Junior Suites with a "Kids Den", which cost a little extra to upgrade but was worth it for the kids and adults to have their own space.

The room itself was very spacious; however, there was limited storage space for clothes and toiletries.

As we were on the ground floor, we had a terrace, which we used once or twice. We were personally glad we had not chosen one of the hot tub rooms, as seeing these, it seemed that you would be very exposed.

There was the usual welcome meeting from the TUI staff. We opted to do the Cairo Trip, trip to Soho Square and the Semi-Submerged Boat.

Walid, who was one of the reps, was fantastic, sorting our visas for us and arranging a "Breakfast Box" to be collected at reception and "Late Dinner" to be left in our room.

Whilst the Breakfast Box and Late Dinner were appreciated, unfortunately at the airport we watched almost everyone from every hotel (ourselves included) throw much of the contents away, as really, making a cheese and ham sandwich on your knees with no knife provided is not something you want to do at 5am. Similarly, the late dinner of salad, rolls, ham and cheese was not sufficient for four people, even if it had been what we wanted. What would be better is to replicate the late arrival and have a limited selection in the buffet available.

Despite being an 18-hour day (with a 4am pick-up), we would thoroughly recommend the Cairo Trip, and fingers crossed you get Habib as your guide! The whole trip was incredibly smooth, the 55-minute flight was surprisingly easy, and the addition of the Nile Cruise to the itinerary was a lovely end to the trip. Habib's knowledge and passion were outstanding; he was an amazing tour guide through the Pyramids, The Sphinx, the GEM and the coach journey.

Worth noting that once in Cairo, you spend very little time in the coach, as all the sights are very close together. Most of the time from 9am–7pm was spent at the various attractions.

Soho Square was nice, but the arranged trip was a little too long, and likely we would have been better off with a taxi. However, if you planned to eat, then there was a wide selection of restaurants and bars, and at that point the longer arranged time may be worthwhile. There are also shops, an ice rink, bowling, a magic fountain and an ice bar (a real highlight).

The semi-submerged boat was even better than anticipated. The water was crystal clear and we saw so much marine life. It's a little bit further away than we first thought, but overall the whole trip was only 3–4 hours, including travel. If you do not want to dive but still want to see the reefs and fish, this is the way to do it.

The food and service at the hotel were both fantastic. We ate most of our meals at the buffet restaurant, where there was always a wide choice of options. Most nights had a theme of some sort, and there were always the usual staples as well. There was also a specific kids' section.

All of the restaurant staff were amazing, but Ishmail and Ahmed in particular looked after us most days and took the time to engage with the kids as well.

There are a number of à la carte restaurants. We visited the Greek, American and Indian. The food in all of them was excellent and surpassed expectations. Be aware, the cheesecake at the American is clearly family size!!

We spent the majority of our time around the pool during the day, and one of the most noticeable things was that despite the hotel being at capacity, there was never a challenge with getting sunbeds regardless of the time. We had a number of days where we did not need loungers until after lunch and still found them.

When you go down to the pool, the lifeguards will often take your towels and sort out the loungers for you. Abdel did this for us most days.

There are a couple of bars around the pool, and the staff are constantly coming around to make sure that you have something to drink. We mostly used the bar nearest the kids' Splash Pool, and our favourite barmen, Mohammed and Ahmed, looked after us both here and in the evening at the Terrace Bar/Pharoah Theatre.

Our boys (10 & 12) both made frequent use of the Kids Club, loving the activities and spending time with Molly, Emily and Rita. There was a good selection of activities both inside and outside, including a number of activities that were supervised pool time.

There are a few evening events at Kids Club as well. One of these was payable (Chocolate Party) and one was free.

There were three "Academies" available – Swimming, Football and Stage. Our oldest took part in Stage Academy and loved it. This was three, 3-hour rehearsals, with a live performance as part of the evening entertainment at the end. He made a great group of friends as part of this activity.

The hotel also has a high ropes activity course, which the oldest and I did. You have to book in advance, but this is free as part of the on-site amenities.

The Aqua Park is over the road at the sister hotel. It's easy to get to, and there are people waiting at the road to help you cross and manage the traffic.

It has a wide selection of slides, a lazy river, wave pool and a younger kids' splash park, as well as a surf simulator. As with the main hotel, we didn't struggle to get loungers even when we headed over here after lunch.

The Animation Team didn't stop at any point. From 10am in the morning there were activities around the pool, with the Bing Bong Bingo and the Pool Party just before lunch, various activities through the afternoon, and then shows and activities in the evening. Whilst there were a few outside acts, the majority of the entertainment was provided by the Animation Team.

It was really nice to see some strong male role models; both Jacob and Fraiser made a real impression on our boys.

Our youngest made a connection with Fraiser when he won some "Win Shaddies", and Fraiser then made a real effort for the rest of the holiday to engage with him every evening at the evening entertainment.

The Lead Animator, Dannie, has fabulous high energy. We have no idea how she manages to keep that up all day, every day.

One evening there was a cocktail event which provided guests with the chance to meet the management team. It was jokingly mentioned to Kelly that I was upset at the lack of "Sprinkles" (hundreds and thousands) for the ice cream. By the time we went for dinner that evening, this had been fixed!

I must also make a point to highlight Max in the little shop. We spoke about how Red Bull Zero was not as good as Sugar Free Red Bull one morning, and for the rest of the holiday he made sure to hide two Sugar Free Red Bulls right at the back of the fridge so that the wife and I would always have some!

We didn't spend much time on the beach, but as with the pool, it seemed like there was an abundance of sun loungers. We did go to watch the sunrise one morning, and I would recommend doing this.

There is a jetty that goes further out into the sea where you can swim. You can even see some marine life here as well.

Our room was kept spotless every day, which is no easy task considering the mess that two boys leave behind when we head to the pool! We were also treated to a number of towel animals, specifically an impressive crocodile.

Due to our flight, we paid for a late checkout. The TUI website didn't advise what time this would be, so we were pleasantly surprised when it was 6pm! Our pick-up time was 8pm, so this was perfect.

All in all, this was a fantastic location, an excellent hotel, and we would recommend this to any families looking for a holiday in the area. We would happily go back!

Stayed for 10 nights with husband ,son ,18 year old granddaughter and 10 year old grandson . Water park was disappointing only couple of slides kids didn’t bother with it after the first day preferring to spend time in the other pools. All the staff are especially friendly and helpful . Breakfast has great selection ..pancakes, freshly cooked omelette ,toast ,cereal ,sausage ,bacon etc The snack grill bars also offer ice cream burgers pizza etc throughout the day . Rooms are air conditioned and quite spacious . Beach towels are provided and bath towels changed daily on request . Entertainment ok for small kids but disappointing for adults really . Would book here again