Steve Grant discovers Soma Bay – a hidden gem on the Red Sea coast
Every year thousands of Brits and other Europeans head for Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt’s biggest and best-known resort.
It’s attraction is sun, sand and crystal clear waters all year round. On the tip of the Sinai peninsula, Sharm is bustling and busy and of huge importance to Egypt’s tourism reputation.
Much further south, in the Red Sea Governate, is Hurghada, an increasingly popular location for the British who are joining the many other Europeans who flock there.
Again, it’s a city, the third largest on the Red Sea coast, so like Sharm, it’s bustling and busy.
But, less than 30 miles away, there’s a charming, more laid back, peaceful alternative – Soma Bay.
Just a four-hour flight from the UK, Soma Bay is an exclusive holiday resort on a small peninsula surrounded on all sides by the Red Sea.
Just five kilometres long and two kilometres wide, it’s home to five luxury hotels – each distinctly different – a small number of residential resort homes, a marina, a world-famous spa, a Gary Player-designed golf course and coveted diving spots.
There’s also an increasingly well-known kite-surfing centre attracting fans of the sport from all over the world.
The resort boasts beautiful sandy beaches and panoramic views of desert mountains – truly stunning as the sun sets above them.
The climate is a sub-tropical desert climate which pretty much guarantees year-round sunshine and blue skies. For those searching for some winter warmth, temperatures in January to March are between 20-25C during the day. Even in the height of summer though, the temperature is usually in the low 30s – cooler than many Mediterranean hotspots. Dry desert winds help keep humidity low.
My stay was split between two of the Bay’s four 5-star hotels, the Kempinski and La Residence des Cascades.
With architecture inspired by ancient Moorish fortresses, the Kempinski is an idyllic leisure retreat, blessed with a picturesque landscape of pools, lagoons and waterfalls flowing down to the immaculate sandy beach.
Everything about it was special. And I really can’t speak highly enough about our stay there. Our room – one of 325 – was welcoming, very comfortable and elegant; the staff were warm, friendly and faultlessly helpful. And the food – a world of international choices to suit every taste – was simply amazing.
As a place to simply relax and de-stress, it is as perfect as perfect can be.
You could easily spend all your stay there without exploring further but that would be a shame as a short stroll along the beach promenade offers so much.
Sitting at the highest point of the peninsula, surrounded by an 18-hole, 72-par championship golf course, is the imposing colonial-style hotel, La Residence des Cascades. With its 250 spacious rooms and suites, and panoramic sea views from all sides, La Residence is a member of the Leading hotels of the World and a multi-award winning luxury hotel. It is also home to the only thalasso spa in the whole of Egypt.
The golf course – its lush green fairways contrasting dramatically with the rugged desert and the clear azure waters of the surrounding sea – was designed by Gary Player. In his book “Top Golf Courses of the World”, it’s referred to as “the Red Sea Treasure.” The Cascades has been repeatedly ranked the number one golf course in the world outside of Europe for the past several years by the readers of “Golf Journal.”
The spa and thalasso is one of the largest in the world. The unrivalled centerpiece is the 750 sq metre thalasso-tonic hydrotherapy pool containing 830 m3 of sea water divided into a number of distinct zones with water jets, currents and counter-currents, showers and bubbling baths, each designed to provide comfort and to regenerate and tone a specific part of your body.
Like the Kempinski, La Residence is home to a number of fine restaurants and bars. On the top floor, with fabulous views, sits the Eagle’s Nest, a “pub” named for the sea eagles that have made Soma Bay their home.
Again, it was a wonderful treat to stay in such a special place so it is very hard to criticise but, to be brutally honest, I felt happier, more royally treated, more ‘at home’ at the Kempinski. For want of a better word, it felt more “special”.
The great thing is, although each hotel in Soma Bay is unique, they are all ‘connected’ because the peninsula is nicely compact. Regular, free, shuttle buses – or a stroll down the peaceful beach promenade – means you can enjoy the facilities, restaurant, entertainment, at any of them.
For some Egyptian stargazing, the Roof Garden Bar at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge is a treat, as are the comfy beanbag loungers at its Reef Bar.
The Breakers is Egypt’s first water sports lifestyle hotel, and, opened in 2010, the newest addition to Soma Bay. The modern, 4-star lodge has been specifically designed for watersports enthusiasts seeking reasonably priced accommodation in one of the Red Sea’s finest locations. With a laid-back atmosphere and on-site dive centre it’s perfect for divers, kite surfers and anyone with the taste for a more active holiday.
Of course, the waters of the Red Sea are rightly world famous for their teeming marine life and clear visibility. And when it comes to snorkelling or scuba diving, Soma Bay has something for everyone – from beginner to advanced diver. Directly off the coast, and in several reef clusters nearby, are some of the best dive sites to be found anywhere in the Red Sea.
The peninsula has its own kilometre-long “house reef” easily accessible via a 420-metre long jetty. Snorkelling around there was truly memorable. But there are plenty of smaller coral outcrops just off the beach which provide equally enchanting sights.
For the more adventurous, there’s a small armada dive boats to whisk you to the many beautiful dive sites in the Safaga region from the Soma Bay Marina. The dive sites in this area, which include coral gardens, walls, drop-offs and wrecks suitable for all levels of experience. are much less crowded than those found elsewhere in the Red Sea.
Just a few metres from the tip of the peninsula is Tubya Arbaa. Although the Arabic name refers to the number four, there are seven pillars of coral rising from the sandy bottom. Relatively shallow at 20m it’s good for both snorkellers and divers.
All I can say, is that I can’t remember the last time I spent so much time in the water. I’m surprised I didn’t grow gills!
But, if you’re not feeling so adventuous there’s glass-bottomed boats which will allow you to share the wonderful sights and colours.
The bay also offers ideal conditions for sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing. Again, courses are available for all levels of experience.
Ranked one of the top three kite spots worldwide, Soma Bay offers year-round fantastic flat-water conditions and perfect off-shore and side-shore winds. So, thrillseekers from around the world turn up at the laid back doors of the 7Bft Kite House on the west of the peninsula.
Even if you don’t fancy having a go (7Bft is open to all Soma Bay guests and a free intro lesson is offered every afternoon), the Kite House is an ideal sea-side chill-out spot, home to a roof-top terrace and serving fresh food and cool drinks.
Soma Bay is a very special destination and I’m glad to have discovered it. I’m normally more of a city explorer but I enjoyed everything the peninsula had to offer, including its very relaxed atmosphere. It’s certainly somewhere I look forward to returning to.
