The Best Hotels in Hurghada, Bay by Bay and Beach by Beach
Best all-round: The Oberoi Beach Resort, Sahl HasheeshThe word Hurghada on a booking site covers about fifty-five kilometres of Red Sea coast, and the bays inside it are nothing like each other. Measured by road from the airport, the town is twelve minutes away and Soma Bay is forty-four. Once you have picked a bay there is a second question that decides your holiday and that almost nobody answers: whether you can walk into the sea from your beach, or whether the coral means you need a jetty.
What are the best hotels in Hurghada?
The Oberoi Beach Resort at Sahl Hasheesh is the best of them, an all-suite resort half an hour south of the airport with a reef off its own beach. Steigenberger Al Dau in the town is the value pick, with a 5,000 square metre pool landscape and a golf course twelve minutes from arrivals. Ignore both if you want nightlife, which is in the town and nowhere else.
Which one fits how you travel
Find the row that sounds like your trip. Every pick below names the traveller it is wrong for, so you can book on fit rather than on rank.
| If you are | Book | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Here to snorkel without a boat | Grand Makadi Hotel, in Makadi Bay | It fronts the North Reef, the shore-access reef this coast is known for, with both beach and jetty entry. |
| Wanting the best resort on the coast | The Oberoi Beach Resort, Sahl Hasheesh | All-suite, many with private pools, a reef off its own beach and 31 minutes from the airport. |
| On a short break | Steigenberger Al Dau, or Hilton Hurghada Plaza | Both are twelve minutes from arrivals, so three nights stays three nights instead of becoming two and a half. |
| Travelling with children who want slides | Pickalbatros Jungle Aqua Park | It is built around the water park rather than the sea, which is what that kind of trip actually needs. |
| Kitesurfing or playing golf | Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay | The shallow flats and the championship course are the reason the bay exists, and the 44 minute transfer is the cost. |
| Wanting to walk out to dinner | Sheraton Miramar at El Gouna, or a town hotel | El Gouna is a walkable town with independent restaurants; everywhere else on this coast, dinner is your hotel. |
- Free cancellation on most rooms
- No booking fee
- Prices on Trip.com
What the bands mean
Hurghada sells almost entirely as all-inclusive packages, so a nightly rate here means less than it does anywhere else on this site and the symbols below are relative tiers only. The costs that actually vary are the transfer and the extras. A hotel in the town is a twelve minute drive from the airport, one in Soma Bay is forty-four, and that difference is paid twice, once each way, on top of whatever your package includes. The other real variable is what the all-inclusive band covers: on this coast the gap between a basic band and a premium one is usually the a la carte restaurants, the imported drinks and the dive centre, none of which shows up in the headline price.
- €
- Older town resorts, straightforward all-inclusive
- €€
- Mid-range bay resorts, large pools and water parks
- €€€
- Full-service resorts in the purpose-built bays
- €€€€
- The luxury tier at Sahl Hasheesh and Soma Bay
The 9 hotels, and who each one is wrong for
Walking times are to Hurghada International Airport, by road. Measured in August 2026 by road routing from Hurghada International Airport to each resort area, because on this coast the transfer is the number that matters and walking distances are meaningless. Hurghada Marina in the town is 8.0 km and about 12 minutes. Sahl Hasheesh is 22.7 km and 31 minutes, Makadi Bay 36.1 km and 38 minutes, El Gouna 38.5 km and 39 minutes, Soma Bay 48.1 km and 44 minutes, and Safaga 55.2 km and 48 minutes. Those are free-flowing times on the coast road, so treat them as a floor rather than a promise.
Hurghada town
Steigenberger Al Dau Beach Hotel
€€€Best valueThe best-value serious resort on this coast, in the town itself and therefore a twelve minute drive from arrivals. Its own group site describes a private beach, a 5,000 square metre outdoor pool landscape with a current channel, a 9-hole par 3 golf course and an on-site water sports and diving centre, and it publishes check-in from 3pm and check-out until noon.
- Walk to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- About 12 minutes by road from the airport to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- Right for
- Travellers who want a full resort and still want to walk out to the town's restaurants in the evening.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone chasing seclusion, because the town shoreline is built up and busy on both sides.
- The catch
- The catch: Its own page does not describe the beach entry, so whether you walk in from the sand or use a jetty is not stated, and on this coast that is the single most useful thing a hotel could publish.
Sahl Hasheesh
The Oberoi Beach Resort, Sahl Hasheesh
€€€€Best all-roundThe best hotel on the Egyptian Red Sea coast and the reason to choose Sahl Hasheesh, an all-suite resort where the cheapest room is a suite and many have their own private pool. It is reported to have a reef off its own beach, which in this bay is unusual, and it sits 22.7 km and about half an hour from the airport.
- Walk to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- 22.7 km and about 31 minutes by road from the airport to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- Right for
- Couples who want space, privacy and a beach that is not shared with two thousand other guests.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Families wanting a water park, since this is a quiet adult-feeling resort rather than a slide complex.
- The catch
- The catch: Its own website could not be reached during this check, so the suite layouts, private pool details and house reef could not be verified at source and are reported here as unconfirmed.
Sahl Hasheesh
Baron Palace Sahl Hasheesh
€€€€The large luxury alternative in the same bay, built around an enormous pool complex and aimed at families who want a five-star all-inclusive rather than a boutique one. Same 31 minute transfer, same sheltered bay, very different scale.
- Walk to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- 22.7 km and about 31 minutes by road from the airport to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- Right for
- Families who want a genuinely luxurious all-inclusive and do not mind a big resort.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone who wants a quiet beach, because the size of the property works against that.
- The catch
- The catch: Sahl Hasheesh is the bay where most of the diving happens by boat rather than from shore, so snorkellers who want to swim to a reef are better served in Makadi.
Makadi Bay
Grand Makadi Hotel
€€€The hotel that sits in front of Makadi Bay's North Reef, which independent snorkelling guides consistently name as the best shore-access reef on this coast, with both beach and jetty entry. If the reason you are coming to the Red Sea is to snorkel without getting on a boat every day, this is the address that answers it.
- Walk to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- 36.1 km and about 38 minutes by road from the airport to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- Right for
- Snorkellers who want to walk off the beach and be over coral within minutes.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone wanting nightlife or a town, because Makadi Bay is a resort strip and nothing else.
- The catch
- The catch: The reef quality is documented by snorkelling guides and diving bodies rather than by the hotel itself, which publishes nothing specific about its beach entry, so confirm the current arrangement before booking on that basis.
Makadi Bay, south end
Stella Di Mare Beach Resort, Makadi
€€The other end of Makadi Bay, on the South Reef, reached by a wooden jetty rather than from the sand. It is the clearest illustration of the rule that matters most here: two hotels in the same bay can offer completely different water.
- Walk to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- 36.1 km and about 38 minutes by road from the airport to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- Right for
- Snorkellers happy to walk a jetty for a quieter reef than the busy north end.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Families with small children who want to paddle straight in, because a jetty entry is not that.
- The catch
- The catch: A jetty means a walk in the sun with fins in hand and a ladder at the end, which is fine once and tedious three times a day.
Hurghada town
Hilton Hurghada Plaza
€€A long-established town resort on the Hurghada shoreline, well placed for anyone who wants the promenade and the marina within reach rather than a sealed compound half an hour down the coast. It is one of the more reliable mid-range names on this stretch.
- Walk to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- About 12 minutes by road from the airport to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- Right for
- First-time visitors who want a straightforward beach resort close to the airport and the town.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone expecting a pristine reef off the beach, because the town shoreline is the most developed part of the coast.
- The catch
- The catch: Its own pages refused automated access during this check, so the beach entry, pool hours and all-inclusive inclusions are unverified here rather than copied from a listing site.
Hurghada town, inland
Pickalbatros Jungle Aqua Park
€€The water park option, an enormous themed resort in the town aimed squarely at families who want slides rather than reefs. It is inland rather than on the beach, with a shuttle to the sea, which is the trade it asks you to make.
- Walk to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- About 12 minutes by road from the airport to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- Right for
- Families with children who will spend the week on slides and never look at the coral.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone who wants to walk from their room to the sea, because this is not a beachfront resort.
- The catch
- The catch: The beach is a shuttle ride rather than a walk, so the sea is a planned outing instead of something you drift down to after breakfast.
Soma Bay
Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay
€€€€The most distant resort on this page and one of the best, in a bay known for its long shallow flats, its kitesurfing and a championship golf course. Soma Bay is 48.1 km and about forty-four minutes from the airport, which is the price of how quiet it is.
- Walk to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- 48.1 km and about 44 minutes by road from the airport to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- Right for
- Kitesurfers, golfers and anyone who wants the emptiest beach within reach of this airport.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Short-break travellers, because an hour and a half of transfer time across three nights is a large bite.
- The catch
- The catch: The shallow flats that make Soma Bay ideal for kitesurfing are the same flats that make swimming from the beach a long wade, which is why the jetties here are so long.
El Gouna
Sheraton Miramar Resort, El Gouna
€€€El Gouna is the outlier on this coast, a purpose-built town of lagoons, bridges and low white buildings 38.5 km north of the airport, with restaurants and bars that belong to the town rather than to a hotel. This resort sits on its own islands at the seaward edge of it.
- Walk to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- 38.5 km and about 39 minutes by road from the airport to Hurghada International Airport, by road
- Right for
- People who want to eat somewhere different each night without leaving a walkable, safe, self-contained town.
- Wrong for
- Wrong for: Anyone looking for authentic Egypt, because El Gouna is a developer's town and makes no pretence otherwise.
- The catch
- The catch: El Gouna prices are noticeably higher than the rest of the coast for food and drink outside your board basis, which erodes the point of an all-inclusive.
Where not to book in Hurghada
Two mistakes cost people their week here. The first is treating Hurghada as one place. Measured by road from the airport, the town is 8 km and about twelve minutes, Sahl Hasheesh 22.7 km and 31 minutes, Makadi Bay 36.1 and 38, El Gouna 38.5 and 39, Soma Bay 48.1 and 44, and Safaga 55.2 and 48. All of them are sold under the same search term. On a three night trip the difference between the town and Soma Bay is most of an afternoon. The second is assuming the beach is a beach. On this coast the shallows are often coral rather than sand, which is why so many resorts have long jetties, and the difference is hotel by hotel rather than bay by bay: independent snorkelling guides note that in Makadi Bay one hotel can have a weak sandy entry while its neighbour has a jetty onto an excellent reef edge. Almost no hotel states which it has. Ask before booking, and bring water shoes either way.
When to book
March to May and October to November are the best weeks, warm enough to swim and short of the summer heat, which from June to August is severe and makes the middle of the day unusable outdoors. Water temperature stays swimmable all year, and December to February is the cheapest and quietest period, with pleasant days, cool evenings and enough wind that the sea can be choppy for boat trips. Egyptian school holidays and European half terms are the demand spikes rather than any local season. Whatever the month, book the bay before you book the hotel, because moving between bays once you have arrived means a taxi ride of half an hour or more each way.
Best hotels in Hurghada: FAQ
The questions travellers ask most when picking a hotel here.
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Photo credits (10)
Photos via Wikimedia Commons, used under their respective licences.
- A hotel beach with a small marina on the Hurghada town shoreline: Dr. Ondrej Havelka (cestovatel) - CC BY 4.0 · source
- Boats moored at Hurghada Marina, the restaurant and nightlife strip of the town: Almondox - CC BY 3.0 · source
- The built-up shoreline of Hurghada town, where the older resorts sit close together: Almondox - CC BY 3.0 · source
- The mosque by the port in Hurghada, at the town end of the resort coast: reesorts.com - CC0 · source
- The purpose-built resort bay at Sahl Hasheesh, half an hour south of Hurghada airport: Marc Ryckaert - CC BY 3.0 · source
- The wide sheltered bay at Sahl Hasheesh on the Red Sea coast: Marc Ryckaert - CC BY 3.0 · source
- The Red Sea coastline at the southern end of Makadi Bay, where the reef is reached by jetty: Dirgela - CC0 · source
- The shoreline at Makadi Bay, where the reef comes close enough to reach from the beach: Xxlstier - CC BY 4.0 · source
- A long jetty running out over the shallows at Soma Bay, the way many Red Sea resorts reach swimmable water: dronepicr - CC BY 2.0 · source
- The lagoons and low white buildings of El Gouna, north of Hurghada: Marc Ryckaert - CC BY 3.0 · source